DETAIL OF SAMURAI WARRIOR, SATSUMA WARE CHANGER, Japan. Gift of Eloise Norris Beranek in memory of Floyd E. Beranek, '68

Lentz Exhibition Highlights New Gifts

The Lentz Center for Asian Culture opens its fall exhibition, More than Good: Gifts of Collections to the Lentz Center, 1998, Oct. 2.

The exhibition is a version of the Lentz Center's annual exhibition of gifts. The emphasis this year is on multiple gifts from individual donors. An open house with light refreshments will be from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 6 at the center, 329 Morrill Hall, 14th and U streets on City Campus. The exhibition and open house are free and open to the public, but a donation of $2 is suggested for Morrill Hall visitors over the age of 2.

NU alumni have figured prominently in this year's gifts to the Lentz Center. Patricia Flannigan King ('60) of Lincoln and Michael Flannigan ('61) of Minneapolis have given the center 20 pieces of carved ivory that were purchased in Hong Kong by their father, Michael J. Flannigan, before laws were passed making the importation of ivory illegal. Tusks are carved to lacy perfection and carvings include boats with every passenger and compartment clearly delineated.

Eloise Beranek of Ord has given a large collection of Asian ceramics and lacquer. The collection was formed with her husband, the late Floyd E. Beranek ('38) and has been given in his memory. There are many pieces of Chinese and Japanese ceramics and several Korean pieces as well. The largest group is Japanese Sumida ware from early in this century. Sumida ware is especially lively with three-dimensional figures gracing and surrounding the surfaces.

A group of 20 Japanese prints by the artist Chikanobu has been donated by Dr. William T. Griffin of Lincoln in memory of his late wife, Sheila D. Griffin. Printed in the late 1890s, the vivid prints recall the artist's life inside Edo (Tokyo) Castle.

Sandford Gadient, a well-known Peking glass collector from Boca Raton, Fla., has donated a figure of the goddess Guanyin in white glass with delicate red striations. Gadient has indicated that he will donate a new piece each year.

A magnificent 17th century monk's robe called a "kesa" has been donated by Margaret Hilmes of Leawood, Kan., also a glass collector. Although monk's robes were supposed to be made of scraps sewn together, the Japanese love of sumptuous textiles encouraged the development of elaborate and ritualized brocade robes imitating those made of smaller pieces of material.

The Lentz Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:30-4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed Mondays.

Saint Petersburg Philharmonic

Russia's Oldest Orchestra Visits Lied Oct. 16

Russia's oldest symphony is still its best. Considered among the world's premier symphonic ensembles, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic performs at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov, (shown at left), the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic continues its passionate romance with music by Russia's greats - Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov. Despite obstacles that haunt the arts in the former Soviet Union, this orchestra perseveres and thrives as a true original determinedly true to its Russian roots, heart and soul.

Tracing its origins to 1882, when it was the "Imperial Music Choir," the orchestra originally served the royal court and aristocracy. By 1917, the orchestra was declared a state orchestra of the Soviet Republic and within a year was performing under the name Petrograd Philharmonic Society, and later as the Leningrad Philharmonic. In 1991, the company adopted its current name after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic has played an important role in furthering the careers of Russian and Soviet composers. The orchestra premiered Shostakovich's First Symphony in 1926, bringing immediate international acclaim to the then- l 9-year-old composer.

He premiered seven of his subsequent symphonies with the orchestra. And while Russian music forms the heart of the orchestra's repertoire, its virtuosic performances of works by composers of all nationalities reinforce its status among the world's finest ensembles.

Tentative program selections for the Oct. 16 concert include Small Triptych (1964) by Sviridov; Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, by Schumann with Jonathan Gilad, piano; and Daphnis and Chloe: Suites 1 and 2 by Ravel. During recent tours of the United States, the orchestra earned kudos from critics in all venues. Superlatives such as "mighty," "dynamic" and "powerful" described the music this large ensemble created. The orchestra's distinctive sound, described by a New York Times critic as "hefty and warm," is due in part to its unusual stage arrangement for the instruments (harps and basses behind the first violins; brass behind the seconds) and the habit of having the brass stand during important sections.

Pre-performance talks, part of the Lied Center's ongoing education programming, will be delivered by Robert Emile, professor emeritus of music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music. The talks begin in the Lied's Steinhart Room 55 minutes and 30 minutes prior to curtain.

Tickets for the performance are $42, $38 and $34. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane College students and youth 18 and younger with proper identification can purchase tickets for half-price.

Call the Lied Box Of Office at 472-4747 or toll free, (800) 432-3231 for ticket availability. Box Office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. On performance weekdays, the Box Office is open from 11 a.m. through the first intermission. For evening performances on weekends, the Box Office opens at 3 p.m.

This performance is made possible in part with generous support from Ruth Marie Amen, and sponsored in part by the Sheila Delaney Griffin Lied Endowment Fund.

Kruger Gallery of Miniature Furniture Opens

By Peg Strain, Public Relations

A Lilliputian world is on display at the new Kruger Gallery.

The gallery, on the first floor of Architecture Hall was dedicated last week and houses a $500,000 collection of tens of thousands of miniature historical furnishings.

The Eloise Kruger Charitable Trust donated $1.5 million to the NU College of Architecture last year. Intended to be an educational resource for students of interior design to study historic furnishings and interior architecture, the collection is unlike any that exists outside of the Chicago Art Institute and the Winterthur Museum in Delaware.

The gallery is named for Eloise Andrews Kruger of Lincoln, who formerly attended the university and died in 1995. The collection consists of one-12th scale furniture that represents historic periods or a particular historic style.

Cecil Steward, dean of architecture, said, "Mrs. Kruger had a very discriminating eye about quality and particular styles of design furnishings. What we have are historically correct models of a variety of styles and periods. It will augment the teaching we do because the history is a definite part of the curriculum." Some of the pieces are exact replicas of furniture in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and were collected by Kruger over 40 years.

"The pieces represent high style and high design and become of interest to architecture and interior design students," Steward said. The gift will be used to assist in curating the collection, support of the interior design program and providing permanent storage and student scholarships.

The gallery is open at no charge from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Fiber Art by 4-Hers at Hillestad Gallery

Fiber art by Nebraska Youth in 4-H will is the subject of Celebration of Youth: Creativity in Textiles and Design, the next exhibition scheduled for the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery. The gallery is located on the second floor of the Home Economics Building on East Campus. The exhibition runs from Oct. 5 to 22.

An opening reception for the exhibition will be from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Oct. 4 in the gallery.

The show is presented in recognition of the efforts of youth across Nebraska and exemplifies the artistic and creative fiber arts and textiles of youth participating at the Nebraska State Fair. The exhibit is funded by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's 4-H Youth Development Office, Cooperative Extension Division, in cooperation with the department of Textiles, Clothing and Design in the College of Human Resources and Family Sciences.

NU Presents Church Music Workshops

The NU School of Music and Schmitt Music Centers will present a church music workshop on Oct 3 at First Lutheran Church, 3601 Dakota Ave. in South Sioux City and Oct. 17 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 511 N. Elm St. in Grand Island.

The non-denominational workshops begin at 9 a.m. with an anthem reading session that is open to the public.

The workshop itself will include two sessions. One is for organists and church accompanists and will be led by Clair Bushong, an August Ph.D. graduate of the NU School of Music who has taught at Hastings College and Concordia University in Seward. The other is for choir directors, led by Dwaine Price, minister of music at West Hills Presbyterian Church in Omaha.

The workshop demonstrates practical presentation of techniques and skills, especially for people from small churches and churches with modest resources for music.

Pre-registration is encouraged, but on-site registration is available beginning at 8:15 a.m. The fee is $35 per person or $25 per person if more than one person from the same church registers. The workshop is scheduled to end at 4 p.m. Lunch is not included in the program, but a lunch break is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m.

For more information or to register by phone, call Michele Deaton at the School of Music at (402) 472-6861, or Bill Long, administrative coordinator of the workshop, at (402) 488-1022.

An Evening of Cultural Storytelling Oct. 9

Charlotte Blake Alston and Jon Spelman will present a joint storytelling concert at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in 119 Westbrook Music Building.

Alston and Spelman have developed a unique duet concert in which they tell African, African-American, European and Euro-American traditional and contemporary stories.

Spelman, who represented American Professional storytellers at the Colloquium on the Revival of Storytelling in Paris, France, has been commissioned by both the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution and has received two Emmys from the Washington chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is featured in five home videos and four audio collections of American storytelling.

Alston is a Philadelphia-based storyteller, singer, and composer who models her role after that of the griot, who through storytelling, maintains the history and traditions of people in villages and communities in West Africa. Alston is the first and only storyteller to have performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She is serving in her third season as host of Carnegie Hall's Family Performance Series, and includes the Smithsonian, Kennedy Center, and Philadelphia Museum of Art among her performance venues.

An Evening of Cultural Storytelling is suitable for family audiences. The event is presented by Arts Are Basic in collaboration with the Nebraska Storytelling Festival.

Additional funding has been provided from State Farm and from Lincoln Benefit Life.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and will be available at the door.

Waiting for Godot Opens University Theatre Season

Opening the University Theatre season is Waiting for Godot with a student preview at 8 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Studio Theatre. Performances continue at 8 p.m. on Oct. 9 and 10 and 13-17.

The story of the play deals with two dilapidated bums, Vladimir and Estragon (Didi and Gogo), waiting on a country road with only a tree for its adornment. They do not enjoy being there, but they cannot leave until they have seen a mysterious personage named Godot. We do not know why they are to see Godot; they do not know themselves. They anticipate a being who may or may not exist. Their whole existence derives solely from the necessity of waiting, but they cannot swear to what they are waiting for.

It is the modem predicament. The world waits without any assurance that Godot will ever come; at the same time life without waiting seems unthinkable. Waiting for Godot is an amazing work of art. There is probably no other play in the history of the theater that comes so close to being a perfect embodiment of the view of reality it assumes; for it is not about the anguish of waiting - it is the thing itself. It brings the audience into contact with others who feel isolated. In the two tramps we recognize echoes of the old vaudeville clowns from the Charlie Chaplin era, who affect us with warm feelings of humanity even as we are laughing at the idiotic things they do. It is perhaps this warmth exuded by Waiting for Godot that lifts it above other plays; for it is an emotional experience in the theatre - a hauntingly beautiful visual metaphor of humankind's predicament.

"This production casts women in the roles of men and uses Beckett's text unchanged. There is no political agenda. We hope our choice will be accepted as a theatrical convention, merely reversing the long-accepted tradition that men have at times played the roles of women. We all, men and women alike, face the ineffable with a mixture of shifting emotions and thoughts," said Shirley Carr Mason, the play's director.

Waiting for Godot stars Sasha Dobson (Estragon) and Moira Mangiameli (Vladimir).

For ticket information, call the Theatre Box Office at 472-2073.

Indian Classical Music Concert Is Oct. 9

A concert of Indian classical music will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in the Nebraska Union Ballroom, 14th and R streets.

An Evening of Sitar and Sarod Duet will feature Shubhendra Rao on the sitar, Partho Sarathy on the sarod and Tanmoy Bose on the tabla.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for University of Nebraska-Lincoln students with a valid ID. They are available through Ticketmaster at (402) 475-1212 or through Bidisha Nag of the Raag student organization by phone at (402) 420-6360 or by e-mail at (raag@unlinfo.unl.edu). Raag is an NU student group promoting the culture and music of India.

The sitar is the most popular stringed instrument of India and has been in use for about 700 years. It is fashioned from a seasoned gourd and teakwood and his 20 metal frets with six or seven playing strings and 19 sympathetic strings below. The sarod, another popular stringed instrument with a history going back nearly 2,000 years, is carved from a single piece of well-seasoned teakwood and the belly is covered with goat skin. There are four main strings, six rhythm and drone strings and 15 sympathetic strings, all made of metal. A tabla is a set of two different-sized drums used to accompany north Indian music and dance.

Rao, Sarathy and Bose are disciples of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar and are regarded as being among the best of a new generation of Indian classical music instrumentalists. They will present a public lecture-demonstration about their instruments and music at Nebraska Wesleyan University's Emerson Recital Hall on the lower level of the Rogers Fine Arts Center at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 8.

October School of Music Events

A number of concerts are scheduled during October featuring faculty or guest artists in the School of Music.

Guest artist Helen Ann Shanley, flute, will perform at 3 p.m. Oct. 4 in Kimball Hall. Shanley teaches flute and chamber music at Baylor University.

The Faculty Recital Series will feature Craig Fuller, tuba, in a performance at 8 p.m. Oct. 4 in Kimball Hall.

Guest Artists, the Sotto Voce Trio will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 in Kimball Hall. The trio is composed of Jean Lansing, alto saxophone; Dorothy Crum, soprano; and Sylvia Coats, piano, from Wichita State University.

The Faculty Chamber Music group will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 8 in Kimball Hall.

The Jazz Ensemble, Gene Smith conducting, will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 9 in Kimball Hall.

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band will perform at 3 p.m. Oct. 11 in Kimball Hall.

All of these performances are free.

The Opera, The Divine Madness, will be performed at 8 p.m. Oct. 30 and 3 p.m. Nov. 1 in Kimball Hall.

Experience the world premiere of Randall Snyder's comic one-act opera poking fun at the trials and tribulations of an aspiring composer as he struggles with his producer, his performers, his public and his own perception of his creative abilities. The witty energetic score, filled with tongue-in-cheek musical quotes you're sure to recognize, promises to be a delight. The opera stars University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumnus John David DeHaan, an internationally acclaimed tenor. Williams Shomos stage directs and Tyler White leads the University Orchestra in this full production.

Tickets are $8/adults and $5/students and are available at the Lied Center Box Office, 472-4747.

Due to the nature of live performances, date, times and locations may change. Call the School of Music Promotions Office at 472-6865 or the Events Line at 477-3333, code 1772 for confirmation.

NU-Texas Soccer Match on ETV Oct. 4

Soccer fans can catch all the live play-by-play television coverage from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Abbott Sports Complex when the Nebraska Huskers take on the Texas Longhorns at 1 p.m. Oct. 4 on the statewide Nebraska ETV Network.

Calling all the action will be sportscasters Bill Doleman and Kevin Kugler.

"NCAA Women's Soccer" is a production of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Television Sports and Special Events Unit for broadcast on the Nebraska ETV Network. Steve Alvis is senior producer and Jim Carmichael is producer/director.

Statewide Examines Cass County Quandary

Can you ever get too much of a good thing? Cass County officials are pondering exactly that question as they decide how to cope with the area's population boom, according to a "Perspective" segment airing at 8 p.m. Oct. 9 on Statewide, the Nebraska ETV Network's weekly magazine series.

The series, which repeats at 7 p.m. Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays, includes up-to-the-minute news reports from across the state and other features of interest.

Correspondent Brad Penner reports that Cass County is in the midst of a fast-growing area. But the same growth that brings new housing, commercial and recreational development also brings new challenges. Penner examines regional planning efforts designed to control development without hurting the Platte River valley.

Penner reports that local leaders are also in a quandary over how to promote growth while maintaining the rural quality of life that draws people to the area. Can they have it both ways?

Outdoor Nebraska Returns for 3rd Season on NETV

Viewers can enjoy exploring opportunities for outdoor adventures each week when Outdoor Nebraska returns for a third season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 on the statewide Nebraska ETV Network. The program repeats at 8 a.m. on Saturday mornings.

A variety of outdoor recreation activities and related issues are featured on Outdoor Nebraska. The series is produced by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in association with the Nebraska ETV Network. Outdoor Nebraska segments include taped feature stores; outdoor news; weekly reports on conditions for fishing, hunting and recreation; a nature walk; an event calendar; and in-studio interviews with special guests. The series is co-hosted by Ralph Wall and Abe Moore, producers for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, with Dick Turpin presenting the weekly "Wilderness Workshop" segment.

Canoeing, cooking, poison ivy and Gov. Ben Nelson are all featured on the season premiere of Outdoor Nebraska. Highlights of the program include feature stories on a two-day canoe trip down the Dismal River and the governor's recent fishing trip to Merritt Reservoir near Valentine.

Turpin will show viewers how to convert cosmetic tubes into containers for storing bow string wax in the "Wilderness Workshop" segment. In the "Nature Walk," Geoff Talmon demonstrates first aid methods for the treatment of poison ivy.

The "Nebraskaland Moment" will feature Victoria Springs State Recreation Area near Anselmo. Filmed this past summer, during the 75th anniversary celebration, the popular spot is Nebraska's oldest state park.

Major funding for Outdoor Nebraska is provided by the Union Pacific Foundation.