This art from Stacey Robinson’s portfolio, titled Cosmic Listening, is inspired by a helmet from the 1970s American version of Gatchaman anime called Battle of the Planets. The young woman’s technology is all about flight, escape and mental preparedness in leaving a place of unrest.
A University of Illinois assistant graphic design professor spending the year at Harvard University as a Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellow will visit Kalamazoo College for two events next week.
Stacey Robinson’s multimedia work centers on Afrofuturism, which is a movement in literature, music and art that features futuristic or science fiction themes incorporating elements of Black history and culture. As part of the collaborative team “Black Kirby” with artist John Jennings, he creates graphic novels, gallery exhibitions and lectures that deconstruct the work of comic book creator Jack Kirby to re-imagine resistance spaces inspired by Black diasporic cultures. His current project focuses on his emerging sound practice, in which he creates the sonic experience of the Afrofuture through collaging House, Hip-Hop and other music to craft a harmonious soundscape that converses with the aesthetics of a corresponding art exhibition.
Robinson will conduct an artist talk at 5 p.m. Jan. 15 and a workshop at 5 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.
In the artist talk, titled Designing a Cooperative World Future, Robinson will discuss his artistic practice as a method of world-building by creating self-determined Black liberated futures.
Robinson’s workshop will be titled Afrofuturism: Character and World Building as Methodology. The event, open to up to 25 people, will focus on thinking about Afrofuturism through theories and lessons put into practice. It’s designed for all levels of familiarity with Afrofuturism, visual creation, sound and space. Robinson will lead participants in learning specific methods and practices of Afrofuturist methodologies so that they can build their own characters and worlds that use speculative design methods to create liberated worlds.
All of the events are free and open to students, faculty, staff and the community. For the Jan. 16 workshop, please email Fine Arts Office Coordinator Sarah Gillig at sgillig@kzoo.edu to reserve your spot in advance.
Prints of Robinson’s work will also be on display in an exhibition titled Afrofuture Worlds from Jan. 13-24 at Light Fine Arts. The lobby gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Organized by Dr. Anne Marie Butler, assistant professor of art and art history and women, gender and sexuality, Robinson’s visit is sponsored by the Kalamazoo College Department of Art and Art History, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, and the Women, Gender and Sexuality program.
More than 250 students including Rebecca Chan ’22 were recognized Friday, Nov. 8, at the Honors Day Convocation at Stetson Chapel.
Family Weekend served as the backdrop for the Honors Day 2019 convocation. More than 250 students were recognized Friday, Nov. 8, for excellence in academics and leadership in six divisions: Fine Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized, as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College awards. Student athletes and teams who won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards also were honored. The students receiving Honors Day awards or recognition are listed below.
FINE ARTS DIVISION
Brian Gougeon Prize in Art
Kate Roberts
Beth Schulman
Zoe Zawacki
The Margaret Upton Prize in Music
Sophia Yurdin
Cooper Award
Maria Jensen
Sherwood Prize
Rebecca Chan
Brianna Taylor
Theatre Arts First-Year Student Award
Rebecca Chan
MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES DIVISION
LeGrand Copley Prize in French
Rebecca Chan
Thomas Saxton
Hardy Fuchs Award
Christian Zeitvogel
Margo Light Award
Daniel Fahle
Romance Languages Department Prize in Spanish
Emiley Hepfner
Hayden Strobel
Clara H. Buckley Prize for Excellence in Latin
Kelly Hansen
Provost’s Prize in Classics
Jessica Chaidez
Annabelle Houghton
Classics Departmental Prize in Greek
Lydia Bontrager
HUMANITIES DIVISION
M. Allen Prize in English
Abigail Cadieux
Jessica Chaidez
John B. Wickstrom Prize in History
Fiona Holmes
Department of Philosophy Prize
Mitch Baty
Julia Bienstock
Emma Fergusson
L.J. and Eva (“Gibbie”) Hemmes Memorial Prize in Philosophy
Max Bogun
Zoe Celeste Schneberger
Nick Wilson
NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION
Winifred Peake Jones Prize in Biology Natalie Barber
Abigail Gray
Madeline Harding
Grace McKnight
Department of Chemistry Prize
Aleksandra Bartolik
Grace McKnight
First-Year Chemistry Award
Robert Barnard
Saudia Tate
Andrew Walsh
Professor Ralph M. Deal Endowed Scholarship for Physical Chemistry Students Leonardo Sota
First-Year Mathematics Award
Haley Crabbs
Thomas Saxton
Carter Wade
Thomas O. Walton Prize in Mathematics
Lisa Johnston
Dahwi Kim
Samuel Ratliff
Cooper Prize in Physics
Revaz Bakuradze
Samuel Barczy
Kate Roberts
SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION
Departmental Prize in Anthropology and Sociology
Yuridia Campuzano
Mauricio Guillén
Jillian Lynk
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Economics
Rebekah Halley
Chaniya Miller
William G. Howard Memorial Prize
Georgie Andrews
Jade Jiang
Zachary Ray
Adam Snider
Wallace Lawrence Prize in Business
Nathan Micallef
Sage Ringsmuth
Irene and S. Kyle Morris Prize
Mihail Naskovski
William G. Howard Memorial Prize in Political Science
Ava Keller
Christian Zeitvogel
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION
Division of Physical Education Prize
Walker Chung
Kaytlyn Tidey
Maggie Wardle Prize
Darby Scott
COLLEGE AWARDS
Gordon Beaumont Memorial Award
Yasamin Shaker
Henry and Inez Brown Prize
Mya Gough
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Rosella LoChirco
Elizabeth Munoz
Erin Radermacher
Virginia Hinkelman Memorial Award
Jilia Johnson
HEYL SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Samuel Ankley
Ben Behrens (’20)
Carter Eisenbach
Rachel Kramer
Rachel Lanting
Alexis Nesbitt
Suja Thakali
Elizabeth Wang
POSSE SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Jayla Ekwegh
Naile Garcia
Devin Hunt
Juan Ibarra
Angel Ledesma
Milan Levy
Katharina Padilla
Milagros Robelo
Emilio Romo
Diego Zambrana
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
Class of 2023
Donald Brown
Claire Kvande
VOYNOVICH SCHOLARS
Audrey Honig
Nikoli Nickson
ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA
CLASS OF 2022
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year. The Kalamazoo College chapter was installed on March 5, 1942.
Elizabeth Abel
McKenzi Baker
Natalie Barber
Samuel Barczy
Aleksandra Bartolik
Mitchell Baty
Julia Bienstock
Alexander Bowden
Haylee Bowsher
Irie Browne
Elizabeth Burton
Abigail Cadieux
Rebecca Chan
Gabriel Chung
Haley Crabbs
Sofia Diaz
Adam Dorstewitz
Imalia Drummond
Daniel Fahle
Emma Fergusson
Kaitlin Gandy
Levon Gibson
Jessica Gracik
Madeline Guimond
Emiley Hepfner
Ellie Jones
Joseph Jung
David Kent
Yung Seo Lee
Marissa Lewinski
Donna Li
Isabella Luke
Deven Mahanti
Clara Martinez-Voigt
Mihail Naskovski
Rushik Patel
Houston Peach
Anthony Peraza
Lucas Rizzolo
Marco Savone
Isabella Shansky-Genovese
Caroline Skalla
Emily Smith
Abby Stewart
Emily Tenniswood
Carter Wade
Samantha White
Zachary Worthing
Christian Zeitvogel
ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Performing Arts: Music
Marilu Bueno
John Carlson
Emily Dudd
Sarma Ejups
Peter Fitzgerald
Rose Hannan
Garrett Hanson
Koshiro Kuroda
Milan Levy
Matthew Mueller
Clarice Ray
MIAA AWARDS
These teams earned the 2018-2019 MIAA Team GPA Award for achieving a 3.3 or better grade-point average for the entire academic year:
Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Men’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Softball
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Volleyball
MIAA ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Student Athletes 2018-2019
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association each year honors students at MIAA member colleges who achieve in the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average for the entire academic year.
Hayleigh Alamo
Georgie Andrews
Hunter Angileri
Lauren Arquette
Brooklyn Avery
Julia Bachmann
Sonal Bahl
Nicole Bailey
Lillian Baumann
Brad Bez
Rose Bogard
Jacob Bonifacio
Maria Bonvicini
Alexander Bowden
Molly Brueger
Jane Bunch
Pierce Burke
Alexander Cadigan
Gabriel Chung
Isabelle Clark
Noah Coplan
Rachel Cornell
Chase Coselman
Eva Deyoung
Alexis Dietz
Adam Dorstewitz
Amanda Dow
Sydney Dowdell
Thomas Fales
Colton Farley
Anders Finholt
Clifton Foster
Jakob Frederick
Brendan Gausselin
Sarah George
Jacob Gilhaus
Anthony Giovanni
Rachel Girard
Sophia Goebel
Preston Grossling
Garrett Guthrie
Rebekah Halley
Emily Hamel
Grace Hancock
Megan Heft
Alyssa Heitkamp
Mathew Holmes-Hackerd
Matthew Howrey
Benjamin Hyndman
Samantha Jacobsen
Benjamin Johanski
Jaylin Jones
Jackson Jones
Claire Kalina
Grace Karrip
Lucas Kastran
Maria Katrantzi
Greg Kearns
Jackson Kelly
Brandon Kramer
Benjamin Krebs
Matthew Krinock
Stefan Leclerc
Kathryn Levasseur
Rosella LoChirco
Molly Logsdon
Nicholas Ludka
Andrea MacMichael
Rachel Madar
Deven Mahanti
Cydney Martell
Samuel Matthews
Eliza McCall
Benjamin Meschke
Hannah Meyers
Nathan Micallef
Zachary Morales
Max Moran
Amanda Moss
Elizabeth Munoz
Kelly Nickelson
Nikoli Nickson
Ian Nostrant
Drew Novetsky
Michael Orwin
Dylan Padget
Paul Pavliscak
Calder Pellerin
Anthony Peraza
Erin Perkins
Eve Petrie
Zach Prystash
Daniel Qin
Erin Radermacher
Harrison Ramsey
Zachary Ray
Jordan Reichenbach
Benjamin Reiter
Lucas Rizzolo
Margaret Roberts
Scott Roberts
Lily Rogowski
Marco Savone
Ashley Schiffer
Nicholas Schneider
Justin Schodowski
Darby Scott
Justin Seablom
Sharif Shaker
Drew Sheckell
Nathan Silverman
Maya Srkalovic
Abby Stewart
Grant Stille
Shelby Suseland
Garrett Swanson
Jacob Sypniewski
Nina Szalkiewicz
Jack Tagget
Leah Tardiff
Emily Tenniswood
Cade Thune
Matt Turton
Madison Vallan
Zachary Van Faussien
Travis Veenhuis
Tejas Vettukattil
Vanessa Vigier
Maija Weaver
Megan Williams
Hannah Wolfe
Sophia Woodhams
Austin Yunker
Christian Zeitvogel
When an award-winning poet speaks on campus, you can bet Kalamazoo College students are eagerly listening and learning.
Poet Marcelo Hernandez Castillo reads to Kalamazoo College students from his book, Cenzontle, at the Intercultural Center.
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, a celebrated writer known for his early life experiences as an undocumented immigrant, was warmly welcomed last week to K. He conversed with students in classes taught by Assistant English Professor Shanna Salinas (Reading the World: Identities) and Assistant Sociology Professor Francisco Villegas (Race and Racism). He also provided a poetry reading in front of about 80 students in the Intercultural Center at Hicks Student Center.
“Intersections of language and home are on the hearts and minds of so many of our students,” said Assistant English Professor Oliver Baez Bendorf, who helped facilitate Castillo’s visit. “It’s important for them to know that they can do anything, and to see different models for that. Their stories matter and they can survive the telling of them and even make it beautiful. Reading is always a portal through which they can transport and grow. I know that Marcelo was likewise touched by the energy of our community and our students, their readiness to engage with his writing, their intellectual and creative curiosity, and all that they so impressively juggle.”
Castillo’s poetry collection, titled Cenzontle, addresses the fears he once faced of being deported. Castillo came to the United States with his family from Zacatecas, Mexico, at age 5 and was an early beneficiary of President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State University and was the first undocumented student to graduate from the Helen Zell Writers Program at the University of Michigan.
For Cenzontle, the poet received the New Writers Award this year from the Great Lakes Colleges Association — a 13-member consortium of higher-education institutions in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — which includes K. The award, founded in 1970, honors writers who are in the early stages of their literary career. Along with Cenzontle, Castillo has a 2018 chapbook titled Dulce. His memoir, Children of the Land, is scheduled for release next year.
Beyond poetry, Castillo is an essayist, translator and immigration advocate and a founding member of the Undocupoets campaign, which successfully eliminated citizenship requirements from all major first-poetry-book prizes in the country. His work has been featured in The New York Times, People Magazine, Buzzfeed and New England Review, and he teaches in the Low-Res MFA program at Ashland University.
With focused eyes and open minds, Salinas’ students listened intently to Castillo and asked a range of questions: poem- and content-specific, craft and poetic technique, themes and broader open-ended considerations. “I appreciated how generous Marcelo was in sharing his personal experiences and talking about his writing process,” Salinas said. “He was invested in their questions and insights, and I could tell the students felt that they were being seen, heard and respected.”
Opportunities to hear from renowned, in-the-field experts are celebrated occasions at K regardless of their field of expertise, although hearing from Castillo was a notable treat for students, faculty and staff, especially the aspiring writers among them.
“So many things about reading and writing happen in solitude,” Baez Bendorf said. “When you’ve read words on a page and then the human behind them arrives in your midst, it can be almost magical. I saw that happen with Marcelo’s visit. It’s thrilling to have a visitor, and even better when they’ve come with stories and generosity. Our students extended great hospitality to Marcelo and welcomed him into their spaces.”
Three exciting days of concerts will feature music from jazz to percussion to classical collections as Kalamazoo College students showcase their talents in fall performances.
The International Percussion Ensemble concert scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13, will feature Kalamazoo College’s Taiko drummers.
The International Percussion Ensemble will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts. The ensemble unites individuals with varied musical backgrounds from K, nearby institutions and the general community in West African and Japanese Taiko drumming. Carolyn Koebel manages both of the International Percussion Groups. Nathaniel Waller helps instruct the West African group.
Kalamazoo College’s Jazz Band, led by Music Professor Tom Evans, will perform a free concert, themed “Autumn in Madrid,” at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the Dalton Theater. The Jazz Band plays contemporary and classic jazz arrangements that deliver an enjoyable musical experience to delighted audiences. Dancing is encouraged by audience members, so have a wonderful time!
The Kalamazoo Philharmonia, under the direction of Associate Professor of Music Andrew Koehler, will perform a concert themed “Among Friends” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, in Dalton Theater. The performance will feature returning guest pianist Weiyin Chen, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The orchestra will also perform works by composers Sir Edward William Elgar and Grażyna Bacewicz. Chen, a Taiwanese-American pianist who has studied with and received accolades from renowned masters such as conductor Leon Fleisher and pianists Richard Goode and Claude Frank, has performed recitals in France, Italy, Denmark, and India abroad, and New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Utah and Chicago in the U.S.
The Philharmonia is an orchestra of Kalamazoo College and the community. The group brings together students, faculty, and amateur and professional musicians. The group won the 2014 American Prize Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award for Orchestral Programming and has produced several CDs. It also has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, and collaborated with the Bach Festival Chorus, as well as many renowned soloists. Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for children and free for K students, faculty and staff who present a College ID.
A world-renowned expert on social justice and its role in international sports will visit Stetson Chapel at Kalamazoo College on Monday, Nov. 4.
Social justice and international sports expert Richard Lapchick will visit Kalamazoo College on Monday, Nov. 4.
Richard Lapchick, the endowed chair and director of the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida and the president of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice (ISSJ), will conduct a conversation about sports, justice and activism with Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Director Lisa Brock. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. before the event, “Just Sport: A Conversation on Sports, Justice and Activism with Dr. Richard Lapchick,” begins at 7:30 p.m.
Lapchick founded the Center for the Study of Sport in Society in 1984 at Northeastern University. He served as its director for 17 years and is now its director emeritus. The center has attracted national attention to its efforts ensuring the education of athletes from junior high school through the professional ranks. The center’s Project TEAMWORK was called “America’s most successful violence prevention program” by public opinion analyst Lou Harris. The project won the Peter F. Drucker Foundation Award as the nation’s most innovative nonprofit program and was named by the Clinton Administration as a model for violence prevention.
Lapchick also helped form the National Consortium for Academics and Sport, which is now the ISSJ, in 1985. Nationally, ISSJ athletes have worked with nearly 19.9 million young people in the school-outreach and community-service program, which focused on teaching youths how to improve race relations, develop conflict-resolution skills, prevent gender violence and avoid drug and alcohol abuse. They collectively donated more than 22 million hours of service while member colleges donated more than $300 million in tuition assistance.
Lapchick has authored 17 books, received 10 honorary doctorates, and is a regular columnist for ESPN.com and The Sports Business Journal. He has written more than 600 articles, has given more than 2,900 public speeches, and has appeared several times on Good Morning America, Face the Nation, The Today Show, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, The CBS Evening News, CNN and ESPN. From the sports boycott against apartheid to exposing the connection between sports and human trafficking, he has spoken before Congress, and at the United Nations, the European Parliament and the Vatican.
For more information on the event, please call 269.337.7398 or visit the Arcus Center on Facebook.
Joe Soss, the University of Minnesota’s Cowles Chair for the Study of Public Service, will deliver the annual William Weber Lecture in Government and Society at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall.
A professor and author known for exploring the interplay of democratic politics, societal inequalities and public policy will visit Kalamazoo College on Tuesday. Cowles Chair for the Study of Public Service Joe Soss will deliver the annual William Weber Lecture in Government and Society at 8 p.m. in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall.
Soss holds faculty positions in the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the political science department and sociology department at the University of Minnesota. His open-to-the-public lecture, “Preying on the Poor: Criminal Justice as Revenue Racket,” shares a title with his current book project.
In the upcoming book, Soss and coauthor Josh Page will argue that police officers, acting as street-level enforcers for a program promoted by city officials in Ferguson, Missouri, used fines and fees to extract resources from poor communities of color and deliver them to municipal coffers.
The authors will further argue that what happened in Ferguson is not an anomaly in U.S. history or of contemporary American governance while offering a political analysis of the origins, operations and consequences of revenue-centered criminal justice practices that have grown in the U.S. since the 1990s.
Soss also co-authored a 2011 book, Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race, with Richard C. Fording and Sanford Schram. That book explained the transformation of poverty governance over 40 years and received the 2012 Michael Harrington Award, the 2012 Oliver Cromwell Cox Award, the 2012 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award and the 2015 Herbert Simon Award.
The Weber Lecture was founded by Bill Weber, a 1939 graduate of Kalamazoo College. Weber also founded the William Weber Chair in Political Science at the College before passing in 2012. Past lecturers in this series have included David Broder, Van Jones and DeRay Mckesson. For more information on Soss and his work, visit his website.
Rebecca Chan ’22 (right) will play Percy and serve as the dramaturg for the Festival Playhouse production of Spitfire Grill. Sedona Coleman ’23 (left) will play Shelby and Sophie Hill ’20 (middle) will play Hannah.
Can a former prison inmate one day be redeemed, have healthy relationships and feel free from the person who once attacked her? The fall Festival Playhouse production of the musical Spitfire Grill examines these issues for parolee Percy Talbott, who tries to forge a new place for herself in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. There, she combats town gossip—mostly about herself—in a place that represents freedom, far from where she was attacked.
Rebecca Chan ’22 will play the lead role and serve as the production’s dramaturg.
“When (Percy) was in prison, she found a picture of Wisconsin in a travel book,” Chan said. “It looked open and free, so she decided she wanted to go there when she was released.”
As the dramaturg, Chan is responsible for working with the director, Visiting Professor “C” Heaps, on background research and how current events and perspectives might inform or shape the production. That means in addition to performing a critical role, Chan is preparing a lobby display and writing an essay that will further discuss the play’s themes including female empowerment, domestic abuse, redemption and the mistreatment of veterans, especially Vietnam War veterans.
The theme of female empowerment is especially important to Chan, who feels honored to participate in the Playhouse’s 56th season, which recognizes women in theater under the theme “HERstory: Forgotten Female Figures.”
Chan notes that many storylines in theatre productions are male-dominated, even as a majority of those participating in college theatre settings are women. “It’s nice to do a show where a majority of the performers are women and they’re a big influence on the show,” Chan said.
Spitfire Grill has three main characters, all of whom are women. Shelby, played by Sedona Coleman ’23, is a woman in her 30s who struggles to find connections outside of her emotionally abusive husband. Hannah, played by Sophie Hill ’20, is an elderly woman and the owner of the grill. Hannah has a son, Eli, who left to fight in Vietnam and has never returned. Like Percy, both are characters trying to find their place in Gilead.
“The town falls apart because Eli had been a symbol of hope and the future,” Chan said. “Eli’s missing status is the catalyst for everything falling apart. The play’s progression starts in the winter, and the costuming and dialogue reflect the progression of seasons. That’s followed by rebirth and more life in people’s lives before it ends in fall with the colored leaves.”
By the end, the three female characters who once were isolated and lonely become strong friends.
“It’s almost like they build their own family,” Chan said.
The show is accompanied by a live, five-person orchestra, performing on a piano, a guitar, a mandolin, a violin, a cello player and a keyboard tuned to sound like an accordion. Their folk-like music, derived from Appalachia, reflects Percy’s background as a West Virginia native.
The performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, through Saturday, Nov. 9, with a 2 p.m. showing on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tickets for all four shows at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse are available by visiting festivalplayhouse.ludus.com or by calling 269.337.7333. Adults are $15, seniors are $10 and students are $5 with an ID. Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their College IDs.
From the Chicago area to Kalamazoo, music lovers will have a chance to see a Kalamazoo College vocal group in two public concerts coming soon.
The College Singers have concerts coming up in Naperville, Illinois, on Oct. 25 and in Kalamazoo on Oct. 31.
The College Singers—a 28-voice mixed soprano, alto, tenor and bass choir representing music majors and non-music majors—will perform concerts titled Spark. The first is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 25 E. Benton Ave., in Naperville, Illinois. The concert is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted to defray the cost of touring for the choir. On Saturday, the group will perform a private concert at the Primo Center for Women and Children in Englewood for the residents receiving services from this non-profit.
The group returns to Kalamazoo to perform at 4:10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in the lobby of Dalton Theater at the Light Fine Arts building on campus. This concert is also free and open to the public. It is one hour long and should be long before trick or treating begins.
Spark is so-titled because it relates to pondering the origins of an idea through music and psychology.
“I was curious about the ways in which ideas come to life from nothing in particular,” said Assistant Music Professor Chris Ludwa, the group’s director, about crafting the performance. “That got me to thinking about the origins of various systems, even life itself, so the concert explores all of those things from the birth of people to the birth of ideas.”
The College Singers have performed in cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Traverse City and Lansing before, leaving the Chicago area as a logical next destination for its first concert of the year—not only for its K connections with prospective students and alumni nearby, but the openness and welcoming nature of the public venues.
“It’s important that we move from the concert hall to the community,” Ludwa said. “Too often music has been something offered up in venues that exclude part of society.”
The director added the concerts will appeal to virtually any music lover.
“The song list will hit numerous genres from spirituals to chant,” Ludwa said. “We have old folk songs sung by trios and big, energetic songs that include drums, stomping and other forms of expression. If you have a pulse, you’ll find something that speaks to you on this program.”
Kalamazoo College, founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college and the creator of the K-Plan, which emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, independent research, and international and intercultural engagement.
For more information on the concerts, please contact Ludwa at cludwa@kzoo.edu or 231.225.8877.
Pianist Sookkyung Cho will perform a free concert Thursday, Oct. 17, in Kalamazoo College’s Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts.
A Korean-born professional pianist noted for her career appearances at venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Cultural Center will perform in a free concert at Kalamazoo College.
Sookkyung Cho will perform pieces by composers such as Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts. A founding member of the New York-based Almava Trio, Cho has been featured in major music festivals including Yellow Barn, Norfolk and Sarasota, and was a performing associate at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine.
Before her appointment as an assistant professor of piano at Grand Valley State University in fall 2015, Cho was a member of the piano and chamber music faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory in Boston and the music theory faculty at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Cho earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Juilliard, where she was honored with the prestigious John Erskine Graduation Prize. She also has a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Institute and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Juilliard.
For more information about this concert, please contact the Music Department at 269.337.7070 or susan.lawrence@kzoo.edu.
Kalamazoo College will welcome back alumni, families and friends for a fun-filled weekend as we celebrate Homecoming 2019 on Oct. 18-20.
Alumni and guests will participate in events such as the 5K Run/Walk during Homecoming 2019.
Events begin at dawn Friday when alumni are invited to begin taking self-guided tours of the Lillian Anderson Arboretum. The “Roots in the Earth” first-year seminar created the tour in 2018, sponsored by the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement, with stop information available at the arboretum’s website. Visitors can enjoy acres of marsh, meadow and forest, and visit the Batts Pavillion, named for H. Lewis Batts Jr. ’43 and Jean M. Batts ’43. Parking at the arboretum is available throughout the day in its main lot, with overflow parking offered at the Oshtemo Township Park, 7275 W. Main St., just east of the property.
Other Homecoming 2019 highlights will include:
Peter Rothstein ’14, the 2019 Young Alumni Award recipient, delivering a lecture titled From K to Tea at 4 p.m. Friday in Room 103 at Dewing Hall. Rothstein will talk about how he created a successful business after attending K. Rothstein, a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree , established Dona Chai with his sister, Amy. The company crafts tea concentrates and sodas brewed with spices from around the world.
The Alumni Association Awards at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dalton Theatre, honoring the Distinguished Achievement, Distinguished Service, Young Alumni, Weimer K. Hicks and Athletic Hall of Fame awards recipients.
Guided campus tours and opportunities to visit newer facilities including the Fitness and Wellness Center, the Intercultural Center, the Hornet Golf Lab and revamped weight room at Anderson Athletic Center, and the Admission Center. Consult our full Homecoming schedule for specific times.
An improvisation show with K’s improv troupe, Monkapult. Free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the door at Connable Recital Hall in Light Fine Arts at 10 p.m. Friday.
The Homecoming 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. Saturday. Check in will begin at 7:30 a.m. The event, offering an opportunity to see the campus and neighborhood, is open to all ages and fitness levels. The first 300 registrants will receive commemorative T-shirts designed by Tanush Samson ’19.
The K Song Project at 1 p.m. Saturday. Guests can enjoy a high-energy performance from the College Singers featuring songs submitted by reunion classes.
Athletics events throughout the weekend including team reunions, a volleyball match at 5 p.m. Friday against North Park at Anderson Athletic Center, a women’s soccer match against St. Mary’s at noon Saturday at the Athletic Fields Complex, a men’s soccer match against Alma at 4:30 p.m. at the Athletic Fields Complex, and the Homecoming football game against Albion at 2 p.m. at Angell Field.
