The spring semester is filled with a host of fine arts events, including art, dance, music and theater. This preview will highlight some of the more exciting and fascinating events coming up this semester.
February:
The opening reception for the Fifth-Year Emerging Artist show will take place on Feb. 23 at the Northfield Arts Guild. The Fifth-Year Emerging Artist program is an opportunity for both St. Olaf and Carleton Seniors who are selected to continue their studies for an additional year after graduating. This event will be showcasing some of their works which have been created during this time.
There will also be a Guest Artist Recital in Urness Recital Hall that same day. Modern Dickinson is a unique take on the poet Emily Dickinson’s poetry through vocal compositions. This event includes soprano Sonja DuToit Tengblad ’06, tenor Eric Neuville ’06 and Pianist Michelle Schumann, all three being Grammy award-winning artists. This 85-minute program is described on the St. Olaf Calendar as inviting “you right into Emily’s living room, into a conversation through her enlightened and truth-seeking words.”
The Flaten Lecture Series will be hosting writer Barbara Hurd on Feb. 26 in the Center for Arts and Dance (CAD) room 305, with a Gallery Conversation with Art Professor Meg Ojala and Hurd on Feb. 28 in the Flaten Art Museum.
March:
On March 4, the St. Olaf Orchestra will have a concert in Skoglund Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
The next Flaten Lecture will commence on March 5, with sculptor and inventor Stan Shetka lecturing in CAD 305 at 7 p.m. That same day the St. Olaf Handbell Choir will have their home concert in Urness Recital Hall at 8:15 p.m.
March will also see the Theater Department’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Julius Caesar,” directed by Chaz Mayo ’18. The theater season’s calendar describes the play as “the classic retelling of events centering around the assassination of a man considered to be a god in his own time.” The show opens on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Haugen Theater, and will continue its five-show run through that weekend.
The Companydance Spring Concert will also debut on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. in CAD Wagner Bundgaard Studio One and will run until the 10th. It has been described on the dance calendar as “a spring celebration of dance created by faculty, students and guest artists. The show will also be livestreamed during the opening performance and available online for future viewings.”
April:
Kicking off April is the Student Juried Art Show Opening Reception on April 4 in CAD Groot Gallery at 4:30 p.m. This show will run from April 4-15.
There will be two concerts on April 8, the St. Olaf Band will be performing in Skoglund Auditorium at 3:30 p.m., while the St. Olaf Cantorei choir will be performing in Boe Memorial Chapel at 7:30 p.m.
The Theater Season will conclude with an adaption of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” directed by Professor Michelle Cowan Gibbs. The play, which was written by Tennessee Williams, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948. It is set in New Orleans after World War II. The play will run in Kelsey Theater from April 12-15.
April 12 will also be the opening show of the Veselica Spring Dance Concert in CAD Wagner Bundgaard Studio One. This is the St. Olaf’s international dance ensemble’s performance and the show will run April 12-14.
The Lark String Quartet will be giving a masterclass in Urness Recital Hall on April 16 at 2 p.m., as well as a recital at 7 p.m.
May:
Running from May 4-6, The Northfield Experience will be a unique performance event held in Northfield at the Grand Event Center. Director/Choreographer/Media Artist Stephan Koplowitz is creating this performance event, centered around Northfield as its primary subject. The website for the event describes it as “a series of interlaced performances of theater, dance, visual installations and digital media taking place at several locations throughout Northfield. This performance event is inspired by the history, architecture and unique community of Northfield.” Both St. Olaf, Carleton College and the Northfield community will be involved in the creation of this event.
The Senior Art Show & Lasting Legacy will be having their opening reception on May 6, running from the 4-28 of the month. The Senior Art Show is described on the Flaten website as “an annual exhibition and culminating event in the curriculum of St. Olaf Studio Art majors. Themes from diverse disciplines run through the young artist’s work as they draw on academic influences from their four years on the Hill.” Lasting Legacy is a similar event but for Art History majors, providing them an opportunity to display a work of art from the Flaten collection and offer a fresh perspective on the work.
