Sacramento State Bulletin

Fall at Sacramento State is a time for classes and homework, but it’s also time to enjoy some of the best offerings in art, music, theater and dance.

photo: Mirela Ivanciu’s work is part of “Traces: Contemporary Romanian Art.”
Mirela Ivanciu’s work is part of “Traces: Contemporary Romanian Art.”

First up is “Traces: Contemporary Romanian Art,” a collection of more than 50 pieces from artists who have shaped their talents in the years following the 1989 fall of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The exhibition will be in the Else Gallery of Kadema Hall, Sept. 2 through Oct. 3 and will include a reception, artists’ panel and screening of Romanian director Cristian Nemescu’s California Dreaming. Gallery hours are noon - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Two exhibitions begin the new school year at Sacramento State’s Library galleries.

“The Storyteller’s Art” features a 40-year retrospective of Kit Hinrichs’ work. A graphic principal of the San Francisco office of Pentagram, Hinrichs’ work can be viewed in diverse places such as catalogs, exhibits and books. The show runs Sept. 5 through Nov. 15 in the Library’s main gallery, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and includes a lecture by Hinrichs.

At the same time, the Library’s annex gallery will show Children of the Wind, Kent Lacin’s collection of color and black-and-white photographs documenting homeless teenagers in the Sacramento area. The show runs Sept. 5 through Oct. 4 and includes a panel discussion on teen homelessness, an artist’s reception and a benefit concert.

The Library gallery offerings continue with the annual “Heart Gallery” Oct. 14 through Nov. 21, featuring photos of young people seeking a permanent home through adoption. A reception will be held 6-8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8. And the Dauer Ceramics Collection will run Dec. 5 through Feb. 28.

The Else Gallery will follow the Romanian art exhibit with a display of wood-fired ceramics, Oct. 6-31, featuring about 60 pieces by 16 artists.

And both the Else and Witt galleries in Kadema Hall will host exhibitions by instructors, students and guest artists through Dec. 19.

photo: Audiences will enjoy the “Melody of China,” part of the World Music series.
Audiences will enjoy the “Melody of China,” part of the World Music series.

The World Music Series kicks things off on Thursday, Sept. 18, with Chirgilchin, a throat singing group from Tuva, a small Russian province near Western Mongolia. Throat singing is a vocal form in which one singer produces two or more voices at the same time. Other performances in the World Music Series include Rajeev Taranath, “Melody of China,” and violinists Mysore M. Nagaraj and Mysore M. Manjunath. All World Music Series concerts are held at 8 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall of Capistrano Hall.

Guest artists this season include flutist Kathryn Peisart, who will perform at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30. The prestigious Piano Series features Faina Lushtak at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4. Both concerts are in the Music Recital Hall.

The annual Festival of New American Music returns Nov. 6-16. This year’s edition of FeNAM features performances by the Cygnus Ensemble, sound and video artist Betsey Biggs, the Seattle Chamber Players, and “Bang-on-a-Bass” by Robert Black. All performances are free.

Sacramento State’s student ensembles also have a full schedule, including concerts by the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensembles, vocal jazz groups, baroque ensemble Camerata Capistrano, the University’s choral groups and the Opera Theatre.

The fall musical season also includes free faculty and individual student recitals throughout autumn. More details are available at www.csus.edu/music/ or by calling (916) 278-5155.

photo: Scenic artist Stephanie Conrad and director Richard Bay get ready for “The Good Woman of Setzuan,” Sacramento State’s first production of the 2008-09
Scenic artist Stephanie Conrad and director Richard Bay get ready for “The Good Woman of Setzuan,” Sacramento State’s first production of the 2008-09 season.

Masks and large puppets will share the stage with actors for The Good Woman of Setzuan Oct. 16-19 and 22-26 in the University Theatre in Shasta Hall. Written by Bertolt Brecht and directed by professor Richard Bay, the play is about three gods who come to earth in search of one good person.

New Directions, the first offering from Sacramento/Black Art of Dance, is up next, running Oct. 23-26 and Oct. 29–Nov. 2 in Solano Hall 1010.

Stage offerings continue with William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Picnic, Nov. 13-16 and 19-23. Directed by professor Michelle Felten, the play will run in the Playwright’s Theatre in Shasta Hall.

For more information on Theatre and Dance offerings, visit www.csus.edu/dram/ or call 278-6368.