Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Advocating for justice, freedom, and democracy since the 1970s, Sweet Honey In The Rock has used the power of song to grow into one of the premiere ambassadorial African American musical organizations. With a mission of empowerment, education, and entertainment, this female a cappella group performs spirituals, blues, gospel, and related world musics, and empowers audiences to address critical social issues.

In 1983, at age 81, Barbara McClintock won the Nobel Prize for her work on plant genetics—work that has turned out to be essential to today's genetic research. Some have made her into a feminist icon, a misunderstood woman scientist ahead of her time. Others say it was her own eccentricities that held her back. Who was she really? It's not something read in a paper or proved in a lab.

After writing a first play full of research on McClintock, "I realized that theatre is art, not a history lecture," Pratt said. The second play, Maize, is the playwright's own thoughts and images based on the life of Barbara McClintock. Pratt has been writing plays since self-producing her first one, Chimera, in 1996. Her plays have been produced in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, and Cape Town South Africa, among others, and published by JAC Publishing and Art Age Publications.

On Sunday, March 11, Hospicare and Kitchen Theatre Company will host a reception and panel discussion on "Lesbian Love & Loss over the Lifetime." The reception will begin at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 4:00 performance of 'Bright Half Life' by Tanya Barfield. After the performance, panelists Kate Halliday, Mariette Geldenhuys, Sue Robinson, and Carrie Stearns will moderate a discussion in the theatre.

The Cornell Contemporary Chamber Players (CCCP) join forces with the [Switch~ Ensemble] for a residency celebrating the creation and performance of new works for mixed chamber ensemble and multimedia technology. The Ensemble, formed at the Eastman School of Music, strives to present the works of emerging composers, integrating multimedia seamlessly.

The performers will work with Cornell doctoral and faculty composers throughout their residency to refine these new pieces, culminating in two nights of performances on Thursday, March 1 and Friday, March 2, both at 8:00 pm in Barnes Hall. The new works will then become part of the [Switch~ Ensemble]'s touring repertoire, taking artistic elements from Ithaca on their travels to new audiences throughout the country. The ensemble's recent and upcoming performances include visits to Ithaca College, Bard College, Buffalo State, New York City, San Francisco, Valencia (Spain), and the University of Chicago.

Kitchen Theatre Company continues its 2017-2018 Season with the regional premiere of Bright Half Life by Tanya Barfield, a love story that follows Erica and Vicky over the course of a nearly five decades long relationship. Performances of Bright Half Life begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in The Percy Browning Performance Space on March 4 and run through March 18.

Erica and Vicky meet as co-workers, but soon they are much more than that to each other. The play takes us through the highs and lows of dating, marriage, and children, and it asks us to think about the way we remember our lives and what it means to be alive and in love. Barfield imbues her characters with a remarkable and universal humanity, inviting us to reflect upon our own relationships as we travel with Erica and Vicky through theirs.

Ithaca music fans know that pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough and soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon are a powerhouse duo with a dynamic and diverse repertoire, and their recitals always delight audiences with something new. Their concert on Thursday, February 15 at 8:00 pm at Barnes Hall will be no different, as they showcase new song settings by composer James Primosch, which will subsequently be recorded as an album.

On faculty at the University of Pennsylvania since 1988, Primosch has had works performed throughout the US and Europe by ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Albany Symphony, among others. He has received numerous honors and awards, such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, three prizes from the American Academy-Institute of Arts and Letters, and a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center where he studied with John Harbison, whose work also appears on the program.

'Monish', by I.L. Peretz, is the story of an irascible Satan, his irresistible wife Lilith, and a young Jew who just wants to be left alone with his books. On Wednesday, February 21 at 7:30 pm the Cornell Jewish Studies Program and Cornell Department of Music present an evening of music and dance, inspired by Peretz's classic poem.

Created and performed by Big Galut(e) Jewish Music Ensemble, this production features an original score of klezmer music and tangos, an English text in verse, and a trio of dancers bringing the characters of this humorous and poignant tale to life. The free performance will take place in Barnes Hall on Cornell's Ithaca campus; tickets are not required.

WVBR 93.5 FM, previously known as 'Real Rock Radio', announced Monday that it will focus on providing Alternative Rock music to Tompkins County as 'Ithaca's Alternative'. Starting on February 12, 2018, the station will broadcast a unique music mix of Alternative Rock from the '90s to today. With its new tower and transmitter, WVBR now transmits a stronger and clearer signal, allowing the station to be heard by a larger regional audience.

WVBR is an independent, commercial radio station owned and operated by students of Cornell University. For over 60 years, WVBR has been a staple of the Tompkins County community. As "Ithaca's Alternative," WVBR will continue its long tradition of featuring Ithaca's rich local music scene on the air.

The classic children's story "Wind in the Willows" comes to life in Running to Places' production, running Feb. 23-25 in the Beverly J. Martin (BJM) Elementary School library theatre. The family-friendly show is the perfect antidote to the winter doldrums, a ray of sunshine and fun for children of all ages.

"February is wearing on and we're getting eager for spring: this is a story that will get you through," says Joey Steinhagen, artistic director of Running to Places (R2P). "It's sweet and hopeful, with not an ounce of cynicism. There's a beautifully light touch in the story telling."

This winter The Cherry Arts presents Rule of Thumb, continuing the company's mission to introduce vital international theatrical voices to the English-speaking world. Rule of Thumb is written by Berlin-based Serbian playwright and screenwriter Iva Brdar, translated into English by her sister, writer Ana Brdar. The play tells the hilarious and thought-provoking story of Ana and Monika, two enthusiastic young Swedish women who enter a hitchhiking contest and find themselves taking a series of peculiar, delightful, and unsettling car rides through the borderlands of Serbia and Bulgaria. With quirky humor and tremendous heart, Rule of Thumb explores themes of class and cultural divide, as well as pressing questions of economic and refugee migration from both global and local perspectives.

Warmth, vitality, and spontaneity mark the performances of Susie Burke and David Surette, and have earned them a reputation as one of the finest acts on the lively New England folk scene. Susie's beautiful, complex voice and David's graceful, nimble-fingered string playing combine with extraordinary results on their own blend of contemporary, traditional, and original folk and acoustic music. Together since 1988, Susie and David have built a loyal following for their music, through a steady series of concerts and well-received recordings; their new duo recording, Waiting For The Sun, was released in the fall of 2015.  They will perform at The Canaan Institute February 10th at 7pm.

Praised by The New York Times as a “singer with a strong and lustrous tone and an amiably regal presence on stage,” Alicia Olatuja has been astounding audiences with her exquisite vocals, artistic versatility and captivating demeanor. She first came into the national spotlight in 2013, performing as the featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration. Shortly thereafter, she assembled her own jazz-based ensemble and recorded her first solo album, "Timeless" (2014). More recently, she sang on Gregory Porter's "Take Me to the Alley," winner of the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.