1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

“An Evening at the Cabaret: As Seen on TV” at Transylvania Jan. 28 and 29.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s vocal ensembles will present “An Evening at the Cabaret: As Seen on TV,” Friday and Saturday, Jan. 28 and 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Admission is $10. The box office next to Carrick Theater will be open for ticket reservations Monday, Jan. 24-Friday, Jan. 28, from 12-3 p.m. The phone number is (859) 233-8601. “An Evening at the Cabaret,” featuring the Transylvania Choir, the Transylvania Singers, the Pioneer Voices, the a capella group Formerly Known As and several soloists, will include a variety of songs from television shows, spanning multiple decades and styles. Selections include songs that have been featured on “Glee,” a medley of Phoebe’s songs from “Friends,” and theme songs from newer shows such as “The Office,” “Smallville,” as well as classic television shows and cartoons. For more information, contact the fine arts office at (859) 233-8141.

Morlan Gallery exhibit “Dropping Stitches” examines the recent knitting resurgence in popular culture

LEXINGTON, Ky.—It’s not just grandmas wielding knitting needles these days. “Dropping Stitches: Knitting Trends in Contemporary Art” examines the recent knitting resurgence in popular culture and the contemporary art world. The exhibition also examines the impetus behind the knitting trend by addressing the topics of materiality, activism through crafting, knitting as guerilla art and knitting as protest model. The exhibit opens January 19 with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m., and runs through March 4. The Lexington Gallery Hop reception is Friday, February 18, from 5-8 p.m. The exhibit features the work of Stacey Chinn, Carol Hummel, Barbara Hunt, Ellen Mollé, Mark Newport, Lacey Jane Roberts and the Transylvania knitters collective “In the Loop.” Roberts’ studio practice primarily consists of large-scale site-specific knitted installations created with children’s toy knitting cranks. Her work has been shown recently in the Bedford Gallery, the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Folk Art, the Headlands Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure and Naomi Arin Contemporary Art. Roberts also maintains a critical writing practice that bridges craft and queer theory. Her writing can be found in the forthcoming anthology “Extra/Ordinary: Craft Culture in Contemporary Art” published by Duke University Press. Roberts has been recognized with more 10 major prizes, awards and fellowships in the last five years. Newport is an artist and educator living in Michigan and his work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Canada and Europe,

Transylvania hosting volunteer projects on campus for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service; program honoring King planned for Jan. 19

LEXINGTON, Ky.—This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, and in 1994, the holiday was designated by Congress as a national day of service, charging Americans to make the third Monday in January a “day on, not a day off.” On Monday, January 17, Transylvania students, faculty and staff will celebrate the 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service by joining members of the Lexington community to perform service projects. Six of Lexington’s service activities will take place at Transylvania and include donating blood, writing letters of thanks to troops for serving overseas and knitting squares to make blankets for the Build-A-Bed Project. Transylvania has traditionally been very involved in Lexington’s effort, providing 25-45 percent of the volunteers. Projects at Transylvania Donate Blood (with Kentucky Blood Center) William T. Young Campus Center Corner of Fourth Street and Broadway Noon-4:30 p.m.Bring photo ID Make seedling starter planters for community gardens Rosenthal Commons (Rosenthal Residence Hall) Fourth Street 1 p.m. Write letters of thanks to the troops William T. Young Campus Center, conference room A Corner of Broadway and Fourth Street 1 p.m. Make valentines for Adult Day Center William T. Young Campus Center, conference room A Corner of Broadway and Fourth Street 1 p.m. Make sandwiches for the Hope Center Forrer Hall, Presidents Room near dining hall Broadway, between Third and Fourth streets 1 p.m. Knit blanket squares for Build-A-Bed Rosenthal Commons Fourth Street,

Successful Empty Bowls Project returns to Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery Dec. 6-8

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The art program at Transylvania University invites the community to help feed the hungry by doing some early Christmas shopping for beautiful handmade ceramic bowls at the Morlan Gallery Dec. 6-8, noon-5 p.m. Transylvania University ceramic and design students, along with local potters, have created and donated several hundred beautiful ceramic soup bowls available in the Morlan Gallery for $10 each. In addition to soup bowls, there will be larger individually priced bowls and wall tapestries designed to visually correspond to the graphic motifs on some of the soup bowls. When the Morlan Gallery last hosted this event, in 2008, almost 600 bowls sold in just hours. This year, local potters have been added to the gallery event to augment the supply of handmade ceramic bowls. Started 17 years ago, the Empty Bowls Project is an opportunity for local artists to donate handmade ceramic bowls that are made available for purchase, with the proceeds benefiting community agencies that feed the hungry. Over the last ten years, the Morlan Gallery bowl sales have raised $31,000 for local agencies such as Moveable Feast, the YMCA Spousal Abuse Center, the Community Action Council and the Hope Center. “Local artists can still donate bowls for sale as part of the Empty Bowls Project,” said Morlan Gallery director Andrea Fisher. “Functional or nonfunctional artists’ bowls of any media: wood, glass, fiber or paper mâché would be wonderful additions to this worthy event.” Customers browse

"Noel: Four Centuries of Christmas": Women’s quartet Anonymous 4 to perform at Transylvania Dec. 8; performance part of the Smith Concert Series

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Renowned women’s quartet Anonymous 4 will perform “Noel: Four Centuries of Christmas” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, in Transylvania’s Haggin Auditorium as part of the Dorothy J. and Fred K. Smith Endowed Concert Series. For two decades, Anonymous 4 has delighted audiences with their mesmerizing a capella versions of medieval music and poetic performances. This spectacular holiday concert experience combines the most popular carols and hymns, the most moving motets and chants from the group’s medieval Christmas programs:  “On Yoolis Night,” “Christmas Music From Medieval Hungary: Legends of St. Nicholas,” “Wolcum Yule” and “The Cherry Tree: Songs, Carols and Ballads for Christmas.” Anonymous 4 has performed on radio and television, and their albums have sold almost 1.5 million copies and topped the Billboard classical charts. Their most recent album, “Four Centuries of Chant,” is their 21st record and was released in September 2009. It mixes medieval chant with more traditional polyphonic music. Where most groups adapt chants into melodies and sing them, Anonymous 4 decided to restore and perform them. Free tickets, while they last, are available at Transylvania’s William T. Young Campus Center (corner of Broadway and Fourth Street) Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday from 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday from noon-8 p.m. and Sunday from 1-10:30 p.m. For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120 or the fine arts office at (859) 233-8141. This is the fourth concert in the Smith