Barton Community College’s Sneak Preview Concert, set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday in the college’s Fine Arts Auditorium, will be the opening act for Barton’s observance of National Arts and Humanities Month.
This first concert of the season is an opportunity for Barton’s music groups to show the community some of the music they have been preparing. The Sneak Preview will feature Barton’s Hilltop Singers, Concert Choir, Jazz Band and Prairie Winds Community Concert Band. Admission to the concert is free. The groups are directed by Vern Fryberger, choral music instructor, and Steven Lueth, instrumental music instructor.
National Arts and Humanities Month is being celebrated in October by communities across the nation, said Barton’s Dean of Academics Dr. Rick Abel. “People need to be more aware of the arts and humanities as an integral part of their lifestyle,” he said. He is asking students to be more aware of the arts and humanities activities happening at the college and is encouraging them to take part in the many events planned for this year at Barton.
Fall activities include the Shafer Gallery’s celebration of the creative spirit with the Faculty and Staff Open Exhibition continuing through Oct. 17. “You don’t have to be an art major or professional artist to become very much involved in expressing your appreciation of the arts,” said David Barnes, new Shafer Gallery director.
The new exhibit, “New Quilts From an Old Favorite: Sunflower,” will open Oct. 24 at the gallery, featuring the winning quilts from the 2010 Museum of American Quilters Society contest. The quilt exhibit will continue through Dec. 10 so it can be seen during the holiday season along with the display of holiday trees decorated by area school children, Nov. 15 through Dec. 7, and the Shafer Gallery’s Holiday Open House set for 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 5.
Also this fall, the college’s Prairie Ink literary magazine is accepting literary contributions not only from Barton students but also from residents of all communities in the College’s seven-county service area and its Fort Riley Learning Services and Military Operations. English instructors Teresa Johnson and Jaime Oss, co-editors of the publication, are calling for original contributions of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama, literary criticism and graph novels to be considered for publication in the May-June 2011 issue Prairie Ink.
“We’ve had tremendous feedback to our inaugural publication and we’re still distributing the 2010 issue,” Johnson said. Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the magazine may contact Jessica Vsetecka, faculty secretary, 620-792-9200.
Barton’s Theatre Department is teaming up with the Student Life activities program to present “Barton’s Got Talent.” The event is in the same vein as “America’s Got Talent,” said Theatre Director Erin Renard, who will be auditioning the student talent acts for the presentation set for 7 p.m. Oct. 29 in the Fine Arts Auditorium.
“We’re looking for vocal, instrumental, drama, forensics and dance students who want to perform,” she said. “This is more than just a showcase. We have more than $350 worth of prizes to give away.”
Also in October, rehearsals will begin for Barton’s fall play, “Mass Appeal,” set for Nov. 19 and 20 in the Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel, in the College’s Fine Arts Building, F-157. “The play has two male characters, a senior priest who has been at his job for quite a while and has developed his own pattern, or his own rut, if you will, and a young seminarian, who comes in and stirs things up a bit,” Renard said.
Additional Barton arts and humanities events planned through the fall semester include:
Student Recital, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 28, Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel, Fine Arts Building, F-157; arranged by Glenna Gaunt, voice instructor.
Winter Instrumental Concert, 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 15, Fine Arts Auditorium; featuring Prairie Winds Community Concert Band, Prairie Winds Jazz Band and Barton Jazz Band; directed by Steve Lueth, instrumental music instructor.
SHPTV/Barton Christmas Concert, 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 22, Fine Arts Auditorium; concert features Prairie Winds Community Concert Band, Prairie Winds Jazz Band, Barton Jazz Band, Hilltop Singers, Concert Choir and String Ensemble; Smoky Hills Public Television will film this concert and it will be aired on SHPTV during the holidays.
Student Recital, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2, Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel, Fine Arts Building, F-157; arranged by Glenna Gaunt, voice instructor.
Jingle Bell Swing, 8-11 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 4, American Legion, 1011 Kansas Ave.; holiday dance, featuring music by Barton’s Hilltop Singers, directed by Vern Fryberger, choral music instructor.
“Season of Lights,” planetarium shows, 1, 2 and 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5, Barton Planetarium, Science and Math Building; led by Planetarium Director Dr. Timothy Folkerts, the program looks at the astronomy connected to the changing of the seasons, as well as some of the symbolism of light during the holidays; particular emphasis on the potential astronomical significance of the Star of Bethlehem; program is in conjunction with the Shafer Gallery Holiday Open House.