January 3, Thursday (through August 10)
Art Now: Recent Acquisitions in Photography and Film/Video
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Museum of Art, Overbrook Gallery
For the past eight years, the Project in Contemporary Photography and Film/Video has offered students the opportunity to help select works of art for the Museum collection. During the spring, Art Now installations feature videos by Tracy Moffett, Jacco Olivier, and the Swiss team of Fischli and Weiss, along with photographs by Roger Ballen, Bernd and Hilla Becher, and Robert Mapplethorpe, among others. Free
January 4–January 18, Friday–Friday
Exhibition of Large Format Drawings
Johnson Memorial Building, Pit Space
These large drawings—both representational and abstract—reflect a combination of strategies and concepts explored throughout the fall semester in Introduction to Studio Art I, ART 0159. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
***CANCELLED***
January 10, Thursday
Expressionist Excess and Sexual Anxiety in Nelson Rodriques’s work: The Wedding Dress & All Nudity Shall be Punished
4:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221
The Faculty Lecture Series presents this public lecture by Claudio Medeiros '90, Assistant Professor of Theatre. Refreshments available prior to the lecture. Free
***This event will be rescheduled for sometime in Fall 2008.***
January 11, Friday
Takács Quartet
Edward Dusinberre, violin
Károly Schranz, violin
Geraldine Walther, viola
András Fejér, cello
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Simply one of the very top world string quartets of our time, the Takács Quartet graces the Concert Hall stage for another much-anticipated concert. Since the mid 90s, they have performed much of the great quartet literature here at Middlebury: Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Bartók, Debussy, and finally, in their most recent concert, Shostakovich. This season’s program consists of works by Haydn, Bartók, and Beethoven (the third of the Razumovsky quartets). 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.
January 12, Saturday
Flags of Our Fathers
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
In World War II, during the battle of Iwo Jima, a photograph of the American flag being raised on top of a hill overlooking the invasion beach becomes a powerful symbol of the American war effort. After the battle, three of the Marine flag raisers must come to terms with honors, exploitation, and grief. From Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven) comes a “mixture of cynicism and idealism, irony and conviction, satiric skepticism and red-blooded patriotism.”—Andrew Sarris, New York Observer. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (USA, 2006, 132 minutes) Free
January 12, Saturday
Middlebury Community Wind Ensemble
7:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Free
January 18, Friday
'There's beggary in the love that can be reckon'd', working on The Passion of Jesus of Nazareth; by Elizabeth Cook
1:00 P.M., Twilight Auditorium
Presented as part of the Scott Symposium. Free
January 18, Friday
A listening experience—Francis Grier and Elizabeth Cook’s“The Passion of Jesus of Nazareth” (2006)
2:00 P.M., Twilight Auditorium
Presented as part of the Scott Symposium. Free
January 18, Friday
Musical Settings of the Passion Texts, by Andrew Shenton
4:30 P.M., Twilight Auditorium
Presented as part of the Scott Symposium. Free
January 18, Friday
The Passion and the Resurrection in Byzantine Iconography and Ritual
8:00 P.M., Twilight Auditorium
Lecture by Maria Hatjigeorgiou, presented as part of the Scott Symposium. Free
January 19, Saturday
Letters from Iwo Jima
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
The acclaimed companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers, this film presents the same battle from the Japanese perspective. With kamikaze base Iwo Jima one of the last defenses against an American invasion of Japan’s home islands, the Imperial Army prepares a desperate defense. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi assumes command and plans for the imminent attack, while Saigo, a common soldier, strives simply to survive the fierce assault. “Superbly acted, unblinking and unhysterical, it looks beyond politics into the hearts and minds of the men we needed to call ‘the enemy,’ and lets us see ourselves.”—David Ansen, Newsweek. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (USA, 2006, 140 minutes) Free
January 19, Saturday
Romantic Era Solo and Chamber Music
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
A concert featuring Pianist Andrew Throdahl ’09, violinist Ellen Flanagan ’09, violist Lindsay Selin ’08 and cellist Shelsey Weinstein ’08.5, winners of last year’s Student chamber music competition. The evening begins with a set of five miniatures, Dohnanyi’s Serenade in C Major for String Trio, followed by Ravel’s opulent suite Gaspard de la Nuit, one of the most difficult piano compositions in the repertoire. Brahms’ monumental G Minor Piano Quartet closes the program. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
January 21, Monday
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion:
St. Crispin’s Day
12:30 P.M., Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Director Alexander Draper ’88 introduces the play and leads a discussion about the upcoming production. Lunch is provided. Free
January 21, Monday
Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
Remembrance and Reflection
7:00 P.M., Mead Chapel
Featuring Keynote speaker Vijay Prashad, George and Martha Kellner Professor of South Asian History and the Director of International Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, CT; with performances by the Middlebury Spiritual Choir led by Francois Clemmons, Alexander Twilight Artist-in-Residence. Professor Prashad's keynote address is entitled "On Commitment: Considerations on Political Activism on a Shocked Planet." The bulk of the class of 2011 was born in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall came down, the year the Cold War officially ended. The world, for this emergent generation, is framed by the kind of politics that emerged after 9/11: gloom and fear, self-righteous militarism and hateful revanchism. The beautiful struggles of the Civil Rights movement and the peace movements of the Cold War era are equally relegated to history. How do we find a new foundation for our politics in a world shocked by permanent war and by stubborn intolerance? How do we make lifetimes of commitment for what Martin Luther King called the creation of a "beloved community"? A reception will follow immediately at Hillcrest Environmental Center. Free
Read about the full schedule of events celebrating the life and work of Martin Luther Kng, Jr. by clicking here.
January 22, Tuesday
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion:
Dance Company of Middlebury
12:30 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Artistic Director Tiffany Rhynard leads a discussion about the upcoming performance of I’m Right, You’re Wrong and previews excerpts of the company’s newest work. Free
Attention: Some material may not be suitable for young children.
January 23, Wednesday
Jazz Workshop special event: Playing with Strangers
7:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221
Most jazz musicians spend a lot of their musical lives playing with people they’ve never worked with before. Four of Vermont’s best players will play together for the first time, and talk about the way they adjust to this all-too-common situation. It will be a rare chance to peek behind the curtain, to see just how a group of strangers work to create an ensemble instantly. Sposnored by the Department of Music. Free
January 24, Thursday (through April 20)
Eloquent Vistas: The Art of Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Photography from the George Eastman House Collection
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Museum of Art, Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery
A landscape has been described as “a mindful creation that frames a view of the world.” The 78 images in this extraordinary exhibition include daguerreotypes of Niagara Falls, photographs of Civil War battlefields, and spectacular views of expanding railroad lines and the vast American West. All created in the last half of the nineteenth century, by artists like Timothy H. O’Sullivan, Eadweard Muybridge, William Henry Jackson, and Carlton E. Watkins, the works were selected from more than 10,000 American landscape images in the collection of the George Eastman House. Eloquent Vistas: The Art of Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Photography from the George Eastman House Collection and its tour were organized by George Eastman House. Free
January 24, Thursday
Robery F. Reiff Gallery of Asian Art reopens
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Museum of Art
Featuring recent acquisitions and loans, the exhibition explores a wide range of Asian artistic traditions. Highlights include a sixth-century Chinese gilt bronze figure of Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion, a twelfth-century Indian stone sculpture of Vishnu, an eighteenth-century suit of Japanese armor, and a Japanese Noh robe. The gallery is generously funded by Barbara and Robert P. '64 Youngman. Free
January 24, Thursday
Photographing the Burlesque and Beyond: An Artist Talk with Sarah Schorr
7:00 P.M., Robert A. Jones ’59 House
Photographer Sarah Schorr is on campus this month leading the course "Forming a Photographic Story." Fueled by a fascination with women and their various personae, acclaimed photographer Sarah Schorr has photographed trapeze artists, burlesque dancers, mothers, brides, and prostitutes in the United States and around the world. Most recently she has captured the favorite costumes and good luck charms of five Burlesque dancers from New York City using a flatbed scanner. Schorr graduated from Wesleyan University and she received her MFA in Photography, Video, and Related Media, from the School of Visual Arts. In 2004, her first solo show, "Starlets," opened at Scalo Project Space in New York. Since then her work has been shown in exhibitions and fairs such as PhotoLA and AAF Contemporary Art Fair. A catalog from her 2007 solo show "Borrowed Glitter" is available through the Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York City, by whom she is represented. ponsored by Atwater Commons. Free
January 24–25, Thursday–Friday
Dance Company of Middlebury
8:00 P.M. each evening, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
The 2007–2008 Dance Company of Middlebury, directed by Tiffany Rhynard, presents I’m Right, You’re Wrong, an interdisciplinary and multi-media investigation of the complexity of conflict and the mechanics of consequence. The evening-length piece dissects intricate layers of equality, privilege, and justice, while an interactive media interface created by New York-based artist Marlon Barrios Solano engages performer and audience in technological communication, encouraging the viewer to act as witness, judge, and jury. After the premiere at Middlebury, the company takes the performance on tour in the San Francisco Bay area. Sponsored by the Dance Program with the Academic Outreach Endowment and the Committee on the Arts. Tickets: $5/4/3, on sale January 10.
Attention: Some material may not be suitable for young children.
January 24–26, Thursday–Saturday
St. Crispin’s Day
8:00 P.M. each evening and 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, Hepburn Zoo Theatre
It is the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, the Frenchies are sleeping, and a handful of bored and somewhat dimwitted English soldiers are trying to devise ways of escaping what they see as their inevitable doom. In a mingling of Shakespeare and Monty Python, playwright Matt Pepper has concocted an anti-war comedy replete with whoring, looting, high jinks, and low jinks. “Mr. Pepper’s script is an admirably ambitious stewpot of genres and tricks, and through it all he allows the audience to keep track of the plays underlying sardonic message.”—The New York Times. Directed by Alexander Draper ’88; sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance. Tickets: $5/4/3, on sale January 10.
January 25-26, Friday-Saturday
Sweeney Todd
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Based on a nineteenth-century British melodrama, the musical Sweeney Todd paints a harrowing portrait of a deranged barber, a ruthless baker, and their gruesome revenge on the hypocrisies of Victorian London. With a sung-through score of unrivalled beauty and power, Sweeney Todd is musical theater at its most operatic. Directed by Douglas Anderson, this production stars Ezra Axelrod ’08 and Judith Dry ’09, and features a cast of 20 Middlebury College students, and members of the Middlebury College Orchestra under the direction of Troy Peters. Carol Christensen is Musical Director. Tickets: $5/4/3; on sale January 11.
January 26, Saturday
Mutual Appreciation
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
Alan’s quest for success in music and love is hampered by one thing: himself. The film follows his fledgling band and his romance with a radio DJ as he slinks through New York City bars, clubs, and apartments, learning about the gray areas between expectation, disappointment, and desire that accompany adulthood. An indie festival favorite, Mutual Appreciation is a cleverly written, timeless snapshot of post-college angst from director Andrew Bujalski. “The movie is made of small moments; they add up in your mind to something bigger later, the way life does outside of movies.”—Marrit Ingman, Austin Chronicle. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (USA, 2005, 109 minutes) Free
January 28-29, Monday-Tuesday
Student Songwriters in Performance
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Free
Go to events in February