Top 10 upcoming arts events

Thursday

A teenage trombonist has emerged as one of the area's best young musicians.

David Beitzel will solo with the Piedmont Wind Symphony at 7:30 p.m. in Brendle Recital Hall at Wake Forest University.

Beitzel, a junior at Asheboro High School, won the symphony's concerto competition. He will solo in Ferdinand David's Concertino and receive $1,000. Jeff Whitsett will conduct.

An Li, a junior clarinetist at Mount Tabor High School, placed second in the competition. Anita Patel, a sophomore flutist at Reynolds High School, took third. Under Danny Green's direction, the Wachovia Winds Youth Ensemble will perform at 6:30 p.m. Tickets at the door are $12, or $10 for seniors and $5 for students.

Thursday to March 6

During a wedding reception in Knoxville, five bridesmaids take refuge in the bedroom of the bride's sister. The women, each dressed in identical peach-colored dresses, talk of sex, relationships and the infamous Tommy Valentine, who is described as "walking sex." They discover they have more in common than their mutual dislike for the bride.

That's the premise of Alan Ball's "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress," which UNC School of the Arts will present Thursday through March 6 in Patrons Theatre on campus. Performances will be at 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Saturday and March 6. Tickets are $13, or $11 for seniors and students. See www.uncsa.edu/performances or call (336) 721-1945.

Note: "Five Women" features adult language and material as well as partial nudity.

March 12-June 5

"Oscar Muñoz: Imprints for a Fleeting Memorial" will be on view at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, 750 Marguerite Drive.

Steven Matijcio, SECCA's curator of contemporary art, describes the work of Muñoz, a Columbian, as "quiet, poetic, and especially haunting when you consider the political arena in which the artist works."

"Drawing on his experience of a society where fellow citizens 'disappear' with regularity, Muñoz creates work that memorializes the ephemeral with the ephemeral."

"Imprints" will open at 2 p.m. March 12 with a "Talk@SECCA" by José Roca. He's curator of the exhibition, which is distributed by the Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art in Toronto.

Admission is free. SECCA is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Visit www.secca.org or call 725-1904.

March 20

Reynolda House will present a screening of Buster Keaton's "The General," with live piano accompaniment by Ethan Uslan, on March 20 at 2 p.m.

The film depicts the "Great Locomotive Chase" of 1862 in which Confederate soldiers pursued and attempted to recapture "The General," a steam locomotive commandeered by Union spies. Orson Welles called this silent film the greatest comedy and greatest Civil War movie ever made.

Uslan, who won the Old-Time Piano Playing Contest in 2007, will provide accompaniment. Introductions will come courtesy of Renata Jackson, a professor of film studies at UNC School of the Arts.

Admission is $8, or $5 for Reynolda members and students. See www.reynoldahouse.org or call (336) 758-5150.

March 24-25

Helen Simoneau Danse is about to take flight. Will the dance company land with regularity in Winston-Salem?

Simoneau, a noted dancer/choreographer who studied at UNC School of the Arts, wants her company to rehearse and perform regularly in Winston-Salem and New York.

The company's first Winston-Salem concert, which will take place in Hanesbrands Theatre, will feature Simoneau's "Flight Distance I, II, and III," dances that explore the boundaries of personal space, unwritten spatial rules and intimacy in relation to space.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. March 24 and 25. Tickets are $17, or $10 for students. Rush tickets for $5 are available 15 minutes before the start of each show. See www.rhodescenter.org or call (336) 747-1414.

March 25, 27 and 29

Laughter and love should abound in Piedmont Opera's coming production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Stevens Center.

The show, directed by Michael Shell, a UNC School of the Arts alumnus, reflects Piedmont Opera's occasional predilection for the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. It features John Davies as Sir Joseph, Jonathan Lasch as Captain Corcoran, Jodi Burns as Josephine, Deborah Fields as Little Buttercup, Marvin Kehler as Ralph Rackstraw, Brian Banion as Dick Deadeye and Katherine Ardoin as Cousin Hebe. James Allbritten will conduct.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. March 25, 2 p.m. March 27 and 7:30 p.m. March 29. Tickets are $7.50 to $70. Visit www.piedmontopera.org or call (336) 725-7101, ext. 100.

April 8-17

The 13th annual RiverRun International Film Festival will feature more than 100 feature-length films and shorts, including eight movies in a spotlight called "Contemporary French Masters." One of the French movies will be "A Christmas Tale," directed by Arnaud Desplechin and starring Catherine Deneuve. RiverRun will also present "Saturday Morning Cartoons," an annual program for kids, as well as panel discussions with directors and parties at downtown venues.

Screenings are at Aperture cinema, the Hanesbrands Theatre at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts and on the campus of UNC School of the Arts.

The full lineup of films, panels and parties will be announced March 8. tickets go on sale March 9 at the Stevens Center, 405 W. Fourth St., at www.riverrunfilm.com or by calling (336) 721-1945.

April 9

One great quintet deserves another. That's the essence of "Quintessence," to be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 9 in Watson Hall at UNC School of the Arts.

The quintets will be Brahms' F-Minor Piano Quintet and Schubert's "Trout" Quintet.

The performers, all UNCSA instructors or guests, will be Kevin Lawrence, Sheila Browne, Brooks Whitehouse, Paul Sharpe, Eric Larsen, Janet Orenstein and Lauren Winkelman.

Tickets are $13, or $11 for seniors and students. See www.uncsa.edu/performances or call (336) 721-1945.

April 16

The next "Plugged-In Pops" will plug into Sinatra.

Steve Lippia, a vocalist noted for introducing a new generation to Frank Sinatra, will be featured in "Simply Sinatra." The program will include such classics as "On the Town" and "My Way." Robert Moody will conduct the Winston-Salem Symphony.

Tickets are $15 to $55, and student rush tickets are $5. See www.wssymphony.org or call (336) 464-0145.

April 28-May 8

Theater-history buffs, take note. When UNC School of the Arts presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" at the Stevens Center, much of the production should recall the 1943 opening of the show on Broadway.

UNCSA's restaging will include the original Agnes de Mille choreography as re-created by Gemze de Lappe, who performed in the original Broadway and touring productions of "Oklahoma!" and worked closely with de Mille for many years. In addition, UNCSA is re-creating the show's original costumes and stage design.

John Mauceri, UNCSA's chancellor, will conduct, and Gerald Freedman, UNCSA's drama dean, is the director. "Oklahoma!" — like "West Side Story" in 2007 — will be an all-school musical.

Shows are April 28 at 8 p.m., April 29, 7:30 p.m., April 30, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., May 1, 2 p.m., May 4-6, 8 p.m., May 7, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and May 8, 2 p.m. Tickets are $43 to $100, with discounts for children 13 and younger, and family groups of two children and two adults.

Proceeds will benefit the scholarship funds at all of UNCSA's arts schools. See www.uncsa.edu/performances or call (336) 721-1945.

KKeuffel@wsjournal.com

(336) 727-7337