Fine & Performing Arts

One of the first highlights of North Central College’s 2010 Fine & Performing Arts season is a stellar program of Martin Luther King Week events.

Tickets are on sale now for a presentation by Princeton professor Cornel West, a powerful performance by Chicago Sinfonietta and a musical Gospel Extravaganza. This year’s program marks the 50th anniversary of King’s visit to North Central’s Naperville campus.

North Central College President Arlo Schilling greets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights leader's visit to the Naperville campus in 1960.

West will speak from the same stage and lectern as the great civil rights leader did in 1960. One of America’s most provocative public intellectuals, West has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. West speaks on King’s birthday at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, in North Central College’s Pfeiffer Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m., and seating is general admission. Tickets are just $10.

The College’s celebration of civil rights continues the next evening with a powerful music presentation. The Chicago Sinfonietta’s performance of “The Dream Lives On: Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, in Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center.

The Chicago Sinfonietta led by conductor Paul Freeman marks the life and work of King with a musical celebration presented by the nation’s most diverse symphony orchestra. The performance concludes with audience participation in a moving rendition of the spiritual “We Shall Overcome.” Tickets are $50 and $40/adults, $10/students.

Martin Luther King Week culminates with the 22nd annual Gospel Extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, in Pfeiffer Hall. Tickets are $15/adults, $8/students and senior citizens. In addition to North Central’s own Voices of Praise gospel choir, groups performing include the 50-member Wheaton College Gospel Choir, Lisle-based DuPage African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Voices of Praise Gospel Choir and the 80-member Dexter Walker and Zion Movement Chorale.

North Central College’s Martin Luther King Week, Jan. 15-23, is an annual celebration of the College’s history of building bridges among cultures. To reserve tickets, call the box office at 630-637-SHOW (7469).

There’s great fun for the whole family this weekend when Theatreworks presents “Seussical” at North Central College.

Characters like Horton the Elephant, the one-feathered bird Gertrude McFuzz and the Cat in the Hat come to life in this production of the musical by Broadway veterans Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.

Two performances of “Seussical” will be presented at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21 in Pfeiffer Hall. Tickets are just $10/adults, $5/children 12 years and younger.

Also this week, North Central College’s Jazz Studies Program will present its annual fall “Great Evening of Jazz” with performances by all its student jazz ensembles on at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Wentz Concert Hall.

Directed by the College’s jazz faculty, the featured ensembles will be the Jazz Combos led by guitarist John McLean, saxophonist Mitch Paliga and drummer Jack Mouse; the Vocal Jazz Ensemble directed by vocalist Janice Borla; the NCC Big Band under the direction of trombonist T.S. Galloway; the NCC Jazz Guitar Ensemble led by McLean; a Chamber Jazz Group directed by trumpeter Doug Scharf; and the Jazz Saxophone Quartet under the direction of Paliga.

Repertoire will include compositions and arrangements by such jazz luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Don Grolnick, Bobby Troup, Janice Borla and others.
Tickets for “a Great Evening of Jazz” are just $5/adults, $3/students and seniors.

Call 630-637-SHOW (7439) to reserve tickets.

What a weekend! Since Thursday, Oct. 8, North Central College’s fine & performing arts venues have played host to Madeleine Albright, Chicago a cappella, Chicago Tap Theatre, author Sarah Vowell, artist Ramson Lomatewama and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra!

A Chicago Tribune critic caught the MSO performance, saying, “The hall boasts a noteworthy acoustic profile … Warmth, reverberation and a “present” sonic profile are valued commodities.”

This week, the public is invited to the opening of an exhibit, “Two Roads: Of What I Think and What I Think About,” by artist Pieter Favier. The opening reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, in the Schoenherr Art Gallery at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave. The free exhibit is on display Oct. 16 through Nov. 13.

Also on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., the Student Songwriting Showcase takes place at The Union, 129 W. Benton Ave., featuring original works by 17 talented North Central students.

And on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 8 p.m., catch the opening of DuPage Symphony Orchestra’s season with a performance of Dvorak’s “In Nature’s Realm,” in the Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center.

Enjoy the fine & performing arts at North Central College.