Press Releases

Category: Press Releases

Lawrence Wind Ensemble Selected for 2013 National Band Directors Conference

The Lawrence University Wind Ensemble has been selected to perform at the 2013 National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Lawrence was one of only nine ensembles from around the country — and one of only two liberal arts colleges — chosen for the national convention.

Under the direction of conductor Andrew Mast, the 65-member wind ensemble will perform March 21, 2013.  Mast and the ensemble were previously invited to perform at the College Band Director’s regional conference in Omaha in 2008.

Mast said he was both “excited and humbled” by the selection.

“This is a huge honor for the ensemble, one that reflects the high performance standards of the students and faculty at Lawrence,” said Mast, director of the wind ensemble and symphonic band since 2004. “I was told the pool of ensembles that applied to perform was exceptionally large and robust this year, which makes me all the more proud to be part of such an exceptional group of artist musicians. I’m greatly looking forward to the opportunity to help showcase Lawrence musicians on yet another national stage.”

The selection to the 2013 national convention comes 20 years since the last time the wind ensemble performed at a national conference, 1993 in Columbus, Ohio, under the direction of Bob Levy.

Joining Lawrence as performers in Greensboro will be ensembles from Baylor University, the Cincinnati Conservatory, Louisiana State University, St. Olaf College, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, University of South Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Selections for the 2013 national convention were based on submitted unedited audition tapes of live performances from all ensembles.

The wind ensemble is the third major ensemble in the Lawrence Conservatory of Music chosen for a national conference performance in the past five years, joining Cantala women’s choir (2011) and the Lawrence Concert Choir (2009), both of which were invited to the American Choral Directors’ Association national convention in Chicago and Oklahoma City, respectively.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

 

Lawrence University Theatre Talent Featured in State-wide Old-Time Radio Drama Broadcast

Lawrence University Professor of Theatre Arts Timothy X. Troy directs two live stage productions of radio adaptations of “The Lonely Road” and “Rocket from Manhattan” Sunday, April 22 at the Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee.

Professor Timothy X. Troy

Two Lawrence students, senior Josh Kowitz,  a theatre arts and voice performance major, and sophomore Erik Morrison, a theatre arts and English major, are cast members in both productions, which will be staged by the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

Wisconsin Public Radio will broadcast the program live statewide at 8:30 p.m. on its Ideas Network Stations. The program can be heard over the air on WHID 88.1 FM or online.

In “The Lonely Road,” a classic episode from the CBS radio drama series “Suspense,” a husband and wife are caught in a femme fatale murder plot surrounding a housemaid. Arch Oboler’s “Rocket from Manhattan” is a sci-fi thriller and cautionary tale for the atomic age. Both productions will be introduced by WPR host Norman Gilliland.

“‘Rocket from Manhattan’ is a remarkably prescient play when one considers that it explores the grim possibilities of the nuclear age only six weeks after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” said Troy.

Troy has a long history of directing Lawrence’s own “Theatre of the Air” program, which recreates classics from old-time radio’s “golden age.” He and Gilliland previously have collaborated on other time old-time radio related projects, including Lawrence graduate Eric Simonson’s 2006 Oscar Award-winning documentary film, “A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.”

Gilliland reprises the role of Doc in “Rocket from Manhattan,” a character he first portrayed in a live taping session for Lawrence’s Theatre of the Air in 2003.

Tickets for the stage production are available for $10 at the Broadway Theatre Center Box Office, by phone at 414-291-7800 or online.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Funnyman: Writer/Director/Producer Allan Katz Offers Humorous Look at Life in Hollywood

Allan Katz, advertising copywriter-turned-award-winning television, stage and film writer/producer/director, shares a humorous look at his life in Hollywood and career opportunities in the entertainment business Thursday, April 19 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence University’s Warch Campus Center.

The presentation, hosted by artist-in-residence and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Catherine Tatge, is free and open to the public.

Allan Katz

A former copywriter who created the ad campaign for the popcorn snack Screaming Yellow Zonkers, Katz has worked on many of television’s most popular and successful sitcoms.

He was a writer for hit shows ranging from “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” and “All in the Family” to “Sanford and Son” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” He later added producer duties to his writer title for the sitcoms “Rhoda,” “M*A*S*H.” “Roseanne” and “Blossom,” earning three Emmy Award nominations, a Peabody Award and a Nancy Susan Reynolds Award for writing, producing and directing along the way.

Beyond television Katz also has written for the stage, including the comedy “Partners,” which earned the American Theatre Critics Association’s Steinberg New Play Award and the off-Broadway musical “Song of Singapore.”

His talents extend to the feature film arena as well. He wrote and starred in the big-screen cult classic “Big Man on Campus” (aka “The Hunchback of UCLA”) and has been commissioned to write more than a half dozen other screenplays, among them “King Jomo” for Warner Bros. and “The Prince of Almira” for Cinepartners.

Katz’ current writing projects include the Shakespearean-based comedy screenplay “Really Strange Bedfellows” and the romantic comedy “Chippewa Falls.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Lawrence Welcomes Author and Cultural Critic William Deresiewicz for University Convocation

Provocative essayist, cultural critic and author William Deresiewicz presents “Through the Vale of Soul-Making: The Journey of the Liberal Arts” Thursday, April 19 at 11:10 a.m. in a Lawrence University convocation. The presentation, in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, will be followed by a question-and-answer session at 2:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events are free and open to the public.

William Deresiewicz

Focusing on higher education, social media and other culture issues, Deresiewicz is a contributing writer for The Nation and a contributing editor for The New Republic. His weekly “All Points” blog on culture and society appears in The American Scholar.

A three-time National Magazine Award nominee (2008, ’09, ’11), his essays include “Generation Sell” (the business plan as art form of our age), “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education” (what the Ivy League won’t teach you) and “Faux Friendship” (about Facebook).

“Solitude and Leadership,” an essay that encourages the practice of introspection, concentration and nonconformity he delivered as an address to the plebe class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2009, has been used as a teaching tool across the U.S. military, the corporate world, schools of business and at the Aspen Institute.

Deresiewicz spent 10 years (1998-2008) as an English professor at Yale University before embarking on a full-time writing career. He chronicled the chronicled the transformative effect literature has had on his life in the 2011 novel  “A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Extreme Ice Survey Project Focus of Lawrence Presentation

Acclaimed photographer  James Balog, who has chronicled the natural environment for three decades for National Geographic, discusses his climate change project “The Extreme Ice Survey” Tuesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence University’s Warch Campus Center.

Combining art and science, Balog creates innovative, dynamic and sometimes shocking interpretations of the world’s fast-changing landscapes, plants and animals. In 2005, Balog founded the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) to document the impact of global climate change.

The  most wide-ranging, ground-based, photographic study of glaciers ever conducted, the EIS employed 27 time-lapse cameras at remote sites in Greenland, Iceland, Nepal, Alaska, and the Rocky Mountains, recording nearly one million photographs that reveal the extraordinary ongoing retreat of glaciers and ice sheets, and providing visual evidence vital to scientists studying glacier dynamics.

National Geographic showcased this work in the June 2007 and June 2010 issues and the EIS project was the focus of the 2009 NOVA documentary “Extreme Ice.”  It also was the subject of the feature-length documentary, “Chasing Ice,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year.

Balog’s appearance is co-sponsored by Green Roots, the Fox Cities Book Festival, and Renewegy.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

 

Thomas Baer ’74 Receives Leadership Award from The Optical Society

Thomas Baer, a 1974 Lawrence graduate and executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center at Stanford University, was recently recognized by The Optical Society (OSA) with its Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award.

Tom Baer '74

Baer was honored for his initiation of the idea of LaserFest and his leadership in making LaserFest an extremely successful worldwide celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first demonstration of the laser.

“OSA is proud to honor Tom for his leadership in the field of optics and photonics,” said OSA President Tony Heinz. “Tom has made major contributions to advancing the science and technology of light.  His accomplishments and commitment serve to inspire the next generation of optics researchers and educators.”

The Robert E. Hopkins Award recognizes an individual or group who has had a significant impact on the global optics and photonics community, or an individual or group from the optics and photonics community who has had a significant impact on society as a whole stemming from non-research-oriented activities.

The award seeks to recognize achievements that would not be eligible for a traditional OSA award or medal. The review process for each of these awards is rigorous as each nominee is carefully evaluated by a selection committee.  The OSA Board of Directors appoints a committee to oversee each award or medal selection process. The committee is then responsible for the evaluation of nominees and recommends the recipient to the OSA Awards Committee of the Board of Directors and the full Board of Directors for approval.

Recognized in 1994 with Lawrence’s Lucia Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award, Baer has been awarded more than 60 patents. He is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and The Optical Society of America, an organization he served as president of in 2009.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

 

 

Annual Cabaret Celebrates International Culture, Cuisine

More than 150 Lawrence University students from around the globe will perform during the 36th annual Lawrence International Cabaret, a musical celebration of world culture.

Under the theme “A Light to the World,” this year’s cabaret will be staged in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel Sunday, April 15 at 3 p.m. A buffet dinner featuring international dishes will be served in the Warch Campus Center following the performance.

Tickets, at $10 for the performance only and $20 for the show and dinner, are available at the Warch Campus Center information desk,  920-832-7000. Tickets for children ages 5-12 are $5 for performance only and $12 for performance and dinner. Children four and under are free.

The event is sponsored by Lawrence International, a student organization for international students with members representing 50 countries.

Cabaret features a wide variety of entertainment from Afghanistan, China, Ethiopia, Peru, Poland and Sudan, among others.

Among the nearly 20 scheduled acts are:

• a fashion show displaying traditional dress from represented countries

• a Balinese gamelan performance

• a Bollywood dance routine to a medley of songs from popular Indian musical films

• an Afro-Caribbean fusion dance

• traditional Middle Eastern belly dancing

• a musical number from central Sudan featuring household objects as instruments

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Next Stop Carnegie Hall: Academy of Music Girl Choir Sings in National Program

Cantabile, the middle school component (grades 7-10) of the Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir program, will perform Sunday, April 15 at New York City’s Carnegie Hall as an invited participant in the 2012 National Children’s School Choir.

The 42-member choir will sing under the direction of Henry Leck, an icon in the children’s choir world, in Carnegie Hall’s main venue, the Isaac Stern Auditorium, in front of what is expected to be a sold-out audience.

The Lawrence Academy of Music Cantibile Girl Choir performs April 15 at Carnegie Hall in New York City..

“It is a deep honor for the Academy of Music Girl Choir to represent both Lawrence and the greater Fox Valley in this prestigious festival,” said Karen Bruno, LAM director and artistic coordinator of the Girl Choir program. “Our girls are excited about the opportunity to make new friends, work with acclaimed conductor Henry Leck, and to sing in Carnegie Hall.”

Cantibile was selected for the 2012 National Children’s School Choir concert via a competitive, national audition process.  They will be joined on Sunday by four other ensembles.

This is the third time Cantibile has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall as part of the National Children’s School Choir following performances in 2001 and 2005.

Sunday’s concert, which also will include performances by the National Christian Schools Youth Choir, will include works by Mozart, Philip Stopford, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Darla Eshelman, Rene Clausen, Schütz, Haydn, Tom Fettke, Hastings, Craig Courtney, David Lantz III as well as traditional songs from Brazil and Ireland.

Members of Cantibile will chronicle their musical adventure to New York City in a special blog.  Follow their journey as they post daily updates.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Lawrence Welcomes Authors for 5th Annual Fox Cities Book Festival

Lawrence University will host visits by two authors this week as part of the 5th annual Fox Cities Book Festival, which begins today and runs through April 18.

Author Adam Davis will lead a reading and discussion of “The Civically Engaged Reader” and his latest book “Taking Action” Wednesday, April 11 at 4 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema.

Author Thomas Lynch conducts a reading Thursday April 12 at 7 p.m. in Esch Hurvis Room in the Warch Campus Center.

Three other book festival events at Lawrence include:

•  A “Tunes and Tales” benefit concert, featuring Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, with special guest Ellen Kort and the poetry, rhythm and blues of Obvious Dog and Cathryn Cofell, will be performed Friday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center.  Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling 920-750-5033.

• The 2nd annual  Paper Fox Printmaking Workshop and Benefit Sale will be held Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center.  The workshop will feature print sales and subscriptions available for purchase, printing and paper making demonstrations, on-going workshops, a visual presentation of participating artists, and other printed ephemera.

•  National Geographic photographer James Balog presents “The Extreme Ice Survey” Tuesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center’s Somerset Room.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Chanticleer — “The Orchestra of Voices” — Performs April 13 at Lawrence Memorial Chapel

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Mike Axtell when the 12-member, all-male vocal ensemble Chanticleer takes the Lawrence Memorial Chapel stage Friday, April 13 at 8 p.m. for its 2011-12 Lawrence University Artist Series concert.

Tickets, at $30 for adults and seniors and $15 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office in the Music-Drama Center, 920-832-6749.

Mike Axtell '09

A 2009 Lawrence graduate, Axtell is in his second season with Chanticleer. The ensemble is widely known as “The Orchestra of Voices,” in part for a repertoire that spans 10 centuries, from Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony and Romantic art song to contemporary music, jazz, spirituals and world music.

Now in its 34th season, San Francisco-based Chanticleer has long earned critics’ praises. The New Yorker magazine has hailed the ensemble as “the world’s reigning male chorus.” Winners of four Grammy Awards, including two for their world-premiere recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations and Praises,” Chanticleer was named the “Ensemble of the Year” in 2008 by Musical America and became the first vocal ensemble ever inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame that same year.  

“We’re incredibly excited to have Chanticleer on campus,” said Stephen Sieck, co-director of choral studies at Lawrence. “They combine the tight-knit blend of a four- or five-voice ensemble like the Hilliard Ensemble or The King’s Singers with the vocal prowess and flexibility of a much larger ensemble. Their ability to switch from Renaissance to Broadway and everything in between is exceptional.

“As professional men’s vocal ensembles go, this is like having the Berlin Philharmonic come to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel,” Sieck added.

A bass-baritone, Axtell studied in the voice studio of Associate Professor Karen Leigh-Post while at Lawrence, where he earned a degree in B.M. degree in vocal performance and a B.A. degree in theatre. As a student, he sang in the concert choir and performed in numerous theater productions, including the role of the prince in Lawrence’s production of “Cinderella.”

Axtell is the second Lawrence graduate to perform with Chanticleer, joining former member Gabriel Lewis-O’Connor ’04.

Beyond an exhausting performance schedule, which includes more than 100 performances around the world during the 2011-12 season, Chanticleer is dedicated to music education and outreach. For more than 20 years, the ensemble has offered master classes, lecture recitals and residencies to high school and college students. During their visit to Lawrence, members of the ensemble will hold a master class and work with the concert choir.

Since Chanticleer made its debut in June, 1978, more than 100 men have sung in the ensemble.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.