Events

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Hunter Hensley, professor of voice at Eastern Kentucky University, will perform “Songs and Chants: A Window into the Middle Ages,” a program of medieval chant and early French song, at Transylvania University’s Old Morrison chapel Thursday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. The performance will include melodies from the earliest repertoire of ninth century Gregorian chant, through fourteenth century Machaut virelai—songs for dancing.  “The medieval melodies are the foundation of most music performed today,” said Hensley. Hensley recently completed academic recording projects of medieval music for musicologists at University of California Berkeley and Cornell University and has performed at three national musicological conferences in the last year and a half. Featured in the program will be a historic six-stringed Kinnor harp, or cithara, reconstructed and made to Hensley’s specifications by Stanley Caswell of Danville, Ky., in a performance of the twelfth century lamentation, Planctus David, by Peter Abelard (1097-1142). For more information, contact the fine arts office at (859) 233-8141

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Grammy-nominated fiddler Liz Carroll will give a concert Thursday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Transylvania University’s Carrick Theater. Accompanying Carroll will be Cork-born composer and pianist Cormac McCarthy. Tickets for the World Voices Series Concert are $10. (One free ticket with a Transylvania ID). The concert has been rescheduled, after tornado warnings on March 2 prompted the postponement of the show. Ticket reservations for the March 2 show are void and those wishing to attend the concert must make new reservations by calling (859) 233-8141.  Carroll began composing music as a child and has performed with artists ranging from violinist Yehudi Menuhin to rocker Don Henley. “Liz Carroll has amazed audiences around the world and we are thrilled to have her perform at Transylvania,” said Larry Barnes, professor of music and director of the World Voices Series. “She is a recognized master of the Celtic fiddle and all who come to hear her are in for a real treat.” In April 2011, Carroll was awarded the Cumadóir TG4, becoming the first American-born composer to be honored with Ireland’s most significant traditional music prize. Irish Echo, the largest circulation Irish American weekly newspaper, calls Carroll’s playing “nothing less than breathtaking,” and a concert review from The New York Times declares Carroll “Brilliant…She does more than run through her finger twisting reels and sustained slow airs. She—and her listeners—continually rediscover each melody.” McCarthy, originally from Cork, Ireland, lives in Chicago.

Read “Liz Carroll Celtic music concert has been rescheduled for April 5; new ticket reservations must be made”

LEXINGTON, KY.—Ted Nordhaus, cofounder and chairman of the Breakthrough Institute, will give a talk titled “The Long Death of Environmentalism,” at Transylvania University on Wednesday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture, in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center’s Haggin Auditorium, is free and open to the public. The Breakthrough Institute was founded by Nordhaus and president Michael Shellenberger in 2003 to “modernize liberal-progressive-green politics,” according to the website. Nordhaus and Shellenberger are the authors of the book “Break Through: Why We Can’t Leave Saving the Planet to Environmentalists,” and the essay “The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming in a Post Environmental World,” which triggered a national debate about the future of environmentalism. “Break Through” was called “prescient” by Time and “the most important thing to happen to environmentalism since ‘Silent Spring’” by Wired. Nordhaus has been profiled in the New York Times, Wired, the National Review, The New Republic and on NPR. In 2007, he and Shellenberger received the Green Book Award and Time’s 2008 “Heroes of the Environment” award.
 This lecture is part of Transylvania’s William R. Kenan Jr. Lecture Series and is funded by a grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120.

Flamenco Louisville LEXINGTON, Ky.—Flamenco Louisville, an inclusive, participatory community of dancers, musicians, teachers and aficionados, will share their passion for the Spanish dance with the Lexington community at the “La Esencia Flamenco: Dance Across Cultures” performance at Transylvania on February 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center’s Haggin Auditorium. The performance, discussion and reception to follow are free and open to the public. In addition to the performance, there will be a discussion and exploration of this unique art expression, including remarks from Lori Rowland Houlihan, special events liaison of the office of the mayor of Lexington; Henry Berlin, professor of Spanish at Transylvania; Transylvania religion professors Paul Jones and Carole Barnsley and author Rosie Moosnick. The speakers will discuss the various cultures and religions that influenced Spain and flamenco across centuries. An informal reception will follow the performance, during which further dialogue with Houlihan, Berlin, Jones, Barnsley and Moosnick will be welcome.  Authentic Spanish tapas and non-alcoholic sangria will be served at the reception. Flamenco is a system of singing, music and dance with its roots in the diverse cultures of Moorish-ruled Al-Andalus (the Iberian peninsula), now known as Spain and Portugal. The many flamenco song forms, or palos, were developed and preserved in the Gitano families and communities of Southern Spain that lived on the fringes of society. It is something that, in its purest form, takes place within the family or an intimate community.

Read ““La Esencia Flamenco: Dance Across Cultures” at Transylvania Feb. 29 features Flamenco Louisville performance, discussion and tapas”