Mamoru Hori

Joseph Lin transcends boundaries.

Save the Children

The Class of 2012 has a fundraiser with the Save the Children Foundation, April 30 in Bailey Hall. The event begins with refreshments and a silent auction with items signed by Cornell sports teams and even a ride on a Segway, 7-8 p.m., and talent showcase at 8 p.m. with such groups as Absolute A Capella, Absolute Zero Breakdance Crew, Amber Dance troupe, awesome, AWESOME, Last Call, Illuminations, Pálante Latin and Salsa Dance troupe, Shimtah, Sabor Latino and Yamatai. Tickets, $5, available at http://baileytickets.com. Information: http://www.allivy2012.wordpress.com or 240-499-4468.

Lin's finale in Bach series

The fourth and final event of Joseph Lin's series "Transcending Boundaries: Finding New Music Through Bach and the Violin," May 1 at 8 p.m., Barnes Hall, features Lin and the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Chris Younghoon Kim.

Lin will open the program with Bach's Partita No. 3 in E Major for solo violin, followed by "Stargazing," a new work for violin and electronics by graduate composer Takuma Itoh. The orchestra will present graduate composer Jesse Jones' "For a Faded Mind" for violin and orchestra and Bach's Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major. Both feature Lin as soloist.

Sugarplum fairy

The music and stories of Zajal the Sugarplum Fairy provide inspiration for an Art-full Family Saturday, May 1. The performance begins at 10 a.m., Johnson Museum, with attendees' art-making at 11 a.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Free for Johnson Museum members; $5 per family for nonmembers. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu/.

'Icarus Dreamt'

Directed by Chris Younghoon Kim, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra will give the world premiere of Cornell graduate student Eric Nathan's award-winning "Icarus Dreamt," May 2 at 3 p.m., Bailey Hall. Also featured are Tchaikovsky's "Francesca da Rimini" and Ravel's Suite No. 2 from "Daphnis et Chloé."

"Icarus Dreamt" has won such awards as the 2010 Aspen Music Festival and School's Jacob Druckman Prize for orchestral composition and the 2008 William Schuman Prize in the BMI Student Composer Awards. The inspiration for the piece came from a poster of Henri Matisse's collage "Icarus."

Bound for Glory

The upcoming Bound for Glory concerts are May 2, Dan Berggren, and May 9, Bob Franke. Berggren grew up in the Adirondacks and writes songs about his world and the people around him. Franke is a singer-songwriter; his music is poignant and bluesy. Both concerts are 8-11 p.m. in Anabel Taylor Hall's café and broadcast live on WVBR with three live sets at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. Information: http://wvbr.com/bfg.

Ceramics sale

The Ceramics Studio will hold its spring sale, May 3-6, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, Willard Straight Art Gallery. Instructors, students and professional potters offer their work in a variety of styles and prices. Proceeds help defray studio operating costs.

Zinni on national security

Former head of the U.S. Central Command Gen. Anthony Zinni will present "National Security Strategy and Iran," May 4 at 4:30 p.m., Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Zinni, a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor, retired from the military in 2000. The lecture is co-sponsored by the West Campus House System and the Department of Near Eastern Studies.

Scholar on ancient Judaism

The third Cornell Arts and Sciences Humanities Lecture, "Re-Placing the Nation: Judaism, Diaspora and Neighborhood," will be given by Charlotte Fonrobert, Stanford University, May 4 at 4:30 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. It will focus on concepts of community, space and territory, and ritual and collective identity within late ancient Judaism. A reception will follow.

Fonrobert is one of the few post-Holocaust German women working in the field of classical Judaism. She has forthcoming books on the Talmud and has co-edited the "Cambridge Companion to Rabbinic Literature," "Jewish Conceptions and Practice of Space" and "From Cult to Culture."

The Arts and Sciences Humanities Lectures are presented by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Talk by artist Michael Ashkin

Artist Michael Ashkin will speak about his work May 4 at 5:15 p.m. in the Johnson Museum. Ashkin's work has been widely shown, most recently at Secession in Vienna. Ashkin is director of graduate studies in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning's Department of Art. His solo exhibition is on view at the museum through July 11.

Fuertes viewing nights

Free public viewing nights are held every clear Friday night, 8 p.m.--midnight, at the Fuertes Observatory on North Campus. These viewing nights are run by the Cornell Astronomical Society. Call 255-3557 to find out if a scheduled viewing will be held on any given night. Information: http://www.astro.cornell.edu/research/projects/CAS/.