1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

“Our Ailing Health Care System: How to Fix It and How to Protect Your Health”: John Abramson, professor at Harvard Medical School, to speak April 1 at 7:30 p.m.; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—John Abramson will give a lecture titled “Our Ailing Health Care System: How to Fix It and How to Protect Your Health,” Thursday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater, located in the Mitchell Fine Arts center at Transylvania University. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception and book signing.Abramson has worked as a family doctor in Appalachia with the National Health Service Corps and for 20 years in Hamilton, Mass. He was a Robert Wood Johnson fellow and is currently on the clinical faculty at Harvard Medical School, where he teaches health policy. He served for seven years as chairman of the department of family practice at Lahey Clinic. He was twice voted best doctor in his area and three times selected as one among several of the best family physicians in Massachusetts. Abramson is the author of “Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine,” published by HarperCollins in September 2004, with the third edition published in 2008. He has been published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times and has made more than 65 appearances on national television, including two appearances on NBC’s “Today Show.” His academic publications include an article in The Lancet questioning the scientific accuracy of the national guidelines for cholesterol lowering and an article in Journal of the American Board of Family Practice on conflicts of interest in biomedical research.

Alltech Lectures Series at Transylvania: Expert on equine health to speak at Transylvania March 24; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—On Wednesday, March 24, Kyle Newman, director of Venture Laboratories, Inc., will present “Feeding the Equine Athlete for Success,” in Transylvania University’s Carrick Theater at 7 p.m. The lecture is part of the Alltech Lecture Series at Transylvania and is free and open to the public. Venture Laboratories is one of two external resources conducting studies on Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, which caused the loss of thousands of foals in Kentucky and surrounding states in 2001. Newman was responsible for eliminating mycotoxins as a cause of MRLS. Newman received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky, specializing in interactions between immunity, nutrition and the gastrointestinal ecosystem. Studies conducted by Newman helped to define how yeast culture may benefit equine digestion. He is the primary author on a book chapter describing the effects of mycotoxins on horses. Newman will answer questions from the audience after speaking and a reception will follow. There will be a raffle for two Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games tickets. For more information, call (859) 233-8124.

Richard Taylor, Kentucky Poet Laureate and Transylvania’s Kenan Visiting Writer, will give poetry reading March 25

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Richard Taylor, Poet Laureate of Kentucky from 1999-2001, and Kenan Visiting Writer at Transylvania, will read from his poetry Thursday, March 25, at 8 p.m. in room 102 of the Cowgill Center. The event is free and open to the public. “We are delighted to have a former Poet Laureate of Kentucky teaching in our English and Foundations of the Liberal Arts programs,” said William F. Pollard, vice president and dean of the college. “Richard Taylor knows Kentucky and Kentucky history, but—more importantly—he knows the talent that continues to come from Kentucky writers and how to help develop that talent in his students through an appreciation for literature and the encouragement to write well.” This term at Transylvania, Taylor teaches Prospectives on Literature and leads a fiction workshop. Taylor has won a variety of honors for his extensive publications in both poetry and prose. As director of Poetry in the Schools for the Kentucky Arts Commission, he served as poet-in-residence at a dozen public elementary and secondary schools across Kentucky. He has also served as a professor of English at Kentucky State University for many years. Taylor earned a B.A. in English from the University of Kentucky in 1963, an M.A. in English from the University of Louisville in 1964, a J.D. from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1967 and a Ph.D. in English from UK in 1974. His publications include Sue Munday: A Novel of

Concert by acclaimed pianist Gregory Partain will feature three pieces, including 200th birthday tribute to Chopin; March 23, at 7:30 p.m.; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University music professor Gregory Partain will perform a solo piano recital Tuesday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater. The program is free and open to the public. The program will feature three works for solo piano, including an early piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata in A major, Op. 2, no. 2, one of the composer’s first published works, produced when the young man was attempting to win over Viennese audiences with his virtuosity at the keyboard; a well-known and much-loved collection of six character pieces by Franz Schubert, Moment Musicaux; and Chopin’s Sonata in B minor, in celebration of the composer’s 200th birthday. In his 23 years on the concert stage, Partain has appeared as recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist throughout the United States, and has performed overseas in Poland, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Russia, Greece and Germany. Partain soloed with the Lexington Philharmonic and Lexington Singers last spring in a performance of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. He has also appeared with the Seattle Symphony, the Eugene Symphony and the Sunriver and Peter Britt summer festival orchestras. His second solo CD, released in 2007 under the MSR Classics label, has garnered consistent critical praise. In 1986, he was the national winner of the KMS Resident Artist Competition in Seattle, then won first prize in the Memphis Beethoven Piano Sonata Competition, second prize in the International Bartok-Kabalevsky Competition in Virginia and was a finalist in the

Dixieland-style jazz band “Red Hook Ramblers” to perform at Transylvania March 2 at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Red Hook Ramblers, a traditional Dixieland-style jazz band from Brooklyn, New York, will give two free public concerts at Transylvania, Tuesday, March 2, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater. The six-piece Dixieland jazz band includes a tuba, cornet, trombone, clarinet, banjo and drums, with many members contributing vocals. Audiences are frequently surprised by how powerful and exciting this instrumentation can be. Since 2005, the Red Hook Ramblers have constantly been in demand for their New Orleans-style jazz at New York clubs, parties, festivals, churches, burlesque shows and more. Recent highlights have included a sold-out concert with Squirrel Nut Zippers, leading the Louis Armstrong House Museum’s celebration of Armstrong’s birthday, an ongoing residency at New York City’s famous Slipper Room and a documentary on the band produced by BRIC Arts. In 2010, the band plans to tour the U.S. and Europe. The concerts are supported in part through a grant from the Ernest Woodruff and Susan Mitchell Delcamp Fund. For more information on the Red Hook Ramblers, visit www.redhookramblers.com. For more information on the concerts at Transylvania, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120.