Fall Arts Celebration begins at Grand Valley

Each year Grand Valley State University’s Fall Arts Celebration brings a series of events that reinforces the complex and exciting roles the arts and humanities play in the good life. All five of the events this year are open to the community with free admission.   

The celebration kicks off Monday, September 14, at 8 p.m. when the Department of Music presents "L'histoire du Soldat" (A Soldier's Tale). The performance will be in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, in the Performing Arts Center, on the Allendale Campus.

Grand Valley’s artist-faculty will perform the 1918 theatrical work designed to be read, played, and danced. Based on a Russian folk tale set to music by Igor Stravinsky, “L’histoire du Soldat” is the story of a young soldier who foolishly gives his violin to the devil in exchange for a book that promises wealth by predicting the economy of the future.

Music Department Chair Danny Phipps explains that Stravinsky had been writing large scale, complex ballets such as “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” for Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe. With the outbreak of World War I, the composer was forced into exile in Switzerland without sustainable sources of income and a loss of royalties from his earlier works. 

“This piece is significant because of the transparent approach to composition, including the limited number of instruments, costumes and set designs, necessitated by the times,” said Phipps. “It is seen as the beginning of Stravinsky’s eventual move to ‘neoclassical’ or ‘new classical’ style.”

Performed most often as a suite of nine pieces of music, without narration or mime, Grand Valley is reviving Stravinsky’s original format. Phipps credits Kevin Tutt, assistant department chair and conductor, for pulling all of the various parts together into an impressive whole.

“The overall mood is somber in this cautionary tale, composed by a man in exile, seeing the world through jaded eyes,” said Tutt. “There is a sense of bitterness and a loss of hope, yet it is a tremendously rewarding performance.”

Tutt contends that in a world where much music has been reduced to brief sound bites and snippets, audiences and performers alike will have an opportunity to experience a complete linear thought that encompasses many art forms throughout the nearly one-hour performance.

Performing the music will be MingHuan Xu, violin; Arthur Campbell, clarinet; Danny K. Phipps, bassoon; Mark Williams, trombone; and Greg Secor, percussion, among others. Dance and mime will be performed by Shawn T Bible, other members of the dance faculty and special guest dancers.

For additional information on Grand Valley's Fall Arts Celebration, call (616) 331-2180, or visit www.gvsu.edu/arts . Upcoming events are:

• Distinguished Academic Lecturer, September 22, 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center
Rashid Khalidi is intent on debunking the historical inaccuracies and distortions he believes dominate the American public's perception of the Middle East and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University will present his lecture, "The Great Powers and the Middle East: Yesterday and Today."

• Poetry Night, October 1, 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center 
Enjoy an evening celebrating language, humor, and the performance of poetry with two award-winning poets, Tony Hoagland and Patricia Smith. Limited edition broadsides of a poem by each author will be available while supplies last. In addition, books by both of the poets will be available for purchase and signing following the performance. 

• Mystic India, Land of Color and Tradition: Folk Art, Sculpture and Miniature Paintings. Reception October 7, 5-7 p.m., Exhibit open through October 30
GVSU Art Gallery, Performing Arts Center
This outstanding GVSU Art Gallery exhibition illustrates stories of India's diverse culture as told through more than 50 pieces of art from Grand Valley's Permanent Art Collection. 

• Dance Faculty and Students Present "Pulcinella," October 19, 8 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center
The final Fall Arts Celebration 2009 event returns to the music of Stravinsky, with the traditional ballet "Pulcinella" reinvented through the lens of a modern dancer.