The CFA provides you with a learning environment of surprising innovation and discovery. We invite you to share in the energy and enthusiasm of our visiting artists as well as our resident faculty and students as they investigate new approaches to art-making. Highlights include visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Women, who brings her exchange with the Senegalese contemporary all-male dance company, Compagnie Jant-Bi to the CFA in Les Ecailles de la Memoire. Witness the intersection of youth, music and activism by attending the film screening of African Underground: Democracy in Dakar, and then dancing to the explosive hip-hop sound of the African Underground All-Stars at Fayerweather Beckham Hall.
The Theater Department joins forces with the CFA to bring Moises Kaufman to campus for an extended residency. His watershed work, The Laramie Project (2002), was a lightning rod for an examination of bigotry in America. Finally, the inventive new-music group eighth blackbird, comes to Wesleyan for the first time with a program that includes interactive digital art projections.
We also invite you to access new innovations in experimental music presented by Wesleyan's music faculty and graduate students, or to discover what is inspiring to our newest artists by viewing the senior thesis shows in the Zilkha Gallery. We are delighted to welcome you as often as possible to all that the CFA has to offer.
Warm Regards,
Pamela Tatge, Director
Spring 2008 brochure
CROWELL Concert Series
The Crowell Concert Series, now in its 33rd season, brings a wide array of world-class musicians to the 411-seat Crowell Concert Hall.
Turtle Island Quartet with Stefon Harris
The Divine Duke
Friday, February 1, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Pre-concert talk at 7:15pm
Tickets: $24 A, $17 B, $6 C
“A standard beyond the reach of its few contemporaries...”
--Los Angeles Times
"...Turtle Island stands tradition on its civilized ear."
--People Magazine
The Turtle Island Quartet fuses the classical quartet aesthetic with contemporary American musical styles. By devising a performance practice that honors both, they have redefined the state of the art. As a pianist extraordinaire and worldwide ambassador for American music and jazz, Duke Ellington composed scores of tunes and songs that were the biggest hits of his time and, to this day, retain a major role in the jazz canon. The series of sacred music concerts that he gave near the end of his life featured some of his deepest and most profound works. This visionary music combined jazz with classical and gospel forms and brilliantly foreshadowed the classical crossover genre of today's musical world. This body of work provides a perfect foundation for the bold new collaboration featuring the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet (TIQ) and renowned vibraphonist Stefon Harris, whom The Los Angeles Times heralded as "one of the most important young artists in jazz."
Related Event: Conversation/Workshop with the Turtle Island String Quartet Thursday, January 31, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
The Turtle Island String Quartet truly breaks new ground with some of the most creative music-making today. The members of the Turtle Island String Quartet talk about, demonstrate and share their music.
Cherish the Ladies
Saturday, March 1, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Pre-concert talk at 7:15pm
Tickets: $24 A, $17 B, $6 C
“It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn't enjoy what they do. ”
--The Boston Globe
"...the music is passionate, tender and rambunctious"
--The New York Times
Taking their name from the name of a traditional Irish jig, Cherish the Ladies initially won recognition as the first and only all-women traditional Irish band. In a short time, they established themselves as musicians and performers without peer. They have won many thousands of listeners and fans of their music. With their unique, spectacular blend of virtuosic instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing, this powerhouse group combines all the facets of Irish traditional performance and puts it forth in an immensely humorous and entertaining package. They have shared the stage with such noted entertainers as The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, The Chieftains, James Taylor, Joan Baez, Emmy Lou Harris and dozens of symphony orchestras. The Celtic Album, their collaboration with the Boston Pops Symphony, led to a 1999 Grammy nomination.
Described by The New Yorker as "friendly, unpretentious, idealistic and highly skilled," eighth blackbird offers its ever-increasing audiences provocative and engaging performances. It is widely lauded for its performing style--often playing from
memory with virtuosic and theatrical flair--and its efforts to make new music accessible to wide audiences. Since its founding in 1996, eighth blackbird has been active in commissioning new works from eminent composers such as George Perle, Frederic Rzewski, Joseph Schwantner, Paul Moravec and Stephen Hartke. This concert features new commissions from Stephen Hartke and Tamar Muskal, whose Sound Mirror incorporates the live, interactive digital art of Danny Rozin. Thomas Albert's The Devil's Handyman takes its cue from the bizarre and humorous sculptures of H. C. Westermann, while artists as diverse as Constantin Brancusi and Jasper Johns inspire Barbara White's Learning to See. The program also features Martin Bresnick's poignantly reflective My Twentieth Century and Thierry de Mey's stunning visual ballet for the hands, Musique de Tables. The concert will include still and real-time processed digital images projected on stage.
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Turtle Island String Quartet
Stefon Harris
Cherish the Ladies
eighth blackbird
BREAKING GROUND dance
series
Cutting-edge choreography. Virtuosic dancing. World-renowned companies. Presented in the heart of Connecticut.
Urban Bush Women & Compagnie Jant-Bi
Les Ecailles de la Memoire
Friday & Saturday, February 15 & 16, 8pm
CFA Theater
Pre-performance talk by Deborah Cash Friday, February 15 at 7:15pm CFA Cinema
Tickets: $21 A, $17 B, $8 C Online ticketing now available!
Les Ecailles de Memoire (Scales of Memory) is a creative exchange between the all-male Compagnie Jant-Bi of Senegal and the all-female Urban Bush Women and their respective artistic directors, Germaine Acogny and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Representing two continents, this two-year collaboration, with visits to Senegal and the United States, culminates in a piece about the importance of place and community. The unique movement vocabulary that is created by mixing Acogny's nature-inspired technique and Zollar's brand of contemporary dance (influenced particularly by the Black Vernacular movement) is a cross-cultural exchange in itself. The fierce and powerful Urban Bush Women seek to bring the untold and under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance. Drawing from a woman-centered perspective and the experiences of the African Diaspora community, they strive to create a more equitable balance of power in the dance world and beyond.
Funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Co-sponsored by the Center for African American Studies, Office of Affirmative Action and Office of the President.
The Breaking Ground Dance Series is presented by the Dance Department and the Center for the Arts and is made possible in part by grants from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, the National Endowment for the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts.
Related Event: Talk: Are We Democracy? Thursday, February 14, 8pm
CFA Cinema
Free admission
What do dance, democracy and dialogue have to do with each other? Urban Bush Women states as its mission "we seek to bring the untold and under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance...in order to create a more equitable balance of power in the dance world and beyond." Founding Artistic Director Jawole Zollar will address how this commitment to social justice inspires and informs her creative process.
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Urban Bush Women and Jant-Bi
OUTSIDE THE BOX theater
series
A series of groundbreaking theater performances and demonstrations, presented by the Theater Department and the Center for the Arts.
A Talk by Moises Kaufman
Bigotry In America: Listening to Our Own Voices
Thursday, February 7, 8pm
CFA Cinema
Free admission
Groundbreaking writer/director Moises Kaufman will discuss his innovative
methods of creating film and theater works that address issues of democracy in America. Moises Kaufman is a Tony- and Emmy-nominated director and award-winning playwright. His plays Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and The Laramie Project have been among the most performed plays in America over the last decade. Mr. Kaufman is also the founder and Artistic Director of Tectonic Theater Project, a laboratory for new works in theater and film based in New York.
Made possible by the Raymond E. Baldwin Lecture Fund.
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Moises Kaufman
SPECIAL EVENTS
African Underground: Democracy in Dakar
Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Friday, February 8, 4pm
CFA Cinema
Free admission
African Underground: Democracy in Dakar is a groundbreaking documentary film about hip-hop youth and politics in Dakar, Senegal. The film follows rappers, DJs, journalists, professors and people on the street before, during and after the controversial 2007 presidential election in Senegal. Originally shot as a seven-part documentary mini-series released via the Internet, the documentary bridges the gap between hip-hop activism, video journalism and documentary film and explores the role of youth and musical activism in the
political process.
“This sounds like the true Afrofunk.”
--Village Voice
"...Senegalese rhymers pull no punches about poverty, war, corruption, globalization, injustice--and are invading the charts to boot."
--CMJ
The African Underground All-Stars are a rotating cast featuring MCs from Senegal, Mali and Ghana, backed by a DJ and live percussion. Co-sponsored by the Music Department and African Studies Cluster.
Aniruddha Knight
From the Heart of a Tradition
Friday, February 29, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $12 A, $10 B, $6 C Online ticketing now available!
Aniruddha Knight and an ensemble of vocal and instrumental musicians perform a fresh interpretation of South Indian classical music and dance that has been passed down through nine generations of family practice. Grandson of the celebrated dancer T. Balasaraswati, Knight performs the only remaining continuous family style of bharata natyam. Between solo dancer Knight and the musicians--all trained in and committed to this specific family practice--communication is constant and spontaneous, resulting in a performance of harmonious beauty that is completely coherent, brilliantly precise and powerfully dynamic. Funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
Related Event: The Art and Life of T. Balasaraswati: A Talk by Doug Knight Thursday, February 28, 7pm
CFA Cinema
Free admission
Douglas Knight, Jr. (BA '70) will speak about his forthcoming biography, The Art and Life of T. Balasaraswati: From the Heart of the Tradition, to be published by Wesleyan University Press. Touring the U.S. in 1962, Balasaraswati was the first non-Western artist to perform at Wesleyan; she went on to be recognized as one of the greatest performing artists of the 20th century.
This talk is co-sponsored by Wesleyan University Press, celebrating their
50th anniversary.
DANCEMASTERS WEEKEND
Saturday & Sunday, March 8 & 9
DanceMasters, now in its ninth year, is one of the most anticipated dance events in the Northeast. The combination of master classes and a performance by premier companies provides an essential retreat for students and professionals interested in the latest techniques, as well as an opportunity for dance enthusiasts to sample the work of leading choreographers from around the world. Past DanceMasters Weekends have included master classes and performances by the companies of Limon Dance Company, The Parsons Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater, Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, Peter Boal and Garth Fagan Dance.
DanceMasters: Showcase Performance Saturday, March 8, 8pm
CFA Theater
$21 A, $17 B, $8 C
Featuring performances by members of three companies: Ailey II, Susan Marshall & Company, and Zoe Scofield. For more information, view the DanceMasters web page.
DanceMasters: Master Classes Saturday & Sunday, March 8 & 9 The fifteen master classes on Saturday (10:30am to 6pm) and Sunday (11am to 4:30pm) provide intermediate to advanced dance students and dance professionals the opportunity to explore diverse dance techniques. Fees for the master classes are $17 per class, $15 per class for four or more classes and $11 for Wesleyan students.
Call the box office at 860-685-3355 for a DanceMasters brochure or view the DanceMasters web page.
Spring Arts Awakening: Middletown Foundation for the Arts Saturday, March 15, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
General $35, Students $15
The Middletown Foundation for the Arts, in cooperation with the local arts groups it funds, presents an evening of celebration of local arts talent. The evening will provide attendees with a collection of performances, ranging from a full orchestra to musical theater. Visual arts will also be on display. The performances will be followed by a reception.
Generation i: Indian Art in the Era of Globalisation
Art Lecture by Girish Shahane Wednesday, April 30, 8pm
CFA Cinema
Free admission This lecture focuses on artists who have gained prominence in India in the past fifteen years. Their work is ironic and intellectual in its approach to the received image and to their own identity. The work of Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher, Jitish Kallat and others is analysed within the framework of the four 'i's: irony, intellect, image and identity.
Girish Shahane is an art critic and columnist based in Bombay. He received degrees in English Literature from Elphinstone College, Bombay University and the University of Oxford. Since returning to India in 1994, he has concentrated on writing about and lecturing on Indian art. He was editor and later consulting editor of Art India magazine, the only periodical in the country dedicated to contemporary art. He has presented papers in institutions like NGMA, NCPA, and Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay; the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad; and the Tate Modern, London. He is on the faculty of Whistling Woods International film school and contributes a fortnightly column to Time Out magazine’s Bombay edition.
The talk is offered through the generosity of the Samuel Silipo ’85 Distinguished Visitor’s Fund, Department of Art and Art History and the South Asian Cluster.
A Celebration of Silent Sounds Wednesday, May 7, 7pm
World Music Hall
Free admission
Celebrate the writing excellence of students in Middletown Public Schools, grades 6-12, as they read their winning submissions of one-act plays, short stories and poetry from the annual literary magazine, Silent Sounds. Co-sponsored by the Center for the Arts and the Middletown Public Schools Cultural Council.
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African Underground
Susan Marshall & Company
Art Lecture by Girish Shahane on Wednesday, May 30, 8pm in the CFA Cinema
Feet to the Fire
Exploring Global Climate Change from Science to Art
Festival 2008
Rain or Shine! In case or rain, wear your rain gear and participate in the climate.
There are many tented activities to enjoy.
Saturday, May 10, 12-5pm
Veteran’s Park: Located just off Newfield Street (Route 3),
1/3 mile north of the intersection of Washington (Route 66) and Newfield Streets
Middletown, CT
Just a 10-minute walk from Wesleyan's campus
Free admission
Download the Feet to the Fire Festival map PDF for a guide to the festival grounds.
Copresented by Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts and Environmental
Studies Program, the Jonah Center for Earth and Art and the City of Middletown
Feet to the Fire will assemble a diverse array of artists, scientists and other thinkers to address the environmental challenges that face us today on a global scale and in our own communities. Enjoy performances, art and music by campus and regional artists, while learning about the impact of climate change on our world. Award-winning
choreographer Ann Carlson will premiere a new site-specific work commissioned by the Festival. The Festival also features interactive displays and exhibits on energy conservation and sustainability by environmental scientists and a farmer’s market with local organic food vendors. The festival is a part of an eighteen-month project, funded in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional partners are the Center for Creative Research and the Green Street Arts Center.
Sky Stage
12noon-12:30pm Electric Junkyard Gamelan
12:45-1:15pm Tom Callinan
1:30-2pm Middletown High School Jazz Ensemble
2:15-2:45pm Mixashawn
3-3:30pm Noah Baerman Trio
3:45-4:15pm Sirius Coyote
4:30-5pm Toussaint Liberator
Earth Stage
12:15-12:45pm Geoff Kaufman
12:45-1pm Independent Day School Poetry--Poems for Two Voices
1-1:30pm Adam Tinkle
1:30-1:45pm Independent Day School Poetry--Poems for Two Voices
1:45-2:15pm Mattabesset Pickers Collective
2:15-2:30pm Independent Day School Poetry--Poems for Two Voices
2:50-3:15pm Poetry Readings by Stephanie Elliot and Colin Haskins
3:30-4pm Being Collective
4:15-4:50pm Collective Implosions
Water Stage
12:30-1:30pm "RJ" and the On-the-Spot Jug Band
2-2:20pm The BX Is Burning (Green Street Arts Center and Oddfellows Playhouse)
2:30-3:30pm ARTFARM's Circus for a Fragile Planet
3:45-4pm Kalimba Liberian Dance and Drum (CANCELLED)
Video about Middletown's retired landfill by students in Gina Ulysse's Anthropology 232: Alter(ed)native Approaches: Middletown Lives
Bart Bridger Woodstrup: The Hottest Year on Record and Climate Control: Weather Damage Modification Program explores the relationship between environmental issues and technology using temperature data anomalies and samples from George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun." www.bartwoodstrup.com
Green Street Arts Center After School Program's Digital Animation Class: Hurricane Katrina. Teacher: Shawn Hill.
Friedrich Kern and Korea's Global TV Arirang present Cool Planet,
a documentary film exploring recent solutions for a cooler planet.
In touring through Europe, this team discovered alternative sources
of electricity and new ways of reducing energy. Cool Planet highlights
the latest industry trends, technology developments, and renewable energy policy developments. Kern is a visiting student in Wesleyan's graduate music program. www.arirang.co.kr
Alexandra Provo '10, Emily Leiner '10, Jenn So '10, and Stephanie
Fungsang '08 present Carbon Cycles, an exploration of climate change
as it relates to human processes with an animated diagram of the
carbon cycle set to sounds of human breathing.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION
In the spirit of the Festival, the organizers encourage you to consider your environmental footprint as you plan your trip.
Bike to the Fest
Transportation Alternatives Middletown (www.transaltmiddletown.org) will lead a family bicycle ride to the Festival, starting at Union Park (South Green) at 11:30 am.
Park (or Walk) and Ride (Look for the Festival Shuttle signs at these locations):
Shuttle buses will be making stops at the following locations throughout the Festival:
· Green St. Arts Center (51 Green Street, Middletown, CT 06457)
· Wesleyan University Admission Office parking Lot (Lot E)
· Main Street between the police station and Amici’s restaurant (100 Riverview Ctr, Middletown CT 06457).
(Entrance to Riverview parking deck on Court St.)
Carpool
If you decide to drive, parking is available at Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Parking for individuals with disabilities is also available at Veteran’s Memorial Park.
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IN THE GALLERIES
Ezra and Cecile
Zilkha Gallery
Nina Felshin, curator
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-4pm
Now open until 8pm on Fridays.
Andrea Ray: Désire
Tuesday, April 29 through
Sunday, May 25
Zilkha Gallery
Reception: Friday, May 2, 5-7pm
Artist Talk at 5:30
May 2, 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the student uprising in Paris. Six months later a presidential election will be held in the United States. Andrea Ray's three-part installation, Desiré re-visits that historic moment to pose a question, longingly and perhaps romantically, about the present: Could the Paris model of social and political agency be employed in this country at a time when deepening crisis is coupled with fear and apathy? It reflects on this against a backdrop of French writer and activist Marguerite Duras' plays and the dinners she often hosted. The three components of Desire include Occupied, a series of photographs of now empty intersections of Paris streets once blocked by students; The Gift, a sculptural installation consisting of a dinner table, embedded with speakers, chairs and a "conceptual soup"; and Rehearse, a theatrical space with an audio component of an abortive rehearsal of a play based on Duras' Hiroshima Mon Amour. Together the three pieces reflect a repetitive search for things seemingly unattainable--a complete understanding of war, an experience of productive social change through protest, and an association with an effective community. As its title might suggest, Ray's work ruminates on desire, on the state of wanting and lack.
Middletown Public Schools Art Exhibition
Saturday, March 8 through
Sunday, March 16
Zilkha Gallery
Hours: 1pm-4pm Saturday and Sunday, noon-7pm Monday-Friday
Reception: Saturday, March 8, 5-7pm
This event is co-sponsored by the Middletown Board of Education and the Center for the Arts.
Senior Thesis Exhibitions
Tuesday, March 25 through Sunday, April 13
Zilkha Gallery
View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan's Department of Art and Art History.
Tuesday-Sunday, March 25-March 30
Reception: Wednesday, March 26, 4-6pm
Ben Ahles, Brad Alexander, Daniel Meyer, Martin Schapiro, Amanda Sim
Tuesday-Sunday, April 1-April 6
Reception: Wednesday, April 2, 4-6pm
Matthew Alie, Inchul Bae, Lisa Dudley, Joyce Lai, Wendy Schreiner, Constance Smith
Tuesday-Sunday, April 8-April 13
Reception: Wednesday, April 9, 4-6pm
Stephanie Calvert, Zack Davis, Chaz Ganster, Karla Hargrave, Hunter King, Josh Pavlacky
Satire and Society: Honore Daumier and French Lithography
Friday, February 8 through
Thursday, March 6
Davison Art Center
Opening reception: Thursday, February 7, 5-7pm
Gallery Talk by student curators at 5:30pm
During a career spanning six decades, from the 1820s to the 1870s, Honore Daumier caricatured all levels of French society. As part of a Wesleyan University seminar, students explored Daumier's work and context to prepare this exhibition. The themes include political caricatures of the Citizen-King, Louis-Philippe; representations of women; artists and the French Salon; and the new bourgeois leisure activities. Students also trace the development of the new technique of lithography by Daumier's contemporaries, including Theodore Gericault, Eugene Isabey and Eugene Delacroix.
Related Event:
Demonstration of Lithographic Printing
Tuesday, February 12, 7-8pm
CFA Printshop, Art Workshop
Free admission
Demonstration by David Schorr, professor of art
Music and Modernismin the Graphic Arts, 1860-1910
Friday, March 28 through
Sunday, May 25
Davison Art Center
Opening reception:Thursday, March 27, 5-7pm
Gallery Talk by Katherine Kuenzli, assistant professor of art & art history, 5:30 pm
In the second half of the 19th century, visual artists in Europe looked to poetry and music as models for modern art, an art of increasing ambiguity and abstraction. This exhibition examines the concept of synaesthesia (the connections between color, sound and the other senses) and the Gesamtkunstwerk (total art work) in British, French and German art from 1860 to 1910. Drawn from the Davison Art Center Collection and Special Collections, Olin Library, the exhibition presents more than 40 works by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Max Klinger, Odilon Redon, Henri Fantin-Latour and others.
Related Event:
Towards a Synaesthetic Modernity
Co-organized by the Department of Art and Art History, Wesleyan University and the Department of Art, Smith College
Saturday, March 29
Public Lectures: 9:30am-4:30pm
The Russell House
Lectures will be followed by a reception at the Davison Art Center
Free admission
This symposium examines different models of artistic collaboration in European art between 1860 and 1910 and explores how exchange between the arts as well as artistic media proved foundational to the emergence of a modernist aesthetic. Papers will focus on the historical formulation of three models of artistic interaction: synaesthesia, the Gesamtkunstwerk, and the idea that all arts aspire to the condition of music. Speakers include Jenny Anger (Grinnell College), Timothy Barringer (Yale University), Andre Dombrowski (Smith College), Juliet Koss (Pomona College), Katherine Kuenzli (Wesleyan University), and Debora Silverman (University of California, Los Angeles). Public lectures are free and open to the general public. For more information,email kkuenzli@wesleyan.eduor adombrow@smith.edu.
Senior Talks in the History of Art
Thursday, April 24 at 4:15pm
Davison Art Center, Room 100
Seniors in the Art History Program of Wesleyan's Department of Art and Art History will present their honors theses. Presented by the Department of Art and Art History. For more information, please call 860-685-2682.
Friends of the Davison Art Center Auction
Saturday, May 17
Davison Art Center Courtyard
The FDAC auction is coming around again. Save the date for this huge and varied auction of works of art from all different genres and for all different tastes and ages.
Korean Funerary Figures:
Companions for the Journey to the Other World
Wednesday, January 30 through
Friday, March 7
Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Gallery
Gallery talk with Patrick Dowdey:
Wednesday, January 30, noon; luncheon buffet will be served
Kkoktu (pronounced gok-too) are eight-to twelve-inch tall wood figures that Koreans mount on funeral biers. Imaginatively carved and colorfully painted, they represent caretakers, acrobats, musicians, guides and guards to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. The New York Times wrote, "The thing about these wooden figures, called kkoktu, is that unlike much somber and forbidding mortuary art, many are fun and friendly--even kind of cute." The kkoktu open a window on a timeless, characteristically Korean attitude towards death, a sophisticated appreciation of the fleeting nature of all experience. Though the gaiety depicted in many of the figurines may seem incompatible with mourning, they express a deep desire that the deceased person will enter the next world surrounded by joy.
Little Frog of the Connecticut:
Paintings by Charles Chu
Wednesday, April 2 through
Sunday, May 25
Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Gallery
Gallery talk with Patrick Dowdey and Charles Chu:
Wednesday, April 2, noon; luncheon buffet will be served
Charles Chu catches the sweep of the Connecticut River from the Vermont mountains to Old Saybrook in the monumental landscape scroll that is the highlight of this exhibition of his works from the past 25 years. Both Chu's mastery of Chinese landscape painting and his familiarity with New England are evident in the great luminous washes of his mountains and the delicate quick strokes of his forests and towns, all caught in the richly poetic vocabulary of Chinese painting. One of the most distinguished Chinese painters in the United States, Charles Chu's rugged New England landscapes, his charming and simple animals and his stunning flowers are known throughout the world.
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Andrea Ray, Occupied (from Désire), digital C-print, 2007
Honore Daumier (French, 1808-1879), An Understandable Error, 1857, lithograph with hand coloring.
Gift of Juwil C. and Virgil W. Topazio, DAC 1984.29.50.3 (photo: Ralph Phil)
Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836-1904), Tannhauser-Venusberg, 1876, lithograph. Gift of George W. Davison, 1944.D1.231 (photo: Ralph Phil)
Charles Chu, Baby Owls, ink and color on Chinese paper, 1991
Man Riding Mythical Animal, wood and pigment, late 19th-century, Korea
MUSIC
Wesleyan Orchestra Symphonic Workshop
David Amram, guest composer
Wednesday, February 6, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
For nearly five decades, American composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, educator and writer David Amram (b. 1930) has created significant musical works, including symphonic scores, operas, chamber works and film scores which draw from and are inspired by classical "art" music, jazz and ethnic and world music. For this event--the culminating event in a three-day residency--the Wesleyan University Orchestra, conducted by Amram, perform his works. Angel Gil-Ordonez, host.
Young Virtuosi
Friday, February 15, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, February 16, at 8pm
Sunday, February 17, at 4pm
Memorial Chapel
Free admission
Young Organ Virtuosi, the biennial festival at Wesleyan University, will take place the February 15th to 17th weekend in Wesleyan Memorial Chapel, High Street, Middletown. All events are free. The two Young Virtuosi are laureates of major international competitions chosen for their lively, engaging playing. The featured artists are Friday the 15th at 8pm: Noah Wynne Morton, a student of Paul Jacobs at Juilliard, and Saturday the 16th at 8 pm: Brent Stamey, a student of Joyce Jones at Baylor. On Sunday afternoon at 4pm visiting faculty, Carole Terry, professor of organ in Seattle will perform assisted by Joel Bacon professor of organ at Colorado State. Later this Spring, the festival will travel to the University of Washington, Seattle and also to Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Ives Vocal Marathon:Experimental Ives
Sunday, February 17, 3pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $5 A, $4 B & C
Elizabeth Saunders, mezzo soprano, and Gary Harger, tenor, with Neely Bruce and other instrumentalists, present songs by the quintessential American composer Charles Ives. The concert is part of the Ives Vocal Marathon, Bruce's project to perform all 183 songs of Ives contiguously.
The Annual Carnival Children's Concert
Saturday, March 1, 2pm
Pre-concert craft activities and instrument petting zoo begin at 1pm
Memorial Chapel
Free admission
For this family-oriented program, the Wesleyan University Orchestra, conducted by Angel Gil-Ordonez, will be joined by guests from the theater and dance departments. Children are encouraged to dress in costume to further the festive atmosphere.
Romantic Guitar: Giovanni Grano
Sunday, March 2, 7pm
World Music Hall
Free admission
One of the most important guitarists of his generation, Italian guitarist and musicologist Giovanni Grano has performed in many of the major concert halls of Europe, including the Royal Festival Hall in the United Kingdom. Grano will appear at Wesleyan with an exciting program of 19th-century Italian, Austrian and Spanish guitar music.
Peter Blasser: Greyn
Tuesday, March 25, 8pm
CFA Cinema
Free admission
Greyn is a work by instrument designer and composer Peter Blasser.
Peter Blasser: french horn
Dan Conrad: triangular light box
Carson Garhart: Wavy Gravy Pear Shaped Electrolute
Katherine Young: bassoon
"When I construct a one-off instrument, it often sits around the house for a while because I am embarassed by its animal nature; it is not a crystal of infinite possibilities, but more of an idiosyncratic set of limited actions. The Wavy Gravy Pear Shaped Electrolute is such that it has a fixed set of “grey” pitches and a likewise fixed set of “green” pitches. Although both sets are not in a perfect chromatic tuning, I nevertheless transcribed them as melodies, to be played on the French Horn and Bassoon, undoubtedly the most embarassing and idiosyncratic instruments of the orchestra. The triadic intersection of Electrolute and these two instruments will thus create forests of difference tones and squirrel farts arising from “tuning anxiety.” I currently work with Dan Conrad, a Baltimore light artist, on chroma-conductor for the piece; it is serendipitous that the Electrolute has grey buttons for one pitch set because visually it will force an exploration of grey light, which is only realized in juxtaposition to colored light." —Peter Blasser
Spanish Guitar Concert by Ruben Parejo
Monday, March 31, 8pm
Memorial Chapel
Free admission
"Excellent technique, a brilliant rhythmic control, exquisite phrasing and a convincing musicality." --CD Review
A winner of top prizes in six international competitions, Parejo will present a program of Spanish music featuring works by composers from his native Valencia and other regions of Spain.
The Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Piano Recital
Saturday, April 19, 2pm
The Russell House
Free admission
A piano recital featuring the winner and finalists of The Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Piano Competition.
Chamber Music Extravaganza
Thursday, April 24, 8pm
The Russell House
Free admission
The Spring Chamber Music Extravaganza, hosted by the chamber music teachers Anthea Kreston and Jason Duckles, features mixed groups enrolled in the chamber music program at Wesleyan. A variety of small classical groups will perform works by composers from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary periods.
Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble
Friday, April 25, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
The Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, directed by Noah Baerman, presents an evening of interactive, small-group jazz, featuring compositions by Ellington, Monk, Shorter and others.
Opera/Oratorio Performance
Saturday, April 26, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $5 A, $4 B, $4 C
Music students perform opera scenes and oratorio selections under the direction of Priscilla Gale.
Chinese Music Concert: A Rose for My Beloved
Sunday, April 27, 7pm
World Music Hall
Tickets: $3 A & B, $2 C
This concert will present diverse styles of Chinese classical and contemporary music by the Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble led by Guowei Wang, private lessons teacher. Audiences are welcome to look at the instruments and talk to the musicians after the concert.
Advanced Korean Drumming Ensemble
Wednesday, April 30, 8pm
World Music Hall
Tickets: $3 A & B, $2 C
Spend an evening experiencing p'ungmulnori with the Wesleyan Student Korean Drumming Ensemble. P'ungmulnori is a lively and energetic tradition, combining music and dance. Every performance is an engaging experience for both the musicians and the audience.
Winners of the Wesleyan Orchestra
Concerto
Competition and the Wesleyan Concert Choir
Friday, May 2, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
Winners perform a concerto accompanied by the Wesleyan University Orchestra conducted by Angel Gil-Ordonez. The Wesleyan Concert Choir joins the celebration.
Javanese Wayang Puppet Play
Saturday, May 3, 8pm
World Music Hall
Tickets: $5 A & B, $3 C
A quintessential component of Javanese performing arts, the shadow-puppet play (wayang kulit) combines theater, dance, music and story telling. The performance is important to the Javanese people as a ceremony, but it is also wonderful entertainment. Gamelan, an orchestraconsisting predominantly of gongs and
metallophones, accompanies the play. Dhalang (puppet master) Sumarsam will present the story in Javanese and English, accompanied by the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble and guest musicians under the direction of I. M. Harjito.
Collegium Musicum
Sunday, May 4, 7pm
Memorial Chapel
Tickets: $3 A & B, $2 C
The Collegium Musicum is a student performance ensemble dedicated to exploring and performing the diverse vocal and instrumental repertoires of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods of European music history.
Spring Taiko Concert
Sunday, May 4, 8pm
World Music Hall
Free admission
This concert by student performers will present Taiko (literally, "big drum") a drumming genre, which originated in Japan in a variety of traditional and contemporary contexts.
Ebony Singers
Monday May 5, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tickets: $7 A, $7 B, $5 C
Come out and enjoy an evening of soul-stirring Gospel music with Wesleyan University's Ebony Singers, under the direction of Pastor Marichal Monts. You will clap, you will sing, but most of all, you will be uplifted.
WesWinds Spring Concert
Tuesday, May 6, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
The Wesleyan University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Peter Hadley, performs an eclectic and engaging array of works for winds and percussion.
Anthony Braxton
Small Ensemble
Wednesday, May 7, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
Saxophonist, composer and professor Anthony Braxton, known for his ground-breaking jazz and experimental music, performs in an intimate, small-ensemble setting.
Thursday, May 8, 10pm
Memorial Chapel
Free admission
This annual popular event features faculty, student and guest performers and premieres of new works together with wacky pieces not usually played on the organ.
West African Drumming and Dance Concert
Friday, May 9, 3pm
CFA Courtyard (rain site: Crowell Concert Hall)
Free admission
Experience authentic music and dance of West Africa in its social, religious and historical context. This invigorating outdoor performance, filled with the rhythms of West Africa, will feature Master Drummer Abraham K. Adzenyah and visiting instructor in dance, choreographer and drummer Samuel Elikem Nyamuame.
Ives Vocal Marathon: Songs of Peace and War
Saturday, May 10, 8pm
Memorial Chapel
Tickets: $5 A, $4 B & C
Complete Songs of Charles Ives: Round Ten, featuring Johana Arnold, soprano; David Barron, baritone; Elizabeth Saunders, mezzo soprano; and Neely Bruce, pianist and organist, with other assisting singers and instrumentalists.
Music at The Russell House
Presented in the parlor of the historic
Russell House, the series is free to the public.
Alturas Duo
Sunday, February 24, 3pm
The Alturas Duo was formed with the idea of playing South American and classical music by bringing together the unusual combination of viola, charango (a small
South American stringed instrument) and guitar. The ensemble creates fiery programs that move between J. S. Bach, South American folk rhythms and new music.
Cellist Julie Ribchinsky, graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Wesleyan private lessons teacher, is an avid performer of solo and chamber works. Ms. Ribchinsky founded the Orion String Quartet and currently performs regularly as a member of the Central Connecticut State University's resident Connecticut Trio. For this concert, Ms. Ribchinsky will perform works by Mozart, Schubert and Rorem with the Connecticut Trio, which also features Linda Laurent, Piano and Gerard Rosa, violin.
Senior and Graduate Recitals
Free Admission
SENIOR RECITALS
Max Horwich
All and Sundry: The Music of Max Horwich and Friends
Thursday, February 28, 9pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
Brendan O'Connell
Future Circuits: Live Electronic Music from David Tudor and Beyond
Saturday, March 1, 8pm
CFA Cinema
Matthew Holms-Linder
A Guitar Recital
Thursday, March 6, 8pm
Memorial Chapel
Zachary Young
Original Music for Winds: A Thesis Recital by Zachary Young
Friday, March 28, 7pm
The Russell House
Daniel Harris
Original Compositions
Friday, March 28, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Jonathan Sirlin
Jonathan Sirlin's Senior Recital: A Concert of Original Music
Saturday, March 29, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Hunter Pederson and Rod O'Connor
Occupancy Shall Not Exceed 665 Persons
Saturday, March 29, 9pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
Hans Hsu
The Places with Views Sessions
Sunday, March 30, 7pm
World Music Hall
Alan Yaspan
Fishscales
Thursday, April 3, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Nate Kaufman
Dabblin' with the Nate Kaufman Orchestra
Friday, April 4, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Leah Weinberg
String Theory
Saturday, April 5, 2pm
Memorial Chapel
Jonathan Boyer-Dry
Living the Highlife: Jonno Boyer-Dry's Senior Recital
Sunday, April 6, 2pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Woody Leslie
An Evening of North Indian Music
Sunday, April 6, 7pm
World Music Hall
Nate Ash-Morgan
More Fiya: Beats to Bring the Heat
Sunday, April 6, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Zachary Meyer
Zachary Meyer's Senior Recital
Thursday, April 10, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Miles Turner
Interplanetary Vibrations
Friday, April 11, 7pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
Nick Pappadopoulos
Pappadopoulos on Piano
Friday, April 11, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Sara Nikolova
Sara's Recital: An Evening of Art Songs and Opera Arias
Saturday, April 12, 7pm
Memorial Chapel
Lily Costner
Proof Read Writings
Saturday, April 12, 9pm
Crowell Concert Hall
David Velardo
Classical and Improvised Organ and Piano
Sunday, April 13, 6pm
Memorial Chapel
Dan Crossley
Songs for the Kids
Sunday, April 13, 7pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Ruby Ross
Asphet: Appalachian Cinderella Story in Two Musical Acts
Friday, April 25, 8pm
Saturday, April 26, 2pm and 8pm
World Music Hall
Zach Fried
America: A Celebration
Friday, May 2, 9pm
Eclectic House
GRADUATE RECITALS
Garrett Field
An Evening of South Indian Classical Mandolin
Friday, February 22, 8pm
World Music Hall
Phillip Schulze
Graduate Thesis Concert
Thursday, March 27, 7pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
Katherine Young
Katherine Young--Graduate Thesis Concert
Sunday, April 13, 2pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Andre Marquetti
Prisms
Saturday, April 26, 3pm
Memorial Chapel
PRICE KEY
A General
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students Back to top | Box
Office
Organist Carole Terry
Ives Vocal Marathon: Neely Bruce
Ives Vocal Marathon
(from left):
David Barron, Gary Harger,
Elizabeth Saunders, Johana Arnold
Italian guitarist and musicologist Giovanni Grano
Taiko drumming
Sumarsam
Julie Ribchinsky. cello
DANCE
Spring Senior Thesis Dance Concert
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, March 27, 28, & 29, 8pm
Patricelli '92 Theater
Tickets: $5 A & B, $4 C
Senior choreographers present a collection of new works as the culminating project of the dance major.
Spring FacultyDance Concert
The Energy Which Remains
Friday & Saturday, April 25 & 26, 8pm
CFA Theater
Tickets: $8 A & B, $6 C
Katia Kolcio and Nicole Stanton will present an evening of dance entitled The Energy Which Remains, a performed cultural archive that combines dance, music and poetry into three dance works that explore the remnants of culture in and through the body. Kolcio, Assistant Professor in Dance, will be collaborating with musician and composer Julian Kytasty--practitioner of the Ukrainian bandura song form--to develop and perform a "living" archive in the form of a dance and music performance. Stanton, Associate Professor in Dance, will present two works that take up the notion of a cultural archive in distinct ways. The first piece, Torch, is a trilogy of solos rooted in a passion for the strong women jazz singers of the 1930s through the 1960s. For her second work, The Castle of My Skin, Stanton collaborates with Gina Ulysse, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Anthropology, to look to their own spiritual histories rooted in Haitian and African American culture and celebrate their experiences as black women.
Spring Dance Concert
Friday and Saturday, May 2 & 3, 8 pm
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 4, 2 pm
World Music Hall and Crowell Concert Hall
Free admission
Beginning dance students perform works of various styles including jazz, Javanese, bharata natyam (South Indian Classical Dance), Afro-Brazilian and group works from the Introduction to Dance courses.
West African Drumming
and Dance
Friday, May 9, 3pm
CFA Courtyard (rain site: Crowell Concert Hall)
Free admission
Experience authentic music and dance of West Africa in its social, religious and historical context. This invigorating outdoor performance, filled with the rhythms of West Africa, will feature Master Drummer Abraham K. Adzenyah and visiting instructor in dance, choreographer and drummer Samuel Elikem Nyamuame.
PRICE KEY
A General
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students Back to top | Box
Office
Nicole Stanton
Katia Kolcio
THEATER
A Journey Around My Room
Senior Thesis Production by Emmalee Riegler
Written by Xavier de Maistre
Directed by Emmalee Riegler
Thursday, Friday & Saturday,
February 28, 29 & March 1, 8pm
Patricelli '92 Theater
Free admission (tickets required)*
What is personal space? For most it is our homes, filled with our history, our memories, ourselves. How many memories are attached to an old crack in a wall, a
favorite sweatshirt, or a family portrait? Even though we pass by infinite memories every day, how often do we stop to absorb and take them with us? How often do we stop to remember what has shaped us? Do we even know how? In A Journey Around My Room, Xavier de Maistre unravels his story as the details of his room unfold around him. Through this process he gains a better understanding of himself, and we hope to gain a better understanding of ourselves during this journey through personal space.
Ghost Vaudevillians on the Summerland Circuit
Senior Thesis Production by Kieran Kredell
Written and directed by Kieran Kredell
Thursday & Friday, April 3 & 4, 8pm
Saturday, April 5, 2pm & 8pm
Patricelli '92 Theater
Free admission (tickets required)*
In the 1920s, amidst the suffering and grief experienced across America as a result of the first World War, the Spiritualist religious movement offered hope to those in mourning that they might be able to reconnect with their lost loved ones. Soon world-famous illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini, following the death of his beloved mother, found himself asking: "Do spirits return?" Ghost Vaudevillians on the Summerland Circuit collages the story of Houdini's investigation and eventual persecution of Spiritualism--a crusade that eventually found him crossing paths with author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a mysterious Spiritualist medium from Boston, a woman known only as "Margery." By exploring these complicated relationships, Ghost Vaudevillians questions the reality of "objective experience," using magic to blur the line between performance and ritual, eventually reengaging the age-old
question: "Do spirits return?"
Big Love by Charles Mee
Directed by David Jaffe,
Frank B. Weeks Visiting Professor of Theater
Directed by Emmalee Riegler
Thursday, Friday & Saturday,
April 10, 11, & 12, 8 pm
Saturday, April 12, 1pm
CFA Theater
$5 A & B, $4 C
Fifty brides flee their 50 grooms and seek refuge in a villa on the coast of Italy in this modern re-making of one of the western world's oldest plays, The Danaids by Aeschylus. The 50 grooms catch up with the brides at the villa and mayhem ensues: the grooms arriving by helicopter in their flight suits, women throwing themselves over and over again to the ground, pop songs and romantic dances. Finally, unable to escape their forced marriages, 49 of the brides murder 49 of the grooms--and one bride falls in love...about the same odds as today.
* Free tickets will be made available on the day of each performance (tickets for Sunday events will be available on Saturday) at the University Box Office. Off-campus guests only may call the Box Office after 10am to reserve tickets that will be held in their name until fifteen minutes prior to curtain. On-campus guests must pick up their tickets at the Box Office. There is a two-ticket limit per person.
PRICE KEY
A General
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students Back to top | Box
Office
Ghost Vaudevillians on the Summerland Circuit
Big Love
ARTS BUS
To New York City
"...convenient and affordable transportation from the Wesleyan campus to the heart of Manhattan."
--Wesleyan Argus
Join like-minded arts lovers for an excursion to one of the cultural capitals of the world. Serve yourself a complimentary continental breakfast to go, available from 7:30 to 8am. The bus departs from CFA Parking Lot T (Washington Terrace) at 8am and stops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rockefeller Center. The bus departs NYC at 8pm from Madison Ave. between 51st and 48th (behind St. Patrick's Cathedral). Highlights at the Met this spring include Jasper Johns: Gray; Lee Friedlander: A Ramble in Olmsted Parks; Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru.
The arts bus is wheelchair accessible.
On two Saturdays:
February 9
April 5
Tickets: $42 A, $37 B, $34 C
The arts bus is wheelchair accessible. If you have special
needs, please notify us so we can do our best to accommodate you.
PRICE KEY
A General
B Seniors/Wesleyan Faculty & Staff/Non-Wesleyan Students
C Wesleyan Students Back to top | Box
Office
