Arts And Entertainment

The HSU Jazz Orchestra celebrates the golden anniversary of a golden year in jazz, with both the epoch-making music of 1959 and compositions that carry on its spirit, in its final spring concert on Saturday May 9.

“It’s a super-human showpiece for piano, and a tour de force for the orchestra.”

HSU senior, Music Education major and saxophonist Sky Miller directs three of the six selections in the AM Jazz spring concert on Thursday, May 7.

Three ensembles present a panoply of vocal music in concert at the Fulkerson Recital Hall on Sunday, May 3.

Recently returned from performances at the Northwest Percussion Festival in Oregon, the HSU Percussion Ensemble, HSU World Percussion Group, and the Humboldt State Calypso Band present their combined spring concert on May 2 in the Van Duzer Theatre.

The sounds of trains passing in the night aren’t heard anymore in Arcata, but they will be again in Fulkerson Recital Hall on May 1.

In the past decade, the annual Ten Minute Play Festival has gone from a classroom project to one of the more popular presentations on the HSU production calendar. This year—the 11th—there are more plays than ever: 10 instead of the usual eight.

Cellist and HSU faculty emeritus John Brecher returns to HSU to play two complete works by Beethoven and Shostakovich in a Guest Artist concert at Fulkerson Recital Hall on Friday, April 24.

Think of music from Spain, and you hear the timbres of guitar and voice. So music from Spain, from fiery Flamenco to introspective melodies, will dominate the collaboration of HSU Music Department colleagues, guitarist Nicholas Lambson and soprano Elisabeth Harrington, in concert at Fulkerson Recital Hall on Saturday, April 25.

The Humboldt Film Festival rolls into its 42nd year with screenings from April 19 through April 25 in HSU’s Van Duzer Theatre.

Amy Goodman, host of Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now!, will be speaking about her new book Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times at 8 p.m., April 11, in HSU’s Kate Buchanan Room.

Fifty dancers performing ten dances, including one that just received top honors at a major regional dance conference, and another that features the 60-voice Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir, will fill the Van Duzer Theatre stage for the perennially popular HSU spring dance concert, beginning Thursday, April 9.

What do the Aggrolites, Vetiver, Clem Snide, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, and the Heligoats all have in common? Well, besides the fact that they’re all playing Humboldt at some point in the next 10 days, each of these bands sits deserves a spot in the Indie Rock hall of fame.

A program of new compositions by HSU Department of Music faculty and students, presents an “eclectic array of styles and compositional techniques for ambient synth music, dancers, piano, voice and various chamber groups,” according to Dr. Brian Post, HSU professor of Music Theory and Composition. It will be performed on Saturday, April 4 in Fulkerson Recital Hall at HSU.

“Duo Fuoco” means “two fires,” and in its concert on Friday, April 3 at Fulkerson Recital Hall, Duo Fuoco plays some fiery music for guitar and flute.

Cheri Anchondo, who is a double major in Dance (Interdisciplinary Studies) and Geography, had her dance selected as one of the top 10 dances (out of 66 dances) in the Northwest Region. Anchondo’s dance was featured in a Gala concert that closed the conference activities.

Humboldt State University’s First Street Gallery presents The HSU Printmakers Show from April 4 through May 17. This exhibition consists of a wide variety of mediums such as woodcuts, etching, engravings, lithographs and serigraphy, all covering a broad array of subjects. The contributing artists are students and alumni of Professor Sarah Whorf’s Honors Printmaking classes at Humboldt State University. The exhibition is billed by First Street Gallery as a clear demonstration of the excellent career preparation that Humboldt State University offers its Art Majors.

Humboldt State University’s First Street Gallery presents ??The Depravities of War: Monumental Woodcut Prints?? by Sandow Birk April 4 through May 17. Birk’s work focuses on social and political issues concerning contemporary society, often employing allegorical themes with art historical references. Through the use of the classical technique of woodcut prints, this series focuses on Birk’s perspective on the Iraq war, as filtered through the mass media.

The North Coast Wind Ensemble continues its inaugural season on Sunday, March 22 at Fulkerson Recital Hall with an ambitious and adventurous program that includes a tribute to Paris, ??Variations on America,?? some Gregorian chant and a little ragtime. And of course, a march.

After four previous successful concerts since 2007, the Community Chamber Music series continues with the Meadowood Quartet, Quartet Arioso and the Hidden Valley Chamber Players performing Mendelssohn, Beethoven and other composers on Saturday, March 14 in the Fulkerson Recital Hall at HSU.

Call it comic opera or “opera buffo,” the bottom line is that it’s fun. “Fainting, hiding behind chairs but still singing loud enough for the audience to hear, exaggerated dramatic situations and far-fetched resolutions,” is how HSU Opera Workshop director Elisabeth Harrington describes the comic opera to be performed by Workshop singers with the Humboldt Symphony on Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7.

Humboldt State's Student Access Gallery has announced its second round of shows for the spring semester.

The HSU Natural History Museum offers the public an opportunity to get up close and personal with live reptiles and amphibians Saturday, March 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event features more than 50 different species from the local area and around the world.

Connecting Africa to America through ritual and language ??Jagun Fly?? by HSU graduate John Oluwole ADEkoje, opens in Gist Hall Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 26 for two weekends.

Salt Lines Tour brings four of the country’s most accomplished spoken word artists to the Kate Buchanan Room on Wednesday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m.