Have you ever wished you had time to read the book before you found out an international renowned author was coming to campus? Do you wish for time to read the work of an author, reflect on  ideas, perhaps even engage intellectual dialogue with an academic colleague?

Well you have the power in your own ruby slippers to make this happen. Click your heels three times and join the Women’s Center for a book discussion in preparation for Peggy Orenstein‘s upcoming visit to Lehigh, part of Zoellner Arts Center’s 2013-2014 Season.

We will read and discuss Orenstein’s popular book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture.
(http://peggyorenstein.com/books/cinderella.html)

Chapters 1-6:
Tuesday, June 11 at 8am-9am or Wednesday, June 12 at 3pm-4pm
Discussion led by Brooke DeSipio, assistant director of the Women’s Center

Chapters 7-10:
Tuesday, June 18 at 8am-9am or Wednesday, June 19 at 12pm-1pm
Discussion led by Rita Jones, director of the Women’s Center

Please rsvp with Traci Mindler (trm211@lehigh.edu or phone 610-758-6484) by 5pm TODAY (May 22) to reserve your complimentary copy of the book and to note which dates you will attend. You will receive a follow-up email after you rsvp.

Since opening its doors, the Zoellner Arts Center has been a premier venue for a number of local arts organizations. The facilities, acoustics, production staff, audience services, even the attached parking garage make Zoellner a jewel of an asset for the Lehigh Valley.  The Bach Choir of Bethlehem’s annual festival and Touchstone Theater’s Annual Young Playwright’s Festival have recently occurred. This week, the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley returns for a second time this season to present their spring production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Zoellner is not only a great venue; it is the “home office” for a number of artists who partner creatively with other artists and arts organization.  Next year, when the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley returns to Zoellner for the 45^th annual production of the The Nutcracker, they will add a 45-piece live orchestra. The orchestra will be comprised of some of the best professional musicians in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas, including esteemed Lehigh University Music Department faculty members.

Eugene Albulescu, an Associate Professor at Lehigh and the R. J. Ulrich Endowed Chair in Orchestral Studies, will serve as conductor.  Albulescu is pleased that the orchestra will bring a new dimension to PYB’s Nutcracker. “My daughters have been hooked on the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s Nutcracker for several years.  This is one of the finest productions you will see, and something I will be extremely excited to be involved with.  It promises to be one of the best musical collaborations I have done in several years.”

Jennifer Altemose, vice-president of PYB’s board of directors, says the production will be remarkable in more than one way. “We will be able to unveil to over 4,000 school students and 3,000 audience members the notion that ballet is a combination of many amazing art forms, where live music inspires dancers, and vice versa. The audience will be able to feel the music as well as hear it, and the school students, many of whom for the first time, will have the opportunity to experience the excitement of live dancers and musicians.”

The Arts@Lehigh bloggers are excited to see the development of the relationship between the Ballet Guild and the Zoellner Arts Center. Mutually beneficial partnerships like this mean great things for the arts and for the Lehigh Valley. Since we’re such media nerds, we had to plug in this pop culture quote. We know you’re thinking about it:

We’re looking forward to seeing the Midsummer Night’s Dream production this Friday, as well as seeing the return of all the yellow school busses on East Packer Avenue next December. There’s a ton of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep a moment of wonder alive for our children, and for our community. If you’re thinking about seeing the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream -

Friday, May 24, 7:00 pm, Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center

Tickets now on sale.  Click here to purchase your tickets through the Zoellner Arts Center Box Office, or you may phone, or visit in person. Box office hours are noon to 5pm today through Friday, as well as 90 minutes before curtain.

by phone:  610- 758-2787 (7LU-ARTS), ext. 0 – for more details.

We’re seeing the white tents going up. In mid May, this can only mean one thing: Reunion Weekend.  Alumni from the graduating classes of 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008 will return to South Mountain tomorrow for a number of activities and celebrations. Many will visit local businesses, restaurants and public spaces they came to know through their time as Lehigh Students. To have so many hundreds of people return to Lehigh’s campus is a great opportunity for us to reconnect.  Each and every alumni developed their own special relationship with South Bethlehem; the memories of life changing moments in this very special city.

This year, the alumni have a chance to share their stories in a new digital archive project. How neat is it that alumni will become storytellers on the same weekend as Zoellner is finishing up their 2012-13 guest artist series with one of our nation’s best storytellers, Garrison Keillor?

If you know of any alumni returning to campus this weekend, please share this information and encourage them to share their stories. 

Tell Your Lehigh Story: An Alumni Oral History Project

Friday, 10:00 a.m. – Noon, and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  and
Saturday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Digital Media Studio, Fairchild-Martindale Library Breezeway

We all have great Lehigh stories–-passionate, quirky, or touching memories of our experiences. Help make Lehigh history (literally!) by participating in a casual “StoryCorps”-style interview with a volunteer or student. Interviews, with your permission, will be preserved for future generations in the institution’s archive. Contact Janet Norwood at jwn2@lehigh.edu or (610) 758-5350 for info or to register. Space is limited.

A special note to our campus community:

On Friday May 17th, Zoellner Arts Center will be hosting the 2013 Reunion Weekend Mountain Talks; the topics may be of interest to our readers. After the LUAA Board of Directors briefly introduce their newest members and pass the gavel; Lehigh faculty and administrators will present updates on the following thought-provoking sessions:

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Baker Hall
Sharing a Unified Town-Gown Vision: Lehigh and South Bethlehem Partnerships

4:15 – 5:00 p.m.
Baker Hall
Myths vs. Science of Climate Change, presented by Professor Ben Felzer

Diamond Theater
Lehigh Athletics on the National Stage, presented by Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett.

Click here for full reunion weekend schedule

1. Blogging isn’t something you need permission to do. You just do it. If there is something important that needs to be said, shared or discussed, you don’t have to wait for someone else to say it, share it, or start the discussion. Blogs are a readily available tool that anyone can do. In addition to writing blogs, feel free to expand your understanding of the universe by reading other blogs. Last night was another reminder of the breadth and depth of local bloggers. I have come to know many of these people through their blogs; a few of them I would call good friends. Only one other person on the list of bloggers last night works at Lehigh. He is such a supportive friend in Arts@Lehigh’s communications efforts. Thanks, Prof. Twitter.

2. The arts are all around us. While “arts” might not be the identity many of us boldly wear on our sleeves, the instrument that is displaying these words, the chair you may be sitting on while you are reading this sentence, or if you happen to glance away from the screen – you will see something that is informed by art. Art is not merely entertainment. It is discovery and communication. To be able to write about art, to share information about art, or to simply be artful – is why we blog about it. As Alec Baldwin said, “Art is all around me. So maybe I should introduce myself.”

3. The Lehigh Valley is full of creative, passionate and dedicated people who also support many things. Last night, all of the people at the event shared the “blogger” identity; but also have multiple talents and dreams. While some may just want people to “lighten up and find fun in your own back yard,” others are dedicated to sharing their passion for vegan cooking, Lehigh Valley sports, or the humor they see in their daily lives.

I’d like to thank again, the Morning Call for their support of local blogging. I also need to personally thank all of the readers who voted in the contest. Here’s a slide show of images taken by the Morning Call. See the entire album here.

AAD Senior Design Student, Amy Mazius – Jewelry Company
Friday, May 3rd – 6:00 p.m.
Home & Planet, Bethlehem

Eleanor Kalle is a jewelry company for the Modern Woman. This Modern Woman pairs bed-head with a blazer & a bright lip with ballet flats. She’s a risk-taking trendsetter. Her worn-in T-shirt drapes effortlessly with a metal neck piece. Design duo Amy Mazius & Randi Tutelman created the lifestyle brand for Her–the woman who wants a little more adventure, a little more edge, a little more sparkle.

Professor Kazakia - Product Design Presentations
Friday – May 3rd @ 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
STEPS Building

Connor Marr

Casey Dutt

Brittany Geeta Johnson

Jon Hoffman

Luke Ingram

Andrew William Chupa

Rebecca Osborne

Erin Jenkins

Wonú Owo

Lorentz Aberg

Esperanza Pacheco

Lauren Christman

Emily Koehler

Sam Hodges

Students who will be packing up at the end of the semester are encouraged to donate unwanted clothing, linens, electronics, school supplies, household items, furniture, and unopened food at designated locations within each residence hall or at Windish Hall (across from Rauch Business Center on East Packer Avenue).

Students, staff and faculty are also welcome to participate by volunteering to help by picking up donations and/or sorting them at Windish Hall in any shift from today through May 24^th. Volunteers also needed to support the incredibly large, and amazingly heart warming Great South Side Sale coming up on Saturday, June 1st, at St. John’s Windish Church (corner of Fourth and Buchanan streets).

To volunteer in any capacity, please to go to http://www.lehigh.edu/~inserve/moveout.shtml

Proceeds from this sale will fund Lehigh University’s Afterschool Homework Clubs for South Bethlehem children; an important piece of our community school partnerships, and support for education in our community.

In addition to benefiting this worthwhile cause, the sale also helps recycle much-needed items back into the community, at extremely affordable prices. We really don’t want to see shameful waste in the dumpsters.

Unwanted items can be taken directly to Windish Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m – Monday through Friday until May 24th, or at approved locations in Residence Halls.

More information can be found at http://www.lehigh.edu/moveout or by calling 610-758-6674 or emailing inmove@lehigh.edu. To read more about the Move Out Sale, please read this news article by Lehigh Communications writer, Bill Doherty (2010).

Remember that great family feeling we had at the Lehigh MOOV-in last August? This is another way to know you’re doing good in the world.

Freshman Award – Lauren Mentzer
Sophomore Award – DeVaughn Roberts
Junior Award – Kim Hetrick
Senior Award – Geoff Groman

Henderson Braddick Composition Awards

• Bryan Lun
• Geoff Groman
• Lumin Hao
• Chris Covney
• Liz Zeffiro
• Andrey Stolynarov

Ensemble Awards

Jazz and Combos

• Brian Lin
• Chris Covney
• Dan Canistracci

LU Philharmonic

• Service – Geoff Groman
• Musicianship -Taylor Bond and Meghan Brisson

Band and Wind Ensemble:

• Schempf Award – Joshua Hubert
• Elkus Award – Lauren Mentzer and Sheila Strong
• Gold-Hansen Award – Andrew Pope
• Senior Band Award – Alexis Lundy
• Burr-Kirkpatrick Award – Anne Smolko and Hannah Hoganson
• Shields Award – Goeffrey Groman

Choral Arts

• Debra Field Dolce Award – Amanda Curry
• Michael “Bear” Sebastian Award – Connor Tench and Damiano DiFlorio
• Cutler Award – Emily Koehler
• T. Edgar Shields Award – Brian Rodriquez
• Stoz-Rickert Award – Hilary Hla

Memorial Awards

Melissa Rodriguez Award (to a wind player) – Anne Smolko and Geoff Groman
Kenton Lerch Award (for participation in Band and other ensembles) – Erin Barrick
Robert Thompson Award (For Joyous music Making) – Bryan Lin