1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Warning: This lecture may endanger conventional views

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Death of God theology? Not too extreme for John D. Caputo, who will bring his provocative philosophy to Transylvania University’s Carrick Theater at 7 p.m. March 20. His talk, “The Future of Justice: Nihilism and the History of Hope,” is part of the Rick O’Neil Lecture Series. “Caputo’s cutting-edge thought challenges the conceits of religious traditions and secularity to offer different, affirmative ways of imagining the future,” said Wilson Dickinson, associate dean for religious life. “His work stretches the boundaries of our typical ways of thinking to make room for justice, love, and perhaps even God.” Caputo, an internationally known professor emeritus at Syracuse and Villanova universities, has written more than 15 books that have been translated into a dozen languages. He lectures in far-flung locales—from Qatar to Norway. “Caputo writes about profoundly complex matters in accessible prose—in ways that are provocative and understandable,” Dickinson said. “While his ideas are new and challenging, he also draws from the deep wells of philosophical and theological traditions.” Caputo has been influential in the continental philosophy and emergent church movements. According to his Syracuse University profile, he is “intent on producing impure thoughts, thoughts which circulate between philosophy and theology, short-circuits which deny fixed and rigorous boundaries between philosophy and theology.” His book, “The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event,” earned the 2007 American Academy of Religion Book Award for Constructive-Reflective Studies in Religion, and “What would Jesus Deconstruct?” won

An evening of Spanish-themed music for piano and flute

  Jana Flygstad Erica Rumbley LEXINGTON, KY―Transylvania University faculty member and piano accompanist Erica Rumbley will be joined by flutist Jana Flygstad for a recital featuring, among other Spanish favorites, “Fantasia para un Gentilhombre” (Fantasia for a Gentleman) by composer Joaquín Rodrigo and the “Sonata Romanticia” by Joaquín Turina. The duo will perform on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater, located in Transylvania’s Mitchell Fine Arts Center. The hour-long event is free and open to the public. Currently pursuing her Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Kentucky, Rumbley says she is excited about the concert, which features passionate music that is “intriguing and enjoyable for both performer and audience.” Flygstad earned a Master in Music Performance from Northwestern University, where she studied flute and piccolo with Walfrid Kujala. She received her Bachelor of Music in music education from the University of Kentucky and studied with Gordon Cole. In 2007, Flygstad won First Prize in the Flute Society of Kentucky Young Artist Competition. She has also been a Finalist in the Chicago Flute Club Young Artist Competition and the Flute Society of Kentucky Piccolo Artist Competition. Flygstad is a founding member and flutist of Air City Woodwind Quintet and Unbridled Flutes. Free parking for the event is available in the lot adjacent to the Mitchell Fine Arts Center, located off Fourth Street between North Broadway and Upper Streets. The Mitchell Fine Arts Center is handicap accessible. For

Morlan Gallery exhibition showcases generations of women sculptors

Image courtesy of the Louisville Courier-Journal. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Women still earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. They make up a small percentage of our political representatives. And women artists are ridiculously underrepresented in standard texts published about art. The newest exhibition at Transylvania University’s Morlan Gallery is designed to help bridge that gap in awareness of the contributions of female artists. “ENID: Generations of Women Sculptors” opens at the Morlan Gallery on Friday, Feb. 28, with a reception for the artists from 5–8 p.m. The show runs through Friday, March 28. The exhibition is free and open to the public weekdays from noon to 5 p.m. The gallery will be open 2–7 p.m. on Friday, March 21. (During the university’s spring break week, which begins March 10, the exhibition is open by appointment only. Contact gallery director Andrea Fisher at 859-233-8142 to make arrangements to view the exhibition between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.) Fourteen artists will be featured in the exhibition: Gayle Cerlan, Caren Cunningham, Jeanne Dueber, Ewing Fahey, Sarah Frederick, Mary Dennis Kannapell, Frances Kratzok, Shawn Marshall, Suzanne Mitchell, Joyce Ogden, Jacque Parsley, Cynthia Reynolds, Gloria Wachtel and Melinda Walters. The Kentucky-based collective of female artisans started in 1998 when a small group of female sculptors in Louisville came together to provide support for one another. They unanimously elected to take on the name ENID for their collective as a way to honor Enid Yandell, Louisville’s

Gregory Turay to perform two pieces by Vaughan Williams

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Tenor Gregory Turay knows about journeys, not only in distances logged by frequent flyer miles but paths taken when one follows one’s heart. So it’s no surprise that the Metropolitan Opera singer will perform two wayfarer song cycles, “Songs of Travel” and “On Wenlock Edge,” written by prolific English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, for a concert in his hometown of Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Transylvania University’s Carrick Theater. The concert is free and open to the public. The hour-long concert features the six-part song cycle “On Wenlock Edge” for voice, piano and string quartet and the world premiere of John Greer’s arrangement of “Songs of Travel,” a nine-part song cycle for voice and piano. There will be a brief intermission between the two compositions. “I wanted to do a recital of “On Wenlock Edge” because I love the piece,” said Turay. “It’s been a passion of mine since I performed it almost 20 years ago in Charleston, S.C., at the Spoleto Festival with Charles Wadsworth. And then John Greer, my accompanist, suggested the ‘Songs of Travel,’ as he had been working on an arrangement of them for piano and string quartet; it was a perfect marriage!” Turay’s journey into the opera world began in 1995 when he competed and won at the national level of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was awarded a place in the opera’s Young Artist Development Program, which

Transylvania to host Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Classic in June

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The intense basketball rivalry between Kentucky and Indiana will electrify downtown Lexington June 13 when the Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Classic comes to Transylvania University’s beautiful Clive M. Beck Athletic and Recreation Center. Though the event—which matches the top boys and girls high school seniors in Kentucky against the best in Indiana, including the “Mr. and Miss Basketball” award winners—launched in 1940, 2014 will mark just the sixth time it will be held in Lexington and the first time since 1996. The Bluegrass Sports Commission (BSC) and the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation (KLEF) announced Jan. 29 that they had agreed to a three-year contract to bring the event to Lexington. WKYT-TV (Lexington) will televise the games live on the CW in Lexington and WYMT in Hazard. And plans call for syndicating a statewide network of TV stations to broadcast the games across the Commonwealth. “This is a very exciting announcement for us,” said Terry Johnson, executive director of the BSC. “We are honored to work with Transylvania, WKYT and others to host an event with such a rich history that supports the amazing work of the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation.” Located on one of the nation’s most historic college campuses, Transylvania’s Beck Center is a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of downtown Lexington. It seats 1,200 in an intimate setting perfect for high-stakes basketball. Transylvania’s storied basketball program has used the facility for its NCAA Division III games since 2001. Free