The presidential inauguration for Brother William Mann has been set for Sept. 26 on the Winona campus. Mark your calendars and adjust your schedules accordingly. Classes will be cancelled on that date so that all faculty, staff and students can enjoy the day.
Additionally, a public Winona welcome has been set for Brother William on Wednesday, June 18.
Plan ahead for these community celebrations in honor of our 13th president.
Alan Joswick, Trades Department supervisor, will receive 2008 Bishop Patrick Heffron Award for Service, and the 2008 Outstanding Male and Female Students will be named during the Founder’s Day Convocation Feb. 26. Mass will be held at 11 a.m., and convocation begins at 1:15 p.m. in Page Theatre; a reception will follow the convocation.
Saint Mary’s University Student’s, Alex Gorgone, left, and Moreen Bosch, right, rehearse for the “Candlelight Outta Sight!” performance Feb. 9. SMU students will perform a variety of ’60s and ’70s favorites during the formal dinner.
Students have been getting back into the groove while rehearsing for “Candlelight, Outta Sight!” at Saint Mary’s University, which will provide a flashback to the era of peace and love on Feb. 9.
A select group of SMU theatre and music students will perform a variety of well-known favorites from the ’60s and early ’70s including “Build me up Buttercup,” “All You Need is Love,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” as well as many, many more throughout the evening. After a five-course dinner, the seven-piece Diane Martinson Band will entice those in attendance to hit the dance floor.
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Candlelight is a community event, hosted biennially by the university. Formerly a fund-raiser, the event is now simply a fun evening, a formal celebration of the university and a thank you to the community for its support.
The evening will begin with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails at 6 p.m. in the lounge, followed by dinner in the dining hall, both in the Toner Student Center. The cost is $75 per person or $140 per couple. Dress is formal attire, and valet parking and coat check services will be available.
If you’d still like to attend, call Jo Nesler, Ext. 1664.
Mark your calendars for Feb. 29 and March 1, as Saint Mary’s faculty, staff and students will once again hit the road to reconnect with alumni and friends, meet prospective students and share our SMU with Chicago.
A special pre-convention reception Friday, Feb. 29, from 7 to 11 p.m., is reserved for alumni to socialize, meet with Saint Mary’s faculty and staff, and enjoy a silent auction. Additionally, this year’s retiring faculty will be recognized.
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Saturday, March 1, the convention opens at 9 a.m. with exhibitor booths and displays. A free convention luncheon begins at 11 a.m., hosted by Walter ’81, Tim ’85, and Mark ’86 Smithe of Walter E. Smithe Furniture Company, featuring a keynote speech from John McDonough, president of the Chicago Blackhawks and a 1975 Saint Mary’s alumnus.
From 10 to 11 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, fun and educational breakout sessions will be offered by faculty, staff and students. From 11 to 11:45 a.m., the Oldie Moldie All-Stars will perform hits from the ’50s and ’60s. The convention adjourns at 4 p.m.
For more details, go to www.smumn.edu/convention.
The rhythmic voices of Chic Gamine will fill Saint Mary’s Page Theatre with a unique harmonious blend of soulful music Wednesday, Feb. 20. SMU’s Page Series will present the all-women vocal group, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Performance Center.
Chic Gamine, a French-Canadian group of five women, uses a male solo percussionist as their only musical support. Their voices become their instruments as they launch into intricate string arrangements, bass-heavy rhythm sections and melodious harmonies. Together they create a sound that resounds with passion and their own particular brand of humor that leaves audiences begging for more.
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The members of the group have been singing together in various formations since 1997. Most recently, three of them were members of the acclaimed world vocal ensemble Madrigaia, and look to embellish that legacy with new, original material. Their performance will draw from “soul, world and roots” – including African, Middle-Eastern, South-American music and, of course, French-Canadian Folk.
Tickets are $18, $12 for seniors, $10 for students, and are available by calling the Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.
Make it dinner and a show. Pre-show dinners are provided by Chartwells Catering. Seating begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Toner Student Center, located next to the Performance Center. Adult dinners cost $20 and include chicken, beef, and vegetarian options, along with beverages and dessert. Bottles of wine may be purchased for an extra fee. Children’s dinners cost $12 and include mac-n-cheese or chicken fingers with sides, beverages, and dessert. Orders will be accepted up to three days prior to the event; order online or by phone.
A rural diner gets a rude awakening when staff and customers are held hostage at the hands of an unstable madman during Saint Mary’s University’s production of “When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder?” The SMU Department of Theatre Arts will stage the disturbing drama Feb. 28-March 3, in the Valéncia Arts Center Academy Theatre.
When Teddy, a Vietnam veteran teetering on the edge of madness, and his young girlfriend barge into a forgotten New Mexico roadside diner, nothing will ever be the same for its five occupants.
Read more... Teddy uses personal threats and wit to psychologically dismember his hostages. “Red Ryder’s” underlying theme includes a longing for the past – for childhood, for the innocence of the ’50s with its cowboy heroes. Just as the diner’s customers and staff will never be the same, author Mark Howard Medoff is telling his audience that this age of innocence is gone forever.
Performances, under the direction of Dr. Gary Diomandes, are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday, Feb. 28, 29, March 1 and 3. A matinee performance is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday, March. 2.
“Red Ryder” is for mature audiences only; the content includes adult language and violence. Tickets for the show are $8, $6 for students and seniors and are available at the Performance Center Box office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.
Hey faculty! Do you play a musically instrument, dance, write poetry, or any other artistic skill? Do you want to show off this special ability to your students? The junior class is looking for participants for this year’s faculty review, to be held 7 p.m. March 27 in the Common Room.
Contact Russell Mollo (ramoll05@smumn.edu) or Neil Leibundguth at (nmleib05@smumn.edu) if you have any questions or if you would like to participate.
The Saint Mary’s Chamber Singers will perform a series of concerts in Madison, Wis., and Victoria, Minn., as part of their 2008 Concert Tour. The 22-voice select ensemble is directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea, associate professor of music and Music Department chairman.
Read more... Tour performances will include concerts at:
• St. James Catholic Church (Madison, Wis.) – 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13
• St. Victoria Catholic Church (Victoria, Minn.) – 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15.
The Chamber Singers will also serve as the guest choir for Masses at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, and at the Cathedral of St. Paul at 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17.
All performances are free and open to the public. Repertoire will include a cappella works by Palestrina, Lauridsen, Stenhammar, and Ginastera, as well as English madrigals and spirituals.
For more information, call O’Shea at Ext. 1598.
“Flower of Youth” Giclee by Brother Roderick Robertson, FSC, one of eight Saint Mary’s University faculty displaying work in “Ignes Fatui” through Feb. 17 at SMU.
Eight Saint Mary’s University art faculty members have joined forces for the next exhibit, “Ignes Fatui,” in SMU’s Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.
Displaying works are Preston Lawing, Robert McColl, Charles Campbell, Randi Campbell, Sister Margaret Mear, Brother Roderick Robertson, Michelle Cochran and Dr. John Whelan.
The exhibit will run through Feb. 17. Admission is free and open to the public, and gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call Ext. 1652.
Mark your calendars for the next Let’s Do Lunch. Proceeds continue to benefit SMU faculty and staff who were affected by the August flood. Feb. 21 is the chili cookoff; all faculty and staff are invited to compete for prizes.
Gaslight 2008 auditions will be held 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23; and noon to 5 pm. Sunday Feb. 24 at the Phi Mu Alpha Room 16, Toner Student Center Basement.
Sign-ups are posted on the Phi Mu Alpha room door, which is also available for rehearsals. For questions or rehearsal times, please contact Neil Olstad (ndolst04@smumn.edu,) Anna Skonieczny, or Lindsay Dickson.
Dr. Janet Heukeshoven served as clinician/conductor of the Tri-Metro Honor Band as part of the Tri-Metro Fine Arts Festival on Monday, Feb. 4. The day-long festival concluded with performances by the honor band, orchestra, and choir, as well as studio art exhibits and classes for student artists.
Held at the Minnehaha Academy Williams Fine Arts Center, student participants came from the Blake School, Breck School, Concordia Academy, St. Agnes School, Saint Bernard's School, St. Croix Lutheran High School, St. Anthony Village High School, DeLaSalle High School, Convent of the Visitation School, Mounds Park Academy, and Minnehaha Academy. The band performed works by Franco Cesarini, Malcolm Arnold, David Gordon and Ron Hardimon.
Dr. Janet Heukeshoven will conduct Judith Lang Zaimont’s “Israeli Rhapsody” Feb. 15-16 as part of the Minnesota Music Educators Association 2008 Midwinter In-Service Clinic, to be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. For more about this clinic, visit www.mmea.org/winterclinic.htm.
“Israeli Rhapsody” was given its world premiere performance by the Saint Mary’s University Concert Band, under the direction of Heukeshoven, in March 2007. The SMU Concert Band commissioned the work through the Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation Commissioning Project.
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On Feb. 8-9 “Israeli Rhapsody” will be performed as part of the Symposium for New Band Music, sponsored by the Virginia chapter of the College Band Directors National Association and hosted by the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.
Lang Zaimont wrote that in her piece she is “paying tribute to the complicated, thoughtful and joyous aspects that come together and do indeed characterize the people who flourish in that dramatic land.”
‘Fireside,’ a coffee-house style talent show sponsored by the Sisters of Sigma Alpha Iota, will be held Feb. 22-23. For more information, contact: Nicole at nlschr04@smumn.edu or Brookly at baheff04 @smumn.edu. Tickets will be available the week of Feb. 18-22 at lunch and dinner.
William Stobb will read from his 2006 National Poetry Series book, “Nervous Systems,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the President’s Room of the Toner Student Center. The event, sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the National Honor Society, is free and open to the public; refreshments will be provided.
Stobb’s work has been described as “Jittery, synaptic, wide-ranging ... filled with audacious turns, swerves, juke-steps and leaps, while still somehow managing to get the poems where they were meant to go.”
Saint Mary’s will host the Regional Science Fair Feb. 29. Approximately 250 area students in grades seven through 12 will display their work in biology, physics and chemistry, behavior science, computer science, math and social sciences.
This year’s daffodil orders are due during break (Feb. 15), so if you’re going to be off campus, get your order in to Sylvia Pflughoeft before you leave !
The American Cancer Society’s 2008 celebration of Daffodil Days takes place the week of March 10-14. Support the American Cancer Society by purchasing these spring flowers.
The cost is still $8 for a bunch of 10 daffodils. New this year are: potted mini “dainty” daffodils, the “Bear and a Bunch,” and “Vase and a Bunch.”
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Convenient online ordering with credit card is available.
Visit the American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days website and click on Sylvia’s name and then on “reserve daffodils.”
Or contact Pflughoeft, spflugho@smumn.edu, Campus Box 17, Ext. 1455. Payment is required with your order. Make checks payable to the American Cancer Society, and please don’t send cash through campus mail.
Daffodils will be delivered to your Winona Campus office the week of March 10- 14.
Because of February break, there will be no ‘Campus Notes’ next week. The next edition will be Friday, Feb. 22. The deadline for submissions will be Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Shawn and Stacey Swanson, assistant to the vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, had a baby boy, Samuel Marshall, on Monday, Feb. 4.
The Saint Mary’s community extends its congratulations to the Swanson family.