By Kathryn Purcell
Managing Editor

Madison's sixth annual Chamber Music Festival, presented by the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center began with the sanctuary-filling vocals of Alison Buchanan Saturday. The festival is comprised of 13 concerts over the course of 20 days. Prior to press time, the first five concerts of the Chamber Music Festival - "The Many Moods of Alison," "Haefliger Nacht," "Americans in Paris Dinner Concert," "Lunch with Trio RPM" and "Mendelssohn Octet" - have taken place. The following is an updated listing of concerts yet to take place.

•"Yuja and You"
Saturday, June 21
5 p.m.
Steffen Thomas Museum
SOLD OUT

•"Musical Tales and Wonders"
Monday, June 23
11 a.m.
The Hall, Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
FREE

•"String Fling Lunch Concert"
Tuesday, June 24
Noon
Private Home
SOLD OUT

•"Vega Quartet"
Thursday, June 26
8 p.m.
Perk Avenue Cafe
Tickets: $20

•"Lunch with Valentina"
Friday, June 27
Noon
Private Home
SOLD OUT

•"Dynamic Duo"
Saturday, June 28
8 p.m.
Auditorium, Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
Tickets: $25

•"Tchaikovsky Trio"
Sunday, June 29
8 p.m.
Sandy Creek Barn
Tickets: $30

•"Splendor in the Brass"
Tuesday, July 3
7 p.m.
Front Lawn, Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
FREE

By Kathryn Purcell
Managing Editor

As if the first week of Madison's sixth annual Chamber Music Festival, presented by the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, wasn't jam-packed enough, the second half of the 21-day series of concerts consists of seven more concerts. The Festival's second week features a little of everything, from the music of a cartoon composer to the harmonization of a piano duet to the patriotic sounds of our nation's history.
•The seventh concert in the 2008 Madison Chamber Music Festival lineup, "Musical Tales and Wonders," kicks off the second week of the Festival, and begins at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 23 at The Hall at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.
The concert will showcase the work of the "Maestro of Cartoon Music," Raymond Scott.
Scott's music has been featured in such cartoons as "Looney Tunes," "The Ren & Stimpy Show" and "The Simpsons," among many others, and Cartoon Network has adopted some of Scott's music as their theme song, according to www.raymondscott.com.
Also featured in "Musical Tales and Wonders" will be music from the cartoons "Meet Mr. Twink" and "The Adventures of Wonderboy." In fact, the "Meet Mr. Twink" music was composed by Festival artistic director Christopher Rex's father, who also had a radio show, according to Patricia DuBose, Cultural Center marketing director. Further, high school students from the Atlanta Youth Orchestra will be playing the "Meet Mr. Twink" music.
"Adults will recognize the music being played because it came from cartoons when they were much younger," Ruth Bracewell, Chamber Music Festival director, said.

By Kathryn Purcell
Managing Editor

It started in 2003 with four concerts. Since then, the Madison Chamber Music Festival, presented by the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, has grown to 13 concerts in 10 locations over a span of 21 days.
Locations, strictly limited to the Cultural Center Auditorium in 2003, now include various settings within the Cultural Center, from the Auditorium to The Hall to the Front Lawn, as well as three of Madison's historic homes, Perk Avenue Cafe and Coffee House, the Steffen Thomas Museum, Madison Baptist Church and Sandy Creek Barn.
Madison's Chamber Music Festival is the brainchild of the Cultural Center and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principal Cellist Christopher Rex, who also functions as the Festival's artistic director. Also the general and artistic director of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, which happens in early June each year, Rex often recruits musicians from that festival to play in Madison.
While quite a few of the same musicians participate in both, the content and programing of the Madison Chamber Music Festival and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival aren't exactly the same.
"There are a lot of changes, so that it's not a reproduction," Patricia DuBose, Cultural Center marketing director, said. "But it is a stopping point for a lot of big names."
This year's Festival will see the likes of soprano Alison Buchanan, pianist Andreas Haefliger, pianist Yuja Wang, the American String Quartet, the Parker String Quartet, Trio RPM and Rex, among others.
And that's just the first week.

• The 2008 Madison Chamber Music Festival opens on Saturday, June 14 at 5 p.m. at Madison Baptist Church with "The Many Moods of Alison," featuring Alison Buchanan, an internationally recognized British soprano, who will be performing classical and popular pieces, as well as spirituals.

By Matthew Burgoyne
Staff Writer

On May 16, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" was finally released. I may be 21, but my favorite movies are the children’s fantasy movies. I guess I am trying to hold on as long as I can. Having seen both of the "Narnia" flicks, I thought it was appropriate for the two films to go head-to-head to see which is more deserving of my $8.50. I should offer this disclaimer: I have not read the books, so my opinions are based solely on what I saw in the films.
1. Story - Like I said, I enjoy the land of make belief. I love movies that are completely fiction and take you to places only the imagination can dream of going to. The first film, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," showed us how the film’s four major characters (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) discovered the mythical land of Narnia and defeated the evil White Witch. "Prince Caspian" came in at a disadvantage because the first movie was  tough act to follow. Plus, sequels normally aren’t as good as the originals. However, "Prince Caspian" was just as good. In the second film, the four siblings return to Narnia, where time has destroyed the peaceful land. With Prince Caspian, the foursome again defeat the evil in Narnia and restore happiness. In terms of story line, I would have to say the two movies tied.

By Jessica Blomquist
Staff Writer

As a little girl, First Friday featured artist Mary Leslie, like most little girls, loved horses and dreamed of owning her own. But it wasn’t until she was 32 years old that she bought her first, a quarter horse named Indy. Then four years ago, she and her husband moved from their home in the suburbs of Alpharetta to Madison and adopted a menagerie of other barnyard animals. As an artist, who primarily uses charcoal and oil on canvas, she finds inspiration from living on a farm with five horses, two goats, four dogs and four cats. Leslie has been painting for over 20 years.
“I’ve been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil,” she said. In 1984, she attended Savannah College of Art and Design, majoring in graphics and illustration. She then studied at the Atlanta College of Art. 
Leslie began her artistic career painting murals in homes and at various businesses. A couple years ago, she combined her enjoyment of painting with her love for animals and began painting country scenes and her pets.
She enjoys giving the animals she paints a sense of personality, conveying their emotions to the viewer.
“People don’t even realize that horses have different personalities,” she said.
For example, she usually paints her younger horse Bleu in a manner which suggests his mischievous, animated spirit. “It’s mostly in the eyes,” she said, describing how she uses an animal’s body language and facial expressions to communicate their personalities. She also likes to show the communication between animals, again mostly conveying this through body language in her artwork. Though her own pets are more conveniently located for painting, she has also been commissioned to paint portraits of other people’s animals.

By Matthew Burgoyne
Staff Writer

Congratulations graduates! You are about to embark on what will hopefully be a very successful and fruitful life. But before you go, I thought I could give you (and your parents) a few words of wisdom seeing as how I just graduated from college. Not that a college degree gives me infinite knowledge, but I have at least been through the experience.
Here are five things to remember (or to do) as you start the rest of your lives.
1) Work Hard. - High school may be over, but the work isn’t. In order to be successful you have to put in the time. Plus, why waste all that money on doing nothing?
2) Explore. - Now is your chance to really explore life and find out what you want to take out of yours. During my four years at the University of Georgia, I wanted to keep exploring. I changed my major seven times (which is fine no matter what anyone says). Discover who you are and what you want to accomplish.
3) Study Abroad. - So, you don’t have to do this one, but it is beyond worth it. In December 2007, I went to Antarctica. No, I am not joking. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Though not everyone can or wants to study abroad, I definitely recommend it.
4) Branch Out. - Try things you never dreamed of trying. You may find something that you will continue to do the rest of your life. I thought I hated tomatoes, but I love them now. That probably wasn’t the best example, but it was the first one I thought of.
5) Don’t forget those who got you where you are now. Basically, your family. As you go out and become an independent adult, remember that you would not be here without the help of those that love you. They may annoy you from time to time, but they are always there for you. Plus, you may need a place to crash after you graduate so it is good to stay in their good graces.