1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Events

Jazz pianist Alex Bugnon will perform with special guests at the Smooth Jazz Fest August 10 on Old Morrison lawn; tickets on sale now

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Jazz pianist and composer Alex Bugnon will perform at Transylvania University Saturday, August 10, at 7:30 p.m., for the sixth annual Lexus Smooth Jazz Fest. This is the second year Transylvania has hosted the event, which is presented by the African American Forum. Bugnon will be joined by special guests Cindy Bradley and Nelson Rangell. The festival will be held outdoors on Old Morrison front lawn on Third Street between Broadway and Mill. Bugnon is from Montreux, Switzerland and studied at the Paris Conservatory and the Mozart Academy in Salzburg. At age 19, he moved to the U.S. and attended the Berklee School of Music. His recording career began with his 1989 debut album “Love Season,” which breached the pop charts and the Top 40 of the R&B charts as did his follow-up “Head Over Heels.” He toured with Gospel Leviticus in the Deep South. He has won two Soul Train Music Awards. By age 12, Bradley was performing professionally on the trumpet with Sugar and Jazz, a Buffalo, N.Y., area group of young musicians. She has toured with legendary urban jazz group Pieces of a Dream, performed in New York with The Sly Geralds Band and has played such renowned events as the Big Bear Lake Jazz Festival, Omaha’s Riverfront Jazz and Blues Festival, the Balcones Heights Jazz Festival in San Antonio and the North Carolina Wine and Jazz Festival. Jazziz magazine writes that Rangell is “an artist

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Newest class of Governor’s School for Arts graduates July 13

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LEXINGTON, Ky.— The Governor’s School for the Arts 2013 summer session comes to a close Saturday, July 13 at Transylvania University, highlighted by final student performances around campus, special speakers and a graduation ceremony at 5:15 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Final performances, including those in instrumental and vocal music, musical theater, visual arts, drama, new media and architecture, will begin at various campus locations at noon. All final day events are open to GSA parents, friends and relatives as well as the public and media. Previous final day performances have attracted more than 1,200 people to campus. Refreshments will be available at various locations near Old Morrison, Transylvania’s administration building on Third Street. Author and Kentucky GSA alumnus Jonathan M. Katz will receive the Marlene M. Helm Alumni Achievement Award, an award that is given out on Final Day graduation each summer in honor of Marlene Helm who served as Secretary of the Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet under the Patton Administration. Katz, who grew up in Louisville, is a journalist and author who wrote the critically acclaimed new release “The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster.” Katz attended GSA for Creative Writing in 1996 and will be one of several speakers during the graduation ceremony. Final performances will be held at the Mitchell Fine Arts Center, the Little Theater, the Shearer Art

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New Governor’s School for the Arts session opens June 23 at Transylvania University

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky’s most talented young artists, selected from 1,800 state-wide applicants, will assemble on Transylvania University’s campus on Sunday, June 23, to begin the three-week 2013 session of the Governor’s School for the Arts. The latest GSA class is comprised of 223 rising juniors and seniors from 48 Kentucky counties who will receive top-level training through daily seminars, master classes, lectures, hands-on workshops and field trips to various arts attractions in central Kentucky. The student-artists will receive rigorous instruction in nine disciplines: architecture, creative writing, dance, drama, instrumental music, musical theatre, new media, visual arts and vocal music. Since 1987 more than 4,700 of the state’s most talented high school artists from all 120 counties have attended the GSA summer program following a highly demanding selection process. Each year 1,500 students have applied annually for one of the available scholarships, valued at $3,800. GSA is free to all participants. Transylvania is among 23 colleges and universities that offer scholarships to GSA alumni. The program will culminate on Saturday, July 13, with an all-day festival that celebrates the achievements of the young artists through performances open to family, friends and the public. Graduation ceremonies will be held that day at 5 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Program highlights in 2013 include performances by pianist Henry Pickens, singer/songwriter Ben Sollee, percussion ensemble Caixa Trio and dance performance by the Moving Collective. Presentations will be given by celebrated

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The Rose Ensemble will present “Land of Three Faiths” concert September 11 at Transylvania. The concert is free and open to the public, no ticket necessary.

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LEXINGTON, Ky.— Critically acclaimed group The Rose Ensemble will present “Land of Three Faiths: Voices of Ancient Mediterranean Jews, Christians, and Muslims” on Wednesday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m., in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center’s Haggin Auditorium as part of Transylvania’s Dorothy J. and Fred K. Smith Endowed Concert Series. The concert is free and open to the public, no ticket necessary. “This event reminds us that religious traditions are often agents of peace and tolerance in our world,” said Wilson Dickinson, Transylvania’s associate dean for religious life. “This concert is a suitable way to memorialize this difficult day, as our community can join together in the mutual admiration and celebration of our multiple cultural and religious heritages.” Founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble reawakens the ancient with vocal music that stirs the emotions, challenges the mind and lifts the spirit. The Saint Paul, Minnesota, group tours internationally with repertoire spanning 1,000 years and 25 languages, including new research in Middle Eastern, European and American vocal traditions. The Rose Ensemble received the 2005 Chorus America Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and won first prize in sacred and secular music categories at the 2012 Tolosa Choral Contest in Spain (part of the European Choral Grand Prix). Sramek received the 2010 Louis Botto Award from Chorus America “for entrepreneurial zeal.” The Rose Ensemble has released nine recordings. The result of years of intensive research and training,

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Transylvania University commencement is Saturday, May 25; actor Steve Zahn will give keynote address; poet Nikky Finney will receive honorary degree; senior Hannah Johnson will be student speaker

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Transylvania University’s commencement will be held on the front lawn of historic Old Morrison on Saturday, May 25, at 9:30 a.m. Actor Steve Zahn will deliver the keynote address and senior Hannah Johnson will speak on behalf of the graduates. Transylvania will award poet Nikki Finney an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. At 8:30 a.m. the 222 members of the Class of 2013 will gather in cap and gown on the steps of the Clive M. Beck Athletics and Recreation Center for a class photo. At 9:15 a.m. graduates, faculty, trustees and the platform party will march from the Mitchell Fine Arts Center behind Old Morrison to the front lawn and take their seats. A cookies and punch reception for graduates, families, and friends will follow the ceremony. Zahn had his first big break in the 1994 movie “Reality Bites.” In 1999, he was offered the starring role in the critically acclaimed film “Happy, Texas,” for which he won an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting male and a Special Dramatic Jury Prize for best comedic performance. Zahn received his strongest critical acclaim for his performance as Drew Barrymore’s husband in “Riding in Cars with Boys.” Currently, Zahn plays the character of Davis McAlary in HBO’s “Treme.” Zahn attended the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training founded by the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. Johnson, a political science major from Lexington, Ky., will deliver a special

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