'Yoo—Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is one of the films featured in this year's Jewish Film Festival, which runs Oct. 18 through Oct. 28. Read News Brief below.

Below are a variety of items about upcoming events and other news notes on the campus of Youngstown State University:

• With $15K grant, Dana prof composes 'Sly Man'
• YSU leads conference on Distance Education
• Jewish Film Festival features shows in Niles, Youngstown
• Dana Choral Concert features 'Songs of Love'
• Anthropology Colloquium speakers set for Oct. 8 and 13
• 'Wheels' disability event moves downtown this year
• Dana School of Music celebrates first Octubafest
• Music at Noon concerts set for October

Calendar
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. the Penguin volleyball squad takes on Wright State in Beeghly Center. The team also faces Cleveland State 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7. See www.ysusports.com.

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 12:15 p.m. New Music is featured in a free Music at Noon concert in the Butler Institute of American Art.

Thursday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m. Ron Bishop of The Smithsonian talks about "Neutrons, Gammas, and Pots: Reflections on Ancient Maya Life" in Room 132 of DeBartolo Hall. The presentation is part of the Anthropology Colloquium Archaeology Month Speaker Series.           

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct 9, 10 and 11. University Theater presents the comedy "Around the World in 80 Days" in the Spotlight Arena Theater. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m., while the Sunday matinee performance is at 3 p.m. All seats are general admission. Patrons are encouraged to make reservations early. Call 330–941–3105.

Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10. "Bad Astronomy," a show that examines popular myths and misconceptions of the cosmos, is presented at the Ward Beecher Planetarium at 8 p.m. Friday and 1, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Free. Visit http://www.cc.ysu.edu/physics–astro/planet.htm.

Friday, Oct. 9, 8 p.m. YSU's Dana School of Music announces the world premier of Assistant Professor David Morganￕs work "The Way of the Sly Man," at a concert in Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown. See News Brief.

Saturday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m. YSU football team faces Western Illinois in Stambaugh Stadium. See www.ysusports.com.

With $15K grant, Dana prof composes 'Sly Man'
Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music announces the world premier of Assistant Professor David Morganￕs work "The Way of the Sly Man," at a concert 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, in Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown.

In addition to composing the work, Morgan will be performing it along with guest artist Jack Schantz of The Jazz Unit. The concert is free and open to the public.

Morgan received a $15,000 grant from Chamber Music Americaￕs The New Works: Creation and Presentation program to compose the 80–minute work for 10 musicians. The piece is based on the esoteric ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff, a Greek–Armenian mystic. Gurdjieff, one of the first Westerners to explore Eastern philosophical, psychological, and spiritual ideas and interpret them for Western sensibilities, is widely considered to be one of the first ethnomusicologists, documenting religious and ritualistic music that could easily be lost.

Additionally, Morgan received a $3,000 grant from the Bascom Little Foundation of Cleveland to record the composition.

"The leading musicians around the world are continually engaged in finding new sounds and new influences to assimilate into the tradition," Morgan said. "The significance of this grant from Chamber Music America is that every cutting edge musician in the country applied for this award. I''m happy that I can share these important cultural developments with YSU students, my colleagues and with the community as a whole."

The Jack Schantz Jazz Unit has been in existence for 20 years. The group has performed at various concert venues, universities and clubs and released one critically–acclaimed CD entitled Choices. The group received the Northern Ohio Live "Award of Achievement" for its concert of the music of Frank Zappa at the TriC JazzFest.

Morgan is a primary composer for the Jazz Unit and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and stays busy fulfilling commissions for jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, wind ensembles and symphony orchestras. In 2008, Centaur Records released a recording of his Three Vignettes for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra of Krakow. The American Wind Symphony Orchestra commissioned Reflections and Meditations and released it on the CD Reflections. Members of the Cleveland Orchestra recorded The Secret of the Golden Flower for their CD Panoramicos.

In 2005, Morgan was commissioned by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra to compose and arrange an evening of music to feature saxophonist Joe Lovano. As part of the project, he composed a 50–minute, five–part suite of original music and arranged 10 Lovano pieces. The Surprise of Being–Live at Birdland is a CD that documents the project as performed in New York in July 2006. Lovano has subsequently performed several of Morganￕs arrangements around the world, including one with the BBC Jazz Orchestra.

YSU leads conference on Distance Education
Nearly 20 speakers from across the world will participate in the 2nd Annual Distance Education Conference 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 in McKay Auditorium in Beeghly Hall on the campus of Youngstown State University.

The theme of the conference is "Web 2.0 – The Green Solution: How New Technology is Changing Distance Education." Keynote speaker is Sandy Cook, systems director of Distance Learning Technologies for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Her topic will be ￒA Kentucky Partnership Framework: A Disruptive Approach for Innovation and Change.ￓ

Invited guest speakers include Barbara Gellman–Danley,(Ohio vice chancellor, Academic Affairs and System Integration, and Kate Carey, special assistant to the vice chancellor and director of the Ohio Learning Network. Their topic will be, "What''s the Next Big Vision for Distance Learning in Ohio; Will Your Institution Be a Part of It?" Earlier this year, the Ohio Board of Regents staff called for a bold new state vision for distance learning in Ohio. This session will address progress made on the plan, and suggest ways colleges and universities can become part of a national model for statewide distance learning.        

The conference's organizer is Annette M. Burden, assistant professor in the YSU Department of Mathematics & Statistics and interim director of YSU Distance Education.

Several local vendors will be in attendance. Turning Technology, a Youngstown–based firm, will give attendees an opportunity to use the companyￕs remote response system for a more engaging conference experience. Lunch and morning and afternoon snacks will be provided.

The conference is free and open to the public, however, registration is required.

More conference information is available at http://www.ysu.edu/distancelearning/index_conf.htm. The conference will also be broadcast via YSUￕs Second Life space on the OLN Island http://slurl.com/secondlife/OLN%20Island/128/127/26

Jewish Film Festival features shows in Niles, Youngstown

The Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies at Youngstown State University presents the 2009 Youngstown Area Jewish Film Festival running from Sunday, Oct. 18 through Wednesday, Oct. 28 at USA Cinema in Niles and the Butler Institute of American Art on Wick Avenue in Youngstown.

The following films will be featured:

Yoo–Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Sunday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m.
USA Cinema, Great East Plaza, Niles
She's the most amazing woman in America you have never heard of. The amazing story of Gertrude Berg is told with humor and insight in this sparkling film biography. 

Walk on Water
Thursday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m.
USA Cinema, Great East Plaza, Niles
A new generation of Jews and Germans must come to terms with the past in this complex and compelling drama.

Sunday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m.
Butler Institute of American Art, Wick Avenue, Youngstown
Double Feature:

• In Search of the Bene Israel This film documents director Sadia Shepardￕs journey to understand her ancestry and the future of the 3,500 Bene who remain in and around Bombay.
• Blessed is the Match The first documentary feature about Hannah Senesh, the World War II–era poet and diarist who became a paratrooper, resistance fighter and modern–day Joan of Arc.

The Secrets
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
USA Cinema, Great East Plaza, Niles
Naomi, the brilliant and pious daughter of an ultra–Orthodox rabbi, finds herself at a crossroads when her mother dies and she is expected to immediately marry her fatherￕs prodigy.

Admission is $8 for adult single ticket, $24 for adult Festival Pass, $7 for senior single ticket, $21.00 for senior Festival Pass, $5 for single student ticket, and $15 for student Festival Pass.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact the YSU Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies at 330–941–1604. Tickets may also be purchased at the Jewish Community Center, 505 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown.

Dana Choral Concert features 'Songs of Love'

"Songs of Love" will be the theme of the Youngstown State University Dana School of Music Fall Choral Concert scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, in the Ford Family Recital Hall, Eleanor Beecher Flad Pavilion at the DeYor Performing Arts Center in downtown Youngstown.

The Dana Choral program is under the direction of Hae–Jong Lee, who has been director of Choral Activities of the Dana School of Music since 2002.

The concert will include a diverse choral music program featuring ￒFive Hebrew Love Songsￓ by Eric Whitacre and ￒAnd So It Goesￓ by Billy Joel. Featured ensembles are the Dana Chorale, University Chorus, Womenￕs Chorus and Symphonic Choir, accompanied by Karen Lyn Fisher and Kathy Miller.

Featured soloists are Katherine Gaggini, soprano, Natalie Modarelli, mezzo soprano, Matt Miles, tenor, and Trevor Coleman, baritone. Guest instrumentalists include Justine Jones, violin, Shanna Kelly, flute, David Amos, clarinet, Eric Jernigan, bass guitar, Gino West, percussion, David Gardner and Jeffrey Penney, trumpets, Sarah Baker and Kimberly Myers, oboes, and Dan Danch, timpani.

Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and students. Children under 12 and anyone with YSU ID are admitted free. For more information, contact the Dana School of Music at 330–941–3636.

Anthropology Colloquium speakers set for Oct. 8 and 13
Youngstown State University is presenting the Anthropology Colloquium Archaeology Month Speaker Series in October.

Ron Bishop of The Smithsonian will speak 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct 8 in Room 132 of DeBartolo Hall. Bishopￕs presentation will focus on ancient pottery and is titled "Neutrons, Gammas, and Pots: Reflections on Ancient Maya Life."

The series concludes Tuesday, Oct. 13 with a presentation by Matt O''Mansky, YSU assistant professor of anthropology. The presentation at 6 p.m. in Room 132 of DeBartolo Hall will focus on the Maya calendar cycle and archaeology.        

'Wheels' disability event moves downtown this year

To mark Disability Awareness Month and National Physical Therapy Month, the physical therapy department at Youngstown State University will hold ￒWhere There's a Wheel, There's a Wayￓ in downtown Youngtown.

The event will be 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in front of several businesses and government offices, including Rosetta Stone, Seventh District Court of Appeals, Federal Plaza, and at the corners of the Federal Street and Wick Avenue.

The event allows people to experience what it is like maneuvering a wheelchair. The YSU Department of Physical Therapy has conducted the event on campus for the past 10 years to raise awareness about the environmental challenges persons with disabilities face navigating through campus with their wheelchairs.

For more information, contact the Department of Physical Therapy at 330–941–2558 or the YSU Office of Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity at 330–941–3370. Rain date is Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Dana School of Music celebrates first Octubafest
The Youngstown State University Dana School of Music celebrates Octubafest this month in recognition of the rich heritage of the tuba and euphonium.

Octubafest was established in October 1973 by Harvey Philips, professor emeritus of Indiana University School of Music. This month marks the first Octubafest at the Dana School of Music, an event that organizers hope to include yearly on the Dana schedule.

Several performances will feature Brian Kiser, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium, and his students, along with several guest artists.

Among the performances:

Monday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. in Bliss Recital Hall, featuring guest artist Timothy Buzbee and Joseph Ognibene, Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 12:15 p.m. in the Butler Institute of American Art.

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 8 p.m., in Bliss Recital Hall, Dana Faculty Chamber Music Concert.

Thursday, Oct. 22, 8 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m., in Bliss Recital Hall, studio recital.

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 12:15 p.m., in the Butler Instiitute of American Art, Music at Noon, YTuba conert. 

For more information, contact Kiser at 330–941–3636 or bdkiser@ysu.edu.

Music at Noon concerts set for October

Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music, in collaboration with the Butler Institute of American Art, announces the October schedule of Music at Noon performances.

Performances are Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. in the Butler. The concerts are free and open to the public and parking is free at the Butler.

Performances for the month of October are:

Oct. 7 – New Music – Robert Rollin

Oct. 14 – YSU Percussion Ensemble – Glenn Schaft

Oct. 21 – Jazz Combos – Kent Engelhardt

Oct. 28 – Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble – Brian Kiser

For more information call 330–941–3636.

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