1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

“The Civil War and Reconstruction in the Border States: History and Memory at the Sesquicentennial” premieres on KET through Sept. 24 and Oct. 11-15

LEXINGTON, Ky.—In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, four prominent scholars of nineteenth-century American history and legal history took part in “The Civil War and Reconstruction in the Border States: History and Memory at the Sesquicentennial. Taped at Transylvania University’s Haggin Auditorium, the Michael Breeding Media film will air on Kentucky Educational Television (KET and KET KY) through September 24 and October 11-15. Participants include David W. Blight, professor of American history, Yale University; Annette Gordon-Reed, professor of law and history, Harvard University; and John McCardell Jr., vice-chancellor, The University of the South. Jed Shugerman, assistant professor of law, Harvard University, served as moderator. The panelists spoke on the history of the South, slavery, Reconstruction and Robert Penn Warren’s reflections on the war during the symposium taped for this one-hour program. The program will air on the following dates and times (Eastern): Tuesday, September 20, 9 p.m. (KETKY) Thursday, September 22, 4 a.m. (KET) and 4 p.m. (KETKY) Saturday, September 24, noon (KETKY) Tuesday, October 11, 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. (KETKY) Saturday, October 15, noon (KETKY) The symposium was held April 28 in Haggin Auditorium as part of the festivities surrounding the inauguration of R. Owen Williams as Transylvania’s 25th president. A DVD of the KET special can be ordered here, by clicking on “Miscellaneous Conferences” on the menu on the left, then selecting “Civil War DVD.” DVDs are $12 each. A promo of the

Transylvania University’s new John Marshall Harlan Lecture Series presents legal and constitutional historian William Wiecek, September 26, at 7:30 p.m.; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, KY.—Transylvania University launches a new lecture series, the John Marshall Harlan Series, with a talk by legal and constitutional historian William Wiecek on Monday, September 26th, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. The lecture, “John Marshall Harlan, Race, and the United States Supreme Court,” is free and open to the public. “We created this lecture series to bring to campus highly esteemed legal figures of national or international prominence who have distinguished themselves in constitutional law or history,” said Transylvania President R. Owen Williams. “We are delighted to have William Wiecek as our first speaker.” Wiecek is currently serving as the Lassiter Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Kentucky Law School. He is the author of numerous books. His most recent, “The Birth of the Modern Constitution: The United States Supreme Court, 1941–1953” (volume 12 of the Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States), won the John Phillip Reid Prize awarded by the American Society for Legal History for the best book in legal history published in 2006. Harlan, an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877-1911, was a Kentucky lawyer and politician and an 1852 graduate of Transylvania’s law department. An early champion of civil rights, he is most notable as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases (1883) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which, respectively, struck down as unconstitutional federal anti-discrimination legislation and

Tangletown Trio to give free performance at Transylvania on September 13 at 7:30 p.m.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Seattle-based touring ensemble TangleTown Trio will give a performance at Transylvania University on Tuesday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater. The show, “Song Nouveau,” is free and open to the public. The trio, comprised of violinist Jo Nardolillo, pianist Judith Cohen and soprano-composer Sarah Mattox, is dedicated to living American composers and the idea that there should be no barriers between art, music and the audience. Their program will include contemporary art songs in an accessible style, many of them composed by Mattox, as well as pieces composed by Mark Olivieri and Aaron Copeland. “Song Nouveau” literally means “New Song,” and most of the concert will feature new works by Mattox and Olivieri. The title also refers to the Art Nouveau movement that flourished at the turn of the 20th century, spanning architecture, sculpture, furniture and almost all visual arts. It incorporated elements of nature and emphasized bringing art into everyday life. “Song Nouveau” strives to combine these same elements, programming songs of nature and life, which are immediately accessible to the audience. TangleTown Trio’s performance at Transylvania begins a week of touring Kentucky, with appearances planned for WUKY’s “Curtains @ 8,” at Natasha’s Bistro and for “Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.”

Legendary Canadian Brass to play at Transylvania University Wednesday, September 21; free tickets while they last

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The internationally acclaimed Canadian Brass will perform a concert in Haggin Auditorium on Wednesday, September 21, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Dorothy J. and Fred K. Smith Endowed Concert Series. With a discography of over 90 albums and an extensive worldwide touring schedule, Canadian Brass is a pioneer in bringing brass music to audiences everywhere. Members of the famed quintet are renowned for their dazzling virtuosity and freewheeling performance style. The group helped to transform a previously undervalued group of instruments with a limited repertoire into a versatile ensemble proficient in everything including renaissance and baroque masters, classical works, marches, holiday favorites, ragtime, Dixieland, jazz, big band, Broadway and Christian music, as well as popular songs and standards. They are especially known for their Christmas concerts and for helping reestablish Scott Joplin with modern audiences through their research, arrangements, and recordings of his rags and other works. Canadian Brass was the first brass group from the west to play in China and the first to take the stage in Carnegie Hall. They have performed in Australia, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union and South America. They have appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “Today,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Sesame Street” and numerous PBS programs. Members of the famed quintet are Chuck Daellenbach (tuba), Christopher Coletti and Brandon Ridenour (trumpets), Achilles Liarmakopoulos (trombone) and Eric Reed (horn).  In addition to the performance, the group’s members will present a workshop for

Transylvania to host digital art and music festival Sept. 16 and 17; international, national, regional and local artists and musicians will participate; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University is hosting the Studio 300 Digital Art and Music Festival, Kentucky’s first such festival, on Sept. 16 and 17. The festival, which gets its name from Transylvania’s 300 North Broadway address, explores creative manifestations of technology through concerts and exhibitions of digital art and music. Over two days, Studio 300 will feature over 30 different stage performances and offer 33 art installations, interactive pieces and video/sound works by artists and musicians from around the world. All events are free and open to the public. Timothy Polashek, Transylvania music professor and Studio 300 director, writes in a variety of media and styles, including vocal, instrumental, electro-acoustic music, text/sound compositions and interactive performance systems. His music has been performed throughout the United States and abroad. “As a composer of computer music, I’m always looking for innovative ways to use and develop technologies for artistic purposes,” Polashek said.  “I have had the privilege of participating in many national and international festivals of digital and interactive arts, and they’re simply a lot of fun, and the public is really curious about these things, especially interactive works and multimedia works. “Lexington is a great city with a vibrant arts scene, but there are not yet many groups working with technology. Transylvania has a long history of fostering innovations over the centuries, so it’s natural that we invite these pioneering musicians, artists and technologists to campus.” Polashek hopes to expand the festival into