Art Shows, Yangtze Film Festival, Indian Readings, Concerts at Springfield College this Fall
August 19, 2009SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Aug. 20, 2009 – Photography of the Amazon, Syria and Iraq; a Yangtze River film festival; readings by an Abenaki Indian author; chamber music and holiday concerts; art exhibitions; and a dance concert will be among events in Springfield College’s fall William Simpson Fine Arts Series of visual and performing arts. Most events are free of charge, and the free series poster is available by calling 748-3187.
Sept. 8 – 30
Photography Exhibition: “Life Along the Equator -- Journeys to Africa, The Amazon, and the Galapagos Islands”
By Charles Redington and Joseph Berger, Springfield College professors of biology
Illustrating their scientific and personal expeditions, Springfield College professors display their rich color photography of animals, plants and people.
William Blizard Gallery, Visual Arts Center, weekdays 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Reception for artist and public: Thursday, Sept. 10, 3 p.m.
Sept. 8 – Oct. 30
Art Exhibition: “Teapots”
By Frank Ozereko
Exploring and juxtaposing different vessel-making traditions, Ozereko manipulates and reconfigures many formal and aesthetic elements of each piece until he either exhausts their possibilities or, through investigation, discovers new and interesting formats.
William Blizard Gallery, Visual Arts Center, weekdays 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Reception for artist and public: Sunday, Oct. 4, 2 - 4 p.m.
Oct. 4 – 29
Art Exhibition: “Tomorrow, God Willing”
By Emma LeBlanc
In her first gallery exhibition of recent photography from Syria and Iraq, this nationally published photographer presents the struggles of two different disempowered groups negotiating their place in a rapidly changing Middle East. The disabled residents of the House of Dignity, a Syrian government-run asylum, inhabit a liminal space in Syrian society and quietly challenge traditional norms and expectations. The Awakening Council tribal fighters of south central Iraq, former insurgents, forge an uneasy alliance with the U.S. military to contest power and establish their role in Iraq's future. The juxtaposition of these two battles over inclusion, power and identity highlight the complex ways in which individuals and groups strive to redefine their lives and the Middle East of tomorrow.
William Blizard Gallery, Visual Arts Center, weekdays 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Reception for artist and public: Sunday, Oct. 4, 2 - 4 p.m.
Oct. 18, 2 p.m.
Concert: “Singing in Tongues”
Composer: Christopher Haynes, Springfield College assistant professor of music
Performers: The Arlington Philharmonic Society Chamber Choir
This new multi-movement work for choir, piano, cello, and marimba, and also other selections, will be performed by this prestigious music society, which commissioned and premiered it earlier this year.
Townhouse Conference Room
Oct. 19, 7 p.m.
Film Festival: “Up the Yangtze”
Introduction by James Cunniff, former manager for a regional manufacturing company, who completed 28 trips to Asia, primarily China.
Lush color cinematography captures the soon-to-be destroyed beauty of the Yangtze River, with its majestic gorges, small rural villages, and glittering cities. The river is undergoing massive transformation through construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric project in history, to provide power for China’s burgeoning population. Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang focuses on the lives of an intelligent peasant girl who dreams of an education and an arrogant young middle-class man, both employed by a luxury cruise line hosting Yangtze tours. The film poignantly captures the soul of the girl and the agony of two million people as their homes and way-of-life are displaced. As China rushes to meet the demands of its global destiny, the environmental price will be the loss of one of the greatest wonders of the planet.
Appleton Auditorium, Fuller Arts Center
Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m.
Reading by Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki Indian author and storyteller
This award-winning author will interlace poetry, stories, traditional tale-telling, and music with reflections on Abenaki culture. The author of more than 70 books for adults and children whose works have appeared in more than 500 publications, Bruchac has received many prestigious awards, including a Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas. As a professional teller of traditional tales, Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and the U.S., and has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School.
Marsh Memorial Chapel
Nov. 9 - 25
Art Exhibition: Graduate Art Therapy Show & Graduating Senior Student Show
Digital imagery, painting, ceramics, and drawing reflecting learning throughout the advanced education of art therapy students and the undergraduate years of students of art or art education.
William Blizard Gallery, Visual Arts Center, weekdays 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Reception for artists and public: Nov. 22, Sunday, 2 - 4 p.m.
Nov. 12 - 15
Thurs., Fri., Sat. 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m.
Theatre: “The Playboy of the Western World”
By J. M. Synge
Directed by Martin Shell, Springfield College associate professor of theater arts
A mysterious and downtrodden young stranger stumbles into a lowly village pub on Ireland’s west coast. When the frightened Christy admits that he’s running because he killed his father, the boisterous and gossip-hungry rustics are impressed and charmed by his daring and bravado. Pegeen Mike, the tavern keeper’s head-strong daughter, finds a romantic match for her own fiery spirit in Christy’s tall tales and poetic expressions. She has to fight off the other hero-starved townswomen to hold on to her “playboy,” while Christy struggles to keep his mantle of celebrity over “the western world” when the actual truth arrives. A comic masterpiece of Irish drama, rich, tumbling language captures the vitality of the Irish spirit, and the folly of imagination and pride.
Fuller Arts Center, Appleton Auditorium
Suggested donation: $5, students and seniors $2
Nov. 17 - 19, 9 - 3 p.m.
Art Exhibition/Sale: Annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Sale
Ceramics, art, jewelry, and cards by SC students.
William Blizard Gallery, Visual Arts Center, weekdays 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 20 - 22
Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m.
Dance Concert: “MOVIMENTO”
Artistic Director: Cynthia Nazzaro
Honoring Springfield College’s 125th anniversary, this lively event -- choreographed by guests, faculty members, and students -- includes new works by Wendy Holmes and Cynthia Nazzaro, inspired by Italian culture, music, and Renaissance and baroque dance forms. Students will perform reconstructions of Jose Limon’s “Etude” and Ted Shawn’s “Gnoissienne,” along with selected alumni and student works.
Appleton Auditorium, Fuller Arts Center
Admission: $5, SC students with ID $4, under age 12 and over 65 $3.
Ticket sales: Nov. 16 – 20, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Cheney Dining Hall
Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Concert: Annual Holiday Concert
By SC Singers and Band
SC's talented music ensembles present this perennial favorite combining holiday music, popular favorites, choral selections, special requests, refreshments, and good cheer!
Marsh Memorial Chapel
Dec. 11 – 12, 8 p.m.
Informal Dance Concert
Fall semester works generated by the dance faculty and students in jazz, ballet, and choreography courses, and performed by student dancers.
Appleton Auditorium, Fuller Arts Center
