Augustana College

Augustana College presented How I Learned to Drive, the story of a young woman's complicated relationship with her uncle, from Friday, Jan. 27, through Sunday, Feb. 5. The play, written by Paula Vogel, premiered in 1997 and brought Vogel the Pulitzer Prize for drama one year later. Students from across the Augustana campus worked togetheraEUR"both on stage and offaEUR"to produce this play, including:

The 2012 Sights and Sounds exhibition will celebrate the artistic and musical talents of Augustana College students. Held at Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport, Iowa, and opening on Friday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m., the free event will feature music and distinctive photography from Augustana students, as well as photography from Quad-Cities high school students. The exhibition will run through Friday, Feb. 24. Students from your area are involved in the 2012 Sights and Sounds:

Augustana College, in Rock Island, Ill., will present the beautiful, traditional Christmas service Lessons and Carols on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Ascension Chapel inside Founders Hall (820 38th St.). This free, public event involves many students and honors Christ's birth through songs and Scripture readings. The Lessons and Carols service is split between nine "lessons" aEUR" biblical passages that chronologically lead to Jesus' birth aEUR" and carols performed by the student groups and the audience. Among the students performing:

The Handel Oratorio Society will celebrate its 131st-anniversary performance of Handel's Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave, Rock Island, Ill.). This special holiday tradition will feature four internationally acclaimed soloists, including the return of renowned soprano Mary Wilson, performing with a professional chamber orchestra and 250 singers from Augustana College and the surrounding community. From your area this includes:

The Handel Oratorio Society will celebrate its 131st-anniversary performance of Handel's Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave, Rock Island, Ill.). This special holiday tradition will feature four internationally acclaimed soloists, including the return of renowned soprano Mary Wilson, performing with a professional chamber orchestra and 250 singers from Augustana College and the surrounding community. From your area this includes:

Augustana presents its fourth annual Christmas at Augustana holiday concertaEUR"which has nearly sold out in previous yearsaEUR"on Friday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.). More than 300 students in the college's choirs, brass ensemble and orchestra will join together to share music with audience members in what promises to be a warm and memorable holiday experience for all. From your area this includes:

Opera@Augustana will present Paul Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner at 8 p.m. November 18-20 in Wallenberg Hall inside Denkmann Memorial Hall (3520 7th Ave.). Tickets are $12 for the general public, $10 for senior citizens and students, and $8 for children age 12 and under. Call (309) 794-7306 for tickets.

Augustana College choral ensembles' work with local and regional high school choirs culminate in two separate concerts this week. Both concerts are free and open to the public. From your area this includes:

Augustana College choral ensembles' work with local and regional high school choirs culminate in two separate concerts this week. Both concerts are free and open to the public. From your area this includes:

The Augustana Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Culver, will open its season with the inventive Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 104, called the "London Symphony." The concert will take place on Saturday, October 15, at 8 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave). The Rachmaninoff concerto will feature Dr. Mary Neil, professor of music at Augustana, on piano. The Augustana Symphony Orchestra is a full-size orchestra of approximately 75 members. From your area this includes:

The Augustana Department of Theatre Arts invites audiences to consider the contemporary struggle over issues of body image, sexual ethics, popularity and social media as portrayed in Merri Biechler's Real Girls Can't Win. Performances will run Friday, October 14 and 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 15 and 22, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, October 16 and 23, at 1:30 p.m., at the Potter Theatre in Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave). Local students acting in the play are:

More than six months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the people of Japan are still trying to rebuild their lives. To reverently remember and show sympathy for the Japanese people, members of the Augustana College Symphonic Band performed a disaster relief concert on Saturday, September 24. Free will donations were collected at the concert. Donations totaled $1,550, and funds raised will be distributed through the American Red Cross for relief efforts in Japan. "It is easy to forget about such disasters, yet much of Japan is still uninhabitableaEUR"much remains to be done," said Augustana's Director of Bands James Lambrecht, who has programmed select musical works related to Japan in order to expose the students and Augustana community to Japanese musical culture. From your area, the students involved included:

The Augustana Choir will draw on tradition this Memorial Day weekend when it performs in the prestigious Carnegie Hall on Sunday, May 29, at 1 p.m. The 65-member choir received a special invitation to perform at the hall this season after organizers heard and recognized the high quality performances of the choir. From your area this includes:

Eight graduating studio artists will present their artwork on Tuesday, May 10, at 10:30 a.m. in the Augustana Art Museum in the lobby of Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.) The free and public 50-minute program will include a "walking tour" of the exhibition, conversation with the artists and a reception. All studio art majors complete a final senior project that is displayed in the Augustana Art Museum. This year, the students' work will be on display from May 7-16 and May 20-21. The museum is free and open to the public from noon-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. The exhibit this year features several local students.

Opera@Augustana will perform The Magic Flute on Friday, May 13, and Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. in Wallenberg Hall at Denkmann Memorial Hall (3520 7th Ave.). Since the opera's premier in 1791, its expressive music and colorful characters have made it among the most popular operas in North America. Mozart's Die Zauberfloete (The Magic Flute) was first performed in Vienna and tells a classic story of love threatened by evil. To make the opera engaging for all audiences, Augustana will perform a shortened version in English. Performers from your area include:

The Augustana Department of Theatre Arts, which includes several students from the local area, will end its 2010-11 theater season with a performance of Thorton Wilder's classic American play, Our Town. The play will run two consecutive weekends beginning Friday, April 29 and ending Sunday, May 8. All performances are in the Potter Theatre at the Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave.) Our Town is set in the fictional town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, in the early 1900s and follows the everyday joys and trials of the town's citizens. The main character of the stage manager, who serves as the narrator, makes comments on the action and plays roles as needed within the town. The play was first performed in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama that year. Jacqui Schmidt, a theatre arts and English writing major, is excited to play the role of the stage manager. The character is interesting because heaEUR"or she, in the case of Augustana's productionaEUR"directly interacts with the audience and the characters onstage. "I sometimes have to present a male character," Schmidt said. "This allows a contemporary take on what the gender roles would have been during the early 1900s in a small town like Grover's Corners." Students from the local area who will perform in the play include:

The Augustana College Symphonic Band will travel to Italy to perform four concerts in mid-February. The nine-day tour includes stops in Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome, in addition to other cities. The concerts will feature both American and Italian music and will be performed for a variety of audiences, ranging from townspeople to college students. This is the first time the Symphonic Band has traveled to Italy to perform.

The Augustana Concert Band will give their final concert of the year on Saturday, February 12, at 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.). Under the direction of Dr. Frederick Jaeschke, the band will perform four lively pieces that were chosen by the students. The concert is free and open to the public. Jaeschke, associate professor of music and music education coordinator, explains how the students select the music for the concert. "The members of the band listen and rehearse various pieces, and then vote for their favorites," he said. "This selection system makes the concert enjoyable for the students and the audience." The concert will feature "The Willows of Winter" by B.J. Brooks, "For All the Wyle Eternal" by Ralph Ford, "Silverado" by Bruce Broughton, and "Chorale and Shaker Dance" by John Zdechlik. The four pieces are very different from each other. Broughton's "Silverado" was composed as the soundtrack for a western adventure story and is marked by an enjoyable melody and fun syncopated rhythms. "Chorale and Shaker Dance" is one of today's most widely-recognized pieces of band literature and is based on the well-known Shaker tune, Simple Gifts. Marcus Julian, a sophomore oboist from Itasca, Ill., says that "Chorale and Shaker Dance" is his favorite piece in their concert because of the song's catchy, memorable melody. "I enjoy concert band because it gives me exposure to so many different types of music," he said."I think the audience will really like the different styles and genres." Students performing in the concert from your area include:

Several local students involved in Augustana's Department of Theatre Arts will meld tradition with the avant-garde in their upcoming performances of Metamorphoses, written by Mary Zimmerman. Performances will run Jan. 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m., Feb. 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 6 at 1:30 p.m. in Potter Theatre, located in Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave.). This show is appropriate for older youth and adults. Metamorphoses is a contemporary retelling of Ovid's classic tales. The show made its debut in Chicago in 1998 with the famous Lookingglass Theatre Company. Rather than telling one story, the play is divided into short segments, each of which portrays a different classic Greek myth. Because of the segmented structure, the actors play multiple roles throughout the show. One of the play's most striking features is the scenery it requires. The separate vignettes all focus on human change, which is illustrated symbolically through frequent references to water. To convey this central theme, the majority of the stage is occupied by a large reflecting pool, which serves as everything from a wash basin to the River Styx during the production. In addition to the pool, the myths are mostly conveyed through "ensemble movement" rather than with physical props. Director Saffron Henke explains, "[With ensemble movement,] instead of putting an actual tree onstage, the actors themselves create a tree." Although this technique is difficult, Henke says the students have risen to the challenge. "The cast has come a long way in terms of working together and creating an ensemble. They have been very willing to try new things." Veronica Smith, a senior from Plano, Ill., has enjoyed the new challenge of using ensemble movement on the stage. "The most challenging part of this production for me has been the extreme physicalityaEUR"we are acting with our whole bodies, in many cases literally translating the text to dance. As an ensemble actor, you must be closely attuned to the other actors and the physical space in which you are working." Students from the local area who will perform in Metamorphoses include:

Augustana presents its third annual "Christmas at Augustana" holiday concertaEUR"which has sold out in previous yearsaEUR"on Friday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 4, at 4 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.). More than 300 students in the college's choirs, brass ensemble and orchestra will share their musical talents in what promises to be a memorable concert, especially for the Augustana seniors on stage. From your area this includes:

Augustana's opera singers will present a touching and poignant new opera, "Truce of Carols," at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 22, in Wallenberg Hall at Denkmann Memorial Building (3520 7th Ave.). The opera takes place in the Belgian trenches of World War I and is based on true accounts of the 1914 Christmas ceasefire between German and English troops. From your area this includes:

The Augustana Symphonic Band will explore the grand themes and everyday moments of American life during its annual fall concert on Saturday, October 30, at 8 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.). The free public concert will feature music from five contemporary American composers, including several new compositions. The students participating in the fall concert from your area includes:

The Augustana Choir will showcase pieces from diverse musical traditions at its annual fall concert on Friday, October 29, at 8 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public and will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport (2136 Brady St.). Choir members from your area include:

Celebration, the Augustana gospel choir, will present its inaugural concert on Sunday, October 24, at 4 p.m. in Wallenberg Hall inside Denkmann Memorial Building (3520 7th Ave.). The director is Dr. Keith Hampton, a nationally recognized gospel musician and composer. The concert is free and open to the public. The concert is the first for the newly created choir and will present gospel and traditional spiritual works by Hampton, Ysaye M. Barnwell (of Sweet Honey and the Rock), Kurt Carr, Israel Hougton, V. Michael McKay, Verolga Nix and Rosephanye Powell. "The concert will be the most fun you have ever had at a choir concert," said Larry Peterson, campus ministries director of music and organ instructor. "Even if gospel music is not your music of choice, there is no way you will leave the concert unaffected by what you have just experienced." Choir members from your area include:

Music enthusiasts are invited to join the Augustana Symphony Orchestra for their free fall concert on Saturday, October 16, at 8 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.). The concert will feature the debut performance of contemporary composer James Romig's "Percussion Concerto," as well as classical pieces by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Maurice Ravel. The orchestra's first piece, "Symphony in aEUR~Italian' Op. 90," was inspired by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's trip to Italy in the early 1830s. Today, it is considered one of Mendelssohn's most famous and fascinating works. Culver says, "This piece is perfect for the orchestra because the complexity requires such musical discipline." For their second piece, the Symphony Orchestra will debut James Romig's newly composed "Percussion Concerto." The piece features a highly intricate percussion solo, which will be performed by professional percussionist and Augustana music faculty member Tony Oliver. Romig, who is an associate professor at Western Illinois University, will attend the concert to celebrate the official launching of his new piece. The final piece of the concert will be the colorful "Ma MA?re L'Oye," composed by nineteenth century French musician Maurice Ravel. The piece's title, which translates to "Mother Goose," gives a hint at its style and theme; each of the five movements is based on a different children's fairy tale. Ravel originally composed the piece as a piano duet for his children and developed it into a full orchestra piece several years after. Symphony Orchestra members participating in the fall concert from your area include:

The Augustana Department of Theatre Arts, including several students from the local area, will wrestle with hot-button issues like race, politics, gender and religion as they explore the meaning of democracy in the original production, Wrestling with Angels and Demons. Performances will run Friday, October 15 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 16 and 23 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, October 17 and 24 at 1:30 p.m. at the Potter Theatre in Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave, Rock Island, Ill.). Wrestling with Angels and Demons is unique because it was inspired, written and produced entirely by Augustana students and faculty members. Rather than playing characters, the students onstage will present their own honest answers to questions like, "What does the aEUR~American dream' mean to you?" and "Is it possible that Rod Blagojevich is blacker than Barack Obama?" The show's multimedia format and insightful social commentary promise to engage audience members of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Students from the local area who are performing in the production include:

Augustana's 2009-2010 theatre season concludes with The Seagull by Anton Chekhov on the weekends of April 30-May 2 and May 7-9. Tickets are $10 ($8 for senior citizens, full-time students and children) and can be purchased by calling (309) 794-7306. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 30, May 1, May 7 and May 8 and 1:30 p.m. on May 2 and May 9 in Potter Hall within Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave.). The Seagull tells the story of an actress, a writer and a playwright and their complicated love interests. One common experience unites all the characters in the storyaEUR"each falls in love with the "wrong" person. The Augustana production is set in contemporary California, adding a new twist to the warmth and humor of Chekhov's original script, which was set in 19th century Russia. Jennifer Altenbernd, a senior theatre arts major who plays Masha, enjoys the complexities in the script. "Chekhov is no piece of cake to perform," she said. "His writing has a very unique quality so that it evokes the emotions out of the actors just through the words he writes." Rolf Koos, a junior anthropology major playing Trigorin, is glad to be part of this cast of The Seagull. "There really are no specific main characters, which gives everyone a chance to shine. The cast is really talented and enjoyable, and everyone is given their opportunity to really showcase their personality and heart in these characters." Mark Hurty, director, has been working on the concept for this production of The Seagull since he first acted in the play in 1982. "Chekov's works offer rich portraits of human experience. The relationships depicted in his plays and stories are vividly realistic," he said. Hurty is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and has acted and directed professionally for 30 years. Past productions at Augustana include An American Daughter, Children of Eden, Black Comedy and The Fantasticks. Hurty is particularly excited to be working with his older son, Justin, on this production. Justin, who graduated from Augustana in 2005 and recently graduated from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, joined the cast for rehearsals and shared some of his artistic techniques for the performance. From your area, the cast includes:

Augustana's top choir, symphonic band and orchestra will perform in the renowned Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago on Sunday, April 18 at 3 p.m. Augustana musicians made their first appearance at Orchestra Hall in 1926. This return concert will be in honor of the college's sesquicentennial anniversary. For ticket information, please visit www.cso.org or call (312) 294-3000. The concert will include David Manslanka's Symphony No. 8 performed by the Augustana Symphonic Band, BA(C)la BartA?k's Dance Suite performed by the Augustana Symphony Orchestra, and Eric Whitacre's Cloudburst performed by the Augustana Choir. Student performers from your area include the following:

A talented collection of student and faculty musicians from Augustana College's music department will lead worship at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Naperville, Ill., on Sunday, April 11 at 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. More than 40 students from Augustana, including several from the local area, will share their talents as a part of these worship services. The Ascension Singers, an audition-based choir directed by Dr. Michael Zemek, will lead the vocal component of the worship music. They will collaborate with a four-person brass ensemble and organist to perform several festive Easter anthems during the services. Zemek sees the choir's trip to Good Shepherd as a valuable opportunity to use their musical gifts in a new, meaningful setting. "One of the primary goals of Ascension Singers as an ensemble is to provide musical leadership in worship settings. Our trip to Good Shepherd allows us to expand our service beyond the Augustana community, where we regularly sing in chapel services and other events, and to share our musical offerings with a congregation that has many close ties with our college." Students who will be performing at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church from your area include:

Ascension Ringers, Augustana's handbell choir, will share their musical talents will Lutheran churches across Minnesota and Iowa in the Ascension Ringer's second annual handbell tour this March. From your area this inlcludes: