CD benefits ALS foundation

Rochester musician Tony Pucci is using music to raise money for the ALS Association of Minnesota, an organization that provided support, equipment and resources for his sister in her time of need.

"Songs for Jenny" features music by Pucci with lyrics written and performed by various artists, including Australian singer Margot Smith and Tim Powles, drummer for The Church.

The CD is in honor of Pucci's younger sister, Jennifer Ann Fischer, who died May 6, 2008, of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. ALS, often called Lou Gehrig Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

The CD is available for order online at www.songsforjenny.com.

No 'Doubt' -- It's time to audition

Rochester Civic Theatre will hold auditions Tuesday and Wednesday for an upcoming production of "Doubt."

Four roles are available:

• one male, ages 35-45, a priest facing a difficult situation

• a female, 50s, a school principal

• a female, 25-35, a young teacher

• a female, African-American, 20s-40s, a mother facing impossible choices.

The director is James Douglass. The play will be performed Jan. 15-31.

Auditions are at 7 p.m. both days at the theater, 20 Civic Center Drive S.E. For more information, call 282-8481.

Rancher performs; concerts added

OAK CENTER -- Chuck Suchy, the singing rancher from North Dakota, returns to the stage of the Oak Center General Store for a concert at 8 p.m. Nov. 21.

With songs that often reflect on rural life, Suchy attempts to bridge rural/urban divides through his music. He runs a 1,000-acre beef and grain operation in North Dakota.

Two concerts have been added to the Oak Center schedule for December.

The Scottie Miller Blues Band will perform at 8 p.m. Dec. 5, and Tangled Roots will play bluegrass at 8 p.m. Dec. 18.

Tickets for all concerts are $15; patrons pay what they can afford with a minimum of $5. For reservations, send a check in the proper amount to: Oak Center General Store, 67011 U.S. 63, Lake City, MN 55041.

For more information, call (507) 752-2080 or go to www.oakcentergeneralstore.com.

Barbershop quartets perform Saturday

The Rochester Music Men Barbershop Chorus fall concert, "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella," will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Willow Creek Middle School auditorium.

Guest performers will be the quartet Vocality, which won the Land-O-Lakes District championship in 2007 and has placed in the top 20 in international competitions. Also performing will be the quartet Gambit, consisting of Rochester Music Men members Merle Savage, John Dixon, Todd Mueller and Mike Clausen.

Tickets are $10 in advance from Music Men members, and $12 at the door.

Artist will present a lecture

Artist David Lefkowitz, whose work is currently featured at the Rochester Art Center, will give a lecture at 1 p.m. Saturday at the art center.

Lefkowitz, who teaches at Carleton College in Northfield, will talk about the works that make up the exhibition, "Other Positioning Systems," which continues through Jan. 10 at the art center.

Admission is free for Rochester Art Center members, Olmsted County residents and students. For others, admission is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens. For information, call 282-8629.

Follow the seasons through dance

Julianna and the Blue Lotus Dancers will present "Seasons" at 8 p.m. Nov. 20 on the lobby stage of Rochester Civic Theatre, 20 Civic Center Drive S.E.

The performance will depict the seasons of the year through dance. For this event, the lobby of the theater will be set up cabaret-style, with wine and beer available.

Tickets are $7, available at the box office; 282-8481.

Community band performs Saturday

Rochester Community Band presents its fall concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at Charles Hill Theatre on the campus of Rochester Community & Technical College.

The concert will feature the "Tritsch-Tratsch Polka,""His Honor" and "Three Irish Dances." The Whirlwinds Woodwind Quintet will also perform. Mike Mangen conducts the band.

Admission is free.

Curator to give talk Nov. 19

Rochester Friends of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will host a lecture Nov. 19 at the Rochester Golf and Country Club.

Thomas Rassieur, a curator at the institute, will talk about "Recent Acquisitions: Rembrandt, Degas, Matisse and Walker." Coffee is at 10 a.m., with the lecture at 10:30 a.m.

For information about membership in the friends group, call Joyce Wenz at 288-2977.

Exhibit features X-ray prints

ST. PAUL -- X-ray images of plants and marine life are featured in an art show by a Mayo Clinic-trained radiologist at Macalester College in St. Paul.

The 16 X-ray prints in "Shadows of Life" were made by the late Dr. Andre Bruwer, who died in 2008. Bruwer, a native of South Africa, was trained at Mayo and spent most of his medical career in Arizona. He was an avid naturalist and gardener, and began making X-ray images of plants and other natural objects in the 1960s.

Bruwer called the images "skiagraphs," from the Greek words for "shadow drawing." An image from the show was featured on the cover of the October issue of the American College of Radiology Bulletin.

The exhibit is in the James R. Smail Gallery of Macalester's Olin-Rice Building and will run through the current academic year.

Seasons Hospice is having an 'Affair'

Seasons Hospice will host the annual gala, "A Live & Love Affair," at 6 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Hall in the Kahler Grand Hotel.

There will be a silent auction featuring excursions, Vikings and Packers tickets and other items.

The evening includes champagne, seasonal hors d'oeuvres and desserts, and dancing to music by the Bruce A. Henry Band.

Admission is $75.

Reservations can be made at 285-1930.

Rep schedules 'Last' auditions

Rochester Repertory Theatre will hold auditions Sunday and Monday for an upcoming production of "Last of the Boys."

Roles are available for:

• three men, two of whom are ages 50-60, and one who is late-teens, early 20s,

• two women, one age 50s, one age 30s.

Productions dates are March 12-27. The director is Jeanne Skattum.

Auditions are at 7 p.m. each day at the theater, 103 Seventh St. N.E.

For more information, call 289-1737.

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