November 2004

Light Motion Dance/Bill Evans Dance: Celebrating Accessibility Week
Light Motion Dance and Bill Evans Dance present an evening of contemporary work. Light Motion is a physically integrated dance duo from Seattle, and Bill Evans Dance is a duo based in Brockport, New York. This collaborative concert features the amazing "Front-end Chair Control" technique developed by Charlene Curtiss and a variety of highly expressive solos, duets and trios created by Curtiss, Joanne Petroff and internationally-acclaimed choreographer Bill Evans, performed by Curtiss, Petroff, Evans, and Don Halquist.

Thursday, November 4
Master Class with Charlene Curtiss
4:30 P.M, Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Free

Friday, November 5
Light Motion Lecture/Luncheon: Dancing on Wheels
12:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Charlene Curtiss, Director of Light Motion, gives a public lecture describing the development of her company and her pioneering techniques in modern dance as a wheelchair dancer.  Lunch is provided. Free

Saturday, November 6

Master Class with Bill Evans

9:00 A.M, Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

Free

Saturday, November 6

Light Motion Dance/Bill Evans Dance Performance

8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

Tickets: $5/4/3, on sale Oct. 22

November 5, Friday
Violin Master Class with Lazar Gosman
12:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Observers welcome.  Sponsored by the Department of Music. See associated performance on Thursday, November 4.  Free

November 5, Friday
Knoxville, Summer 1915
Francois Clemmons, tenor
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Alexander Twilight Artist-in-Residence Francois Clemmons performes Samuel Barber's rich, expressive composition, set on a text by James Agee.  The piece evokes a uniquely American reverie of childhood in a small Southern town.  Free

November  6, Saturday
Goodbye, Lenin!
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
This ingenious social satire, set during the crazy days of German reunification, tells the tale of a desperate young man, hilariously trying to hide from his old-fashioned, invalid mother that the former Communist regime has fallen. The film unfolds with a sweet humanity that has won over audiences at film festivals worldwide. [Germany, 2003, 118 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

November  9, Tuesday
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion:
The Melting Pot
12:30 P.M., Wright Theatre
Director Richard Romagnoli introduces the play The Melting Pot and leads a discussion about the production. Members of the design staff and cast share insight about their work. Lunch is provided. Free

November 9, Tuesday
Slide Lecture: Sculptor Joel Shapiro
4:30 P.M., Johnson Building, Rm. 304
Acclaimed American sculptor Joel Shapiro gives a slide lecture in conjunction with the current exhibition of five of his works at the Middlebury College Museum of Art.  Free

November 11-13, Thursday-Saturday
The Melting Pot
by Israel Zangwill
8:00 P.M. each evening and 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, Wright Theatre
"The vignettes of a Jewish household in New York were delightful pieces of genre painting, rich in observation and knowledge of human nature, abounding in happy strokes of humour, and mellow with sympathy."—Daily Telegraph. Zangwill's 1908 play about immigrants in America updates the story of Romeo and Juliet, asserting that America is a new country where the old hatreds have no place. This production complements the celebration of Middlebury College Hillel's Jubilee Year, the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the first Jews in North America, and the Silberman Symposium in Jewish Studies. Directed by Richard Romagnoli. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance. Tickets: $5/$4/$3; on sale October 28.

November 13, Saturday
Camille Claudel
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
Isabelle Adjani stars as the French sculptor who worked with Rodin (Gerard Depardieu) and became his lover. This passionate screen biography attempts to establish Claudel's claims to greatness as she moves from being Rodin's muse to his collaborator, then breaks with her mentor, and ultimately goes mad. Winner of five César Awards. [France, 1988, 158 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

November  13, Saturday
Pieter Wispelwey, cello
Dejan Lazić, piano
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Cellist Pieter Wispelwey played a beautiful performance of two Bach suites and two Britten suites in Mead Chapel many years ago, when he was in America studying with Paul Katz at the Eastman School. Since then he has played concertos and recitals in major venues throughout the world and has made a great many recordings. At Middlebury, he plays sonatas by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Brahms, with pianist Dejan Lazić. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $12/$10/$5 ; buy tickets online

November 15, Monday
Champlain Philharmonic
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
This newly-formed orchestra is the brainchild of Vermont violinist David Gusakov and cellist Dieuwke Davydov. In this first public concert, the group is joined by pianist Diana Fanning as soloist.  The program includes Mozart's Overture to the Magic Flute, Beethoven's third piano conerto, and Mendelssohn's Symphony no. 5. Tickets: $8 regular; $6 for senior citizens and students; buy tickets online

November 17, Wednesday
Kirill Gerstein, piano
7:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Kirill Gerstein started out as a jazz pianist and was invited by vibraphonist Gary Burton to study at the Berklee School of Music, where he was the youngest degree student in the school's history. He continued to practice classical repertoire and eventually chose classical music as his focus. He was the first prize winner at the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and was one of the three winners of the most recent Gilmore Artist Award. Sponsored by Brainerd Commons Rising Stars Concerts, supported by the Christian A. Johnson Foundation. Free

November 18-20, Thursday-Saturday
David's Redhaired Death
8:00 P.M. each evening, plus 2:00 P.M. on Saturday only; Hepburn Zoo
Play by Sherry Kramer. In this fantastical and transformational spiral into memory, two red heads, Jean and Marilyn, delve into the events that led up to the tragic death of Jean's brother, David.  Simultaneously, they are forced to explore and wrestle with  their complex love for each other.  Directed by Marieka Peterson.  Senior acting work of theatre majors Cassidy Freeman and Becky Martin.  Tickets: $1, on sale November 4. 802-443-MIDD

CANCELLED
November 19, Friday
Public Lecture by Bernard Rands
4:15 P.M., Center for the Arts, Room 221
Bernard Rands will talk about composing for the voice and how he works with text and music.  The focus will be on his work The Canti Trilogy and especially Canti del Sole, whic contains multi-lingual text. This Pulitzer Prize winning piece will be performed by the Middlebury College Chamber Soloists at 8:00 P.M.  Sponsored by the Department of Music and the Argossy Fund. Free  ***THIS EVENT NOW CANCELLED

November 19, Friday
Auditions For The Dance Company Of Middlebury: TheCubaProject 2004-2005
4:30 P.M, Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
A continuing exchange with Cuban dancers developed after the DCM tour to Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad in February 2003. La Compañía de la danza Narciso Medina performed in Middlebury to thunderous applause the following June on their way from NYC to Maine, and Penny Campbell, artistic director of DCM this year, has been working with dancers at Narciso's theatre in Havana and conducting research in Cuban music and dance, as well. This year the company, rehearsing in January and the spring semester, will develop a concert of original, new work, including improvisation, with the aim of returning to perform in Cuba after graduation—political climate permitting. Stay tuned!

CANCELLED
November 19, Friday
Celebrating Bernard Rands:
Paul Sperry, tenor
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
In recognition of his 70th year, the Department of Music sponsors a concert highlighting the sounds and achievements of renowned composer Bernard Rands. The concert features his celebrated, Pulitzer Prize-winning work, Canti del Sole, with noted American tenor Paul Sperry as soloist. Free  ***THIS EVENT NOW CANCELLED

November 20, Saturday
Dogville
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
On the run from gangsters, Grace (Nicole Kidman) finds precarious shelter in the isolated town of Dogville. Director Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark) films his exploration of goodness in a studio with minimal props, allowing his actors unusual freedom, and bringing a self-conscious dramatic sensibility to this unusual cinematic experiment. [Denmark, 2003, 177 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

November 20, Saturday
Advanced Vocalists Student Recital
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free

November 21, Sunday
Community Thanksgiving Celebration and Concert:
College-Community Chorus
Jeff Rehbach, conductor
George Matthew, Jr., keyboard
4:00 P.M., Mead Chapel
Readings in celebration of Thanksgiving by area clergy and stirring music for chorus, organ, and piano. Free

November 29, Monday (Through December 10)
Print Exhibition
Johnson Memorial Building, Pit Space
Intaglio etchings by students in Hedya Klein's printmaking course, ART 0315, explore technical and conceptual aspects of contemporary printmaking using imagery from personal, ideological, literary, and political sources. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free

November 30, Tuesday
Cabrini Quartet
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
The Cabrini Quartet presents a program of contemporary music for voice and instrumental ensemble. The concert includes the world premiere of the new song cycle River of the Trunk by Su Lian Tan of the Department of Music and John Elder of the Department of Environmental Studies.  This collaboration was begun during the summer of 2003 and completed in August of 2004.  Sponsored by the Department of Music and the Argossy Fund. Free