As part of Polk County Public Library’s celebration of the 450th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare, members of the Foothills Music Club, Inc. will present a “Happy Birthday, Shakespeare” concert on Wednesday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Isothermal Community College’s Polk Center in Columbus.
April 23 is generally given as the day of Shakespeare’s birth and the music club will commemorate this day by playing a variety of music from the time of Shakespeare. Included in the program will be madrigal singers as well as selections for harpsichord, lute and recorders.
To demonstrate the far-reaching influence of Shakespeare, there will also be selections of later music from operas, Broadway shows and films that are based on Shakespeare’s plays.
The Foothills Music Club, Inc. was founded in 1988 with the purpose of encouraging musicians by providing opportunities to perform. In 1994, the music club inaugurated its scholarship program, and since then has awarded over $40,000 to talented young musicians to further their music studies. In 2013, the Foothills Music Club, Inc. achieved its designation as a 501(c)3 organization; all gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by the IRS.
The “Happy Birthday, Shakespeare” concert is free and open to the public and is made possible by a grant from the Polk County Community Foundation to Polk County Public Library. Free copies of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”  will be available while supplies last.
This program is presented as part of “Whole Lotta Shakespeare Goin’ On” in partnership with other regional public libraries and local community organizations. More information is available at http://polklibrary.org/kids/shakespeare/ or by calling the library at 828-894-8721.

– article submitted
by Jen Pace