Rosza Archives | Visual and Performing Arts News

Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk Tomorrow at Rozsa

Published April 21, 2017

“Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk” is a Steampunk-inspired performance where the audience can experience the excitement, artistry and thrill that occurs when a wacky bike shop mechanic interacts with cyclists and bikes and he repairs more than broken pieces.

He creates wondrous machines and inspires the cyclist in all of us to become a Pedal Punk.

“Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (April 22) in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

Cirque Mechanics was founded in 2004 by Boston native and German wheel artist, Chris Lashua, after the success of his collaborative project with the Circus Center of San Francisco, Birdhouse Factory. Cirque Mechanics quickly established itself as a premiere American circus, with its unique approach to performance, inspiring storytelling and innovative mechanical staging. Spectacle Magazine hailed it as “the greatest contribution to the American circus since Cirque du Soleil”.

Tickets are available online, by calling 7-2073, in person at the Central Ticketing Office or at the Rozsa Center Box Office an hour before show time.

New Funding

Published April 20, 2017

By Heather Powers

Mary Muncil Jennings, Director of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $2,000 grant from the Arts Midwest Touring Fund.

The title of the project is “Cirque Mechanics, Pedal Punk” and could potentially total $4,000.

Bon Voyage: South Africa!

Published April 20, 2017

By Heather Powers

The Rozsa Center welcomes the choirs of Michigan Tech which will present their year-end concert, “Bon Voyage South Africa,” at 7:30 p.m. tonight (April 21).

The concert will feature music that has been prepared for the Michigan Tech Concert Choir international tour to South Africa. According to Choirs Director Jared Anderson, “The evening will include performances of sacred motets, African-American spirituals, American folk songs, music about the displaced as well as beloved songs from South Africa.

“Orchid Ensemble” Performs Saturday

Published March 28, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

Join us for a concert featuring the renowned Canadian group “Orchid Ensemble,” who will join conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber singers, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (April 1) in the McArdle Theatre, on the second floor of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center.

Established in 1997, the JUNO-nominated Orchid Ensemble is comprised of Lan Tung on the erhu/Chinese violin, Yu-Chen Wang on the zheng/Chinese zither and Jonathan Bernard on percussion.

The ensemble blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound. They have embraced a variety of musical styles to thier repertoire, ranging from the traditional and contemporary music of China, world music, new music to jazz and creative improvisation.

The energetic yet endearing performance style of the ensemble consistently intrigues and delights its audiences. Acclaimed as “One of the brightest blossoms on the world music scene” (Georgia Straight), the Orchid Ensemble has been tirelessly developing an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian musicians.

Students from conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers will join the ensemble for three selections in the concert.

Tickets are on sale now, $22 for adults, $6 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Calumet Theatre Box Office.

Marimba Concert and Poetry Night

Published March 20, 2017

By Heather Powers

What is a Marimba? Think of a very large wooden xylophone, the national instrument of Guatemala.

The Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents Guatemalan writer Hugo Gordillo, and collaborator Zach l’Italian, who will read selections of Gordillo’s new poems (in Spanish and English) in a “Marimba Concert and Poetry Night” at 6 p.m. Thursday (March 23) in the Rozsa lobby.

This event was developed in collaboration with Michigan Tech music students and conducted by Mike Christiansen, Michigan Tech’s Director of Bands. The Marimba Concert and Poetry event are free and all are welcome.

The Michigan Tech Marimbist Band will play several marimba selections, arranged by Christianson. This event is the closing reception for “ChickenBus: a U.S. Guatemalan Experience,” a Rozsa gallery exhibit by Lisa Gordillo.

Several poems in Hugo Gordillo’s collection inspired the art in this exhibit. The exhibit will be open before and after the concert.

Michigan Tech Choirs Present Benefit Concert: Music for a Sacred Space

Published March 7, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

Join the Michigan Tech Choirs for an evening of sacred choral music presented in its natural habitat, the local treasure that is the magnificent space of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Linden. The concert will feature music of many different countries and cultures, with devotional music ranging from South Africa, Germany, England, Canada and 19th-century America.

The Michigan Tech Concert Choir and conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers, Jared Anderson, conductor, present “Music for a Sacred Space” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19th, St. Joseph’s Church, Lake Linden.

Free-will donations in any amount are welcomed.

Rozsa Gallery B Presents “Come In We’re Open”

Published February 23, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

The Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents the Rozsa gallery b show “Come In We’re Open,” an open house exhibition of student sculptors’ works in progress, as a part of the “Project Learning Lab” alternative classroom project. “Project Learning Lab,” a cutting-edge Visual Arts experiment that takes place within the Rozsa gallery. Students in 3D Design and Sculpture will use the Rozsa Gallery as an active and alternative classroom, transforming the space into a real-time work of art during the semester. Student work will be shown twice each semester. A mid-semester showcase will open the gallery for our community to see work in-progress; the end of semester exhibition will welcome community into a fully transformed space. As part of Project Learning Lab, our Visual Arts Faculty are working alongside our students as Resident Art Fellows.

“Come In We’re Open” will run from Monday (Feb. 27) to Saturday, March 4. The gallery will host a public reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 2. The reception is free and open to the public.

Rozsa gallery b is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Visitors may walk through at any time.

Rozsa Gallery A Space Presents “ChickenBus: A U.S. — Guatemalan Experience”

Published February 22, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

What is a ChickenBus? A chicken bus is a bright, loud, jostling work of public transportation in Guatemala.

The Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts present the Rozsa Gallery A Space show, “ChickenBus,” featuring work by VPA faculty member Lisa Gordillo.

“ChickenBus” is the first U.S. exhibit of works inspired by Gordillo’s long-term collaboration with Guatemalan artists and writers. The exhibit will run from Saturday (Feb. 25) to Friday, March 24 and will travel to Guatemala this summer

There will be an opening reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 25), including a conversation with Gordillo at 6 p.m.

There will also be a second event, a “Marimba Concert and Poetry Night,” developed in collaboration with Michigan Tech music students and conducted by Mike Christiansen (VPA), Michigan Tech’s Director of Bands, at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 24 in the Rozsa lobby.

This is a special concert and poetry reading that will combine marimba music with readings by Gordillo’s husband, Guatemalan writer Hugo Gordillo, whose collections, “Trench(era)” and “Para Escapar de la Muerte,” were key inspirations for “ChickenBus.”

Russian National Ballet Theatre at Rozsa

Published January 16, 2017

By Heather Powers

Theatre

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts presents two magical nights of incomparable Russian ballet. Direct from Moscow, the Russian National Ballet Theatre, featuring fifty of Russia’s finest dancers, will perform three timeless ballet pieces, “Romeo and Juliet” and “Carmen” on Tuesday, Jan. 24 and “Giselle” on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. each evening.

According to Rozsa Center Director of Programming Mary Jennings, “… the Russian National Ballet Theatre is an institution in Russian Ballet. Legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko, the founder of the Russian National Ballet Theatre, has focused the company on upholding the grand, national tradition of the major Russian ballet works.”

On the first of two nights, they will perform the full-length “Romeo and Juliet” by Sergei Prokofiev based on Shakespeare’s play. Performed in one act, the ballet tells the story of Romeo and Juliet, the quintessential star-crossed lovers. Prokofiev’s music is paired with original choreography by Marius Petipa, the “godfather of Russian ballet.”

In the second act they will perform “Carmen,” a full-length ballet also in one act. Music by Rodion Shchedrin based on the classic opera by Georges Bizet with choreography by Alberto Alonso. Carmen, a passionate, free-spirited woman, is caught in a love triangle between Don José and a bullfighter. The impetus and cause for the creation of the ballet Carmen was the cherished dream of the celebrated Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya to depict the highly strung and riveting character of Carmen in a ballet.

On the second evening, the Russian National Ballet Theatre performs the full-length, tragic ballet “Giselle,” about a peasant girl who dies of a broken heart after discovering her lover is betrothed to another.

“Giselle” was composed by Adolphe Adam, and is a romantic jewel of Petipa. “Giselle” was first seen in Moscow in 1843, just two years after its creation in Paris, and a year after it was staged in St. Petersburg.

Play written by Tech Student Advances to Regional Festival

Published December 14, 2016

By Heather Powers

A play written by a Michigan Tech student has advanced to the regional finals of a national competition. “Leaving,” by third-year student Sarah Jo Martens, of Hortonville, Wisconsin, was chosen to participate in the final round of the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Martens is an environmental engineering major with a minor in theatre. She is a member of the Pavlis Honors College.

“Leaving,” inspired by Marten’s relationship with her sister Rachel, will be given a fully-staged reading, along with the four other finalists at the Region III Festival, Jan. 10-15 in Indianapolis.

College theatre students from schools in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana will attend the Region III festival to compete in acting, playwriting, design, theatre technology, stage management and other categories.

Two plays from the Region III competition will advance to the Finals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in April where they will again be given a reading.

by Visual and Performing Arts

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