Arts offer entertaining and diverse performances and exhibits
Productions for and by students, faculty, children and more
Pitt-Bradford will continue its arts programming for 2019-20 with musical performances, art exhibits, and more!
The University offers three different series: Prism, Spectrum, and Kaleidoscope. Prism offerings are premiere performances. Spectrum offerings are visual, literary, and performing artists chosen by the faculty with an emphasis on academics and curriculum. Finally, Kaleidoscope is a matinee series that bring arts to schoolchildren.
Kaleidoscope will continue to offer smART workshops that promote art to children PreK-4 with their families. These Saturday morning workshops are $5 per family and registration is recommended.
All events are open to the public and free unless otherwise noted. Hours in the KOA Art Gallery are 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. For more information on individual events or tickets, contact the Bromeley Family Theater box office at 814-362-5113 or visit www.upb.pitt.edu/TheArts.
Sept. 10 -- Kelvin Chan, baritone. Noon, Studio Theater, Blaisdell Hall. Part of the Spectrum Series.
Sept. 11 -- “Roger Hane at 80: Visions of an Illustrator,” 7 p.m., Mukaiyama University Room, Frame-Westerberg Commons. Robert C. Hunsicker will present a multimedia program on Roger Hane, a Bradford-born illustrator whose vision and works transformed the commercial art world. Sponsored by the Friends of Hanley Library.
Sept. 19-Oct 17 - “Relevant Scraps,” artist Ani Hoover, KOA Art Gallery. Opening Reception noon Sept. 19. Hoover creates heirloom-like fiber pieces and sculpture from discarded and readily available materials.
Sept. 28 - “Craig Karges presents Experience the Extraordinary!” 8 p.m., Bromeley Family Theater, Blaisdell Hall. Karges is known for his unusual mental feats involving extraordinary phenomena to millions of television viewers. Be prepared for audience participation exhibiting mental and physical feats that will blow your mind! $20 for the public, $16 for faculty & staff, and $5 for Students. Part of the Prism series.
Oct. 2 - Jamie Lackey and Paul Stefko. 7:30 p.m., Mukaiyama University Room, Frame-Westerberg Commons. Writing program alumni Paul Stefko, game designer, and Jamie Lackey, fantasy writer, return to campus to read.
Oct. 5 - Instrument Petting Zoo, 10 a.m., Blaisdell Hall, a smART Workshop for children pre-K through 4th grade and their families. Imagine an entire zoo of musical instruments - and you can play them all! Join us for some musical fun with Isaac Spaeth who will provide information, demonstrations, and instruction on many different instruments.
Oct. 16 -Paula Closson Buck, Poet. 7:30 p.m., Mukaiyama University Room, Frame-Westerberg Commons. Part of the Spectrum series. Paula Closson Buck is the author of three books of poems from LSU Press, most recently “You Cannot Shoot a Poem” (2018). A former director of the writing program at Pitt-Bradford, she now teaches creative writing at Bucknell University.
Oct. 22 - Diaspora Drumming, Noon, Studio Theater, Blaisdell Hall. The Buffalo, New York-based percussion ensemble Diaspora Drumming will perform a program called "Echoes of Africa," featuring traditional percussion music of Guinea, Ghana, Mexico, Cuba, and Brazil, performed on authentic instruments.
Nov. 9 - Sensory-Friendly Activities, 10 a.m., Blaisdell Hall, a smART Workshop for children pre-k through 4th grade. Sensory activities are those that stimulate the five senses - touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound. Sensory activities are fun for all children, but are of particular benefit to those on the autism spectrum. Instructor Christy Keck will lead this workshop to motivate their senses.
Nov. 11-Dec. 6 - “Adding and Subtracting,” Tressa Jones and Tyler Nansen, KOA Art Gallery. Opening Reception noon Nov. 12. Drawing inspiration from the natural and built environments, Tressa Jones and Tyler Nansen have created works to translate visually the notion of opposites in the landscape while considering the human.
Nov. 14-17 - “The Moors,” play by Jen Silverman, directed by Dr. Kevin Ewert. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14-16 and 2 p.m. Nov. 17, Studio Theater, Blaisdell Hall. “The Moors” is a dark comedy about love, desperation, and visibility. Like Bronte's “Wuthering Heights” (1847) crossed with Lanthimos' “The Favourite” (2018), but funnier and more vicious. Tickets are $6 for the public; $2 for students.
Dec. 3 - Vocal Arts Ensemble Holiday Concert, Noon. Studio Theater, Blaisdell Hall. The Vocal Arts Ensemble features student vocalists who perform programs that include seasonal favorites, traditional works and contemporary compositions.
Dec. 4 - “Sing Diversity - The Songwriting Project Video Release Party,” 6 p.m., Bromeley Family Theater, Blaisdell Hall. In four songwriting workshops led by musicians Christy Santoni and Craig Smith, the themes of diversity and inclusion will be discussed to create lyrics, music and video by Pitt-Bradford students.
Jan. 10-24, 2020 - “Searching for Beauty in a Broken World,” art by Merriam Ryding. Opening Reception at noon Jan. 10, KOA Art Gallery, Blaisdell Hall. These paintings highlight the natural beauty of the northern Alleghenies along with the worn facades of our built townscape. Ryding teaches in Pitt-Bradford's art program.
Jan. 18, 2020 - Theater Games, 10 a.m., Blaisdell Hall, a smART Workshop for children pre-K through 4th grade. Drama games are an important part of any children's theater program as they teach valuable skills while allowing children to build confidence and stretch their imagination. Instructor Dani Newman will make them fun too.
Jan. 22, 2020 - Baily's Beads Annual Literary Magazine Celebration, 7:30 p.m., Mukaiyama University Room, Frame-Westerberg Commons. Pitt-Bradford's annual magazine, Baily's Beads, will be unveiled with refreshments, prizes, readings by Baily's Beads contributors and an open mic for anyone who wants to share original work.
Feb. 1, 2020 - “Rainbow Fish” Workshop, 10 a.m., Blaisdell Hall, a smART Workshop for children pre-K through 4th grade. Creating themed art and talking about a favorite book, “The Rainbow Fish,” in preparation for the Kaleidoscope evening performance on Feb. 4. This pre-show workshop will provide artwork that can be taken home or displayed in the lobby for the show.
Feb. 4, 2020 - “The Rainbow Fish” presented by the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. 7 p.m. family performance. Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia's “The Rainbow Fish” is an original stage adaptation of Marcus Pfister's colorful story as well as two of the author's companion tales, “Rainbow Fish Discovers the Deep Sea” and “Opposites.” The Rainbow Fish will captivate even the youngest child with his silver scales and heart of gold through enchanting puppetry. $12.
Feb. 6, 2020-Mar. 5, 2020 - “People and Places of Bradford,” KOA Art Gallery. Opening reception at noon Feb. 6, 2020. This unique photographic exhibition celebrates the community of Bradford as it takes center stage as the subject of an artistic photo-journalistic project. Students from the fall 2019 digital photography courses will showcase their best artistic work featuring individuals and businesses within our town, created in timeless black and white.
Feb. 21, 2020 - The DePue Brothers. 7:30 p.m., Bromeley Family Theater, Blaisdell Hall. The DePue Brothers Band encompasses a vivid blend of bluegrass, classical, and rock genres. The brothers are the founders of the term “grassical music.” They have been part of a PBS documentary film and performed on a Grammy-nominated album. Public: $25, Student: $5.
Mar. 18, 2020 - Margaret McMullan, Memoirist. 7:30 p.m., Mukaiyama University Room, Frame-Westerberg Commons. Margaret McMullan is the author of nine award-winning books including the novel, “In My Mother's House,” the story collection “Aftermath Lounge,” and the anthology, “Every Father's Daughter.” McMullan's young adult novels have received best book awards from Parents' Choice, School Library Journal, the American Library Association, and Booklist among many other educational organizations.
Mar. 26, 2020 - Voices of Bradford, Noon, Bromeley Family Theater, Blaisdell Hall. A unique multimedia project based on oral histories, interviews, and sounds collected from the Bradford and Pitt-Bradford community - an exploration of place and the sounds that make us think of “home.”
Apr. 9, 2020 - Vocal Arts Ensemble Spring Concert, Noon, Studio Theater, Blaisdell Hall. The Vocal Arts Ensemble features student vocalists performing traditional works and contemporary compositions.
Apr. 16, 2020 - Celebration of the Arts, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Blaisdell Hall. Seven interdisciplinary arts capstone students will present and display their work throughout Blaisdell Hall. Poets, actors, writers, singers, dancers and musicians are invited to perform during the open mic.
May 1, 2020 - Christopher Agostino's StoryFaces, 7 p.m., family performance. StoryFaces is a one-of-a-kind performance to inspire and delight any audience! Audience volunteers are brought on stage where their face is painted to illustrate the stories told by master storyteller Christopher Agostino. He fully engages the audience with a skillful spoken-word performance combined with his unique visual art. The creative face painting is as captivating as the traditional folktales and original stories told. $12.