Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s spring Spectrum Series will showcase student talent as well as regional musicians and an artist’s view of Iceland. Events are open to the public and free unless otherwise noted. The season begins with the unveiling of the 2015 edition of Baily’s Beads, the award-winning student-run literary magazine. The annual celebration will take place at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21, 2015, in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The latest issue will be revealed with refreshments, prizes, readings by Baily’s Beads contributors and an open mic for anyone who wants to share original work. February will begin with an art exhibition by Burke Jam, “From a Black Shore: FRACTURE,” that examines how sound informs our perception of place. An opening and gallery talk by the artist will take place at noon, Feb. 6, in the KOA Art Gallery in Blaisdell Hall. The exhibition will be on display from Feb. 6...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Spectrum Series will host visiting artist Ron Geibel and his exhibition titled “Picture Perfect” from Nov. 7 to Dec. 5 in the KOA Art Gallery in Blaisdell Hall. The exhibition opening is scheduled for noon on Nov. 7 in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby in Blaisdell Hall and will include a gallery talk in which Geibel will discuss and present some of his work; a reception will follow. Geibel, who currently resides in White Plains, N.Y., tries to create objects that reference the private parts of peoples’ lives. According to his website, Geibel confronts matters concerning sexuality, gender and identity, and other issues that are typically kept hidden. Anna Lemnitzer, assistant professor of art and a colleague of Geibel, said, “The reason I chose (Geibel) to visit was because of the gender issues he brings up.” It’s important to have a contemporary artist feat...

American pianist Albert Kim will give a free Noon Tunes concert Oct. 15 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as part of the Spectrum arts series. The concert will take place at noon in the Bromeley Family Theater, located in Blaisdell Hall. Among his selections will be Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata no. 8 and J.S. Bach’s Partita no. 2 in C minor. Kim has given many solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States and Europe following his debut at the age of 10, when he substituted for an ailing Vladimir Horowitz in a gala performance at Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with a diverse range of performing groups and also maintains an active schedule as a composer, arranger and teacher of piano and music theory. He will earn his doctorate this fall from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he studied with Soviet pianist Natalya Antonova, and is currently a professor of music at Linfield College in Oregon. ...

Poet Sean Thomas Dougherty will read as part of the Spectrum arts series at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, in the Mukaiyma University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. This event is open to the public and free. Dougherty is the author and editor of 13 books, including “Scything Grace” and “Sasha Sings the Laundry on the Line.” His latest collection, “All I ask for is Longing: New and Selected Poems 1994-2014,” will be released in spring 2014. “Dougherty has a reputation for giving very lively and inspiring readings, so we were pleased that he was available this fall,” said Dr. Nancy McCabe, associate professor of writing and director of the writing program. Dougherty is currently on tour from September through December, giving fall readings from “Scything Grace.” Other tour locations include Providence, R.I.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and New York City. He has traveled across North America and Europe, performing at numerous venues and universities. His book “Sasha Sings the Laundr...

The Fall semester of the Spectrum Series at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is packed with thought-provoking and fun plays, concerts, art exhibits and more. Spectrum, the longest running arts series at Pitt-Bradford, will open its theater season on Sept. 18 with Thaddeus Phillips’ “17 Border Crossings,” a theatrical trip around the world and through time that examines the arbitrary nature of borders and passports. The show features the real stories of adventurous border crossings and will explore events like the fall of the Berlin Wall as well as the catalyst for the Arab Spring. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theater located in Blaisdell Hall. Tickets cost $6 for the public and $2 for students. Spectrum’s first featured writer of the season will be biographer and poet Molly Peacock. Peacock’s poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, The New Republic, The Paris Review and “The Best of the Best American Poetry.” She has ...