Fine Arts

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Pratt Music Scholars of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Preparatory Music Program have been invited to the White House on Nov. 3 and 4 to participate in activities surrounding the Classical Music Performance. The performance is a part of the White House Music Series organized by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Members of the community are encouraged to attend the trip’s send-off on Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Supporters will meet in the Bloomington-Normal Airport visitor waiting area where there will be a banner, signs, balloons and treats. All are encouraged to wear something red, white or blue to help students identify their supporters.

While in Washington, D.C., the students will take lessons from musicians Awadagin Pratt, Joshua Bell, Alisia Weilerstein and Sharon Isbin, after which they will attend an afternoon concert at the executive residence.

Awadagin Pratt, the award-winning concert pianist with roots in Bloomington-Normal, helped arrange for the students to be invited to the event. He founded the Pratt Foundation in 1997. The Pratt Music Scholars are supported by funds provided by community members as well as corporate sponsor State Farm® and the foundation has raised about $200,000 to date. These funds provide music lessons with Illinois Wesleyan music instructors through the Illinois Wesleyan Preparatory Music Program as well as make certain that the students have music and instruments as needed.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Faculty Biennial Exhibition will be on display from Oct. 6 through Nov. 5 at Illinois Wesleyan’s Merwin & Wakeley Galleries. The galleries are located in the Ames School of Art building (6 Ames Plaza West, Bloomington).

An opening reception will be held in the galleries on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. This exhibit, held every other year, offers a unique opportunity for the Illinois Wesleyan School of Art faculty to show their latest work to IWU students and the University community.

Regular gallery hours are from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday evenings and 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. All Merwin & Wakeley Gallery events are free and open to the public. Extended hours for Homecoming Weekend are Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11 from 11 to 5 p.m. As part of the homecoming festivities, a special reception for IWU Alumni will be held in the galleries on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University School of Theatre Arts will present “What the Butler Saw” by Joe Orton. The production will take place in McPherson Theatre (2 Ames Plaza East, Bloomington) at 8:00 p.m. on Sept. 29 and 30 and Oct. 1, 2 and 3. A matinee performance will be held Oct. 4 at 2:00 p.m..

Compared to Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”, the story line follows a psychiatrist, Dr. Prentice, as he opens his own clinic. His sexual escapades become evident through his interviewing of a new assistant. Meanwhile, a bellhop seduces (or rather gets seduced by) Dr. Prentice’s wife, Mrs. Prentice. The couple must try to keep these secrets from one another while handling an unexpected visit to the hospital from the state inspector. The result, of course, is pandemonium.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The music group ONIX Ensamble will be the featured guests at Illinois Wesleyan University School of Music’s annual Symposium of Contemporary Music. The Symposium will be held from Oct. 2 to Oct. 3 and is free and open to the public.

Established in 1952, the Symposium of Contemporary Music brings prominent guest composers or performers to campus for a two-to-three day residency. The Symposium’s goal is to involve students directly in performing new compositions by contemporary composers while also participating in discussions on the aesthetics of the works. Recent guests of the Symposium include the Orchid Ensemble, Roderik and Annelie de Man, Stephen Paulus, New York New Music Ensemble, and Louis Andriessen.

ONIX is a group of musicians from Mexico that plays Latin American contemporary music. The group consists of Alejandro Escuer, Edith Ruiz Zepeda, Fernando Dominguez, Abel Romero, and Edgardo Espinosa. All members of the group have experience as soloists, have an international career, and are all professors at the National University of Mexico. Founded by Escuer in 1993, ONIX has released 50 musical works and is a non-profit organization striving to use educational and community projects to enhance and redirect the role of music in society.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – He may not be “America’s Favorite Dancer,” but Evan Kasprzak is still Illinois Wesleyan University’s favorite dancer, as well as the favorite of millions who voted for him across the United States. Kasprzak, an IWU senior from West Bloomfield, Mich., has won third place on Fox TV’s So You Think You Can Dance?, a hit reality TV show in the style of American Idol.

A music theatre major and a dancer since the age of six, Kasprzak was the first contestant dancing the Broadway style to compete on the award-winning show’s top 20. He was also the only dancer of the top 20 in season five who did not have to “dance for his life” to stay in the competition. Each week, the TV audience phoned in votes for their favorite dancer, and there were sufficient votes for Kasprzak to advance without impediment every round of eliminations this season.

“It’s been an awesome journey and I couldn’t ask for anything else,” said Kasprzak in front of an audience of over 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. He said one of his favorite aspects of the show has been working with the various professional choreographers, many of whom have won Emmy awards for their work. Hostess Cat Deeley asked him if he was glad he had been on the show. “I’m ecstatic,” he said.

Kasprzak’s final episode was greeted with cheers from an audience of over 60 at IWU’s Minor Myers, jr. Welcome Center auditorium. Members of the campus community gathered to celebrate the Illinois Wesleyan student’s weeks of dancing on the show, and many wore shirts with the phrase “Proud Kasprzaktivist” on them.

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