Posted on Nov 11, 2005

The Belcea String Quartet, a young British group “whose star is in rapid ascent,” according to the London Independent, will take to the stage at Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. as part of the Union College Chamber Concert Series.

The concert will feature violinists Corina Belcea and Laura Samuel, Krzysztof Chorzelski on viola and cellist Alasdair Tait in a program of Mozart No. 16 in E flat, K. 428; Britten's No.1; and Schumann's Op. 41, No. 3 in A.

The resident quartet of London's esteemed Wigmore Hall since 2001, the Belcea Quartet enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the leading young quartets on the international chamber music concert circuit. The group's EMI Debut series CD won the 2001 Gramophone Award for best debut recording as well as a Diapason d'Or Award. The quartet is on an exclusive five-year recording contract with EMI Classics that has been endorsed with stellar reviews.

In the last several years, the group has taken the music world by storm in collaborations with major guest artists, residencies, festivals, premieres of commissioned works, a North American debut tour and continued return engagements to the major concert halls of Europe.

The Belcea Quartet was established in 1994 at the Royal College of Music, where the members were coached by the Chilingirian Quartet, Simon Rowland-Jones and the Amadeus Quartet.

In 1999, the group won first prize at both the Osaka and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions and later was selected to represent Great Britain in the European Concert Halls Organisation “Rising Stars” series for the 1999-2000 season. In 2001, the quartet received the Chamber Music Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society.  

Tickets are $20 for the general public and $8 for students; at the door one hour before the performance, or available at the College Facilities Building, call 388-6080.

For further information, call 372-3651. 

Posted on Nov 11, 2005

On a summer-like day that drew most people outdoors, dozens of students and others took to the Boardwalk – as well as Park Place, Marvin Gardens and Pacific Avenue in the Second Annual Capital Region College Monopoly Tournament. Hunkered in at Reamer Campus Center, the competitors rolled the dice, swapped properties, collected rents, landed in jail and went bankrupt. Four hours later, Family & Child Service of Schenectady was all the richer for it – in real money.

“It was phenomenal,” said Brian Selchick '06, vice president of Sigma Phi, which co-sponsored the event with Delta Kappa Epsilon. “We raised more than $12,000 and had more than 80 people playing. It is so exciting to hold an interfraternal event that directly helps the local community.”

“It was awesome to help out Family & Child Service, which provides myriad great services,” said Tom Hickernell '06, president of Delta Kappa Epsilon. “Plus, everyone involved had a lot of fun. While the stereotype held by many is that fraternity men are interested only in throwing parties and goofing around, the truth of the matter is that we do direct a significant asmount of our energies to creating, sponsoring or otherwise supporting philanthropic events such as this one.”

All Monopoly tournament proceeds will go directly to Family & Child Srevice programs, which help individuals and families in crisis, developmentally disabled children and the elderly.

The agency's Michele Simone-DeShellard '83 helped plan the event at her alma mater.  “I'm grateful to Sigma Phi and Delta Kappa Epsilon for co-sponsoring this event with us and for giving me the opportunity to work with the College,” she said. “Their help and support was invaluable to the tournament's success.”

Capital News 9 anchor Megan Baker served as tournament emcee. The grand prize winner was Scott Fetzko of Albany, who netted a pair of round-trip tickets to anywhere in the continental United States from United Airlines. There were other prizes and raffles, as well.

Posted on Nov 11, 2005

Decisions are in on the more than 85 student Internal Education Foundation proposals. “Most students will receive some funding, but most of those will not receive the full amount they requested,” reports Mary K. Carroll, director of undergraduate research. While official student letters and accounts are being prepared, please e-mail Carroll for “unofficial” status of the proposals at carrollm@union.edu. 

Posted on Nov 11, 2005

The freshman engineers will hold their Robot Design Competition on Friday, Nov. 11 in Old Chapel at 1:30 p.m. The 89 students in ESC100 (Introduction to Engineering) have been divided into 29 design teams.

Their mission: to design and build a robot from a kit that included balsa wood, electric motors, switches and other parts.

“The robots are an application of the design theory students studied in class,” said James Hedrick, electrical and computer engineering lecturer. The teams will race their machine against others in a double elimination contest to determine which machine can complete three laps on a table top race track (reversing automatically) in the shortest time.

The contest promises to be fast-paced and fun.

Posted on Nov 11, 2005

Book lovers, unite.

To honor the late Dean of Faculty Christina E. Sorum's love of reading, Sorum House will hold a campus-wide book club each term. The first pick: Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, a political novel set in an alternative universe.

“Christie had a passionate love of recreational reading, and we thought this was a great way to celebrate that,” said Suzanne Benack, professor of psychology and Minerva Council faculty rep, who is organizing the discussion group. To date, 24 faculty and staff and 23 students have taken the literary leap.

“We're giving free book copies before winter break. If people can pick them up on campus, I can take orders until Dec. 1,” Benack notes. Participants will discuss the book at a lunch meeting the second week of next term.

In The Plot Against America, Pulitzer Prize-winner Roth – the author of such classics as Goodbye Columbus, Portnoy's Complaint and The Human Stain – explores what the United States would have been like had Charles A. Lindbergh been elected president, allied with Hitler and undergone a fascist change. The book has been called a page-turner, preposterous yet “creepily plausible.” Paul Berman of The New York Times describes it as “…vivid, unnerving, touching – and wonderfully traditional.”

To join the Sorum Book Club, contact Benack at benacks@union.edu.