Porter Center Presents Free Outdoor Evening Concert with the 257th Army Band
The Brevard College Porter Center for Performing Arts will present a free outdoor concert by the 257th Army Band on Thursday, July 9.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Porter Center Amphitheatre.
The 257th Army Band, known as “the Band of the Nation’s Capitol,” is lauded by the media as one of the most entertaining military bands in the nation. Featuring patriotic, popular, concert band classics and instrumental soloists, the band manages to completely engage and captivate its audiences.
This year is no exception. Trombonist SFC Brian McCommon, an alumnus of both Brevard College and the Brevard Music Center (BMC) in the 1980s, will be featured in an exciting arrangement of Beatles hits. Retired BMC faculty member Jamie Hafner will also appear as guest conductor. The Band will include a version of its own Dancing with the Stars, a mini-drum battle and more. Even Elvis may make a special "guest" appearance some time during the evening.
A special invitation is extended to the veterans and current military service members in the area.
The concert will move indoors in the case of inclement weather.
For more information, contact the Porter Center box office at 828-884-8330 or visit www.theportercenter.org.
Posted: 6/25/09
BC Professor to Participate in Master Class with Noted Bach Scholar/Performer
Brevard College Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities Michael Porter was recently selected to participate in the Oregon Bach Festival Master Class in Choral Orchestral Conducting this summer in Eugene, Oregon.
The master class provides a 20-day immersion in the craft of conducting, where participants interact with noted Bach scholar/performer Helmuth Rilling and a staff of experienced professionals and first-rate performers. Porter, who has taught at Brevard College since 2004, will receive hands-on coaching and opportunities to lead the festival orchestra and choruses in rehearsal and performance. He will also observe rehearsals and performances of major Festival concerts, and attend rehearsals and sessions led by Festival faculty and staff, including Kathy Saltzman Romey and Anton Armstrong.
Since 1970, the Oregon Bach Festival has celebrated the music and legacy of J.S. Bach. Performers and an international audience of more than 30,000 gather each summer to experience 17 days of full-scale performances of the great choral-orchestral works.
Posted: 6/25/09
College Installing Light Shelves
Brevard College is currently installing light shelves in more than 80 windows throughout campus. The light shelves, which were funded by a generous gift from the Student Government Association, are being installed in the Moore Science Classroom Building, McLarty-Goodson Classroom Building, Dunham Music Center, Stamey Health Center and Coltrane Commons. Once in place, the light shelves will scatter natural light into each room, reducing the need for artificial lighting. They will also provide shade in each window, reducing glare and keeping the rooms cool when temperatures rise. The project, which will be completed this fall, illustrates Brevard College’s Strategic Plan (PDF) commitment to develop an environmentally sustainable campus.
Posted: 6/24/09
BC Art Students Visit New York City
A group of Brevard College Art students and faculty members recently had the opportunity to visit New York City. The trip, which was made possible through support from the College’s Friends of Fine Arts, included visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim Museum. The group also visited numerous galleries as well as sites of interest in the city, including Ground Zero. Students interested in sculpture had an opportunity to travel to Mountainville, New York to tour the Storm King Sculpture Park, a 500-acre museum featuring postwar sculptures by internationally renowned artists.
Posted: 6/24/09
Brevard College Professor Teaches in London
Brevard College Assistant Professor of English Betsy Burrows is teaching a group of American college students on the campus of Imperial College in London, England this summer.
Burrows’ course entitled, "Young Hearts: Shakespeare and Love," includes a study of several sonnets as well as "Romeo and Juliet" and “As You Like It." While in London, the all-female class will attend a performance of both plays at the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London. The class also plans to visit Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, and see a performance of Hamlet featuring English Actor Jude Law.
Burrows, who joined the Brevard College Faculty in 1992, teaches a variety of English courses at the College, including Honors English, Shakespeare and Adolescent Literature. She also coordinates Brevard College’s English Education Licensure Program.
Posted: 6/17/09
Brevard College Professor Traveling to Poland for International Hymn Conference
Brevard College Humanities Division Chair Mary Louise (Mel) Bringle will travel to Opole, Poland this summer to participate in a joint international conference of The International Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Hymnologie; The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada; and The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Bringle, who is president of the Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada (HSUSC), will be the official representative of the two countries. During the conference, she will present a paper entitled, “’Truth Is Marching On’: Nineteenth Century U.S. Women Singing for Social Change.” The paper studies hymns written and used by women from roughly 1861 to 1900 to promote the causes of woman suffrage and temperance. Bringle has also collaborated with three other HSUSC colleagues to present a Hymn Festival entitled, “’Free at Last!’: Spiritual Songs of Liberation from North and South America,” during the conference.
Bringle has taught philosophy and religious studies at Brevard College since 2000. Recognized in 2002 as an “emerging hymn text writer of the U.S. and Canada,” she has won numerous international competitions for hymn texts, and is the author of two single-author collections. Her hymns are included in hymnals and supplements of numerous denominations (Mennonite, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, United Church of Canada, and the Church of Scotland), and her translations from the Spanish figure in a bilingual hymnal under production by GIA.
In addition to serving as president of HSUSC, Bringle chairs the committee to create a new denominational hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Posted: 6/17/09
Porter Center Presents Several Crowd-Pleasing Performances This Summer
The Brevard College Porter Center for Performing Arts will present two crowd-pleasing performances this summer, including a free outdoor concert by the 257th Army Band.
On Thursday, July 9, the 257th Army Band will perform a free outdoor concert in the Porter Center Amphitheatre. The 257th Army Band, known as “the Band of the Nation’s Capitol,” was the first National Guard band in history to perform Presidential Honors at one of this year’s Presidential Inaugural Balls. This free summer evening concert will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The “Sounds of the Silents” will return to the Porter Center on Sunday, August 16 with a viewing of the 1923 classic silent film, “Safety Last,” starring Harold Lloyd. Asheville’s Vance Reese will once again entertain Porter Center audiences with his organ accompaniment to this silent movie classic, which will play on a big screen. Tickets to the 3 p.m. performance are $10, and go on sale at the door only at 2 p.m.
The Porter Center is also the site of several Brevard Community Band performances this summer. Concerts are scheduled on July 4 at 7:30 p.m. and August 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available by calling 885-5456.
For more information, contact the Porter Center box office at 828-884-8330 or visit www.theportercenter.org.
Posted: 6/10/09