2011 Week Two

When pianist Rose Chancler Feinbloom submitted an advertisement to Craigslist looking for a musician to play contemporary chamber music with her, she never expected the ad to be answered by a marimba player. Jane Boxall, classical marimba player by day and rock drummer by night, answered the ad within three hours of its being posted to the Internet. That was back in 2008. The two, now officially known as the Ricochet Duo, will perform a concert at 4 p.m. today in Fletcher Music Hall.

An orchestra has many musicians, but it breathes as a unit. For some symphony orchestras, it may take years to foster the kind of bond necessary to produce top quality music, but students in the Music School Festival Orchestra have only seven weeks. At 8:15 p.m. tonight, the MSFO will perform its first of five concerts in the Amphitheater. Led by music director and conductor Timothy Muffitt, the concert will feature four works that would appear at home on any professional symphony’s program. However, there will be something that sets the MSFO apart.

Some say poetry should address only universal themes, while others argue the work of a poet is inseparable from his life. Week Two poet-in-residence Andrew Mulvania will address the debate that is older than Walt Whitman. Mulvania will present his lecture “Poetry and the Self: Autobiography in American Poetry” at 12:15 p.m. today on the front porch of Alumni Hall.

Adding further depth to this week’s theme of “Government and the Search for the Common Good,” Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will be holding two additional sessions this week to augment his 10:45 a.m. Monday lecture. At 3:30 p.m. today in the Athenaeum Hotel Parlor, Leach will lead a Town Hall-style meeting, opening up the discussion of the topic at hand for a more advanced dialogue with Chautauquans.

Bill Purcell, former mayor of Nashville, Tenn., will speak at 10:45 a.m. today in the Amphitheater. He is the second speaker for the week focusing on “Applied Ethics: Government and the Search for the Common Good.” This is Purcell’s second time speaking at the Chautauqua Institution. The last time he was here was in 2007; he spoke as both a morning and afternoon lecturer. He said he’s looking forward to speaking again and that it’s an honor to be speaking alongside the others for the week.

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach said that in order for the government to strive for the common good, politicians and the country as a whole must learn to respect others enough to see through their eyes. “If we don’t try to understand and to respect others, how can we expect them to respect us, our values and our way of life?” Leach said.

When guest conductor Jorge Mester mounted the stage of the Amphitheater for Saturday’s season-opening concert, he immediately turned away from the orchestra to conduct the audience in a sing-along of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Smiling broadly and snapping his stick, Mester radiated purposeful delight.

SLIDESHOW: Last week, the Arthritics topped the Fashionable Gentlemen, the MOMS took down the Chautauqua Lakers and the Boomerangs beat the Belles. That could only mean one thing: Softball season at Chautauqua has begun.

As the opening of Chautauqua Theater Company’s production of “Three Sisters” approaches, the production team finds itself finishing an evolving set of needs for the play. Production Manager Joe Stoltman said while this is his third time working on a production of “Three Sisters,” each time has presented different challenges. For this production, directed by Brian Mertes, the team has responded to aspects of the show that have changed during rehearsals.

If there is nothing more patriotic than dissonance, Chautauquans will certainly celebrate Independence Day in good form with a series of special lectures focusing on U.S. government dysfunction that starts this afternoon. Four speakers from the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University will lead the Lincoln Applied Ethics Lectures at 4 p.m. today through Wednesday at the Hall of Philosophy.

“Unless you educate the young people, you will not succeed,” said featured speaker Eboo Patel to representatives of Chautauqua Institution at The Ismaili Centre in London in fall 2005. Patel lauded Chautauqua Institution for its dedication to promoting interfaith education and teaching about the relationships found within the Abrahamic tradition and particularly about Islam.

“It’s just like getting together with old friends and having a musical glass of champagne,” said cellist Arie Lipsky about the New Arts Trio, which performs at 4 p.m. today in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall as part of the Logan Chamber Music Series. The New Arts Trio has been in residence at Chautauqua for 33 years and was founded by pianist Rebecca Penneys. Lipsky joined the trio in 1996 and violinist Jacques Israelievitch joined in 1999. Each member of the New Arts Trio is deeply involved with the Chautauqua School of Music: Penneys is Piano Chair, Lipsky is Chamber Music Chair and Israelievitch is Strings Chair.