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Relationship of Human Rights and Literature Examined in Lawrence Main Hall Forum

The relationship between literature and human rights will be examined Monday, Feb. 8 in the Lawrence University Main Hall Forum “War Crimes and Representation.” The presentation, at 4:30 p.m. in Main Hall 201, is free and open to the public.

James Dawes, associate professor of English and American literature at Macalester College, discusses his work with Japanese war criminals, who participated in the 1937-38 rape of Nanking, China, in which invading Japanese troops slaughtered more than 369,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war and raped an estimated 80,000 women and girls.

Dawes interviewed the war criminals, who offered their confessions both as a warning and a desire to spread them in the western world before they die. His presentation will explore the importance of the confessions as part of the collective moral archive of the 20th century to create an accurate account of our time for future generations as well as how these confessions represent an impossibility in language.

The founder and director of the Program in Human Rights and Humanitarianism at Macalester, Dawes is the author of “The Language of War,” which examines the relationship between language and violence and “That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity,” a finalist in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards, which chronicles the successes and failures of the modern human rights movement.

Grammy Winner Bobby McFerrin to Perform “Migrations” at Lawrence Feb. 19

Ten-time Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin joins the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble, Studio Orchestra and Hybrid Ensemble at 8 p.m., February 19, for the sold-out U.S. premiere of “Migrations: One World, Many Musics.”

Composed by Lawrence’s own Fred Sturm, Kimberly Clark Professor of Music and director of jazz studies, “Migrations” was commissioned in 2007 by McFerrin and the NDR Big Band in Hamburg, Germany. The work is a “musical plea for world unity” that illustrates both the distinct and shared characteristics of indigenous music from 18 countries on six continents.

Collaborating with a former Lawrence student, Brian Pertl ’86, an ethnomusicologist and, at the time, the manager of Microsoft’s Media Acquisitions Group, Sturm researched more than 2,000 recordings from around the globe. Sturm transcribed, arranged, orchestrated and “recomposed” about two-dozen indigenous recordings to create the magical two-hour concert showcasing McFerrin.

“The music we selected for ‘Migrations’ is centuries old,” Sturm said. “It’s pure, innocent, beautiful and powerful. Though the character and styles are as varied as the world’s people who created this music, there is a prevalent common linkage between the selections. Bobby’s improvisations and interpretations of the material I’ve scored are intended to illustrate the musical unity of the world’s people.”

With a four-octave vocal range and a wide array of vocal techniques, McFerrin is one of the natural wonders of the world. Famous for his 1989 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” he is an ardent spokesman for music education. His collaborations with other artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock have established him as an ambassador of both the jazz and classical music worlds.

The concert will also feature Pertl, now the dean of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, playing the didjeridu and jaw harp, and Dane Richeson, professor of music at Lawrence, on drums and percussion.

Sturm will host a pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m. in Stansbury Theatre, Music Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave, west of Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The concert is sold out, however, the public is invited to enter a contest to win one of 10 pairs of tickets for this special performance beginning Wednesday, February 10.

Haitian Musicians to Perform at “Friends of Haiti Chamber Music Concert” Feb. 6

Lawrence University students, faculty, alumni and friends — including volunteers from music camps and Haitian musicians — will come together for the “Friends of Haiti Chamber Orchestra Benefit Concert”, Saturday, February 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The public is welcome and tickets are not required.

It will be the third concert at Lawrence in as many weeks to benefit Holy Trinity Music School in Port-au-Prince, where Lawrence students and faculty have taught music for more than 10 years. The school and church complex were destroyed in the earthquake January 12. The Lawrence concerts have, to date, raised nearly $10,000 for Holy Trinity.

The concert on February 6 will begin with a silent auction at 6 p.m. featuring Haitian artwork and art produced especially for the event by members of a studio art class at Lawrence. The concert will highlight the music of Haitian composers and, in addition to numerous Lawrence students and faculty, will feature performances by musicians from across the United States, nearly all with connections to Haiti and the Holy Trinity Music School. Visiting Lawrence to participate will be John Jost, Bradley University; Steven Huang, Ohio University; Donna Lively Clark, Indianapolis; Keith Johnston, Sacred Heart University; Mary Procopio, Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan; Rob Wessler, UW-LaCrosse; and Lawrence alumni Sarah Davies ’09 and Paul Karner ’08.

Joining them will be Haitian musicians Benjamin Pierre Louis, University of Memphis; Canes Nicolas, Ohio University; Jethro Celestin, Loyola University; Tercy Hethkenly, New Wilmington, Penn.; Yonel François, Appleton; Fabienne Fanord, Port-au-Prince; and several musicians from the Mott Community College Educational and Cultural Residency Program in Flint, Michigan, including Fred Clovis, Carlot Dorve, Deborah Etienne, Ralph Stanley Jean Baptiste and Mackelder Saintilus.

“The outpouring of generosity has been overwhelming,” said Janet Anthony, Lawrence professor of cello and the leader of many music camps in Haiti. “I am in contact with many of our friends in Port-au-Prince, and they are so very grateful for our support. Whether it comes in the form of immediate, life saving gifts, or longer term support for a cultural gem such as Holy Trinity Music School, we know we are making a difference in their lives.”

Holy Trinity Music School, Port-au-Prince

Holy Trinity Church was founded in 1863 by the Episcopal Church and, as part of the church’s mission, several primary schools were established. Holy Trinity Music School began in 1970. Now serving over 1200 students, there are five orchestras, including Haiti’s only philharmonic orchestra, a boy choir, and three symphonic bands. Instruction is offered in all instrumental and vocal areas. The Holy Trinity Philharmonic Orchestra and the Petit Chanteurs have a very active performance schedule across Haiti. The Petits Chanteurs and a small instrumental ensemble have toured the United States five times in the past seven years to great acclaim. Those wishing to help the school may contribute online at www.cffoxvalley.org/donate. Select the Haiti Music School Rebuilding Fund from the drop down list of fund options.

Andy Warhol’s “Last Decade” Examined in Lawrence University Visiting Artist Series Lecture

Milwaukee Art Museum curator John McKinnon discusses the work of American artist Andy Warhol during the final years of his life as part of Lawrence University’s 2009-10 Visiting Artist Series.

McKinnon presents “The Late Work of Andy Warhol” Thursday, Feb. 4 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Andy-Warhol_web.jpgFamous for his pop art and paintings of iconic American products and celebrities, Warhol’s work over the last 10 years of his life showed a striking transformation of his style as he pursued new ideas and techniques. Combining mechanical reproduction, abstraction, representation and hand-painting, Warhol developed more new series of artwork in his last years than during any other stage of his career.

McKinnon, who calls Warhol “as famous as he is misunderstood,” will discuss the differences between the earlier Warhol most people know and recognize through his pop art and the later, lesser-known Warhol, who spent the last decade of his life creating art that was more personal, abstract, neo-expressionist and religious in nature.

As assistant curator of modern and contemporary art at the Milwaukee Art Museum, McKinnon coordinated the first U.S. museum exhibition to explore the work of Warhol’s last decade, “Andy Warhol: The Last Decade.” The exhibit is currently touring museums around the nation. McKinnon has also written for Artforum, Time Out Chicago and Flash Art.

McKinnon’s appearance is sponsored by the Lawrence University department of art and art history.

Warch Campus Center Wins Two Design Awards

Lawrence University’s Warch Campus Center has been named one of Wisconsin Builder magazine’s 2009 Top Projects.

The program recognizes construction developments that, according to the magazine, “have made a difference in their communities, triumphed despite tricky circumstances or introduced a new technique to the industry, among other reasons.”

The city of Appleton’s new $17.85 million, 1,372-foot College Ave. bridge, which opened in late October, also was named one of the state’s top 30 projects.

The 2009 winners feature projects from across the state in a variety of sectors, including education, health care, religious, commercial, residential and infrastructure. The state’s “top” Top Project of 2009 will be announced at an awards dinner April 21 in Waukesha.

The Warch Campus Center, along with each of the other winning projects will be featured in the May issue of Wisconsin Builder.

The $35 million, 107,000-square-foot Warch Campus Center also was recognized with a Concrete Design Award by the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association for the 11-county Northeast Region. The biannual award comes with an engraved concrete plaque in the shape of the state of Wisconsin.

In December, FOX CITIES Magazine, in its annual “Great Spaces Great Places” contest, named the Warch Campus Center the winner of its “Best New Construction” category.

Officially opened in September, 2009 the Warch Campus Center earned LEED-certified Gold status, the second highest designation on the green building four-level certification system by the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainability and energy efficiency features.

Paris-based Ebène String Quartet Opens North American Tour Feb. 5 at Lawrence University

Returning to the United States for the first time since May 2009, the Paris-based Ebène String Quartet opens its 2010 nine-city, North American tour Friday, Feb. 5 at Lawrence University as part of the college’s annual Artist Series. The quartet will perform a classical repertoire of Haydn, Brahms and Debussy at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets, at $20-22 for adults, $17-19 for seniors and $15-17 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton, 920-832-6749.

Founded in France in 1999, the quartet is best known in Europe, where they have played many of the most prestigious venues, including Berlin’s Philharmonic, London’s Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein. Along with their performances of classical music, the quartet has a strong love of jazz, often incorporating jazz styles into their classical performances. Seen most clearly in their arrangement of the music from “Pulp Fiction,” the group is known for their creativity, teamwork, and adventurous spirit.

Samantha George, associate professor of violin at Lawrence and former long-time concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, says it’s the possibility of the unexpected that makes an Ebène String Quartet concert exciting.

“This group is notorious for being able to move between Haydn and jazz in the same concert and doing it all with eloquence, inspiration and honesty,” said George. “Their adaptability and versatility is inspiring. They are beautiful, accomplished musicians with a sense of whimsy and fun.”

London’s Daily Telegraph has hailed the Ebène String Quartet as “gifted…with something urgent and individual to communicate.”

The quartet’s most recent recording of Debussy, Ravel and Fauré received Gramophone’s coveted “Recording of the Year” as well as “Chamber Music Record of the Year” by ECHO-classik. A new disc, combining their interests in jazz and world music, is scheduled for release later this year.

Taking its name from ebony, the exotic wood used to make the fingerboards of stringed instruments, the quartet features Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure on violin, Mathieu Herzog on viola and Raphaël Merlin on cello. Each member plays unique Italian instruments, including Merlin’s cello, which dates back to 1850 and once was owned by the famous French cellist and composer Paul Tortelier.

International Relations Film Festival Examines Conflict, War

Issues of civil war and domestic conflict will be explored in Lawrence University’s four-part International Relations Film Festival which begins Monday, Feb. 1. Sponsored by the Lawrence government department, each film will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. All showings are free and open to the public.

“We wanted to explore a single topic through multiple lenses — cultural, geographic and time,” said Jason Brozek, assistant professor of government and Stephen Edward Scarff Professor of International Affairs, who organized the film series. “These films address universal themes of violence, nationalism and politics. We hope to make this an annual series with a different topic each year.”

The films and dates are as follows:

&#149 Feb. 1 — “Battle of Algiers,” 1966, 125 minutes, Not Rated

A documentary-style depiction of the Algerians’ struggle to liberate themselves from French colonial power. The film combines actual newsreel footage of the political torture and violence with staged sequences recreating the action.

&#149 Feb. 8 — “Bloody Sunday,” 2002, 110 minutes, Rated R

On January 30, 1972 in Derry, Ireland, a peaceful civil rights protest march that was staged to protest British laws was stopped by a heavily armed British militia. Seen through the eyes of one of the central organizers of the march, the film uncovers a shocking instance of excessive force, ending the hope for nonviolent resolution.

&#149 Feb. 15 — “The Devil Came on Horseback,” 2007, 85 minutes, Not Rated

As a military observer, U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle witnessed the horrors of the conflict between the Arab government and the black African citizens of Darfur, Sudan. Frustrated by the lack of response from the international community, Steidle returned to the U.S. to confront the urgent situation.

&#149 Feb. 22 — “Paradise Now,” 2005, 91 minutes, Rated PG-13

Palestinian childhood friends Said and Khaled are chosen to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel. After being separated while crossing the border, they must return and find each other to reconcile their conflicting views of the mission.

All Things Trivial Saluted During Lawrence University’s 45th Annual 50-hour Contest

Drew Baumgartner didn’t know it at the time, but he was destined to become grand master of Lawrence University’s Great Midwest Contest.

As a youth growing up in Detroit, Mich., Baumgartner spent countless hours trying to impress his friends with his vast array of useless knowledge.

“There was a group of us who would memorize the most worthless things and challenge each other and no one cared about it except us,” said Baumgartner.

Imagine his excitement when as a freshman he wound up at Lawrence, home to the nation’s longest-running trivia contest. A year older than the Super Bowl, the 45th edition of the 50-hour contest dedicated to all things obscure and irrelevant begins anew Friday, Jan. 29 at its usual offbeat time of 10:00:37 p.m. and continues through midnight Sunday, Jan. 31.

“It was unbelievable to come to a place where everyone was paying attention to trivia,” said Baumgartner, a senior pursuing a double degree with majors in biology and music composition. “The trivia contest seemed like the greatest thing in the world to me.”

After playing for the on-campus Plantz Hall team as a freshman, Baumgartner jumped to the other side of the contest, asking the questions as a trivia master instead of answering them. Three years as a trivia master earned him an anointment as “grand master” of this year’s contest.

“Hopefully we’ll continue to deliver the kind of manic entertainment trivia players have come to enjoy and expect,” said Baumgartner.

When it was founded in 1966 as an alternative for students who didn’t participate in a serious academic retreat with professors, the trivia contest was broadcast over Lawrence’s campus radio station, WLFM. But since 2006, the contest has switched to an Internet-based format and will be webcast at www.lawrence.edu/sorg/wlfm/ allowing people all over the world to join in the fun. Among those forming a team this year will be Baumgartner’s parents back in Detroit.

Baumgartner and his team of trivia masters hope to ask nearly 400 questions of varying point values during the 50-hour minutia marathon. On and off-campus teams have three minutes to call in correct answers to such brain busters as what year was the statue of Tom Thumb, who died in 1883, stolen from his graveyard monument in Bridgeport, Conn. (1973) or how long was the scoring drive that led to Brett Favre’s first “Lambeau Leap” (74 yards).

Theme hours throughout the contest focus questions on such topics as death and destruction or all things Batman.

Last year’s contest had one of its closest finishes in years, with nine-time defending champion Bank of Kaukauna coming from behind late on Sunday to edge out the Trivia Pirates – AARGH by a mere 15 points, 1,465-1,450.

John Brogan, the ringleader of the most successful team in the contest’s four-and-a half decades history, promises his team of nearly 40 players from Wisconsin, Florida, Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, D.C., Illinois, California, New York and New Jersey have their sights set on winning a record-setting 10th straight title in 2010.

“We’re like the New York Yankees of trivia,” said Brogan. “Everyone hates us. Everyone wants to beat us. Everyone is welcome to try.”

The Trivia Pirates, a core group of some 30 or so die-hard “mateys” ranging in age from 6 to 60, including a former Milwaukee Brewers’ bat boy, would like nothing better than to break the Bank’s stranglehold on the off-campus title and capture its first crown since it last won in 2000.

“We are confident we will plank the Bank,” said Rocco “Sacco” Lemke, a Trivia Pirate team member and former performer with the 1980s punk band The Dead Milkmen, who will be coming to town from Philadelphia for the weekend contest.

Despite the competitive posturing, the contest always was and continues to be all about just having fun.

“It’s the kind of release everyone needs,” said Baumgartner. “You spend the rest of your life going to bed at reasonable hours and only remembering the things that are important. The Lawrence trivia contest is the exact opposite of all that rationality.

Sometimes a change is good.”

Two things that won’t change are the time-honored traditions of having Lawrence’s president ask the first question, which, also by tradition, is always the final “Super Garrauda” question from the previous year’s contest.

While no one was able to correctly answer last year’s contest-ending stumper, President Jill Beck will give all teams a chance to start out the 2010 contest with 100 points by asking who was going to be married next to what was the “world’s largest cedar bucket” in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in June, 2005, before it mysteriously burned down the week before their wedding date. (James Walters and Jaki Neubauer).

Abigail Disney Receiving Honorary Degree, Delivers Convocation “Peace is Loud”

Award-winning film producer, activist and humanitarian Abigail Disney will be recognized Thursday, January 28 by Lawrence University with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

As part of the degree-granting ceremony in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, Disney will deliver the convocation “Peace is Loud,” an address based on her award-winning 2008 documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” which examines Liberia’s civil war.

A screening of “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” will be held in the Warch Campus Center cinema at 1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with Disney at 2 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

Disney’s film chronicles the inspirational story of the courageous women of Liberia, whose efforts played a critical role in bringing an end to a long and bloody civil war and eventually led to the 2005 election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as Liberia’s president, Africa’s first democratically elected female head of state.

Disney served as the producer of “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” which has earned critical praise and collected more than 15 awards, including the Best Documentary Award at New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival, the Cowboy Award Winner – Audience Choice Award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival, the Social Justice Award for Documentary Film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and the Golden Butterfly Award at the Movies that Matter Festival.

She founded and serves as president of the New York City-based Daphne Foundation, which supports grassroots and emerging organizations that deal with the causes and consequences of poverty, focusing on the creation and implementation of long-term solutions to intractable social problems.

The grandniece of Walt Disney, founder of the Disney media and entertainment empire, she also has played a leadership role in a number of other social and political organizations, among them the New York Women’s Foundation, from which she recently retired as chair, the Roy Disney Family Foundation, the White House Project, the Global Fund for Women, the Fund for the City of New York and the Ms. Foundation for Women.

Disney earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Lawrence University Hosts “Concert for Haiti”

The Lawrence University Memorial Chapel will be the backdrop for a special “Concert for Haiti” Wednesday, January 20, at 7 p.m. The concert is the inspiration of Lawrence student Carolyn Armstrong ’10 and Lawrence Professor of Cello Janet Anthony, who last month traveled to Haiti to teach music. The Holy Trinity Music School in Port-au-Prince, where many of the lessons took place, was destroyed in the earthquake January 12 that killed an estimated 200,000 Haitians and left many more injured and homeless.

The “Concert for Haiti” will feature performances by Lawrence students and faculty, Bob Levy and John Harmon, Jeremiah Nelson, world-renowned improvisational cellist Matt Turner and others. A collection will be taken to benefit Holy Trinity Music School. In addition, donations can be given to the American Red Cross Haitian Relief efforts. Haitian music and music composed at Holy Trinity Music School will be performed. Tickets are not required.

On Thursday, January 21, at 9:30 p.m., Fox 11 WLUK will broadcast the concert highlights, sharing the message and music with viewers across Northeast Wisconsin. “We are grateful for the opportunity to take this message to a larger audience,” Anthony said. “More than 40 Lawrence students have visited Haiti in the last 15 years, many of them working with music students at Holy Trinity. We care deeply about their welfare and we look forward to, when the time is right, bringing music education back to Haiti.”

Lawrence University is grateful for the support of the American Red Cross, Fox-11 WLUK and others for this “Concert for Haiti.”

To support Lawrence University’s fund-raising efforts for Haiti, click here.