For a full calendar of College events, please click here.
April 1, Tuesday
Kate Royal, soprano
Roger Vignoles, piano
7:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Soprano Kate Royal is in the early stages of what seems likely to be a brilliant career. Winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and the 2007 Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artists’ award, she has sung with Sir Simon Rattle at the BBC Proms, at Glyndebourne, The Royal Opera House, and the Teatro Real in Madrid. Of part of her 2007 Wigmore Hall recital, Hilary Finch wrote in The Times of London: “Within the first seconds of Liszt’s setting of Heine’s Die Lorelei, Royal had brought a world of sorrow to the two words traurig bin—withdrawing breath from the second so we felt acutely the melancholy pastness of the misery. Then the evening sun radiated through the full glow of her soprano, before the horror of the fatally enchanted boatman gripped the throat, and it was all over.” Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Tickets: $15/12/5
For more information, please click here.
April 3, Thursday
Rephotographing 19th-Century Government Surveys in the Western U.S.: Documenting Over 130 Years of Environmental Change
4:30 P.M., Hillcrest Environmental Center, Room 103
Slide Lecture: Jeffrey Munroe, Assistant Professor of Geology, will discuss his work applying historical rephotography to the documentation of environmental change in the western U.S. He will provide examples using photographs taken in Utah by Timothy O'Sullivan with the King Survey in 1869, and by William Henry Jackson with the Hayden Survey in 1870. Two of the O'Sullivan photographs he has worked with are included in the exhibition Eloquent Vistas: The Art of 19th Century American Landscape Photography from the George Eastman House Collection." Cosponsored by the Geology Department, Atwater Commons, and the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Free
April 3, Thursday
Artist Talk: Ingrid Ludt
Finding Form: the Narrative Between Drawing and Sculpture
7:00 P.M., Twilight Hall
Ingrid Ludt is a visual artist currently making mixed media drawings and plaster sculptures. She lives and works in upstate New York. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. For more information, contact Monica McCabe at 802-443-5234 or mmccabe@middlebury.edu. Free
April 3, Thursday
Middlebury Invitational High School A Cappella Festival
7:00 P.M., Mead Chapel
The Middlebury College Choir hosts the first Middlebury Invitational High School A Cappella Festival on April 3, featuring guest ensemble Maiden Vermont. High school ensembles from Middlebury Union High School, Mt. Abraham, and Vergennes will participate, as well as the College Choir, and other special guests. Free
April 4, Friday
Immigrants on Tin Pan Alley:
Cafecito Hour Lecture by Larry Hamberlin
12:15 P.M., Carr Hall
In the early years of the 20th century, many American popular songs were "ethnic novelties": humorous portrayals of the millions of immigrants arriving on these shores in those decades. The best of writers of those songs, such as Irving Berlin, were themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants. Thus the songs, which at first glance seem offensive in their use of stereotypes, can be better heard as immigrants' expressions of the contradictions they faced in bringing Old World customs to the New World. Music professor Larry Hamberlin brings these songs to life with illustrations at the piano. Coffee and refreshments are provided. Free
April 5, Saturday
The House of Sand
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
In 1910 Brazil, Vasco de Sá moves with his pregnant wife Áurea and her mother Maria from the city to the shifting dunes of the Maranhão desert. Shortly after their arrival, Vasco dies, leaving the women alone and without resources. Filmed entirely on location in northern Brazil, The House of Sand illustrates how three generations of women survive and adapt in a hostile environment. “sensual, dreamlike, both intimate and epic”—Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (Brazil, 2005, 98 minutes) Free
April 5, Saturday
"Opening Night":
15th Annual Music Department Cabaret
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Teddy Crecelius ’08 and Allison Corke ’08 host this lively, annual presentation of musical theatre selections. Produced by affiliate artists Carol Christensen and Beth Thompson, the show features music from The Producers by Mel Brooks, and many other Broadway favorites. Tennessee pianist Joe Davidian will be the evening’s accompanist. The performers are students of Christensen, Thompson, Dan Marcy, and Susanne Peck. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 7, Monday
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion: Lysistrata
12:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre
Director Claudio Medeiros ’90 introduces the play and leads a discussion about the upcoming production. Lunch is provided. Free
April 7–20, Monday–Sunday
Wallpaper
An Exhibition of Prints and Drawings by Artist in Residence Heimo Wallner
Johnson Memorial Building, Johnson Gallery
Christian A. Johnson Artist in Residence Heimo Wallner’s drawings manipulate body parts, actions, and expressions to create what he refers to as “a vocabulary of emotions.” The images serve as symbols for words representing a compendium of life’s experiences. Body language becomes a means for expressing the emotions that derive from human interaction and from individual struggle or achievement. (Opening reception on April 9.) Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
April 9, Wednesday
Opening Celebration: Wallpaper
An Exhibition of Prints and Drawings by Artist in Residence Heimo Wallner
7:00 P.M., Johnson Memorial Building, Johnson Gallery
Wallner’s drawings manipulate body parts, actions, and expressions to create what he refers to as “a vocabulary of emotions.” Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
April 9–12, Wednesday–Saturday
Lysistrata
8:00 P.M. each evening, with a 2:00 P.M. matinee on Saturday only, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre
The war between the ancient city-states of Athens and Sparta continues with no end in sight. Lysistrata has the solution: she rallies the women of Greece to hold a sex strike to force the politicians and soldiers to come to their senses. Aristophanes’ greatest antiwar comedy mixes fantasy and gender politics with plenty of bawdy jokes, double entendres, and sexual innuendoes—all to create the revolutionary idea that a small group of women can change the course of a war. Directed by Claudio Medeiros ’90; movement direction by Vanessa Mildenberg; scenic design by Mark Evancho; light design by Hallie Zieselman. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance. Tickets: $5/4/3, on sale March 19.
April 10, Thursday
Print the Legend: Photography, the West, and the American Imagination
4:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221
Martha A. Sandweiss, Professor of American Studies and History at Amherst College, gives an illustrated slide lecture that examines how nineteenth-century photographs both reflected and helped to shape the nation’s understanding of the far West. Although photographs offered many Americans their first glimpse of a distant place, they often proved less persuasive than more dramatic and imaginative kinds of pictures. Cosponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture, the Department of American Studies, the Office of Environmental Affairs, the Program in Environmental Studies, the Department of Geography, Atwater Commons, and the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Free
April 10, Thursday
Film and Impersonation
4:30 P.M., McCardell Bicentennial Hall 220
The Faculty Lecture Series presents this public lecture by Ted Perry, Fletcher Professor of the Arts, Film and Media Culture. Refreshments are available prior to the lecture. Free
April 10, Thursday
Artist Talk: Tomas Vu-Daniel
7:00 P.M., Twilight Hall
Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. For more information, contact Monica McCabe at 802-443-5234 or mmccabe@middlebury.edu. Free
April 10, Thursday (through April 24)
Exhibition of Color Photography
Johnson Memorial Building, Pit Space
Students in John Huddleston’s Color Photography course exhibit their work—traditional film-based images and digital images—produced in the new darkroom facility in Johnson. Experience the range of thinking and diversity of photographic representation embodied in this work. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
April 10-12, Thursday-Saturday
The Lifeblood
8:00 P.M. each evening, with a 10:30 P.M. late-night performance on Friday only, Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Play by Glyn Maxwell; senior work of Allison Corke and Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki (acting) and Franny Bohar (costume design).
Equal parts historical fact and fictional intrigue, this work by award-winning poet Glyn Maxwell brings to life the harrowing final days of Mary Stuart's imprisonment and ultimate execution. With layers of deception, admiration, respect--and even love--Maxwell illuminates a tragic connection between the Scottish queen and Sir Thomas Gorge, the man who represents her greatest hope and her cruelest betrayal. Tickets: $1; on sale March 19.
April 11, Friday
Middlebury Community Wind Ensemble
7:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
The Middlebury Community Wind Ensemble, also known as "Midd Winds," is a community band made up of area students and community members including Middlebury College alumni and staff. Free
April 12, Saturday
Eloquent Music
3:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Middlebury College Museum of Art
Middlebury Student chamber musicians play among 19th-Century American landscape photographs on view in the current museum exhibition. The performers are Alison Maggart '08, harp (hometown: Knoxville, TN); JiSun Song '09, cello (hometown: Korea); and Libby Marks '08, flute (hometown: Ithaca, NY). Their program includes Trio for Harp, Flute, and Cello by Jean Francaix, and Serenade No. 10 for Flute and Harp by Vincent Persichetti. Free
April 12, Saturday
Iraq in Fragments
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
Director James Longley (Gaza Strip) surveys war-torn Iraq in three acts, building a picture of a country pulled in different directions by religious and ethnic rivalries. Filmed in verité style with no scripted narration, the film explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis in three regions, trying to survive in a land consumed by violence. “Visually arresting and deeply disheartening.”—Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News. Best Documentary, Sundance Film Festival, International Documentary Association, Chicago Film Festival. In Arabic and Kurdish with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (Iraq, 2006, 94 minutes) Free
April 12, Saturday
Cynthia Huard, piano
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Acclaimed collaborative pianist and Middlebury applied faculty member Cynthia Huard steps into the spotlight for a solo program of music by Beethoven, Schumann, Ravel, and Lieberson. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 13, Sunday
Jazz Concert by Miles Donahue and Friends
7:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Music Department affiliate artist Miles Donahue and special guests present a jazz concert, featuring Joey Calderazzo of the Branford Marsalis Group. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 17, Thursday
Arts and the Environment: Andrea Olsen
12:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
This performance and discussion by Andrea Olsen, professor of Dance and associate in Environmental Studies, is part of the Environmental Studies Colloquium Series. Please also view the sculpture by Patrick Dougherty (outside the Route 30 entrance); an exhibition of photography by Brett Foreman '07, Environmental Studies/Studio Art major and Committee on Art in Public Places prize winner (near north stairway, parking lot entrance); and video by Daniel Houghton '06 (shown on the lobby television, outside Rehearsals Cafe). Open to all; lunch provided.
April 17, Thursday
Artist Talk: Line Bruntse
7:00 P.M., Twilight Hall
Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. For more information, contact Monica McCabe at 802-443-5234 or mmccabe@middlebury.edu. Free
April 17, Thursday
Spring Piano Recital by Students of Diana Fanning
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Diana Fanning’s piano students present a recital of works by J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Scriabin, and Chopin. The performers are Marina Pravdic ‘10, DaWeon Ryu ‘10, Hyemin Ryu ‘08, Noah Silverstein ‘11, Andrew Throdahl ‘09, and Nicholas Tkach ‘11. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 17-19, Thursday-Saturday
底流Undercurrents
8:00 P.M. each evening, with a 2:00 P.M. matinee on Saturday only; Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Senior work of Teddy Crecelius (directing) . Playwrights Kobo Abe (The Man Who Turned Into a Stick) and Thornton Wilder (The Rivers Under the Earth) explore the underlying causes behind patterns of human behavior in the psychological landscapes of post-WWII Japan and America. Abe's play is fantastical but pointed critique of an entire society. Wilder's explores the unique outlooks of individual minds. Tickets: $1; on sale April 3.
April 19, Saturday
The Namesake
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
An aspiring engineer and his new wife move to New York from Calcutta in the late 1970s, and their American-born son grows up at the intersection of American culture and his family’s traditional Indian ways. In portraying the personal conflicts of globalization, director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay!) creates a winning, intimate film about the strength of family and the clash of cultures. “Brims with intelligence, compassion and sensuous delight in the textures, sights and sounds of life—all the way from the Taj Mahal to Pearl Jam.”—Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune. In Bengali, Hindi, and English with subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (India/USA, 2006, 122 minutes) Free
April 19, Saturday
Pavel Haas String Quartet
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
At a time when one can still hear live performances by the great string quartets of the age—the Emerson, Takács, and Tokyo Quartets, for example—there is also a wealth of fine musicianship among younger quartets. That would certainly include the Pavel Haas Quartet from Czechoslovakia (Veronika Jaruskova and Maria Fuxova, violin; Pavel Nikl, viola; Peter Jarusek, cello). Winners of the most important string quartet competition, the Paolo Borciani Competition, in 2005, they are among a small number of newer performers honored by the European Concert Hall Organization. In 2007-08, the quartet will play concerts in London’s Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Philharmonie in Cologne, and many other venues. Their Middlebury program will consist of Janáček’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” Dvořák’s “American” Quartet, and Beethoven’s Opus 132. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $15/12/5
Pre-performance dinner: Rehearsals Cafe, 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $15
For more information, please click here.
April 20, Sunday
Middlebury College Choir
Jeff Buettner, director
3:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 21, Monday
Bassoon Concert at the Chateau
7:30 P.M., Chateau Grand Salon
Middlebury bassoon students perform a selection of solo and bassoon ensemble music, including sonatas by Jacobo Ficher and J. Ernest Galliard, and the lyrical "Rhapsody" for solo bassoon by American composer Willson Osborne. Also on the program: a remarkable new composition for Bassoon Quartet by young Vermont composer, Tim Woos. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 21, Monday
Earth Day Concert featuring Geoff Kaufman '69
5:30 P.M*., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Tenor and folk musician Geoff Kaufman '69 performs songs of the land and the sea in celebration of Earth Day. Sponsored by the Department of English and American Literatures. Free
*Please note this performance was originally schedule for 8:00 P.M., but will now commence at 5:30.
April 22, Tuesday
Theremin Performance by Brian Robison and Friends
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
The theremin is one of the world’s oldest electronic musical instruments; its eerie voice is most familiar from mid-century science-fiction movie soundtracks. Visiting composer Brian Robison demonstrates the theremin’s versatility in selections of classical, jazz, and experimental music, performing in collaboration with Tristan Axelrod ’08, Mahaney CFA technical manager Mark Christensen, Philosophy faculty member Kareem Khalifa, Music Department affiliate artist Dick Forman, and Music Department faculty members Larry Hamberlin, Peter Hamlin, and Greg Vitercik. Free
April 23, Wednesday
Dubravka Tomsic, piano
7:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Pianist Dubravka Tomsic’s playing caught the attention of musical legends Claudio Arrau and Artur Rubinstein when she was only a child. After her Carnegie Hall debut, she did not play again in the United States for almost 30 years, but in 1989 she made a dramatic re-appearance on the American music scene at the Newport Music Festival. Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer heralded her return, and Rubinstein called her “a perfect and marvelous pianist.” Her Middlebury recital includes works by Mozart, Scarlatti, Beethoven (“Appassionata”), Brahms, and Prokofiev. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $15/12/5
For more information, please click here.
April 24, Thursday
Between Biblical And Contemporary Judaism:
The 5th-Century Aramaic Tombstone from Zoar in the Middlebury College Museum of Art
4:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Museum of Art
Gallery Talk by the Museum's Reiff Intern Shahar Fineberg '10. Free
April 24, Thursday
Adam Morgan '08, cello
8:00 P.M., Mead Chapel
Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 24-26, Thursday-Saturday
Frozen
8:00 P.M. each evening, with a 2:00 P.M. matinee on Saturday only, Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Play by Bryony Lavery; senior work of Rishabh Kashyap and Stephanie Strohm (acting). Frozen is not only a psychological drama, but a drama about psychology. Through the intersecting lives of three very different people, it plumbs the depths of the human mind in search of the point that separates biology from free will. For what are we responsible? For what should we be forgiven? As science unearths new truths, are the answers becoming clearer, or have we only further blurred the lines? Tickets: $1; on sale April 11.
April 25, Friday
Middlebury College Orchestra
Troy Peters, director
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Violinist Emily Kim Goldsmith ’08, winner of the 2008 Alan and Joyce Beucher Concerto Competition, joins the Middlebury College Orchestra, conducted by Troy Peters, in a performance of the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Sopranos Carol Christensen and Beth Thompson, both Middlebury College affiliate artists, are featured in the world premiere of The Vilnius Duet, by Ezra Axelrod ’08. The concert also includes Kodály’s bustling Intermezzo from Hary Janos and Haydn’s Symphony no. 100, known as the “Military Symphony.” Free
April 25–26, Friday–Saturday
Adriane Medina ’08 and Friends
8:00 P.M. each evening, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Powerhouse dancer and choreographer Adriane Medina ’08 presents her senior independent work "Moments on a String," focusing on collaboration and integration. Consisting of three pieces, Medina's work investigates movement qualities and nuances in dancing style. The concert also showcases a series of solos by Dance Program Faculty to create a dynamic evening of dance. Tickets: $5/4/3; on sale April 11.
April 26, Saturday
Still Life
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
Coal miner Han Sanming returns to the Three Gorges to search for his ex-wife, whom he has not seen for 16 years. They meet on the bank of the Yangtze River and vow to remarry. Nurse Shen Hong looks for her long-missing husband, and though they embrace and waltz near the Yangtze—by the imposing Three Gorges Dam—they cannot bridge their years of separation. In this gorgeously crafted film, director Jia Zhang Ke (The World, Platform) uses cinematography to echo the characters’ desire to linger in the past and see the world maintain its beauty, despite the inexorable pull of change. Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (China, 2006, 108 minutes) Free
April 26, Saturday
Alison Maggart '08, harp, and Friends
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
The program features original compositions by Alison Maggart '08, Will Ceurvels '08, and Philippe Bronchtein '10. Maggart's senior work, "Remote Sounds", is an study of the possibilities of and role of harp in modern music, as performed by herself (harp), Adam Morgan '08 (cello), Libby Marks '08(flute), and Chris Hench (vibraphone). Ceurvels and Bronchtein's "Persistence of an Ember in a Bed of Ash" is a collaboration that explores the confrontation of minimalist and Kottke-esque folk modalities. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 27, Sunday
Student Chamber Music Recital
3:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Solo & chamber music performances by students of the Middlebury College Music Department. Free
April 28, Monday
Megan Guiliano '08, violin, and Friends
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Violinist Megan Guiliano ’08 presents her senior recital, performing music by Bach, Brahms, Ravel, and Bartók. Middlebury affiliate artist Cynthia Huard accompanies Guiliano on piano. Friends Caeli Nistler-Schnabel ’08, clarinet, and DaWeon Ryu ’10, piano join the program for Bartók’s Contrasts. The trio won the 2008 Middlebury College Chamber Music Competition with Contrasts. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
April 29, Tuesday
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion: Jumpers
12:30 P.M., Wright Memorial Theatre
Director Cheryl Faraone introduces the play and leads a discussion about the upcoming production. Lunch is provided. Free
April 29, Tuesday
William Davison '08, vocalist
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
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