1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

New Governor’s School for the Arts session opens June 23 at Transylvania University

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky’s most talented young artists, selected from 1,800 state-wide applicants, will assemble on Transylvania University’s campus on Sunday, June 23, to begin the three-week 2013 session of the Governor’s School for the Arts. The latest GSA class is comprised of 223 rising juniors and seniors from 48 Kentucky counties who will receive top-level training through daily seminars, master classes, lectures, hands-on workshops and field trips to various arts attractions in central Kentucky. The student-artists will receive rigorous instruction in nine disciplines: architecture, creative writing, dance, drama, instrumental music, musical theatre, new media, visual arts and vocal music. Since 1987 more than 4,700 of the state’s most talented high school artists from all 120 counties have attended the GSA summer program following a highly demanding selection process. Each year 1,500 students have applied annually for one of the available scholarships, valued at $3,800. GSA is free to all participants. Transylvania is among 23 colleges and universities that offer scholarships to GSA alumni. The program will culminate on Saturday, July 13, with an all-day festival that celebrates the achievements of the young artists through performances open to family, friends and the public. Graduation ceremonies will be held that day at 5 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Program highlights in 2013 include performances by pianist Henry Pickens, singer/songwriter Ben Sollee, percussion ensemble Caixa Trio and dance performance by the Moving Collective. Presentations will be given by celebrated

The Rose Ensemble will present “Land of Three Faiths” concert September 11 at Transylvania. The concert is free and open to the public, no ticket necessary.

LEXINGTON, Ky.— Critically acclaimed group The Rose Ensemble will present “Land of Three Faiths: Voices of Ancient Mediterranean Jews, Christians, and Muslims” on Wednesday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m., in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center’s Haggin Auditorium as part of Transylvania’s Dorothy J. and Fred K. Smith Endowed Concert Series. The concert is free and open to the public, no ticket necessary. “This event reminds us that religious traditions are often agents of peace and tolerance in our world,” said Wilson Dickinson, Transylvania’s associate dean for religious life. “This concert is a suitable way to memorialize this difficult day, as our community can join together in the mutual admiration and celebration of our multiple cultural and religious heritages.” Founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble reawakens the ancient with vocal music that stirs the emotions, challenges the mind and lifts the spirit. The Saint Paul, Minnesota, group tours internationally with repertoire spanning 1,000 years and 25 languages, including new research in Middle Eastern, European and American vocal traditions. The Rose Ensemble received the 2005 Chorus America Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and won first prize in sacred and secular music categories at the 2012 Tolosa Choral Contest in Spain (part of the European Choral Grand Prix). Sramek received the 2010 Louis Botto Award from Chorus America “for entrepreneurial zeal.” The Rose Ensemble has released nine recordings. The result of years of intensive research and training,

Transylvania University commencement is Saturday, May 25; actor Steve Zahn will give keynote address; poet Nikky Finney will receive honorary degree; senior Hannah Johnson will be student speaker

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Transylvania University’s commencement will be held on the front lawn of historic Old Morrison on Saturday, May 25, at 9:30 a.m. Actor Steve Zahn will deliver the keynote address and senior Hannah Johnson will speak on behalf of the graduates. Transylvania will award poet Nikki Finney an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. At 8:30 a.m. the 222 members of the Class of 2013 will gather in cap and gown on the steps of the Clive M. Beck Athletics and Recreation Center for a class photo. At 9:15 a.m. graduates, faculty, trustees and the platform party will march from the Mitchell Fine Arts Center behind Old Morrison to the front lawn and take their seats. A cookies and punch reception for graduates, families, and friends will follow the ceremony. Zahn had his first big break in the 1994 movie “Reality Bites.” In 1999, he was offered the starring role in the critically acclaimed film “Happy, Texas,” for which he won an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting male and a Special Dramatic Jury Prize for best comedic performance. Zahn received his strongest critical acclaim for his performance as Drew Barrymore’s husband in “Riding in Cars with Boys.” Currently, Zahn plays the character of Davis McAlary in HBO’s “Treme.” Zahn attended the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training founded by the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. Johnson, a political science major from Lexington, Ky., will deliver a special

Transylvania faculty, staff and students biking Friday, May 17, for National Bike to Work Day

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University faculty, staff and students will celebrate National Bike to Work Day by biking to campus on Friday, May 17. Cyclists can meet at Shriners Hospital on Richmond Road at 8 a.m. and bike to Transylvania together or they can bike to Transy on their own. Bagels and Bike to Work T-shirts will be available for all cyclists in Old Morrison Circle. May is National Bike Month and Transylvania has offered several other bike-related events for the campus community including a spring tune-up workshop conducted by the Transy Bikes! Shop, a snack and learn session on bike safety and maintenance and a bike skills relay. For Transylvania’s one-month May term, exercise science professor Sharon Brown lead students on bike rides around the region for her “It’s All About the Bike” class. Topics in this class have included cycling and public health, nutrition, cycling injuries and prevention, physiology of cycling, bike maintenance, bike safety and sustainability. The last full week of the class included Transy’s Tour de Kentucky, May 14-16, from Lexington to Frankfort, Terrapin Hill, Harrodsburg and back to Lexington. The class will also participate in the group ride to campus on May 17. This is the third year for Transylvania to participate in Bike to Work Day and several members of the Transylvania community commute by bike regularly. Transylvania has bikes on campus that can be checked out by faculty, staff and students who need to make

Tickets on sale for Transylvania’s production of “Pippin”

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tickets for Transylvania’s production of the Broadway musical “Pippin” are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the Mitchell Fine Arts Center box office (beside Carrick Theater) from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Tickets will also be available at the door a half an hour prior to each performance. The box office phone number is (859) 233-8601. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. May 16-18, and 2 p.m. May 19, in Haggin Auditorium in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $15 ($5 for students with ID) and tickets are also available for a pre-show brunch May 19 in Forrer Dining Room between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., for $10 ($25 total for brunch and the show). Actress, director and playwright Margo Buchanan has been selected to direct “Pippin,” which is a joint production of the theater and the music departments. Sully White, Transylvania’s theater program director, will produce the show. In the musical, a mysterious acting troupe, led by a Leading Player, tells the story of Pippin, a young prince on an ambitious quest for an extraordinary and meaningful life. The context of the show is purposefully anachronistic and unconventional, though the musical score reflects a contemporary 1970s pop style. Pippin’s adventures include a mock battle to show him the life of a warrior, a series of meaningless sexual encounters that teach him how relationships without love are hollow, a fight against tyranny and experiments with art and