According to Professor Dan Perkins, director, the University Chorale has spent the fall semester exploring the style and traditions of carols from throughout the world.

This concert will include traditional carols arranged by Stephen Paulus and Mack Wilberg that will give the audience a chance to sing along, as well as carols from Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa. The diverse program also includes Bach's motet for double choir, "Komm, Jesu, Komm."

"Since our first collaboration with Akwaaba in 2007, the PSU choirs have been eager to renew that relationship," Perkins said.

The Akwaaba Traditional African Drum and Dance Ensemble was formed by Theo Nii Martey during a tour with Brekete Ensemble in London. It brings together a group of friends who have been drumming and dancing together for many years in Ghana and the UK. The group includes past members of the National Dance Ensemble, Brekete Ensemble and the Shidaa cultural troupe. "Akwaaba" means "welcome" in the Twi language of the Ashanti tribe of Ghana.

Martey, director of Akwaaba, and Perkins will present a series of workshops at three high schools in New England prior to the concert.

Tickets for A Joyful Noise are $10-8 for adults; $9-7 for seniors and $7-5 for youth at the Silver Center Box Office, (603) 535-Arts or (800) 779-3869.

Information about the program and participants is available from Professor Perkins via e-mail to danp@plymouth.edu.

Log on to ThisWeek@PSU, http://thisweek.blogs.plymouth.edu for general information about events at Plymouth State University.

]]> 11/9/09 http://www.plymouth.edu/news/fullstory.php?number=6752 PLYMOUTH, N.H. - PSU Professor of History Emeritus Manuel Marquez-Sterling was a witness to history in the seven critical years 1952-1959, when the struggle for Cuba was not just between Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro, but also a third force that advocated for a peaceful, democratic resolution.

Elections were held on November 3, 1958 and Dr. Sterling's father, Carlos Marquez-Sterling, was a candidate for President. His father was expected to win by a landslide vote, but there was rampant electoral fraud, due to Batista and the Army. Six weeks after the election, Batista fled Cuba and Castro's revolution took over the country.

Marquez-Sterling has documented the period in a new book, Cuba 1952-1959: The True Story of Castro's Rise to Power. He says his book destroys many myths about Cuba and shows that it was a prosperous and progressive country, and in the fast lane to become a first-world country with a large middle class, a fine educational system open to all classes, and with high standards of living.

A public book talk and signing will take place at the Lamson Library and Learning Commons at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Copies of Dr. Sterling's book will be available for purchase.

For information about the reading contact Anne Lebreche at Lamson Library and Learning Commons via e-mail to AMLebreche@plymouth.edu.

Log on to ThisWeek@PSU, http://thisweek.blogs.plymouth.edu for general information about events at Plymouth State University.

]]> 11/2/09 http://www.plymouth.edu/news/fullstory.php?number=6727 PLYMOUTH, N.H.--Julie Mertus, associate professor and co-director of the Master of Arts program in ethics, peace and global affairs at American University will discuss globalization and changes in the United Nations human rights system that provide new opportunities and an expanded range of tools to use to address human wrongs and to advance human rights at the Sidore Lecture Series Nov. 17 on the campus of Plymouth State University.

Mertus says the UN and non-governmental organizations are promoting a more just and peaceful future through greater participation in problem solving and conflict prevention.

Mertus, author of The United Nations and Human Rights, is a leading expert on civic education and the United Nations. Her work focuses on human rights education, U.S. foreign policy, refugee and humanitarian law and policy, gender and conflict and post-war transitions.

While her geographic expertise is in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia, she has participated in human rights projects in many locations including Vietnam, Brazil, China, Jordan and South Africa.

Mertus will speak at 7 p.m. in Smith Recital Hall, Silver Center for the Arts.

Free tickets are available at the Silver Center Box Office, (603) 535-ARTS or (800) 779-3869.

For information, contact Professor Mark Fischler at (603) 535-3143 or via e-mail to mjfischler@plymouth.edu.

The next speaker in the series will be February 16, 2010: Robert Pollin, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts and Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute. Professor Pollin will speak on "How Green Economics Can Revive the Economy. The theme for the 2009-2010 series is "Educating for Global Citizenship." General information about events at Plymouth State University is online at ThisWeek@PSU, http://thisweek.blogs.plymouth.edu.

]]> 11/1/09 http://www.plymouth.edu/news/fullstory.php?number=6740 Fall Semester at PSU Galleries presents Installations, Photographs and Poetry, Textile Art and Faculty Works,

PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Five new exhibitions will fill the Plymouth State University galleries with illustrations; photograph and poetry collages; textile history, function and design; and faculty works this fall.

Up and Down: Overview Effect by Pat Musick opens at the Karl Drerup Art Gallery in the Draper and Maynard Building September 9.

Working with her husband, Jerry Carr, Musick produces work that reflects her affinity to nature. "My art is a reflection of the tensions that exist between mankind and the natural environment. It addresses the havoc that we have done to the natural world and the devastation that the natural world has wreaked upon mankind. I search for ways to create harmony and reconciliation of this situation both in the media and the content," Musick said.

In 2002, following the tradition of Christo, and inspired by installation artist Andy Goldsworthy; Musick, Carr and a crew created an art installation titled Stone Songs on the Trail of Tears that traveled along the path followed by the Cherokees during their forced migration in 1883.

"Pat Musick's work blends natural materials and minimalist forms to create mixed media work that is simultaneously simple and complex," says Drerup Gallery Director Catherine Amidon.

A gallery talk, "Art, Ecology and Collaboration," is scheduled for 4-5 p.m. Wed., September 30 in the gallery. Two exhibitions open September 9 at the Silver Center for the Arts on Main Street in Plymouth, and run through September 26.

Seasons on Eagle Pond are brought to life in Poetry of Place, an exhibition by former U.S and New Hampshire poet laureate Donald Hall and photographer Sheila Pallay. Halls poems, including "Waters," "The Moon," "The Wish," "The Hunkering," "Summer," "Affirmation" and "The Master" are accompanied by photographs taken at Eagle Pond in Wilmot, N.H., where both live.

"The word and image relationship in this exhibition revives the tradition of intertwining different perceptual experiences," explains Amidon.

Using a Canon 50D digital camera, Pallay prefers to use natural light to "put an impressionist twist on things." "Nature provides such amazing opportunities," said Pallay. "I like to have my breath taken away."

In "Summer," Hall says of the pond, " this is not a circle of water/with a few ducks in it: it's/twenty-five acres, shaped like a humpbacked whale ". A gallery talk, "Word and Image," will be held from 4-5 p.m. Wed., September 16 at the Silver Center.

The exhibition, Illustration by Gloria Kamen presents more than 20 pastel and watercolor portraits of classical composers, an expansion of work in her book, Hidden Music. The collection includes images of female composers that relate to the larger question of women's place in the world of music in their time.

Gloria Kamen is an award-winning illustrator, particularly of children's books such as The Little Kingdom, Three Wishes for Abner, Second-Hand Cat, and the Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls.

"The varied background of each portrait is an attempt to create a sense of the varied types of music, some using an ethnic or popular mode, some creating a new style of their own," said Kamen.

Other exhibitions in the fall semester are:

Textiles: Pattern, Ornament, and Culture, October 7­-December 5 at the Silver Center.

This double exhibition explores aspects of broad textile history, manufacturing and design and follows the career of one individual, mapping how these aspects influence his work.

The extensive career of textile designer Amin Kalaf brings to life three decades of American textile design.

A panel discussion, "Weaving, Industry and Design," with Amin Kalaf, Danile Moore and Catherine Amidon will be held October 21 from 4-5 p.m. in Heritage Commons on Highland Street.

Faculty Exhibition, November 4-December 9 at the Karl Drerup Art Gallery. An opportunity for students and members of the PSU community to become acquainted with Department of Art faculty outside the classroom, as artists working in a variety of media.

Two gallery talks are planned in conjunction with this exhibition: "The Path of an Artist" on November 10 and "Artistic Philosophy" on November 18. Both talks are in the Karl Drerup Art Gallery at noon. .

2009 Faculty Exhibition, November 4-December 9 at the Karl Drerup Art Gallery. An opportunity for students and members of the PSU community to become acquainted with Department of Art faculty outside the classroom, as artists working in a variety of media.

Karl Drerup Art Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and by appointment. Silver Center hours are Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and weekends noon-5 p.m. All venues are closed most University holidays.

Gallery information is available online at www.plymouth.edu/gallery or by calling the Karl Drerup Art Gallery, (603)535-2614.

Log on to ThisWeek@PSU, http://thisweek.blogs.plymouth.edu for general information about events at Plymouth State University. ]]> 9/21/09 http://www.plymouth.edu/news/fullstory.php?number=6684 Award-Winning Professional, Student and Faculty Performers at Plymouth State University

PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The new semester brings the excitement of Plymouth State University performing arts programs back to the Silver Center for the Arts beginning September 17. From music to theatre and dance performances and book readings, the Silver Series fall lineup presents diverse programming.

The 2009-2010 Silver Series for the Performing Arts leads off September 17 at 7 p.m. with folk icon Tom Rush whose shows offer a musical celebration filled with the rib-tickling humor of engaging story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of gritty blues.

Rush will perform in the intimate Smith Recital Hall, for an unforgettable audience experience.

Rush is a gifted musician and performer, presenting a musical celebration ... a journey into tradition and the musical spectrum. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. Rush displays an uncanny knack for finding wonderful songs, and writing his own-many of which have become classics re-interpreted by new generations. His 2009 release, "What I Know," has topped the Americana charts with harmonies by Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Bramlett and Nanci Griffith.Sponsored by MegaPrint.

October 8 brings Blues-Flamenco-Celtic-Funk-Folk-Jazz dynamo Deborah Henson-Conant to the Smith Recital Hall. Henson-Conant is a Grammy-nominated, genre-bending electric harp player and vocalist. She has written and produced her own one-woman shows and orchestrated many symphony shows including one that aired on PBS. The Boston Globe calls Henson-Conant a combination of "Leonard Bernstein, Steven Tyler and Xena the Warrior Princess" and Scott Simpson at NPR invites us to "imagine the talented love child of André Previn and Lucille Ball. Sponsored by Megaprint.

The genre shifts again October 29 when the Silver Series presents John Sebastian, former lead singer and songwriter of The Lovin' Spoonful, and member of the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame; and David Grisman, a virtuoso mandolinist who spearheaded an acoustic music revolution with "Dawg" music-a unique blend of swing, bluegrass, Latin and other musical influences.

The duo's CD, "Satisfied," is a collection of acoustic duets featuring traditional folk tunes, blues, classic instrumentals and original tracks. Their musical history dates back to college days at New York University circa 1963 when the Greenwich Village folk revival was in its heyday. They made their first recording together as members of the Even Dozen Jug Band with future luminaries Maria Muldaur, Stefan Grossman and others. Sebastian teams with mandolin master Grisman for traditional folk/blues songs and instrumentals, as well as Sebastian originals.Presented in Hanaway Theatre with sponsorship by Abode Builders of New England.

Still want more? Look forward to second semester when the Silver Series presents Colonial Brass, the U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty's brass ensemble; jazz from Grace Kelly Quintet, led by saxophonist, vocalist, composer and arranger Grace Kelly; symphonic sounds made in New Hampshire by the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the Ying Quartet, comprising classical musician siblings Janet, Phil and David Ying and the newest quartet member, Frank Huang.

Also on the spring program, a one-man theatrical presentation, Mother/SON, in which writer and actor Jeffrey Solomon, playing both roles, converses with his mother about her struggles with his homosexuality; Natraj, a quintet that melds the classical music of India, traditional music from West Africa and contemporary jazz; and Celtic tenor John McDermott. McDermott's a cappella rendition of Danny Boy is touted by many as the definitive rendition of this iconic song.

The PSU Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance also hosts a vibrant series of programs at the Silver Center, performed by students, faculty and guests.

Student Theater offerings this fall include Raised in Captivity by Nicky Silver opening September 24 and Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical Oklahoma, October 15-18.

Nicky Silver wrings laughs from the horrors of everyday life in Raised in Captivity, his story of estranged twins who are reunited at their mother's funeral. Raised in Captivity is a quirky, dark comedy of characters trying to break out of their emotional prisons in a very unconventional manner. The play is recommended for mature audiences.

At the another end of the drama pendulum, Oklahoma tells the story of the high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys in the western territories. Cowboy Curly and farm girl Laurey find that true love can be as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road.

The final fall theatre presentation is Rhinoceros, November 19-22, an absurdist play by Eugene Ionesco that examines apathy and conformity. What will it take for Berenger to stand up to the increasing menace of rhinocerization in his town?

Music patrons can sample multiple genres in performances by the All New England choral and band festivals; a faculty piano recital by Professor Carleen Graff; Duo Veritas with Professor Dan Perkins and Camerata New England cellist Linda Galvan; student guitar, chamber, percussion and jazz ensembles and the annual holiday choral treat, A Joyful Noise. This year the choirs celebrate a multicultural holiday with Ghanaian drumming ensemble Akwaaba, and a string quartet, December 6.

PSU and guest dancers add to the seasonal delights with a Contemporary Dance Ensemble concert featuring student and faculty choreography December 4 & 5.

Eagle Pond Authors'Series

Beginning its 11th season, the Eagle Pond Authors' Series hosts poets Franz Wright and Kevin Young October 22 and November 4, respectively.

Wright's poetry collection, Walking to Martha's Vineyard, won the Pulitzer Prize and his newest book, Wheeling Motel is due out fall 2009. Writer-in-residence at Brandeis University, Wright is the author of 14 collections.

Kevin Young, born in 1970, is widely regarded as one of the leading poets of his generation; one who finds inspiration in African American music and the bittersweet history of Black America. Young, a multiple award winner, is professor of poetry at Emory University.

Readings are presented free of charge and are followed by a book signing and reception. The Eagle Pond Authors' Series is sponsored by a generous grant from Follett Higher Education Group.

Details of date, time, location and cost for all events are available on the Silver Center Web site at silver.plymouth.edu and in Plymouth State's online calendar, ThisWeek@PSU, at http://thisweek.blogs.plymouth.edu/; or by calling the box office at (603) 535-ARTS or (800) 779-3869.

]]> 9/15/09 http://www.plymouth.edu/news/fullstory.php?number=6683 PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Three area high school students traveled to Plymouth State University fall semester to study Mandarin Chinese with University students in the Department of Languages and Linguistics.

High school students must meet requirements agreed to between the high school and PSU to enroll in University classes. The Plymouth Regional High School (PRHS) students, all seniors, are Danielle Berry from Campton, Kara Mastin from Plymouth and Caitlin Swanson from Holderness.

A collaborative project between the University and PRHS, the experimental courses uses the IQChinese PINYIN and GO 100, GO 200 software programs, which were given to all students in the class using grant funds provided by the Hope Education Foundation. "Forever Use" site licensing was also provided to the PSU language laboratory with a complete set of the software.

PRHS Assistant Principal Robert Price says his school is always open to partnerships that help both institutions and enrich the experience for students. "In this case, Dr. Lopez-Mayhew came to us about a college-level course we wouldn't have been able to offer here. The students who were able to work this in to their already very busy schedules all did very well."

Adjunct faculty member Shi Yi Lu taught the Fall 2008 class with Professor Barbara Lopez-Mayhew, chair of the Department of Languages and Linguistics, as mentor and facilitator. "Dr. Lu's multiple talents and interests provided a cultural supplement to the software program, which emphasizes vocabulary and tone acquisition," said Professor Lopez-Mayhew.

"Our beginning yearlong course has been modeled after other fundamentals of language courses offered at the university, with an emphasis on oral communication and culture. However, the students in this program have the software CDs rather than a textbook," said Lopez-Mayhew.

This model Chinese program provided the initial impetus to offer instruction of a crucial language which had not previously been included in the PSU or school district curriculum, according to Lopez-Mayhew. "This collaboration between PRHS and PSU has enhanced the university's support and commitment with the local public area high school and community in its effort to offer high school juniors and seniors added opportunity to take courses at the university," she said.

The Hope Education Foundation of Monterey Park, Cal. and Irvine-based IQChinese have provided 21 grants making courseware available to American students learning Mandarin Chinese in 17 public schools in 17 states. The PSU-PRHS award is the only grant made in New Hampshire.

The grant provides a complete Chinese language curriculum to either expand an existing Chinese program or provide materials to start a new one. Each grant provides courseware for up to 30 school computers, training and resources for three classroom teachers, in addition to software for the individual students, which allows them to practice outside of the classroom at home. Each grant is valued at more than $10,000.

Fundamentals of Chinese I and II have been approved as yearly offerings, and Chinese I has been approved as a general education "global awareness" course, with the likelihood of more levels in the future.

"We consider this collaboration to be an important step in the expansion and globalization of our curricula, and we hope that high schools students will continue to take advantage of this unique opportunity to study Chinese at Plymouth State University in subsequent years," said Lopez-Mayhew.

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