Community and Campus Briefs
AFRICAN AMERICAN READ-IN TO HONOR BLACK WRITERS
For the second time, Utah State University will participate in an annual African American Read-In. This year’s event takes place Monday, Feb. 2, in the Utah State Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounge and is sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU), the department of English, the Women and Gender Studies Program and the School of the Arts. Local organizers are BSU President Gabe Carter; Multicultural Student Services, led by Christine Christensen; and department of English Associate Head, Pat Gantt.
The Read-In, part of USU’s observance of Black History Month, features administration, faculty and students, both graduate and undergraduate, reading selections by African American authors and performing music. Each reading will be from 5 to 15 minutes long.
Last February, close to 1,000 local people participated in this celebration of literacy. Those who would like to participate in this year’s Read-In are asked to contact Christine Christensen in Multicultural Student Services at chrismss@cc.usu.edu.
“The African American Read-In is another wonderful opportunity for our community to celebrate the legacy of genius we all share,” Gantt said. “We have now expanded our selection of such events, with last spring’s Native American Read-In, this fall’s Hispanic Read-In and the more recent Asian American Read-In – all led by related Utah State student organizations. Ernesto Lopez and Gabe Carter have been terrific leaders in this series of successful events.”
For more information on the African American Read-In or the department of English, contact (435) 797-3858.
NEW JAZZ GROUP TO PERFORM AT CAINE LYRIC THEATRE
The first concert by a new jazz band, the “Jazz Kicks Big Band,” is Tuesday, Feb. 3, at the Caine Lyric Theater in downtown Logan (28 W. Center) at 7:30 p.m.
The band, led by recently retired Utah State University jazz professor Larry Smith, is made up of local musicians who get kicks from playing big band music, Smith said.
Sponsored by USU’s music department, the group rehearses on campus. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for students and are available at the door.
With the exception of USU jazz band leaders Jon Gudmundson and Todd Fallis, the band members all played in the music department’s Jazz Orchestra under Smith’s direction while they were students at Utah State. Many of the musicians are members of the Crestmark Orchestra or are band directors at area secondary schools, or both.
Hot pieces to be played include Duke Ellington’s “Happy-Go-Lucky Local,” Buddy Rich’s “Groovin’ Hard,” Gordon Goodwin’s “Count Bubba,” Gerry Mulligan’s “42nd and Broadway” and Count Basie’s “Jessica’s Day,” Smith said.
The band includes saxophonists Greg Wheeler, Ken Peterson, Larry Smith, Mike Reeder and Jon Gudmundson; trumpeters Hal Briggs, Wayne Eshelman, J. Paul Ward and David Defa; trombonists J. Golden Ward, Roger Karren, Andrew Watkins and Todd Fallis; pianist Kate Skinner, guitarist Jesse Schaefer, bassist Josh Skinner and drummer Doug James. Smith’s daughter, Monica Fronk, is the vocalist.
OPENING SPEAKER IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE ARTS SERIES AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
Lydia Degarrod, a visual artist and cultural anthropologist, presents her anthropological multimedia work “Souls of Bandits, Virgins and Victims: Searching for Miracles and Justice” Thursday, Feb. 5, in Old Main Room 115 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Utah State University.
Degarrod is the opening guest in the Anthropology and the Arts Lecture Series presented in conjunction with the Museum of Anthropology. The presentation is followed by a small reception in the museum (Old Main Room 252).
Degarrod will focus on her visual artistry in a second presentation, “Crossing Paths and Merging Visions: The Depiction of Ethnographic Realities through Visual Art,” Friday, Feb. 6, at 12:30 p.m. in Old Main Room 224.
Degarrod’s interdisciplinary work combines ethnographic and archival work with visual art, said Melanie Dixon, events coordinator for the lecture series. Degarrod’s work concerns “animatas,” believed by urban residents of Santiago, Chile, to be the souls of those who have died a violent and unjust death in the streets. The work aims at exploring the miraculous by depicting both the places where contemporary urban residents seek miracles from the animatas, and the individual testimonies of the miracle seekers themselves.
“These presentations provide excellent and unique perspectives of both visual art and ethnographic work,” Dixon said.
For more information regarding Degarrod’s presentations, contact Dixon at
(435) 797-4575.
Red Priest comes to USU
The Chamber Music Society of Logan continues its season with an appearance of the British ensemble “Red Priest,” that takes its name from the infamous flame-haired priest, Vivaldi .
Red Priest has redefined the art of period performance, combining the fruits of extensive research with swashbuckling virtuosity, heart-on-sleeve emotion and compelling stage craft. The group performs largely from memory, allowing an operatic level of freedom and interaction, and its programs are drawn from myriad baroque sources to create a kaleidoscopic range of moods and colors.
The performance will be Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Eccles Conference Center at Utah State University.
Tickets are available at USU’s ticket office, Spectrum and at the door. Regular price is $15, students $5 with ID card. Children under 6 not admitted. For more information: (435) 752-5867.