Press Releases

APPLETON, WIS. — The Lawrence Academy of Music String Orchestra (ASTRO) along with the Fox Valley Symphony Philharmonia Strings present their spring concert at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, March 18 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Tickets are $6, and will be available beginning Monday, March 5 at the Lawrence University Box Office or by phone at 920-832-6749.

This concert features a varied and appealing program for the young and old alike. Of note on the program for ASTRO is “Follow the Drinking Gourd” arranged by Carrie Lane Gruselle, the lead teacher of the Academy’s String Project. A composer and arranger of international reputation, Gruselle’s compositions have been featured in national conventions and played by honors orchestras across the nation. The Fox Valley Symphony Philharmonia Strings program includes music by Franz Joseph Haydn, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, and Duke Ellington.

ASTRO, an auditioned ensemble for talented and highly motivated string players, includes 63 young musicians in grades four though eight. The ensemble is conducted by Linda Calhan, who currently teaches orchestra at Madison Middle School in Appleton, teaches strings techniques classes at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, and has a private cello studio.

The Fox Valley Symphony Philharmonia Strings are conducted by Greg Austin, who teaches orchestra at Roosevelt Middle School, and Edison, Columbus, and Franklin elementary schools in Appleton. The Fox Valley Symphony Philharmonia Strings provide music education for children in grades seven through 10. The group offers young musicians the opportunity to perform with other top players from the Fox Cities area, such as ASTRO.

APPLETON, WIS. — The Lawrence University student organization ¡VIVA! presents “Muevelo,” an evening of Hispanic heritage and culture Saturday, March 3 from 8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. at Harmony Cafe, 124 N. Oneida St. in downtown Appleton. The event is free and open to the public.

“Muevelo,” Spanish for “move it,” an outreach event sponsored in part by the Lawrence Spanish department, is designed to promote community interaction and raise awareness about and celebrate Hispanic culture. The event will feature a variety of Latin music, including bachata, reggaeton, merengue, cumbia and salsa. Beginning at 9 p.m., Latin dance lessons will be taught by Lawrence students. Chips and salsa also will be provided.

Families are encouraged to attend and bring their children. Student volunteers from Lawrence’s chapter of Circle K will provide entertainment and activities for the children in a safe environment separate from the adults.

“Muevelo” is a follow-up to last year’s similar “Salupiesdes” program, which drew a packed house.

“We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we held our event last year, but we had such an outstanding response from campus and the community that it movitated us to try it again this year,” said ¡VIVA! secretary Marissa Vallette. “We certainly hope to repeat that success this year with Muevelo. It’s an opportunity for Lawrence students and members of the broader Fox Cities communities to interact with each other in a fun and entertaining atmosphere.”

¡VIVA! is a student organization dedicated to promoting cultural discourse and Hispanic awareness within the Lawrence campus and the greater community through programming, special events, speakers, field trips and community service projects.

APPLETON, WIS. — Philosopher, moralist and gay rights advocate John Corvino explores the ways sexual orientation fits into the broader discussion of diversity in an address at Lawrence University.

Corvino, an assistant professor of philosophy at Wayne State University, presents “Homosexuality, Morality and Diversity” Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. in Riverview Lounge of the Lawrence Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentation will focus on ways of fostering respect for diverse social relationships while also respecting an individual’s moral and religious convictions. Corvino also will examine the prospects and pitfalls of analogies between sexual orientation and race, religion and other diversity issues.

A specialist in ethical theory and applied ethics, Corvino has been speaking and writing on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) issues for more than a decade. He wrote the introduction for, and served as editor of, the 1997 book “Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality.”

He has written for a variety of regional and national print publications and is the author of more than a dozen articles published in various scholarly anthologies, among them “Do We Need Minority Rights?,” “Ethics in Practice” and “The Philosophy of Sex.”

In 2004, the Detroit City Council recognized Corvino for his work on behalf of GLBT rights with its Spirit of Detroit Award.

Corvino has taught in the philosophy department at Wayne State since 1998. He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Texas.

His appearance is co-sponsored by SOUP (Student Organization for University Programming) and the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Center.

APPLETON, WIS. — Developmental psychologist Colleen Conley returns to her alma mater to discuss her recent research on the factors that contribute to the different rates of depression in adolescent males and females in a Lawrence University Science Hall Colloquium.

Conley, assistant professor of psychology at Knox College and a 1997 Lawrence graduate, presents “The Emerging Sex Difference in Adolescent Depression: Interacting Contributions of Puberty and Peer Stress” Monday, Feb. 26 at 3:15 p.m. in Science Hall Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

Females, both in adolescence and as adults, tend to experience higher incidences of depression. Conley will examine when those different rates between boys and girls first begin to emerge. She also will discuss the factors that trigger that response, such as the quality of, and stress levels within, peer relationships.

A member of the Knox faculty since 2005, Conley’s research focuses on the characteristics, contexts and mechanisms that place adolescent girls and young women at elevated risk for internalizing problems, including depression, anxiety, self-injurious behavior, body image and eating disorders.

After earning a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in psychology and Spanish from Lawrence, Conley earned a master’s and a doctorate degree in psychology from the University of Illinois.

APPLETON, WIS. — Composer Christopher Burns has been invited to do a composer-in-residence program at Lawrence University Sunday, February 25 through Tuesday, February 27. Burns, an assistant professor of composition and technology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, gives several free and open to the public concerts during his time at Lawrence.

New Music at Lawrence takes place at 8:00 p.m. Sunday in Harper Hall. This concert features music by Burns, Feyertag, Fitkin, Karner, and more. On Monday, an open rehearsal with the Improvisation Group at Lawrence University (IGLU) and Burns takes place at 1:45 p.m. in the jazz room, located in room 46 of the Music-Drama Center. At 8:00 p.m. Monday evening, Burns presents “Drones and Monsters,” an electronic music concert featuring Burns’ compositions, in the Wriston Auditorium. Finally, on Tuesday Burns presents a composition seminar at 2:30 p.m. in room 142 of the Music-Drama Center.

Burns, a composer of chamber and electroacoustic music, teaches composition and technology at UW-Milwaukee. Previously, he served as the technical director of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University. Burns is also an active concert producer. He co-founded and produced the strictly Ballroom series at Stanford, presenting 37 programs of contemporary music from 2000-04. He is currently a co-director of the San Francisco-based sfSoundSeries, which presents new chamber music, improvisation, music theatre, and electroacoustic music.

For more information on any of these events, please call 920-832-6612.

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University will play host to two choir events this weekend, Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24.

The Lawrence University choirs present “A Century Apart” at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 23 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. This concert is free and open to the public.

The concert features music that discusses the same topic some centuries apart, such as the sun and its rebirth, praising God with instruments, love lost and hoped for, and more. The concert includes selections sung by the Viking Chorale, Cantala, and the Concert Choir under the direction of Richard Bjella and Phillip A. Swan. The program includes “Exultate justi in Domino” by Viadana, “Amor” (“Lamento della ninfa”) by Monteverdi, “Sing a New Song to the Lord” by Paul Basler, “When David Heard” by Norman Dinerstein, “Effortlessly Love Flows” by Aaron Jay Kernis, “Hymne du Soleil” (“Hymn to the Sun”) by Lili Boulanger, and more.

In addition to the Friday night concert, the Viking Choral Festival will be held on Friday and Saturday, culminating in a free concert Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church Sanctuary, 325 E. Franklin St., Appleton.

Five high school choirs have been selected to participate in the Viking Choral Festival based on their excellence and reputation as outstanding choir programs throughout Wisconsin. The choirs selected to participate in this year’s Festival include Fond du Lac High School Concert Choir conducted by Cory Schneider; Middleton High School Concert Choir conducted by Thomas Mielke; Oshkosh West High School Chorale conducted by Herb Berendsen; Manitowoc Lincoln Chamber Choir conducted by David Bowman; and Hartford Union High School Concert Choir conducted by Stephanie Klockow. The choirs will participate in clinics and workshops throughout Friday and Saturday.

The concert Saturday afternoon includes works by Brahms, Stroope, Martini, Tchaikovsky, Handel, and more. All five schools will perform in the Viking Festival Choir and perform the finale under the direction of Paul Nesheim, assistant professor and director of choral activities at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. Nesheim is a frequent clinician and guest conductor for high school festival and honor clinics, including the 2004-05 Minnesota All-Men’s Choir.

APPLETON, WIS. — Michael Beaderstadt and Asher Perlman earned invitations to the 2008 Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition following exceptional performances in Lawrence University’s recent production of Jeffrey Hatcher’s social satire “Smash.” The Ryan scholarship competition is part of the annual American College Theatre Festival.

Beaderstadt, a senior from McHenry, Ill., and Perlman, a junior from Madison, will be among more than 300 student actors vying for a $500 scholarship next January at the five-state regional competition in Milwaukee co-hosted by Marquette University and Cardinal Stritch College.

Winners at next year’s eight regional competitions will advance to the ACTF’s national auditions at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in April, 2008.

In Lawrence’s four-show production of the high-style British comedy staged Feb. 15-18, Beaderstadt portrayed Chichester Erskine, a romantic poet with less-than-polished social skills. Perlman played the leading role of Sidney Trefusis, a millionaire who, shortly after taking his wedding vows, embarks on a quest to bring a socialist revolution to England.

Kathy Privatt, associate professor of theatre arts, directed the production.

“Smash” stage manager Brianna Stapleton, a sophomore from Pardeeville, also earned ACTF recognition. She was nominated to serve as stage manager of the 10 minute play festival at next January’s regional competition. Winners for the stage managing competition will be announced in December.

The ACTF was founded in 1969 to recognize and celebrate the finest and most exciting work produced in college theatre programs and provide opportunities for participants to develop their theatre skills. Conducted since 1972, the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship was established in the will of the late actress, best known for her role as the lovable and feisty ‘Granny Clampett’ on the TV hit show “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University has been named one of 15 national winners of a $60,000 Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program grant. The program is sponsored by the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The grants were announced during the AAAS’s annual meeting (Feb. 15-19) in San Francisco.

The grant, paid out over a three-year period, will support student-faculty research focused on collaborations between biology and chemistry. It is the second time in five years (2002) that Lawrence has been recognized with a USRP award.

“The intersection of biology and chemistry is one of the most vital areas of science education,” said David Burrows, Lawrence provost and dean of the faculty. “It is critical that we continue to provide high quality educational and collaborative research opportunities in this area for our students or risk falling behind the curve. Support from the Merck/AAAS program has been an integral component in helping Lawrence provide these kind of opportunities and fostering a productive interdisciplinary environment.”

Launched in 2000 as a national competition, the goal of the program is to advance undergraduate research training and enhance education through research experiences that emphasize the interrelationship between chemistry and biology sciences.

The 10-year, $9 million initiative is funded by MISE, a private foundation established in 1993 to improve science education and is administered by AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science.

Joining Lawrence as 2007 USRP recipients were Augustana College, Calvin College, Davidson College, Pomona College, Rhodes College, St. Lawrence University, The College of New Jersey, Truman State University, University of Dayton, University of Evansville, University of Richmond, University of St. Thomas, UW-Oshkosh and Wellesley College.

APPLETON, WIS. — The Lawrence University “Performing Arts at Lawrence” Artist Series continues Saturday, March 3 with cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han. The duo takes the stage of the Lawrence Memorial Chapel at 8:00 p.m.

Finckel leads a multifaceted career as a concert performer, recording artist, educator, arts administrator, and cultural entrepreneur. He is the co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, teaches during the summer at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and has served as a regular faculty member of the Issac Stern Chamber Music Workshops in New York, Jerusalem, Paris, and Japan.

Born into a family of cellists, Finckel began his music studies with his father. At the age of 15, he made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and at 17 he played for Mstislav Rostropovich, and soon after became the great cellist’s first American pupil. Finckel has been hailed as a “world class soloist” by the Denver Post and “one of the top 10, if not top five, cellist in the world today” by the Nordwest Zeitung in Germany. Recent engagements include performances at the Aspen Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Chamber Music Northwest. He has played throughout the world, including in Mexico, Canada, the Far East, Scandinavia, and continental Europe. As cellist of the Emerson String Quartet, Finckel has won six Grammy Awards including two unprecedented honors for Best Classical Album, three Gramophone magazine awards, and the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize.

Han has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 92nd Street Y in New York. She has given performances in England, Germany, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Japan, and Taiwan, along with engagements in the United States. Han maintains an active teaching schedule at the Aspen Music Festival and has been a regular faculty member of the Isaac Stern International Chamber Music Workshops at Carnegie Hall and the Jerusalem Music Center.

In August 2003, Finckel and Han launched Music@Menlo, a new chamber music festival at Silicon Valley that has attracted widespread attention and international acclaim. Han and Finckel’s wide-ranging musical activities also include the founding of ArtistLed, classical music’s first musician-directed and Internet-based recording company.

Tickets for this concert are $22 and $20 for adults, $19 and $17 for senior citizens, and $17 and $15 for students. Tickets are on sale at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will be sold beginning one hour before the concert at the box office.

The final concert of the 2006-07 Artist Series takes place at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21 with Lawrence alum Peter Kolkay ’98, on bassoon. For more information on this concert, visit: www.lawrence.edu/news/performingartsseries

APPLETON, WIS. — One-time leftist ideologue turned conservative political activist David Horowitz discusses student rights and the importance of intellectual diversity on college campuses in an address at Lawrence University.

Horowitz presents “Academic Freedom and the War on Terror,” Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Youngchild Hall, Room 121. The event is free and open to the public.

An outspoken opponent of censorship and racial preferences, Horowitz was one of the founders of the “New Left” in the 1960s and served as the editor of “Ramparts,” the movement’s largest magazine. Disillusionment with the leftist movement led Horowitz to embrace a conservative philosophy.

In 1988, he created the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, renamed the David Horowitz Freedom Center last July. The center promotes the principles of individual freedom, limited government and academic freedom in American schools. It also publishes “FrontPageMagazine.com,” an online journal featuring conservative columnists Ann Coulter and Andrew Sullivan and libertarian talk show host Larry Elder.

Four years ago, Horowitz turned his attention to American college campuses, founding Students for Academic Freedom (SAF), which has grown to 200 college chapters nationwide, He also wrote a piece of model legislation he called the “Academic Bill of Rights,” which outlined ways to protect students from partisan politics and broaden academic freedom in the classroom.” In July, 2006, Temple University became the country’s first university to adopt a policy ensuring students with academic freedom rights.

Horowitz has written more than a dozen books, including his 1997 autobiography “Radical Son,” which chronicles his own political journey from “red-diaper baby” to conservative activist, “Uncivil Wars,” which explores intolerance and racial McCarthyism on college campuses and “The Art of Political War” in 2000, which Republican political strategist Karl Rove hailed as “the perfect guide to winning on the political battlefield.”

Earlier in his career, Howowitz teamed with Peter Collier to write a series of best-selling biographies on several iconic American families, including the Rockefellers, Kennedys, Fords and Roosevelts. Horowitz and Collier also co-wrote the 1989 book “Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts About the Sixties.”

A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1978, Horowitz was recognized by President Reagan in 1990 with the Teach Freedom Award.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University and a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Horowitz appearance is sponsored by the student organization Viking Conservatives and the Young America’s Foundation.