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Untitled

Wormholes from centuries-old art prints reveal history

11/20/12

By examining art printed from woodblocks spanning five centuries, Blair Hedges, a professor of biology at Penn State University, has identified the species responsible for making the ever-present wormholes in European printed art since the Renaissance. The hole-makers, two species of wood-boring beetles, are widely distributed today, but the "wormhole record," as Hedges calls it, reveals a different pattern in the past, where the two species met along a zone across central Europe like a battle line of two armies. The research, which is the first of its kind to use printed art as a "trace fossil" to precisely date species and to identify their locations, will be published in the journal Biology Letters on 21 November 2012.

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Work ongoing to conserve fragile history in Old Main

11/15/12

A multi-year project has begun to repair a half-century of environmental damage and conserve the Land-Grant Frescoes that are a treasured piece of American art history in the lobby of Old Main. The frescoes are full of surprises, and many are coming to light as conservators pore over University archives, repair a half-century of environmental damage and return these works of art to their original condition. Thanks to a generous philanthropic gift from L. James Smauch '36 Sci, a multi-year project has begun to restore the Old Main lobby, conserve the frescoes and preserve this treasured piece of American art history. John Rita and Ted Holland from Harrisburg-based Albert Michaels Conservation have set up a mobile laboratory in Old Main and are working their way around the lobby, inspecting, cleaning, stabilizing and inpainting (the reinstatement of lost pigment) the frescoes.

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Penn State Berks Theatre Department presents original play 'Black Ice'

10/3/12

The Penn State Berks Theatre Department will present "Black Ice," an original play written by Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Cleo House Jr. and directed by Radhica Ganapathy, assistant professor of theatre, at 8 p.m. Nov. 1 to 4 and Nov. 8 to 11, and during Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

Banjo Summit 2 to feature Bela Fleck, other prime pickers on Nov. 1

10/3/12

Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka will return to Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium -- along with banjo masters Bill Keith, Richie Stearns, Eric Weissberg and Peter "Dr. Banjo" Wernick -- for Banjo Summit 2 at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1. The banjo was once associated almost exclusively with the South. But the Banjo Summit 2 tour, featuring six banjo masters with ties to New York, demonstrates that prime pickers also come from north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Pilobolus Dance Theatre to perform Oct. 30

10/3/12

The internationally acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre will perform a mix of new and classic pieces at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 in Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus. Founded in 1971, the Connecticut-based Pilobolus performs for stage, television and online audiences across the globe. The troupe has performed live shows in more than 60 countries.

HUB exhibit looks at Mattea's work, Pa. coal history

10/2/12

A new exhibit will offer a look at singer Kathy Mattea's upcoming celebration of Appalachian folk music and culture as well as Pennsylvania's coal history through December at the HUB-Robeson Galleries on Penn State's University Park campus. The exhibition, located in the display case on the first floor next to Heritage Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center, previews a performance and residency with two-time Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Kathy Mattea as she makes her Center for the Performing Arts debut in a concert focused on music from her September album, "Calling Me Home."

Mattea will perform "Calling Me Home" at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in Eisenhower Auditorium. Tickets are available by phone at 814-863-0255 or at www.cpa.psu.edu. Mattea also is scheduled to speak at the Penn State Forum at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 31 in President's Hall at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Tickets are required. For more information, go to www.pennstateforum.psu.edu.

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Palmer Museuem lecture to focus on modernism

10/2/12

Leo Mazow will give the fall 2012 American Art Lecture at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 4, in the Palmer Museum of Art on the University Park campus of Penn State. In his lecture, titled "Defining American Modernisms," Mazow, associate professor of art history at the University of Arkansas and former curator of American art at the Palmer Museum, will argue that modernism emphasizes experience, expression and the integration of opposites as both subject matter and guiding theoretical precepts. He will highlight selections from the museum's permanent collection and the private collection of James and Barbara Palmer. Admission to the museum, along Curtin Road, is free.

Writer in Residence to read poems

10/1/12

Penn State Altoona's Emerging Writer in Residence, Caitlin Doyle, will present a reading from her manuscript of poems at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 in the Slep Student Center.

Bookreading by bestselling author Sarah Vowell postponed

4/9/12

*NOTE: This talk has been postponed. Follow the Penn State lectures bulletin at http://live.psu.edu/tag/Lectures for information about a new date.

Sarah Vowell, The New York Times' bestselling author of five nonfiction books on American history and culture, will perform a reading from her most recent book, "Unfamiliar Fishes," at 7:30 p.m. on April 9, in the Auditorium (Room 117) at the HUB-Robeson Center on Penn State's University Park campus.

A cappella groups take top honors at national semifinal competition

3/27/12

The Pennharmonics, a coed a cappella group from Penn State, under the direction of senior Stephanie Allen, placed first in the Mid-Atlantic region semifinal competition of Varsity Vocal's International Championships of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) at Rutgers University. The JoePas, an a cappella group under the direction of sophomore Jim Hogan, placed second in the region. Both groups had advanced from the quarterfinal round held at Penn State on Feb. 25.

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Abington to host first area screening of 'Miss Representation'

3/14/12

Like drawing back a curtain to let light stream in, the documentary "Miss Representation" details a glaring reality we live with but might fail to see: how the media contributes to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America.

The 90-minute film, rated for children over age 14, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, in Room 112 Woodland Building at Penn State Abington. Admission is $5; free to students, faculty and staff. Register at abingtonculturalarts@psu.edu or call 215-881-7800.

President's Concert 7

Students shine at 2012 President's Concert

2/29/12

Roughly 170 Penn State student-musicians experienced a rare opportunity on Tuesday night, as they performed before an enthusiastic audience in Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. The event was the sixth annual Penn State President's Concert, a collaboration among the School of Music, the Alumni Association and the Office of the President. "It was absolutely fabulous singing up there. I loved the opportunity," said Nathan Owen, who played Grandpa Moss in the Penn State Opera Theatre's portion of the program. "Singing in a hall with such great acoustics is really great. It requires a different kind of singing, a different kind of listening to yourself. It's really interesting, and really cool." For photos from the event, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157629116064634 online.

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National a cappella competition to be held Saturday

2/21/12

Penn State's Blue in the FACE a cappella group will host the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Mid-Atlantic quarterfinals at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Alumni Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus. The event is free and open to the public. Groups will be judged on a variety of items including musicality, choreography and arrangement, among other factors. This event is a once-a-year chance to showcase a cappella and music talent from around the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Untitled

President's Concert returns to Heinz Hall

1/19/12

The Penn State President's Concert has come full circle. The sixth annual event, designed to showcase School of Music ensembles to alumni and prospective students, will feature the Penn State Glee Club, Opera Theatre and Philharmonic Orchestra Feb. 28 at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, the site of the first such concert in 2007. "The Penn State President's Concert is an event our students anticipate every year, because it gives them the opportunity to perform in a major concert hall to an audience of alumni and prospective students," said Sue Haug, director of the School of Music. "It's an opportunity you just don't get at most universities."

Pages

Untitled

Wormholes from centuries-old art prints reveal history

11/20/12

By examining art printed from woodblocks spanning five centuries, Blair Hedges, a professor of biology at Penn State University, has identified the species responsible for making the ever-present wormholes in European printed art since the Renaissance. The hole-makers, two species of wood-boring beetles, are widely distributed today, but the "wormhole record," as Hedges calls it, reveals a different pattern in the past, where the two species met along a zone across central Europe like a battle line of two armies. The research, which is the first of its kind to use printed art as a "trace fossil" to precisely date species and to identify their locations, will be published in the journal Biology Letters on 21 November 2012.

1

Work ongoing to conserve fragile history in Old Main

11/15/12

A multi-year project has begun to repair a half-century of environmental damage and conserve the Land-Grant Frescoes that are a treasured piece of American art history in the lobby of Old Main. The frescoes are full of surprises, and many are coming to light as conservators pore over University archives, repair a half-century of environmental damage and return these works of art to their original condition. Thanks to a generous philanthropic gift from L. James Smauch '36 Sci, a multi-year project has begun to restore the Old Main lobby, conserve the frescoes and preserve this treasured piece of American art history. John Rita and Ted Holland from Harrisburg-based Albert Michaels Conservation have set up a mobile laboratory in Old Main and are working their way around the lobby, inspecting, cleaning, stabilizing and inpainting (the reinstatement of lost pigment) the frescoes.

Untitled

Penn State Berks Theatre Department presents original play 'Black Ice'

10/3/12

The Penn State Berks Theatre Department will present "Black Ice," an original play written by Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Cleo House Jr. and directed by Radhica Ganapathy, assistant professor of theatre, at 8 p.m. Nov. 1 to 4 and Nov. 8 to 11, and during Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

Banjo Summit 2 to feature Bela Fleck, other prime pickers on Nov. 1

10/3/12

Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka will return to Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium -- along with banjo masters Bill Keith, Richie Stearns, Eric Weissberg and Peter "Dr. Banjo" Wernick -- for Banjo Summit 2 at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1. The banjo was once associated almost exclusively with the South. But the Banjo Summit 2 tour, featuring six banjo masters with ties to New York, demonstrates that prime pickers also come from north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Pilobolus Dance Theatre to perform Oct. 30

10/3/12

The internationally acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre will perform a mix of new and classic pieces at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 in Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus. Founded in 1971, the Connecticut-based Pilobolus performs for stage, television and online audiences across the globe. The troupe has performed live shows in more than 60 countries.

HUB exhibit looks at Mattea's work, Pa. coal history

10/2/12

A new exhibit will offer a look at singer Kathy Mattea's upcoming celebration of Appalachian folk music and culture as well as Pennsylvania's coal history through December at the HUB-Robeson Galleries on Penn State's University Park campus. The exhibition, located in the display case on the first floor next to Heritage Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center, previews a performance and residency with two-time Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Kathy Mattea as she makes her Center for the Performing Arts debut in a concert focused on music from her September album, "Calling Me Home."

Mattea will perform "Calling Me Home" at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in Eisenhower Auditorium. Tickets are available by phone at 814-863-0255 or at www.cpa.psu.edu. Mattea also is scheduled to speak at the Penn State Forum at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 31 in President's Hall at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Tickets are required. For more information, go to www.pennstateforum.psu.edu.

Untitled

Palmer Museuem lecture to focus on modernism

10/2/12

Leo Mazow will give the fall 2012 American Art Lecture at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 4, in the Palmer Museum of Art on the University Park campus of Penn State. In his lecture, titled "Defining American Modernisms," Mazow, associate professor of art history at the University of Arkansas and former curator of American art at the Palmer Museum, will argue that modernism emphasizes experience, expression and the integration of opposites as both subject matter and guiding theoretical precepts. He will highlight selections from the museum's permanent collection and the private collection of James and Barbara Palmer. Admission to the museum, along Curtin Road, is free.

Writer in Residence to read poems

10/1/12

Penn State Altoona's Emerging Writer in Residence, Caitlin Doyle, will present a reading from her manuscript of poems at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 in the Slep Student Center.

Bookreading by bestselling author Sarah Vowell postponed

4/9/12

*NOTE: This talk has been postponed. Follow the Penn State lectures bulletin at http://live.psu.edu/tag/Lectures for information about a new date.

Sarah Vowell, The New York Times' bestselling author of five nonfiction books on American history and culture, will perform a reading from her most recent book, "Unfamiliar Fishes," at 7:30 p.m. on April 9, in the Auditorium (Room 117) at the HUB-Robeson Center on Penn State's University Park campus.

A cappella groups take top honors at national semifinal competition

3/27/12

The Pennharmonics, a coed a cappella group from Penn State, under the direction of senior Stephanie Allen, placed first in the Mid-Atlantic region semifinal competition of Varsity Vocal's International Championships of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) at Rutgers University. The JoePas, an a cappella group under the direction of sophomore Jim Hogan, placed second in the region. Both groups had advanced from the quarterfinal round held at Penn State on Feb. 25.

Untitled

Abington to host first area screening of 'Miss Representation'

3/14/12

Like drawing back a curtain to let light stream in, the documentary "Miss Representation" details a glaring reality we live with but might fail to see: how the media contributes to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America.

The 90-minute film, rated for children over age 14, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, in Room 112 Woodland Building at Penn State Abington. Admission is $5; free to students, faculty and staff. Register at abingtonculturalarts@psu.edu or call 215-881-7800.

President's Concert 7

Students shine at 2012 President's Concert

2/29/12

Roughly 170 Penn State student-musicians experienced a rare opportunity on Tuesday night, as they performed before an enthusiastic audience in Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. The event was the sixth annual Penn State President's Concert, a collaboration among the School of Music, the Alumni Association and the Office of the President. "It was absolutely fabulous singing up there. I loved the opportunity," said Nathan Owen, who played Grandpa Moss in the Penn State Opera Theatre's portion of the program. "Singing in a hall with such great acoustics is really great. It requires a different kind of singing, a different kind of listening to yourself. It's really interesting, and really cool." For photos from the event, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157629116064634 online.

Untitled

National a cappella competition to be held Saturday

2/21/12

Penn State's Blue in the FACE a cappella group will host the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Mid-Atlantic quarterfinals at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Alumni Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus. The event is free and open to the public. Groups will be judged on a variety of items including musicality, choreography and arrangement, among other factors. This event is a once-a-year chance to showcase a cappella and music talent from around the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Untitled

President's Concert returns to Heinz Hall

1/19/12

The Penn State President's Concert has come full circle. The sixth annual event, designed to showcase School of Music ensembles to alumni and prospective students, will feature the Penn State Glee Club, Opera Theatre and Philharmonic Orchestra Feb. 28 at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, the site of the first such concert in 2007. "The Penn State President's Concert is an event our students anticipate every year, because it gives them the opportunity to perform in a major concert hall to an audience of alumni and prospective students," said Sue Haug, director of the School of Music. "It's an opportunity you just don't get at most universities."