1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Music lovers take note

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Music lovers, take out your calendars and start planning: Transylvania University’s music program has four compelling—and contrasting—performances scheduled for the next four weeks. They’re all free and open to the public, so why spend an evening without music? Friday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., Haggin Auditorium, Mitchell Fine Arts CenterConcert Band and Jazz and Percussion Ensembles Playing for the first time together, the Concert Band and the Jazz and Percussion Ensembles might take the roof off Haggin Auditorium. The Concert Band, under the direction of professor of music and director of instrumental ensembles Ben Hawkins, will perform music by Sousa, Alfred Reed, Robert W. Smith and Norman Dello Joio. The program includes Sousa’s rousing and aptly named “On the Campus,” a brisk circus march. The Jazz Ensemble, conducted by low brass music instructor Valerie Evans, will play “Grooved Pavement” by Victor Lopez, “Now What” by Mike Kamuf and a combined piece with the Percussion Ensemble titled “Cubano Chant” by Ray Bryant. And the Percussion Ensemble, conducted by percussion music instructor Greg Strouse, will present “Kalahari” by Steve Grimo and “Impulsion” by David Long. Wednesday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m., Haggin Auditorium, Mitchell Fine Arts CenterGabriel Fauré’s “Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48” Transylvania Chamber Orchestra and various choirs French composer Gabriel Fauré’s well-known “Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48” will be presented by the Transylvania University music program. The performance of the gripping mass for the dead, in seven movements, will

Transylvania University’s theater program offers first repertory season beginning Nov. 14

LEXINGTON, Ky.―Costumes, actors and sets are multiplied by three this fall as Transylvania University’s theater program ambitiously mounts its first repertory theater season, packing nine performances into 11 days. “Repertory implies the same cast in all the shows,” explains Sullivan Canaday White, assistant professor of theater and the theater program director. “However, we are rotating all the student actors and the directors for each show. That means we can have first-year students in major roles and no overlap among the actors and technicians. “There is one exception: Sophomore theater major Olivia Luken will stage manage two shows.” A total of 30 students will present three plays that range from drama to comedy. All performances will be in Transylvania’s Lucille C. Little Theater. Kevin Kling’s “Lloyd’s Prayer” opens the trilogy of productions. Directed by White, the comedy is a parable about Bob the raccoon boy and what happens to him when he is “rescued” from his raccoon family. Kling, a playwright and storyteller known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” will visit Transylvania in February to deliver a one-man performance. Sheila Callahan’s “Crumble (Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake)” confronts themes of loss, aging and adolescent hardship. Directed by senior classics and history major Tori Lantrip, the hilarious although disturbing production finds young Janice and her mother in a dilapidated apartment without much hope—except for visitations from their celebrity crushes, Justin Timberlake and Harrison Ford. Meanwhile, the

Transylvania’s newest art exhibition connects Lexington’s vibrant gay history and current LGBTQ* community

LEXINGTON, Ky.—“I’ll Be Your Mirror,” Morlan Gallery’s exhibition opening Oct. 25, reveals Lexington’s historically rich, vibrant and fairly secretive gay culture. Referencing the well-known Velvet Underground song, “I’ll Be Your Mirror” depicts the story of the town’s drag queens, sexual outlaws and gender-bending guerilla artists from the turn of the twentieth century right up to present day through the work of contemporary visual artists. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” was curated by Lexington-based artist Robert Morgan, who as a child of the 1960s met people who had identified as gay in the early part of the twentieth century. “I was mesmerized by the tales from their lives and was given loving advice and guidance as I began my life’s adventure as a gay kid from Kentucky on his way into a new century,” explained Morgan. The exhibition explores the flamboyant local lore of days gone by, including ghost stories from the Thomas January House on Lexington’s West Second Street; cross-dressing civil war hero Sue Mundy who, at John Hunt Morgan’s death, took over Morgan’s Raiders and became a legend; and images of the colorful and much loved Sweet Evening Breeze, Lexington’s 1950s version of RuPaul. In “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” Morgan creates a nexus between the historical gay Old South of the twentieth century and the political activism of the twenty-first century. The show celebrates the rebirth of the gay community with young visual artists who have a new way of

Opening ceremonies for Transylvania’s new athletics field Oct. 19

LEXINGTON Ky.—Transylvania University has transformed the site of an old tobacco warehouse into a $10 million athletics facility that will benefit not only the school but also the entire community. Join us Saturday, Oct. 19, to celebrate the opening of the new field at the 555 West Fourth Street facility. Opening day events will include an introduction of sports teams and words from President R. Owen Williams around 3 p.m. and games, music and face painting. A full day of sports will kick off at 1 p.m. with a women’s soccer game. The field will be home to the university’s soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and track and field teams. A grandstand that seats more than 800 spectators will overlook an eight-lane track and artificial turf field lighted for nighttime intercollegiate competition. The field is part of the Athletics Complex, which will include a field house with locker and conference rooms, office space, a sports medicine facility, concessions, a ticket booth and public restrooms. The field house is expected to be open in early January. “We’re absolutely excited,” Athletics Director Holly K. Sheilley said of the project. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility that I think the community and the university can be very proud of.” The public is invited to come out and cheer on our Pioneers and attend the opening ceremonies. With this project, Transylvania is helping revitalize this area of downtown. The site is near the future campus of Bluegrass

Transylvania University’s third annual STUDIO 300 features vanguard of digital arts and music movement

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s Studio 300: Digital Art and Music Festival showcases the cutting edge of art in the digital age with nine exhibitions, three concerts and four lectures presented by 33 musicians and 130 artists in just two days. The festival, free and open to the community, is Oct. 4 and 5. Exploring creative manifestations of technology is the festival’s focus. Timothy Polashek, director of the festival and assistant professor of music at Transylvania, emphasizes the importance of innovation: “All the artists and musicians involved are also technologists who build their own tools, instead of using preexisting tools in traditional ways. This is one of the factors that makes Studio 300 really exciting.” Polashek is himself a software creator and an internationally recognized composer. Studio 300’s exhibitions include “Waves & Currents: An Exploration of Sound, Light, and Time,” by Montréal artist Lenka Novakova and Boston artist Georgie Friedman, in Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery through Oct. 11. Other notable exhibitions include “Vox-Novus 60×60 Video Mix” and the BYTE Gallery International Exhibition. “60×60” is a one-hour multimedia performance made up of sixty 60-second or shorter compositions by artists from around the world. The BYTE Gallery International Exhibition will feature 45 works, selected from several hundred internationally submitted entries. The BYTE gallery features video, audio and still images from all over the world, including Iran, Germany, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Japan, Italy and France. Three multi-artist concerts and four Art Talks over the two days