In its 16th season, WKU’s Cultural Enhancement Series presents audiences with speakers addressing diverse current social and political issues, along with performances that reflect distinct musical genres.
The 2012-13 season will include lectures by authors Garrison Keillor and Jon Meacham and performances by The Birdland Big Band, Ailey II and Chanticleer.
All events begin at 7:30 p.m. (Central Time) in Van Meter Hall, and are open and free to faculty, students, staff and the community. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis; however, seating vouchers will be issued for the Ailey II performance and Keillor’s lecture.
For information, call (270) 745-3259 or email cultural.enhancement@wku.edu.
Here is more about the 2012-13 series:
The Birdland Big Band
Monday, Oct. 15, 2012: Live at Birdland features The Birdland Big Band directed by Tommy Igoe in a setting designed to recreate the ambience and experience of a night at Birdland Jazz Club in Manhattan. This dynamic new ensemble, straight from the jazz mecca of NYC, provides an unforgettable musical event that goes beyond the traditional and sets the standard for the 21st-century jazz orchestra.
Jon Meacham
Monday, Oct. 29, 2012: Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and contributing editor at TIME, is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. Known as a skilled raconteur and an accomplished historian with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion, and current affairs, he understands and analyzes how issues and events impact modern life.
Ailey II
Monday, March 4, 2013: Ailey II is an exceptional company that merges the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Started in 1974 as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, Ailey II embodies Mr. Ailey’s pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training and community programs for all people. Artistic Director Designate Troy Powell continues the legacy of Alvin Ailey. (Seating vouchers will be issued for this event.)
Garrison Keillor
Tuesday, March 26, 2013: Thirty-eight years after the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, storyteller and author Garrison Keillor continues to entertain audiences with his idiosyncratic brand of humor. Keillor was presented with the National Humanities Medal by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1999. (Seating vouchers will be issued for this event.)
Chanticleer
Thursday, April 11, 2013: Grammy Award-winning Chanticleer–called “the world’s reigning male chorus,” by the New Yorker magazine–presents The Siren’s Call. This program celebrates the Sea with music from New Zealand, Hawaii and China complemented by Chanticleer’s signature treatments of Gregorian Chant and Renaissance music.
Contact: Potter College of Arts & Letters, (270) 745-5204.
