PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 28, No. 4, Aug. 21, 2008

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brief notes

Anniversary gala kicks off season

Sinfonia da Camera celebrates 25 years

Click photo to enlarge Ian Hobson

The UI’s Sinfonia da Camera will mark its 25th season this year with a series of concerts featuring a musical mix of classical favorites, returning guest artists, highlights of past programs and performances of new works and orchestrations.

Since Sinfonia’s concert debut at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in August 1984, the ensemble has performed more than 600 works under the direction of UI music professor, pianist and conductor Ian Hobson. Sinfonia has released 10 recordings on the Zephyr label and performed throughout the world, including a 2007 concert tour of China.

Friends of Sinfonia are invited to celebrate in style at a silver anniversary ball on Sept. 6 at the Krannert Center. The event begins with a cocktail hour and piano bar featuring Rick Murphy from 6-7 p.m., followed by a four-course dinner, dancing and music by the Ricardo Flores Jazz Quartet, and a performance by Sinfonia. Tickets cost $125 per person and may be purchased by calling 244-4350, or e-mailing the orchestra office at sinfonia@illinois.edu.

The season officially begins on Oct. 4 at Krannert Center with a Spanish-themed concert featuring UI music professor and bass-baritone Ricardo Herrera. Program highlights include Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” and “Toreador Song,” from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen.”

Additional 2008-09 performances, all at Krannert Center, are scheduled for Nov. 8, Feb. 7, March 7, April 3 and May 2.

Encore performances from previous concert seasons include all six of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg concertos, on Nov. 8; and on March 7, “The Barber of Seville Overture,” by Rossini.

Also on March 7, the program will include a guest appearance by pianist Menahem Pressler, who has performed with Sinfonia as a soloist and as a member of the Beaux Arts Trio. Pressler, who will give one of his final performances before retiring, will present Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, which the composer’s pet starling is said to have learned to sing. Also on that program will be “The Machine Awakes,” a new work by UI music professor Stephen Taylor that was inspired by UI English professor and author Richard Powers’ novel “Galatea 2.2.”

The season culminates on May 2 with another premiere: Hobson’s orchestration of Ignaz Moscheles’ Piano Concerto No. 8, which the Sinfonia musical director orchestrated from notes found scrawled on an original piano score. The composition will be part of a four-volume set of piano concertos and other works by Moscheles that have never been recorded in their entirety.

In addition to its regular season concerts, Sinfonia will perform in three collaborative productions at Krannert Center:  On Oct. 8 in a faculty recital of works by Romanian composer George Enescu, with UI music professor and violinist Sherban Lupu; with the Champaign-Urbana Ballet in the annual holiday performance of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite,” Dec. 5-7; and with the Mark Morris Dance Group during the troupe’s inaugural tour of “Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare,” featuring a restored score of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” suite, on March 13 and 14.

'Old Dogs' exhibition

Artists with UI connections featured

Click photo to enlarge "Akimbo," Roger Blakley, cast bronze, 7" X 8" X 3.5"

Not to be outdone by the rat pack or the brat pack, another pack – with ties to the UI School of Art and Design – will soon be running again at the Cinema Gallery.

“Old Dogs Redux” is the title of the show that opens Aug. 30 and primarily features new work by retired and/or former Illinois art and design faculty members.

“I’m doing a repeat of the ‘New Tricks by the Old Dogs’ show that was so successful at the Cinema Gallery two years ago,” said gallery owner Carolyn Baxley. “I decided to do this sequel because there were so many requests for it and because local collectors really seem to value the work these artists are still doing.”

Participating artists with UI connections include Roger Blakely, Glenn Bradshaw, Harry Breen, Lee Chesney, Don Frith, Frank Gallo, Leo Grucza, James Lynch and Dennis Rowan. Former Parkland College faculty members Jack Ekstrom and Don Lake will exhibit in the show as well.

The exhibition also will include work by deceased contemporaries of the UI artists: David Bushman, C.W. Briggs, George Foster and Billy Morrow Jackson.

One piece, a 10 x 60 inch mixed media collage titled “For David,” by Rowan, was created as a tribute to Bushman, who died this year.

 “We worked together for a long period of time, and often played off what each other did,” Rowan said. “David was an amazing artist – one of the best that came out of the UI.”

An opening reception for “Old Dogs Redux” is planned from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 30 at the gallery, 120 W. Main St., Urbana. The exhibition will be on view through Sept. 27.

Oskee Bow Wow

Event benefits animal health advances

Click photo to enlarge watercolor by Melissa Lynch

The third annual Oskee Bow Wow invites pets to bring their people from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 4 at the UI College of Veterinary Medicine. Proceeds will support the college’s Companion Animal Memorial Fund, which promotes animal health and veterinary education.

Guests of the two-legged variety will have an opportunity to speak with experts making advances in animal health care. There also will be tours of the UI Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the state’s premier veterinary referral center, where more than 80 veterinarians – from surgeons and oncologists to dermatologists and dentists – care for more than 16,000 animals every year.

Webster, a canine member of the family of UI President Joe White and his wife, Mary, will again be the official host and greeter.

Live music will be provided by Desafinado. Gourmet hors d’oeuvres and wine are being donated by English Hedgerow, Jim Gould, Mezza Luna, Pasha Mediterranean, and Picadilly.

Registration costs $50 per person and $10 per pet. Register online or call the college at 333-2761.

Voice mail outage

Messages retrievable through Sept. 8

UI campus voice mail users are reminded that they can retrieve voice mail messages received prior to the Aug. 8-10 voice mail outage by calling a toll-free number. This service will be available through Sept. 8.

Although the voice mail system became fully operational Aug. 10, messages received prior to the outage are no longer retrievable by calling the Message Center (244-0505). No new messages were recorded during the outage.

The toll-free number will allow those with voice mail accounts to hear the messages stored in their voice mail boxes as of the morning of Aug. 8. They will not be able to reply to, resend or store messages through this number, so it is suggested those listening to messages be prepared to write down any pertinent information.

Those needing to call the 800 number to hear their messages are asked to first call CITES Communications Customer Service at 333-1161. Staff members will share the 800 number and then work with individuals to make retrieving their messages as easy as possible. The 800 number will be available through Sept. 8.

Allerton Music Barn Festival

Tickets still available for music festival

Tickets are still available for the four-day Allerton Music Barn Festival, which takes place over Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 29-Sept. 1) at the UI’s Allerton Park and Retreat Center near Monticello.

Organized by the UI School of Music, the event opens at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 with “Beyond Cool,” a concert featuring the music of the original Mile Davis/Gil Evans collaboration “Birth of the Cool” combined with new works written for the same nonet instrumentation. Throughout the festival audiences can sample a diverse mix of North and South American and Eastern and Western European music – from classical to klezmer and beyond.

“The music speaks for itself,” said music school director Karl Kramer.

Tickets may be purchased through the festival Web site, www.allertonmusicbarn.com, or from the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ticket office, 333-6280 or 1-800-527-2849.

Last year’s inaugural festival required concert-goers to purchase food and music together; this year music and food costs are separate. Light gourmet fare and beverages will be available for sale before each concert at the barn’s lower-level bistro. People also are welcome to bring their own food and refreshments for alfresco dining on the grounds.

Kramer said those attending the Aug. 30 “Evening in Vienna” concert are invited to take part in a wine-and-cheese “meet-and-greet” with the musicians immediately following the performance.

WILL AM-FM-TV

Digital Information Fair is Aug. 24

WILL AM-FM-TV will host a Digital Information Fair and Open House from 2-4:30 p.m. Aug. 24. During the event, experts will be available to answer questions about digital television and radio. Guests also can take a tour and meet on-air hosts.

Those who attend the free event at Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunication will also be able to see demonstrations of WILL’s digital television and radio services, and enter a drawing for a free digital television from Best Buy or free digital radio from Radiosophy.

“Now is the time for people to make the switch to digital TV,” said Carl Caldwell, WILL-TV station manager. “If people get their questions answered now, they’ll make sure they have the equipment they need to continue receiving a signal after Feb. 17, 2009.” That’s the date that analog TV will be shut off nationwide for the switch to digital.

“If you have a question about your individual situation – about converter boxes, antennas or digital TVs – or you just want to get an overview of the digital transition, this event can help,” Caldwell said.

Experts will include WILL’s technical team, News-Gazette columnist Rich Warren, and David Harris of Harris TV and Appliances in Farmer City.

WILL-TV

Event looks at WWII’s impact on UI

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, America was swept into World War II and the campus at the UI was transformed. Enrollment sharply declined and women took on new positions of leadership, while many male students went off to fight. New courses were added to the curriculum to support the war effort, and the Navy and Army offered training courses that brought thousands of soldiers to campus.

The public is invited to learn more about the effects of World War II on the UI at a video screening of “Central Illinois World War II Stories” at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. The event, which includes a panel discussion and an archival display is free; registration is requested. Call Vicki Retzolk at 265-0513 to register.

Tom Rogers, AM 580 news director, will host a panel discussion with UI alumni including Katie Harper Wright, who attended from 1940 to 1944 and was one of a small number of black students on campus; Jim Stallmeyer, who was drafted into the Navy and trained at the UI from 1944-1946; Earl Swanson, who attended the UI before joining the Army in 1943; and William Prather, a soldier in the Army who trained on campus.

The program begins with a reception featuring live music from the World War II era by Don Heitler and his trio, and singer Dena Vermette.

The Student Life and Culture Archival Program at the UI Archives will curate an exhibit of materials depicting campus life that may be viewed that evening.

This event is co-sponsored by WILL, the UI Alumni Association, and the UI Archives’ Student Life and Culture Archival Program, funded by the Stewart S. Howe Endowment.

Youth Media Workshop

Radio portraits examine relationships

For Urbana High School student Jason Knight, the act of recording an interview was the inspiration to find out more about someone he had known for years – his saxophone teacher.

“Media. That’s what it took to really get me to ask questions and get to really know other people and what they’re all about,” said Knight, a participant in WILL’s Youth Media Workshop. Knight’s interview is included in a new series being broadcast in September on WILL-AM (580).

The series, “Inspiration Radio: Relationships That Matter to Youth,” gives listeners a fly-on-the-wall perspective of the relationships that sustain young people. Students from Urbana High and Edison Middle School in Champaign spent the last school year interviewing the people closest to them, including siblings, teachers and parents. The students edited those interviews into radio stories that will be broadcast in September on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 8:34 a.m.

Keri Carpenter, a journalism major at the UI who worked closely all year with the students, said the project gave the students permission to talk to adults in their community in new ways. “Jason interviewed his saxophone teacher, and normally he just goes there to have his lesson for a half hour or an hour,” Carpenter said. “Asking teachers about their personal lives, and what they are doing and how they got to be where they are, lets young people connect with teachers they see every day.”

Teacher Mevanee Parmer and workshop intern Morgan Martin directed the project at Edison Middle School, and teacher Mark Foley and workshop intern Carpenter directed the project at Urbana High School.

Dads Association

Nominations due for excellence awards

Each year, the Dads Association recognizes excellence among UI faculty and staff members, students and registered student organizations. The awards provide a unique way to recognize excellence in your college or department. Certificate of Merit recipients receive a cash award, a framed Certificate of Merit and a small gift. Recipients will be recognized at the Dads Association Annual Banquet on Oct. 31. Nominators also are invited to attend as guests of the association.

All nominations must include two letters of support and a cover letter to assist the nomination committee in its selection. Online nomination forms are available at www.uofiparentprograms.uiuc.edu/dads/dads_nominations.htm, or contact the Parent Programs Office, uofiparents@illinois.edu or 333-7063. Nominations are due Sept. 20 in the Parent Programs Office, 227 Illini Union, MC-384.

‘Thinking small …’

Nanotechnology workshop is Sept. 4-5

“Illinois has been at the forefront of nanotechnology research covering a wide array of topics and applications that are likely to have profound impact on virtually all aspects of our lives in the future,” said Irfan Ahmad, associate director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Illinois. As a leader in nanotechnology research and development, the center will host its Nanotechnology Workshop 2008, Sept. 4-5, at the Beckman Institute and the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory on the UI campus.

This year’s event also will include the formal dedication of the recently expanded Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory  at 208 N. Wright St., Urbana. Completed earlier this year, the $18 million expansion funded by the state of Illinois added lab space for bionanotechnology, plus additional space for researchers, classes and meetings. As part of the building dedication, the artwork depicting light-emitting diodes located in the atrium will be inaugurated.

“The expansion of the laboratory makes it the par excellence university-based facility for semiconductor, nanotechnology and biotechnology research,” said MNTL director Rashid Bashir, a Bliss Professor of electrical and computer engineering and of bioengineering.

The featured plenary session speaker for the workshop and dedication is Arden Bement Jr., director of the National Science Foundation. Workshop speakers, panel discussions, and student posters will cover several different themes: nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, nanomaterials, nanoscale energy, bionanotechnology, nanomedicine and environmental implications of nanotechnology.

For more information or to register for the workshop, present a poster or attend the dedication, go to www.cnst.illinois.edu/nanoworkshop2008.htm.

On Sept. 3, Ahmad and MNTL director Rashid Bashir will appear on WILL-AM (580) at 11 a.m. to discuss the developments in nanotechnology at Illinois and the role of MNTL.

NBA preseason game

Williams featured in Jazz vs. Bulls game

Illini great Deron Williams returns to Assembly Hall when the Utah Jazz play the Chicago Bulls in an NBA preseason game Oct. 17.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 23 at the Assembly Hall ticket office, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 333-5000.

This will be the first time Williams has played at Assembly Hall since leading the Fighting Illini to the 2005 NCAA championship game.

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