Campus
Happenings

Musical tells true story of a slave’s rise

"O! Freedom!" starring Jack Waddell, an operatic bass singer, and the MSU Chorale will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, and Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the Pasant Theatre of the Wharton Center.

The musical drama tells the true story of fugitive slave John W. Jones, 1817-1900, and his heroic rise to prominence in Elmira, N.Y. After escaping slavery, he helped more than 800 fugitives escape to Canada.

Written and directed by Ted Reinert, the one-man show features 12 traditional spirituals in new a capella arrangements for soloist and choir by William David Brohn, Tony Award winner and MSU School of Music alumnus, and George Guilbault, musical director of acclaimed Boston chorale, “Wintersauce.”

“O! Freedom!” premiered in a sold out performance in Elmira in 1998.

Sponsors of the event are the School of Music, College of Arts and Letters, MSU Affirmative Action Office and the Wharton Center. The show is free and open to the public. A panel discussion with audience participation will follow the performance.

For more information, visit the Web at www.music.msu.edu

Teleconference to examine civic engagement

MSU, the Midwest Campus Compact and WKAR will co-host the live broadcast of the National Teleconference on Student Civil Engagement from 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in Room 145 of the Communication Arts and Sciences Building.

A panel of professionals, administrators, faculty, staff and students will share their thoughts on civic engagement and respond to live “call-in” questions via telephone and e-mail.

MSU Provost Lou Anna K. Simon will speak to the participants via a videotaped speech that will be featured in the first part of the teleconference. A panel will respond to quotes from the New Students Politics publication, relating their own views and experiences. David Cooper, professor of writing, rhetoric and American cultures, will be the moderator.

The teleconference will be viewed by representatives from more than 50 colleges and universities representing more than 20 states and Ireland.

For more information, please visit the Web at www.micampuscompact.org/teleconference

Program to feature noted author, musician

The College of Arts and Letters at MSU will host its annual Alumni Leaders Program on Feb. 12 and 13. The program brings distinguished graduates of the college back to campus for two days of conversation with faculty, staff and students.

This year’s program features novelist R. D. Zimmerman (Russian, '76) and musician Tage Larsen (applied music, '92).

Zimmerman, who writes under the pen name Robert Alexander, is most recently the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller “The Kitchen Boy,” a historical novel about the last days of Czar Nicholas II of Russia.

Larsen, a trumpeter, is the first African American instrumentalist appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He began playing trumpet in fourth grade, inspired by records his father played.

Zimmerman and Larsen will visit courses and talk with students about careers in the arts and humanities. Larsen will also present a recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the Music Building Auditorium and a free master class open to the public at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in Hart Recital Hall, also located in the Music Building.

Copyright 2001 Michigan State University Division of University Relations.