SU’s Pulse announces 2005-06 season, new cultural events calendar, redesigned website

SU’s Pulse announces 2005-06 season, new cultural events calendar, redesigned websiteAugust 23, 2005Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Pulse has a new theme “Pulse: your cultural connection to campus and the community.” A season full of exciting performances, a brand new cultural calendar and redesigned Web site are among the program’s ongoing effort to help SU and the community connect through culture. Pulse provides undergraduates with out-of-classroom opportunities to attend and participate in cultural programs, performances, exhibitions and events.

The 2005-06 season includes notable performances by the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, contemporary jazz quartet The Yellowjackets, vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, performance ensemble Urban Bush Women and a residency by highly acclaimed a cappella group The Concord Ensemble. Tickets can be purchased at the Schine Student Center Box Office. For more information call (315) 443-4517 or visit http://students.syr.edu/pulse.

“Every year, the Pulse schedule offers more and more opportunities for students to experience cultural programs and events. This year, Pulse will indeed fulfill the promise of its new tag line, offering a cultural connection to campus and the community,” says Barry L. Wells, senior vice president and dean of student affairs. “Because Pulse is consistent with Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s ‘Building the Creative Campus’ focus, we encourage students to take advantage of this year’s Pulse offerings and to visit the Web site frequently to make the most of their individual connections to culture for learning and growth.”

Under the direction of Daniel Hege, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra will present a free concert, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m., in the Rose and Jules R. SetnorAuditorium, located in Crouse College. Gilles Vonsattel will perform Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor).” The program also includes Setnor School of Music faculty member Daniel Godfrey’s “Jest,” Bach’s “Brandenburg No. 3” and Handel’s “Water Music.” Tickets are not required.

Contemporary jazz quartet The Yellowjackets will appear Sept. 22, at 8 p.m., in Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center. Formed in 1977, the Grammy-award winning Yellowjackets shift deftly between swing and funk rhythms, happily placing the group in the divide that exists between mainstream and contemporary jazz markets. Tickets are $20 for the public, $10 for SU faculty and staff, and $5 for students with valid SU I.D.

During Parents Weekend, Grammy-award winning vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock will fill Goldstein Auditorium, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m., with its renditions of work songs, spirituals, gospel and blues, “a cappella style with a political ring.” Entering their fourth decade of creating “music with a conscience,” the women of Sweet Honey in the Rock weave together striking vocal harmonies and messages for change in the many traditions of African American music-including blues, spirituals, gospel hymns, African chants, hip hop and jazz improvisation. Tickets are $10 for the public, $8 for SU faculty and staff, and $3 for students with SU I.D. The event is being held in cooperation with the Syracuse Symposium.

Brooklyn-based performance ensemble Urban Bush Women will continue its mission of bringing bold, life-affirming dance theater based on women’s experiences, African American history and cultural influences of the African Diaspora when they appear Feb. 21, 2006, at 8 p.m., in Goldstein Auditorium. In addition to performing, the company trains artists in dance and community engagement and produces public projects that encourage cultural activity as an inherent part of community life. Tickets are $10 for the public, $8 for SU faculty and staff, and $3 for students with valid SU I.D.

In the spring semester, Pulse will sponsor a five-day campus residency by one of the most highly regarded a cappella groups, The Concord Ensemble. Founded in 1997 as a sextet of male voices, the ensemble has received numerous accolades, and since making Los Angeles their home base in 2003, has gone co-ed, allowing the group to explore and present the broadest possible spectrum ofsuperlative mixed and equal-voiced musical literature from the Medieval to present day. The group will appear in a free concert April 9, at 3 p.m., in Hendricks Chapel, as part of SU’s Malmgren Concert Series.

In addition to its 2005-06 season highlights, Pulse hopes to foster student exploration and discovery of the multitude of cultural events by centralizing information in its new, easy-to-use cultural calendar and on its newly redesigned, easy-to-access Web site. The calendar gives a broad overview of the level, breadth and depth of area cultural events and features information on events during the Fall 2005 semester, with Spring 2006 highlights.

Information on all Pulse-sponsored events is included on both the calendar and Web site, in addition to information about exhibits, music and theater performances, lectures and films sponsored on campus by Lowe Art Gallery, University Art Collection, the Drama Department, First Year Players, Setnor School of Music, Special Collections at E.S. Bird Library, Syracuse Symposium and Light Work. Also included will be events by Pulse’s prominent community arts partners, including the CNY Jazz Arts Foundation, Cultural Resources Council, Society for New Music, Syracuse Opera, Syracuse Stage, Community Folk Art Center, Everson Museum of Art, The Redhouse and Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

“This season of Pulse not only brings another high-caliber group of artists to SU but also gives the University an opportunity to showcase offerings of campus and community groups who partner with us on this important project,” says Carole Brzozowski, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “By combining these events on its new calendar and Web site, Pulse makes it easy for all of us to participate in Syracuse’s incredibly strong and vibrant arts community.”

Pulse seeks to raise the caliber of cultural programming while increasing the number of participating students. It is a model program recognized for quality, diversity, innovation and collaboration, while celebrating and expanding the cultural climate of SU and the community. It programs the best offerings of local arts organizations with performances of internally renowned visiting artists. Pulse is a collaborative project of SU’s Division of Student Affairs and VPA.