The University of Miami’s student-run record label, ’Cane Records, has announced its latest project, a combination of a promotional music compilation album titled Breaking the Surface, Vol. 1 – Miami Artists on the Rise and a live music performance showcase. The showcase will be held at Transit Lounge, 729 SW First Avenue, Miami, on Thursday, April 7, from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. Admission to the showcase is free and open to ages 18 and older.

Promotional copies of the compilation album, in CD form and as digital download cards, will be given away at the event and on UM’s Coral Gables campus during the days leading up to the event. A free bus will be running continuously between Gusman Concert Hall on the Coral Gables campus and the Transit Lounge beginning at 7:30 p.m. and ending with a final drop-off on campus at 2 a.m.

Thanks to a grant provided by the University of Miami Citizens Board, ’Cane Records launched an initiative to assist up-and-coming music artists in the greater Miami area. Six artists were selected to participate in the project. Some of the artists are UM students. Each artist has two recordings featured on the compilation album and will perform live at the showcase. The six artists are John Paul Sindoni, an indie/techno acoustic rock-tronica singer/songwriter; depgroov, a three-member band whose musical blend includes R&B, jazz, rock, soul, hip-hop, and funk; John Splithoff (sophomore, Studio Music and Jazz Vocal Performance), an electronic/pop/rock singer/songwriter; Juke, a high-energy, dirty, groove-based indie blues band; Eddy Bayes (junior, Music Engineering), a contemporary/folk singer/songwriter; and Ketchy Shuby, a six-piece collective that describes their musical mix of psychedelic, soul, Afrobeat, blues, jazz, and reggae as “downtown soul.”

’Cane Records staff members and all UM undergraduate and graduate students in the Music Business and Entertainment Industries Program, are working with each of the participating artists to assist them with many different aspects of their career, including music production, website design, bio and press kit creation, development of a social networking presence, and digital distribution.

Breaking the Surface, Vol. 1 provides six up-and-coming music artists a leg up in launching their careers while giving students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the music business. “We hope that Miami will take notice of these new artists, become fans, and support the growth of their careers,” said Jordan Chadsey, the student president of ’Cane Records.

The Department of Art and Art History presents the Sixth Annual “Salon des Refuses” exhibition, named after the celebrated Salon des Refusés exhibition of 1863 in Paris in which the Impressionists exhibited their revolutionary new paintings that had been “refused” by the French Academy. The Department of Art and Art History will showcase the work of students who entered the Annual Juried Student Competition and were not accepted.

In celebration of the event, an opening reception will be held on Friday, April 1 at 5 p.m. along with the department’s annual barbecue.

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The College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Art History will present a Master of Fine Arts exhibition by Sean Smith beginning Saturday, April 9. Focusing on stimulating all five senses, Creativity Driven by Southern Hospitality is Smith’s attempt to create Gesamtkunstwerk (Total Art). Smith agrees with a Richard Wagner essay titled “The Artwork of the Future,” in which he mentions the combination of the arts through theater. He describes that this is the clearest and most profound way to present folklore or cultural identity. By exploring the creative process through performance, functional sculptures, contemporary abstract paintings, and postmodern ideas about art and its possibilities, Smith will entice and invite the viewer not only to enjoy his work as a spectator but also to participate in multiple creations displayed during his hospitable artistic happening. Creativity Driven by Southern Hospitality will be on view from April 9 to May 1 at UM’s Wynwood Project Space, 2200A NW 2nd Avenue, Miami. An opening reception for the artist will be held Saturday, April 9 at 6 p.m. A group painting will begin at 7 p.m.

For more information aboutthe artist, visit www.seansmithart.com. A full schedule of exhibitions can be viewed at www.as.miami.edu/art. For more information about the exhibition or Wynwood Project Space, call 305-284-2543 or email [email protected].

A washed-up former baseball player is sentenced to community service in this feel-good comedy about overcoming bigotry and self-doubt. Attempting to rebuild his reputation by coaching baseball, he discovers the only people willing to give him a second chance are equally desperate Yeshiva students on a quest to start their own team. The film mixes shtick with a surprisingly sensitive portrayal of Orthodox customs, co-starring Bart Johnson (High School Musical) and Don Most (Happy Days) and featuring a cameo by Jewish gospel sensation Joshua Nelson. This film will screen Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 26 at 5 p.m.; and Sunday, March 27 at 3 p.m. Admission is $7 for seniors, University of Miami alumni, faculty, non UM students and staff. General admission is $9. Free for UM students. To purchase tickets online or for more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com, or call 305-284-4861.

Intrigued by the complex personality of the Roman emperor, the choreographer evokes the inner life of the solitary hero and his inexorable journey towards death. Constructed like a tragedy, the ballet, in all its depth and energy, is danced to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The film will screen Saturday, March 26 at noon; Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 p.m.; and Monday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets are $15. Free for UM students. To purchase tickets online or for more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com or call 305-284-4861.