Month: February 2007

LEXINGTON, Ky.—In celebration of Women’s History Month, pianist Naomi Oliphant and tenor Daniel Weeks will perform “Women of Firsts,” a recital of art songs by 20th century women composers of the Czech Republic, Poland, United States and France on Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Transylvania’s Mitchell Fine Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public. Oliphant has earned a national reputation as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada and Europe. She has appeared as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Ballet, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Niagara Symphony. Since 1983, she has been pianist of the McHugh-Oliphant Duo. She was appointed associate dean of the University of Louisville School of Music in 1998 and has most recently been responsible for coordinating an exchange program between the university and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. Weeks has given professional recitals in 14 states and has performed with the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony and the Cincinnati Symphony, among others. He has performed opera with the Kentucky Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Nevada Opera and the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh. In 2001, he toured the United States in 58 performances of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater. Oliphant and Weeks have performed together in recital since 1999, have toured the United States and Poland and will soon be recording their first CD. For more

Read “Women’s History Month Event at Transylvania – Renowned pianist and tenor to perform songs by women composers Thursday, March 1, 7:30 p.m. at Transylvania; free and open to the public”

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s winter drama production is a play adapted by director and drama professor Tim Soulis. “The Earthrock of Argos” is based on the Greek tragedy “The Oresteia” by Aeschylus. A cast of three men and 11 women act out a powerful story about Greeks returning from the Trojan War and coming to an understanding about identity, social responsibility and the humane treatment of others. “Essentially, the impression in the original as well as the current adaptation is of a world initially ruled by self-interest, from which evolves a more civilized society based on mutually-acceptable agreement,” said Soulis. “Given the recent extremist fragmentation of our own American society into red states and blue states, conservatives and liberals, religious zealots and agnostics, and most disturbingly, our divided views on resolving the quagmire of our war in Iraq, perhaps another look at a 2500-year-old tragedy about the need for reconciliation is not such a bad idea.” The play runs in the Lucille C. Little Theater Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3 at 7:30 p.m., as well as Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information, call the public relations office at (859) 233-8120 or Tim Soulis at (859) 233-8163. To order tickets, call the box office at (859) 233-8601.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania music professor Larry Barnes spent the past summer composing a score for “Euphoria,” a full-length film that had already won the Gold Medal at the Houston Film Festival in 2005. “Filmmaker Lee Boot had heard me perform my music in Baltimore years back and he called me last spring and asked if I would review his film with the possibility of my adding a complete musical score,” said Barnes. “I was elated. I had wanted to compose for film for years and here was a work that had already won a Gold Medal in its original form.” After viewing the film, Barnes met Boot in Baltimore to discuss the scenes he would score. He then spent the summer and early fall composing the music and sending it to Boot as electronic e-mail attachments. Boot would respond after placing the music behind the film. The electronic dialogue continued until October when Barnes went back to Baltimore to meet with Boot, hire musicians and mix the music into the film. “Imagine your work being one-dimensional and suddenly being given another meaning—another life,” said Barnes. “In one high pressured week, my music was transformed.” Barnes said the film’s visuals are so striking that he was challenged from the beginning to write music with enough character to enhance but not overpower. “It was a bit intimidating, but a thrill from beginning to end,” he said. The feature-length documentary is an out-of-the-box art

Read “Transylvania professor produces music score for award-winning film; filmmaker and director to give guest lecture Wednesday, Feb. 22, and film to be shown Feb. 21 and 22; all events free and open to the public”