2012-2013 arts calendar

The 2012-2013 arts season at Pitt-Bradford promises a mix of globally focused shows and exhibits as well as some classic American bluegrass and work by local writers and artists.

Spectrum, the longest running of the arts series, will open its theater season on Sept. 18 with Thaddeus Phillips’ “17 Border Crossings,” a theatrical trip around the world and through time that examines the arbitrary nature of borders and passports.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theater located in Blaisdell Hall. Tickets cost $6 for the public and $2 for students.

Biographer and poet Molly Peacock will be Spectrum’s first featured writer of the season. Peacock’s poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, The New Republic, The Paris Review and The Best of the Best American Poetry. She has received awards from the Danforth Foundation, Ingram Merrill Foundation, Woodrow Wilson Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. Currently, she is on the faculty of the Spalding University Low Residence Master of Fine Arts program and serves as series editor of The Best Canadian Poetry in English.

The free event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons.

On Sept. 28 at 7 p.m., the Brooklyn-based trio, janus, will kick off the Spectrum music series in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel.

The trio, comprised of Amanda Baker on the flute, Beth Meyers on the viola and Nuiko Wadden on the harp, formed in 2002. They maintain the established traditions of their instruments while pushing the envelope with their intriguing combination. Their well-reviewed first recording, “i am not,” was released by New Amsterdam Records in 2010.

“Of Body And Spirit In Relation To Our Existence: Sculpture by Anne Mormile” will be the first Spectrum visual arts event.

Mormile is a regional ceramicist who currently teaches at Pitt-Bradford and St. Bonaventure University. Her work has been featured in many exhibitions.

Her work will be on display Oct. 12-Nov. 9 in the KOA Art Gallery in Blaisdell Hall. A Gallery Talk will be held at noon on Oct. 12, followed by a reception in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby of Blaisdell Hall.

Prism, Pitt-Bradford’s premier arts series, will open its season with a performance by the dance company Verb Ballets on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall.

The company, directed by Dr. Margaret Carlson, will perform selections from Bizet’s Carmen as well as Heinz Poll’s Eight By Benny Goodman, which mixes ballet and ballroom dancing set to big-band music.

Ticket prices for the public are $26 and $24; for faculty, staff and alumni: $22 and $18; students pay $12 and $10.

A special faculty recital by Pas de Two will take place on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater.

The recital will feature Dr. Julia Tunstall on the flute and Laura Peterson on the Piano. The pair has performed together as “Pas de Two” for more than ten years. The program is free.

Trio Los Claveles will perform as a part of the Spectrum music series on Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m. in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby.

These Puerto Ricans have been performing their native music together since 2003. They have performed at many festivals, fairs and venues. The band’s goal is to preserve this passionate style of music. The performance is free.

The Division of Communications and the Arts will present Henrik Ibsen’s classic “An Enemy of the People,” directed by Dr. Kevin Ewert, in the Studio Theater of Blaisdell Hall.

The industry in a small town is at once bringing in money and poisoning the citizens. When one man wants to expose the truth, he discovers that sometimes people don’t want to be saved.

Performances will take place Nov. 15-17 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $6 for the public and $2 for students.

A school matinee will be held Nov. 14.

At 7 p.m. on Nov. 29, there will be a performance of “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Enchantment Theatre Co. as a part of the Kaleidoscope series.

The play, based on Margery Williams’ literary classic, is about a plush rabbit who longs to become the favorite toy of a young boy and thereby become real. The performance will feature the music of Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-Winning Composer/Arranger Don Sebesky.

The performance is open to the public and will take place in the Bromeley Family Theater. Tickets cost $8 for students and $9 for adults.

Pitt-Bradford’s Vocal Arts Ensemble, directed by Dr. John Levey, will perform a Holiday Concert at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 4 in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby.

The ensemble was established in 2010 and performs at least one public concert on campus each semester. The concert is free.

The exhibit “Photography Around the World” will be on display Jan. 11-25 in the KOA Art Gallery. An opening reception will be held at noon on Jan 11.

The exhibit will feature photographs taken all over the world by Pitt-Bradford students, faculty and staff, as well as community members who live within 30 miles of Bradford. For more information on deadlines and how to submit photography, contact Kristin Asinger at kaa54@pitt.edu.

Dr. Nancy McCabe will host the annual celebration of Pitt-Bradford’s own literary magazine, Baily’s Beads, on Jan. 23, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room.

The celebration will include the unveiling of the 2013 issue, prizes, readings by contributors and an open mic for those who want to share original writing and music. The magazine, named Best University Magazine two years running by the American Scholastic Press Association, features fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by students, staff, faculty, alumni and area writers. The event is free and refreshments will be served.

Pitt-Bradford and St. Bonaventure University have collaborated on dual exhibits of “T. E. Hanley: A Local Man with a World View,” featuring T. Edward Hanley’s collections of artwork, books and letters housed in the universities’ archives. Hanley amassed his collection over many years, starting during his studies at Harvard in the early 1900s.

Pitt-Bradford’s exhibit will be on display Feb. 7-March 8 in the KOA Art Gallery. An opening reception featuring a lecture by Mr. Dennis Frank will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7.

Pianist Daniel Pesca is the final performer slated in the Spectrum music series. He will perform at 7 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the Bromeley Family Theater.

Pesca is an active soloist, chamber musician and accompanist, as well as an accomplished composer. He has collaborated with numerous groups including members of the Chicago Symphony. The event is free.

Essayist and poet Lori Jakiela will be the last writer featured by Spectrum. The free event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on March 19 in the Mukaiyama University Room.

Jakiela’s poems and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Creative Nonfiction and elsewhere, including several anthologies. She has published a memoir, a poetry collection and three poetry chapbooks. She received the 2010 Golden Quill award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association for column writing. She teaches in the writing program at Pitt-Greensburg and Chatham University.

The Southern Tier Symphony will perform “Favorites with Flute” as a special event at 3 p.m. on March 10 in the Bromeley Family Theater. Tickets cost $20 for the public and are free for students.

The 10th annual Pitt-Bradford Student Arts Exhibition will be on display March 22-April 19 in the KOA Art Gallery. An opening reception will be held at noon on March 22.

The exhibit, “Affairs of the Art,” will feature distinguished student artwork of a variety of media including painting, drawing, ceramics and photography. All of the more than 50 pieces were created during the 2012-2013 academic year.

A production of Will Eno’s “Oh, the Humanity,” directed by Dr. Kevin Ewert, will close out the Spectrum theater series. This series of plays features people desperately trying to present themselves in a good light.

Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on April 4-6 and at 2 p.m. on April 7 in the Studio Theater in Blaisdell Hall. Tickets cost $6 for the public and $2 for students.

A school matinee will be held on April 3.

 Dr. Marvin Thomas will hold his lecture, “The Murder of Fledglings,” at 8 p.m. on April 9 in Rice Auditorium inside Fisher Hall. This free special event will focus on the mystery of who murdered King Edward IV’s two young sons so that his brother, Richard, could take the English throne at the end of the Wars of the Roses.

The Vocal Arts Ensemble will hold its spring concert at 11:30 a.m. on April 16 in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby. The performance is free.

The DePue Brothers Band will close out the Prism season at 7:30 p.m. on April 18.

These brothers from northwest Ohio have been performing their vivid and unique blend of bluegrass, classical and rock music for more than 25 years. Their latest release, Weapons of Grass Construction, features a mingling of genres infused with blues and rock while demonstrating the band’s bluegrass roots and classical training.

The concert will be held in the Bromeley Family Theater. Tickets cost $24 and $20 for the public, $20 and $16 for faculty, staff and alumni and $12 and $10 for students.

The classically trained musicians will also hold two instructional sessions for music students on April 18 as a part of the Kaleidoscope series.

“Celebrating Gettysburg” will be performed by the Southern Tier Symphony at 3 p.m. on May 5 in the Bromeley Family Theater. Tickets cost $20 for the public and are free for students.

For more information, call the Bromeley Family Theater box office at (814)362-5155.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disability Resources at (814)362-7609 or clh71@pitt.edu.

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