eInside Events

Hear the Sounds of the Season at the Holiday Gospel Choir Concert Dec. 10

Kent State University's Gospel Choir will present its annual festive holiday concert on Dec. 10. The greatly anticipated event will take place in University Auditoriumin Cartwright Hall. The concert is free and no tickets are required.

"After choosing and listening to the music, a theme developed in my head - dance.Our theme is Dancing with the Gospel," says Dr. Linda Walker, professor, director and founder of the Kent State Gospel Choir.

The entire choir is dancing to two songs choreographed by Nike Olabisi. Additionally, Imani Thomas, a sophomore dance major, has choreographed a piece that she and four other dance majors will perform. The Kent State Gospel Choir Step Team, led by JaRel Clay, will do a routine choreographed to "Joyful, Joyful" from the movie Sister Act II, that the choir will perform live.

The award-winning gospel choir is a "unique experience because students get to sing gospel music for academic credit, in an outstanding ensemble that enjoys an excellent national and international reputation and under the guidance of a knowledgeable and experienced professional," says Walker.

Founded in 1996, the Kent State Gospel Choir has earned an excellent local, regional, national and international reputation. This semester, the 50-member choir includes Kent State students, faculty, staff and members of the community. The choir provides an opportunity to engage students in an inclusive and welcoming environment that is stable, organized and highly structured.

For more information on the gospel choir, visit the website or contact Walker at lwalker@kent.edu.

By Rebecca Mohr

Kent Chorus Presents Choral Music Holiday Concert Dec. 12

The Hugh A. Glauser School of Music presents the Kent Chorus performing an evening of choral music for the holidays on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Auditorium at Cartwright Hall. Parking is free and available off Terrace Drive on Main Street.

The Holiday Concert will feature Mass in G, Hallelu and Christmas Tidings by Stephen Paulus, and Estampie Natalisby Vaclav Nehlybel.

Under the direction of Dr. Scott MacPherson, the Kent Chorus is an ensemble of more than a hundred singers composed of students attending Kent State University, faculty and community members from all over Northeast Ohio. The guest orchestra, instrumentalists and soloists complete the ensemble.

Presale tickets may be purchased at Woodsy's in Kent and from choir members. General admission tickets are $15. Student tickets are $5 with student identification. For more information, call 330-672-2172.

Holiday Origami Workshop Offered at Women's Center Dec. 14

The Women's Center is offering a hands-on origami workshop to the campus community Dec. 14. The workshop will be led by Michael Roy Baldridge, folding entertainer and artist, and will be held in the Women's Center Carriage House, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Origami, or the art of paper-folding, will be used to produce holiday ornaments from a simple design.

The $15 fee includes paper, ribbon and a professionally folded, finished piece from Michael Roy Baldridge's repertoire.

Space in the workshop is limited. RSVP by calling the Women's Center at 330-672-9230.

First Moravian Church Choir to Perform at Kent State Tuscarawas

The First Moravian Church of Dover Chancel Choir will present a holiday concert at Kent State University at Tuscarawas on Tues., Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Artist/Lecture Series, the concert will be held in the Performing Arts Center and is free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The theatre doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The First Moravian Church of Dover Chancel Choir

"This will be the first free public performance held in our spectacular Performing Arts Center," says Pam Patacca, public relations coordinator and co-chair of the Artist/Lecture Series Committee. "It is a wonderful opportunity for students and community members to begin their holiday season and be able to experience the Performing Arts Center at no cost."

Directed by G. Randall Gibbs, the 28-member Chancel Choir will present a traditional and varied Christmas concert of choral music, carols and Moravian Advent and Christmas selections. The Reeves Choir performance will include solo handbell pieces. The concert will also feature several selections accompanied by a string ensemble and flutes, and a special piece played by three performers on one piano. Richard Jones will sing a solo, Donna Keller will perform a handbell solo and Rebekah Gibbs Cole will interpret one of the pieces in sign language.

Joining the choir will be guest soloist, Roberta Myers, director of music at Grace Lutheran Church. Accompanying the choir, will be Linda France on piano. The concert will also include performances by youth performers.

Final Wick Poetry Presentation of Semester Features Mark Brazaitis

On Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 pm in Room 306 of the Kent Student Center, poet Mark Brazaitis will share his award-winning writing with the Kent State University community.

Mark Brazaitis

Brazaitis is the author of numerous books including The Other Language: Poems, The River of Lost Voices: Stories from Guatemala, and Steal My Heart. His merits include winning the 2008 ABZ Poetry Prize, the 2001 Maria Thomas Fiction Award and the 1998 Iowa Short Fiction Award.

Brazaitis served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1990 to 1993, as well as a Peace Corps technical trainer from 1995 to 1996.

Currently, Brazaitis directs the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at West Virginia University.

For more information regarding Mark Brazaitis reading, contact the Wick Poetry Center at http://dept.kent.edu/wick.

"Godmother of Title IX" to Speak at Kent State

Save the date for Monday, Dec. 6, as Kent State University hosts Dr. Bernice Sandler. Considered the "Godmother of Title IX," Sandler will speak in the Kent Student Center Kiva from 5 to 6:30 p.m. She played a major role in the development and passage of Title IX and other laws prohibiting sex discrimination in education, and has been associated with Title IX longer than any other person. The event is free and open to the public.

Bernice Sandler

Sandler is a senior scholar at the Women's Research and Education Institute in Washington, D.C., where she consults with institutions and others about achieving equity for women and is an adjunct associate professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. She has given more than 2,500 presentations, has written more than 100 articles and is well-known for her expertise in women's educational equity in general as well as in sexual harassment, the chilly classroom climate, and her knowledge of policies, programs and strategies concerning women on campus. She also serves as an expert witness in discrimination and sexual harassment cases.

She previously directed the Project on the Status and Education of Women at the Association of American Colleges where she published more than 100 reports. She has a long list of firsts such as the first reports on campus sexual harassment, gang rape, campus peer harassment, and the chilly climate for women, including the first report on how men and women are treated differently in the classroom. She was the first person appointed to a Congressional committee staff to work specifically on women's issues and the first person to testify before a Congressional committee about discrimination against women in education. In the 1970s, she filed the first charges of sex discrimination against more than 250 institutions at a time when there were no laws prohibiting sex discrimination in education.

This program is presented by the Kent State IDEAL (Institutions Developing Excellence in Academic Leadership) Project, a National Science Foundation-funded project to enhance the climate for scholarly and collegial community for women and under-represented groups in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines.

Standing Rock Cultural Arts Hosts Pie Festival and Silent Art Auction Dec. 11

Standing Rock Cultural Arts is hosting the 13th annual Pie Festival and Silent Art Auction fundraiser at its North Water Street Gallery on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A variety of pies and other baked goods will be available for purchase at the event. Jewelry, ceramics, photographs and paintings will also be auctioned with bids starting at $5. All proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit Standing Rock Cultural Arts' local art and education programs.

Standing Rock Cultural Arts is a nonprofit art and education program located at 257 N. Water Street in Kent. It strives to build community through the arts by offering local exhibitions, poetry readings, workshops and performances.

Visit www.standingrock.net for more information or contact Jeff Ingram at 330-673-4970 to donate art or pies for the event.

Meditation Group Offered at Women's Center Beginning Dec. 8