Pitt-Bradford's Spectrum Series

A performance by soprano Hanan Alattar, hailed as “a singer of obvious promise” by the Denver Post, will usher in the fall 2008 Spectrum Series at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The Spectrum Series offers academic and curriculum-based programming at little or no cost to the university community and community at large.

“The Spectrum Series is a well-established series that provides an excellent and diverse range of artists at low cost to the university and surrounding community,” said Randy Mayes, director of arts programming at Pitt-Bradford. “I hope as many people as possible take advantage of it. Few universities offer a series with such a broad range and such high quality.”

Events take place at Blaisdell Hall’s Bromeley Family Theater unless otherwise noted.

Alattar will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27, as part of a grant from the Marilyn Horne Foundation. Opera singer Marilyn Horne, a Bradford native, personally selected Alattar to perform at Pitt-Bradford, Mayes said.

Alattar has performed with the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and New World Symphony, as well as at the Spoleto Festival in Italy and at Lincoln Center in New York. A graduate of University of Texas, she holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School.

A winner of many awards for young singers, Alattar will grace the stage at Bromeley with performances of songs from Maurice Ravel’s “Five Greek Folksongs,” Gabriel Fauré’s setting of “Clair de lune” (French for “moonlight”), Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Spring Waters” and more, including Samuel Barber’s most popular vocal song, “Sure on this Shining Night.”

Cost to the public is $6, and students are free.

Two award-winning poets will read their works this season. Kevin Prufer will share his writings with the public at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. Prufer’s 2005 volume “Fallen from a Chariot” was named one of the best books of the last 25 years by the editors of Bloomsbury Review. A recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, he also edits “Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing.”

On Nov. 11, Aimee Nezhukumatathil will share her poems, starting at noon in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Commons. Her book, “At the Drive-In Volcano” won the Balcones Prize, while a “Miracle Fruit” brought home the ForeWord Magazine Poetry Book of the Year and the Global Filipino Literary Award. Both events, free and open to the public, will be followed with a reception.

An installation art piece, “Sprawlification,” will occupy the KOA Art Gallery in Blaisdell Hall from Oct. 17 through Nov. 14. In this exhibition, which is free and open to the public, artist Dylan J. Beck will show work that is inspired by domestic architecture and urban and suburban planning. Beck will talk about his work from noon to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Webb/Bradford Forest Rehearsal Hall. A reception in the KOA Electronics Lobby will follow.

The Southern Tier Symphony returns for its sixth season at Pitt-Bradford at 3 p.m. Oct. 26. The concert will focus on composer Joan Tower’s “Made in America,” a fantasy for orchestra based on “America the Beautiful.” Cost for the public is $20, and students are free.

Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8. Isbin has performed at sold-out performances throughout the world, including New York’s Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls, Boston’s Symphony Hall and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center. She has been a guest on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and has been profiled on “CBS Sunday Morning” and the A&E Network. Admission is $14 for the public and free to students.

Pitt-Bradford students will perform in the Division of Communication and the Arts production, “The Cripple of Inishmaan” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20-22 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 23 in the Studio Theater in Blaisdell Hall.

Directed by Dr. Kevin Ewert, associate professor of theater, the Martin McDonagh production tells the story of “Cripple Billy” who decides to audition for a Hollywood film crew when it comes to town to film a documentary about his island. Cost for the public is $6; student tickets are $2.

On Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m., the College-Community Choir will perform a variety of a capella and accompanied choral music with selections from the sacred and secular, and ancient and modern canons. The concert, under the direction of Dr. Lee Spear, associate professor of music, is free and open to the public.

The fall semester concludes with a live musical performance and gallery reception at noon Dec. 1, featuring Pitt-Bradford senior Andrew Laganosky. As part of a capstone exhibition called “Battle of the Brutes,” Laganosky, an interdisciplinary arts major from Carlisle, will display a musical video, digital prints, ceramic musical instruments, paintings and drawings in the KOA Art Gallery Dec. 1-5.