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Center for The Arts

 

Spring 2012

 

 

 

spring 2012 brochure cover

Spring 2012 brochure

 

Performing Arts Series

The CFA's Performing Arts Series brings a wide array of world-class musicians, cutting-edge choreography, and groundbreaking theater performances and discussions to Wesleyan University.

Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!


Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 to receive a discount on your purchase of four or more Performing Arts Series events. This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

 

SPILL

Co-created by Leigh Fondakowskiand Reeva Wortel
Directed by Leigh Fondakowski

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 7pm & 10pm
Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 2pm & 7pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
Tickets $12 A, $10 B, $5 C

Buy tickets online for Saturday at 7pm or 10pm
Buy tickets on line for Sunday at 2pm or 7pm
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts. This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"A pioneering work and a powerful stage event."
--Time magazine, on The Laramie Project

A collaboration between writer Leigh Fondakowski (The Laramie Project, The People's Temple, I Think I Like Girls) and visual artist Reeva Wortel (American Portrait Project), SPILL is a new play and installation that explores the true human and environmental cost of oil. SPILL is based in part on interviews with people from the Gulf Coast of southern Louisiana in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 2010, the largest environmental disaster in United States history. The performances at Wesleyan are the first public showing of the art installation, featuring life-sized painted portraits of the interviewees, along with a choral reading of the play. SPILL was commissioned by the Center for the Arts with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

See this video for more backround about the play and a course co-taught by Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences Barry Chernoff and author Leigh Fondakowski.

 

RELATED EVENT

A Talk by Artist Michel Varisco

Thursday, February 23, noon–1pm
Usdan University Center, Room 110
FREE!

Light lunch to be served. Please RSVP to eroosbrown@wesleyan.edu by Tuesday, February 21.

A talk by the artist Michel Varisco, who was interviewed for the play SPILL. Her work is highly connected to the bayou and the waterways in Louisiana. For more information about the artist, visit http://www.michelvarisco.com/

 

Lionel Loueke Trio

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Pre-concert talk by Sarah Politz at 7:15pm
Tickets: $23 A, $19 B, $6 C

Buy tickets online.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts. This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"His music rolls along with a feel-good sense of joy...a new Afro-jazz star."
--DownBeat

Benin-born jazz guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melodies and grounding in West African music to create a warm, intimate sound with his trio, which features Swedish-born bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Praised by mentor Herbie Hancock as "a musical painter," Loueke was featured on Hancock's album River: The Joni Letters (2007), which won Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Grammy Awards. A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts. Co-sponsored by the Center for African American Studies and the Office of Diversity and Institutional Partnerships.


Artist Website

 

13th Annual DanceMasters Weekend

Saturday, March 10 & Sunday, March 11, 2012

DanceMasters Weekend is one of the most anticipated dance events in the Northeast, an opportunity like no other for a two-day total dance immersion, combining inspiring performances by premier companies with master classes by expert instructors.

DanceMasters Showcase Performance

Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 8pm
CFA Theater
Tickets: $27 A, $20 B, $8 C

Buy tickets online.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts.
This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"Watching Camille A. Brown dance in person for the first time is like observing a hummingbird in nature for the first time." --The Boston Globe

The DanceMasters Showcase will feature performances by Garth Fagan Dance, Pilobolus, and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Ms. Brown is the 2012 winner of the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award.

 

Master Classes

Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11, 2012
Various times and locations

The ten master classeson Saturday and Sunday provide an opportunity for intermediate to advanced dance students and dance professionals to explore diverse dance techniques. Fees for the master classes are $19 per class, $17 per class for four or more classes and $13 for Wesleyan students.


 

Chunky Move: Connected

Connecticut Premiere
Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 8pm
CFA Theater
Pre-performance talk by dance scholar Debra Cash on Friday at 7:15pm in CFA Hall
Tickets: $21 A, $18 B, $6 C

Buy tickets online for Friday or Saturday.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts.
This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"An astonishing work: it has the beauty of sheer intelligence made manifest."
--Theatre Notes (Australia)

The Australian dance company Chunky Move, started in 1995 by Gideon Obarzanek, presents the Connecticut premiere of Connected (2011), which animates the physical connection between body and machine as dancers construct a kinetic sculpture designed by California-based artist Reuben Margolin. A Breaking Ground Dance Series event presented by the Dance Department and the Center for the Arts. Made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Artist Website

 

Fernando Otero Quartet

Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Pre-performance talk at 7:15pm
Tickets: $22 A, $18 B, $6 C

Buy tickets online.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts.
This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"The expressive drama of tango animates his compositions, which also involve aspects of classical chamber music and jazz improvisation."
--The New York Times

Argentine composer and pianist Fernando Otero evokes the tango sounds of Buenos Aires with his rhythmically vibrant works. Mr. Otero won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album for Vital (2010). His quartet features J. P. Jofre on bandoneon, Pablo Aslan on acoustic bass, and violinist Nick Danielson. A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts. Co-sponsored by the Latin American Studies Program.

La Voz Hispana is a Media Sponsor for the performance by Fernando Otero Quartet.

Artist Website


PRICE KEY
A General Public
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
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SPILL

SPILL


Lionel Loueke

Lionel Loueke

 


Camille Brown and Dancers

Camille A. Brown & Dancers

 

Chunky Move

Chunky Move

 

Fernando Otero

Fernando Otero

 
 

Outside the Box Theater Series

A series of groundbreaking theater performances and discussions presented by the Theater Department and the Center for the Arts.

 

Great Small Works

Friday, February 3 and
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 8pm
CFA Hall
Each performance will be followed by a post-show discussion.
Tickets: $15 A, $12 B, $6 C

Buy tickets online for Friday or Saturday.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts.
This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"[Great Small Works has] breathed new, pointed life into the form of toy theater."
--The Village Voice

Co-founded in 1995 by Wesleyan alum Mark Sussman '85, the New York-based collective of Great Small Works met through their associations with Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theater. The group draws on folk, avant-garde and popular theater traditions to address contemporary social issues.

The company's shows at Wesleyan will feature performances by Cassandra Burrows, John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Jenny Romaine and Xavier of the works Short, Entertaining History of Toy Theater; Toy Theater of Terror As Usual, Episode 12: Desert and Ocean, a surreal serial drama using excerpted texts and images quickly cut from The New York Times, Hans Christian Anderson, Grace Lee Boggs, and Democracy Now!; and Three Graces, a cantastoria (picture-based storytelling work) in which three mythical graces - Harmony, Strategy and Splendor - float down to earth for an op-art romp inspired by Grace Paley, Grace Kelly, Grace Jones and Grace Lee Boggs.

Artist Website

 

Theater after Wesleyan: Class of '06

Monday, February 6, 2012 at 5pm
CFA Hall
FREE!

Four Wesleyan Theater alumni talk about their professional careers in acting, directing, dramaturgy and playwriting: Joshua Lubin-Levy (performer, scholar, dramaturg) is a doctoral candidate at New York University specializing in performances of historical memory; Anna Moench (playwright) is a member of the 2011 Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater and Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Kaneza Schaal (actor) performs nationally and internationally with The Wooster Group and Elevator Repair Service; Lily Whitsitt (director), M.F.A. in Directing from the California Institute of the Arts, is a Drama League Directing Fellow.

 

Young Jean Lee

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 8pm
Memorial Chapel
FREE!

"Young Jean Lee's plays are fierce, challenging, brazenly theatrical, and then transcendentally lyrical."
--American Academy of Arts and Letters

Korean-born and Brooklyn-based playwright and director Young Jean Lee's works deal with issues such as gender identity and race in unpredictable, inventive and humorous ways. A 2011 Guggenheim Fellow, Ms. Lee founded her own theater company in 2003, swiftly becoming one of this country's most influential voices in experimental theater.

RELATED EVENT

Film directed by Young Jean Lee: The Shipment

Monday, February 20, 2012 at 7pm
CFA Hall
FREE!

A screening of The Shipment, a film directed by Young Jean Lee. For more information, visit http://youngjeanlee.org/the_shipment

 

An Evening of Spoken Word with Javon Johnson

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $15 A, $12 B, $6 C

Buy tickets online.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts.
This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"Javon Johnson's spoken-word performance of soul-baring lyrics and rapid-fire delivery brought the audience to its feet."
--University of Southern California News

Spoken word/slam poet Javon Johnson merges the sharp criticism of critical race and gender theory with comedy, lyricism and hip-hop rhyme schemes to discuss the power of words, communication and performance. Mr. Johnson has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and BET's Lyric Cafe, and he co-wrote the poetic narration for Showtime's basketball documentary Crossover. Co-sponsored by the Center for African American Studies.

 

Peter Schumann: The Fiddle Talk

Monday, April 9, 2012 at 7pm
CFA Hall
Free Admission

"Bread and Puppet has become an icon of our times."
--The New York Times

Peter Schumann founded Bread & Puppet Theater in New York City in 1962 before moving the company to Vermont in 1970. The Fiddle Talk features Mr. Schumann playing musical instruments, chanting, and talking about the state of the world as well as Bread & Puppet, which champions a street-theater brand of performance art and whose imagery breathes with Mr. Schumann's distinctive visual style of dance, expressionism, dark humor and low-culture simplicity.



PRICE KEY
A General Public
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
Back to top | Box Office

 


Great Small Works

Great Small Works

 

Joshua Lubin-Levy

Joshua Lubin-Levy


Anna Moench

Anna Moench


Kaneza Schaal

Kaneza Schaal

 

Lily Whitsitt

Lily Whitsitt



Javon Johnson

Javon Johnson



Peter Schumann

Peter Schumann

 

 

 

 

 

Special Events

 

RISK!

Friday, February 10, 2012 at 7pm & 10pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $12 A, $10 B, $5 C*

*Wesleyan Students may purchase advance tickets to both performances for $8. Students that have already purchased tickets to one of the performances, may add the other performance at the discounted rate. This discounted rate is available through the Box Office in Usdan.

Buy tickets for Friday at 7pm or 10pm.

"[RISK! is] jaw-dropping, hysterically funny, and just plain touching."
--Slate.com

"W. Kamau Bell is ferociously funny!"
--Robin Williams

"W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He's got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he's going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller."
--Margaret Cho

"W. Kamau Bell is in the vanguard of a new era of American comedy for an unsettling, troubling, and strangely hopeful time. Firmly in the fearless tradition of Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and Chris Rock. Comedy as common sense purged of the absurd hypocrisy that is Our America."
--Vernon Reid of the Grammy Award-winning band Living Colour

 

Creator Kevin Allison (MTV's The State) will host two performances of RISK! featuring San Francisco-based comedian W. Kamau Bell (Comedy Central), as well as members of the Wesleyan community, dropping their "act" and telling their amazing true tales, showing sides of themselves that they never thought they'd dare to share in public. Co-sponsored by Desperate Measures Improv(e) Comedy and the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan University.

Watch a preview from previous RISK! performances at www.risk-show.com.

Watch videos of W. Kamau Bell at www.wkamaubell.com




Youth Gamelan Ensemble

Classes start on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 10am
World Music Hall
Only $30 for a semester of classes

The Youth Gamelan Ensemble was founded as a Center for the Arts program in 2002 by Wesleyan Artist-in-Residence I.M. Harjito, who guides the group along with Professor Sumarsam and Director Joseph Getter. The ensemble is open to all children ages 7 and up. Rehearsals take place on Saturday mornings from 10am to 11am.
To register, please contact the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 or boxoffice@wesleyan.edu. Classes will conclude with a performance on Thursday,
May 3.

 

A Celebration of Silent Sounds

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 7pm
CFA Hall
FREE!

Celebrate the writing excellence of students in Middletown Public Schools, grades 6 through 12, and hear their winning submissions of essays, short stories and poetry from the annual literary magazine, Silent Sounds. Co-sponsored by the Center for the Arts, Community and University Services for Education, and the Middletown Public Schools Cultural Council.


work divided by time

Wednesday, May 2 through Sunday, May 13, 2012
Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 2, 2012 from 4:15pm to 6pm
Van Vleck Observatory, 96 Foss Hill Drive
FREE!

A new sound installation by Assistant Professor of Music Paula Matthusen, work divided by time reflects on how the scientific definition of energy resonates and clashes with cultural and historical concepts, inspired in part by the intricate 20th-century mechanical clocks made by the brothers Frank and Joseph Bily from Spillville, Iowa. Commissioned by the Center for the Arts as a part of Feet to the Fire: Fueling the Future. Made possible by grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and with support from The Bily Clocks Museum.



PRICE KEY
A General Public
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
Back to top | Box Office

 

Risk illustration

RISK!

 


 

 

 

 
 

Music at The Russell House

A free series, presented in the parlor of the historic Russell House.

Karas String Quartet: Afternoon with Chamber Music

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3pm
The Russell House
FREE!

The Karas String Quartet--violinist Cyrus Stevens, pianist Ruriko Kagiyama, violist Michael Wheeler--and guest cellist Julie Ribchinsky, Wesleyan Private Lessons Teacher, will perform the world premiere of the Wesleyan Concertante by William Zinn, as well as Mozart's Piano Quartet in g minor and other works.

 

Taylor Ho Bynum and Tomas Fujiwara

Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 3pm
The Russell House
FREE!

Composers Taylor Ho Bynum '98 MA '05 (cornet) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums) have been regular collaborators for nearly two decades, documenting their duo on the recordings True Events (2007) and Stepwise (2010). Both are veterans of the groups of Wesleyan Professor of Music Anthony Braxton. Mr. Bynum has also performed with Myra Melford's Happy Whistlings, the Tyshawn Sorey Quartet, and Cecil Taylor; Mr. Fujiwara has performed with Ravi Coltrane, Amir ElSaffar, and Mary Halvorson '02, among others.



PRICE KEY
A General Public
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
Back to top | Box Office

 

 

Taylor Ho Bynum and Thomas Fujiwara

Taylor Ho Bynum and
Tomas Fujiwara

 

 

 

 
 

Music Department Events

 

Judy Dunaway

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 8pm
CFA Hall
FREE!

A concert of music by composer and conceptual artist Judy Dunaway. Featuring On the Air (for saxophone and musique concrete streamed over Ustream) performed by Owen Callahan ('12) and Balloon Symphony No. 2, performed by the audience. For more information about Judy Dunaway, visit: http://emedia.art.sunysb.edu/judydunaway/

 

February Organ Fête

Maurice Durufle Opuses Two through Five

Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 4pm
Memorial Chapel
FREE!

University Organist and Artist-in-Residence Ronald Ebrecht plays the Scherzo (Opus 2) and Brian Parks MA '09 performs the Prelude, Adagio, et Choral Varies sur Veni Creator (Opus 4) and the monumental Suite (Opus 5) on the concert organ in Memorial Chapel. Ebrecht and Parks will play from the Ebrecht recreations of the original scores.

The daunting and rarely performed Prelude, Recitatif et Variations, opus 3, for Flute, Viola and Piano will receive its Wesleyan premiere by Hartford Symphony Orchestra first chair players Greig Shearer, flute; Michael Wheeler, viola; and the virtuoso Turkish pianist Erberk Eryilmaz.

Immediately following the concert, Mr. Ebrecht will sign copies of his books in Zelnick Pavilion, including the biography Maurice Durufle, 1902-1986, the Last Impressionist and his new book Cavaille-Coll's Monumental Organ Project for Saint Peter's, Rome: Bigger Than Them All. The book signing is sponsored by Broad Street Books.

 

 

Music of Bresnick and Bruce

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 3pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

Flutists Helene Rosenblatt and Peter Standaart (Wesleyan Private Lessons Teacher), and pianist Neely Bruce, Professor of Music, will perform a program that includes premieres by Mr. Bruce and composer Martin Bresnick.

 

American Berserk: Lisa Moore Piano Concert

Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

Wesleyan Private Lessons Teacher Lisa Moore, the founding pianist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, performs a program of American masterpieces by John Adams, Martin Bresnick, Henry Cowell, Philip Glass, Jerome Kitzke, Missy Mazzoli and Frederic Rzewski.

 

The Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Piano Recital

Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 2pm
The Russell House
FREE!

A piano recital featuring the winner and finalists of The Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Piano Competition.

 

Opera/Oratorio Ensemble Class

Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 5pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $4 A & B, $2 C

Students in the Opera/Oratorio ensemble perform selections from its repertory under the direction of Priscilla Gale.

 

Cello-bration

Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7pm
The Russell House
FREE!

The Wesleyan Cello Ensemble and Private Lessons Teacher Julie Ribchinsky present music for solo and multiple cellos.

 

Javanese Shadow Puppet Play

Friday, April 20, 2012 at 8pm
World Music Hall
Tickets: $5 A, $5 B, $3 C

Dhalang (puppet master) and Professor of Music Sumarsam presents a Javanese shadow play accompanied by the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble under the direction of Artist-in-Residence I.M. Harjito and guest musicians.

 

Wesleyan University Orchestra

Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

The Wesleyan University Orchestra under Music Director Angel Gil-Ordonez presents symphonic repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries.

 

11th Annual Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend

Friday, April 27 & Saturday, April 28, 2012

Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Concert

Friday, April 27, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

The Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra, directed by Adjunct Professor of Music Jay Hoggard, and the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jazz Ensemble Coach Noah Baerman, perform an exciting program of classic jazz compositions.

Jay Hoggard Quartet


Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $15 A, $12 B, $6 C

Buy tickets online.
Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%!
Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%!
Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 for these discounts. This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend.

"[Jay Hoggard] is one of the premier voices on vibraphone."
--Owen McNally

Vibraphonist Jay Hoggard's quartet with pianist and organist James Weidman, bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Yoron Israel will be joined by special guests including percussionist Kwaku Kwaakye Martin Obeng to perform Mr. Hoggard's compositions. This concert will feature the world premiere of Mr. Hoggard's multi-part suite Sonic Hieroglyphs from Wood, Metal, and Skin, dedicated to the inspiration of Wangari Mathai, the late Nobel Peace Prize recipient from Kenya. Co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Institutional Partnerships.

 

Piano Music of Neely Bruce: Part I

Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 3pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

Professor of Music Neely Bruce begins a ten-concert cycle of his complete piano works. Each of the concerts in the cycle will feature seventy minutes of music.

 

Balinese Gamelan and Dance

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 7pm
World Music Hall
FREE!

An evening of traditional and contemporary Balinese music and dance.

 

Anthony Braxton Large Ensemble

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

Professor of Music Anthony Braxton's student ensemble performs his compositions.

 

Classical Guitar Ensemble / WesGuitars Concert

Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 4pm
World Music Hall
FREE!

Students in the Classical Guitar Ensemble class as well as accomplished Wesleyan guitarists present the results of their work during the semester under the direction of Cem Duruoz.

 

An Evening of Javanese Gamelan and Dance

Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 7pm
World Music Hall
FREE!

Experience the culture of Java with students of Wesleyan Javanese Gamelan and Dance under the direction of Professor of Music Sumarsam and Dance Artist in Residence Urip Sri Maeny. The concert will include a prelude by the Wesleyan Youth Gamelan Ensemble, directed by Joseph Getter.

 

Annual Organ Romp

Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 10pm
Memorial Chapel
FREE!

The annual closing of the organ concert series features Wesleyan student organists, pianists and percussionists performing new music and non-standard organ repertoire. Check www.wesleyan.edu/cfa for the costume theme, as well as updated performer and program information.

 

WesTaiko Spring Concert

Friday, May 4, 2012 at 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $3 A & B, $2 C

The Introductory and Advanced Taiko students under the direction of Kaoru Watanabe perform the thunderous and exhilarating rhythms of Japanese Taiko drumming. Several dynamic styles will be showcased, demonstrating both traditional and contemporary Taiko repertoire.

 

Collegium Musicum

Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 9pm
Memorial Chapel
FREE!

The Wesleyan University Collegium Musicum performs the diverse vocal and instrumental repertories of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods of European music history under the direction of Associate Professor of Music Jane Alden.

Power to the WesKorean Drumming Beat

Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 7pm
World Music Hall
Tickets: $3 A & B, $2 C

This concert by the Wesleyan Korean Drumming Ensemble showcases the dynamic mixture of traditional drumming dance of Korean p'ungmulnori.

 

Dream of the Red Chamber

Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $3 A & B, $2 C

The Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble, in collaboration with the Wesleyan Orchestra and Chorus, will present works associated with the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber, and music in various regional styles. Vocalist Yang Min will sing some of the most famous pieces composed by Wang Liping.


Ebony Singers Spring Concert

Monday, May 7, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $7 A $6 B, $5 C

Your spirits will be lifted by the Wesleyan University Ebony Singers, conducted by one of New England's leading authorities on gospel music, Dr. Marichal Monts '84.

 

WesWinds Spring Concert

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!

The Wesleyan Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Private Lessons Teacher Peter Hadley, will perform an exciting array of pieces for winds and percussion.

West African Drumming and Dance

Friday, May 11, 2012 at 3pm
CFA Courtyard
FREE!
Rain site: Crowell Concert Hall

An invigorating performance filled with the rhythms of West Africa. Choreographer Iddi Saaka, World Dance Artist in Residence, and Master Drummer Abraham Adzenyah will be performing with their students in West African Dance Courses I, II and III, as well as guest artists and drummers.

 

Graduate Recitals

FREE!

Maxwell Tfirn
Pieces from Nature
Friday, February 17, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Christopher Riggs
Graduate Recital
Thursday, March 1, 10pm
CFA Hall

Stephanie Choi
Masil with Kayagum
Saturday, March 3, 7pm
World Music Hall

Nestor Prieto
Nestor Prieto's Masters Recital
Sunday, March 4, 6pm
CFA Hall

 

Senior Recitals

FREE!

Aaron Peisner
Four Centuries of Choral Music
Saturday, February 18, 7pm
Memorial Chapel

Spencer Hattendorf
Language Barrier
Friday, March 2, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Myles Potters
A Groove in a Moment
Friday, March 2, 9pm
World Music Hall

Nathaniel Leich
The Mixtape Orchestra
Saturday, March 3, 9pm
Memorial Chapel

Owen Callahan
Music I Find Myself Writing
Friday, March 30, 9pm
Memorial Chapel

Sam Long
The Mattabassett:A Concert Album
Saturday, March 31, 2pm
CFA Courtyard (Rain date: Sunday, April 1)

Dylan Griffin
Pictures at an Exhibition with Works of Bach, Schubert and Schumann
Saturday, March 31, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Noah Heau
Block Ice, Bach& Beethoven
Thursday, April 5, 7pm
Memorial Chapel

Sean Curtice
Sean Curtice and Composers of 18th-Century Music
Friday, April 6, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Nate Mondschein
An Experiment in Poetry and Sound
Friday, April 6, 9pm
World Music Hall

Lana Lana
Piano Sketches of Indonesia
Saturday, April 7, 2pm
Memorial Chapel

Andrew Chung
Senior Recital
Saturday, April 7, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Barbara Lindsay
Grammar
Sunday, April 15, 7pm
World Music Hall

Claire Randall
Heavy Sugar
Sunday, April 22, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Abaye Steinmetz-Silber
Musical Adventures
Thursday, April 26, 9pm
Memorial Chapel

David Barach
David Barach's Senior Piano Recital
Saturday, April 28, 7pm
Memorial Chapel

 


PRICE KEY
A General Public
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
Back to top | Box Office

 

 

Judy Dunaway

Judy Dunaway

 

Brian Parks

Brian Parks

 

Lisa Moore

Lisa Moore

Jay Hoggard

Jay Hoggard

 

Taiko Drumming

Taiko Drumming

 

Memorial Chapel organ

Memorial Chapel Organ

 
 

Dance Department Events

 

Informal Studio Presentation by Friday Visiting Artist Shoko Yamamuro

Friday, February 10, 1:30-2:30pm
Schonberg Dance Studio, 247 Pine Street
FREE!

Shoko Yamamuro is one of Japanese leading performer's of Balinese dance. Shoko began her studies of Balinese dance as a child while living with her family in Jakarta, Indonesia. After graduating from the Japan Women's College of Physical Education (JWCPE) at age of 22, having been studying Balinese dance for over ten years, she received a scholarship from the Indonesian government to enter the Institute of Indonesian Arts (STSI now ISI) in Denpasar. During this period she gained a reputation as one of the only foreign students capable of performing both male and female dance styles.

 

Pearl Primus: A lecture by Peggy and Murray Schwartz

Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 4:30pm
Center for Film Studies 190 (Powell Family Cinema)
FREE!

Pearl Primus (1919-1994), a pioneer in dance, education, anthropology, and African studies defied entrenched ideas about both race and art. Her life and legacy are presented with original footage by Peggy and Murray Schwartz, authors of The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus.

 

Spring Faculty Dance Concert

Quicksand (U.S. Premiere) and Nine (World Premiere)
Friday, March 2 & Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 8pm
CFA Theater
Tickets: $8 A & B, $6 C
Purchase tickets online for Friday or Saturday

Choreographed by Artist in Residence Hari Krishnan and taught to the students of the Wesleyan Dance Department's repertory and performance course, the world premiere of Nine depicts Navarasa, the nine archetypal moods popular in South Indian classical dance. Following the prologue of Nine, a multiracial cast of nine male dancers from Mr. Krishnan's dance company, inDANCE (Toronto, Canada), will present the U.S. premiere of the rambunctiously provocative work Quicksand.

 

Spring Senior Thesis Dance

Thursday, April 5 through Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 8pm
Patricelli '92 Theater
Tickets: $5 A, $5 B, $4 C

Senior choreographers will present a collection of new works as the culminating project of the dance major.

Spring Dance Concert

Friday, May 4 & Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 8pm
Patricelli '92 Theater
Tickets: $5 A & B, $4 C

Student choreographers present works created after a full year of dance composition studies.

 

Worlds of Dance Concert

Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 2pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$3 A, $3 B, $2 C

Introduction to Dance and beginning dance students perform works of various styles including Bharata Natyam (South Indian classical dance).

 

West African Drumming and Dance

Friday, May 11, 2012 at 3pm
CFA Courtyard
FREE!
Rain site: Crowell Concert Hall

An invigorating performance filled with the rhythms of West Africa. Choreographer Iddi Saaka, World Dance Artist in Residence, and Master Drummer Abraham Adzenyah will be performing with their students in West African Dance Courses I, II and III, as well as guest artists and drummers.


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B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
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inDANCE

inDANCE

 




 





 


 
 

Theater Department Events

 

Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights

By Gertrude Stein
Directed by Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento,
Chair and Associate Professor of Theater
Thursday, April 26 through Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 8pm
CFA Theater
Tickets: $8 A, $5 B, $4 C
Purchase tickets online for Thursday, Friday, or Saturday

Gertrude Stein's Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights (1938) redirects the legend of the scholar who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for infinite knowledge. In Ms. Stein's whimsical play, Faust seals the pact to acquire a different power: electric light.

 


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Gertrude Stein

Portrait of Gertrude Stein, Library of Congress Collection, LC-USZ62-136845 (photo: Carl Van Vechten)

 

 

 
 

In the Galleries

 

Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-4pm

Passing Time

Guest Curators: Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2, curatorsquared
Friday, January 27 through Sunday, March 4, 2012
Opening Reception: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 from 5pm to 7pm
Gallery Talk at 5:30pm by Judith Hoos Fox
FREE!

Visit the Passing Time website for more information and reflections by faculty.

The multiple and converging meanings of the phrase "passing time"--spending time, time to die--are explored in the evocative imagery of recent art by fourteen international artists working in video, photography, sculpture and works on paper. Some artists turn to sport, some to music; some refer to nature and its rhythms to explore concepts of time--short term, long term and terminating. Others partner with time itself in their making of art. Time is a concept that philosophers and physicists ponder. Time provides a framework that orders, measures and defines. We spend time, we waste it, we keep it; time flies, it drags. It is elastic in its perception--long when we are young, gaining momentum as we age. This exhibition explores the relationship between the time of our life and the time of the eons. The exhibit features works by Rineke Dijkstra (The Netherlands), Shaun Gladwell (Australia), Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Stefana McClure and Bill Viola (United States), among others.

 

Be the Art Exhibition

Thursday, February 16 through Sunday, February 26, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 16, 5-7pm
Refreshments will be served.
South Gallery,
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!

Co-sponsored by the Center for the Arts, Center for African American Studies, Office of Diversity and Institutional Partnerships, and African Students Association.


 

Middletown Public Schools Art Exhibition

Saturday, March 10 through Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday & Sunday, 1pm to 4pm; Monday through Friday, noon to 7pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 10, 2012 from 5pm to 7pm,
FREE!

This event is sponsored by the Middletown Board of Education, Middletown Public Schools Cultural Council and Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts.

 

Senior Thesis Exhibitions

Tuesday, March 27 through Sunday, April 22, 2012
All receptions are from 4pm to 6pm, FREE!
View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan's Department of Art and Art History.

Tuesday, March 27 though Sunday, April 1, 2012
Reception: Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Kuan-lin Huang, Elizabeth Chabot, Gil Sunshine, Johnny Tan, Sienna Perro, Xiao You

Tuesday, April 3 through Sunday, April 8, 2012
Reception: Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Jordan Kenna, JoAnna Bourain, Audree Anid, Vytaute Pivoriunaite, Alex Chaves

Tuesday, April 10 through Sunday, April 15, 2012
Reception: Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Cordelia Blanchard, Luke Erickson, Pok Yan Ho, Aaron Eidman, Harry Hanson

Tuesday, April 17 though Sunday, April 22, 2012
Reception: Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Alexandra Malouta, Anna Mckinsey, Kamar Thomas, DonChristian Jones, Timothy Lee

 

Thesis Art Exhibition

Tuesday, May 1 through Saturday, May 26, 2012
Reception: Saturday, May 26, 2012, 2pm to 4pm
FREE!

Zilkha Gallery presents the work of the Class of 2012's thesis students in the Department of Art and Art History's Art Studio Program. Each student is invited to select a single work from their Senior Thesis Exhibition for this year-end showcase of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, mixed media and architecture curated by Professor of Art Tula Telfair. Co-sponsored by University Relations.

 

 

Davison Art Center

Clare I. Rogan, Curator
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-4pm
www.wesleyan.edu/dac

 

APOTHECARY (storehouse): new paintings by David Schorr

Friday, February 3 through Thursday, March 8, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 2012 from 5pm to 7pm
Gallery Talk by David Schorr at 5:30pm,
FREE!

With more than 75 paintings on paper, this exhibition reveals the recent work of David Schorr, Wesleyan Professor of Art. Meticulously executed in gouache and silverpoint, the works in this series depict antique apothecary bottles, complete with mysterious labels such as Deep Dark Secrets, Sleepless Nights and Love Remembered. In the accompanying catalog, Phyllis Rose, Wesleyan Professor of English, Emerita, identifies the Shakespearean sources for labels such as Rough Magic and Present Mirth. Other labels remain obscure, tantalizing the viewer, for whom the bottles dance just out of reach.

 

RELATED EVENT
Approaching Apothecary: Lecture by Professor of Art David Schorr

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 4:30pm
CFA Hall,
FREE!

Professor of Art David Schorr will talk about how he came to produce the exhibition APOTHECARY (storehouse).

 

With a Lot of Help from Our Friends: 50 Years of Acquisitions Funded by the Friends of the Davison Art Center

Friday, March 30 through Sunday, May 27, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 29, 2012
from 5pm to 7pm
Gallery Talk at 5:30pm
FREE!

Since the founding of the Friends of the Davison Art Center in the spring of 1962, the group has raised funds to purchase more than 900 works of art, dramatically expanding the DAC collection. This exhibition will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the group with a selection of more than 70 prints and photographs by artists from Rembrandt to Erich Heckel to Carleton Watkins, all purchased through the generosity, and fundraising, by members of the FDAC.

 

The Big Draw: Middletown

Sunday, April 22, 2012, from 1pm to 5pm
FREE!

Workshops during this campus-wide community celebration will explore many different types of drawing including mapping, automatic drawing, mural making and life study. Organized by the Friends of the Davison Art Center to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Sponsored in part by the Middletown Commission on the Arts.

 

 

 

Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies

Patrick Dowdey, Curator
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-4pm
www.wesleyan.edu/east

 

A Late Christmas Gift: Contemporary Prints from Japan

Wednesday, February 1 through Friday, March 9, 2012
Gallery Talk by Curator Patrick Dowdey: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at noon;
a luncheon buffet will be served.
FREE!

Imagine a box of all kinds of ornaments that come to light up the snows of February. These 45 little images are a late-arriving Christmas gift from the contemporary print culture of Japan--from playful to reflective, from abstract to realist, from symbolic to descriptive. Together they are a charming and effective cure for the mid-winter blues.

 

Pojagi Workshop with Jinyoung Kim

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2pm
FREE!
Registration required: contact Ann Gertz, 860-685-2330 or agertz@wesleyan.edu

Celebrate the Lunar New Year by learning the tradition of Korean patchwork (pojagi) and making traditional Korean pojagi by yourself. Participants in this hands-on workshop will explore unique Korean fabrics and how to adopt Korean pojagi into your everyday life. The traditional aesthetics of pojagi are related to both traditional American quilts and contemporary abstract painting. For ages 13 and up; mother-daughter participation encouraged.

Jinyoung Kim is Gallery Director at The Korea Society and curator of the exhibitions 10,000 Threads: The Collected Works of Quilt Master Kim Haeja (2011) and Pojagi: Cloth, Color and Beyond (2009).

 

Provincial Elegance: Chinese Antiques Donated in Honor of Houghton "Buck" Freeman

Wednesday, April 4 through Sunday, May 27, 2012
Gallery Talk by Curator Patrick Dowdey: Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at noon;
a luncheon buffet will be served.
FREE!

This intriguing and varied array of antiques provides a window into the lives of well-off people in late-19th-century China. Ancestor portraits, furniture, wood sculptures, delicate bamboo cases, cleverly wrought brass braziers and more--their intriguing forms and attractive decorations help them transcend mere utility. This donation represents another instance of the spirit that Buck Freeman's generosity instilled in generations of Wesleyan students.



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Work by Stefana McClure

Stefana McClure, Antonin Dvoak New World Symphony (No. 9) scored for four-handed piano (detail), 2011, cut paper, 20.5 inches circumference. Image courtesy of the artist and Josee Bienvenu Gallery, New York

 

Work by David Schorr

David Schorr (American, b. 1947), Sleepless Nights (detail), 2010, gouache and silverpoint on Fabriano Roma paper. Courtesy Mary Ryan Gallery, New York City (photo: R. J. Phil).

 

Marital Arts Group image

Martial Arts Group, wood, late 19th-early 20th century,
Shanxi Province, China

 

 

 

 


 

 
 

Art Talks

 

Approaching Apothecary: Lecture by Professor of Art David Schorr

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 4:30pm
CFA Hall,
FREE!

Professor of Art David Schorr will talk about how he came to produce the exhibition APOTHECARY (storehouse).

 

Senior Talks in the History of Art

Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 4:30pm
Location to be announced
FREE!

Seniors in the Art History Program of Wesleyan's Department of Art and Art History will present their honors talks. Talks by: Anne deBoer, Natasha Camhi, Yongneng Conan Cheong, Sarah La Rue, and Erika Siegel.

 


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B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students
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