The Chautauquan Daily

When internationally acclaimed singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant comes to Chautauqua, it will be a homecoming of sorts. Merchant is a native of nearby Jamestown, N.Y. Her earliest venture into the musical world was with the band 10,000 Maniacs, the members of which also hailed from Jamestown. Merchant told NPR host Scott Simon that some of her prominent memories of Jamestown are the times she snuck into local bars when she was 16 years old to play shows.

One of the critical goals of government is to give people the ability to run without stumbling, said the Rev. Barry C. Black, the U.S. Senate chaplain. At 2 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy, Black will explain in his lecture, “Running Without Stumbling,” that one of the government’s roles is to prepare people for “seasons of emergencies.”

A Methodist, a Presbyterian, a UCC and a rabbi walk into Chautauqua, and what do they find? A safe place, space and time for interfaith dialogue through the New Clergy Program sponsored by the Department of Religion. During this week, 16 religious leaders who have been out of school no more than seven years are participating in a unique seminar that uses the programs of Chautauqua to provide an interfaith experience.

A longtime visitor to Chautauqua’s Amphitheater, Harvard University professor Michael Sandel returns to ask the question: What’s the right thing to do? Sandel will speak twice today. He will give a morning lecture at 10:45 a.m. in the Amphitheater, as well as a Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle lecture at 3:30 p.m. in the Hall of Philosophy. Sandel’s lectures come to Chautauqua nearing the end of the Week Two theme of “Applied Ethics: Government and the Search for the Common Good.”

Theodore Olson, former U.S. solicitor general, answered questions from John Q. Barrett, professor of law at St. John’s University and frequent Chautauqua speaker, on stage Thursday. Olson addressed a variety of topics, including his personal experiences with the Supreme Court, the 9/11 attacks and California’s Proposition 8.

“The moral tradition of our religions can contribute to a rich moral debate about what the common good is in America and a more vibrant and robust debate about what the common good is for (the) world,” said Rabbi David Saperstein. “A new world is being fashioned before our eyes. That new world has within it the seeds of great possibilities but of deep and profound dangers as well.”

When the average person thinks of American musical theater, the names Rodgers and Hammerstein no doubt come to mind. However, in the Musical Theater Revue, put on by Studio Artists of the Chautauqua Opera Company at 10:30 p.m. tonight and next Tuesday in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Richard Rodgers will be nowhere to be found.

Love, death and the meaning of existence are all themes that will be sung about in this week’s Chautauqua Opera Studio Artists Artsongs recital at 4 p.m. today in the Hall of Christ. Three singers, all Chautauqua first-timers, will be singing: soprano Alize Rozsnyai, baritone Nickoli Strommer and tenor Joshua Baum.

Nancy Loyan Shuemann lives a double life. Like Superman, she juggles two occupations, and one requires quite a costume. As a published author, her writing takes up most of her day. At night, though, she grabs her saber, throws on her beaded bra and skirt and shares her love of belly dancing

As a Civil Rights crusader, the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for equality runs alongside the Week Two theme of “Government and the Search for the Common Good.” Yet his gospel of nonviolence was a dangerous one to preach. The first Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selection for Week Two is Hellhound on his Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for his Assassin by Hampton Sides.

Guest conductor Robert Moody and pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk have never met, but they have a common goal: They want everyone in the Amphitheater to experience a shared musical journey. Moody, Gavrylyuk and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra perform at 8:15 p.m. tonight. “We’re in on it together,” Moody said. “We are not performing for you; we are joining in on a journey with you in the audience.”

Chautauqua Theater Company’s production of Anton Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” is set as the topic of discussion at the Brown Bag lunch at 12:15 p.m. today in Bratton Theater. General Manager Robert Chelimsky said the event will focus on the choices made in the CTC production, which means that a lot of attention may be turned to guest director Brian Mertes. “The director becomes the interviewee to a great degree,” Chelimsky said. “It tends to be very focused on what they were going for conceptually.”

E.J. Dionne opens his book Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right with an anecdote about Jesus’ political party. In this story, a son asks his “straight Democrat” mother if she would change her ways if Jesus came back and voted Republican. “Aw, hush, why should he change his party after all these years?” she replies.

David Gergen, Wednesday’s morning lecturer, told a short story about Benjamin Franklin to illustrate his point that it’s up to Americans to decide the future. As Franklin was leaving Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, a woman approached him. She pointed to a chair, which was painted with a half-sun on the horizon.

Amidst the chaos of lunchtime at the Youth Activities Center, two Boys’ and Girls’ Club counselors stood out as recipients of the prestigious “Counselors of the Week” award. Emily Horak, a nature counselor from Jamestown, N.Y., and Kurt Wissing, a music counselor from Buffalo, N.Y., were Week One’s winners.

Two springs ago, Jack Voelker attended a recreation professionals conference to present on reconnecting children with nature. At the same conference, a spokesman for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program presented on enhancing the natural areas of golf courses. Voelker, general manager of the Chautauqua Golf Club, met with the spokesman to talk business and discovered that he was quite familiar with Chautauqua.