November 15, 2010 – This week, six Aurora students make the jump from “burgeoning artist” to “album illustrator.”
On Wednesday, November 17, high-school and middle-school artists will partner with St. Charles-based Medallion Media to create illustrations for “Five Candles,” a commemorative concert CD recorded over a five-year period at Aurora studio Backthird Audio. The CD features performances selected from four years of “Tiny Candle,” the studio’s annual holiday event. It will go on sale at this year’s events as a fifth-year commemoration.
Wednesday’s workshop is being organized by Aurora nonprofit Triple Threat Mentoring. All proceeds from the CD go to benefit Triple Threat.
“Triple Threat exists to invest in urban youth,” said Caleb Luper, executive director of the mentoring organization. “It’s exciting for us to identify talent in these students, then connect them with professionals in our community who can help them realize that talent.”
With direction from Medallion Media artists, students will create artworks on three different themes: “light,” “peace” and “collaboration.” The final CD will be available in six different editions, each featuring the artwork of a different student.
“Part of what enchants people about the Tiny Candle events is the feeling of community,” said Benjie Hughes, who owns Backthird Audio and who created the event with his sister, Mandy, in 2005. “Our room is intimate – it only seats an audience of 50. I think guests can sense the friendships among those performing, and they’re drawn up into that. By the end of the night, we all feel more connected.”
Hughes said this year’s performing artists discussed ways to increase the amount of collaboration at Tiny Candle. The results: the “Five Candles” CD with Triple Threat and Medallion, and a gourmet dinner event with Aurora Chef Amaury Rosado called “Candle by Candlelight.” Student artworks created for the CD will also be on display at the dinner event and will be featured in unique place settings at each table.
The Triple Threat workshop with high-school students will take place Wednesday afternoon, November 17 at Triple Threat’s studios in downtown Aurora. The 2010 Tiny Candle events take place at 7pm Friday, December 10; at 5:30pm Saturday, December 11, and at 7pm Friday, December 17 at Backthird Audio. Tickets are $25 each for the December 10 and 17 performances and $74 each for the December 11 “Candle by Candlelight” gourmet dinner and concert. Buy tickets and pre-order the “Five Candles” CD at www.tinycandle.com.
