PMO to present 75th anniversary Purdue Christmas Show

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Seventy-five years after the curtain opened before an audience of 200 at the first Purdue Christmas Show held in Fowler Hall, Purdue Musical Organizations will present “Christmas is Calling You Home” Dec. 12-14 in Elliott Hall of Music.

Purdue Musical Organizations director Bill Griffel said everyone involved is grateful that so many friends, family, alumni and community members make the annual Purdue Christmas Show a part of their holiday plans. For the special 75th anniversary performances, 130 alumni from every era of PMO’s history will join the student performers on stage, he said.

Along with the returning alumni, campus and community performers in the show include members of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, Purduettes, Purdue Bells, All Campus and Community Chorale, Heart & Soul and the PMO Kids Choir.

Griffel, who will direct the show for the first time this year, said the audience members get a different impression for every show they see.

Thousands see the show live and millions will see the 2007 production through broadcasts on public television and radio networks.

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Dec. 12; noon, 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 13; and noon and 4 p.m. Dec. 14. Tickets are $20 for students age 13 through college; $26 for adults; $24 for seniors age 65 and older; and $12 for children age 12 and under. For information or to order tickets, visit the Stewart Center, Pao Hall or Elliott Hall box offices or call (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.

Purdue Musical Organizations also will offer a special children’s matinee at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 12. Children’s tickets are $10 per student for groups of 49 or less; $8 per student for groups of 50-99; and $6 per student for groups of 100 or more. For this performance, teachers, chaperones and bus drivers will be admitted at no charge. For information about the student matinee, call Monica Ruberg at (765) 494-3947 or (800) 893-3941.

Rena Brouwer Exhibition

LAFAYETTE, Ind. –– “Life Cycles”, an exhibition of watercolors by local resident Rena Brouwer, will be on display at the Lala Gallery & Studio in Downtown Lafayette from Sunday, November 14 through Saturday, December 6th. Brouwer is a self taught artist working in Lafayette capturing colors, shapes and lines from nature and laying them down to express the moods and feelings she has experienced through her Life Cycles.

“Life Cycles explores the question of what is real to me as an artist. The unique and subjective nature of the inner-eye gives clues to discovery of what I have experienced. As my visions expand, no painting is a final statement,” Brouwer said of her new works. “They are stepping stones in my continued quest for expression.”

An opening reception was held Friday, November 14 at Lala Gallery & Studio where Brouwer was present to discuss her work.

Brouwer will also give three holiday watercolor workshops at the gallery, open to all ages, on December 6. The workshops will be one hour in duration and offered at 10:00a, 12:00p and 3:00p. The workshops will be followed by a closing reception from 4:00-6:00p.

Lala Gallery & Studio is located on Main Street in Downtown Lafayette, across from the old Lafayette Theater. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10a-1p, 4:30-6p and Saturday 10a-4p. For additional information, call (765) 414-7962 or visit www.lalaglallery.com

ArtSmart: Indiana

September 20, 2008 through December 20, 2008

Art Smart: Indiana, an AMGL and Children’s Museum program, provides state-wide access to the history of Indiana and makes the history of Indiana come alive for the students by using art as a focus; students learn through examining art, how the earliest settlers existed and how they persevered from life in a wilderness in 1800 to present day living. The Art Smart:Indiana program has always been well regarded among Indiana 4th grade teachers and helps teachers to meet the State of Indiana Academic Standards.

The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am - 4pm, and closed Sunday and Monday.

Art Museum of Greater Lafayette
102 South Tenth Street
Lafayette, IN 47905
(765) 742-1128

Bach Chorale Festival of Trees, Dec 4 and 5

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Lafayette’s Bach Chorale Singers celebrate their “Festival of Trees” fundraising event on December 4th and 5th at the University Plaza Hotel. The public is invited to view and make silent bids on the trees, wreaths and merchandise.

On Thursday, December 4th, the display will be available from 4:30 to 9:30 with Caroling by the Youth Chorus from 6:45-7:15 and the Children’s Choir from 7:30-8:00. Friday, the public viewing and bidding continues from 11 am to 6 pm. On Friday evening the Dinner/Dance starts at 6:15. The Bach Chorale
Singers will lead guests in a sing-a-long of traditional carols of the season. After the live auction led by Rob Stephan, the Gentlemen of Note under the baton of Robert Schlatter will provide music for listening and dancing pleasure.

Items in this year’s live auction include a car, a moped, a variety of dinner/entertainment packages and select merchandise donated by local merchants and supporters of the Bach Chorale.

Funds raised this year are directed into the investment program of the Bach Chorale to secure its financial future and to provide scholarships to assist those who would like to participate in one of the three choruses.

For Dinner/Dance reservations, please contact Rhonda Spykman at 765-447-8308. For other information, please contact the Bach Chorale Office at 765-429-5151 or e-mail: Bachchorale@comcast.net.

Punch Brothers blend of bluegrass, jazz, chamber music to hit Purdue stage

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Mandolin player Chris Thile and his progressive folk band Punch Brothers will bring their music - a style that blends bluegrass with chamber music, jazz and 1960s folk and pop - to Purdue’s Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse for a concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile is presented by Purdue Convocations.

Hailed from a young age as a mandolin prodigy, Thile released the first of five solo albums when he was 13 and, by the time he was 20, he was attracting a following among many different music audiences as a member of the Grammy Award–winning Nickel Creek. Thile performed at Purdue two years ago with the group.

His new Punch Brothers lineup includes guitarist Chris Eldridge, a founding member of the Infamous Stringdusters; bassist Greg Garrison, who has played with trumpeter Ron Miles and Leftover Salmon; banjo player Noam Pikelny, who has collaborated with John Cowan and Tony Trischka; and violinist Gabe Witcher, whose playing has been featured on the soundtrack of films ranging from “Toy Story” to “Brokeback Mountain.”

The group first collaborated with Thile on his 2006 solo album, “How To Grow a Woman from the Ground,” which featured covers of songs by the White Stripes and the Strokes as well as by Gillian Welch and Jimmy Rodgers. Their latest work, “Punch,” features a 40-minute, four-movement suite that includes recurring images of heartbreak and romantic longing, impressionistic lyrics and jazz-like improvisation.

Tickets for the show are $28 for adults and $22 for children 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster outlets. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more can be ordered at (765) 496-1977.

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