Muncie

Muncie is the classic small American city. But for much of the past two centuries, the city fell victim to murder, corruption and the bizarre. Mayor Rollin Bunch went to prison for mail fraud, while his police commissioner faced a murder rap.

Selected as one of the best graduating conservatory pianists in Italy in 2014, Alessandro Riccardi has taken part in the piano festivals at La Fenice Theater in Venice and in “Settimane Musicali al Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza.” He has toured in Italy, Mexico, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United States, performing as soloist and with orchestra. Among the various venues where he has performed are Palais des Congrès de Paris, Wiener Stadthalle, Arcimboldi Theater in Milan, Auditoria Forum in Barcelona, and Sursa Performance Hall in Muncie, Indiana (USA). In 2019, Alessandro performed in solo recitals and held lectures and masterclasses on Scriabin’s repertoire. His lecture recital “Alexander Scriabin, the Romantic Soul of the Early Piano Works” has been acclaimed in Mexico, Italy and the United States. He has been awarded first prizes in the VIII “Val Di Sole” National Music Competition, the XII “Bardolino” National Music Competition and the “Rotary Club Mascagni Livorno” Competition, and in 2018 he was one of the 100 selected participants of the “F. Busoni” International Piano Competition.

An active performer, Shelley Martinson has appeared as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician throughout the United States. Martinson is Associate Professor of Music at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where she instructs courses in applied flute, flute studio, music history, and chamber music.

In their final year at Muncie's Southside High School, a group of seniors hurtles toward maturity with a combination of joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency. They are also learning a great deal about life, both in and out of school, and not what school officials think they are teaching.

Two parallel stories are told. In the first, a group of research scientists from a variety of backgrounds are investigating the strange appearance of items in remote locations, primarily desert regions.