Kevin and Tanishia Hamilton

The Studio Kevin Hamilton 2010 Spring Recital and Concert was held on Sunday March 14, at the Proscenium Theatre on the west campus of Pima Community College.

Studio Kevin Hamilton is owned and operated by husband and wife team Kevin and Tanishia Hamilton. The studio is a music instruction facility specializing in private voice, private piano and group vocal training. The Hamiltons also own and operate Southwest Soul Circuit and Garden Level Studios out of their downtown Tucson location.

The program had performances from students and friends who are professional recording artist.

The first half of the show was a recital presenting students of Studio Kevin Hamilton. There was a wide range of age groups, styles, and skill levels showcased. This was the first performance on the big stage for many of the students.

The youngest performance came from Marqaun D., who played “London Bridge” on the piano and whose feet barely reached the pedals. You could not help but feel like a proud parent as he played his piece, took a bow and then took off.

The recital included piano solos, singers and a quartet made up of two men and two women called the “Notables” who sang “Tuxedo Junction.”

The recital portion of the show was closed with a performance by singer/songwriter Belinda Peters. Peters played the guitar and sang an original composition “Ventana.” Her performance was polished and well rehearsed and in this writers opinion, “road ready.”

The second half of the show was an actual concert featuring several local recording artists. Saxophonist, Neamen Lyles kicked it off with his bass playing sidekick Mike Levy playing “Steppin’ Up.” Lyles first CD project is scheduled for release later this summer.

Tucson’s own American Idol Finalist, Crystal Stark took the stage and showed why she was a finalist with a strong performance of “If I Ain’t Got You.” The clarity in her voice is amazing.

Creasha and Myrina Robinson, both recording artist produced at Garden Level Studios, followed. Creasha preformed “Lord I Believe” off of her “Simply Creasha” CD and Robinson sang “Dove’s Wings” and her project is scheduled to be completed this June.

Angel Diamond took the stage and blew us away with a soulful rendition of “Georgia.”

The Hamiltons closed the show with the classic R&B hit “You’re All I Need to Get By,” and with the stage cleared, sang “The Prayer.” These two talents are not just married in life, they are also married in song.

For more information visit http://www.studiokevinhamilton.com/

To view the slideshow click here

After a VIP and guest reception, the program started with Richard Davis as master of ceremonies.

Keeping within the spirit of diversity and unity that the TUL is famous for, the event, guests and participants crossed both cultural and age boundaries.

For example, the program was opened by youth flag presenters. The invocation was done by both Pastor Grady Scott of Grace Temple Baptist Church and Tony Redhouse, a Navajo inspirational speaker. Poet Ginger Mance, presented a poem “Rebirth of Light” in keeping with the theme of the evening.

While dinner was served, guests were entertained by Cary Peck, a mezzo-soprano who delivered selections from the opera “Adriana Lecouvreur.”

After dinner, the program continued with a number of presentations of awards. The Whitney Young Award was given to Habitat for Humanity and the Henry Quinto Award went to Tucson Electric Power. The Equal Opportunity Award went to J.P. Industries, Inc. and E. Brent Chrite, Ph. D received and Special Recognition Award for his work as a board member of the TUL.

The keynote speaker was media personality, Roland Martin. Martin is a commentator for “TV-One cable network” as well as the host of “Washington Watch with Roland Martin.”

Martin talked about the importance of individual participation as an agent of change. He gave several examples throughout history where big things and life changing policies were initiated by only a few people and in some cases an individual. Martin challenged each guest to write in their gala program one action item that they would pursue over the next year. He then insisted that each guest identify an accountability partner to answer to.

Jonathan Peck, the new President and CEO of the Tucson Urban League took the podium and thanked all for their participation and support of the TUL, past and present. Peck briefly shared his vision and insight into the near future of the TUL. Through building strategic partnerships and effective utilization of resources, Peck seems determined to increase the quality of life for all those that the Tucson Urban League will serve.

The evening concluded with a slideshow showing the TUL at work followed by music and dancing.

For more information visit http://www.tucsonurbanleague.com.

Rick Stertz, 4-Tucson CEO and Executive Director officiated over the meeting. In attendance were over 80 members of the community and faith-based leaders.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide information about 4-Tucson, give an overview of plans and objectives and to solicit participation and support.

Mark Harris, the founder of 4-Tucson, opened with a talk on engaging the city, where we are as a city and where we are headed. During his presentation, Harris explained that, 4-Tucson from its research had identified five major problems in the city of Tucson. He also outlined the 12 domains of society to address each the problems from their unique perspective. For more information on the domains, visit www.4Tucson.com.

Bob Roberts

Harris was followed by Bob Roberts, senior pastor of the Northwood Church in Keller, Texas and author of Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World. Roberts shared some of his experiences illustrating the impact of Glocalization both nationally and internationally.

Omar Reyes, Glocal Impact Director for Northwood Church, stressed the importance of discipleship and explained the concept of T-Life. This was followed by a look at society and the global church.

The Church – A New Paradigm was talked about by Brian Hook, Vision 360 Regional Catalyst from Texas.

Kevin Colon, pastor of Cool River Church in Superior, Colorado, shared how his church emerged through city engagement.

During the lunch break, attendees had the opportunity to talk with the domain leaders and ask questions to help determine their individual involvement.

After lunch, the afternoon started with an open forum and Q&A session with the speakers as the panel. The attendees had the opportunity to voice any questions or concerns they may have had.

Following the Q&A, Roberts presented information about the Global Church. One of the points stressed by Roberts was the need to learn to communicate in global theology. Due to the diversity of faiths and belief systems in our own neighborhoods, there is an increased requirement to become more informed about other religions and faiths for effective discipleship.

The final presentation came from Nick Boring, the Vision 360 Catalyst for the United States. Boring shared insight on multiplying the church and church planting. During his presentation, Boring reinforced the theme of the day of mobilizing churches to address the needs and issues facing the communities within their neighborhoods.

Harris concluded the meeting with closing remarks and an appeal for support by means of participation and financial commitment.

Stertz stated that the event was a success and looked forward to making a difference in Tucson.

For more information visit www.4Tucson.com.

Photo Album

]]> http://tucsoncitizen.com/christianarts/2010/03/12/4tucson-holds-its-kick-off-meeting/feed/ 0 http://tucsoncitizen.com/christianarts/2010/03/10/tucson-churches%e2%80%99-event-calendar-membership-reaches-100/ http://tucsoncitizen.com/christianarts/2010/03/10/tucson-churches%e2%80%99-event-calendar-membership-reaches-100/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:04:01 +0000 christianarts http://tucsoncitizen.com/christianarts/?p=349 TucsonChurches.org is pleased to announce that its event calendar has exceeded 100 member users. The Faith-based calendar was launched last year as an extension of the directory of places of worship in Southern Arizona website www.TucsonChurches.org. The calendar’s objective is to make available to the general public a resource that contains faith-based events of all kinds. This has included concerts, fund raisers, seminars, rallies, worship services and Christian coffee houses for example.

There is no charge to become a member and all places of worship and faith-based organizations are encouraged to join and take advantage of the services. Besides posting events, you can also post photos and videos. Each member can also customize the look of their profile. Postings are monitored to keep the site family friendly.

If you are a place of worship or faith-based organization in Southern Arizona, TucsonChurchesEvents.ning.com is available to help you get the word out about your upcoming events.

If you are looking for something to do this week or something special this weekend, the website is especially for you.

It has become one place for everything faith-based.

For more information visit:

For faith-based events:
http://www.TucsonChurchesEvents.ning.com

and

For places of worship:
http://www.TucsonChurches.org

The newly launched website is not a retailer or sells any vehicles, but a catalogue for both dealers and private owners to display their vehicles for a nominal fee.

A photographer takes the photos and information. It is then posted on the website until it sells or up to a maximum of six months. The quality of the photography makes the experience like looking at an online auto magazine.

If you just need a ride, you can get that almost anywhere. But, if you’re looking for something special that reflects your individual style, visit www.TucsonAutoStore.com.

The theme for the day was “From Africa to the White House.”

The annual event chaired by Herald Craig, had a number of displays and activities for all ages. These included movies, books, artist, displays, speakers, dancers and singers.

A program started with the presentation of colors by the Buffalo Soldiers which had set up camp in the parking lot complete with tent and a horse. The program offered a number of presentations from the history behind some of the African music and instruments to Black hair. The Pilgrim Rest Senior Choir sang a number of songs from Black history from slavery to the time of the civil rights movement.

The event was well attended by the community and civic personalities who enjoyed a piece of history, lunch, entertainment and sharing.

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Website

http://goodnewstucson.com/

Blog

http://goodnewstucson.wordpress.com/

I updated my resume with my new skills and started the job hunt. The year ended with not one interview.

I started to feel like maybe I shouldn’t be working for someone else at this phase in my life and go back to the life of an entrepreneur. This is what I really wanted to do anyway.

So here I am, gifted, talented, and motivated. Creatively excelling, but financially challenged.

Prayerfully seeking answers, I started to believe in my spirit that something is fundamentally wrong. I praise God for my relationship with Him, His love and concern for me and my family. God does answer prayer.

What was missing from my “business plan” was that I had not proven myself faithful in my stewardship to Him. I failed to see my unemployment checks as income and thus exempt from tithes. Yes taxes were taken out which made it “harder” to justify taking an additional ten percent out.

With the mounting bills and always feeling behind, you start looking for relief by trying to take control over your circumstances. When you have $50 and the bill is $75, the natural tendency is to try to find the other $25 not the $30 because you have taken out $5 and paid your tithes.

I have found out that my taking control did not leave room for God to work in my life, nor in my behalf. I was not obeying His Word which disqualifies me from His promises with regards to stewardship.

If I mismanage my God given resources with the little I have, how can I be trusted with greater amounts? Truthfully, I not sure I would trust myself.

So now the challenge is to find a way for me to honor God and His word through tithes and offerings. Not just because I need financial help but because I love Him, His correction and want to live a life within His will.

My plan is this; as I receive income, I will immediately take out what I need for tithes and offerings and put it aside. Just take it out of circulation. If it sits in the bank, history tells me that a bill will come in, an automatic withdrawal I forgot about will hit or something will break.

As I start this act of faith, and if this has been a challenge for you, I invite you to covenant with me and let’s defeat the mindset that has us bound in poverty and not taking full advantage of all God has to offer.

When God starts to move, I will be sure to keep you informed and testify of His goodness.

May God continue to bless you and open up your understanding to His Word and His heart.

I am the LORD All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.

Malachi 3:10 (Contemporary English Version)

Jacki and I with our grandchild

When my daughters were growing up, the last thing they wanted to hear from me was, “I need to see you in my office.” Not that I had an office, but hearing that meant that

1. They were in some form of trouble and

2. That the result would be a spanking, punishment, or even worst, a lecture.

So when my wife told me that the doctor wanted to see both of us, I knew this couldn’t be good.

As we were hearing what the near future was going to be like for us and what the medical field had planned, with all the answers we were getting, not all of the questions were being addressed. With all of the natural questions regarding the treatment process and necessary lifestyle changes, the one big question that was answered almost immediately from within was “Why?” The answer, “That God might be glorified.”

Now a lot of family and friends are going to be impacted by this, but what about the three main lives? Jacki, me and the life we have together. What about us? For God to get the glory out of this chapter in our lives, what do we have to do? We have never been here before. We have been through a lot together, but nothing like this. This is at a whole new level.

Once we embraced the fact that God was in control, and true, this is at a new level, everything we had gone though individually and collectively was in preparation for “such a time as this.” In our spirits we believed that God was going to help us through the process and we would be left with a testimony and a greater trust in Him. This was not about Jacki nor I but more about the lives that her testimony was going to touch and restore hope for those in need.

As a husband and father, on the spiritual level I understood that I was also being tested and need to exercise faith and trust in God. On the natural level, I was challenged emotionally and intellectually.

Christmas 2007

Where was I going to get the strength to meet Jacki’s needs, reassure her that I love her and meant it when I said “…in sickness and health.” Be strong enough to hold the family together and let them see that what we tried to teach them about the power of God is no joke. That those far and near will see and hear the peace of God in our conversation and day-to-day interaction. How was I going to concentrate at work knowing my wife is suffering with a disease I can’t even pronounce? I didn’t know.

The one thing I did know was I didn’t have a choice. If I was going to be successful in all I had to do, and be true to my commitment to my God, my wife and my family, I had to rely on God to get me through this and to be obedient to His directions.

I believe that a blessed life in Christ is possible when you forego your opinions and discussions and take heed to His word. I have found when you develop “blind obedience” to the Word of God, you are executing based on your faith and trust in Him and I believe God honors that.

Christmas 2009

I was interviewed by a fellow journalism student who was working on an article about older people returning to school. During the interview, family life came up and I shared what Jacki and I had gone through. She asked, “How did you do it?” She seemed to be in disbelief that we couldhave been through so much and still be together. “I know some men would have left and buckled under the pressure,” she said. This may be true. When I told her I didn’t have a choice and there was no decision to make about caring for my wife, she wanted to debate that you always have a choice. After much discussion, I could see that this was a concept that she just didn’t get. The power of love and commitment when combined with Christ becomes one of the strongest forces known to man.

My wife is now two years cancer free. I am excited and relieved as well. As I look back over the process, there were so many things going on it all is somewhat of a blur to me. I tried to do what I thought I had to do to the best of my ability. Yes I was scared. Felt helpless at times. Wished it was me instead. Couldn’t imagine what life would be like without my Jacki.

Thank God, I don’t have to.

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:13 (New International Version)

Cosmic touch entertainment is pleased to announce the launching of their new website at www.cosmictouchentertainment.com. Cosmic touch entertainment, owned by local artist Jack Anderson is a full-service entertainment and music production company.

Anderson, a.k.a. Jacki Blu, is also a local performing and recording artist specializing in old-school R&B, soul and urban music.

Based in Tucson Arizona, Blu has performed locally for special community events as well as Texas where he has family roots.

Blu is looking to expand the business with promotion and artist development under his music production company, D-Zone Music.

Visit: http://www.CosmicTouchEntertainment.com