Asheville City Mayor to Speak at Brevard College’s March 3 Women’s History Month Program

Asheville City Mayor Terry M. Bellamy will speak on “Taking the Lead” during Brevard College’s Women’s History Month Program on Tuesday, March 3.

The program, hosted by the College’s Multicultural Initiatives, will be held at 7 p.m. in the College’s Reserve Dining Room of A.G. Myers Dining Hall. It is free and open to the public.

Asheville citizens elected Bellamy to serve as mayor of the City of Asheville in 2005. Upon her inauguration, she became the youngest mayor in North Carolina, the youngest mayor ever elected in Asheville and the first African-American to serve as mayor in Asheville.

Since her election, Mayor Bellamy has shared her vision for a unified community that works together to address challenges and take advantage of opportunities for the future. She is dedicated to promoting and enhancing basic city services and a high quality of citizen customer service. Mayor Bellamy is a native of Asheville and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

For more information about the presentation, contact Dr. Tasha C. Toy, Assistant Director for Student Life at 828.884.8117 or toytc@brevard.edu.

BC Hosts Opening Reception for Sue Grier Ceramics Art Exhibition

The Brevard College Art Department will host an opening reception and presentation for ceramics artist Sue Grier on Friday, February 27.

The opening reception for Grier's exhibit, “Junctions + Surface + Meaning,” will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Brevard College's Spiers Gallery in the Sims Art Center.

The reception and exhibit visitations are free to the public.

Through what is known as embodied learning, Grier seeks to explore how the idea of function can go beyond the utilitarian or traditional definition to further embrace the intellectual and conceptual aspect of the term. She uses familiar and abstract ceramic forms to symbolically express these observations and conceptual ideas. In choosing ‘functional forms’, she adds additional layers of interest through use of scale, surface treatment, gesture or posture and re-contextualization. Grier, who has been working with clay since 1984, is currently teaching part-time at Clemson University.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. weekdays when the College is in session. The exhibit will be on display until March 27.

For more information about this exhibition, contact Diane Pomphrey at 828-884-8188.

Banff Mountain Film Festival Tickets On Sale Now

Experience the adventure of climbing, mountain expeditions, remote cultures, and the world’s last great wild places – all brought to life on the big screen – when the Banff Mountain Film Festival returns to Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts March 20-21.

Tickets are $10 each showing or $15 for both nights. They may be purchased from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday from the Porter Center Box Office by calling (828) 884-8330 or by visiting the Box Office in person.

The film festival doors will open on Friday, March 20 at 7 p.m. to give patrons an opportunity to interact with this year’s sponsors. The film showing will begin at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, March 21, the doors will open at 7 p.m. and the film showing will start at 7:30 p.m. Each night will also feature a performance by The Mason Jar Drinkers.

Sponsoring this year’s event are Nali Outdoor Wear, Mast General Store, Diamond Brand Outdoors, WNCW 88.7, Green River Adventures, REI Asheville, Landmark Learning, and Blue Ridge Outdoors. For more information about the Banff Mountain Film Festival at Brevard College, contact Jason A Djuren, Assistant Director of Student Life, Outdoor Recreation, at (828) 883-8292, ext. 2232

Brevard College’s Library Highlights Black History Month

Brevard College’s J.A. Jones Library is recognizing Black History Month and the theme of “The Quest for Citizenship in the Americas” through an informational display and special lineup of books, videos and online resources.

The library has a wide range of books on display celebrating African-American history, music, art, literature, civil rights, biography, religion and women. Electronic resources for further research are also available.

Recent materials in the collection include: “African American Literature” (MasterPlots II series); “African American National Biography” (8 v.); “Becoming American: the African-American Journey;” “Columbia Guide to African-American History Since 1939;” “From My People: 400 Years of African-American Folklore;” “Grass roots: African Origins of an American Art;” “Raising Freedom’s Child: Black Children and Visions of the Future After Slavery” (e-book); “Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery” (video); and African American Almanac (online).

Brevard College’s Library is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday 3 p.m. - 10 p.m. For more information about the library and its resources, contact Mike McCabe, director of the library, at 884-8248 or library@brevard.edu.

Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile Opens February 19th at Brevard College

The Brevard College Department of Theatre Studies is pleased to announce the opening of actor/comedian/musician Steve Martin’s hilariously witty play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile.


The play is about “being just on the verge of great discoveries in art and science,” according to director Kelly Carolyn Gordon. “The early 20th century was an exciting and hopeful period in history,” said Gordon, who is coordinator of Brevard College’s Theatre Studies. “Today, we are also living in a time of significant change. The play makes one wonder what innovations we will see and what will inspire them.”

The action takes place in 1904, in the Parisian bar, Le Lapin Agile, a popular watering hole and home-away-from-home to a bevy of artists and writers, including Einstein, Picasso and a visitor from the future. In the course of the play, a group of unforgettable characters gather to drink and discuss the possibilities of the 20th century.

The cast and crew, including many familiar faces on the Brevard College campus as well as Brevard resident Bill Schlack (Gaston), are enthusiastic about working on this production. Brevard College senior Dwight Chiles (Freddy) says, “I wouldn’t want my last show at Brevard College to be anything else but Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile.” Senior Emily Wooton (Germaine) is “thrilled to be a part of the show.”
Others in the cast are senior Stanislas Foucqueteau (The Visitor); junior Alicia Elias (The Countess); sophomore Kara Ontiveros (A Young Girl); and freshmen Augustin Edmundson (Einstein), Kelli Tysinger (Suzanne), Dave Bergman (Sagot), Alex Tompkins (Picasso) and Adrian Wagner (Schmendiman).

The set was designed by junior Erin O’Rourke, who was inspired by pictures of the real Lapin Agile and the art of the 20th century.

Performances will be held February 19-21 and 26-27 at The Morrison Playhouse in The Porter Center for Performing Arts on the Brevard College campus. The performances on February 20-21 are already sold out.

Single play tickets are $10 for adults and $2 for students. Curtain time is at 8 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Porter Center Box Office. For more information on tickets, please contact the Porter Center Box Office at 884-8330.


The photo was taken by BC student Hannah Culwell. In the photo, from left to right are Agustin Edmundson, Emily Wooton, Alex Tompkins, Adrian Wagner, Dwight Chiles, Bill Schlack and David Bergman.

Duke University Organist to Perform Solo Recital at Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts

Robert Parkins, university organist and professor of the practice of music at Duke University, will perform a solo recital on the Kirkpatrick-Coleman Pipe Organ at Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts on Sunday, February 22.

The 3 p.m. performance will include the works of Bach, Brahms and Mendelssohn, among others. Parkins will be playing the majestic Kirkpatrick-Coleman Organ, the visual centerpiece of the Porter Center’s Scott Concert Hall. The organ was designed and crafted by master American organ builder Daniel J. Jaeckel, thanks to a $1.1 million gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Coleman Jr. of Brevard. Installed in the summer of 2003, the tracker (mechanical key) organ features three manual divisions, 69 ranks and 3,539 pipes.

Parkins has performed throughout the United States, in Central America and in Europe. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music, he studied with Gerre Hancock, Charles Krigbaum, Michael Schneider and Ralph Kirkpatrick. As a Fulbright scholar, Parkins pursued further study with Anton Heiller in Vienna.

Parkin’s organ and harpsichord recordings have been released under the Calcante, Gothic, Musical Heritage Society and Naxos labels. His Naxos compact disc recordings include Early Iberian Organ Music and Brahms: Complete Organ Works, both recorded on the Duke Chapel’s Flentrop organ. German Romantic Organ Music (Gothic Records) features both the Flentrop and the Æolian organs. Iberian and South German Organ Music (Calcante) was the first commercial recording of the new Brombaugh meantone organ. Parkins has since released another recording of the Brombaugh, Organ Music of Frescobaldi (Calcante).

Tickets to Parkin’s performance are $25, $20 and $10 for students. Tickets may be purchased from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Porter Center Box Office. For more information on tickets, please contact the Porter Center Box Office at 884-8330.

Brevard College Music Department Presents Sunday Concert Featuring Oboe, Violin and Piano

Joseph Robinson, principal oboist in the New York Philharmonic from 1978-2005; his wife, violinist Mary Kay Robinson, former member of the New Jersey and Atlanta symphonies; and pianist Katherine Morgan Palmer, an instructor at Brevard College, will perform at the Porter Center for Performing Arts on the Brevard College campus on Sunday, February 15.

The 3:30 p.m. concert, presented by the Brevard College Music Department, will feature works by Telemann, Robert Glenn Palmer, Bill Robinson, Martin, Gade, Poulenc and Dring.

General admission to the concert is $15. Students will be admitted for free.

Tickets On Sale Now for Steve Martin’s "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" at Brevard College; Some Performances Sold Out

The Brevard College Department of Theatre Studies will start the semester off with actor/comedian Steve Martin’s clever and funny play Picasso at the Lapin Agile. The show is set in a real-life Parisian bar, Le Lapin Agile, a popular gathering place for artists, musicians and writers. On the night when the action takes place, in October 1904, a group of unforgettable characters, including Picasso, Einstein and a visitor from the future, gather to drink and discuss the 20th century.

The play is about “being just on the verge of great discoveries in art and science,” according to director Kelly Carolyn Gordon. “The early 20th century was an exciting and hopeful period in history,” said Gordon, who is coordinator of Brevard College’s Theatre Studies. “Today, we are also living in a time of significant change. The play makes one wonder what innovations we will see and what will inspire them.”

Performances will be held February 19-21 and 26-27 at The Morrison Playhouse in The Porter Center for Performing Arts on the Brevard College campus. The performances on February 20-21 are already sold out. Single play tickets are $10 for adults and $2 for students. Curtain time is at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Porter Center Box Office. For more information on tickets, please contact the Porter Center Box Office at 884-8330.

Photojournalist Presents “Eyewitness Gaza” Multi Media Presentation at Brevard College Friday

Photojournalist Skip Schiel will present, “Eyewitness Gaza,” a multi media presentation about his 2008 trip to Gaza on Friday, February 6 at Brevard College.

The presentation will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Room 125 of the McLarty-Goodson Building on Brevard College’s campus. It is free and open to the public.

Schiel, who is from Cambridge Mass., has traveled and photographed in Israel-Palestine over a five-year period, usually three months each year. Using photographs and stories, he will present his experiences from his last journey to Gaza in January, 2008.

Since 1990, Schiel has taught photography through the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Harvard University's Landscape Institute. His photography ranges between landscape, abstract, experimental, portraiture and socially engaged. Schiel’s photos have appeared in the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and Progressive Magazine, and are in the collections of Harvard University. He has had exhibitions in numerous venues across the country.

Brevard College Receives Solar-thermal Seed-money Grant

Brevard College recently received a $5,000 grant from the Katherine Preyer Foundation.

The funds will be used as seed-money to attract matching grants that will allow the College to establish a solar-thermal heating system for the A.G. Myers Dining Hall. The dining hall, which feeds more than 250,000 students, faculty, staff and community members each year, is currently the largest user of hot water in Transylvania County.

“The total cost of converting the cafeteria will be about $75,000 so we view this as a first baby step toward heating all hot water on campus from renewable energy,” said Brevard College Associate Professor of Geology Jim Reynolds, who wrote the winning grant proposal. “This is entirely consistent with the College’s mission statement and the ’08-’09 campus theme: Sustainability, Awareness Into Action. I hope we will see additional support for this important initiative to blossom rapidly.”

For more information about contributing to the solar-thermal project, please contact the Office of Institutional Development at 828.884.8218.