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Derek Trucks Band to perform in CFA
The Center for the Arts will present The Derek Trucks Band with special guest Vusi Mahlasela at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Mainstage theater in the CFA, North Campus.
The Derek Trucks Band
The Derek Trucks Band has been a work-in-progress for more than 10 years, slowly blending jazz, rock, blues, Latin, Eastern Indian and other world music into the sound that now defines the DTB. The mission of the band has been to assemble a group of musicians who share a passion for improvisation and musical exploration, and develop a special musical unity by performing with this core group of players for an extended period of time. The focus of the band is on the art form itself, despite the current trend of image-driven music.
Trucks' musical career began at the age of nine, when he picked up a $5 acoustic guitar at a yard sale. Within the span of a single year, he had purchased an instrument, learned how to play and began touring—with his father acting as road manager/chaperone. Trucks' touring became more frequent, eventually forcing him to undertake an on-the-road schooling program to finish high school. What had begun as a weekend activity had grown into a lifestyle.
Trucks got his first paying gig at age 11 and formed his first band at age 12. Bassist Todd Smallie, who played with many jazz and blues musicians in the Atlanta area, entered the picture in 1994, when Derek was 15 years old. In 1995, Yonrico Scott rounded out the band's permanent rhythm section. Keyboardist and flute player Kofi Burbridge joined the band in 1999. In May of 2002, the DTB added vocalist Mike Mattison to the touring lineup.
The Derek Trucks Band released its eponymous debut, "Landslide," in 1997, following it up in 1998 with "Out of Madness." The band's major label debut, "Joyful Noise," was released in 2002. The band released "Soul Serenade" earlier this year.
In 1999, Trucks was asked to take over slide-guitar duty with the Allman Brothers Band. But with so much invested in the Derek Trucks Band, breaking up the group was out of the question. Trucks decided to balance the two, and between them he keeps up an extensive touring schedule—more than 365 shows in 2000 and 2001.
Vusi Mahlasela, a South African singer, musician and songwriter, will open the concert. Mahlasela was featured in the critically acclaimed documentary "Amandla," a film that explores the role of music in South Africa's apartheid struggle.
Tickets for The Derek Trucks Band are $22.50 for the general public and $18.50 for UB students and are available at the CFA box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, call 645-ARTS.
Alumni Association seeks award nominees
The UB Alumni Association is accepting nominations for its Celebration of Excellence and Athletic Hall of Fame awards.
The nomination deadline for both is Tuesday.
Celebration of Excellence Awards honor individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the university and the world community. The awards will be presented at the Celebration of Excellence dinner on April 23 in the Buffalo/Niagara Marriott.
Past recipients have included Robert A. Milch, M.D. '68, B.A. '64, medical director of The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care in Cheektowaga; Seymour H. Knox; CNN correspondent Wolf Blitzer, B.A. '70, and actor Ron Silver, B.A. '67.
In addition to Celebration of Excellence Awards, each year the Alumni Association honors a select group of UB athletes and athletic professional staff through election to the UB Athletic Hall of Fame.
The next induction ceremony will take place on Feb. 6 in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus. The evening highlights the importance of athletes and athletics to the students, faculty and alumni of UB.
Nomination forms can be downloaded from the "Get Involved" section of the UB alumni Web site, at http://www.alumni.buffalo.edu.
For more information on both award celebrations, call the UB Alumni Association at 1-800-284-5382, or email Patricia Starr at klemann@buffalo.edu.
EAP to present lunchtime workshops
The UB Employee Assistance Program will present several lunchtime workshops on campus during the 2003-04 academic year. The programs, which will be held in the Student Union, North Campus, are free of charge and open to UB faculty and staff. The schedule:
"Domestic Violence: How To Help Your Co-Worker," 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, 210 Student Union. The program will be presented by Child & Family Services, Haven House
"EAP: We Are Here For YOU," noon to 1 p.m. Dec. 3 in 145B Student Union. The program will be presented UB EAP coordinators.
"Al-Anon: What It's All About," 1-2 p.m. Feb. 11 in 210 Student Union. The program will be presented by a local Al-Anon member.
"The Cancer Coach Program," noon to 1 p.m. March 18 in 210 Student Union. The program will be presented by the Cancer Wellness Center.
"Stress of Daycare and Solutions," 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 27 in 210 Student Union. The program will be presented by Tamar Jacobson, director of the UB Child Care Center.
Anyone interested in attending any or all of the sessions should contact Glenda Stahura at 645-2802 or stahura@buffalo.edu.
The EAP is a voluntary program designed to offer a highly professional, confidential source of help for UB employees, retires and their family members who need assistance with personal problems or concerns. The program offers assessment, referral and a 24-hour, seven-day a week answering service.
For further information, go to http://wings.buffalo.edu/ eap/index.html.
CSE, bioinformatics center to present symposium
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the UB Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics will present a daylong symposium on Saturday featuring research presentations and posters from faculty and students from both organizations.
"The purpose of this symposium is to provide a forum for researchers interested in advanced techniques in computer science and engineering, and especially their applications within biology," said Bharat Jayaraman, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. "The symposium will provide an opportunity for the two groups to learn about each other's research and identify common connections."
A sample of the topics to be presented by these scientists includes gene expression data analysis, machine learning for forensic identification, pattern recognition and biometric technologies, low resolution protein structures for biochemical function assignments, protein structure prediction on a genomic scale, playing games with genetic programming, enzyme function conservation and its application for genome-wide enzyme function prediction, computing distances of phylogenetic trees, heuristics v integer linear programming based optimization approaches, genomic ORFans, biomedical text mining, and pattern based approaches to online analytic processing and mining bio-informatics data.
"In addition to initiating contacts between both organizations," Jayaraman said, "I expect that the symposium will mark the starting point of new research endeavors involving experts from computer science and engineering and the bioinformatics center."
The symposium will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the University Inn and Conference Center, North Forest Road, Getzville. The $25 fee includes lunch and refreshments. Those interested in attending may register by calling 645-3180, ext. 157, or emailing cse-dept@cse.buffalo.edu.
CFA to present Korean masked dance
The Center for the Arts will present "Dongnae Yaryuat"—Korean masked dance—at 8 p.m. Nov. 21 in the Mainstage theater in the CFA, North Campus.
Dongnae Yaryu
"Dongnae Yaryu" is characterized as an art form in which dance, dialogue and drama all come together as a fully developed ensemble. Korean masked dance emerged as a distinctive form of entertainment in the middle of the 18th century.
"Dongnae Yaryu" is broken into three scenes. "The Dance of the Aristocrats and the Groom" depicts the incompetence of five aristocrats viewed through the lens of the wicked mockery of a low-class servant who serves them in the capacity of a groom. The groom's witty jests highlight the shortcomings of his social betters, whom he mercilessly ridicules as "good-for-nothing" men with the edgy humor and conceit of a disgruntled servant.
"The Leper Dance" depicts the regret and frustration felt by a son of the aristocratic class who is suffering from the powerfully symbolic disease of leprosy. "The Dance of the Old Man and the Old Woman" expresses the harsh reality of the common people and the shabby treatment women normally received from men in the male-centered of traditional Korean society.
Tickets for "Dongnae Yaryu" are $20 for the general public and $10 for students and children ages 12 and under and are available at the CFA box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and at all Ticketmaster locations
For more information, call 645-ARTS.
Holiday Print Sale scheduled
The Department of Art will hold its annual Holiday Print Sale from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 in the Atrium of the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Holiday Print Sale
The sale will feature original artist prints by students, alumni and participants in the experimental Print Imaging Center's (ePIC'S) Community Printshop program.
Proceeds will support student scholarship and community outreach programs in the field of printmaking.
Friends of the Center for the Arts receive a 10 percent discount on purchases.
For further information, call 645-6878, ext. 1369