The Smith College Department of Music presents the Wind Ensemble Fall Concert: Weather of the Soul on Monday, December 4 at 7:30 PM in Sweeney Concert Hall under the direction of Meghan MacFadden. The concert features music centered around emotions and mental health. Works include Katahj Copley's ode to love "Halcyon Hearts", Barbara Buehlman's iconic arrangement of "Blessed Are They" from the Brahms German Requiem, "(not) Alone" by Randall Standridge, and Harrison J. Collins' coming of age journey "These Radiant Moments" heard in this rehearsal clip. The concert is free and open to the public. It will also be livestreamed on the Smith College Department of Music YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/Ab1fc6BFzhc?feature=share.
Sweeney Concert Hall is located at 144 Green Street, Northampton, MA.
The Smith College Department of Dance presents the Fall Faculty Dance Concert, featuring the Five College Dance repertory project Dance 1 by Lucinda Childs, the first movement from Dance a collaboration with Philip Glass and Sol LeWitt. Also on the program Oh Ordinary, a new contemporary dance by guest artist and Smith alum Sarah Konner built in collaboration with the dancers—bending time and space, patience, and the fullness of being, Sad to know of the wind tonight, a contemporary ballet set to the haunting work of British musician Jamie McDermott, and a new Hip Hop fusion piece by Duane Lee Holland, Jr., Nourishment, a piece for 8 performers that features dance as a cathartic conduit to healing, empowerment, and cultural diplomacy.
Childs is widely revered as one of the most important figures in modern dance. This is a rare opportunity to see her minimalist dance masterwork live. Describing Childs’ work in the New York Times, Gia Kourlas writes “Her stark, minimalist approach stitches together straight and circular motifs in space with fleet footwork and military authority. It is at once unfussy and euphoric, somehow like figure skating without the ice.”
Tickets $5-10 available online at https://smitharts.booktix.com or by emailing [email protected].
A Beethoven Cycle II: The Complete Sonatas for Piano and Violin Concert 3: Nos. 4, 6, 10 is tomorrow, Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 PM in Sweeney Concert Hall. Presented by the Smith College Music Department and the Sage Chamber Music Society, violinist Elizabeth Chang and pianist Jiayan Sun conclude their exploration of Beethoven’s ten masterworks with the eclectic Sonata no. 10 in G Major, op. 96. Elizabeth Chang has been hailed for her "deep musicality" and "virtuosic technique." Jiayan Sun's playing has been described as “Jaw-dropping brilliance, mercurial command of the keyboard and the kaleidoscopic colours.” This series is not to be missed.
The program also features the world premiere of Battuta, composed by Mount Holyoke College Professor David Sanford reflecting on Beethoven’s legacy and compositional prowess. Pre-concert talk at 6:30 PM.
Free and open to the public!
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 19 at 7:30 PM A Beethoven Cycle II: The Complete Sonatas for Piano and Violin resumes with Concert 2: Nos. 3, 5, 9 in Sweeney Concert Hall. Violinist Elizabeth Chang and pianist Jiayan Sun continue their exploration of Beethoven’s ten masterworks, presenting the well-known “Spring” and “Kreutzer” sonatas. Elizabeth Chang has been hailed for her "deep musicality" and "virtuosic technique." Jiayan Sun's playing has been described as “Jaw-dropping brilliance, mercurial command of the keyboard and the kaleidoscopic colours.” This series is not to be missed. Free and open to the public.
The program also features the world premiere of Fast Forward, composed by Amherst College Professor Eric Sawyer reflecting on Beethoven’s legacy and compositional prowess. Presented by Sage Chamber Music Society.
Pre-concert talk at 6:30 PM in Sweeney Concert Hall, with the artists, composer Eric Sawyer, and David Schneider, Professor of Music at Amherst College.
Consider this your FUN HOME countdown. The cast is getting warmed up, do you have your tickets yet? The show opens Wednesday, April 20 and runs for 5 performances: April 20, 21, 22, 23 at 7:30 and April 23 at 2pm in Theatre 14. FREE for Smith Students: email [email protected]. All other tickets at https://smitharts.booktix.com
The Violin Sonata no. 1 (in one movement) (1958) by George Walker (1922-2018) will be performed by violinist Joel Pitchon and pianist Lori Wolf Walker as part of the George Walker Centennial Celebration chamber concert Sunday, March 6 at 3 PM along with other works by George Walker, Gregory Walker, and Shawn Gorman. The Sage Chamber Music Society is excited to honor the 100th birthday of the critically acclaimed concert pianist, composer, and first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for composition. The concert also features guest artist violinist Gregory Walker, pianist Lemuel Gurtowsky, cellist Volcy Pelletier, pianist Jiayan Sun, pianist Yu-Mei Wei, soprano Katherine Saik, flutist Sarah Swersey, clarinetist Lynn Sussman, and saxophonist Lynn Klock. Live in Sweeney Concert Hall.
Open to the public. Masks, Smith IDs or proof of full vaccination required for entry. Can't make it to campus? Register for the live stream at LINK IN BIO
Prelude in C-sharp Minor, op. 28 no. 10 -- A little sample of tomorrow's program, your last chance to see and hear Jiayan Sun performing live from Sweeney Concert Hall this Spring! Tomorrow night, May 6, the fourth and final concert in The Timeless Genius of Chopin series: The Complete Preludes, Selected Late and Other Works. Register for the link at ChopinatSmith.eventbrite.com
In Patchouli Oil, Mayeline Peña invites you to ask yourself where do your moves come from? Who is in your body? What moves have names, and which ones don't? Peña’s piece uses spoken narrative to examine her family’s relationship to merengue and how culture, faith, and ritual inform her movements and dance creation.
Process Log: Ascension the 2021 Senior Dance Concert goes LIVE Friday, April 16 at 8 and Saturday April 17 at 2. Five graduating Dance majors explore making dance and community in a time of separation. Featuring works by Catherine Davis, Mayeline Peña, Talia Preis, Auxenia Grace Privett-Mendoza, and Kiara Mickens. Register for the live, free event at https://seniordance.eventbrite.com.
An Anomaly in the Deep by Auxenia Grace Privett-Mendoza explores the significance of, relevance of, and relatability to water and her cycling. We journey through ice, liquid, gas, and ground exploring state change and the things that remain the same. This cycling exists in relationship to our own cycles. This piece asks what we cycle through - around what do we revolve? what resurfaces/remains?
Process Log: Ascension the 2021 Senior Dance Concert goes LIVE Friday, April 16 at 8 and Saturday April 17 at 2. Five graduating Dance majors explore making dance and community in a time of separation. Featuring works by Catherine Davis, Mayeline Peña, Talia Preis, Auxenia Grace Privett-Mendoza, and Kiara Mickens. Register for the live, free event at https://seniordance.eventbrite.com.
"The Black Woman, the most powerful being on this planet, has been drained and outsourced of her power in this country for centuries and it is time for her to take it back!" Source Return by Kiara Mickens is a representation of the conditioning that subdues the Black Woman and how breaking these cycles leads to her liberation and to her throne.
Process Log: Ascension the 2021 Senior Dance Concert goes LIVE Friday, April 16 at 8 and Saturday April 17 at 2. Five graduating Dance majors explore making dance and community in a time of separation. Featuring works by Catherine Davis, Mayeline Peña, Talia Preis, Auxenia Grace Privett-Mendoza, and Kiara Mickens. Register for the live, free event at https://seniordance.eventbrite.com.
Naturally by Talia Preis is one of two movement journey films she is presenting that open the dynamic yet fragile door between interior and exterior. They explore the relationships between the moving body, time, and spatial rhythms, in homage to Talia's native land, O'ahu, Hawai'i.
Process Log: Ascension the 2021 Senior Dance Concert goes LIVE Friday, April 16 at 8 and Saturday April 17 at 2. Five graduating Dance majors explore making dance and community in a time of separation. Featuring works by Catherine Davis, Mayeline Peña, Talia Preis, Auxenia Grace Privett-Mendoza, and Kiara Mickens. Register for the live, free event at https://seniordance.eventbrite.com.
Jiayan Sun practices for Thursday night's concert of Chopin's Complete Scherzos, Selected Nocturnes, and the Third Sonata. Find out why he has been praised for his "revelatory" (New York Times) and "technically flawless, poetically inspired and immensely assured playing" (Toronto Star). Listen and be moved from the comfort of your own home. Thursday, April 8 at 8pm. Free and live. Register at: ChopinatSmith.eventbrite.com.
Smith Glee Club: No Time, clip
