April 3, 2003

Sweet Honey In the Rock performs at 7:30 p.m. April 12 at the Lied Center.

A cappella group brings inspiration to Lied

The Grammy award-winning Sweet Honey In The Rock will perform at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. April 12.

Sweet Honey In The Rock is an African American female a cappella ensemble with musical roots in the sacred music of the church, such as spirituals, hymns and gospel, as well as jazz and blues. Five African American women sing and play hand percussion instruments to create music, dance and narrative that relate history, celebrate love and denounce oppression.

Sweet Honey began nearly 30 years ago at Howard University and was organized by Bernice Johnson Reagon. She is a distinguished professor of history at American University and curator emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Reagon is the author of If You Don't Go, Don't Hinder Me, published by University of Nebraska Press in 2001, and several other titles. She was featured in the 1992 Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, "The Songs Are Free: Bernice Johnson Reagon with Bill Moyers."

Joining Reagon in Sweet Honey In The Rock are Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil, Carol Lynn Maillard and Shirley Childress Saxton, who provides sign language interpretation for the group.

Tickets for this performance are $36, $30 and $26; tickets are half price for college students and those 18 and younger. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 for tickets.

Andy Warhol, Myths: Mickey Mouse, 1981, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas, is part of the Sheldon's "Big Canvas: Paintings from the Permanent Collection" exhibition opening April 12.

Sheldon opens 'Big Canvas'

"Big Canvas: Paintings from the Permanent Collection" will be on exhibition from April 12 through Aug. 11 at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

In 1955, the art critic Eugene Goosen wrote an essay explaining the aesthetic and historical importance of a unique phenomenon in post-war American art: the big canvas. This exhibition uses the Sheldon's permanent collection to explore the important role that large paintings played in the history and development of post-war American art. Paintings by Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Indiana, among others, demonstrate the aesthetic impact of large-scale painting and its implications.

Also now on exhibition at the gallery: "Anne Truitt Sculpture" and "Still Small Voice: The Minimalist Impulse in Contemporary American Prints." Both will close May 11.

For more information, visit <http://sheldon.unl.edu>.

Hamlisch, B.B. King added to Lied Center schedule

Grammy Award-winning composer and musician Marvin Hamlisch will perform at the Lied Center at 7:30 p.m. May 13. Also being added to the Lied Center's schedule this season is blues legend B.B. King at 7:30 p.m. May 17. Tickets for both events are now on sale at the Lied Center box office.

Lied Center Executive Director Charles Bethea added these two performances after the cancellation of Disney's AIDA from the May line-up.

As a composer, Hamlisch has won three Oscars, four Grammys, three Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. His Broadway show, A Chorus Line, received the Pulitzer Prize. He is also a pianist and entertainer, and for the Lied Center performance, he will be joined by guest vocalist Stephen Lehew.

King's name is synonymous with the blues because of his hits such as "The Thrill is Gone" and "Rock Me Baby." Through his career has earned 27 Grammy nominations.

Tickets for the Hamlisch performance are $39 and $34. King tickets sell for $49.50 and $44.50. Tickets for either show are $5 off for college students and those 18 and under. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 for tickets.

Culture Center offers movie night

The UNL Culture Center will host a movie night featuring the movie Green Dragon, starring Patrick Swayze, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. April 9.

After the movie, Jung Nguyen from the Asian Community Center will speak about his experiences being a Vietnamese refugee and the information the movie depicts.

The event is free and open to the public. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Young Artists on campus April 9

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts will bring 85 high school juniors from more than 45 Nebraska high schools to campus April 9 as part of the sixth annual Nebraska Young Artist Awards.

The students will participate in the special day of activities as part of the annual recognition of juniors who are gifted and talented in visual art, dance, music or theater.

Honored students will tour the arts facilities, attend classes, meet faculty and college students, and have lunch. They will also receive information on careers in the arts and college curriculum. The day ends with an awards ceremony in the Nebraska Union at 3 p.m.