Saint Mary’s Concert Band to perform on March 30

The Saint Mary’s University Concert Band will present its spring concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 30, in Page Theatre.

Directed by Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, the 65-member band will entertain audiences with a varied repertoire including “Sea Songs” by Vaughan Williams; “American Hymn Tune Sketches” by Prescott; “Amazing Grace,” arranged by Tichel; “Albanian Dance” by Shelly Hanson, “Geometric Dances” by Cichy; “In Heaven’s Air” by Hazo; and “Africa: Ceremony, Song & Ritual,” by Smith.
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This concert continues the theme of “Song and Dance,” which the ensemble is using this season to explore the rich band repertoire — both new and old — which originates from the folk song or hymn traditions, as well as dance-inspired music.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors 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.

Lasallian council presentation on Rome visit is March 26

The Winona division of the University Council for Lasallian Formation and Mission will make a presentation about the council’s recent experience of Lasallian formation in Rome, at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, in the President’s Room. Refreshments will be served. Mark your calendars! (A similar presentation by the SGPP division of the council will be held in Minneapolis.)

World-class jazz musician to share talents with SMU

Internationally recognized jazz saxophonist Marc Bernstein will travel from his home in Denmark to Saint Mary’s March 24-26 to give a public performance and to work with members of the SMU Concert Band, as well as other SMU music students.

Bernstein has been chosen as this year’s Kaplan Commissioning Project composer.

The Concert Band commissioned Bernstein’s piece through the Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation Commissioning Project. The foundation supports performances and activities led by Jewish artists and scholars that are designed to increase cultural and religious understanding at Saint Mary’s. Bernstein’s visit is funded in part through the Danish government to promote artistic-educational partnership activities in the world. He is SMU’s fifth Kaplan composer.
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The Concert Band will present the world premiere performance of Bernstein’s composition next September, during SMU’s Inauguration/ Family Weekend.

During his spring visit, Bernstein — along with local and regional musicians — will also present a public recital at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in Figliulo Recital Hall. The recital is free and open to the public, courtesy of the Sam and Helen Kaplan Foundation.

Bernstein, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1984. Inspired by great saxophonists and jazz artists, he recorded his first CD in 1985, and was a regular performer in New York City. He began playing overseas, and gained notoriety in Denmark, where he was offered a spot with Klüvers Big Band. Bernstein relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark; he left the band in 1996 to go solo, and has since released six CDs.

SMU Disc Golf Open scheduled for April 5

The first Saint Mary’s University Disc Golf Open tees off on Saturday, April 5, at 9:30 a.m. on The Woods at Saint Mary’s disc golf course.

The Woods is an 18-hole course that winds through the bluffs surrounding the campus. With narrow fairways and intricate hole placements, the course can be challenging for both beginners and experienced disc golfers.

The top three finishers will receive prizes:

First place – portable disc catcher, disc bag, and three Innova discs
Second place – Innova disc bag and three Innova discs
Third place – three Innova discs

The tournament is sponsored by the SMU Office of Outdoor Leadership and co-sponsored by Innova Disc Golf. Proceeds will be used to maintain the disc golf course and for Outdoor Leadership Program funding.

Tournament fees are $15 for students and $25 for the general public. Each participant receives an SMU customized Innova putt and approach disc. To register, or for more information, visit www.smumn.edu/thewoods or contact Davey Warner at Ext. 8740 or e-mail him at outdoorleadership@smumn.edu.

Group photo show on display through March 29 at SMU

Rus Hurt is one of five photographers displaying in "Tempus Fugit" Feb. 28-March 29.
The work of five area nature and documentary photographers is on display through March 29. The exhibit, titled “Tempus Fugit” or “Time Flies,” will be on display at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries, and includes work by Wade Britzius, Rus Hurt, Kathy Greden, Ron Reimer and Jim Risser.

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.

High School Challenge continues; Onalaska named consolation champs

On Saturday, Feb. 23, High School Challenge, a tournament of knowledge sponsored by Saint Mary’s University, ended the 2007-08 season with the Consolation and Super Challenge Championships.

Thirty-two area high school teams began competing in the fall. Teams who won all of their games earned a spot in the Super Challenge Tournament. Teams that lost their first and won their second games advanced to the Consolation Championship bracket. On Feb. 23, Onalaska High School defeated La Crescent High School, 60-45, making Onalaska the 2008 Consolation Champion.
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Additionally, Viroqua, Winona Senior High, La Crosse Central, West Salem, North Crawford, Eau Claire Regis, Seneca and La Crosse Aquinas competed for the Super Challenge Champion title.

Fox 25/Fox 48 will air the previously recorded Super Challenge competitions from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Sundays. Tune in to cheer on your hometown team on these dates:

March 16 – Viroqua vs. Winona Senior High School
March 23 – La Crosse Central vs. West Salem
March 30 – North Crawford vs. Eau Claire Regis
April 6 – Seneca vs. La Crosse Aquinas
April 13 – Quarterfinals begin airing

For more information, call Nicole Witt Gerdes, High School Challenge coordinator, at Ext. 1761 or ngerdes@smumn.edu.

Faculty invited to share talents in revue on March 27

Faculty who play a musical instrument, dance, write poetry, or have any other artistic skill are invited by the junior class to participate in this year’s faculty revue, 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.

Summer 2008 Lasallian Formation Programs

The Regional Conference of the Christian Brothers USA-Toronto Region will be offering several Lasallian formation programs this summer. Faculty and staff are invited to consider participating in one of them. Deadlines for registration are next week, so anyone interested should contact Brother Larry Humphrey by today.

The Lasallian Social Justice Institute will be offered at two sites.

LSJI El Paso will be held from July 12-18 in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. LSJI El Paso focuses on the theme of “Global Economic Justice,” and includes several days of encounters on both sides of the border, followed by theological and sociological presentations at a retreat center. A current passport is required.
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LSJI San Francisco will be held from August 2-8. LSJI San Francisco focuses on the theme of “Homelessness and Human Dignity,” and includes several days with individuals and agencies in the Tenderloin and Mission Districts of San Francisco, and is followed by theological and sociological presentations.

The numbers of participants are limited to 30 for LSJI El Paso and 20 for LSJI San Francisco, with only three places allocated from each of the six districts for San Francisco.

Previous participants in LSJI from Saint Mary’s include Dr. Dorothy Diehl (Chicago and El Paso), Val Fitzgerald (El Paso), Dr. Greg Gaut (El Paso), Peggy Johnson (Chicago and El Paso), Katie LaPlant (Chicago and El Paso), Ann Smith (San Francisco), and Dr. Mary Louise Wise (El Paso). They could tell you more about LSJI.

The Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies will be held from June 22-July 4 at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. The Buttimer Institute is completed in three consecutive, independent summers of study, each two weeks in duration. It is an intensive formation and education program that studies the life and work of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and the origins of the Lasallian educational mission. In Buttimer I (Year I), "The Founding Story," participants are introduced to a study of the life and times of De La Salle. Buttimer II examines De La Salle’s educational vision and influence,and Buttimer II studies the Founder’s spiritual vision and influence. Participation in the Buttimer Institute involves a three-year commitment to complete the program.

Dr. Jerry Ellis and Barb Hall from the Twin Cities campus will be participating in Buttimer II this summer, and could tell you more about Buttimer I.

For more information on any of the programs, contact Brother Larry Humphrey at Ext. 1597 or lhumphrey@smumn.edu.

3-peat for SMU spelling team

The Saint Mary’s University interdisciplinary spelling team of Eileen Daily (theology), Paul Nienaber (physics), and Paul Weiner (math) won the Winona Corporate Spelling challenge in a field of 12 teams. They had to spell such words as “armature” (protective covering), “arachnophagous” (spider-eating), and the winning word “pursuivant” (an officer in the British College of Heralds who ranks below a herald).

This marks the third consecutive year that Saint Mary’s University has won the title.

Annual SMU benefit dance to help alumni leukemia patient

Saint Mary’s University will present the eighth annual Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance from 8 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, April 12.

The beneficiary of this year’s formal dance — open to the public — is SMU alumnus Steve Groby. Steve, a resident of Rochester, was diagnosed two years ago with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia, which resulted in a bone marrow transplant last May.
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The benefit dance has become an annual tradition since it was started by students in 2001 in honor of Taylor Richmond, son of Saint Mary’s Campus Ministry and Student Activities staff member Nikki Richmond. Taylor has a genetic terminal illness called Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) and the money from his benefit was used to fulfill Taylor’s dream of going to Disney World. Each year this event benefits someone in the SMU community in need.

The dance, featuring music by the Johnny Holm Band, will be held in the Toner Student Center dining room. Ticket prices are $15 per person or $25 per couple. To purchase tickets or receive more information, contact Jason Richter at Ext. 1648 or Katie LaPlant at Ext. 6936. Dance tickets will also be available at the door.

To make a donation, send checks — payable to the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance — to Jason Richter, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, 700 Terrace Heights No. 45, Winona, MN 55987.

In combination with the dance, a silent auction will be held on campus from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., April 10-11. A variety of homemade goods, gift baskets and specialty items will be on display in the game room of the Toner Student Center.

Gaut publishes essay in National Catholic Reporter

Greg Gaut, Department of History, has published "Heroes of our Time," an essay about former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and recently murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, in the March 7, 2008 issue of the National Catholic Reporter.

NCR publication
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Dickson is finalist for PR award

Saint Mary’s student Lindsay Dickson, a senior Social Science major, is a finalist in the 2008 Student Classics Award sponsored by the Minnesota Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Lindsay is competing in the “Special Purpose Publications” category for a brochure she helped create in her PR Writing Class for the Saint Mary’s Office of Outdoor Leadership. The Classics Awards banquet will be held in Minneapolis on March 27.

Fac/staff softball team needs more players

The faculty/staff co-ed intramural softball team is looking for some additional victims....er....players. “Older and Slower” will once again show the students that experience trumps youth when it comes to softball! Games are Tuesdays/Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and will begin sometime after Easter break when St. Joe’s field is dry enough to play. The only requirements are that you can bring a glove and want to have fun. Contact Katie LaPlant or Dean Beckman if you’re interested.

Biology seminars after break

The first Biology Seminar after Easter break is Thursday, March 27 at 4 p.m. in Rm. 112 Hoffman Hall. Dr. Phil Cochran will discuss “The Social Life of the Timber Rattlesnake.”

The following week, Thursday, April 3, same time and place, students Bethany Kaufmann and Holly Schuh will talk about “Experiences in the Mayo Scholar Program.”

Heukeshoven to present at band director conference

At the regional CBDNA conference held at the University of Nebraska, Omaha March 13-15, Dr. Janet Heukeshoven will present a session titled “Harmoniemusik: Teaching Sedlak’s Barber of Seville for Winds” with the assistance of musicians from Northwestern University, Illinois.

The Harmoniemusik genre flourished from 1760-1840 in Germany, Bohemia and Austria. These popular wind ensemble transcriptions of opera, ballet and symphonic works were widely performed in the courts, and have been re-discovered in recent years.

CBDNA Conference

Swing Inc. performs March 21

Swing, Inc. featuring Eric Heukeshoven will perform Friday, March 21, 8-11 p.m. at the Waterfront Restaurant in La Crosse. There is no cover charge.

Women in Math Colloquium is March 31

The next speaker for the Women in Mathematics Colloquium is Dr. Suzanne Lenhart from the University of Tennessee. Her presentation on Monday, March 31 is titled “Rabies in Raccoons: Optimal Control for a Discrete Time Model on a Spatial Grid.” The presentation will be from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. in Salvi with a reception starting at 3:45 in the Common Room.

John Paulson jazz events

The John Paulson Trio will perform Saturday, March 15, 8-11 p.m. at Avocado’s World Bistro behind Apache Mall in Rochester. There is no cover charge.

The John Paulson Quartet will perform in the Harmony for Mayo Concert Monday, March 24, noon-1 p.m. in the Mayo Civic Center Lips Atrium.

Jazz students at Acoustic Cafe

On March 19 and April 23, 7-9:30 p.m., SMU jazz students will perform in a jam with WSU students at the Acoustic Cafe in downtown Winona.

Clothing drive March 28

The Common Threads Clothing Drive is March 28-30, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Bring unwanted clothing items back from break and drop them off in Room B of the Toner Student Center. Starting Thursday, March 28 after 8 p.m., items will be sold for $.50 each or $4 per bag. All proceeds go to the Winona Catholic Worker.

Staff changes

Leaving:
Mike Trewick, head men’s basketball coach

Last Campus Notes before break, next issue March 28

This is the last “Campus Notes” before Easter break. The next edition will come out Friday, March 28.