eInside Events

From the Office of General Counsel: Ohio Ethics Law – Can I Do That?

Kent State University management and staff are invited to attend a seminar on Ohio Ethics. The two-hour seminar will be held on Friday, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m. in Franklin Hall on the Kent Campus.

Sponsored by the Office of General Counsel, the seminar will be conducted by a representative from the Ohio Ethics Commission, and will include information about Ohio Ethics Law that pertains to all public sector employees.

Topics to be covered include identifying and acting on potential conflicts of interest, understanding ethics prohibitions related to public contracts, identifying potential post-employment requirements, and general information about complying with the Ohio Ethics Law and related statutes.

University employees are expected to be informed of Ohio’s ethics laws and university policies regarding ethics. Employees are encouraged to attend this training and ask questions to expand their knowledge of Ohio Ethics Laws.

Registration is required for the seminar and seating is limited. The RSVP deadline is Thursday, Aug. 1. You can register here.

For more information, contact Angela Bertka in the Office of General Counsel at abertka@kent.edu or 330-672-8520.

Kent State Women’s Center Invites You to Participate in Race for the Cure on July 28

The Kent State University Women’s Center has created a team to participate in the 2013 Race for the Cure in Akron on July 28. The team will raise funds to support the Northeast Ohio Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Women’s Center has had a team in Cleveland in the past, but this is the first year it will participate in the Akron Race for the Cure as a team from Kent State.

“We welcome students, faculty, staff and community members to join our team,” says Cassandra Pegg-Kirby, assistant director of the Women’s Center. “Please help us support this important project by becoming a member of the Kent State team, and support the Northeast Ohio Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure in its efforts to end breast cancer forever.”

Click here for more information, and to register to join the Kent State team.

Kent State’s Piano Institute Presents Its Eighth Annual Gala Concert and Series of Performances

Donna Lee, an associate professor of
music and coordinator of the Piano Division
at Kent State University, instructs a student
at the university’s Piano Institute. The
eight-year-old program is a highly intensive
festival for talented piano students in grades
7-12.

The 2013 Piano Institute, in association with the Piano Division of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University, will present a series of master classes and recitals through July 20 on the university’s campus and culminate with the July 23 gala concert at Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall in Cleveland.

The eight-year-old program is a highly intensive festival for talented piano students in grades 7-12. The July 23 gala concert will feature 14 highly gifted pre-collegiate pianists from the United States, China, Russia and the Czech Republic. Except for the July 16 recital, the master classes, recitals and gala concert are free and open to the public.

Instructors of the Piano Institute include Donna Lee, D.M.A., associate professor and coordinator of the Piano Division at Kent State, and Jerry Wong, D.M.A., associate professor of piano at Kent State. Guest artists for this year’s Piano Institute are Alexander Schimpf, concert pianist and the 2011 winner of the Cleveland Piano International Competition, and Joela Jones, principal keyboardist with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Piano Institute participants receive four hours of one-on-one lessons daily; attend master classes; and study sight-reading, technique, practicing and audition/competition preparation. They also will have the unique opportunity to share in the Kent/Blossom Music program, a premiere summer institution for summer collegiate level study of solo, chamber and orchestral literature.

For more information, please call 330-672-1061 or visit www.kent.edu/pianoinstitute.

Piano Institute Activities

Tuesday, July 16, 3:45 p.m.
Master class with Donna Lee, Kent State associate professor and coordinator of the Piano Division in the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music, and co-director of the Piano Institute
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

Tuesday, July 16, 7:30 p.m.
Recital featuring Alexander Schimpf, concert pianist and the 2011 winner of the Cleveland Piano International Competition
Ludwig Recital Hall in Music and Speech Center, Kent State University
*Admission required. Prices are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $5 for students. To order tickets, please call 330-672-2613 and leave a message with your name and phone number. Someone will return your call as soon as they can. Tickets also will be available one hour before the performance at the box office outside Ludwig Recital Hall. The box office accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, checks and cash.

Wednesday, July 17, 3:45 p.m.
Master class with Alexander Schimpf, concert pianist and the 2011 winner of the Cleveland Piano International Competition
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

Thursday, July 18, 3:45 p.m.
Master class with Jerry Wong, Kent State associate professor and co-director of the Piano Institute
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

Saturday, July 20, 10 a.m.
Master class with Joela Jones, principal keyboardist with the Cleveland Orchestra
University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall, Kent State University

Tuesday, July 23, 7 p.m.
Gala concert featuring all Piano Institute participants
Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall, Cleveland

Ludwig Recital Hall is located in the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Drive in Kent. University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall is located on Terrace Drive, off of Main Street, in Kent. Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall is located at 11001 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland.

Porthouse Theatre Summer Continues 2013 Season With Working, July 4-20

Members of the Porthouse Theatre 2013 Young Professional
Company make up the cast of Working at Porthouse Theatre.
The Young Professional Company includes undergraduate and
graduate students studying musical theatre at Kent State.

Porthouse Theatre, Kent State University’s outdoor, summer theater on the grounds of Blossom Music Center, continues its 2013 season with Working. The show runs through July 20.

Working is based on the book by Studs Terkel and was adapted for stage by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso. Jim Weaver will direct and choreograph this production, with musical direction by Adam Howard, costume design by Susan Williams and set design by Nolan O’Dell.

“Working is a show about life, respect, acceptance and the ultimate adventure of it all. We each have individual perspectives and experiences that shape our outlook and reactions to what life brings out way,” Weaver says. “In the end, however, it really boils down to having a sense of satisfaction. That is the key to true happiness. Knowing we did things right and someone noticed. That is the central message contained in Working.”

This new 2010 version of Working is a musical exploration of 26 people in a variety of professions, from all walks of life.

“Working is a slice of life set to music. We have funny moments, heartfelt moments, frustrating as well as uplifting moments,” Weaver says. “These are some of the variables life has to offer, and we touch on as many of them as we can in this musical about life — real life — and what we do with it.”

The show explores how people’s relationships to their work reveal key aspects of their humanity, transcending the specifics of any one job.

“We are telling the story of real people peeking into how they feel on the inside,” Weaver says. “Their ultimate truth is revealed through their words and songs.”

This version of the show includes two new songs by In the Heights Tony Award-winning creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with a streamlined book and updated lyrics.

Working runs July 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 at 8 p.m.

Following Working, Fiddler on the Roof will close the Porthouse Theatre 2013 season, running July 25 through Aug. 11.

Porthouse Theatre is located on the grounds of Blossom Music Center at 1145 W. Steels Corners Road in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Single tickets are $32-38 for adults, $26-35 for seniors and $17-21 for students. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 330-672-3884 or visit www.porthousetheatre.com.

Porthouse Theatre features free parking and allows patrons to bring in picnics (including alcohol) to its grounds to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is located next to the theatre grounds. A covered picnic pavilion is available for reservation at $2 per person or free for subscribers, and is based on availability. There also is a concession stand of light snacks and beverages. Many picnic tables are available for everyone’s enjoyment at no cost.

Joela Jones and Richard Weiss perform in Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concert, July 17

Cleveland Orchestra keyboardist Joela
Jones will perform in a Kent/Blossom
Music Festival Faculty Concert on
July 17.

(Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni)

Cleveland Orchestra members Joela Jones, keyboardist, and Richard Weiss, cellist, will perform in a Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concert on Wednesday, July 17. All Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concerts are held at 7:30 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall in the Music and Speech Center, located at 1325 Theatre Drive on the Kent Campus.

Single tickets are on sale, for adults $15; seniors, $13; and students, $5. For more information about the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, visit www.kent.edu/blossom. To purchase tickets, call the Kent/Blossom Music Festival office at 330-672-2613 or visit www.kent.edu/blossom. Subscriptions may be purchased with check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover).

Jones and Weiss will perform such works as “Suite Popular Española for Cello and Piano" by Manuel de Falla, "Trio for Oboe and Bassoon and Piano" by Francis Poulenc and "Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84" by Edward Elgar.

Jones and Weiss will be joined by Danna Sundet, oboe; Barrick Stees, bassoon; Ying Fu and Jeffrey Zehngut, violin; and Stanley Konopka, viola.

Jones, principal keyboard for the Cleveland Orchestra, has performed more than 50 different concertos in 200-plus performances with the Cleveland Orchestra. Jones chairs collaborative piano at Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and also teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in cities including Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Weiss, first assistant principal cellist for the Cleveland Orchestra, joined the Kent/Blossom Music faculty in 1985. Weiss was a Kent/Blossom Music scholarship student in 1972. Weiss is also a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio, and he coaches the cello sections of the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestras, the New World Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

Fu joined the Cleveland Orchestra at the start of the 2011-2012 season. A native of Shanghai, China, Fu has won prizes in competitions in Europe, China and the United States. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Shanghai Conservatory, and a Master of Music degree from Rice University. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts degree candidate at Rice University, studying with Cho-Liang Lin and Sergiu Luca.

Zehngut joined the second violin section of the Cleveland Orchestra in August 2011. Zehngut previously served as associate principal second violin of the San Diego Symphony 2005-11 and as principal second of the Canton Symphony Orchestra 2002-05. He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with William Preucil and Paul Kantor.

Konopka joined the Cleveland Orchestra in 1991 and has been assistant principal viola since 1993. Currently a faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Konopka has taught at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival and has performed at the chamber music festivals of Banff, Taos and Pensacola.

Stees has been assistant principal bassoon of the Cleveland Orchestra since 2001. Stees has concertized extensively in Europe, South America and Asia, including a solo tour of Hong Kong and China. His solo appearances include performances with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra.

Sundet serves as full-time assistant professor of oboe at Kent State University. She is co-artistic coordinator of the Kent/Blossom Music Festival and is now the musical director of the John Mack Legacy Oboe Camp in Little Switzerland, N.C. Sundet specializes in performing in Bach Festivals, where she is a featured soloist on the oboe, oboe d'amore and the English horn.

The Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concerts feature performances by the high-profile musicians who serve as faculty for the students attending the Kent/Blossom Music Festival summer program, including members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Fifth Annual Kent Blues Fest Comes to Downtown Kent, July 19-20

Grammy-nominated guitarist Tab Benoit
will headline the Kent Blues Fest show
at the Kent Stage on Saturday, July 20,
at 8 p.m.

(Photo credit: Jerry Moran)

The fifth annual Kent Blues Fest will take place on July 19 and 20, and will feature free, live entertainment at 17 venues in downtown Kent. Some of the artists performing are Blue Lunch, Colin John, Memphis Cradle, the Wallace Coleman Band, the Wanda Hunt Band and many more.

The kickoff concert will feature the Brighter Side Band at Acorn Alley Plaza from 5:15-8 p.m. on Friday, July 19.

“This year’s event is bigger and better than ever,” says Mike Beder, owner of the Water Street Tavern. “The community has really embraced the Blues Fest as a great annual tradition.”

Grammy-nominated guitarist Tab Benoit will headline the show at the Kent Stage on Saturday, July 20, at 8 p.m. Benoit is a past winner of the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award and a committed environmental activist.

Sponsors of the Kent Blues Fest include the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center, PARTA, Akron General Medical Center, Apollo Heating and Cooling, Cascade Auto Group, College Town Kent, Hungry Howie’s and Huntington Bank. Kent State’s WKSU is a media partner for the event.

For more information on performers, locations and times visit, www.kentbluesfest.com.

To purchase Tab Benoit tickets, visit, www.kentstage.org.