LOCAL NEWS

The Nativity in paper and string

A three-foot-tall metallic foil church façade from Poland reflects gold, silver, ruby and emerald light, and hides a tiny Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus at its center. A few feet away, dwarfing the tiny figures, tall marionettes from Slovakia are suspended by strings, bringing the Christmas story to life.

The two Nativity scenes, also called crèches, along with scores of others, are on public view this Christmas season at the University of Dayton’s Marian Library and in other locations in the Dayton area.

Selections from the library’s collection of about 1,500 Nativity scenes, one of the largest in the U.S, are on loan to the Dayton Art Institute, Bergamo Center in Beavercreek, Ohio, the UD campus and several local parishes.

Nativity scenes “truly highlight the visual dimension of the Catholic faith” and distinguishes it from other religions, according to the Rev. Johann Roten, S.M., director of the International Marian Research Institute.

“Protestantism is a religion of the ear; Catholicism is a religion of the eye and Nativity sets are one example of how the visual character of Catholicism is very important,” he said. “In depicting Jesus, we are making visual something that became visible at the Nativity through the Incarnation when God became visible, present, local and concrete.”

The library’s collection reaches more venues each year, said the Rev. Johann Roten, S.M., director of the International Marian Research Institute. The loaned displays allow the community to enjoy the artistry and diversity of the crèches and at the same time, remind people that these scenes are more than art pieces, he said.

“We like to make sure what we have in our holdings are useful,” Roten said. “The Nativity scenes from so many countries help to announce the message of Christmas.”

Paper is the theme of the Marian Library’s gallery display this year, which includes 106 antique crèches on loan from Pennsylvania collector Bill Baker. Baker’s collection includes three-dimensional pop-up scenes, some dating from 1880. The Marian Library display is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday starting Nov. 26 on the seventh floor of Roesch Library. It will run for a full year.

Thirty crèches will showcase secondary figures in Nativity scenes including townspeople, animals, wise men and other visitors at the Dayton Art Institute from Wednesday, Nov. 21, through Jan. 6 in a collection titled “Who else was at the Nativity?”

“We want to show who else was at the manger,” Roten said. “Most cultures have very distinctive ways in which an important event is greeted, and those are expressed in ways that are unique to that culture.”

Crèches at the art institute will showcase visitors to the Nativity from a number of different cultures and regions. Different animals, townspeople and protectors can be seen, reflecting the values and practices of each culture and reminding Catholics that “Jesus was born to be present among the people and to be touched by them,” Roten said.

One crèche from Iceland includes 13 Yulemen, mischievous troublemakers who come one by one and who are expelled by the light of Christmas, according to Sister M. Jean Frisk, S.S.M, director of special projects for the library.

Instead of shepherds, angels and wise men Jesus, Mary and Joseph are joined by crocodiles and polar bears. Political conflict is expressed in a scene from the Chiapas region of southern Mexico, where revolutionaries in black and red carrying guns and backpacks gather to be with the similarly dressed Holy Family.

The Bergamo Center in Beavercreek, Ohio, a Catholic, Marianist retreat and conference center, will display 30 crèches in a collection titled “Christmas Around the World” a global village theme. The display is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at 4400 Shakertown Road.

The library’s crèche collection will also be displayed in more than 30 locations across the UD campus in academic and administrative offices including the schools of law and engineering, and the president’s and provost’s offices.

“Once you start looking at them, it’s amazing how many from different countries there are,” said Tim Stonecash, assistant dean of the UD law school. “When I grew up, I had my little Nativity scene as a child ... and I had that vision in my mind. When you go over to the library, you think, ‘Wow, look at the possibilities. Look at what kids in Russia or Ireland must have grown up looking at.

“I think it helps people here feel good about the Christmas season and the special meaning it has for the faculty and the staff and the students here and those visiting the law school,” Stonecash said.

The library’s crèches also are on view at parishes in the Dayton area and other Ohio cities. For more information go to The Mary Page

Two faiths, one voice

Internationally acclaimed musicians Maria Krupoves and Gerard Edery will bring chants, prayers and European and Middle Eastern music traditions to the University of Dayton Arts Series.

The two accomplished guitarists and vocalists will perform 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 in Kennedy Union's Boll Theatre. The program entitled Two Faiths, One Voice, will honor both Christianity and Judaism as Krupoves and Edery perform works drawn from the Sephardic Diaspora – the period following the expulsion of the Jews from Christian Spain in the late 15th century.

Krupoves is a native of Lithuania and is an interpreter of folksongs from Central and Eastern Europe. A professor at Vilinus University, she has traveled to preserve folk songs in many languages such as Yiddish, Polish and Lithuanian. Krupoves has performed with the BBC, for UNESCO and has recorded three compact discs.

The Seattle Jewish Transcript and The New York Jewish Week call Gerard Edery “A cultural powerhouse.” Born in Casablanca and raised in Paris and New York City, Edery was trained as a classical baritone at The Manhattan School of Music. Edery is also an acclaimed cantor who has performed in synagogues across the United States and Canada.

Krupoves and Edery will be joined by bassist Danny Zanker and violist Meg Okura. Hear samples of their work here.

The Levin Family Foundation provided funding for the event with additional program support from the Dayton Christian Jewish Dialogue.

Tickets are $14 for the public, $8 for UD faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students. For tickets, call the UD box office at 937-229-2545.

For more information on the program go to http://artsseries.udayton.edu.

Rollin' on the river

"Eco" pioneers Newton and Helen Mayer Harrison will give a free, public lecture challenging Dayton to rethink the environment.

The New York Times calls Newton and Helen Mayer Harrison “veteran environmental artists” and “masters of community-oriented environmental projects.” They soon will turn their attention to the Miami River valley.

As part of a weeklong residency in UD’s visual arts department, the Harrisons will give a free, public lecture at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in Sears Recital Hall. Parking is free in single-letter lots after 7:30 p.m.

“We believe that in a well-functioning system, cultural diversity and biodiversity exist in a state of mutual interaction,” the Harrisons said. “Underlying our works are respect and concern for the well-being of the planet on which we live and all of its inhabitants; compassion and empathy, as best we can evoke them in ourselves and in others; and awe at the infinite variety of possibilities spread before us.”

The Harrisons’ residency may develop into a long-term project challenging the Dayton community to rethink the environment. Potential partners may include the Rivers Institute of the Fitz Center, ArtStreet, the University of Dayton School of Engineering and the Miami Valley Conservancy District.

For more information on the University of Dayton Arts Series, contact Eileen Carr at 937-229-2787.

Fighting malaria with music

International rising star and activist, African guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, will perform in the University of Dayton Arts Series 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 in Kennedy Union's Boll Theatre, showcasing his unique Malian blues and drawing attention to the global fight against malaria.

Touré will perform in the first of three 2007 World Rhythms Series concerts produced in partnership between the University and Cityfolk, capping a series of campus events to raise awareness about the disease.

Son of the late Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré, the younger Touré works through the UNICEF “Fight Malaria” campaign to raise awareness about the deadly disease. Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide, causing an estimated million deaths annually.

In conjunction with Touré’s performance, the University of Dayton will hold several events and lectures on the fight against malaria:

• A panel of UD students who have contracted malaria will discuss the impact of the disease on their lives from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22 in Sears Recital Hall. Films about malaria around the world, and Touré and his father will also be shown.

• Internationally recognized malaria researcher and president of the newly-created European Research Council, Fotis Kafatos will speak 4:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 26 in Science Center 114. Kafatos is also chair of the department of immunogenomics at Imperial College London, where he studies the malaria-carrying mosquito.

• Throughout the week, UD student-athletes will be working to promote Nothing but Nets, a nonprofit organization using a grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, through fundraising efforts and purchase of anti-malaria bed nets.

Touré’s recently released debut album has met with critical success and he was featured this summer in a National Geographic Live! Concert in California. He has created his own version of the acoustic, guitar-driven blues style pioneered by his father who was called “Africa’s greatest bluesman.”
Tickets for Touré’s concert are $18 for the public; for $16 UD faculty, staff and alumni; and $9 for students. For tickets, call the UD box office at 937-229-2545.

Hear Vieux Farka Touré’s music at http://www.vieuxfarkatoure.com.

Café Operetta

With arias and antipasto, the University of Dayton music department will present Café Operetta - An Italian Evening, a new event open to the public to help fund scholarships for UD music students.

Selections of Italian music by Puccini, Donizetti, Verdi, Gabrielli and others will be performed 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 in the Kennedy Union ballroom.

The event will feature performances by UD operatic performing groups including the University of Dayton Opera Workshop, co-directed by Linda Snyder and David Sievers; the University Chorale, conducted by Robert Jones; the University Orchestra, conducted by Jiang Liu; and a horn quartet, coached by Cynthia Carr.

Artist-in-residence in guitar Jim McCutcheon will be special guest soloist.

“The event shows a high degree of collaboration between students and faculty among instruments and vocal ensembles,” Snyder said.

The event will showcase three senior soloists, Shannon LaRue, soprano; Lauren Cushman, soprano; and Todd Bodey, tenor. In addition to directing the opera workshop, soprano Snyder and tenor Sievers will also perform solos.

Sievers will dedicate his solo to the late Luciano Pavarotti. The evening will close with the party scene from Verdi’s La Traviata.

“This benefit provides us with an opportunity to bring recognition to our UD students whose performances enhance our culture on campus and in the Dayton community,” Snyder said.

The music scholarships are given to University of Dayton students who major or minor in a music ensemble. Students must audition for the scholarships.

Tickets are $25 each and include Italian antipasto, desserts and beverages. A cash bar will be available. Space is limited. For tickets call 937-229-2902.

Blues and news from New Orleans

The music of a resilient New Orleans comes to the University of Dayton when Delta blues harmonica player J.D. Hill takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21 in Sears Recital Hall at the 15th annual Humanities Symposium.

Hill, who received one of the first homes in Habitat for Humanity's New Orleans Musicians' Village after Hurricane Katrina, will be accompanied by guitarist Kenny Holladay.

After their performance in Sears Hall, which includes "Babe You Don't Have to Go," "Ain't Got a Home" and "Highway 39," they'll move on to ArtStreet, where they'll jam with music professor Willie Morris III, Eric Suttman and UD students.

Hill comes to campus as part of the 15th annual Humanities Symposium, “Race, Class and History: New Orleans Post Katrina," and will be joined on stage by the Rev. Inman Houston, director of the Habitat for Humanity Musicians’ Village.

Houston, a pastor at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans, will speak about the role of faith communities in reconstructing New Orleans and about Musicians Village, a 70-home project for low-income musicians and those displaced by the hurricane.

Hill, who performed for President Bush when he visited Musicians’ Village in 2006, has been featured in Rolling Stone, recently filmed a commercial with Harry Connick Jr. for Lincoln Continental and will appear in an episode of This Old House on PBS.

For more information call 937-229-3490 or go to http://universityofdayton.blogs.com/newsinfo/2007/08/race-class-and-.html.

ArtBeat on ArtStreet

Some of Dayton’s best-known fine arts organizations will perform at the University of Dayton for the fourth annual ArtBeat Festival 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 at ArtStreet.

The ArtBeat Festival is free and open to the public, sponsored by ArtStreet, UD’s living/learning arts complex located at Kiefaber and Lawnview streets in the South Student Neighborhood.

The entertainment lineup includes Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, a quintet from the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Jazz Ensemble and Rhythm In Shoes. Also featured will be No Intermission, a vocal group performing selections from upcoming shows at the Schuster Center and Victoria Theatre; SMAG Dance Collective; and "Selections from 365 Days/ 365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks", performed by UD theatre students.

“This year’s festival will help acquaint UD students with the wealth of arts in Dayton, as well as draw Dayton community members to the UD campus. In addition to the performances, ArtBeat will include information tables promoting a variety of Dayton arts organizations,” said Susan Byrnes, festival organizer and director of ArtStreet.

ArtBeat will also host student and local artists selling their work, as well as student organizations selling refreshments to raise funds for charitable causes, she said.

For more information on the ArtBeat Festival, or for directions and parking information, visit the ArtStreet website at http://artstreet.udayton.edu, call 937-229-5101, or email artstreet@udayton.edu.

Brazilian Marianist art

Brazilian artist Sidney Matias will visit the University of Dayton in September as the Marian Library showcases his vibrant, intricate work, which is infused by a strong Marianist spirituality.

His work will be featured Sept. 17 through Nov. 18 in the Marian Library gallery on the seventh floor of Roesch Library on the UD campus. Matias will be on campus from Sept. 10 through Sept. 20 and will be honored at a reception at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 18 at the Marian Library lounge.

Mathias, a member of the lay Marianist community in Campinas, Brazil since 1999, said he practices his vow by exploring Mary as an educator, protector and role model. He said he begins his work by meditating on a Scripture passage for inspiration.

According to M. Jean Frisk, S.S.M., the library’s director of art and special projects, each piece shows how "the love we have for our faith can find expression."

A strong sense of Brazilian culture infuses Mathias’s work and contributes to his style, demonstrated by his vivid color choices and use of intricate shapes. Matias’s art has been used on Christmas cards, chapels, murals, mosaics and illustrations. He said he feels “like a missionary, an evangelist using my art to try to inspire people to live like Mary.”

During his 10-day visit, Matias will live alongside UD students in a Marianist house because "he wants the young people to rejoice with him," Frisk said.

The Rev. Johann Roten, S.M., director of the International Marian Research Institute at UD, said Matias’s work reveals a "new look at religious art that brings it to our level."

There is no charge to view the exhibit. Hours for the Marian Library are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; Saturday and Sunday are by appointment.

For more information on the Marian Library /International Marian Research Institute go to http://www.udayton.edu/mary or call 937-229-4214.

Too cool for school

With a sound described as "gypsy-klezmer circus-flea-cartoon-music you mainly hear in your dreams," the musical duo One Ring Zero opens the 2007-08 University of Dayton Arts Series with lyrics from noted authors and sounds from seldom-heard instruments.

"Your coolness quotient shoots up a few points if you're in the know about One Ring Zero," according to the Washington Post.

One Ring Zero will perform at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21 in Kennedy Union's Boll Theatre and offer a preview at the Arts Series kick-off party at 5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20 at ArtStreet.

Tickets for the Friday performance are $14 for the public, $8 for UD faculty, staff and alumni, and $5 for students. For tickets, call the UD box office at 937-229-2545.

One Ring Zero performs on a variety of exotic and unusual instruments, including the theremin, an early electronic instrument that is played without being touched and the claviola, a rare wind instrument with a piano-like keyboard.

At the kick-off, members of the Oakwood Accordion Band will join One Ring Zero from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by ArtStreet's Thursday Night Live featuring Rhythm in Shoes in an Old Time Music Jam from 7 to 9 p.m. There is no charge for the event.

As Smart As We Are: The Author Project, a film documentary about the making of the group’s recent CD, will be offered at no cost on campus at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 19 in Sears Hall, Jesse Philips Humanities Center.

As Smart As We Are married the writings of noted authors to One Ring Zero’s unusual music. In this project, the group set music to the words of Canadian poet Margaret Atwood, Garden State author Rick Moody and Dave Eggars, who wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Hear a sample at One Ring Zero

Potters for peace

The Rike Center Gallery at the University of Dayton will host Potters for Peace, a nationwide pottery exhibition that aims to raise awareness about the need for clean water in developing countries.

Based in Nicaragua, Potters for Peace works with potters around the developing world to help preserve cultural traditions, while helping to market the pottery locally, regionally and internationally.

The exhibition will feature large, ceramic water jugs from Tuesday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 31 in the Rike Gallery and is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesdays and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; closed Saturday and Sunday.

An opening reception for the public is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 29 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Since 1998, the organization has focused on teaching potters how to create low-cost ceramic water filters, helping to bring safe, clean water to areas of developing nations that do not have plumbing.

Potters for Peace established a water filtering program in Managua that has grown into a business that supplies 40,000 ceramic water filters to groups like the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

For more information contact Todd Hall, Rike Gallery coordinator, at 937-229-3257 or todd.hall@notes.udayton.edu.