POTSDAM, NY (04/17/2013)(readMedia)-- The Lougheed Festival of the Arts will return to SUNY Potsdam for its second season from April 24 to May 5, bringing together campus and community for cross-disciplinary art experiences.

A celebration of SUNY Potsdam's culture of creativity, the festival will feature a wide array of events, including author readings, theatre productions, multimedia art presentations, special exhibitions, public lectures, masterclasses and concerts.

Kathryn (Kofoed) '54 and Donald Lougheed, Hon. '13 founded the Lougheed Festival of the Arts last year to bring the campus festival tradition back to Kathy's alma mater. They were so pleased with the results that they have decided to make their commitment to support the festival outright this year, resulting in the largest gift in College history to date.

"Exposure to the arts helps individuals develop new ways of thinking and new ways of interacting. We couldn't be happier to provide this experience to Potsdam students and professors," the Lougheeds wrote. "Experiencing the arts can be life-changing. Our hope is to bring the arts out of the classroom, so each and every student has the chance to experience the arts in some meaningful way."

The full jam-packed schedule of events can be found at www.potsdam.edu/artsfestival. Printed schedules will also be available in kiosks on campus.

All events are free and open to the public.

The 2013 Lougheed Festival of the Arts will welcome a number of distinguished visiting artists to campus for its second season. The artists include celebrated writer and SUNY Potsdam alumnus T.C. Boyle '68, one of America's most prolific and inventive novelists, and one of the College's most celebrated graduates. The author of works such as "World's End," "The Tortilla Curtain," "The Women," "Wild Child," "When the Killing's Done" and "San Miguel," Boyle will offer a public reading and book signing on Thursday, April 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Dunn Dance Theater.

In addition, the groundbreaking multimedia artist Carrie Mae Weems -- whose works have been featured at MoMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim and the Met, among others -- will offer video installations and a photography exhibition. She will collaborate with composer Gregory Wanamaker, a professor of composition and theory at The Crane School of Music, on a new multimedia performance, "A Story Within a Story," which also includes choreography by Guy Thorne and additional direction from Kimberly Bouchard, as well as students from the Department of Theatre and Dance. The multimedia performance will be presented on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, May 4 at 3 p.m., both in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater.

Visiting director Sharrell D. Luckett, an award-winning theatrical maven, will work with students from the Department of Theatre and Dance to present "Ruined," a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lynn Nottage. The production depicts a rainforest bar and brothel in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. "Ruined" will open on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dunn Dance Theater, with several matinee and evening performances offered throughout the festival.

New York Times art critic Roberta Smith, a preeminent lecturer on contemporary art, will offer a public presentation on Thursday, May 2 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Knowles Hall Multi-Purpose Room.

Acclaimed sculptor Chakaia Booker, whose works recycle discarded tires into complex assemblages, fuses ecological concerns with explorations of racial and economic difference, globalization and gender in her artwork. She will offer a public lecture on Tuesday, April 30 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Kellas Hall Room 103.

The Rochester-based group Bush Mango Drum & Dance will present high-energy West African-style music and dance on Saturday, April 27 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the College Theater, located in Satterlee Hall.

The 2013 Dorothy Albrecht Gregory Visiting Conductor, Maestro Christof Perick, will visit SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music to conduct the Crane Chorus and the Crane Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Benjamin Britten's monumental War Requiem on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall. The concert will coincide with the 100th celebration of the composer's birth.The American Boychoir will also visit campus to perform in the concert, along with visiting soprano soloist Christine Goerke, who will be joined by Crane vocalists Donald George, tenor, and David Pittman-Jennings, baritone.

The concert is free, but due to limited seating, tickets are required. To reserve a ticket for the War Requiem concert, contact the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or visit the office, located in the Snell Theater lobby.

Other highlights of the 2013 Lougheed Festival of the Arts include:

• Dance: The College's annual senior choreographers concert, featuring the works of six graduating dance majors, will be offered from May 3 to May 5. Student dance groups, including Team NV and the Swing Dance Club, will also perform on May 4 and throughout the festival.
• Theatre: The annual One Act Play Festival will kick off the festival. Students direct and star in seven different short works. In addition, the play "Lady Grey" by Will Eno will be offered on April 30 and May 2. Drama students from Potsdam's A.A. Kingston Middle School, Colton-Pierrepont Central School and the Afterschool Arts Camp will also perform during the festival. ChaRon Brabham '14 will offer remarks about her experience presenting Oscars at the Academy Awards on April 29.
• Creative writing: The Department of English and Communication will sponsor an Emerging Writers Series, including authors and poets such as Michael Dumanis, Vievee Francis, Ryan Vine, Julia Story and Laura van den Berg. Robert Foreman and Martin Espada will offer readings and sessions on the writer's craft. Graduating creative writing students will present original works on April 25.
• Fine arts: Visiting artist Steven Assael will offer a drawing demonstration and a lecture on May 1. Throughout the festival, student artists will add to a graffiti wall inspired by books and film at the Frederick W. Crumb Memorial Library. There will be a Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition at the Roland Gibson Gallery. Art students will create an illuminated sculpture garden in the Academic Quad, called "Festival of Light," on May 1, with a rain date of May 2.
• Music: The Voices of Victory Gospel Choir and the College's a cappella vocal groups will present concerts. SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music will offer open sessions with visiting artists, including a conducting masterclass with Christof Perick, a student Q&A session with the conductor and a masterclass with soprano Christine Goerke. The American Boychoir will perform on Friday, May 3 from 1 to 2 p.m. in Hosmer Hall. Dr. Vicki Stroeher of Marshall University will offer a pre-concert lecture on Saturday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m., preceding the War Requiem concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

North Country Public Radio is the media sponsor for SUNY Potsdam's Lougheed Festival of the Arts.

For more information about the 2013 Lougheed Festival of the Arts, visit www.potsdam.edu/artsfestival.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

###

Posted Wednesday April 17, 2013 at 10:30 am by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Friday April 19, 2013 at 10:19 am