'Jumping Off Point'

Photo of the Week

The Department of Dance presents its annual peformance by graduating senior dance majors -- Jumping Off Point -- Weds, May 21-Fri, May 23 at 8 pm in Sullivant Hall Theatre. The 16 students present a program charged with aggressive movement, global influences and "feel-good" motives with techniques and styles ranging from modern dance and tap to jazz, ballet and video technology. Alum Kristina Isabelle choreographed a piece for 5 of the students and MFA grad Coco Loupe choreographed two pieces for the show. Other guest choreographers include Slam, current MFA students Adriana Durant and Jenai Cutcher and Shani Collins. Tickets at the door; call 292-7977 for info.

Notable News

British author and reviewer Alexander Waugh (Classical Music, A New Way of Listening; Time; God; Fathers and Sons) will be on campus May 19-23. Events include a discussion of his family of writers on Mon, a brown bag lunch Tues, a fireside chat on God on Thurs, and a public lecture on Fri. The Fri event -- at 3:30 in 100 Hughes Hall --is Empty Sleeve: The Extraordinary Story of Paul Wittgenstein, a one-armed pianist on whom Waugh is writing a biography. For details, go to the web.

MFA festivities! On Saturday, May 10, hundreds of folks -- including MFA student exhibitors and their families, faculty, staff and community members -- gathered downtown for a reception honoring the MFA Thesis Exhibition (above) at the OSU Urban Arts Space in downtown Columbus. Guests got a chance to mingle and talk with the artists and listened to comments from Karen Bell, dean; Gordon Gee, OSU president; Sergio Soave, chair; and generous supporter Jan Dilenschneider. Refreshments and a jazz quartet of School of Music students rounded out the evening. (Photo by alumnus Grant Fletcher.)

Five days later, the OSU Urban Arts Space hosted an annual meeting and reception for the College of the Arts Alumni Society, faculty members and student artists (above). All alums from the college are automatically members of the relatively new society; for information contact Victoria at osuarts@osu.edu.

The 19th William Poland Lecture in Music Theory presents Mark Lindley who will discuss the History of the Chromatic Scale on Weds, May 21, 4:30 pm in 109 Hughes Hall. Lindley is widely regarded as the world's leading expert on the history of tempered scales and their musical significance. He also will present a Lecture in Musicology at 4:30 pm Mon, May 19, in 109 Hughes, and a master class in Weigel Auditorium at 12:30 pm Tues, May 20. For info, call 292-0789.

At the OSU Urban Arts Space on Thurs, May 22: 12-12:45 pm a walk-in gallery tour of the MFA exhibition is scheduled. From 5:30 to 6:30 pm that day, a panel discussion on "Real and Concrete: The Abstract Painting of this Year's Ohio State Graduates" features Michael Mercil and Laura Lisbon (Art) and student artists Kimasi Barnett, Daniel Clemens, Scott Olson, Ian Magargee and Rob Thompson. For more info, go to arts.osu.edu/uas.

Theatre alum Kim Turney presents a Talk-Back Forum Thurs, May 22, at 3:30 pm in Roy Bowen Theatre, Drake Performance Center. She has worked for Disney and Buena Vista Pictures, and is an expert in theatrical combat. Most recently she has been involved in film work with the high-definition camera workflow system she devised.

The Natural World Museum and United Nations Environment Programme have notified Ken Rinaldo and Amy Youngs that they have been selected for the 2008 Green Leaf Award for artistic excellence through their participation in the exhibit Moving Towards a Balanced Earth. The annual awards are presented to artists participating in the UN World Environment Day exhibition and whose work inspires and engages the public in environmental awareness. Five awards are presented each year; they won in the category of Conceptual Installation. The two will receive the award in New Zealand in June.

Flute news! Alumna Kimberlee Goodman presented a flute recital and master class at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis in Feb, and the following month was involved in three events at the College Music Society conference in Montana, where fellow alum Nicole Molumby presented a flute recital. This summer, Goodman will present lecture at the Lifelong Learners program at Columbus State Community College, and will give a recital at the National Flute Association convention in Kansas Ciety with the Stratosphere Flute Quartet that also includes alums Niclole Charles, Jennifer Packard and Suzanne Shonkwiler.