Centenary College invites public to fall events
SHREVEPORT, LA — Musical and theatrical performances are joined by museum exhibitions and lectures this fall at Centenary College.
The 2016 Fall Arts and Lectures series showcases student talent and visiting scholars. Among the highlights is the annual "Rhapsody in View" performed by the Centenary College Choir, America's Singing Ambassadors, on October 29 and October 30 at Shreveport's Riverview Hall. The performances, sponsored by the Downtown Shreveport Lions Club, also celebrate the Choir's 75th anniversary.
Centenary's Meadows Museum opens "Birds of the Enlightenment" on October 16. This exhibition brings to Shreveport many of the remarkable paintings, engravings, and illustrations that preceded the work of naturalist John James Audubon. Exhibit curator Dr. Thomas Puryear gives a gallery talk on October 29 at 5:30 p.m.
The Meadows Museum will also host an evening of poetry readings by Jericho Brown on November 3. Brown, a Shreveport native, has published two collections of poetry, The New Testament (2014) and Please (2008). His awards include an American Book Award, the Whiting Award, the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, and the NAACP Image Award.
Shakespeare's timeless and tragic tale of love comes to Marjorie Lyons Playhouse in November. "Romeo and Juliet" plays over two weekends –November 10-13 and November 17-19 – on the Centenary College campus.
Other event highlights are listed below. Unless noted, all events are held on the Centenary College Campus in Shreveport and are free and open to the public. More information about all Fall 2016 events can be found here.
Centenary College is grateful to the Attaway Professorships in Civic Culture Program for underwriting some of the programs.
ARTS
Birds of the Enlightenment: Predecessors and Rivals of J.J. Audubon
October 26, 2016 - January 31, 2017
Meadows Museum of Art
Exhibition also features “Nine Birds” by Don Brown, watercolors from the Meadows' permanent collection. Brown created these works for the College's Biology Department while he served as chair of the Art Department.
Acceptable Losses by the Critical Art Ensemble
October 24, 2016 - January 22, 2017
Meadows Museum of ArtInternationally renowned arts collective Critical Art Ensemble has been focused on exploring the intersections between art, critical theory, technology, and political activism worldwide since 1987.
Centenary College Choir Presents "Rhapsody in View"
October 29 • 7:30 pm / October 30 • 2:30 pm
Riverview Hall
Tickets available from Centenary’s Hurley School of Music, Porters Cleaners locations, or any Downtown Shreveport Lions Club or Centenary College Choir member.
Camerata Choral Concert
November 5 • 7:30 pm
Brown Chapel
This select group of chamber singers will perform Bernstein's famous “Chichester Psalms,” composed in 1965, along with 2004's “Dorchester Canticles” by Tarik O'Regan, designed to be a companion piece for the Bernstein.
Shades of Despujols: The Art and Science of Color in the Work of Jean Despujols
November 5, 2016 - February 4, 2017
Meadows Museum of Art
This exhibition highlights work from the Meadows' own Indochina Collection of Jean Despujols. As an academically trained French painter, Despujols received rigorous, formal training in the use of color. Centenary biology and psychology students will partner with design students to teach the public about the role of color in both perception and art, while showcasing Despujols' beautiful, bold paintings.
Romeo and Juliet
November 10-13, 17-19
Marjorie Lyons Playhouse
Tickets available beginning October 20 at centenary.edu/playhouse
Wideman International Piano Competition
December 2-4
Hurley School of Music
Visit widemanpiano.com for performance information
LECTURES
A Night of Verses: Poetry Reading by Jericho Brown
November 3 • 6:30 pm
Meadows Museum of Art
Birds of the Enlightenment: Gallery Talk by Dr. Thomas Puryear
October 29 • 5:30 pm
Meadows Museum of Art
Dr. Puryear is guest curator of this exhibit.
The Critical Art Ensemble: Gallery Talk by Steve Kurtz
November 11 • 7:00 pm
Meadows Museum of Art
Steve Kurtz is an artist and co-founder of the Critical Art Ensemble
Islam between Text and Lived Realities: A Conversation with Dr. Amanullah DeSondy
November 16 • 7:00 pm
Whited Room
Dr. DeSondy is Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam University College Cork (Ireland). He is the author of The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities (Bloomsbury Academic)
From the Lost Generation to the Liberal Arts: Don Brown's Journey to Centenary: Talk by Dr. Victoria Cummins
November 17 • 7:00 pm
Meadows Museum of Art
Dr. Cummins, professor of history at Austin College, shares her extensive research on Don Brown