eInside Events

Kent State’s Department of Sociology Partners With Local TimeBank for June 29 Community Event

Members of the Kent Community TimeBank celebrate the
organization's third anniversary with a potluck event.

Kent State University’s Department of Sociology is partnering with the Kent Community TimeBank to host an event that will feature Edgar Cahn, Ph.D., founder of TimeBanksUSA. Cahn and his wife, Christine Gray, Ph.D., will visit Kent on Saturday, June 29, and present on the topic of timebanking, alternative currencies and social justice. The event is free and open to the public, and will take place at the United Church of Christ, 1400 E. Main St. in Kent at 4 p.m. A potluck dinner will follow at 5:30 p.m.

There will be time for exploration and questions from the audience. Attending will be local and regional TimeBank leaders, active Kent Community TimeBank members and residents interested in learning about the movement.

Timebanking is an alternative currency system and a system of exchange where individuals and groups with needs and wants are answered by members with services, skills and resources for the purpose of building community. The Kent Community TimeBank was founded in 2010 and has more than 500 members.

“As is the case with the university as a whole, Kent State’s Department of Sociology is committed to encouraging good relations between the city of Kent and the university,” says Kent State Associate Professor of Sociology Susan Roxburgh, Ph.D. “We are providing support for the Cahns’ visit to Kent because our discipline has a long history of commitment to social justice issues. Because of its role in increasing the quantity and quality of community ties, the TimeBank is of particular interest to faculty in our department.”

Since inception, the Kent Community TimeBank has made 6,645 exchanges totaling 17,310 hours or time credits. The TimeBank also has created an alternative currency storefront called hOUR Share in Kent, where goods may be obtained by donating time credits or offering a cash donation.

“Timebanking offers our members many values and benefits,” says Abby Greer, executive director and founder of the Kent Community TimeBank. “Timebanking creates social networks that have been lost over time, builds trust in neighbors and community, saves members cash money as the currency is time, allows members to learn new skills and build old ones, gives businesses and merchants an avenue for growth and helps people feel validated and valued in society.”

Cassandra Pegg-Kirby, assistant director for Kent State’s Women’s Center, has only been a member of the Kent Community TimeBank for a few months, but she has benefited from the community in many ways. Pegg-Kirby had the opportunity to share perennials she did not need with other community members and was able to use her time credits to obtain about 40 bike tires from a fellow timebanker for her flower bed.

“The TimeBank is the fabric that brings all these amazing people in the community together in a way that is beneficial to all," Pegg-Kirby says. "Whether it is through the exchanges, the social engagement at potlucks and group projects or the way something like this has us all thinking about our value and the gifts of others in a very different way. We all have something to contribute and to be thankful for, and the TimeBank nudges us to that awareness.”

To RSVP for the Kent Community TimeBank event on June 29, email kctbinc@gmail.com.

For more information about Kent State’s Department of Sociology, visit www.kent.edu/sociology.

For more information about the Kent Community Timebank, visit http://kentcommunity.timebanks.org/.

David Shifrin and Spencer Myer to Feature at Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concert

Clarinetist David Shifrin will perform
Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Ludwig
Recital Hall as part of the Kent/Blossom
Music Festival Faculty Concerts.

Kulas Foundation Guest Artist, clarinetist David Shifrin, and pianist Spencer Myer will perform Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall as part of the Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concerts. Ludwig Recital Hall is located in the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Dr. on the Kent Campus. A complimentary Meet-the-Artist reception will take place immediately following the concert in the Roe Green Center lobby.

The pair will perform "Sonata for Clarinet and Piano" by Francis Poulenc; "Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet" by Igor Stravinski; "Sonata in f minor, Op. 120 #1" by Johannes Brahms; "Dance Preludes" by Witold Lutoslawki; "Little Shepherd, Girl with the Flaxen Hair and Premiere Rapsodie" by Claude Debussy; and "Introduction, Theme and Variations" by Gioacchino Rossini.

Shifrin is an orchestra soloist, recitalist and chamber music collaborator. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony and the Denver Symphony, among others, along with orchestras in Italy, Germany and Korea..

Shifrin has served as principal clarinetist for ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Honolulu Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1989, and he served as its artistic director from 1992 through 2004. Shifrin is one of only two wind players to have been awarded the Avery Fisher Prize.

“One of the world's greatest clarinetists and former Cleveland Orchestra member has a triumphant return to Kent Blossom Music thanks to a generous grant from the Kulas Foundation,” says Keith Robinson, co-artistic director of Kent/Blossom Music and Miami String Quartet cellist. “Joined by Spencer Myer, this concert is sure to be a musical tour de force!”

In an email exchange, Shifrin recalled the following: “I was a student at KBM (Kent/Blossom Music) in 1970 and taught there from (19)74, 75, 76 while I was in the (Cleveland) Orchestra. 1970 was an amazing year for KBM: (Aaron) Copland was there - we did Messiaen's Oiseaux Exotiques with (Pierre) Boulez, Pierrot (Lunaire) with Boulez, Jan DeGaetani and a student group and lots more. It was also the year for the KSU shootings and the death of George Szell. A very intense summer all around!”

Pianist Spencer Myer will perform Saturday,
June 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Ludwig Recital
Hall as part of the Kent/Blossom Music
Festival Faculty Concerts.
(Photo Credit: Andrew Le)

Myer’s involvement in Kent/Blossom Music began in 2007. He has performed as a soloist with ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra and has appeared with New York City’s Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Myer was the gold medalist of the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition. In 2012, he also began performing with cellist Adrian Daurov as the Daurov/Myer Duo.

Founded in 1937, the Kulas Foundation’s annual grants go toward music education, institutions and performances in the Greater Cleveland area.

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 summer music program, including members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

A six-concert subscription is $72 for adults and $60 for seniors. To purchase a subscription, call the Kent/Blossom Music office at 330-672-2613. Subscriptions may be purchased with check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover).

Single tickets also are on sale at $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $5 for students. For more information about the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, visit www.kent.edu/blossom.

Cleveland Orchestra Cellist Mark Kosower to Perform in Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concert

Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Mark Kosower will
perform at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty
Concerts on July 3 in Ludwig Recital Hall in the Music and
Speech Building on the Kent Campus.
(Photo Credit: Hyun Kang)

The Kent/Blossom Music Festival Faculty Concerts continue Wednesday, July 3, with a performance by Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Mark Kosower at 7:30 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall in the Music and Speech Building, located at 1325 Theatre Dr. on the Kent Campus.

Kosower’s performance will include “Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major,” “Suite for solo cello No. 5 in c minor” and “Suite for Solo Cello No. 6 in D Major” by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Kosower, principal cello of the Cleveland Orchestra since 2010, also serves as faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Kosower has released two recent albums: “The Complete Cello Concertos of Alberto Ginastera” with the Bamberg Symphony, and Miklós Rózsa’s “Rhapsodie” for cello and orchestra.

“What an opportunity to hear the principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra, Mark Kosower, perform the final three cello suites by the greatest composer of the baroque era, J.S Bach,” says Keith Robinson, co-artistic director of Kent/Blossom Music. “Mr. Kosower's recital last year was a true highlight of the festival, and this concert promises to be no exception!”

Kosower’s solo appearances include performances with the Orchestre de Paris, Hong Kong Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. He has also appeared with the symphony orchestras in U.S. cities, including Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Seattle.

He also has performed as a recitalist at the Great Performers Series at the Lincoln Center, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Aspen Music Festival and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. He is also an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient.

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 summer music program, including members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

A six-concert subscription is $72 for adults and $60 for seniors. To purchase a subscription, call the Kent/Blossom Music office at 330-672-2613. Subscriptions may be purchased with check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover).

Single tickets are on sale at $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, and $5 for students with valid student I.D. or under 18. For more information about the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, visit www.kent.edu/blossom.

Quaker Steak & Lube Bike Nite Comes to Kent State

Kent State University and Quaker Steak
& Lube will host a Bike Night on July 13
for the university community.

Kent State University, in partnership with Quaker Steak & Lube, will host a Bike Night on Saturday, July 13, from 6-10 p.m. The event will take place on the Student Green, the new outdoor concert space on the Kent Campus, and will feature live music, food, games and prizes.

Members of the campus and surrounding Kent community are invited to bring their bikes and a blanket, and enjoy a night of free musical entertainment. The bands performing will include Mo’ Mojo, a high-energy, Zydeco-based band, and The Twistoffs, an original rock and folk group.

Stay updated about this event by liking “Quaker Steak & Lube – Kent State University” on Facebook or by visiting https://www.facebook.com/events/425020850938315/.