Arts and Culture

Northern Michigan University English professor Wendy Farkas is using an Endeavor Foundation grant to integrate civic learning into the English general education curriculum. NMU is among 24 institutions selected for funding from 134 applicants. The funding supports an Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) initiative called “Civic Prompts: Civic Learning in the Major by Design.” The initiative seeks to incorporate civic-minded studies and social responsibility as components within students’ major fields of study.

NMU Honors Program student and Wildcat football player Aaron Rochow researched the political and economic institutions in the neighboring African countries of Botswana and Zimbabwe to better understand their different development paths. He traveled to Botswana through a Lundin Summer Research Fellowship. Rochow and four other students will give presentations on their summer projects at an Oct. 25 event honoring donor Rich Lundin.

Dutch saxophonist Hans de Jong will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, at Northern Michigan University's Reynolds Recital Hall as part of the Siril Concert Series. Admission is free.

In addition to performing as a saxophone soloist and with chamber music ensembles, de Jong is a composer and teacher. He is professor of classical saxophone and chamber music at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp, Belgium, and artistic director/conductor for the Royal Antwerp Saxophone Project.

The NMU Orchestra and the STARS Youth Orchestra will give a joint performance at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, in Reynolds Recital Hall. They will perform three movements of the "Capriol Suite" by Peter Warlock. The concert is free and open to the public.

The STARS Youth Orchestra is a string ensemble that is part of the Soo Theatre Project in Sault Ste. Marie. A former graduate of the NMU music program, Maggie Twining, is the director of the STARS Youth Orchestra.

Northern Michigan University will celebrate Latino heritage by bringing one of Michigan’s top Latin bands, Orquesta Tradición, to campus for a performance in Jamrich Hall on Friday, Oct. 26. The public is invited free of charge. Orquesta Tradición is from the Grand Rapids area. The group plays South American and Caribbean-influenced salsa, merengue, bachata and cumbia music popular throughout Latin America.

Northern Michigan University’s French program is presenting its 11th annual classic silent film with grand piano accompaniment. The Phantom of the Opera, a 1925 horror film with English subtitles starring Lon Chaney in the title role, will be screened at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the Ontario room of the University Center. Admission is free. Pianist Robert Buchkoe will provide the music.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will present a three-part tapestry weaving workshop as part of its upcoming exhibition, Ancestral Women.  Award-winning weaver Mary Burns, whose work resides in private homes across the nation and reflects her love of northern woodlands and waters, will lead the workshop. The registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 26.

The Australian psychedelic rock band Pond will perform at Northern Michigan University on Saturday, Oct. 27. The opening acts will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Lakes Rooms of the University Center. Tickets will be sold at the doors, in cash only. No presale tickets will be available. Admission is free to NMU students and $10 for the public/non-students.  The show is hosted by NoMAD (Northern Michigan Artist Development).

Northern Michigan University will host the Ann Arbor Film Festival Traveling Tour from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, in the NMU Art and Design Building 165. The tour features digital programs of six experimental animated, documentary and narrative videos. This event is free and open to the public.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center and NMU International Dancers will hold a free Ethnic Folk Dance at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, at DanceZone. The event will feature ethnic dances from various groups represented in the Upper Peninsula, including French, Italian, Slovenian, Finnish, Swedish, Irish and more. Music will be performed by the Copper Country’s Thimbleberry Band. The dance is being held in conjunction with the current Beaumier Center exhibition, "The Immigration Experience."