NOTE: During this challenging time of social distancing and university life interrupted by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Chronicle’s virtual Things to Do provides a variety of opportunities to engage with Cornell resources and programming. See the University Events Calendar for updates.

 

Listening Party: Poulenc’s ‘Gloria’

The Department of Music is presenting a series of virtual Listening Parties this spring, featuring major choral works and perspectives from guest artists. The first event, April 19 at 5 p.m., will examine Poulenc’s “Gloria,” with soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon providing commentary. Contact Stephen Spinelli for the viewing link.

Spinelli, interim director of choral programs, is organizing the series of online events, each featuring a guest musician discussing a favorite choral work. The events serve to remind listeners of the power of music and the community provided by Cornell’s musical ensembles.

The “Gloria” by Poulenc, composed in 1959, is from a Cornell Glee Club and Chorus concert program, originally to be performed April 19 in Bailey Hall with the Cornell Symphony Orchestra and Fitz Gibbon as featured soloist. An internationally acclaimed soprano and voice teacher, Fitz Gibbon serves as interim director of the Cornell Voice Program and director of Bard College’s Vocal Program.

Garden activities for kids

Earlier this month, the Junior Master Gardener program (JMG) began holding online sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m., with garden activities for elementary-age children.

The international youth gardening program is free to join and features novel, “hands-on” group and individual learning experiences, including service projects and presentations on careers in science. The sessions cultivate the mind and foster a love of gardening, while helping kids develop an appreciation for the environment. Children also can earn a JMG Golden Ray Certification in plant growth and development.

The activity sessions held on Facebook Live will be offered through May 19 and last approximately 20 minutes; previous sessions are recorded and archived for viewing. The program is an initiative of the university cooperative extension network, which includes Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Staying connected

The Division of Human Resources is providing staff with opportunities to stay connected from their virtual/home offices, help one another manage work life and more, in an ongoing series of resource webinars and discussions.

The next Connected Cornell: A Community Chat for Staff is April 21 from 1-2 p.m. The conversation on Zoom is capped at 91 participants; register in advance.

During the facilitated discussion, staff members can share how they are doing, their upcoming challenges, and the strategies and creative practices supporting their work as well as their colleagues, home life and community.

Cornell in Rome gallery

The Cornell in Rome program in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning has created an online gallery to showcase current work by its visual art students. A new selection of student work is posted each week on the Cornell in Rome Instagram account.

“This is a way to keep students connected with each others’ work as if they were in a studio environment, and also to give them some extra motivation,” said Annalisa Maione, the program’s administrative director.

After moving her classes to remote learning this semester, visiting critic Liana Miuccio began posting weekly submissions from her photography students to the Instagram account. The students also photographed themselves from their locations around the world, from the United States to Kenya, South Korea, India and China.

She asked other Cornell in Rome instructors for contributions, and was assisted by Haotian Jiang, B.Arch. ’23, and planning student Savanna Lim ’21, who followed up with their peers to collect materials for the online gallery. The images also include work from students in Luca Padroni’s introduction to drawing class, Tess Clancy’s first-year studio in foundations in architecture, and Nancy Brooks’ Rome Workshop.

The Cornell in Rome Instagram account will be dedicated exclusively to student work in architecture, planning, drawing and photography in a virtual final exhibition, May 14-27. The two-week “takeover” of the account is in lieu of the traditional end-of-semester exhibition at Palazzo Santacroce.

Trivia Tuesdays

Cornell’s graduate student community is continuing its tradition of weekly trivia nights formerly held at the Big Red Barn, with online sessions using Zoom’s breakout rooms feature.

Trivia meets Tuesdays from 8-10 p.m. Space is limited; teams should RSVP to bigredbarn@cornell.edu by Sunday at 8 p.m. to sign up each week. Provide a team name and the number of members participating; only one representative from each team need RSVP.

Virtual auditions

The Department of Performing and Media Arts has announced virtual auditions for “How I Learned to Drive” by Paula Vogel, M.A. ’76, Ph.D. ’16, directed by Katie McGerr.

Auditions, via video submission to Box, are due April 24 at noon. Read the script (available on the production’s online call board) before submitting an audition consisting of a one- to two-minute contemporary monologue.

If interested in one of the Greek Chorus roles, also include a short (one minute or less) a cappella song, “anything that feels fun to sing right now.” Music will be arranged to fit the skills of the company.

Callbacks will be held April 27-30, via video conferencing. See the online call board for more information on subject matter and the casting breakdown, and to download and submit audition forms.

Rehearsals begin Aug. 23 (before fall classes begin). Performance dates are Sept. 24-26 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.