KU departments celebrate Mexican culture

The festival, organized by the KU Department of Music and Dance and the Center of Latin American Studies, includes performances, scholarly conferences and exhibitions.

Stephen C. Anderson, chair of the Department of Music and Dance, said the idea for the fiesta "was born out of the fact that KU is fortunate to have two `Hispanists' on its music history faculty. Both Walter A. Clark and Paul Laird are specialists in Hispanic music, so we began discussing how to best use their talents. We started checking around the university and discovered there was interest in spotlighting Mexican culture from a number of departments."

Kicking off the KU festival is a scholarly conference on Mexican music Feb. 14 to 16 in Swarthout Recital Hall, Murphy Hall.

The keynote speaker is Mexican musicologist Gloria Carmona of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciòn e Informaciòn Musicales "Carlos Chavez," or CENIDIM, in Mexico City.

Other events included in the Mexican festival are

• KU Symphony Orchestra concert, conducted by Brian Priestman, KU director of orchestra activities, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Lied Center. The orchestra will perform music by Mexican composers Joaquìn Gutièrrez Heras, Ana Lara, Josè Pablos Moncayo Garcìa and Silvestre Revueltas; Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky; and James C. Barnes, KU professor of music and dance.

• Juan Carlos Laguna, solo guitarist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 in Bales Recital Hall.

• KU Symphonic Band concert, conducted by Robert E. Foster, KU director of bands, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Lied Center.

• Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman by Sabina Berman, a University Theatre production directed by Delores Ringer, associate professor of theatre, 8 p.m. April 3 to 5 and 8 to 12 in the Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.

• "Focus on Mexico," the Symposium and Festival of Latin American Theatre, April 2 to 6 at the Lawrence Holiday Inn Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive, sponsored by the KU Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

• "Obituario" by Guillermo Schidhuber, presented in Spanish by the Instituto Colimense de Cultura of Mexico, April 3 to 5 at West Junior High School, Lawrence.

• A free chamber music recital of Mexican music, 7:30 p.m. April 12, in Swarthout Recital Hall, Murphy Hall.

• The free KU Collegium Musicum spring concert, conducted by Simon Carrington, KU director of choral activities, 7:30 p.m. April 13, in Bales Recital Hall.

• Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, part of the KU Jazz Festival, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 18, in the Lied Center.

• The University Dance Company and KU Symphony Orchestra concert, conducted by Priestman, 8 p.m. May 2 and 3 in the Lied Center.

"Images of the Virgin" will be the featured exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology Feb. 15 to April 6.

The Center of Latin American Studies will present a series of Latin American and Mexican films throughout the semester.

Unless events are noted as free, general admission tickets are available at the KU box offices. Special discounts are available for students and senior citizens. VISA and MasterCard are accepted for telephone orders.

For additional information about specific events, contact the sponsoring department.