Urbana High School graduate Scott Kirby is in Champaign County to share his art with local school children.
The internationally-traveled musician and artist is touring the schools as part of an artist-residency program through the Champaign County Arts Council.
His local, two-week residency is sponsored by Perpetual Federal Savings Bank.
Kirby visited the Graham Local Schools this week and will visit other schools next week. As part of the educational program, Kirby is showing images of his recent artwork from the Great Plains, discussing what inspires him to earn a living as an artist and answering questions about why art is important.
On March 24 at 7:30 p.m., Kirby will perform at the Clark State Performing Arts Center in Springfield. Tickets are $35.
According to the performing arts center’s website, “… Kirby began his study of music at the age of six and continued formal piano instruction for seventeen years. He worked under Robert Howat of Wittenberg University and Sylvia Zaremba at the Ohio State University. Kirby moved to New Orleans and began his professional music career as a street performer. In the following four years, he recorded the complete rags of Scott Joplin and made his debut at all of the major ragtime festivals in the United States, as well as festivals in Belgium, France, Norway, New Zealand and Hungary. Kirby has composed over 150 original works for piano and other instruments.”
The performance in Springfield is sponsored by Tina and Plato Pavlatos.
