Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 28 April 16, 1998 - Arts recognized by Tech, town for bicentennial celebration

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Arts recognized by Tech, town for bicentennial celebration

By Clara B. Cox

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 28 - April 16, 1998

Blacksburg's Arts Alive! event, a month-long recognition of the arts in Blacksburg and part of the town's bicentennial celebration, features the work of a number of Virginia Tech faculty and staff members, some as participants in the exhibits and performing arts, and some as planners.
Throughout the month, retail, commercial, professional, and public facilities throughout Blacksburg, including Virginia Tech's Perspective Art Gallery, are exhibiting the work of local artists or holding readings by local writers. "As the Town of Blacksburg continues to unfold its year-long treasury of projects and events which salute the bicentennial year, it is only natural that the arts emerge as one of the major players. For the month of April, Blacksburg is using the arts in all their diversity to celebrate its first 200 years," said Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth.
Tom Butterfield, art director for University Unions and Student Activities designed the poster and cover of the Arts Alive! program. Butterfield has signed a limited number of the posters, which are available for purchase at Bicentennial Headquarters, 141 Jackson Street. The program, which is free, is available at businesses throughout Blacksburg and at the headquarters.
Virginia Tech artists participating in the exhibits include Pat Bevan, instructional designer, Biological Systems Initiative; Steve Bickley, associate professor of art and art history; Peggy Crawford, computer operations technician, AIS User Services; Joseph Germana, associate professor of psychology; Robert Graham, professor of art and art history; Ray Kass, professor of art and art history; and David Crane, associate professor and chair of art and art history.
The performing arts include readings and book signings throughout the month. Several Virginia Tech English faculty members are involved in that segment of the event: Anne Cheney, Jeff Mann, Ed Falco, Katherine Soniat, and Simone Poirier-Bures.
On Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Arts Alive! will include the annual Art Along the Fence art sale on College Avenue, and local performing artists will entertain on a stage on College Avenue and Draper Road as well. The day's events will culminate with a special performance of Arthur Honegger's "King David," conducted by world-famous conductor Robert Shaw and performed by the Blacksburg Master Chorale, the Virginia Tech Meistersingers, and the Virginia Tech University Choir.
Members of the university community who served on the planning committee for Arts Alive! include Butterfield; Cheney; Kevin Fenton, assistant professor of music; Billie Lepczyk, associate professor, Department of Teaching and Learning; and Ed Schwartz, instructor of educational technologies.
For more information, call Bonnie Svrcek, bicentennial coordinator, at 961-1130.