October brings a musical performance, a theatre production, a visiting writer, a juried art exhibition and academic lectures to Susquehanna University’s campus. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Instrumental, Choral Ensembles Celebrate Bernstein Centennial
The Symphonic Band, Orchestra and Choral ensembles will present the Leonard Bernstein Centennial Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, in Stretansky Concert Hall in the Cunningham Center for Music and Art.
The concert will feature performances from Candide, West Side Story and other works. Bernstein is considered to be one of the most prolific composers in American history, well-known for his contributions to classical and popular music.
The musical ensembles will be conducted by Director of Bands Eric L. Hinton, also an associate professor of music at Susquehanna; Director of Choral Activities Amy Voorhees, also an assistant professor of music; and Gregory Grabowski, assistant professor of music.
Fiction Writer to Present Reading
Kim van Alkemade, fiction writer, essayist and “chronicler of New York’s forgotten Jewish orphanages,” will read from a collection of her work at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Seibert Hall’s Isaacs Auditorium.
Van Alkemade has published two historical fiction novels, Orphan #8 (William Morrow, 2015) and Bachelor Girl (Touchstone, 2018), and her creative nonfiction has appeared in literary journals such as Alaska Quarterly Review, CutBank and So to Speak.
She earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and currently teaches writing as an English professor at Shippensburg University.
Rob Babcock to Lecture on Historical Resilience
Susquehanna’s programming related to this year’s university theme, resilience, continues with a lecture by historian Rob Babcock at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the Charles B. Degenstein Campus Center’s Benjamin Apple Meeting Rooms 3-5.
His lecture is titled Cossack Rebellions and the Resilience of the Russian State. Babcock is the Dorothy Weyer Creigh distinguished professor of history at Hastings College, where he has taught since 1992.
Every year, the university chooses a theme to center the common reading anthology for the incoming first-year students. Events throughout the year will continue to reflect resilience discussions from many different disciplines.
Lore Degenstein Gallery to Host Juried Figurative Art Exhibit
Susquehanna’s Lore Degenstein Gallery will mark its 10th annual Juried Figurative Drawing and Painting Exhibition with an opening reception from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20.
The exhibit will run through Dec. 9.
The national competition is juried this year by Lance Esplund, an art critic for The Wall Street Journal, who will announce the awards at the opening reception.
The Lore Degenstein Gallery, which is located in the Charles B. Degenstein Campus Center, is open every day of the week during the academic semester from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. To make an appointment when classes are not in session, call 570-372-4059.
Zeeman to Deliver Annual Lecture in the Sciences
Mary Lou Zeeman, the R. Wells Johnson professor and chair of the mathematics department at Bowdoin College, will deliver this year’s lecture as the Claritas Distinguished Speaker in the Sciences.
The lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in Stretansky Concert Hall in the Cunningham Center for Music and Art.
Zeeman is a co-founder of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Activity Group on the Mathematics of Planet Earth and also codirects the Mathematics and Climate Research Network.
Her specialty lies in dynamical systems and their application mathematical biology. Her research interests include population dynamics, neuroendocrinology and hormone oscillations, sustainability, climate modeling and resilience.
Department of Theatre to Present Pippin
The 2018-19 Main Stage Season continues with the Tony Award-winning musical Pippin.
Show times are 7:30 p.m.,Oct. 25-27 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 28, in the Degenstein Center Theater.
The show is the story of one young man’s journey to be extraordinary and navigate the intrigues of love and political power.
The Degenstein Center Theater is located in the Charles B. Degenstein Campus Center. The cost for adults is $15; non-SU students and senior citizens are $10. For tickets and information, call the box office at 570-372-ARTS (2787). Pippin is produced in cooperation with the Department of Music.
Annual Lecture to Explore Ethics in Journalism
John M. Baer will deliver Ethical Challenges to the Fourth Estate as this year’s Edward S. and A. Rita Schmidt Lecture in Ethics at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, in Stretansky Concert Hall in the Cunningham Center for Music and Art.
A Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist, Baer was named in 2002 by the National Journal as one of the nation’s top 10 political journalists outside of Washington. He has served as a congressional fellow in Washington under the auspices of the American Political Science Association and was a fellow of the Loyola University School of Law’s inaugural Journalists Law School Program in Los Angeles.
Baer is the author of On the Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting, published in 2012. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today, and he has appeared on the Fox News Network, CNN, C-SPAN and NBC.
L.A. Theatre Works Presents Steel Magnolias
L.A. Theatre Works presents Steel Magnolias at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the Degenstein Center Theater.
Set in the bayou of Louisiana, Robert Harling’s all-female play features six women whose lives are intertwined. Both laugh out-loud funny and deeply touching, Steel Magnolias reveals the strength of the need for human companionship.
L.A. Theatre Works has been the foremost radio theatre company in the United States for four decades. The company has riveted audiences with its radio theater-style performances in more than 300 towns and cities, from New York to Shanghai.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for non-SU students. For tickets and information, the call the box office at 570-372-ARTS (2787).
