Winter/Spring 2008-2009 Performance Schedule

Music Performances

Suor Angelica and NDNU's Christmas Concert
December 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Cunningham Memorial Chapel

The concert will be presented by Pocket Opera at Notre Dame, Henry Mollicone and NDNU Chanteurs and Camerata. Tickets cost $20 general admission, $10 students and seniors. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu.

NDNU Music Theatre Studio
December 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Taube Conference Center

"Sometimes you're happy and sometimes you're sad - but the world goes round." Life with its glories, indignities, hopes and quiet dreams - is the subject of this stunning revue of the beloved songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The vast range of human experience is explored in song after impeccable song by one of Broadway's most successful teams and masters of the Broadway showstopper. This glittering revue features unforgettable gems from throughout their incredible career in theatre, film, and television, spotlighting songs from Cabaret, Chicago, New York New York, Funny Lady, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and more.

Admission is free. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu.

Ralston Performers Series
Dr. Michael Schmitz, Pianist
January 25 at 3 p.m.
Ralston Hall Mansion Ballroom

The Ralston Series is a showcase for NDNU's professional Music and Vocal Arts faculty and special guest artists, Spring 2009 highlights works for piano solo and classic German lieder.

Director of Piano Studies at NDNU, and a graduate of the department, Dr. Schmitz has won numerous competitions in the Southwest, and has performed as a soloist with the Master Sinfonia Orchestra, the University of Arizona Orchestra, Catalina Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra Nova. The program includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. A reception in the formal dining room will follow the concert.

Admission is free. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu.

Anything Goes!
February 27, 28, March 6, 7 at 7:30 p.m.
February 29, March 8 at 7 p.m.

A New York to England high seas romantic adventure aboard the S.S. American, whose passengers include an evangelist nightclub singer, society debutante, and most-wanted gangster "Moonface Martin." The magical Cole Porter score includes I Get A Kick Out of You, You're the Top, All Through the Night, It's De-Lovely, Friendship, and Let's Misbehave. Music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, and Guy Bolton.

Admission $20, students/seniors $10. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu.

Ralston Performers Series
Clint Cancio, Pianist
April 19 at 3 p.m.
Ralston Hall Mansion Ballroom

The Ralston Performers Series is a showcase for NDNU's professional Music and Vocal Arts faculty and special guest artists, Spring 2009 highlights works for piano solo and classic German lieder.

Cancio is both a faculty member and graduate of NDNU, and is winner of numerous competitions, including the Corpus Christi Young Artists' Competition. He has been a featured soloist with the Oakland Youth Orchestra, Redwood Symphony, and cable television series "Grand Piano." The program includes Mozart's Sonata in D Major, Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasie in A-flat Major, and the Saint-Saens "Album pour Piano."

Admission $20, students/seniors $10. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu.

Ralston Performers Series
Songs & Waltzes in the Ballroom
April 19 at 7 p.m.
Ralston Hall Mansion Ballroom

The Ralston Performers Series is a showcase for NDNU's professional Music and Vocal Arts faculty and special guest artists, Spring 2009 highlights works for piano solo and classic German lieder.

The Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes for vocal quartet and piano four hands, plus lieder by Mahler, Wolf, Weill, and Schumann performed by faculty members Marcelle Dronkers, soprano, Debra Lambert, mezzo, Michael Najar, tenor, and Lee Strawn, baritone, with Hsueh-Ching Chien and Dr. Michael Schmitz at piano. A champagne reception in the formal dining room will follow the performance.

Admission $20, students/seniors $10. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail concerts@ndnu.edu.

Dialogues of the Carmelites
April 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m., April 26 at 7 p.m.
Cunningham Memorial Chapel

The story of this stunning work is based on events during the French revolution, when sixteen Carmelite nuns, the "Martyrs of Compiegne" were guilliotined at the Place de la Nation on July 17, 1794. The entire convent was subsequently beatified in May 1906. Sister Roseanne Murphy will give a pre-concert lecture on the history, including the association between the Carmelites of Compiegne and Saint Julie Billiart, the founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

Admission is $20, students and seniors $10. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail at concerts@ndnu.edu.

Carmen
July 25 at 7:30 p.m.
NDNU Theatre

Performed in Donald Pippin's English setting, with a combined POND and professional cast, accompanied by the Pocket Philharmonic. Music by Georges Bizet, libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, English setting by Donald Pippin.

Admission $20, students and seniors $10. For more information, call NDNU's Department of Music and Vocal Arts Box Office at (650) 508-3729 or e-mail at concerts@ndnu.edu.

Theatre Performances

10 Minute Play Festival

November 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Taube Conference Center

Original one-act plays, written by NDNU students in their "Playwriting Performance Class," will be read. The plays have been entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival "Playwriting Competition." For more information, call the NDNU Box Office at (650) 508-3456 or boxoffice@ndnu.edu.

Christmas Carol "The Gift"

December 5 at 7 p.m., Gala Performance
December 6, 7, 13, and 14 at 2 p.m.
December 6, 11, 12, and 13 at 7:30 p.m.
NDNU Theatre

NDNU’s dynamic and expanding Department of Theatre and Dance and the Performing Arts Company has offered “The Gift” to the community free of charge welcoming all to the 54-year-old landmark NDNU Theatre for the past 22 years. As the longest running musical version of A Christmas Carol in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people have attended these performances. The Theatre Department was recently awarded the Peninsula Arts Council’s Diamond Award for 2007. The award honors individuals and organizations for their contributions to the arts in San Mateo County.

All but the opening night performance is offered to the public free of charge. The opening night is the only performance for which tickets are sold. Proceeds from the single performance help fund the entire show. Dozens of Bay Area businesses and individuals support the annual event by donating goods, services, and funding.

Tickets to the Gala Performance cost $40 for adults and $20 for children and include a post performance Gala reception in elegant Ralston Hall Mansion located on the University campus. All other performances are free and audience members are encouraged to bring new toys and non-perishable food items to donate at the theatre.

For more information, call the NDNU Box Office at (650) 508-3456 or e-mail boxoffice@ndnu.edu

Wiegand Gallery

20th Annual NDNU Student Art Show
Exhibit Runs November 11-26
Student Reception, November 19 from 12 to 1 p.m.

This spectacular show marks NDNU's 20th anniversary exhibiting student's artwork. Enjoy the beautiful artwork the students have created.

The Wiegand Gallery is part of the Madison Art Center, a magnificent stone building that was originally built as a carriage house on the site of the country estate of the twentieth- century financier William Chapman Ralston.  The exhibition space, with it's porthole windows and skylights, is unusually warm, inviting enviroment  in which to experience art.  As a place of cultural exchange and educational programming, the Wiegand Gallery compliments Notre Dame de Namur's growing academic program in the visual and performing arts.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m. when there is an exhibit. For more information, call Wiegand Gallery at (650) 508-3595 or visit www.wiegandgallery.org.

Lectures

Creative Writers Series 2008-2009
November 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Wiegand Gallery

Well-known authors, Kerry Dolan, and Mari L'Esperance, will read from their published work, discuss work in progress, and share experiences on the literary scene. A book signing and reception will follow the reading. For more information, contact NDNU's English Department at (650) 508-3730, ext.2.