OSU Alumni Association
2008 Spring Term
Arts Strand
Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis:” A Mass for All Times
Wednesday, April 2, 9:30
Steven Zielke, Director of Choral Studies at OSU and Director of the OSU
Chamber Choir, will provide an informative and interactive discussion of
Beethoven and his “Missa Solemnis.” The lecture will include excerpts
which will assist in understanding a long loved, but very difficult work
prior to its performance by the Corvallis/OSU Symphony on April 15.
Host: Charles Meierdiercks
Celebrate Architecture!
Wednesday, April 9, 9:30
Friedrich Von Schelling said that architecture is frozen music.
Corvallis architect Cy Stadsvold (Renaissance on the Waterfront) using
slides and drawing on his own expertise will help us understand and hear
that music as we travel through neighborhoods and the world.
Host: Charles Meierdiercks
Anticipating Ashland: Three American Classics
Wednesday, April 16, 9:30
This season, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is presenting three
American classics: Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" (1938), Arthur Miller's
"A View From The Bridge" (1955),and August Wilson's “Fences” (1985).
Robert Leff, director and American Theatre Historian, will discuss each
play's historical and theatrical background, how they "speak" to today's
audience, when and how a play becomes a classic, and why "Our Town" is
one of the great American plays.
Host: Lois Courtney
The Woodwind Quintet: Who, What, Why, and How?
Wednesday, April 23, 9:30
The Spiritoso Woodwind Quintet will play examples of the musical
literature for this chamber ensemble and share their experiences as
amateur musicians. They will demonstrate how they rehearse and what they
have to think about as they play. The members of the Quintet (Gretchen
VanderPlas, Steve Ford, Bob Schapper, Karin Magnuson and Sue Borden) are
members of the Corvallis Community Band and have played in a variety of
musical venues—from tailgaters to pit orchestras. They all play for fun,
and look forward to sharing their love of music
Host: Lois Courtney
OSU Library Art Tour
Wednesday, April 30, 10:00-11:00
Loretta Riley, OSU Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian and Subject
Librarian for Art, will conduct a tour of the highlights of the OSU
Valley Library’s Northwest Art Collection. The collection includes 120
pieces by contemporary NW artists. Media include oils, acrylics,
textiles, sculpture, prints and more. We will meet in the lobby of the
library at 10:15 for the 45-minute tour. If you have questions about
transportation or parking, please call Erika Schoell at 738-6806.
Host: Erika Schoell
Art of the Arctic
Wednesday, May 7, 9:30
Roben Jack Larrison, Curator of the Jensen Arctic Museum on the Western
Oregon University campus and an Alaskan Native, will share her
perspective on some of the differences between a Western view of art and
the Inupiaq/Arctic view of art. The presentation will include examples
from the museum’s collection, and photos and videos of artists at work,
with examples of their craft. Participants may also elect to work on a
small beadwork project during the presentation.
Host: Erika Schoell
The Rhythm of Poetry: Early English Meter
Wednesday, May 14, 9:30
Robert Schwartz, OSU Professor of English and former Department Chair,
will consider English prosody at the beginning of Modern English Poetry
using examples from canonical early Renaissance verse. In addition to
being valuable for its own sake, attention to the craft of rhythm and
meter as exemplified by early practitioners enhances our appreciation
for and understanding of contemporary poetry. Mary Oliver, one of our
most popular modern poets says "What has been written without meter is
no more than an icing" and as Miller Williams points out in Patterns of
Poetry, “. . . it is all a single growth and the roots are still felt in
the branches."
Host: Brookes Spencer
The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach: Highlights of the Oregon Bach Festival
Wednesday, May 21, 9:30
David Eiseman, OSU Professor Emeritus of Music, will conclude our
three-part series on Bach by emphasizing the St. Matthew Passion and the
B Minor Mass, two works featured at this summer's Bach Festival. By
concentrating on these masterworks we will continue our consideration of
what it is about Bach's music, obscure in its own time, that led it to
become universally regarded as among the greatest and most influential
in western culture. The Mass will be performed in Portland on June 27
and in Eugene on June 28. The Passion will be performed in Eugene on
July 13.
Host: Charles Meierdiercks
Mini-Reviews: Four Unforgettable Fictional Characters
Wednesday, May 28, 9:30
We all remember a character created for us in fiction who came alive,
left the page and still exists in our memory. Each reviewer will discuss
his/her own choice. They will explore what makes their characters
unforgettable and the author who brought them to life.
Host: Glenn Theodore
Scientific Worthies: Albert Einstein
Tuesday, June 3, 9:30
Mary Jo Nye, OSU Professor of History and Horning Professor of the
Humanities, will discuss the life, times and contributions of Albert
Einstein. Her talk will focus on the new biography, Einstein: His Life
and Universe, by Walter Isaacson.
Host: Brookes Spencer