BU Gospel Choir to perform Sunday

BU’s Gospel Choir will hold its 20th annual Gospelrama concert on Sunday, May 1, at 4 p.m. in the Kehr Union Ballroom.

Photos from last spring's show.

Poetry and song in Northumberland

There will be a program of poetry and song Sunday, May 1, at Joseph Priestly Memorial Chapel, 380 Front Street, Northumberland, which is about a half an hour drive from Bloomsburg.  There will be a  reading of several poems of Robert Penn Warren, US Poet Laureate who served from (1986-1987). Guest poet Lester Hirsh will read from his work accompanying himself on guitar.  Lester Hirsh is a guitarist, singer/songwriter, and poet performs on Spanish 6-string and acoustic 12-string guitar, in styles ranging from classical, country, and folk, to Brazilian jazz and Flamenco. 

Renaissance Jamboree Saturday, April 30

The Town of Bloomsburg will host its annual Renaissance Jamboree Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rain or shine) on Main Street, between Iron to West Streets. Despite the name, you won't fine Elizabethan costumes. But you will find lots of food stands, stands with homey crafts and child-friendly entertainment.

BU seniors show off their work

Graduating BU seniors in studio art are exhibiting their work in the Haas Art Gallery until May 7. Featured artists are: Kyle Ale, Jessica Chappell, Dominique Filiziani, Kristin Hein, Courtney Martin, Nemi Moyer, Devon Oberkircher, Lauren Robinson, Kristin Stephens, Hilary Trainer, Ashley Willis and Annamarie Wojton.

Vibes anyone?

Jazz vibraphonist and composer Stefon Harris and his band Blackout are giving the final performance in this seasons of BU's Celebrity Artist Series. General admission is $30 for the performance Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.

An hour prior to curtain at BU, Harris will present a workshop for percussion students and a pre-curtain talk, “The State of the Art of Jazz in America.”

Harris has been called “one of the most important young artists in jazz” by the Los Angeles Times. He has recorded five CDs, received the Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award and was nominated three times for a Grammy Award. Harris has toured with well-known artists, including Wynton Marsalis and David Sanborn, as well as Kenny Barron and Kurt Elling, who appeared at BU last year as part of Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour.

A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, he currently teaches at New York University.  He tours worldwide with his band Blackout and the San Francisco Jazz Collective, performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and the Sydney Opera House.

For more information on the concert and workshop or to order tickets, call the Haas Box Office at (570) 389-4409 or visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS. 

Dance program at BU Friday and Saturday

With a dance minor underway at BU, there will be the first Repertory and Ensemble Class Dance Concert on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center. This program will feature work by BU theatre and dance faculty, with choreography by BU's dance prof Julie Petry, costume design by theatre prof Karen Anselm (assisted by Sarah Stuble) and lighting design by prof Bruce Candlish. Philly-based dancer Ashley Searles will be featured. The show is free.

Concert roundup

With BU's spring semester coming to a close, there are several free concerts scheduled in the last two weeks of class. Here's information on two coming up soon.

• Chamber Singers - Sunday, April 17, 7:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, Market St., Bloomsburg.
• Kunyoung Kim, Piano -  Wednesday, April 20, 7 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall.
• Guitar Ensemble - Monday, April 25, 7 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, room 166. Fans of classic guitar should enjoy this. This group performed for meeting of the collected trustees of State System Schools about two years ago.
• Jazz Festival - Wednesday, April 27, noon, Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. 

BU student artists show their work

BU students are showing their art in the Haas Gallery of Art.
The annual Student Art Show is up through Wednesday, April 20. Best of show went to Nemi Moyer and honorable mentions to Jessica Chappell, Megan Combs and Keith Seaman. (My personal fav was the diner check - EGF.)

The senior exit show runs Tuesday, April 26, through Saturday, May 7. Featured artists will include: Kyle Ale, Jessica Chappell, Dominique Filiziani, Mary Griffin, Kristin Hein, Courtney Martin, Nemi Moyer, Devon Oberkircher, Lauren Robinson, Kristin Stephens, Hilary Trainer, Ashley Willis and Annamarie Wojton.

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free.

A taste of Spanish culture

BU's Spanish Club, HABLAS, is sponsoring a Flamenco and Tapas Night Wednesday, April 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Kehr Union, Multicultural Center. Flamenco lessons are free. Tapas (appetizers) are $2 for the public.
Earlier in the day, the department of Languages and Cultures is sponsoring student presentations on European and Latin American religion from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center.

Students to perform Dance Thursday

The BU Dance Ensemble (a student run and organized group) will have it's 13th Annual Recital on Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, at 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts. The recital typically fills, or nearly fills the lower section of the hall. Students choreograph the pieces in a range of styles. 
This year expect hip-hop, jazz, ballet, musical theatre, traditional African, urban African, Irish soft/hard shoe, Latin, tap, country, lyrical and acrobatics. Admission is free, but they welcome donations. The photo is from last year's show. Another photo can be found on the BU Facebook page.

A date with Dickinson

Bill Zehringer will lead a discussion of Emily Dickinson's poetry on Monday, April 18, at 6:30 p.m. in BU's Fireplace Lounge. This year's Big Read is a collaboration between Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and the Thomas Beaver Free Library in Danville.

BU Players to present "Anton in Show Business"

The Bloomsburg University Players are presenting Anton in Show Business Wednesday, April 13, through Sunday, April 17, at Alvina Krause Theatre on Center Street in downtown Bloomsburg.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens.
Advance tickets are on sale at the Haas Center box office on BU's campus Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays until 7 p.m. Remaining tickets can be purchased at Alvina Krause an hour before showtime.

Written by Jane Martin, “Anton in Show Business” is a comedy based on three actresses who have been cast in an ill-fated production of Anton Chekhov’s play, “The Three Sisters.” The play looks at what it takes to produce classical theatre in a modern world and the madcap antics that ensue.

According to Ethan Krupp, assistant professor of music, theatre and dance, “The show is best described as an open love letter to theatre. It holds true to the notion that comic writers aren't frivolous; they just see the world through a funny lens. Theatre is a vehicle for emotion and comments on the human condition, and this play has it in spades. This play shows the lasting beauty and power of theatre in a world of sound bites, viral videos and 142-character updates on social media sites.”

The production is directed by Ingrid DeSanctis, assistant professor of music, theatre and dance.  The cast includes nine student actors: Jenny Hensley, Deanna Kremer, Candyce Musinski, Natasha Willis, Greg Hoagland, Richard Nazzarro, Keara Derr, Destiny Deater and Courtney Costello.

Student filmmakers to show documentary 'Pakistan's Cave'

Two recent BU grads will screen a documentary, “Pakistan’s Cave,” on Thursday, April 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. in McCormick Center, room 2303. The screening is free and open to the public.

The 40-minute documentary is directed by Raeesa Khan, who majored in political science and philosophy, and edited by Andrew Protsko, who majored in mass communications/telecomm. The documentary parallels the history of Pakistan with the life of Raeesa Khan’s father, Saleem Khan, BU professor of economics and a native of Pakistan.

The film includes an interview with Khan’s uncle, who was held as a political prisoner at the notorious Lahore Fort after a coup in 1970s. Raeesa Khan also interviews Fatima Bhutto, niece of the late Pakistani leader and politician Benazir Bhutto.

Raeesa Khan explains that the title of the documentary is a reference to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” from “The Republic,” in which prisoners see shadows on the wall that they mistake for reality. In Plato’s allegory, one prisoner escapes only to find the shadows are not real. When he returns to tell his former comrades, they do not believe him.

“By making this documentary,” she said, “I’m coming out of my ‘cave’ and trying to make sense of Pakistan’s history.”

The documentary also touches on the efforts of Saleem Khan and his brother to build schools in Pakistan. The Khans have funded the construction of several literacy centers, which offer day and evening classes to accommodate the schedules of children who must work. The brothers have also supported construction of a high school, which is nearing completion.

Dance programs coming up at BU

Two dance related events coming up at BU.

The BU Dance Ensemble (a student run and organized group) will have it's 13th Annual Recital on Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, at 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts. The recital typically fills, or nearly fills the lower section of the hall. Students choreograph the pieces in a range of styles. This year expect hip-hop, jazz, ballet, musical theatre, traditional African, urban African, Irish soft/hard shoe, Latin, tap, country, lyrical and acrobatics.              Admission is free, but they welcome donations.

With a dance minor underway at BU, there will be the first Repertory and Ensemble Class Dance Concert on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center. This program will feature work by BU theatre and dance faculty, with choreography by BU's dance prof Julie Petry, costume design by theatre prof Karen Anselm (assisted by Sarah Stuble) and lighting design by prof Bruce Candlish. Philly-based dancer Ashley Searles will be featured. The show is free.

Spring Awakening at BU Friday

A new entry in the Rock Opera category is coming to BU Friday, April 8.

Music is by Grammy Award-winners Duncan Sheik (Barely Breathing) and Steven Sater. The show has won a cool eight Tony Awards, including 2007 musical of the year. The show, inspired by Frank Wedekind’s play that was banned for 100 years in Germany, remains controversial for its honest depiction of the issues of adolescence, including sexuality, independence and the fear of not measuring up. If you have children, call a sitter, this one's not for the kids. There will be a gallery talk an hour before curtain. Tickets are $30, the upper end of Celebrity Artist Series shows ... a fantastic bargain by Broadway standards.

More from BU

Wiz Khalifa at BU Wednesday

There are still a few tickets left for the Wiz Khalifa concert at BU Wednesday, April 6. Show time is 8 p.m. in Nelson Field House. The concert, part of the Campus Consciousness: Green Carpet Tour, will feature special guest Mac Miller and opening act Mansions on the Moon. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased at BU’s Kehr Union Information Desk and in downtown Bloomsburg at Stormi Steel Tattoo and The Purple Zebra clothing store. Tickets may also be purchased online at http://bloomu.tickets.musictoday.com. The Campus Consciousness Tour is a combination of a rock tour and environmental campaign.