'Top 10' list features highlights of the summer season at Middlebury
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-Courtesy of Vice President for Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs Michael Geisler and the directors of the various Language Schools, here’s a “Top 10” list of summer events: one in each of the nine languages being taught this summer at Middlebury, and one “VP’s Pick.” (Note that the 2009 Arabic School is taking place at Middlebury’s new West Coast site, Mills College, in Oakland, Calif.)
Please be sure to check the online College calendar for updates and details.
CHINESE
Date & Time: Saturday July 11, 7 p.m.
Location: Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall
Event: Cynthia Hsiang and Zhimin Han present a concert of traditional and contemporary compositions on Chinese flute, pipa, and zither.
FRENCH
Date & Time: Sunday, July 12, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Location: Wright Memorial Theater
Event: De la race en Amérique, performed by French theater artist Vincent Byrd le Sage, mise-en-scène by Francophone African playwright José Pliya. A French dramatization of the now famous “A More Perfect Union” speech given by Barack Obama in Philadelphia in 2008.
GERMAN
Date & Time: Sunday, August 9, 8:30 p.m.
Location: Wright Memorial Theater
Event: A German musical comedy titled Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill.
HEBREW
Date & Time: Saturday, August 8, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
Location: Dana Auditorium
Event: Film Festival, Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir). Award-winning film, directed by Ari Folman, Israel, 2008. The 7:00 p.m. showing will be followed by a discussion led by Middlebury Professor Timi Mayer.
ITALIAN
Date & Time: Saturday, July 25, 9:00-10:30 p.m.
Location: Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall
Event: Operatic concert with dynamic classical pianist Julian Gargiulo and soprano Roza Tulyaganov, who has performed roles with many opera companies, including Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Mississippi Opera, Musetta in La Bohème with Cantiamo Opera Theatre in New York, and Micaëla in Carmen with the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory.
JAPANESE
Date & Time: Friday, July 10, 8:00 p.m.
Location: Wright Memorial Theater
Event: Japanese traditional Rakugo (storytelling) and Kamikiri (paper cutting) performance.
PORTUGUESE
Date & Time: Sunday, June 28, 9 p.m.
Location: McCullough Juice Bar
Event: Performance featuring traditional Brazilian Capoeira, an art form that combines elements of martial arts, games, music, and dance.
RUSSIAN
Date & Time: Monday, July 27, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Mahaney CFA Concert Hall
Event: Russian concert. Cellist Tanya Anisimova and pianist Lydia Frumkin will perform a concert of Russian chamber music. Anisimova is a graduate of Moscow Conservatory and recently performed at the Conservatory’s Rachmaninoff Hall. She has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Russia. Frumkin, a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory, is on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
SPANISH
Date & Time: Friday, July 24, 8:30 p.m.
Location: McCullough Social Space
Event: Concert by acclaimed group La Mar Enfortuna, from Mexico City, a group dedicated to Sephardic music. They will play using original instruments and sing in Judeo-Spanish, celebrating the splendor and convivencia of the three cultures of Medieval Spain.
VP’s PICK
Date & Time: Thursday, July 9, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Location: McCullough Social Space
Event: Le Vent Du Nord, the top traditional music group from Québec performing melodies and stories exploring multiple cultural music traditions. Since its inception in 2002, Le Vent du Nord has exploded onto the folk music scene. The group’s first recording, Maudite moisson!, was awarded a prize for traditional album of the year in 2004. Their second album, Les amants du Saint-Laurent, was chosen album of the year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
NOTE: For more on all the films that are part of Middlebury’s unique International Film Festival this summer, visit the festival Web site.