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Letters are back in the Reporter
The Reporter welcomes letters from UB faculty, staff and students that comment on its stories and content, as well as other matters of concern and interest to the university community. Letters should be limited to 800 words and may be edited for style and condensed for length. As is the policy of all major U.S. newspapers, including The Buffalo News and The New York Times, it is not the responsibility of the editor to authenticate information presented in letters as fact.
Letters must be received by 9 a.m. Monday to be considered for publication in that week's issue.
For full details of the Reporter's policy regarding letters to the editor, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/letterspolicy.html.
Next Meet the Author reading set
Susan Eaton, author of "The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial," will give a reading from her book and answer audience questions at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at MusicalFare Theatre at Daemen College.
The appearance is part of the Meet the Author series presented by WBFO-FM 88.7, UB's National Public Radio affiliate.
The reading is sponsored by the Ithaca Convention and Visitors Bureau; media sponsor is buffalorising.com.
The Meet the Author series, which is free and open to the public, also will be broadcast live on WBFO. Bert Gambini, executive producer of the series, will serve as host. A book signing will take place immediately following the reading and light refreshments will be served.
For more information about the Meet the Author series and to listen to audio or to download podcasts of past Meet the Author broadcasts, go to http://www.wbfo.org/meettheauthor/.
Applicants sought for DOD scholarships
Undergraduate and graduate students seeking degrees and employment in information assurance disciplines may apply for scholarship support from the U.S. Department of Defense.
UB students are eligible to apply for the scholarships because the university has been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency.
Information assurance encompasses the scientific, technical and management disciplines required to ensure computer and network security. These disciplines include, but are not limited to, mathematics, biometrics, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, computer programming, computer support, database administration, computer systems analysis, operations research, information security (assurance) and business management or administration.
The scholarship pays the full cost of tuition, fees, books, lab expenses and supplies and equipment. Undergraduate scholarship winners also will receive a stipend of $10,000, while graduate students will receive $15,000 stipends.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
The full application package can be downloaded at http://www.cse.buffalo .edu/caeiae/. The deadline for applications is Feb. 9. Awards will be announced in late May or early June. Grants will be awarded in July or August.
For further information, contact Shambhu J. Upadhyaya, associate professor of computer science and engineering, at 645-3180, ext. 133, or shambhu@cse.buffalo.edu.
Chris Thile to perform in CFA
Chris Thile and How to Grow a Band will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
At 25, Chris Thile has accomplished more than most—2 million albums sold with Grammy-winning Nickel Creek, six solo albums (the first at the age of 12), a side career as an in-demand studio musician and collaborations with Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck and Jon Brion. His mandolin playing, which has been described as "brilliant," "bold," "utterly fantastic" and "staggering," earned him the title of Mandolin Player of the Year from the Instrumental Bluegrass Music Association in 2001.
Thile and his band, How to Grow a Band, are touring in support of his latest release, "How to Grow a Woman From the Ground."
Tickets are $21 for general admission and $15 for 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, including Ticketmaster.com.
UB to stage Kurt Weill revue
The Department of Theatre and Dance will present "Berlin to Broadway With Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage" Feb. 21-25 in the Black Box Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Performances will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 21-24 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 and Feb. 25.
"Berlin to Broadway," a musical revue with text and format by Gene Lerner, follows the remarkable life and music of German-American composer Kurt Weill. With lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Arnold Weinstein, Bertolt Brecht, George Tabori, Ira Gershwin, Jacques Deval, Langston Hughes, Marc Blitzstein, Maxwell Andersen, Michael Feingold, Ogden Nash and Paul Green, this new, dynamic production with orchestra, newly designed sets and costumes revisits Weill's best-known masterpieces.
Encompassing more than 20 years of revolution, war and music, the revue follows Weill as a composer from his early collaboration with playwright Brecht, through his escape from Nazi Germany, to his American career as the master of the Broadway musical. Including music from "Threepenny Opera," "Happy End" and "Lady in the Dark," among others, Weill's masterpieces are imaginatively restaged to highlight his enduring critique of modern life, love and politics.
The revue will present Sarah Bay-Cheng, assistant professor in the departments of Theatre and Dance and Media Study, in her directorial debut at UB. An expert in modernism and performance, Bay-Cheng has staged plays by such modern writers as Sophie Treadwell and Gertrude Stein, and her work has appeared at the Michigan New Works Festival and on National Public Radio, among other venues.
She is joined by musical director Nancy Townsend, whose career in music spans numerous works in both opera and musical theatre. As a pianist with the Metropolitan Opera National Council for 25 years, she has worked with some of the world's finest singers, including Licia Albanese, Renee Fleming, Sherrill Milnes, Italo Tajo, John Alexander, Maureen Forrester and Rosalind Elias. Other companies with which she has worked include Opera Festival of New Jersey, Greater Buffalo Opera and El Paso Opera, where she has been the musical assistant for the past 10 years.
Students in the music theatre B.F.A. degree program comprise the ensemble cast of "Berlin to Broadway."
Tickets are $16 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the CFA box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Ticketmaster.com.
For more information, call 645-ARTS.
Entries sought for poetry contest
High school poets will have the opportunity to have their work judged by a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet by participating in the annual UB Poetry Contest, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.
The contest, which enables students to learn about the resources in the Department of English and underscores the university's well-known commitment to poetics by encouraging young poets, is open to all high school students. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Dennis, writer-in-residence in the English department, will serve as judge.
Winning poets will read their work and prizes will be awarded at an awards ceremony to be held on March 31 in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Cash prizes of $200, $100 and $50 will be awarded to the top three poets. Fourth-place winners each will receive a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble or Chapters. Honorable mentions also will be awarded. All winners will receive an autographed copy of "Practical Gods," Dennis' collection of poetry that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize.
Dennis also will conduct a student poetry workshop the day of the awards ceremony.
All entries must be in English and consist of no more than 25 lines. There is no entry fee. Only one poem per contestant may be submitted.
Completed entry forms and entries must be postmarked by mail by the close of business on Feb. 5. They should be mailed to UB Poetry Contest, University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office, 810 Clemens Hall, Buffalo, New York 14260. Email and fax submissions will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by mail no later than March 9.
In addition to the College of Arts and Sciences, contest sponsors are the UB Center for the Arts; WBFO-FM 88.7, UB's National Public Radio affiliate; ThinkBright, the lifelong learning channel and an online service of WNED-TV; and the UB Humanities Institute.
For more information, call 645-2711, send an email to mrbewley@buffalo.edu, or visit the poetry contest's Web site at http://www.cas.buffalo.edu/outreach/poetry/index.html.
Legends of Motown to perform
The Center for the Arts will present "The Legends of Motown Starring the Temptations and the Marvelettes" at 8 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Mainstage theater in the CFA, North Campus.
For more than 40 years, the Temptations have prospered, propelling popular music with a series of smash hits and sold-out performances throughout the world. The history of the Temptations is the history of contemporary American pop. An essential component of the original Motown machine, the Temptations began their musical life in Detroit in the early 1960s. It wasn't until 1964, however, that the Smokey Robinson written-and-produced "The Way You Do the Things You Do" turned the Temptations into stars. Many more hits followed, including "My Girl," "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "I Can't Get Next to You," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," and much more. With a lineup that includes founding member Otis Williams, the group has remained active, perpetuating what they've long referred to as "the tradition."
The Marvelettes occupy an esteemed place in the history of American popular music, as the group that caused Motown—and most notable Berry Gordy—to change the label's focus from single, bluesy soul artists to a smooth harmonic sound that transcended the prior racial limits of rhythm and blues. With their first record, "Please Mr. Postman" hitting the top spot on the charts and selling 3 million records in a crossover market, Motown was to concentrate on the Marvelettes, Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, and Martha and the Vandellas and create a new group pop soul sound that totally dominated the music charts until the emergence of the Beatles four years later.
Tickets for "The Legends of Motown starring the Temptations and the Marvelettes" are $49.50 and $39.50, and are available at the CFA box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Ticketmaster.com.
For more information, call 645-ARTS.
Open figure drawing sessions set
The Student Visual Arts Organization in the Department of Visual Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, is sponsoring open figure drawing sessions from 7-9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, now through April 25 in 218 Center for the Arts, North Campus.
There will be no session on March 14 due to spring break.
The sessions, which are open to the public, cost $5 per session. No registration is required. Easels are provided; artists must bring their own drawing materials.