Centre News

Centre students will get convocation credit for attending a
performance by the Brentano String Quartet at the Norton
Center for the Arts on April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Newlin Hall.
Centre Singers and Centre Brass will give a concert of music
they plan to perform during an upcoming tour of the Yucatan
Peninsula on March 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Weisiger Theatre.

Convocations at Centre always prove to be interesting and unique additions to campus life, and the CentreTerm and spring term 2012 convocation schedule promises numerous enriching learning opportunities for students.

The Norton Center for the Arts once again will provide students unrivaled chances to see world-class performers right here on Centre’s campus — free of charge and often for convocation credit.

The St. Petersburg State Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m on Friday, Jan. 13 in Newlin Hall. The Russian orchestra tours internationally on a regular basis, and for its first performance in Danville, will play a range of music from piano concertos by Beethoven to a selection from the opera Tristan und Isolde.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet will perform “Moulin Rouge® — The Ballet” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27 in Newlin Hall. The ballet will pair sizzling choreography with well-known classical French music to set the background for a story of love and heartbreak.

The Brentano String Quartet will take the stage at 7:30 p.m on Thursday, April 5 in Newlin Hall. The quartet has won international acclaim since being founded in 1992, playing such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Sydney Opera House.

Centre students will play integral roles in quite a few spring convocations. Students will square off against each other — or watch their peers do so — not once, but twice. First, members of the Centre Democrats and Centre Republicans will debate the issue of state versus federal rights on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Vahlkamp Theatre. The second chance will occur during the annual Student Government Association Debate, as candidates for SGA President present their platforms at 8 p.m on Monday, March 26in Newlin Hall.

Centre Queers and Allies will host a Question and Answer session at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 29 in Weisiger Theatre. The discussion will allow members of the Centre community to discuss the experience of being openly gay in small-town America.

The Centre Singers and Centre Brass Ensemble will perform together in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 in Weisiger Theatre. The performance will give the audience a taste of the music the two student groups will be perform on their upcoming tour of the Yucatan Peninsula.

As part of the Research, Internships, and Creative Endeavors (RICE) Symposium, six seniors who were awarded John C. Young Scholarships this year will present their research at sessions at 10 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 in Young 113. Students who attend both sessions of presentations — which range in topic from psychology to anthropology to English and beyond — will receive two convocation credits.

Murder mystery will be Centre stage with the spring DramaCentre production, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 18 through Saturday, April 21 in Weisiger Theatre. In this adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, the audience will have the chance to solve the whodunit by selecting the murder suspect — possibly changing the plot of the play at each performance.

Dr. Thomas Palaima, of the University of Texas at Austin, will deliver an address on “The Distillation of Sorrow in Ancient Greek and Modern Culture” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Weisiger Theatre. He will look at works by writers from Homer to Martin Luther King, Jr., to explain how suffering has affected human life for centuries.

Writer and director Jennifer Siebel Newsom will discuss how influential American women in the fields of politics, news and entertainment reflect the message of the media in an address, “Miss Representation,” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22 in Newlin Hall.

Students can learn about flamenco — “The Art of Emotion” — from artist Graciela Perrone in a convocation address at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27 in Weisiger Theatre. Perrone blends the forms of oil painting and video to introduce the passion and movement of the Spanish dance to her audiences.

American Book Award-winner Arther Sze will deliver a convocation address entitled “The Gingko Light: A Confluence of American and Chinese Poetry” at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 26 in the Vahlkamp Theatre. Sze, the author of eight volumes of poetry, will read from his work and discuss how other leading Chinese poets have affected his writing.

Dr. David Campbell, a leading scholar in religion and politics, will give a lecture, “The Two Things Your Mother Told You Never to Talk About: Religion and Politics,” at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 2 in Newlin Hall. His convocation particularly will address the role he expects religion to play in the 2012 presidential election.

A favorite convocation every year is Life Stories, which will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 in Weisiger Theatre. Three faculty members — whose names have not yet been disclosed — will discuss funny memories and important learning moments in this beloved annual event.

For a full list of convocations in CentreTerm and the spring term, click here.

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail elizabeth.trollinger@centre.edu with your feedback.

Centre College, founded in 1819 and chosen to host its second Vice Presidential Debate in 2012, is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges, at 42nd in the nation, and ranks 27th for best value among national liberal arts colleges. Forbes magazine ranks Centre 34th among all the nation’s colleges and universities and has named Centre in the top five among all institutions of higher education in the South for three years in a row. Centre is also ranked #4 in the nation by U.S. News for its study abroad program. For more, click here.