Rick Peterson

Author: Rick Peterson

LSO Concert Features World Premiere of Asha Srinivasan’s “Doubt”

The world premiere of composer Asha Srinivasan’s “Doubt” highlights the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra concert Saturday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 520 E. College Ave., Appleton. The concert is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of conductor David Becker, the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra also will perform Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 1 in D Major, op. 25” and Beethoven’s famous “Eroica” symphony.

Provost and Dean of the Faculty David Burrows will serve as guest narrator for “Doubt,” which was originally written as Srinivasan’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Maryland. The text and the music reflect Srinivasan’s deeply personal thoughts on capital punishment.

An assistant professor of music at Lawrence, Srinivasan draws from both her Western musical training and her Indian heritage in creating her compositions. Raised with Carnatic music, the classical music of Southern India, Srinivasan integrates aspects of the Carnatic style into the Western music idiom.

The concert also will feature Seong-Kyung Graham as guest conductor. Graham currently serves as director of the Green Bay Civic Symphony. She was appointed conductor and artistic director of the symphony in 2005

The concert will be webcast beginning at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-concert program.

Choral Concert Features Tribute to Late Lawrence Faculty Member Jennifer Fitzgerald

The American premiere of Associate Professor of Music Joanne Metcalf’s “O Shining Light,” a musical tribute to her former colleague and friend, Jennifer Fitzgerald, highlights the Lawrence University choral concert Friday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 520 E. College Ave., Appleton. The concert is free and open to the public.

Cantala women’s choir, under the direction of conductor Phillip Swan, will perform the U.S. debut of Metcalf’s composition, which honors Fitzgerald, who taught at Lawrence first as postdoctoral fellow and then as an instructor of music before dying of cancer at the age of 32 in 2007. While at Lawrence, Fitzgerald was active in exploring new, interdisciplinary forms of composition.

“O Shining Light,” written for four women’s voices, was commissioned by the Scottish ensemble Canty. The group performed its world premiere last October at St. Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen and will release it on CD later this year.

In composing the tribute to Fitzgerald, Metcalf said she tried to create the impression “of a profoundly beautiful outer light, such as that of the stars, that reflects back the beauty of one’s inner light.”

The Lawrence Concert Choir and Viking Chorale, both under the direction of Paul Nesheim, also will perform. The concert choir will sing the traditional spiritual “Hold On,” William Mathias’ “Let the People Praise Thee, O God,” which was commissioned for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, as well as works by Claude Debussy and Eric Whitacre.

The Viking chorale’s program includes Aaron Copland’s “Stomp Your Foot” from his opera “The Tender Land” and the rousing chorus “Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite” from George Handel’s “Samson.”

The concert will be webcast beginning with a pre-concert program at 7:30 p.m..

LU Alum Discusses Pediatric Respiratory Diseases in Two Presentations

Lawrence University graduate Kurt Albertine ’75 returns to campus to discusses his work with pediatric respiratory diseases in a pair of science hall presentations.

Kurt-Albertine_web Albertine professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of medicine, neurobiology & anatomy at the University of Utah, delivers the Science Hall Colloquium “From Here to There:  An Alumnus’ Trip from Plants to Pediatrics” Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Thomas Steitz Science Hall 102.

Albertine will trace his academic training and the professional journey he took from his student days at Lawrence to a research career focused on acute respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal chronic lung disease.

Beginning with World War II, Albertine will discuss some of the medical advances made in regards to acute respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal chronic lung disease, including inventions and discoveries that provided opportunities and tools to better understand respiratory support of humans, both adult and preterm infants.

In a Recent Advances in Biology series address on Friday, Feb. 26 at 3:10 p.m. in Thomas Steitz Science Hall 102, Albertine presents “A New View about the Pathogenesis of the Second Most Common Pediatric Health Problem in the U.S.”

The address will examine the growing problem of neonatal chronic lung disease, which occurs in preterm infants who require assisted conventional mechanical ventilation.  Approximately 10,000 new cases of neonatal CLD are reported each year in the United States.

Albertine will discuss his research using a large-animal model (lambs) to investigate fundamental questions regarding the underlying molecular changes that contribute to neonatal CLD.

After graduating from Lawrence with a major in biology, Albertine earned his Ph.D. in anatomy at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine. Prior to joining the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1993, he held research and teaching positions at the University of California, San Francisco, the University of South Florida, the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

Former Lawrence University Scientist Assumes Leadership of National Physics Association

Former Lawrence University Professor of Physics David Cook has assumed the role of president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, the country’s premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education with more than 10,000 members in 30 countries.

David-Cook_webCook, who retired as Philetus E. Sawyer Professor of Science in 2008 after 43 years of teaching in the Lawrence physics department, will serve as AAPT’s president in 2010 and past president in 2011. First elected to the association’s executive board in 2007, Cook is the first Lawrence faculty member ever to serve as AAPT president and the first from any Wisconsin college or university since 1955.

The AAPT, says Cook, faces challenges in keeping the United States competitive in an increasingly global marketplace.

“Both the future of the United States as a leader in science and technology and the strength of the U.S. economy are at risk because too few of our most able young people are preparing for careers in science and engineering,” said Cook.  “The AAPT is already playing an important role in addressing this growing crisis.  The current efforts, however, need to be expanded in both intensity and scope.

“We need to assess whether the current AAPT structure and content of our offerings for prospective scientists are as strong as they can be in preparing students for productive 50-year careers in the 21st century and whether they are as appealing as they must be to compete successfully with the students’ alternatives.”

During his four-plus-decades career at Lawrence, Cook has taught nearly every undergraduate physics course while leading the development and incorporation of computers into the physics curriculum.  Beginning in 1985, he built Lawrence’s computational physics laboratory with the support of more than $1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, Research Corporation, the W. M. Keck Foundation and other sources.

Cook is the author of two textbooks, “The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field,” one of the first to introduce computer-based numerical approaches alongside traditional approaches and “Computation and Problem Solving in Undergraduate Physics.”  He was the recipient of Lawrence’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1990.

Founded in 1930, the AAPT is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Md.

Lawrence University Tickling Top 10 in National Recycling Competition

Lawrence University students, faculty and staff are among the best recyclers in the country based on the early returns of the 2010 RecycleMania competition.

In the competition’s Per Capita Classic category, which tracks the amount of acceptable recyclables per person, Lawrence ranked 11th nationally among 315 colleges and universities through the first two weeks of the contest, which began Jan. 17.

Lawrence had recycled 8.67 pounds per person, just a few soda cans behind no. 10 Stanford University’s average of 8.73 pounds. Colorado College was leading the category at 18.73 pounds per person. Lawrence was the top recycler among 10 Wisconsin colleges participating in the per capita category, which includes St. Norbert College, UW-Madison and UW-Oshkosh.

“This is an opportunity to see how much recycling and waste reduction we can do if we come together as a community and focus our energy,” said Jeff Clark, faculty associate to the president for Green Roots: the sustainable Lawrence initiative. “The data we get from this also helps us identify areas that we need to improve upon, so it will have lasting effects even after the competition is over.”

RecycleMania is a friendly, 10-week-long competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.

Sponsored by the College and University Recycling Council, a technical council of the National Recycling Coalition, RecycleMania has several goals, among them increase on-campus recycling participation by students and staff, heighten awareness of a schools’ waste management and recycling programs, lower waste generated on-campus and expand economic opportunities while addressing environmental issues in a positive way.

First conducted in 2001 between Miami University and Ohio University, the RecycleMania competition has grown steadily every year since. In 2009, all 50 states were represented for the first time and in 2010, a record 607 colleges and universities across the United States, Canada and as far away as Qatar are participating. This year’s competition runs through March 27.

RecycleMania includes four primary competition categories:

• Grand Champion, which combines trash and core recyclable materials to determine a school’s recycling rate as a percentage of its overall waste generation.

• Per Capita Classic, in which schools compete to see which can collect the largest combined amount of paper, cardboard and bottles and cans per person.

• Waste Minimization, in which schools compete to see which produces the least amount of municipal solid waste (recyclables and trash) per person.

• Gorilla Prize, which recognizes schools that recycle the highest gross tonnage of combined paper, cardboard, bottles and cans during the 10-week competition, regardless of campus population.

“Celebrate” Theme of Annual Cultural Expression Event

Lawrence University’s annual Cultural Expressions event, part of the college’s celebration of Black History Month, will be held Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center. Designed to enhance cultural awareness through exposure, education and empowerment, this year’s theme is “Celebrate.”

Hosted by the Black Organization of Students (BOS) and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the celebration features a buffet dinner and entertainment by BOS members, including praise dancing, an authentic step show, musical performances by a soul singers group and poetry readings.

“Our traditions and roots are what make us special. We must continue to remember and embrace our heritage,” said Pa Lee Moua, assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs. “We encourage the community to share and be a part of this wonderful celebration.”

Tickets, $12 in advance, $15 at the door for adults, $7 for children 6-12 and free for children five and under, can be purchased at the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749, or through the Office of Multicultural Affairs, 920-832-7030.

British Comedy “The Storm or ‘The Howler'” Performed in Lawrence University’s Cloak Theatre

British playwright Peter Oswald’s “The Storm or ‘The Howler,'” an appalling mistranslation of Plautus’ Roman comedy “The Rope,” will be performed Feb. 18-20 by the Lawrence University department of theatre arts.

Show times will be Thursday, Feb. 18 and Friday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. with two shows on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 3 and 8 p.m. in Lawrence’s Cloak Theatre. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749. Due to suggestive content, this production may not be appropriate for anyone 16 years or younger.

While Oswald’s translation draws from the main plot of Plautus’ original comedy, he takes great liberties in retelling the story. First produced in 2005, “The Storm or ‘The Howler'” deals comically with freedom and loss and employs physical comedy, audience interaction and various anachronisms.

Kathy Privatt, associate professor of theatre arts and James G. and Ethel M. Barber Professor of Theatre and Drama, is directing the production. She says Oswald was having fun in giving his translation a double title.

“All the action of the play is set in motion by a storm and then the romp that follows will hopefully make the audience ‘howl’ with laughter,” said Privatt.

Plautus’ original comedy, written around 211 B.C., revolves around Palaestra, a young girl kidnapped by pirates at the age of three and sold into prostitution. When a storm causes a shipwreck, washing Palaestra ashore, she seeks shelter in a temple of Venus, where she is found by a slave. Comedic confrontations between slaves and masters, masters and pimps and pimps and slaves ensue.

Social Justice Series Features LU Seniors Discussing Role of Education in Rebuilding Haiti

Lawrence University seniors Oliver and Rebecca Zornow, who founded a school in Haiti, will discuss how education and poverty eradication can lessen the impact of natural disasters in the third installment of Lawrence’s 2009-10 Social Justice Lecture Series.

The Zornows present “Natural Disaster, Poverty and Rebuilding Haiti Through Education” Thursday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. The event is free and open to the public.

After visiting Caneille, Haiti in February 2006 as a senior at Appleton’s Valley New School, a charter school that emphasizes project-based learning, Oliver Zornow was inspired to start a school for the children he met there. Through arts and crafts sales, car washes, rummage sales, recycling cell phones and numerous other fundraisers, he was able to raise more than $5,000 for the Caneille Regional Development Fund (CDRF). In September 2006,Zornow was able to open the School of Grace of Caneille with 130 students. Since then, the school has added a grade each year and currently covers grades 1-6. For the past two years, the school has provided a daily meal program for students as well.

Since embarking on the project, the Zornows have raised approximately $25,000 to keep the school operating. They visit the school at least once a year to visit with teachers and students and lead groups on visits. The recent earthquake in Haiti, however, has temporarily closed the School of Grace of Caneille.

The Social Justice Lecture Series is sponsored by the Lawrence University Volunteer and Community Center and supports campus speakers who discuss contemporary social justice issues.

Author Presentation Looks at Surviving as an Outsider

Author, playwright and performance artist Kate Bornstein addresses the factors that makes one an outsider — race, religion, weight, sexual preference — and offers way to avoid suffering as one in the presentation “Hello Cruel World: Survival Tips for Outsiders” Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 8:15 p.m. in the Lawrence University Wriston Art Center auditorium. The program is free and open to the public.

A transsexual who was born male and underwent gender reassignment surgery, Bornstein is the author of the book “Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws,” an unconventional approach to teenage suicide prevention for marginalized youth.

In her other books — “Gender Outlaw,” “Nearly Roadkill” and “My Gender Workbook” — Bornstein deconstructs all ideas about gender and challenges the “inherent oppression of a binary gender system.”

Bornstein’s appearance is sponsored by the Gender Studies department and the Lawrence University Campus Suicide Prevention Project, which is supported by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant.