In time for Friday’s release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1,” sixth-graders from Yates Magnet Elementary School in Schenectady got to see the actual wand used by actor Daniel Radcliffe in the latest blockbuster.
The wand was lent to the College by Alan Horn, a member of Union’s Class of 1964 and the president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros., producers of the Potter series. Horn is featured in the current Union Notables exhibit, a rotating exhibit that features three outstanding alumni and others connected to the College.
Students at Yates also learned about their school’s namesake, Joseph Yates, a founding trustee of the College who is also featured in the current “Notables” exhibit and Theodore Berger '72, the David Packard Professor of Engineering, professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology and director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California.
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Kerensa Hughes is a huge fan of Harry Potter. So when the sixth-grader saw the wand used by actor Daniel Radcliffe in the latest blockbuster movie, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1,” she burst with excitement.
Harry Potter wand Yates School
“My God, I’m actually seeing it. This is so cool,” Hughes said as she walked past the secure, climate-controlled glass case that usually holds prints from the College’s original copy of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America.”
“I think I might faint. My God, I’m actually seeing it right here at Union College!”
Friday was a special day for Hughes and 49 of her classmates from the Yates Magnet Elementary School in Schenectady. The students took a field trip to the Thelma and Kenneth Lally Reading Room of Schaffer Library to learn a little about Union’s history and their school’s namesake through the current Union Notables, a rotating exhibit that features three outstanding alumni and others connected to the College.
The College has an ongoing relationship with the Yates School. In 2007, students invited College President Stephen C. Ainlay to speak at their sixth-grade graduation. The following year, Ainlay invited Yates students from the school to campus, where they were given a tour and learned about other Union notables, including Chester Arthur (Class of 1848), U.S. president; and William H. Seward (1820), U.S. secretary of state under Lincoln.
“They are so excited to be here” said their teacher, Danielle Rossner. “They’ve been working on writing letters to colleges they might want to attend one day. Union is a great school right in their own backyard, and to see it in person gets them thinking about what they can achieve.”
Harry Potter wand Yates School
Ellen Fladger, head of the College’s Special Collections, gave the students an overview of Union’s history and showed off some pieces from the Collection. She also highlighted the work of Theodore Berger, who graduated summa cum laude from Union in 1972.
Students listened intently as Rachel Seligman, Mandeville Gallery director, shared the story of Joseph Yates, a founding trustee of the College who became the first mayor of Schenectady in 1798, at the age of 30. He also served as a New York state senator. In 1808 he became a judge of the New York State Supreme Court, where he served for 15 years.
Then it was time for the wand. Students wanted to know how it magically showed up at Union. Librarian Annette LeClair, a self-described “Potter-head,” explained that the wand was lent to the College by Alan Horn, a member of Union’s Class of 1964 and the president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros., producers of the Potter series.
“We were extremely delighted to get this wand in the mail one day,” LeClair said as Fladger removed the prop from its case and carefully displayed it to the students. After a brief discussion of Horn’s career sprinkled in with a few Potter tidbits, LeClair ended the presentation by reminding them of the words Horn delivered to the Class of 2010 at commencement.
Harry Potter wand Yates School
“Be a person of character. Integrity and honor are everything. Actions define your character, and your character will define the kind of life you have. Character requires courage.”
Afterward, students said they enjoyed the program and were especially excited to learn more about their school’s namesake. But they couldn’t stop talking about the wand.
“I can’t believe I saw the wand at Union College,” said Christina Dileva. “I was freaked out!”
The Union College Academy for Lifelong Learning (UCALL) was recently featured in the Daily Gazette.
The program began in 1988 with 15 members. Now, with nearly 400 members, UCALL has become a staple resource at Union for those who are never too old to celebrate the life of the mind.
Bob Soules, director of the Becker Career Center, was recently interviewed about the increasing number of first-year students seeking job advice earlier in their college years.
The College’s veterans and members of the Armed Forces were honored during a special Veterans Day ceremony Thursday, Nov. 11.
During the ceremony in Memorial Chapel, Frank Taormina ’50 told the story of “Taps,” the bugle call composed by Daniel Butterfield, Class of 1849, who rose to the rank of major general in the Union Army. Butterfield composed the haunting call while in camp at Harrison's Landing, Va., in 1862.
Rachel Finkelstein ’12 played the bugle call during the ceremony, the first formal Veterans Day observance on campus in recent memory.
The Dutch Pipers and the Schenectady Pipe Band also performed.
Internationally acclaimed songstress Christianne Stotijn and pianist Joseph Breinl have selected three American venues for their upcoming recital tour – and Union is one of them. On Saturday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m., Stotijn will appear in her second Chamber Concert Series show.
Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano
Together, in a program entitled “Dream Works,” she and Breinl will present songs by Grieg, Brahms, R. Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov.
A Dutch mezzo-soprano, Stotijn pursued her vocal studies in Metz, London and Amsterdam, where she graduated in 2003 with highest distinction. Her teachers have included Udo Reinemann, Jard van Nes and Dame Janet Baker.
Earlier this year, Stotijn won the BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award for her Tchaikovsky Romances CD. She was a BBC New Generation Artist until 2007, and additional accolades include the 2008 Dutch Music Prize and the 2005 Borletti Buitoni Award. Performing oratorios, lieder and operatic roles, Stotijn has appeared in many renowned halls including the Grote Zaal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, Musikverein Vienna and Mozarteum Salzburg.
Joseph Breinl
A frequent partner with Stotijn, Breinl has been described as a “full partner in the…success” of their performance by the Washington Post. His training in solo piano and song accompaniment began in Munich with Karl-Hermann Mrongovius and Gitti Pirner. After graduating from the Amsterdam Conservatoire in 2003 with highest distinction, Breinl continued his studies in London with Graham Johnson.
Breinl won the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in 2003 and, with Stotijn, the 2005 ECHO Rising Star Prize. He has also worked with Mattijs van de Woerd, Michelle Breedt and German mezzo-soprano Kammersöngerin Waltraud Meier. Currently Breinl is accompanist and vocal coach at the Musikhochschule München and professor of song interpretation at the Kunstuniversität Graz.
The show is open to the public and free to members of the Union community. General admission tickets are $20, though area students may attend for $8. For a complete list of this season’s concerts, click here.
