Arts and Culture

Many U.S. universities have shifted from face-to-face instruction to online platforms in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The conversion can be more challenging for labs and performance classes that don't lend themselves well to written material or slide presentation software. Some faculty members, including NMU Director of Dance Jill Grundstrom, are exploring innovative ways to engage students in a virtual environment.

Northern Michigan University's Department of Music will present a free Piano Duet Festival beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, in Reynolds Recital Hall. The festival will showcase the work of local piano teachers Esther Barrington and Nancy Railey, along with their students. Local pianist Lynne Lanczy will also perform. 

Northern Michigan University's recent production of “What We Leave Behind: Addressing Climate Change Through Dance” has been selected to perform Jan. 9 at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 3 event in Madison, Wis.

NMU students in a previous advanced field production course produced a documentary on the Hungarian band Söndörgő. The program will air on WNMU-TV at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10. It features concert footage from the group's performance in Marquette last April, interspersed with band member interviews.

Northern Michigan University professor James McCommons recently published a definitive biography of George Shiras III (1859-1942), the groundbreaking wildlife photographer who honed his techniques in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. But that work often overshadows perhaps Shiras' most notable achievement: establishing the legal foundation for what became the Migratory Bird Treaty Act while serving in Congress. 

Northern Michigan University's Department of Theatre and Dance presents A Christmas Story, based on the popular 1983 film. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11-14, with an additional 4 p.m. matinee on Saturday, at Forest Roberts Theatre. 

Southside Buddhist: Essays by Ira Sukrungruang will be the featured selection for NMU's 2020 Diversity Common Reader Program (DCRP). Students can obtain free copies at the start of the winter semester at the Multicultural Education and Resource Center in C.B. Hedgcock. Faculty members are encouraged to incorporate the text into a class, organize an event related to the book or facilitate a book discussion.

Students of Northern Michigan University's School of Music, Theatre and Dance finished first and second in two categories at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Nov. 2 at Hope College in Holland.

The next Visiting Writers Program event at Northern Michigan University will feature an interactive augmented and virtual reality installation comprised of poetry, documentary video and sound. Jen Scappettone and Judd Morrissey will speak about their project, Lament; Or, The Mine Has Been Opened Up Well, which is based on research in the Copper Country. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Northern Center.

The Northern Michigan University English Department will host an open mic reading to celebrate the life and work of Toni Morrison from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov 18, in Lydia Olson Library.