2011 Week Four

Psalms is the book in the Bible containing 150 chapters of verse. Some sing to praise God and give thanks, while others lament misfortune and ask for guidance. Jacqueline Osherow said she sees the Psalms as some of the most beautiful poetry ever written.

Stanley Fish likely will stand out from this week’s other speakers with his unconventional “case for the arts” at his lecture at 10:45 a.m. today in the Amphitheater. Fish said his appreciation for the humanities is the antithesis of the traditional “justification” for the arts.

Although Ethan McSweeny and Vivienne Benesch have known each other personally and professionally for 15 years, there’s still more to learn. At 2 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy, the two will interview each other about “Art and Soul,” the theme of this week’s Interfaith Lecture Series, as it relates to the theater, in “Soul and Story: Choosing a Life in the Theater.”

When Rocco Landesman was young, his uncle would give his brother and him $5 for every F they got in school. His uncle, after all, went on to found a personal management company, its motto being, “We take the sting out of success and put the fun back in failure!”

Many people on the grounds may have heard of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, but few have had an opportunity to learn about its programs firsthand from its founders. A presentation at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the covered porch at Heinz Beach Fitness Center on South Lake Drive at the corner of South Avenue will offer that opportunity.

Every year, the Chautauqua Fund recognizes its volunteers with a luncheon in the Athenaeum Hotel. At this year’s luncheon, which took place last Tuesday afternoon, the Chautauqua Fund volunteers gathered not only to celebrate their own work but also to acknowledge that of David Williams. After 21 seasons in the Colonnade, Williams, the director of the Chautauqua Fund, is retiring.

The kids of Children’s School will participate in various activities related to the “Wild, Wild West” this week. Children will be making all kinds of western-themed crafts, “Wanted” posters, hobbyhorses, sheriff badges and cowboy hats. They also will be learning square dances and a hoedown.

Magic flutes, valkyries, rampant consumption — some themes in opera can be hard to relate to, and not just for the audience. Singers, like actors, perform best when they can lose themselves in a character — when they can find that common thread that connects them with their role. But how do you find something in common with a 13th-century family in Florence?

Variety is the spice of life. For Calmus, it also is an important part of the group’s musical philosophy. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a pop arrangement, a Bach motet or a Brahms setting or a secular piece,” baritone Ludwig Böhme said. “To bring the music to life is the most important thing that we do.”

What do Pompeii, jazz, the Information Age and art have in common? Interruption. And this interruption inspires the kind of creativity seen in some of the most ambitious and successful pieces of art, said Don Kimes, the artistic director of Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution.

As President Barack Obama’s appointee to head the largest federal arts agency, Rocco Landesman’s job is to make “A Case for the Arts.” Landesman is the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. He will be Week Four’s first morning lecturer and will talk on “Art Works: A Conversation in Three Acts” at 10:45 a.m. today in the Amphitheater.

The Writers’ Center this week welcomes Jacqueline Osherow and Janice Eidus, two writers who will lead workshops into the cross-currents of culture and the center of writing. Both writers will read selections from their work at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall and later in the week as part of the Chautauqua Jewish Writers’ Festival.