Musical legacy

The Cornell Folk Song Society will present a concert by singer-songwriter Tracy Grammer, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. in 165 McGraw Hall. The contemporary folk singer began her career in partnership with the late Dave Carter, releasing three albums as a duo before Carter's death in 2002.

Carter's songs were traditional, postmodern and mythic all at once, and Grammer is both muse and musician, committed to keeping his unique body of work alive while writing and performing her own music on fiddle, vocals, guitar and mandolin. She has released four albums on her own; her next, "Book of Sparrows," is due out in December.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door; $10/$12 for Cornell students; free for children age 12 and under. Cornell Folk Song Society members, senior citizens and teens receive a $3 rebate. Advance tickets are available at Ludgate's, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Small World Music and online. Information: http://www.cornellfolk.org or 607-279-2027.

Fall art opening

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art celebrates its late fall exhibitions at a free public reception with live music, refreshments and art activities, Nov. 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. A free shuttle bus will run between the museum and Cornell's "A" lot from 4 to 7:15 p.m.

New exhibitions on display until January include a group show by Cornell art faculty and "Africana at 40," a historical look at the Africana Studies and Research Center. Also showing: Peggy Preheim's "Little Black Book," video artist Omer Fast's "Looking Pretty for God (After G. W.)," a façade projection of Janine Antoni's "Touch" and "Carved on Copper: Renaissance Engravers and Collectors in the Low Countries."

Preheim will give an artist's talk Nov. 5 at 5:15 p.m., and Aldrich Museum director Harry Philbrick, who curated the Preheim exhibit, will give a gallery talk Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m., before the reception. Fast is also scheduled to give an artist's talk Nov. 23 at 5:15 p.m. All events are free. Information: http://www.museum.cornell.edu.

Alumni advice

Young alumni will discuss how their Cornell experiences prepared them for the real world at a panel discussion, "Life After Cornell: The Minority Career Perspective," Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. A networking reception will follow at 3:45 p.m.

Panelists will include Omar Almanzar '04, Khary Barnes '02, Rossana Lau '02, Karleen Leveille '04, Alicia Purcell, B.Arch. '07; and Nathan Shinagawa '05, M.H.A. '09 -- alumni who have gone into fields ranging from law and medicine to banking, broadcasting and government.

The events are co-sponsored by the Cornell Alumni-Student Mentoring Program, Cornell Career Services, the State Programs Office and the Office of Alumni Affairs.

Pulse of Japan

Yamato -- The Drummers of Japan will bring new energy to ancient traditions in performance Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall.

The world-renowned taiko troupe travels with several dozen large and small drums, including an o-daiko made from a huge tree more than 400 years old. The drummers also play traditional Japanese instruments, sing and chant; while showcasing the instruments' versatility in school visits, impromptu street performances and at concerts for thousands of people.

Tickets are $25-$35 and $18 for students; a Cornell discount rate is available online (with a valid NetID) at http://www.cornellconcertseries.com and http://www.baileytickets.com. Tickets are also available at Ticket Center Ithaca, 171 The Commons; or by calling 607-273-4497.

A soldier's perspective

The Program on Freedom and Free Societies will present "Military History and the American Experience: A Soldier's Personal Reflection," a lecture by U.S. Army Col. Bart Howard, special assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Nov. 12 at 4:30 p.m. in 124 Goldwin Smith Hall.

Howard has been a soldier and a junior officer in tactical combat and is now a senior officer working at the highest levels of strategic decision-making. He will discuss what he has learned about the American experience of war, the dangers of a decline in the study of military history and the importance -- for both military leaders and the citizens of a democracy -- of understanding the true nature of warfare and its political realities. http://freedomandfreesocieties.cornell.edu/events/.

Net Impact 2009

Cornell and the Johnson School are hosting Net Impact 2009, the annual conference of Net Impact, a global network of professionals and students using business to improve the world, Nov. 12-14. The conference, "Advancing Sustainable Global Enterprise: Changemakers, Innovators and Problem Solvers," will bring more than 2,000 graduate students, educators and business leaders in global sustainability to campus for lectures and panel discussions.

Although the conference is closed to the public, there will be a webcast of the Nov. 13 keynote address, "Driving Innovation and Economic Renewal in a Global Context," by General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, who will be introduced by President David Skorton. See http://www.netimpact.org/conference for more information.

Other speakers include Seth Goldman, president, Honest Tea; Lisa Lorimer, founder, Vermont Bread Co.; Jeff Furman, board of directors, Ben & Jerry's and Ben & Jerry's Foundation; Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, chairman and CEO of ITC Limited; Kevin McGovern, chairman, the Water Initiative; and Rebecca Onie, founder and CEO, Project HEALTH.

The Johnson School's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise (http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/sge) is a primary sponsor and organizer of the event.

Banjo master

Old-time banjo player Mac Benford will perform on WVBR's "Bound For Glory" Nov. 8 in the place of scheduled performer Roy Book Binder, who has canceled due to illness. The program is broadcast live on 93.5/105.5 FM and online at http://www.wvbr.com/, Sundays at 8 p.m. from Cornell's Anabel Taylor Hall Café. Admission is free.

Benford was a founding member of Fat City String Band and the legendary Highwoods String Band in the 1970s, and has since played with the Backwoods Band, Woodshed All-Stars, UpSouth and his current group, The Haywire Gang. He has played at Carnegie Hall and at major traditional American music festivals, and has released several recordings of old-time and traditional music. See http://macbenford.com.

Signal and noise

Cornell Cinema and a host of Ithaca video artists and musicians will collectively memorialize and celebrate the visual music of analog noise with the multimedia event "Requiem for Analog Television Noise," Nov. 12 at 9:30 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

Starting with the first television broadcasts in the 1920s, analog-signal "disturbances" -- S-squiggles, vertical jumps, horizontal breaks, snow, "blue-outs," ghosts and negative inversions -- made up a visual language as integral to the viewing experience as the programming. The evening includes works by video artists John Criscitello, Nick Knouf, Claudia Pederson, Jason Livingston and host Park Doing; and music performed by American Sphynx, Why the Wires, Force Atomique, keyboardist Mike Stark and drummer Zaun Marshburn.

The event is inspired by a funeral for analog TV noise held at Anthology Film Archives in New York City June 12, 2009, the date an FCC ruling ended the dance of signal and noise.

Piano concert

Fortepianist Stefania Neonato, a graduate student in music, will give a concert on a replica Clementi piano Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall. Admission is free.

The concert celebrates the CD release of "Clementi Grand Piano in Concert," with Neonato playing works by Muzio Clementi and Beethoven, recorded at Granger Homestead Museum in Canandaigua, N.Y., on a restored original 1822 Clementi grand piano. Neonato will perform sonatas by Clementi and Beethoven, including op. 53 "Waldstein," and will speak about the similar Erard piano and its impact on Beethoven's compositions. She will also show slides of the Clementi restoration project by Trumansburg keyboardist Edward Swenson.

The concert is presented by the Department of Music and co-sponsored by the Italian and French Studies Programs. http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/calendar/index.asp?id=11798.