Thirty Years of Work Produces New Story Collection for APSU’s Kitterman
April 3, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Barry Kitterman, an Austin Peay State University creative writing professor, is from the San Joaquin – a large valley in California where much of the country’s fruits and vegetables are grown. Specifically, he’s from the small town of Ivanhoe, where the air doesn’t smell of sea salt and beach bums aren’t camped out under the redwoods or on the rabbit farms.
“When I would tell people I was from California, they had a certain set of assumptions as to what that meant,” Kitterman said. “It was so far removed from my real experience that I thought I wanted to write stories about the California I grew up in, which is rural, agricultural, a long way from the ocean and, something I realized much later, very poor.”
Barry Kitterman
Jazz Great John Pizzarelli Headlines 50th Anniversary of Jazz Festival at APSU
April 3, 2011
Clarksville, TN – This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the Austin Peay State University Mid-South Jazz Festival, and to honor this milestone, APSU is bringing in one of the foremost jazz musicians working today as its featured performer.
John Pizzarelli and the Swing 7, a staple at world-renowned jazz clubs such as New York City’s Birdland, will perform their take on some of the genre’s standards by Duke Ellington and Count Basie at 7:30pm, April 8th, in the APSU Music/Mass Communication Building’s Concert Hall. Tickets are $25.00. [Read more]
Founder of Tuscan Art School to Visit APSU Next Week
April 2, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In the early 1980s, the artist Pietro Maddalena converted a 15th century farmhouse, situated atop a hill in Tuscany, into a studio where he intended to teach students the ceramic arts.
That historic building, with its commanding views of the hills and farmlands, grew into one of the most important private ceramic schools in Italy – La Meridiana International School of Ceramic Art. This May, a group of Austin Peay State University students will travel to La Meridiana as part of the newest study abroad program offered by APSU. [Read more]
Gateway Chamber Ensemble Finishes Season with Works and Influences of Schoenberg
April 1, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In 2008, a group of Austin Peay State University music faculty members set themselves a challenge. They intended to perform Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony, Opus Nine, for 15 Soloists – one of the most important, yet challenging, compositions from the 20th century.
“It’s daunting. The demands on individual players are great,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, associate professor of music, said.
APSU's Gateway Chamber Ensemble
APSU’s Center of Excellence Celebrates 25th Anniversary with New Musical by Two APSU Professors
March 30, 2011
Clarksville, TN – One thing that really annoys Dr. Richard Gildrie, emeritus professor of history at Austin Peay State University, is when people commonly mistake Benjamin Franklin for a serious, pompous old man. Don’t even mention to him D.H. Lawrence’s essay criticizing the founding father’s seminal work, “The Autobiography,” unless you’re looking for an argument.
“That essay angered me so much, in which Lawrence took seriously the assumption in ‘The Autobiography’ where Franklin said he wanted to be perfect,” Gildrie said. “The whole thing is obviously a spoof. Few people understand that Ben Franklin was quite a comedian, and the Pennsylvania Gazette was a sort of ‘The Daily Show’ of its time.”
Retired Austin Peay State University professors George Mabry and Richard Gildrie joke around on the tavern set of their new musical “Ben and the Virtues.” (Photo By Charles Booth/APSU Public Relations and Marketing)
Noted Native American Scholar and Filmmaker to Speak at APSU Asanbe Symposium
March 29, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s annual Asanbe Diversity Symposium, slated for next month, will feature Native American educator, writer, filmmaker and producer Dr. Patty Loew.
At 1:00pm on Friday, April 1st, Loew will lecture in the Honors Commons on “Creation to Contemporary Conflict: Native American Origin Stories as Predictors of Modern Environmental Struggles.” At 3:00pm in the same room, there will be a showing of her documentary film, “Way of the Warrior,” followed by a 4:00pm discussion of the film. [Read more]
Acclaimed Dancer Fenley to Perform at APSU on Friday, March 25th
March 25, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Molissa Fenley and her company will stop by Austin Peay State University’s Trahern Theater at 7:30pm, March 25th, to present an evening of dance as a part of the 25th anniversary celebration for the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
The performance will feature several works choreographed by Fenley with sound scores composed by contemporary composers. [Read more]
APSU Hosts 43rd Annual Student Art Exhibit
March 24, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Since 1968, the Student Art League and the Visiting Artists and Speakers Committee at Austin Peay State University have mounted a juried exhibition of student work, and this spring, the tradition continues with the 43rd Annual Student Exhibition at APSU.
The show, co-sponsored by the APSU art department and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, will open at 7:00pm, March 28th in the Trahern Gallery and will run through April 15th. The event is free and open to the public. [Read more]
APSU’s Dimensions Series Explores Composer Enescu and his Chamber Symphony
March 12, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In 1958, the conductor Constantin Silvestri experienced a slight dilemma. He was set to premiere composer George Enescu’s last work, Chamber Symphony for 12 Players, but he worried the Romanian audience wouldn’t appreciate the complexities or the brilliance of the work.
“He was convinced the audience would not be able to grasp it on first hearing it, so he had it played twice,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, associate professor of music at Austin Peay State University, said. “This last work of his, people who specialize in the music of this composer refer to it as the hardest to understand.”
Gateway Chamber Ensemble
Poetry Out Loud State Championship Comes to APSU
February 28, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Christopher Burawa, an award-winning poet and director of the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, has a theory on how poems should be received. Works printed on a page are nice, but the true experience of poetry comes from hearing someone speak the words.
“Poetry is meant to be spoken aloud,” he said. “That’s when the power of the words – the music and rhythms – come alive and other levels of meaning arise.” [Read more]
