The Art of Being Free - Fine Arts Series

Faculty Concert Series: Zoro - Classic American Rock Drumming
September 8, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
The opening Faculty Concert Series of Fall 2008 features internationally known "Zoro" in an evening of classica American rock drumming.

Freedom Sings
September 13, 2008
7 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Freedom Sings, the brainchild of The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, is a critically acclaimed multi-media experience featuring an all-star cast of musicians and an "only-in-America" story line. The presentation tells the story of almost three centuries of banned or censored music in America and invites audiences to take a fresh look at the First Amendment. This entertaining, irreverant and inspiring program is packed with live music and videos. It features hit songwriters and Grammy Award winners devoted to sharing the power, poetry and passion of music.

Carillon Concert: Bells Over America
September 14, 2008
3 p.m.
Bell Tower

Arabian Nights
September 18, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Troutt Theater
The Belmont Theatre Company in cooperation with Actor's Bridge Ensemble will present the play Arabian Nights in multiple showings from September 18 through September 28. This adaptation offers a wonderful blend of the lesser-known tales from Arabian Nights with the recurring theme of how the magic of storytelling holds the power to change people. The final scene brings the audience back to a modern-day Baghdad with the wail of air raid sirens threatening the rich culture and history that are embodied by these tales.

What I Wish to Say to the Future President
Sheryl Oring
October 1, 2008
10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Nationally known performance artist Sheryl Oring will be on the Belmont campus October 1 with her characteristic typewriter and camera. Oring performs via an interactive project with her audience - any Belmont student or personnel who may pass by. She sets up her table and typewriter and types postcards dictated by participants on what they wish to say to the future President. A photogrpaher is there to document this "performance". Her "performances" have become both books and exhibits.

Faculty Concert Series: Classical Piano Faculty Present American Piano Music
October 13, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Belmont Mansion

Belmont Symphony Orchestra Concert: American Classics, directed by Robert Gregg
October 14, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Belmont's 90-piece Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Robert Gregg, presents an evening of American orchestral classics including "A Lincoln Portrait".

Belmont Camerata Musicale Presents: The American Identity
October 20, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Belmont Mansion
Belmont's resident chamber ensemble features some of Nashville's finest performers, including artistic director Elisabeth Small and other School of Music faculty members and guest artists. They present "The American Identity" that celebrates the creative spirit of great Americans: Benjamin Franklin, William Grant Still, Randall Thompson, Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, George Gershwin and Amy Beach.

Jazz Band and Jazz Band II Present Classic American Jazz
October 21, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)

Biloxi Blues
October 23, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Troutt Theater
The Belmont Theater Company will present the play Biloxi Blues in multiple showings from October 23 through November 2. The 1985 Tony Award winner for Best Play tells the story of a young army recruit during the Second World War who is learning about life as he goes through boot camp in Biloxi, Miss., in 1943.

Belmont Jazz Band: Classic American Jazz, directed by Jeff Kirk
October 24, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Belmont's "big band", under the direction of Dr. Jeff Kirk, presents a concert of classic American jazz.

A Celebration of American Music
November 7, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Oratorio Chorus, the University Symphony Orchestra and regional high school choirs present a program of American compoers with guest conductor Dr. Eph Ehly.

Faculty Concert Series: Commercial Voice Faculty Present American Popular Songs
November 10, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Commercial Voice faculty Bruce Bennett, Sandry Dudley, Kathryn Paradise, Henry Smiley and Jamie Wiggenton present a showcase of American popular song.

As It Is In Heaven
The Belmont Theater Company
November 13-23, 2008
"A moving portrayal of upheaval caused when the utopian existence of an 1830s Shaker community in Kentucky is threatened by the arrival of 'newcomers' claiming to see angels...powerful and insightful...a thought-provoking piece, the message being that often we need not look as far as heaven to see angels here on earth..."

Ragtime
November 21-23, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Ragtime, based on the E.D. Doctorow novel, mixes real life historical figures and fictional characters to tell the story of America in the early decades of the 20th century. Intertwining the lives of upper class white protestants, African Americans and newly arrived immigrants from Eastern Europe, Ragtime is a story of social change and challenge. Its music is as diverse as its characters and is filled with marches, ballads, calkwalks, gospel hymns and, of course, ragtime! Ragtime is an epic sweep of the beginning of American society...a real American classic!