The Threshold at Montevallo Presbyterian Church
The Threshold Community Arts Center offers a vibrant array of events throughout the year where people can gather to experience the work of local and regional artists, including painters, sculptors, poets, and musicians. Housed and hosted by Montevallo Presbyterian Church, The Threshold is more than just a venue; it’s a sanctuary for creativity, where art and faith intersect to inspire and uplift the community.
We believe that art has the power to bring people together, transcend boundaries, and foster meaningful connections. Through our events and collaborations, The Threshold seeks to provide a space where individuals from all walks of life can come together to share in the beauty and diversity of creative expression.
In keeping with the church’s mission of service and outreach, The Threshold also supports emerging artists by offering opportunities for showcasing their work and engaging with the community. Whether you’re attending a gallery opening, participating in a workshop, or enjoying a musical performance, you’ll find that The Threshold is a place where creativity flourishes and relationships are nurtured.
Join us at The Threshold, where art, fellowship, and collaboration are celebrated, and where every event is an invitation to explore the richness of our shared human experience.
Upcoming Events
Threshold Presents: "Concert by Candlelight"
"Concert by Candlelight" will feature the Blue Forest Strings, a string quartet comprised of performers of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra who have also performed with various other orchestras across the country and beyond. This concert will feature music that spans movies, contemporary/pop, classical, and spiritual/hymns.
Tickets to this free event will become available in early January. Seating will be limited for this engagement, and we expect a full house. We hope you will join us for what is certain to be a memorable event.
Follow us on Facebook or check back on our website for updates and announcements regarding ticket availability.
About the Performers
Hui Lim, Violin
Tiantian Lan, Violin/Viola
Zakaria Enikeev, Viola
Mary Del Gobbo, Cello
Violinist Hui Lim is a tenured member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and previously served as the tenured Associate Principal Second Violin of the Boise Philharmonic. She has also performed with the Alabama Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, and Oakland Symphony.
She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Hui received 2nd Prize—and was the only prize recipient—in the Violin (Open) Category of the 2003 National Piano and Violin Competition in Singapore. She has also performed with international ensembles and festivals, including the Asian Youth Orchestra, the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, and the Kirishima International Music Festival.
Hui lives in Vestavia Hills with her husband, violist Tiantian Lan, and their feline family members, Snowbear (21) and Almond (5), both of whom love helping out around the house.
Tiantian Lan is the Principal Viola of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Oakland Symphony, and the Berkeley Symphony, and serves as Assistant Principal Viola of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
Born in Beijing, China, Tiantian began studying violin at the age of four and transitioned to viola at nine. He earned his B.M. from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing under Wing Ho, and completed his M.M. at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2009, studying with Jodi Levitz.
Tiantian was previously Principal Viola of The Phoenix Symphony and has performed extensively with major ensembles around the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, China National Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Sacramento Philharmonic, and Fresno Philharmonic.
He has also appeared at leading festivals such as the Tanglewood Music Festival and the Lancaster Music Festival in Ohio.
His additional mentors include Heidi Castleman, Jay Liu, and Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio.
Tiantian currently resides in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, with his wife, violinist Hui Lim, and their beloved cats, Snowbear and Almond.
Zakaria Enikeev is a finalist and top prize winner of international music competitions in his native Russia and the United States. He was granted the prestigious Stipend of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Rostov Governor's Award for the Achievements in Art and Culture.
Zakaria graduated from the Rachmaninoff Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. On receiving full scholarship from the Juilliard School, he moved to the U.S. He was principal violist of the Juilliard Orchestra on many occasions, and performed in the Juilliard School's Centennial Gala Concert broadcast nationally on PBS. His performances have been featured in international radio broadcasts on Voice of America, Washington, D.C.
Zakaria received his Bachelor of Music at Juilliard and his Master's Degree at Manhattan School of Music. He studied viola with Samuel Rhodes and Karen Dreyfus; chamber music with Charles Neidich, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet and the Emerson String Quartet.
Zakaria Enikeev has been Assistant Principal Viola of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2011.
Mary Del Gobbo has been a member of the Alabama Symphony cello section since 2012. A native of Ft. Worth, Texas, she began studying cello at the age of three and piano at the age of six. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from Florida State University where she studied with Lubomir Georgiev. She continued her studies at Indiana University where she earned a Master’s Degree in Music Performance under the tutelage of Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Sharon Robinson.
Mary has held positions with many orchestras in the Southeast, including the Columbus Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, and Chattanooga Symphony, as well as with the Des Moines Metro Opera.
In her spare time, Mary enjoys reading and binge watching British mystery shows. She and her husband have three cats and a dog who require constant refereeing.
Past Events
Watch the October 2025 Livestream of Bite-Sized Theatre:
Watch the January 2025 Livestream of the Stillman College Choir:
Watch the October 2024 Livestream of Ashley Jones & Jermaine Thompson:
Ashley M. Jones is Poet Laureate of the state of Alabama (2022-2026). She received an MFA in Poetry from Florida International University (FIU), where she was a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fellow. She served as Official Poet for the City of Sunrise, Florida’s Little Free Libraries Initiative from 2013-2015, and her work was recognized in the 2014 Poets and Writers Maureen Egen Writer’s Exchange Contest and the 2015 Academy of American Poets Contest at FIU. She was also a finalist in the 2015 Hub City Press New Southern Voices Contest, the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award Contest, and the National Poetry Series. Jones has been featured on news outlets including Good Morning America, ABC News, and the BBC. Her poems and essays appear or are forthcoming in many journals and anthologies, including CNN, the Academy of American Poets, POETRY, and much more.
Born in Louisville, Mississippi, Jermaine Thompson learned language from big-armed women who greased their skillets with gossip and from full-bellied men who cursed and prayed with the same fervor. He’s been writing poetry since he was 13—inspired by having to memorize Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” for a Black History Program at his Presbyterian church home. Jermaine loves language for what it creates, what it destroys, what binds in heaven, & for what it looses on earth. Jermaine teaches 9th–12th grade Humanities at Build Up Community School in Birmingham, AL. He has publications in The Pinch, Memorious, Whale Road Review, Southern Indiana Review, and New Letters.