September 16, 2015

Southern Illinois University Arts and Cultural Events

Sept. 18 – Oct. 9

This bi-weekly email brings together the highlights of arts and cultural events at SIU Carbondale. From music to art, film to dance, guest lectures to workshops and theater, you will find the information here. Event information is subject to change. 

HIGHLIGHTS

SEPT. 18 - A patent attorney and senior counsel for The Boeing Company is the keynote speaker at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Second Annual Women’s Leadership Conference, at the Student Center. Laurie Landgraf, an SIU alumna and a board member for the College Industrial Advisory Board (SIU College of Engineering), will address the conference at 9 a.m. On-site registration begins at 8:15 a.m. in Corker Lounge with a conference welcome at 8:45 a.m. in the ballrooms. The keynote address is at 9 a.m. Morning sessions begin at 10 a.m. in the river rooms with a break at 11:45 a.m. followed by lunch at noon in the ballrooms. The afternoon sessions begin at 1:45 p.m. with a closing session at 2:45 p.m. featuring Jeff McGoy from the SIU Office of the Dean of the Students. The closing session is in the ballrooms. 

SEPT. 23 - Author, businessman, television personality and U.S. Army veteran Wes Moore will share his inspirational story beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center ballrooms as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series lectures. Moore is the author of “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” “The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters,” and “Forcefully Advancing.” His presentation is free and open to the public. SIU President Randy Dunn noted that the Distinguished Speaker Series is designed to enhance the academic experience for students and further engage the community in the life of the university. 

SEPT. 24-26 - Jonathan Gray, associate professor of communication studies, is also a writer and director of though-provoking performance art. His most recent creation, “The Matter in Hand,” comes to the Marion Kleinau Theater with performances at 8 p.m. Gray uses puppetry and masks to examine all the angles of our relationships with “non-human organisms” – the ones we love and the ones we use, the ones we embrace and the ones we fear. “Animals… are trapped between our projections of ourselves onto them and our distancing of ourselves from them,” he wrote in an introduction to his performance.

SEPT. 29 - The Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra welcomes two musical stars from China for the opening performance of the 2015-2016 symphony season. “Friends from China Play Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini” begins at 7:30 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium. Maestro Zhonghui Dai, music director of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra of China and Principal Trumpet of the National Symphony of China opens the evening with Rossini’s “Overture to the Barber of Seville.” Pianist Liu Liu performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21. The evening’s performance also includes Beethoven’s 8th Symphony. Ticket-holders are welcome to gather for a free, pre-concert dinner in the University Museum-Faner Hall courtyard.

SEPT. 29 - Klassics for Kids, the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra and School of Music outreach to area children, offers highlights from the “Friends from China Play Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini” concert, but in a format that is young-listener-friendly. The free performance begins at 10 a.m. in Shryock Auditorium.

OCT. 9 – Broadcast journalist and investigative reporter Juan Gonzalez, co-host of the radio and television program “Democracy Now!” visits SIU as the keynote speaker for Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month 2015. He will discuss, “Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America,” a landmark book that is now also an award-winning documentary film. The book chronicles the long history of Latinos in the United States, from the colonial days until now. The film won an award for its use of archival footage. The film is particularly relevant to current immigration discussions.

Here are other select upcoming events in list form:

SEPTEMBER 

21 – Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month event, “Rise and Fall of the Mayan Civilization,” 7 p.m., Engineering Building Alumni Lounge. 

23-24 – Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month event, piñata workshops, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Student Center, Big Muddy Room. 

24 – Artist Lecture. Blaine de St. Croix talks about his large-scale installations and sculptures, 6:15 p.m., John C. Guyon Auditorium, Morris Library. 

24 – Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month event. Ven Bailalo dance workshops, 7-9 p.m., lower level Grinnell Hall. Learn to groove to reggaeton music, a Puerto Rican-born form that meshes rap with Caribbean beats. Also takes place Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. 

26 – Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month event. Poetry open mic night, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Student Center, Auditorium D. 

27 – Music concert. Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society: Sonorous Sonatas, 3-4:30 p.m., Unitarian Fellowship Church (105 N. Parrish Lane, Carbondale). 

27 – Astronomy event. Come to the Saluki Stadium beginning at 7 p.m. to enjoy the spectacle of a full lunar eclipse in company with scientists who can describe the event and the night sky. The event ends at midnight. 

OCTOBER 

2 – Exhibit reception. University Museum Fall 2015 Exhibition Opening Reception, 4-7 p.m. at the museum. 

2 – Relay race and festivities. Moon Dawg 50 and fall festival, beginning at 7 p.m., with race registration check-in at 6 p.m. and mandatory packet pick-up at 5 p.m. This is a relay race around the campus lake trail – 23+ laps. Contact Brittany Pender with Recreational Sports and Services for additional information. 

3 – Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month event. Salsa the night away at the always-popular Noche de Gala, 7-11 p.m., Student Center Ballrooms. 

5 – LGBTQ History Month event. Amy Stewart presents “Queer Revolt: Legacies of Transgender Resistance,” 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Morris Library, rooms 752/754. 

5 – LGBTQ History Month event. Royce Burnett presents “Financial Management: Now That We Have Marriage, What Do We Do?” 5-7 p.m., Student Center Mackinaw Room. 

7 – LGBTQ History Month event. Nathan Stephens presents “Intersection of LGBTQ and Title IX,” 5-7 p.m, Student Center, Activity Room D, third floor. 

8 – Concert. Wind Ensemble and Concert Choir join forces for “Summer Remembrances/Remembering Connections,” beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium.