Roanoke College announces several upcoming events. Roanoke’s theme for the year is “The Challenge of Intellectual Inquiry,” as the College is launching a new general education curriculum. Many events will focus, as does the curriculum, on what it means to study something deeply – to explore, inquire and examine. Happenings on the Salem campus over the next few weeks include the following:
Reading
Thursday, October 29, 7 p.m. Antrim Chapel
Lee Upton is the author of eleven books, including the new novella The Guide to the Flying Island (Miami University Press). She has written five books of poetry, most recently Undid in the Land of Undone, and four books of literary criticism. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, the National Poetry Series Award and awards from the Poetry Society of America. Her poetry and short stories appear widely. She is a professor of English and the writer-in-residence at Lafayette College. Upton will answer questions in the afternoon session and offer a reading the same evening.
Art Exhibit
October 30-December 11. Smoyer and Olin galleries.
Opening Reception: October 30, 6 p.m. Olin Gallery.
Tarbell’s artist’s lecture: Thursday, October 29, 5 p.m. Olin 231.
Evangeline’s artist’s lecture: Friday, October 30, 5:30 p.m. Olin 231.
In Smoyer Gallery, Rob Tarbell presents his work titled Diagnostics, a series concentrated on the effect of smoke on paper. While the smoke is controlled and manipulated, it is allowed to remain true to its nature and explores Tarbell’s interest in the manipulation of “traditional materials.” Diagnostics has evolved Generators, a series of “work that combines elements of the parlor game ‘Ghost of My Friends’ with the responses from the Rorschach Inkblot test.” Tarbell hopes his work will “both balance accident with control and give permanence to the ephemeral.”
Olin Gallery will present Margaret Evangeline’s Polychromatic Series from Roanoke College’s permanent collection. As a New York based and Louisiana-born artist, Evangeline explores different mediums that “deepen the immediacy of a moment.” Her gunshot Polychromatic Series shows a departure from the traditional concepts of art and embraces a charged aesthetic language. Evangeline’s video eXile also will be shown. eXile encompasses the dynamic world of fashion photo shoots through the eyes of an artist. It is an infusion of the process of Abstract Expressionism, coupled with the visual vibrancy of pop culture.
Lecture
Wednesday, November 4, 8 p.m. Colket Center Pickle Lounge. For further information, please call the Colket Center Information Desk at (540) 378-5125.
Barry Drake, often called a walking encyclopedia of music, will present a rock and roll multimedia show, “The Roots of Rock and Roll: 1953-63.” Drake, one of rock music’s foremost historians, will celebrate, examine, clarify and put into perspective one of the most exciting decades in music history. The show will feature a “behind the music” look at the 1950s and the pre-British invasion years of the early 1960s.
Lecture
Monday, November 9, 7:30 p.m. Massengill Auditorium.
Terrorism, particularly the possibility for unconventional terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, has been a major factor shaping U.S. domestic and national security policy over the last eight years. There is considerable debate about the risk of CBRN terrorism, with some analysts believing such attacks are straightforward for terrorist groups to carry out and others viewing them as more difficult than they might appear.
The 2009 Dr. Charles H. Fisher lecture will examine the recent history of chemical and biological terrorism, looking at historical incidents that shaped thinking about these threats as well as recent plots to acquire and use these weapons.
The speaker, Dr. Brian A. Jackson, is associate director of the Homeland Security research program at the RAND Corporation and an adjunct associate professor in the Security Studies program at Georgetown University . His research focuses on tactical and operational learning by terrorist groups and terrorist groups’ use of technology. Jackson holds a Ph.D. in bioinorganic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and a Master's degree from George Washington University in Science, Technology and Public Policy.
Fowler Lecture
Wednesday, November 11, 7:30 p.m. Bast Center. Tickets are free, but required and will be available after October 1 by visiting www.roanoke.edu/tickets or calling (540) 378-5125.
Nicholas Carr will speak on “The Shallows: Mind, Memory and Media in an Age of Instant Information.” Carr, the author of three books on the influence of new media on how organizations use information, is an acclaimed writer and speaker. This talk is part of this year’s College-wide series, “Intellectual Inquiry.” Carr’s visit is hosted by the Henry H. Fowler Public Affairs Lecture Series.
Reading by Poetry and Creative Writing Professors
Thursday, November 12, 5 p.m. Miller Hall.
The English department’s creative writing faculty and students, with special guest reader, Nancy Krygowsky will be reading a selection of their own creative works for the Harvest Reading, and will be raising funds and foods for the local food pantry. Readings will be followed by a light reception. Among the participants will be Mary Crockett Hill ’91, visiting instructor of English. She is garnering praise for her latest poetry book, A Theory of Everything. Hill will read from the book, which won the 2008 Autumn House Poetry Prize, having been judged the best of 700 entries by acclaimed poet and author Naomi Shihab Nye.
Theatre Roanoke College Fall Production
November 13 – 14, 19 – 21, 7:30 p.m. Olin Theater. $10/$7. For tickets and more information, please call the Olin Hall Box Office at (540) 375-2333.
TRC proudly presents the fabulously fantastical musical “The Fantasticks.”
College Choir Concert
Sunday, November 29, 3 and 5 p.m. St. Andrew’s Catholic Church. 631 Jefferson Street, Roanoke.
Join the acclaimed Roanoke College Choir for its 25th consecutive presentation of Lessons and Carols of Christmas. Beautiful Christmas music, old and new, congregational singing of the traditional carols and Scriptural readings combine to make this annual favorite “the unofficial opening of the Christmas season in the Valley.” A free-will offering to support the work of Roanoke Area Ministries will be received.
Concert
Thursday, December 3, 7:30 p.m. Olin Theater.
The Roanoke College wind and jazz ensembles will present a joint concert under the direction of Dr. Joseph Blaha.
Concert
Friday, December 4, 8 p.m. Olin Theater. $10. For tickets and more information, please call the Olin Hall Box Office at (540) 375-2333.
Jazz, Latin, funk and Afro-pop come together in the Inner Rhythm Band. Groove out with renowned drummer, composer and educator Robert Jospé and Afro-pop vocalist, percussionist and dancer Heather Maxwell, Jeff Decker on sax and percussion, Bob Hallahan on keyboards, Randall Pharr on bass and percussionist Kevin Davis.
Inner Rhythm brings to their audiences a vibrant mix of sound, fusing the buoyant grooves of salsa, samba, swing, funk and African rhythms with contemporary jazz. The band presents a performance full of passionate playing and tight, skillful arrangements.
Kandinsky Trio Concert Series
Saturday, December 5, 8 p.m. Olin Theater. $20/$12. For tickets and more information, please call the Olin Hall Box Office at (540) 375-2333.
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor bears the inscription “To the memory of a great artist” and was written after his friend, the great pianist Nicholas Rubinstein, passed away. A masterwork of the Romantic era, the piece explores emotionally charged melodies with beautifully characteristic Russian folk elements.
“I not only like Mozart,” Tchaikovsky wrote, “I worship him.” In keeping with this spirit, the Kandinskys will start the program with Mozart’s charming Trio in B Flat Major, K. 502.
Children’s Choir Concert
Sunday, December 13, 1:30 and 4 p.m. Jefferson Center, Shaftman Performance Hall. $18/$15/$12 ($3 discount for 12 and under). Tickets are available at the Jefferson Center Box Office by calling (540) 345-2550 or online at www.jeffcenter.org.
Usher in the holiday season with the angelic sounds of the Roanoke College Children’s Choir. The choir features 250 children ages 8-18 known for their dedication to excellence and musical artistry. The Concert includes classical, folk and holiday favorites. Special guests The Roanoke Chamber Brass quintet will join the choir.
Roanoke College, an independent, co-educational, four-year liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia, combines firsthand learning with valuable personal connections in a classic, undergraduate setting. Roanoke prepares students for their futures through its commitment to providing a true classic college experience. Roanoke is one of just 276 colleges nationwide with a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. The Princeton Review names Roanoke as one of the “best in the Southeast.”
For additional information, call the Roanoke College Public Relations Office at (540) 375-2282.
