The Walker and Helen Wyman Performing Arts and Lectures series is made possible by funding from student fees and support from the Wyman Concert and Lecture Series Fund within the UWRF Foundation and planned by Falcon Programs, a UW-River Falls student committee supported through the Office of Student Life. The Wyman Performing Arts and Lectures series has been educating and enriching the campus and community since 1989.
All events are FREE and open to the public. For more information or accommodations, call 715-425-4444.
Sublime Journey (East Indian Musical Concert)
Thursday, September 22
7:30 p.m. Abbott Concert Hall, Kleinpell Fine Arts
"Sublime Journey" is Nirmala Rajasekar’s goal of exposing the masses to traditional Indian instruments of the veena and the sitar. The band includes Pand
it Gaurav Mazumdar (sitar) and Nirmala Rajasekar (veena), accompanied by Tanjavur Murugaboopathi (mridangam) and Vishal Nagar (tabla). Join us for an evening of traditional and ancient Indian music, performed by one of the most renowned Carnatic musicians in the world.
Community members are invited to dine in Pete's Creek Market, University Center between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. for authentic Indian cuisine available for purchase for $6.99. Students on a meal plan can enjoy the same dishes in Riverside Commons!
Spencer West: The Power Of We: Overcoming Obstacles to Make a Difference (Lecture)
Wednesday, October 5
7:30 p.m. Riverview Ballroom, University Center
Inspirational and charismatic, Spencer West speaks candidly about the struggles he overcame after losing his legs at the age of five. He speaks about overcoming stereotyping and bullying, about finding meaning and happiness in a material world and how he never lost the hope or courage needed to overcome personal obstacles. Infused with humor and humility, his thought-provoking message inspires people to find opportunity in every challenge.
Kao Kalia Yang (Lecture and Book Signing)
Wednesday, November 30
7:30 p.m. Riverview Ballroom, University Center
Kao Kalia Yang immigrated to the United States when she was six years old after spending her first years in a Thai refugee camp. Now, the award winning author of The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang mixed Hmong folklore and stories to create this stirring novel about her family’s story of immigration to America. Join her as she reads from her award-winning novel and discusses her family’s remarkable journey from the jungles of Thailand to the cold winters in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Lecture and Book Signing)
Wednesday, February, 29
7:30 p.m. Riverview Ballroom, University Center
Michelle Alexander is a longtime civil rights advocate and litigator. She holds a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and a position as an Associate Professor of Law at the Mortiz College of Law at Ohio State University. Alexander previously served as director of the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California, director of the Civil Rights Clinics at Stanford Law School, and is a former law clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court. She has appeared as a featured commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. Join us for her engaging lecture and discussions surrounding topics from her first book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
Noah Hoehn (Harmonica, Marimba, Live Looping)
Wednesday, March 28
7:30 p.m. Falcon’s Nest, University Center
Noah Hoehn’s singular vision to unite the sounds of new blues and marimba pop is accomplished with an incomparable live looping system. Saucy harmonica and cool marimba are looped and layered upon a foundation of acoustic grooves freeing him to sing and play at the same time. Noah will also be offering, earlier in the day, the interactive workshop, “Loops in Your Life,” where Noah makes the connection between the growing performance medium of live-looping and our everyday lives.
Kip Fulbeck (Lecture)
Wednesday, April 11
7:30 p.m. Riverview Ballroom, University Center
Kip Fulbeck is a pioneering artist, spoken word performer, and filmmaker. He has been featured on CNN, MTV, The Today Show, PBS, and has performed and exhibited in over twenty countries and throughout the U.S. He is the author of several books including Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids; Part Asian, 100% Hapa; and Permanence: Tattoo Portraits. Fulbeck teaches as a professor of art at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he received the university’s distinguished teaching award and has been named an outstanding faculty member five times. Join him for an evening of in-depth discussion about multiracial identities and awareness.
*The Hapa Project, Kip Fulbeck’s multiracial identity art project, will be exhibited on campus April 4-25.
Terra Madre (Mother Earth)
Composed by Fred Sturm
Earth Day concert featuring The Four Voices String Quartet and David Milne with the UWRF Faculty Jazz Quartet
Sunday, April 22
7:30 p.m. Falcon’s Nest, University Center
Founded in 1992, the Four Voices String Quartet is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The members have been classically trained in the nation’s leading music conservatories and have professional experience playing with prestigious ensembles in venues throughout the world. “Terra Madre (Mother Earth)” is a musical plea for world unity that celebrates both the diversity and shared influences of indigenous music from nine different countries. Ethnic music, folk songs, and ancient works dating back as far as the 13th century are joined together in this contemporary chamber music setting. Join us on Earth Day 2011, to truly celebrate Terra Madre through this moving musical piece.
