Mercury Orchestra Blasts Off, with Fun Retro-Space-Age Gala and Supporters Like Lynn Wyatt

Jeff Gremillion

ONE OF HOUSTON'S most prestigious performing arts organizations, the Mercury orchestra, threw a fabulous “Retro-Futuristic” gala at the Post Oak Hotel, complete with a space-themed musical presentation and a top-tier guest list including Lynn Wyatt.

Using Old Photos, Knickknacks and Other Found Objects, Artist Transforms Gallery Into Space 'to Remember'

Chris Becker

“I’M INTERESTED IN the things left behind,” explains found-object and performance-based installation artist Viktor Givens, whose lovingly crafted installation Coffee/Kool Aid and the Tabernacle of (Re)Memory is on view through April 23 at Community Artists’ Collective.

CONSISTING OF METAL bars that match the white and black keys of the piano, and played using two to four mallets, the once utilitarian vibraphone was co-opted from NBC studios in 1930 by master drummer Lionel Hampton for a recording session of the ballad “Memories of You” with Louis Armstrong. (The watery, vibrato-like quality of the opening notes heard on the recording comes from the rotation of small metal discs inside the instrument’s resonating tubes and its pedal, which sustains notes just like a piano pedal.)

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Art + Entertainment

Mayfield (photo by Julie Soefer)

BIG PLANS ARE on the drawing board for veteran interior and architectural designer Kelie Mayfield. She recently announced she will step up as sole owner and expand the services of Houston-based MaRS, the premier design firm she founded 13 years ago. Under Mayfield’s leadership, the company has challenged the status quo, becoming known for award-winning Houston and global luxury hotels, high-end multifamily and corporate offices.

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