Catch up on the stories you may have missed and keep up with what's happening today:
From the Associated Press: The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is one of four American orchestras chosen to perform at a festival in Washington, D.C., in 2018. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Performing Arts say the Indianapolis symphony will participate in the second annual SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestra. It's a week-long spotlight on orchestras from across North America. ISO Music Director Krzysztof Urbanski will direct the symphony at its April 13, 2018, performance, which will feature works by major Polish composers. The Indianapolis symphony also will participate in citywide activities in Washington. The ISO was chosen from a pool of applicants. Other U.S. orchestras that were chosen include the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and Albany Symphony.
From the Associated Press: The University of Southern Indiana will use a $75,000 state grant to pay for dementia care training for nursing home staffers. The money for the University of Southern Indiana's Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness comes from the Indiana Department of Health. Officials say the goal is to help people who have Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Organizers say the training could impact as many as 1,000 nursing home residents in southwestern Indiana.
From the Associated Press: The Fort Wayne Astronomical Society is looking to boost its appeal to stargazers with a new observatory. The new observatory is being built in a rural area a few miles east of New Haven with more than $200,000 in contributions. It will replace the observatory the group has had since 1978 at Fox Island park, where light pollution and nearby trees have hurt the nighttime view. Project coordinator Gene Stringer tells The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette that about 40 people will fit into the building at one time to peer through the group's 16-inch diameter telescope, which can collect 6,000 times more light than the naked eye. Construction is expected to wrap up this fall.
