The mission of the Theatre and Media Arts is to promote literacy, creativity, and spirituality by exploring their interrelatedness in the arts of theatre and media, in an effort to illuminate and confirm truth and the infinite potential of the human soul. To accomplish this mission, the Department of Theatre and Media Arts hosts a myriad of diverse events, including performances, forums, mask clubs and auditions. Here are some highlights of both the student and faculty events schedules: Student Schedule: November 15 — December 7: The Light in the Piazza November 20-22: Guest Artist Alison Dobbins, Projections Expert November 21: Somewhere to Claustrophobia (Mask Club) December 1: WDA Readings in the Nelke December 5: Dr. Who (Mask Club) December 5: College Forum, Student Theatre Association with Mike Kraczek December 9-11: WDA Readings in the Nelke December 12: Theatre Arts Studies Internship Forum with mike Kraczek and Lindsay Livingston December 12: Puppetry Class Performance with Nat Reed (Mask Club) Click here for full student schedule Faculty Schedule: November 20-22: Guest Artist Alison Dobbins, Projections Expert November 21-22: Media Arts Applicant Interviews November 21: Individual Theatre Area Meetings November 22: TA Training applications due to Dean’s office December 2: Theses due to Dean’s Office December 5: College Forum, Student Theatre Association with Mike Kraczek December 10: TMA Department Christmas Party Click here for full faculty schedule

Cellist Michelle Kesler and pianist Jeffrey Shumway of Brigham Young University’s School of Music faculty will be performing Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall. The concert is free. The duo will play Samuel Barber’s Violoncello Sonata, op. 6, Alfred Schnittke’s Violoncello Sonata, No. 1 and Johannes Brahms’ Violoncello Sonata, No. 2, Op. 102. Kesler is a visiting instructor in string performance. She received her bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of Colorado-Boulder and her master’s and doctorate in music performance from Arizona State University. Shumway has been a professor of keyboard studies at BYU since 1985. He began his studies at BYU and received his bachelor’s degree in 1976. He continued his studies at Juilliard and Indiana University. He is a member of the acclaimed American Piano Quartet and the American Piano Duo and has performed and recorded in the United States, Europe, the Far East and Canada. He is the recipient of the Gina Bachauer Medal of Artistic Distinction and took second place in the 1977 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. For more information, contact Michelle Kessler at (801) 422-6353 or kesler.michelle@gmail.com. Source: BYU News

Film Maker and Projection Designer Alison Dobbins will be visiting Brigham Young University from November 20 to November 22 to present workshops and discussions on the integration of digital media with live performance. This is a great opportunity for new media artists, theatre designers, and live performance directors to hear about the growing field of projection design. The schedule of events available to attend are listed below. Alison is currently the head of Design and Technology and an Assistant Professor of Integrated Media Performance Design at Michigan State University. She received her M.F.A. in Digital Cinema from National University and her A.B. in Mathematics from Oberlin College. Alison is a motion graphics artist interested in documenting and exploring new ways of presenting creative activity as a projected performance art. Visit her website at TheatreBeans.com. Theatre and Media Arts Forum The World of Projection Design and Opportunities for Students in the Field Thursday, November 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. in the Nelke Theatre Open to students, faculty and staff. Come hear Alison Dobbins talk about what artists are doing with the integration of media and live performance, and how to get involved. Q & A Brown Bag Lunch with Alison Dobbins Thursday, November 21, from 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 pm in F-556 HFAC Open to students. Bring your lunch and have an informal question and answer discussion with Alison Dobbins about the life of a media artist and what ever else you would like to ask. Drinks and dessert will be provided.

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art is expecting record attendance for its newest exhibition, Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz. The museum now houses nearly two dozen paintings of Christ from these master painters, secured from museums and donors in New York City, Denmark, Germany and Sweden. Some of the paintings are displayed outside of their home locations for the very first, and possibly last, time. Museum of Art head curator Dawn Pheysey said overall the new exhibition brings together and displays a host of different gifts. “First of all there’s the gift of the artists, their talents,” Pheysey said. “There’s the gift of the museums and the donors who’ve let us borrow these works, and the gift of many donors who have helped to make this exhibition even possible. There’s our gift, the museum’s gift to the community, to be able to bring this exhibition to them. Then, of course, the ultimate gift, the gift of the Savior.” The museum’s most recent ticketed show, Carl Bloch: The Master’s Hand, was one of the most highly attended museum exhibitions in the country while on view in 2010 and 2011. It operated at full capacity during the exhibition’s final months. A total of 306,000 people attended. Many who visit the new exhibition will recognize the paintings displayed. Prints of some of the original works are seen in many LDS meetinghouses around the world and in church publications. Sacred Gifts allows patrons to see the original works first hand. The Museum of Art partnered with BYU’s Laycock Center and Center for Teaching and Learning to create an iPad app to help users discover more about the exhibition. The app offers an opportunity to learn much more about the pieces, where they come from and the powerful messages they portray. The museum offers iPads on loan for $3 to patrons, and the app includes text about the paintings, video messages and interviews, and even activities for children. Sacred Gifts will run through May 10. “We hope that people will not only reflect upon the gifts of these artists, but also reflect upon their own gifts that they have been given,” Pheysey said, “and how they can use those gifts to bless the lives of those around them.”

Brigham Young University’s School of Music will present a woodwind chamber night Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Parkway Center.

This year’s “Christmas Around the World” celebration at Brigham Young University, “See the Wonder,” featuring the International Folk Dance Ensemble, will take place Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee in the Marriott Center.

The annual fall “Ballet Showcase” at Brigham Young University will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22-23, in the Dance Studio Theatre of the Richards Building.

Composer and musician Michael Hicks of Brigham Young University’s School of Music will perform a folk music concert as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination Friday, Nov. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend. Hicks graduated from BYU in music composition and from the University of Illinois with a doctoral of musical arts. His compositions of both chamber and solo works have been performed and recorded by BYU faculty and student artists as well as performers around the country and at events for the American Society of University Composers and the Subtropics Music Festival. For more information, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

Style, grace and athleticism take center stage during the annual Brigham Young University DanceSport Championships Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15-16, in the Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom.

Concert will feature two Fazioli 308 pianos, tribute to founder Paul Pollei The Brigham Young University School of Music will present the American Piano Quartet in concert Saturday, Nov. 23, in the Madsen Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-2981 or byuarts.com/tickets. Tickets are $6. The American Piano Quartet is comprised of faculty artists from the School of Music, including Robin Hancock, Scott Holden and Jeffrey Shumway. They will be joined by Del Parkinson, a professor of piano at Boise State University. 'During this performance, we will be performing on two Fazioli 308 pianos, a very exclusive piano with only 100 in existence,” said Scott Holden. “With two of these pianos on stage, each 10 feet long, it will literally be the only place on earth that there are two of these models are side by side – outside of the factory in Italy.” The concert will open with “Grand Galop Chromatic” by Franz Liszt, followed by the “Die Moldau” by Friedrich Smetana and the Waltz Suite, Op. 8 by Mortiz Moszkowski. The first half will end with Aram Khatchaturian’s fiery “Sabre Dance,” which will be dedicated to the memory of APQ founding member Paul Pollei, who passed away last summer. After a brief intermission, the American Piano Quartet will present “Espana” by Emmanuel Chabrier, “Pavanne,” Op. 50 by Gabriel Faure and a transcription of the Symphony No. 3 by Johannes Brahms. They will conclude the performance with “Fantasy on Themes of Offenbach” by Mack Wilberg and “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt. The American Piano Quartet was formed in 1984 after former BYU piano faculty member Paul Pollei received a piece of music for a piano quartet. The resulting concert was so well-received that they decided to continue as a group and have since performed around the world. For more information, contact Robin Hancock at robin_hancock@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

The Brigham Young University School of Music will present the Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Kory Katseanes, in a performance of “The Orchestra Dances” Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.

Brigham Young University’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present the Tony Award-winning “The Light in the Piazza” Friday, Nov. 15, through Saturday, Dec. 7, in the Pardoe Theatre at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees.