Arts And Entertainment

Both a hero’s journey and a love story, “The Magic Flute” is one of the most beloved operas of all time. Plus it features some of the best—and last—music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ever wrote.

The theme of the HSU spring dance concert for two weekends beginning April 14 is the essence of the dancers’ action: the struggle of muscles with the insistent tug of the planet, transformed into grace and expression.

The absence of the Calypso Band and the different venue aren’t cramping the style of the HSU Percussion Ensemble and the World Percussion Group for their spring concert in Fulkerson Hall on Saturday, April 16. Instead they have more time to shine.

Humboldt State University’s Reese Bullen Gallery presents the 2011 Annual Juried Student Exhibition. A wide variety of student-created artwork, including drawings, paintings, photography, jewelry, printmaking, graphic design, ceramics and sculpture will be on exhibit. A series of prizes and scholarships acknowledging the achievements and creativity of Humboldt State University’s art students will be presented at an awards ceremony on Thursday, April 14 at 5 p.m., followed immediately by an opening reception in the gallery until 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Pianist Fang Zhang brings an international reputation and a unique program that includes European classics, American popular music and a Chinese piano work to HSU’s Fulkerson Recital Hall on Saturday, April 9. He also holds a free Master Class on April 8.

Whether or not you can name the style, you know the music. Guitarist and HSU professor Nicholas Lambson performs a concert of contemporary music at Fulkerson Recital Hall on Friday, April 8, that mostly exemplifies the style called minimalism. “It’s probably the most accessible 20th century style,” Lambson said. With African and electronic music influences, “it’s familiar to audiences, partly because so much modern pop music is so similar.”

One of the most perennially popular shows of the year at HSU is happening a little earlier than usual, due to scheduling demands for Gist Hall Theatre: the 13th Annual HSU 10 Minute Play Festival opens for two weekends on April 7.

“Venetians and Dragons,” the Humboldt Bay Brass Band (HBBB) concert on April 2 in Fulkerson Recital Hall, features music ranging from some of the oldest known works for brass to the premiere of an original composition combining elements of classical and jazz by HSU professor and HBBB director Dr. Gilbert Cline. And of course, dragons.

Humboldt State University First Street Gallery is pleased to announce Seascapes: Paintings and Watercolors by Jim McVicker and Steve Porter. Produced and curated by the students in the Museum and Gallery Practices Program at Humboldt State University, the exhibition will run from March 31st through May 15th.

Humboldt State University’s First Street Gallery presents The HSU Printmakers Exhibition. Produced by the students in the Museum and Gallery Practices Program at Humboldt State University and curated by HSU Art Professor Sarah Whorf, the exhibition will run from March 31st through May 15th.

As a pianist, she has been hailed as “a star among stars” and performed in major concert halls on four continents, including appearances with the world’s great orchestras. As a teacher, she has presented master classes in Europe, People's Republic of China and throughout the United States. On March 26 in Fulkerson Recital Hall, Pamela Mia Paul will perform a solo concert that includes works by Brahms and Debussy, and an American premiere. She will also teach a master class at HSU on March 25.

“What better way to explore the nature of death than through its expression in music?” asks North Coast pianist Nancy Correll. Her answer is this carefully selected program presented by the North Coast ensemble known as PianoVoce on March 12 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

Among the award-winners announced at the conclusion of the Region 7 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival at Humboldt State University were two current HSU students and one HSU alum.

Two soloists highlight Humboldt Symphony’s early spring concert on Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6 at 8 PM in the Fulkerson Recital Hall.

The norm of reality can at times seem monotonous; three artists reinvent that reality through their art in Grasping the Obvious: Three Artists Examine the Commonplace, on exhibit at the Reese Bullen Gallery at Humboldt State University from February 17 to March 12, 2011.

A rollicking Beethoven, a lyrical Brahms, modern madrigals and a fresh new work by the latest Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winner in classical music--all on a Humboldt Sunday afternoon (February 27) with violinist and HSU professor Cindy Moyer, and HSU piano accompanist John Chernoff. Plus a brand new grand piano.

HSU’s largest jazz ensemble performs more like the smallest, in a concert the Jazz Orchestra shares with the Symphonic Band on Saturday February 26 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

From February 14 through 18, over 1,000 students and faculty drawn from 121 college and university campuses in nine states will converge on Humboldt State University for the regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Three-time spoken word world champion Buddy Wakefield is back on the HSU campus on Wednesday Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room. Admission will be on a sliding scale of free to $10 dollars for students and $8 to $15 for community members. Buddy will be bringing his unforgettable performance style to the audiences he has been cultivating for over 12 years in what Buddy is calling his last "full-on national solo tour" before getting off the road and "practicing a bit more stillness."

Humboldt State University First Street Gallery is pleased to present Step Into the Back Room, with Lush Newton and David White, on exhibit from February 1st through March 6th 2011. This show will feature an installation utilizing recycled materials and found objects that will evolve over the course of the exhibition, blending the playful attitudes of these two well-known artists from California’s North Coast.

Like the State of California itself, its Native Peoples are diverse with over 300 languages and distinct geographical centers shaping communities, traditions, ideologies, and ceremonies. "Sing Me Your Story, Dance Me Home: Art and Poetry from Native California" is an exhibition in which California Native stories, songs, and dance take form in poetry, painting, basketry, jewelry, printmaking, photography, and sculpture.

HSU’s Student Access Gallery is excited to kick off another talent-filled exhibition schedule featuring student artists for the Spring 2011 semester.

At 8 PM on Sunday January 23 in Fulkerson Recital Hall, the North Coast Wind Ensemble returns for its third season with a concert featuring Pineapple Polly, a Golden Bear, sea songs, Elsa’ s Procession, a Children’s March and Noisy Wheels of Joy.

CenterArts regrets the cancellation of The State Symphony of Russia performance scheduled for Sunday, January 23, 2011, at 3 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre, HSU.

CenterArts presents Chamber Orchestra Kremlin on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre, HSU. Tickets are $65 general, $65 Senior/Child and $35 HSU students. Tickets are available at the University Ticket Office, at the Works in Eureka and at humboldt.edu/centerarts.