ÏW fe s p o r t ia n i* © b s c r u e r
April 30. 2003
OBiERVADOR
Page AS
‘H e ’s a Magic Man ’
Honduran-Born
Violinist to Perform
Jorge Avila is an award-winning
Latin-American musician
Antwan Towner
intrigues Billy
Reed's patrons
with a disap­
pearing spider
act.
Jorge Avila, who
played at the
. Ground Zero
memorial
ceremony in
New York City,
1 will perform
■' with Portland
pianist Cynthia
Rampone on
Saturday, May
17.
PHOTO BY
G unther J ose
F kank /T iie
P ortland
O bserver
continued
from Front
,
The Community Music Center and the
Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation presentaward-
winning violinist Jorge Avila in recital on
Saturday, May 17th at 7:30 p.m. in the
Community Music Center Auditorium,
3350 S.E. Francis St.
A vila is considered o n eo f today’s lead­
ing young Latin American violinists. The
Honduran native has performed as a solo­
ist with orchestras in Europe and both
Central and South America. Television
audiences may remember him from his
performance o f Barber’s “Adagio” as part
o f the Ground Zero memorial ceremony
inNew YorkCity.
A program o f masterworks for the vio-
lin by Mozart. Bach and Brahms, as well
as the Theme from “Schindler’s List” by
John Williams, will highlight Mr. A Vila’s
world-class musicianshipand exceptional
talent. He will be accompanied by Port­
land pianist Cynthia Rampone.
Admission is $ 10 for adults, $5 stu­
dents and seniors, payable at the door
only. For more information, please call
503-823-3177.
Total Immersion Course
The Mexican heritagecity ofSan Miguel
de Allende has nearly no rain— and with
Mt. Hood Community College’s Study
Abroad program, students will spend two
weeks this summer studying in this city ’s
dry, exquisite setting.
The college’s Study Abroad program
allows students to earn one term o f college
Spanish credit toward a degree or certifi­
cate by attending classes at a specialized
college in another country. The $ 1,395 for
this trip includes round-trip airfare, room
and board, tuition and the assistance o f
a resident MHCC instructor. Study will
take place at the Academia Hispano
Americana, a highly respected Spanish
language school since 1963. Classes
range from beginning, intermediate to
advanced and carry five credits in Span­
ish language.
S pacefortheJune28toJuly I3course
is limited. The sign-up deadline is May
9. To find out more, contact MHCC in­
structor Holly DeGrow at 503-491 -7268.
He hopes someday Miss Elsie will come
see him perform, but he credits his father
for sinking the magic hook. When Towner
turned eight, his dad took him to the magic
shop to pick out some props for his birth­
day. He would follow the instructions and
fool his classmates with card tricks and
disappearing objects.
“I think the average boy
between the ages o f eight and
13 has an interest in magic,”
Townersaid. “Somecontinue
that interest.”
The after-school hours and
weekends o f Tow ner’s ado­
lescence were spent at Jim
Pace’s White Rabbit Magic
shop in the Lloyd Center Mall.
Pace, a veteran magician him­
self, taught young Towner the _______
ropes o f the profession. By
the time he was a teen, Towner found
him self entertaining not just his middle
school peers, but shoppers in downtown
Portland.
“Hike puttinga smile on people’sfaces,”
Towner said, explaining his desire to prac­
tice m agic. “W hen 1 can walk into
som eone’s mind and flip a switch it sur­
prises them that I can touch something so
personal.”
Making people smile is exactly what
Towner does during his magic acts with
Adam The Great at Billy Reed's. Guestsat
the northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Bou­
levard eatery and bar are endlessly amazed
by his card tricks one o f which involves
mysteriously pulling a whole deck out o f
his mouth. His red foam balls squeak,
multiply and disappear all before their
eyes.
Towner said he performs tricks any
novice magician can perform, but it’s his
ot appearance and tries to make the magic he
performs an extension o f his appearance.
For shows, Towner is never without a
perfectly fitted tuxedo or a pair o f wacky
contact lenses. II is favorites right now are
cat eyes, blue and white stars and zebra
stripes.
"They look a little crazy, a little differ­
en t,” Tow ner said. “And no, th e y 're not
ju st for looks, 1 do need to w ear con-
_______
tacts. But 1 try not to tell
people that because then
th ey ’ll say, ‘If h e’s so m agi­
cal why d o esn ’t he fix his
own ey es?” ’
Towner knows his Las Ve­
gas aspirations will take a lot
o f work, but h e’s ready for it.
For now he promises to do as
many shows as possible while
working on a new stage rou­
- Portland Magician Antwan Towner
tine that will include produc­
tion o f doves, canes, silk
delivery o f the act that sets him apart from scarves, candles and puffs o f smoke and
other magicians.
eventually even levitation.
“It’s like, ‘Bam! Here I am !’” he said.
In addition to perform ances at Billy
“ Magic defies the laws o f what humans R eed ’s, Tow ner does private parties
can or cannot do. I like going against the and donates his tim e to schools and
grain a little and breaking the rules, but in D oem becker C h ild ren ’s Hospital. To
a good way."
see him perform , stop by Billy R eed’s,
By breaking the rules. Towner said he 2808N .E. M LKJr. B lvd,betw een6 p.m.
means the rules o f perception. Also an and 9 p.m. on Sunday and M onday
aspiring model who has done print adver­ night for a free tabletop show. To book
tisement work for Nike and other fashion a private show, contact Tow ner at 503-
designers, Towner knows the importance 807-1244.
" "Magic defies the laws o f what
humans can or cannot do. I like
going against the grain a little
and breaking the rules, but in a
good way. ”
%
Giving
our best.
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