COMMUNITY CALENDAR ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE MARCH/APRIL 2014 SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
VOL. 2.14
So ld Out! Grammy Award-Winning Guitarist David Russell Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m
In this Issue: Dean’s Lecture and Concert Series, Concerts, Theatre, Graduate Institute Eastern Classics, Film Institute, Greek Institute, Summer Classics
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DEAN’S LECTURE AND CONCERT SERIES Please join us for the continuation of the spring 2014 Dean’s Lecture and Concert Series. All lectures are free and open to the public. See below for times and locations.
Machiavelli’s Enterprise Friday, April 4, 3:15 p.m. Junior Common Room, Peterson Student Center Harvey Mansfield, professor of government, Harvard University Machiavelli’s very large enterprise can be studied from his use, just once in all his writings, of the phrase Verità Effettuale (The Prince, ch. 15). This phrase opens the door to modern method and epistemology, in particular to the critique of imagination and the discovery of “fact,” a modern word that today “everyone knows”--only too well. Machiavelli laid the ground for modern philosophy as well as modern morality and modern politics. Harvey C. Mansfield is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Government at Harvard University. He was chairman of the department from 1973 to 1977, has held Guggenheim and NEH fellowships, and has been a fellow at the National Humanities Center. He won the Joseph R. Levenson Award for his teaching at Harvard, received the Sidney Hook Memorial Award from the National Association of Scholars, and in 2004 accepted a National Humanities Medal. In 2007, he delivered the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Jefferson Lecture. He has hardly left Harvard since his first arrival in 1949 and has been on the faculty since 1962, having been awarded his doctorate in philosophy the previous year. For more than 40 years, Mansfield has been writing and teaching about political philosophy, examining both contemporary politics and their historical origins. His 14 books delve into the words of past thinkers such as Edmund Burke and Machiavelli. Mansfield also is a frequent contributor to numerous periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, National Review, and New York Times Literary Supplement.
A Strong Good Annual Steiner Lecture Friday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Rémi Brague, emeritus professor of Medieval and Arabic philosophy, University of Paris Given the challenges to the legitimacy of mankind and of the most concrete menaces that loom at the horizon, can we do with a “weak” version of what is good? If we want to give grounds for a “humanism,” we will have to step back from the modern search for a comfortable social life and even from the virtues of the Aristotelian tradition to Plato’s Idea of the Good.
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Rémi Brague is emeritus professor of Medieval and Arabic philosophy at the University of Paris I. He teaches also at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität of Munich, where he holds the Romano Guardini chair. He was visiting professor at the Pennsylvania State University, Boston University, Boston CollegeU.S., the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, and the University San Raffaele in Milan. Brague is member of the Institut de France (Academy of Moral and Political Sciences).
“Exit, pursued by a bear”: Finding Direction in Shakespeare Friday, April 18, 7:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Elizabeth Samet, department of English, United States Military Academy Elizabeth Samet will be talking about some of the ways in which characters in Shakespeare surrender to and attempt to escape the plots in which they find themselves. Elizabeth D. Samet is the author of Soldier’s Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point (FSG), which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest and was named one of The New York
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Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2007, and Willing Obedience: Citizens, Soldiers, and the Progress of Consent in America, 1776-1898 (Stanford UP). Her essays and reviews have been published in various publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, and The New Republic. She also has appeared on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NPR, and the BBC World Service. Samet is the editor of a forthcoming anthology, Leadership: Essential Writings by Our Greatest Thinkers (Norton); her book No Man’s Land will be published by FSG next fall. She is professor of English at West Point. The opinions Samet expresses in this lecture are her own and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.
An Evening with the Author of The Tiger’s Wife Annual Worrell Lecture Friday, April 25, 7:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Téa Obreht, author Téa Obreht’s first novel, The Tiger’s Wife, won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the 2011 National Book Award. She will read from her work and discuss the art of writing. Téa Obreht was born in 1985 in the former Yugoslavia and spent her childhood in Cyprus and Egypt before eventually immigrating to the United States in 1997. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Zoetrope: All-Story, The New York Times, and The Guardian, and it has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Non-Required Reading. She has been named by The New Yorker as one of the 20 best American fiction writers under 40 and included in the National Book Foundation’s list of 5 Under 35. Téa Obreht lives in Ithaca, New York.
What is Yoga Really? Wednesday, April 30, 3:15 p.m. Junior Common Room, Peterson Student Center Nicolai Bachman, yoga teacher and author The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a masterpiece of Sanskrit literature, yet can be difficult to understand and apply. Many kinds of yoga are mentioned, all pointing toward the same goal of connecting our individual, changing, outer consciousness to our universal, unchanging, inner light of awareness. What does “practice” mean beyond the physical postures? Where does “mindfulness” fit in? How can inner quiet help us manage outer responsibilities? Nicolai Bachman has been teaching Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy, and Ayurveda since 1994. He has a knack for synthesizing and organizing complex topics into simple and understandable presentations. His education combines informal, traditional study with the academic rigor of university classes. He has studied extensively at the American Sanskrit Institute, the Ayurvedic Institute, the American Institute of Vedic Studies, and the Vedic Chant Center. He holds a master of arts degree in Eastern philosophy, a master of science degree in nutrition, and is eRYT500 certified. He also has written several Sanskrit book/CD learning tools.
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I accept Time absolutely. It alone is without f law, It alone rounds and completes all, That mystic baff ling wonder. — Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
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AFTERNOON CONCERTS From Bach to Li Yinghai Sunday, April 6, 4 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Yi Ji, piano There is no charge for admission This piano concert’s program consists of Bach’s Toccata in D major, BWV 912; Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata, op. 57; Brahms’s Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2, Romance, Op.118, no. 5, Hungarian Dance No. 7, and Hungarian Dance No. 1; and Li Yinghai’s “Moon, River and Flower in a Spring Night,” arranged from an ancient Chinese tune. Yu Ji (SF12) is currently pursuing graduate studies in piano performance at Temple University
Chopin and Debussy Friday, April 18, 12:10-1:15 p.m. Junior Common Room, Peterson Student Center Peter Pesic, piano There is no charge for admission Musician-in-residence and tutor emeritus Peter Pesic continues his tour of music of the 20th century with a program that features Chopin’s Études op. 10, no. 9–12, and Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, op. 47; and Debussy’s D’un cahier d’esquisses (1903) and Estampes (1903). Peter Pesic is tutor emeritus and musician in residence at St. John’s College, Santa Fe. He attended Harvard and Stanford, obtaining a doctorate in physics. He has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Pesic also is a visiting scholar at Harvard University.
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Senior Recital Sunday, April 20, 3 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Eric Fricke, piano
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RESCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, APRIL 27
There is no charge for admission In this senior recital, Eric Fricke (SF14) will perform: Handel’s Harmonious Blacksmith Variations; Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major, K 333; Grainger/Dowland’s “Now, O Now, I Needs Must Part”; Dylan Roger’s Prelude No. 3 from 12 Preludes; Fricke’s Etude No. 1; Beethoven’s Sonata in D Major, op. 10, no. 3; and Bach/Busoni’s Chaconne. Mr. Fricke, who has been featured as an organist on NPR’ s “From the Top,” also performs this year, both on the organ and on the piano, in the TGIF series at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe.
EVENING CONCERT Grammy Award-Winning Guitarist David Russell Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center
So ld Out!
$40 at the door; limited free admission for students, tutors, and college staff Grammy Award-winning guitarist David Russell performs pieces by J.S. Bach, E. Granados, and Michael Nyman in a concert jointly sponsored by St. John’s College and the Santa Fe Concert Association Classical guitarist David Russell is world renowned for his superb musicianship and inspired artistry, having earned the highest praise from audiences and critics alike. In recognition of his great talent and his international career, he was named a fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997. His CD “Aire Latino” won a Grammy in 2005 for best instrumental soloist in classical music. In 2009, he was named honorary member of Amigos de la Guitarra, the oldest guitar society in Spain. During his studies at the Royal Academy, David Russell twice won the Julian Bream Guitar Prize. Later he won numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition, the José Ramírez Competition, and Spain's prestigious Francisco Tárrega Competition. David Russell spends his time touring the world, appearing regularly at prestigious halls in cities such as New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto, and Rome.
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March 15 and March 29 7:30-9:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center $25 at the door or by advance purchase Back by popular demand and expanded, Elevated features nationally known jazz musicians in an intimate club-like setting. Doors open at 7 p.m.; small plates and wine and beer are available for purchase.
Larry Ham
Woody Witt
Alan Pasqua
On March 15, pianist Larry Ham and saxophonist Woody Witt take the stage. Larry Ham also is a composer and arranger and a noted New York sideman, performing, touring, and recording with many great jazz artists. As a United States Department of State Jazz Ambassador, Ham toured 11 West African nations in 2001 and 2002 in a cultural exchange program. Woody Witt serves as the entertainment director of Houston’s premiere jazz club, Cézanne. He also has extensive performance experience. Both musicians are professors of jazz, in New York and Texas, respectively. Pianist Alan Pasqua headlines the final concert of the series on March 29. Alan Pasqua easily traverses the worlds of pop and jazz, having recorded or toured with such artists as Aretha Franklin and Elton John and worked with many composers, including John Williams, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, and Henry Mancini. In the jazz world, Pasqua has played and recorded with numerous luminaries, among them Jack Dejohnette, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, Gary Burton, and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. His latest critically acclaimed release, “Twin Bill” (BFM Digital), features Pasqua, recorded on two pianos, playing the music of Bill Evans.
Music on the Hill™ 2014 —Benefit Events Bring your family and friends to enjoy great cuisine at local restaurants and support the summer 2014 season of Music on the Hill™. Our restaurant partners will donate 20% of the evenings’ sale of food and beverages to help us mount our popular free concert series. So, plan on dinner out on: Tuesday, April 8, at Il Piatto (95 W. Marcy St.) Tuesday, April 22, at San Francisco Bar & Grill (187 Paseo De Peralta)
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Jekyll & Hyde Saturday, March 1, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 2, 3 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student Center There is no charge for admission With book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn, the musical’s story is as timeless as it is irresistible. A devoted man of science, Dr. Henry Jekyll is driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve some of mankind’s most challenging medical dilemmas. Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experimental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man the world would come to know as Mr. Hyde. Directed by artistin-residence Roy Rogosin, Jekyll & Hyde will be fully staged production.
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ENCOUNTER THE EASTERN CLASSICS Dogen’s “Instructions to the Tenzo” Saturday, April 5, 3:40-7 p.m. Graduate Institute
“When you boil rice, know that the water is your own life.” Experience a taste of the Eastern Classics Master’s Program this spring with a sample seminar on Dogen’s “Instructions to the Tenzo” (tr. Kotler and Tanahashi). Dogen (1200-1253), possibly the greatest Japanese philosopher and one of the great thinkers of Buddhism, is known for his strangely paradoxical turns of thought as well as his exquisite literary style. His “Instructions to the Tenzo” was written in 1237 in Chinese and addresses the duties and attitudes of the monastery cook, which Dogen considered the most important position in monastic life; it also gives a brief account of his journey to China. While it is not one of his major philosophical works, it offers parables and insights of great power and depth into the problem of how to live daily life well. It is one of those works that can be returned to regularly for re-tempering oneself back into sanity. In this sample seminar, we will try to read this text naively and without preconceptions, without drawing from the vast body of Buddhist literature to which this work alludes and which we read in the Eastern Classics program. Although without any prior knowledge of Buddhism we will surely be out of our depth, we nonetheless will find the swim invigorating and the waters refreshing.
After the seminar, join us for a reception with light refreshments and a panel discussion. Space is limited, so please RSVP by March 20 to Zoe Haskell at zhaskell@sjc.edu or 505-984-6050.
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JUNE 15 – AUGUST 8, 2014 | SANTA FE What is the Film Institute? It is an eight-week program approaching great works of cinema as visual poetry, bringing the St. John’s approach to this modern art form. Each week focuses on a great director, spanning the 1920s to the 1970s. The program also will feature lectures and workshops by film industry professionals to help students develop a deeper understanding of the technical aspects of filmmaking. With nightly classes, film showings at local cinemas, and tutorials on works of film analysis (frequently written by the directors themselves), this program will attempt to approach all sides of film as a liberal art, exploring its unique status as visual communication in time and its contribution to the ideas of our culture. The Film Institute will be taught by David Carl and Krishnan Venkatesh, among other tutors. Classes will be small, allowing each individual more time to learn.
There’s still a chance to participate in the inaugural summer of the St. John’s College Film Institute. Although the first deadline has passed, the initial call for applications met with such a wonderful response that to accommodate the many requests, we have decided to start a waiting list of participants for a second section of the Institute. This new section also welcomes part-time participants: people interested in taking only the seminar or the tutorial segments of the Institute, or people only able to attend for some portion of the full course. Pricing will be adjusted accordingly. The application deadline for this new section of the Film Institute is April 11, and the deadline for full tuition is May 1. Applications can be found at www.sjc.edu/gradprograms/sf_film.shtml. For further information, please contact Zoe Haskell at 505-984-6050 or filminstitute@sjc.edu.
Tuition for full-time study (eight-week program) is $4,900. On-campus room and board is available.
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June 9 – August 7, 2014
NEW THIS YEAR…AN EXTRA WEEK OF HOMERIC GREEK! Introducing this year…an extra week of Homeric Greek! The Graduate Institute in Santa Fe would like to call your attention to the summer Greek Institute, a multi-week course in ancient Greek. This summer we have added a ninth week and changed our pacing to that of an “accelerated” course. Intensive language programs across the country are known for their high attrition rate (often around 50%) and extreme stress: that is why the Greek Institute is not an “intensive.” While our program still will require an enormous amount of work and dedication and will necessarily entail memorization, drills, quizzes, and tests, it also will leave space for participants to appreciate the unique opportunities of a Santa Fe summer, from afternoon lectures here at St. John’s to the Santa Fe Opera. In short, the extra week in this summer’s program is meant to facilitate
a more humane, healthier pace, as well as an even deeper immersion in this beautiful language. The aim of this course is to prepare participants to read in classic Homeric Greek works. It also will prepare graduate students attending other institutions to pass a language exam in Ancient Greek. The course’s grammar text will be Homeric Greek, 4th edition, by Pharr, Wright, and Debnar. (Note that earlier editions will not suffice.) Following the completion of the grammar component, participants will immerse themselves in a careful reading of selections from the Iliad and Odyssey. This year’s tutors will be Llyd Wells and Alan Zeitlin, veterans from last year’s inaugural program. Returning as well will be popular assistant Thomas Conroy. Classes will be small, allowing each individual more time to learn. No previous experience in Greek is necessary to apply.
Tuition for summer 2014 is $2,900, considerably lower than tuition for comparable study at other institutions. On-campus room and board is available at very reasonable rates. For further information, please contact Zoe Haskell at 505-984-6050 or GreekInstitute@sjc.edu.
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Unlock new realms of thought in the words of Western Civilization’s greatest authors and in the company of inquiring minds around the seminar table. JOIN US FOR SUMMER CLASSICS IN SANTA FE Week I: July 7-11 Week II: July 14-18 Week III: July 21-25 Summer Classics in Santa Fe has been expanded to more than 20 seminars over the course of three weeks, representing a wide range of topics. Participants can choose among seminars on works by philosophers Augustine, Descartes, Montesquieu, Nietzsche, Plato, Plutarch, and Schopenhauer; the Buddha and Sufi master Ibn al-‘Arabi; novelists Conrad, Eliot, Faulkner, Forster, and Proust; short-story authors Munro and O’Connor; poets Dante, Milton, and Whitman; playwright Shakespeare; and naturalist Eugene Marais. Summer Classics participants are invited to explore the vibrancy of historic Santa Fe and attend cultural events, including St. John’s College Music on the Hill™ concert series, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the worldrenowned Santa Fe Opera. The complete schedule for Summer Classics 2014 and seminar details can be found HERE.
For a brochure or to register, please call 505-984-6105 or email classics@sjc.edu.
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