Partch 100th birthday celebration
To celebrate the 100th birthday of composer Harry Partch, Montclair State
and the musical ensemble, Newband, are presenting a concert of the composer's
music on Sunday, Sept. 30.
The program will include the first East Coast performance of his landmark
work, "And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma," with
the infamous "Barstow" plus "San Francisco." This,
the largest of Partch's instrumental works, involves 13 musicians performing
on most of the instruments Partch invented between 1930 and 1965.
The concert will begin at 3 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are
$15. Call the Box Office at 973-655-5112.
Newband, which has performed in major venues throughout the world, has
been artistic ensemble in residence, with the Harry Partch Instrumentarium,
at Montclair State since 1999. An academic program for students was inaugurated
in 2000 and quickly caught on with a growing group of dedicated students.
Newband Co-director Dean Drummond, a professor of music, said plans are
in place for a degree program in Harry Partch studies, a first in the
world of music education.
The Partch Instrumentarium will be housed in the University's new theater,
which is expected to be complete in fall 2003.
Ballet company interprets Hispanic culture
Ballet Hispanico, the foremost dance interpreter of Hispanic culture in
the United States, will appear in Memorial Auditorium on Friday, Oct.
5, at 7:30 p.m., in an appearance sponsored by the Great Events Series.
Founded in 1970 by Artistic Director Tina Ramirez, Ballet Hispanico's
innovative repertory fuses ballet, modern and Latin dance forms into a
spirited image of contemporary Hispanic-American culture.
Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, the company has performed for
nearly two million people. Ballet Hispanico has appeared in major venues
throughout the country, including the Kennedy Center, the Annenberg Center
in Philadelphia, the Joyce Theater in New York, Wolf Trap, Jacob's Pillow
and the BankBoston Celebrity Series.
The company's national television appearances include "CBS Sunday
Morning" and the 1999 Hispanic Heritage Awards on NBC. In 1999, the
company was featured in a gala birthday celebration honoring President
and Mrs. Bush. In September of that year, they performed for 35,000 Mets
fans at Shea Stadium.
Ballet Hispanico's international appearances include a weeklong engagement
at the Zurich Summer Festival in July 2001 and a tour of Spain in 1998,
where the company was featured for two weeks at Festival Grec in Barcelona
and performed at the Conde Duque Theatre in Madrid.
Ballet Hispanico's 2001/2002 national tour will feature performances in
15 states as well as numerous residency activities, ranging from teacher
orientations and student workshops to Latin social dance classes for the
general public.
The tour is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England
Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the National Endowment
for the Arts and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Tickets are $20 standard; $17.50 for faculty, staff and students. Call
the Box Office at 5112.
Board news
At its Sept. 13 meeting, the Montclair State University Board of Trustees
approved one tenure-track faculty appointment, 23 non-tenure-track faculty
appointments, nine professional/managerial staff appointments, one leave
of absence without pay, and resolutions granting professor emeritus status
to David Kelly of Classics and Matthew Lipman of Philosophy for Children.
The Board also approved the termination of the bachelor of science degree
and master of arts degree in technology education, and the establishment
of a bachelor of science in athletic training.
A tuition waiver for dependent children of deceased employees also was
approved. The waiver, which would become effective FY02, is for undergraduate
tuition to the dependent children of deceased full-time employees who
served a minimum of 10 years.
In memoriam
Catherine Nixon of Accounting/Accounts Payable, a 14-year employee at
Montclair State, passed away Sept. 6. A memorial service was held Sept.
15 at St. Luke's Church in Montclair. Contributions can be made in Catherine's
name to the Johnathan Cancer Fund, PO Box 219, Dewitt, NY, 13324. Expressions
of sympathy can be sent to her husband, William Nixon, 46 Gordonhurst
Ave., Upper Montclair, NJ, 07043.
Barry Jacobs, a 30-year member of English, passed away Sept. 19. Jacobs, who joined Montclair State after several years as a faculty member at Harvard University, was an expert in modern drama, and maintained an interest in Scandinavian language and literature throughout his career. He was regularly sought out as a visiting scholar and teacher by other institutions, most recently Brigham Young in Utah, and taught on a number of occasions in Montclair State’s summer program in Sienna, Italy. A memorial service is being planned.
The campus community also mourned the loss of Leonor DeArmas who passed away Aug. 19. Leonor worked in Purchasing and then Accounts Payable before moving to the Montclair State University Foundation where she served as the principal bookkeeper for the past several years.