Monday, April 30, 2018

Spring arrives in Warrendale

Ice cream truck - Photo by Susan McCaleer/Pixabay
Spring has arrived in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood.

I know this not because of the calendar on my wall, the robins singing in the tree outside my house, or the fact that I no longer need a jacket when going outside. I know that spring has arrived in Detroit because yesterday afternoon, on my street in the Warrendale neighborhood, there were three ice cream trucks simultaneously on the same block.

Ice cream trucks: the true sign of spring in Warrendale.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Police community relations meeting this Wednesday

Detroit police officer walks a beat - Photo by Frank Nemecek

The 6th Precinct Community Relations Organization will meet this Wednesday, April 25 in the Activities Building of Ss. Peter & Paul Church (7718 Westwood St.). This meeting will happen from 7 - 8:30 pm.

Everyone from in or around the Warrendale neighborhood is invited to attend this meeting.

Future meetings of the group will happen on the last Wednesday of each month until June.

Friday, April 20, 2018

Rouge-A-Thlon returns to Detroit


Tour de Troit's second annual Rouge-A-thlon will return to Rouge Park in Warrendale tomorrow to raise funds for the Friends of Rouge Park. The event is a duathlon, which combines running and cycling into one race.

Proceeds from this event go towards Friends of Rouge Park to maintain its active infrastructure. Registration includes the duathlon, which is chip-timed, as well as a beer provided by Batch Brewing Company, Amicci's Pizza that will be baked on site, and a finisher medal.

Registration and additional information is available at http://www.tour-de-troit.org/rouge-a-thlon

Teen prodigy Anastasia Rizikov to perform in Detroit area

Anastasia Rizikov - Press photo

Canadian classical pianist Anastasia Rizikov will perform at The Berman Center for the Performing Arts (6600 W. Maple Rd. in West Bloomfield) at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29. Rizikov made her orchestral debut at the tender age of seven and has since appeared as soloist with major orchestras in North America and Europe.

The launch of Anastasia Rizkov's career was when she placed first at the Vladimir Horowitz International Piano Competition in Kiev, Ukraine. From there she was invited to perform with the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Mykola Diadiura.

Following those performances, Anastasia Rizikov stepped on to the international circuit competing with musicians twice her age. In 2011, she became the youngest person to compete and win in history at the Rotary International Piano Competition (Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 2011). She won in other major competitions including:

  • Ettore Pozzoli International Piano Competition (Seregno, Italy, 2015);
  • Jaén International Piano Competition (Jaén, Spain, 2015); and
  • 13th Giuliano Pecar International Piano Competition (Gorizia, Italy, 2013).

“Ms. Rizikov is an extraordinary virtuoso, with abundant technical prowess,” said Renée Silberman at The Beat Magazine. “But she is more than the sum of ten fingers – she is a consummate artist, born to play, to love the art and act of music-making...” he continued.

Now 19 years old, she is being lauded as the “one to watch.” With more than 30 orchestral performances and 20 concerti in her repertoire, Anastasia Rizikov has already played with such major orchestras as Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the City of Granada Orchestra. She has worked with conductors such as Peter Oundjian, Alain Trudel, Bernhard Gueller and more.

Anastasia Rizikov’s concert schedules have taken her around the globe. She has played in such prestigious spaces such as Carnegie Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, Fazioli Hall, Hong Kong City Hall and the Kremlin. With a curiosity for diverse and exciting projects, she recorded a CD with NAXOS and performed at the prestigious Verbier and Orford Festivals (2015). In 2014, she tackled Rachmaninoff’s immense Piano Concerto No. 3 with Laval Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alain Trudel; while in the fall of 2013,  and gave 20 performances over two weeks throughout all the Atlantic provinces of Canada as the winner of the prestigious Debut Atlantic Award.

Adept in English, Russian, and Ukrainian languages (and working towards mastering her French), Rizikov began studies at École Normale de Musique de Paris with Professor Rena Shereshevskaya. From 2003-2017 she studied with Professor Maia Spis at the Nadia Music Academy, Toronto. She has played in master classes for Sergei Babayan, Arie Vardi, and Robert Levin, and has worked with András Schiff, Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, and Olga Kern.

Being a person who loves and understands her audience, she dreams of being able to share her unique musical voice with the entire world, including audiences in Detroit.

To purchase tickets, please visit theberman.org or call 248.661.1900 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This post is a part of this blog's semi-regular Friday Focus series, which endeavors to highlight news and opinions that, in my opinion, don't get as much attention as they deserve. Please follow this blog on Facebook for more great content. I'm also on Twitter and Instagram as @fnemecek.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

I have a favor to ask of my readers


I have a favor to ask of everyone who reads the Warrendale (Detroit) Blog.

It has long been a dream of mine to travel Route 66 from beginning to end and now the National Trust for Historic Preservation has a program that will help me do just that. If I'm one of the people who are selected to be a part of it, I will spend a week traveling Route 66; posting to social media channels along the way.

As part of the application process, I'm asked to provide the National Trust for Historic Preservation with links to my social media channels. I think it would look a lot better if I had more people following me and that's where you come in.

I have three related social media channels. I would appreciate it if everyone reads this liked/followed me on one or more of them. The first channel is the Warrendale Detroit Blog page on Facebook, which is available here. Readers cans also find me on Twitter and Instagram as @fnemecek.

I thank everyone for their help with this.