Rozsa Center to present Movement of Joy, Sinkane, Vieux Farka Touré this weekend, March 24-26

Movement of Joy is a virtual event in which you can participate on Thursday, March 24, and / or Saturday, March 26. (Image courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts at Michigan Tech will present both virtual and live guest performances this weekend -- Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 24, 25 and 26.

Two free Digital Movement of Joy workshops with Naila Ansari -- a native of Buffalo, New York, who is an award-winning choreographer, director, and performing artist -- will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 26.

The Movement of Joy is an ongoing practice aimed to amass joy testimonials that meditate on remembering and understanding the movement histories that live in our physical bodies through performance, film, writing, archiving, and oral traditions. Each Movement of Joy workshop curates and facilitates conversations for social change through the art and research of joy developed by founder Naila Ansari.

Through works created with art partner Marquis "Ten Thousand" Burton and Movement of Joy artists, these performers work as a collective to make visible the joy of people in the community. (No movement, dance or art experience is necessary to participate.) Go to the Rozsa Center Events page to register for this free online event on either Thursday or Saturday or both.

Sinkane, Sudanese-American musician. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

The Rozsa Center will welcome Sudanese-American musican Sinkane for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 25. Sinkane manages to create, "funky, lighter-than-air global pop," as Indy Week describes it, by blending krautrock, prog rock, electronica, free jazz and funk rock with Sudanese pop. You’ll like Sinkane if you like psychedelic rock, funk, global pop, Poolside, Neil Frances, Caribou, or Django Django.

Reflecting on Sinkane’s latest album, Dépaysé, lead singer Ahmed Gallab says, "I began to think about how I could use my music in a constructive way -- not only to help myself but to help others who feel frustrated and powerless."

Listen to Sinkane’s latest album, Dépaysé, on Spotify. 

Tickets for this performance are $20 Adult, $10 Youth, included with Experience Tech fee. Masks strongly recommended. Learn about the updated Rozsa COVID-19 Policies. For tickets click here.

Click here for Live Streaming information.

Vieux Farka Touré, the "Hendrix of the Sahara." (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

Vieux Farka Touré, the "Hendrix of the Sahara," will perform at the Rozsa at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26.

You’ll like Vieux Farka Touré if you like: Exceptional guitar work, Ali Farka Touré, jazz, Boubacar Traoré.

The son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, Vieux Farka Touré is now considered, as RnR Magazine says, "One of the world's greatest guitarists." With influences of rock, Latin music, jazz, and other African influences, Vieux has a reputation as one of the world’s most talented and innovative musicians.

"Toure’s guitar playing is, frankly, incredible … The man is a master showman but he leaves it to his music to produce the fireworks … There is no-one who can approach his playing today and he is constantly setting new standards for what can be achieved with a guitar…" - Music-News

Listen to Vieux on Spotify.

As a passionate champion for the people of Mali and The Sahel, Vieux founded the charity Amahrec Sahel in 2012. As part of Amahrec Sahel’s mission to support humanitarian reconstruction and culture, the charity has provided school supplies for children, supported an orphanage in Bamako, and provided musical instruments for young musicians in Mali. Vieux is also the director of The Ali Farka Touré Foundation, an international organization dedicated to the preservation of Ali’s legacy and the cultural growth of Mali.

Tickets are $20 Adult, $10 Youth, Included with Experience Tech fee. Masks strongly recommended. Learn about the updated Rozsa COVID-19 Policies. For tickets click here.

Public performances and receptions at Rozsa and McArdle Theatre canceled through April 17

HOUGHTON -- According to directives by Michigan Tech administration, all public concerts/performances/receptions in the Rozsa Center and McArdle Theatre in the Walker Arts and Humanities Center scheduled during March 16-April 17, 2020, are canceled. Student productions/concerts will not be rescheduled. The Rozsa is working with agents to reschedule Rozsa Presenting Series events for the next season. Following is a list of canceled events:

March 20:  Don Keranen Memorial Concert
March 20:  Superior Wilderness Reception (the art exhibition will remain open during the safety period)
March 25:  The Solidarity Question (Lecture series)
March 28:  Manual Cinema (In negotiation for reschedule in Fall)
April 3:  Audiopharmacy (Looking at rescheduling)
April 4:  Evelynn Glennie (Looking at rescheduling)
April 4:  Vieux Farka Touré (Looking at rescheduling)
April 15-18:  The Importance of Being Earnest
April 17:  Onomatopoeia (Student Art Reception)
April 19:  A Choral Kaleidoscope
April 21-22:  Student Art Opening (Studio Here Now)
April 26:  Theatre Appreciation Plays

Events outside the March 16-April 17 window are being considered. Updates on the status of performances and events can be found in the events calendar on the Rozsa Center webpage.

Refunds for tickets purchased for these events will be made. More information on processing these refunds will be shared within the next week. If an individual would like to donate their ticket refund to the Michigan Tech Fund (Friends of the Rozsa Center) this will be an option. Refund information will be sent out to subscribers and ticket holders within the next week. More information about the COVID-19 response at Michigan Tech can be found at www.mtu.edu/covid-19.

Rozsa Center to host family-friendly "Fiesta! Latin American Music for All Ages" Feb. 15

Image courtesy Rozsa Center.

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech’s Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts are pleased to present a family-friendly event of music, poetry, storytelling, puppetry and more on Saturday, Feb. 15.

At 7:30 p.m. the Superior Wind Symphony will perform a concert of original Latin American music by celebrated Guatemalan composer Raúl López Colibrí. The compositions are arranged by Michigan Tech's Director of Bands Mike Christianson with children’s choir direction by Dr. Amanda Plummer.

In a pre-concert "fiesta party" at 6:15 p.m. local poet, formerly of Guatemala, Hugo Gordillo will present Fiesta, his collection of children’s poetry on which the music was based. The party is hosted by Hugo Gordillo and Christ Alquist, with crafts, storytelling, and more fun, in the Rozsa lobby -- making this truly an event for the whole family. Poems and children’s stories will be read in both Spanish and English, and the entire evening will be the culmination of work by poets, Spanish language professors, theatre and fine art professors, and local and Guatemalan poets, writers, artists, musicians, and students.

Hugo Gordillo says, "All of the happiness of the world fits in a small party for children. (Toda la felicidad del mundo cabe en una pequeña fiesta para niños.)" 

International collaborators include Raúl López Colibrí, Mike Christianson, Hugo Gordillo, Lisa Gordillo, Patricia Helsel, Christopher Plummer, Amanda Plummer, Leyre Alegre, and the Superior Wind Symphony. In addition Patricia Helsel will present a live shadow-puppet performance during the concert.

Click here to view the Program.

Tickets are $13 for adults and $5 for youth. Click here to order tickets.

Annual 41 North Film Festival to offer 20 films, music, special events Oct 31-Nov. 3 at Rozsa

A scene from ANGELIQUE'S ISLE, the 41 North Film Festival featured film, by filmmaker/producer Michelle Derosier, who will be a special guest at the festival on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Rozsa Center. (Photos courtesy Erin Smith, director, 41 North Film Festival)

HOUGHTON -- The annual 41 North Film Festival will be held from Thursday, Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s program features over 20 films from around the world, along with music, events, and special guests Anishinaabe filmmaker/producer Michelle Derosier and Michigan Tech alumnus actor/writer/producer Curtis Fortier.

A scene from HUMAN NATURE -- a provocative exploration of CRISPR’s far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it, the families it’s affecting, and the bioengineers who are testing its limits.

Delving into the complexities of editing the human genome is the new film HUMAN NATURE, to be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31. It will be followed by a Q and A with Dr. Caryn Heldt, Dr. Paul Goetsch, and Dr. Alexandra Morrison.

In PICTURE CHARACTER, Directors Martha Shane and Ian Cheney lead viewers on a deep dive into the ever evolving world of emojis, from their humble beginnings in Japan to mobile keyboards the world over.

The festival will present PICTURE CHARACTER (an Emoji
Documentary) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1. This informative and entertaining film covers everything from how emojis came into existence to how new emojis are added to the unicode system. To add to the fun, those who come in an emoji-inspired costume will be entered in a drawing for a prize. After the film, the Rozsa lobby will be the scene of music and emoji cookie decorating.

HONEYLAND is an intimate film that tells the story of Hatidze Muratova, the last in a long line of Macedonian wild beekeepers. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with Victor Busov and Kathy Halvorsen, Michigan Tech professors; and Melissa Hronkin, teacher of art at the Houghton Portage Public Schools, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College and Finlandia University.

Saturday, Nov. 2, will feature a full day of programming about our relationship to the environment. Films include ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH at noon, THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM at 2 p.m., HONEYLAND at 4 p.m. (followed by a panel discussion) and the featured presentation of special guest Michelle Derosier and her film ANGELIQUE’S ISLE at 7:30 p.m. -- inspired by the true story of Angelique Mott, an Anishinaabe woman who, with her husband, was abandoned by unscrupulous copper miners and left to die during the winter of 1845 on an island off of Isle Royale (today known as Mott Island).

Angelique and Charlie, in ANGELIQUE’S ISLE.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, Michigan Tech alumnus Curtis Fortier will be on hand at 1:45 p.m. to present and discuss some of his work as an actor/writer/producer. Fortier will be followed by a new docudrama about the life of information theorist Claude Shannon (THE BIT PLAYER) at 3:30 p.m.

The festival will close Sunday evening with MAIDEN at 7 p.m. -- the thrilling and emotional story of the first all-female crew to compete in the Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race.

See the full line-up of films and events at 41northfilmfest.org. The festival is free and open to the public. Tickets can be reserved at tickets.mtu.edu or by calling 906-487-2073 and will also be available in the Rozsa lobby prior to each film.

Click here for the complete Schedule of films and events.

Click here for links to descriptions of the films.

Rozsa to present "Stars of American Ballet" Oct. 26

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center is proud to host a very special performance of Stars of American Ballet, bringing the nation's top ballet dancers from the New York City Ballet to the Rozsa stage at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Stars of American Ballet travels to cities nationwide and offers top-notch choreography with principal and soloist-level dancers from major American companies. Founded and directed by New York City Ballet principal dancer Daniel Ulbricht, who works alongside Executive Director Andrew Robertson, Stars also sponsors dance education programs, consisting of master classes, pre-performance lectures and community outreach projects, to build a better awareness and overall experience with the art form.

With performances billed as "An unapologetic showcase of virtuosity." -- The Boston Globe, and "An intoxicating evening even for the non-dancers" -- The Pittsburgh Star-Tribune, the event promises sheer athleticism and beautiful artistry by principal dancers, soloists, and members of the corps de ballet from the New York City Ballet: Daniel Ulbricht, Brittany Pollack, Teresa Reichlen, Ask la Cour, Unity Phelan, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Alec Knight, and Baily Jones, and features works by Balanchine, la Cour and Knight

A master class for local dancers will be held at the Superior School of Dance, when local dancers will have the opportunity to work with Stars of American Ballet dancers on Saturday afternoon. For more details about the master class, please contact the Rozsa Center administrative offices at (906) 487-2856.

This event is made possible with funding from the Arts Midwest Touring fund, a Program of Arts Midwest, generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Crane Group.

Tickets to Stars of American Ballet are Adult: $25, Youth: $12, and Michigan Tech Students at no charge with Experience Tech Fee, and are available by phone, (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the Rozsa Box office the night of the show. Please note the Rozsa Box Office is only open two hours before performances.

Also, in celebration of World Ballet Day on Wednesday, Oct. 23, the Rozsa Center will offer a special limited-time "Buy One Get One Free" (BOGO) ticket promotion, for one day only: From Oct 22 at 11:59 p.m. to Oct. 23 at 11:59 p.m. please use "BalletDay" promo code and select at least two tickets to receive one free. This applies to both adult and youth tickets, and there is no limit on the number of BOGO tickets purchased.

Click here for a video clip of Stars of American Ballet.

Pine Mountain Music Festival to bring concerts to six UP communities June 17-30

The Bergonzi Trio will perform classical concerts in Houghton, Marquette and Iron Mountain during this year's  Pine Mountain Music Festival. (Photos courtesy Pine Mountain Music Festival)

HOUGHTON -- The Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF) is proud to announce an exciting season -- June 17-30, 2019. This year's festival marks the 29th year of bringing Classical and World Music to the communities of Houghton, Hancock, Calumet, Marquette, Iron Mountain and Crystal Falls.

The classical foundation of PMMF for years has been the Bergonzi String Quartet. This year they return as a trio: Scott Flavin and Ross Harbaugh are joined by the young piano virtuoso Lindsay Garritson. The new group is guaranteed to delight! Beethoven’s Archduke Trio is being prepared for this season by special request. They will perform Beethoven's Archduke Trio on June 19 in Marquette, on June 21 in Iron Mountain, and on June 22 at the Rozsa in Houghton. Don't miss this long standing tradition. The Bergonzi Trio will be presenting Free Family Concerts in libraries in all three towns in the afternoon.

The festival kicks off Monday, June 17, in Iron Mountain when Moira Smiley and Jefferson Hamer present a one of a kind concert.

Singer Moira Smiley will perform with guitarist and singer Jefferson Hamer in Calumet, Marquette and Iron Mountain.

Moira Smiley creates and performs new work for voices while Jefferson Hamer, a gifted guitarist and singer, weaves gorgeous instrumental lines with close harmonies. Jefferson astounds as singer/songwriter and as an interpreter of Child ballads and, when he plugs in, as a dynamic rocker.

Jefferson Hamer, guitarist and singer. (Photo © Joe Singh and courtesy Pine Mountain Music Festival)

Moira and Jefferson will also be in Marquette Tuesday, June 18, and at the Calumet Theatre Wednesday, June 19. Jefferson will do a special solo concert at the Crystal Theatre, Crystal Falls, on Thursday, June 20.

The next troupe, "Trust me, will rock your world," explained the Head of Music, Stony Brook, NYU, enthusiastically. They are Miles Masicotte, Hristina Blagoeva, and Giovanni Perez. Miles, originally a jazz pianist turned classical pianist, with his wife, Hristina, a Bulgarian flute player,

are paired with Giovanni Perez, a show-stopping flutist.

They will be at the Calumet Theatre Wednesday, June 26.

"It will be something really exciting, original and classic," PMMF Director Douglas Day anticipates.

Perhaps the most notable new dimension comes from the inclusion of the UPStarts -- young performers from across the U.P., joining Miles Massicotte and Giovanni Perez, both from New York, who will act as mentor professionals to the UPStarts.

This year's UPStarts are (clockwise from above left) Eric Banitt, piano; Benjamin Merte, bass; Kalee Hernendez, piano; Karen Albert, mezzo-soprano; and Benjamin Zindler, trombone. 

PMMF will present the group of eight dynamic young performers in a single show opening as the finale of Marquette’s Artweek celebrations, in the Presque Isle Bandshell, Friday, June 28. Free to all thanks to Travel Marquette and the Arts and Culture Office of Marquette. The group will perform June 29 in Kingsford's First Presbyterian Church and June 30 at the Rozsa in Houghton.

Of special note to opera fans, UPStart soprano, Liz Grugin will join Karen Albert in Delibes’ Duo des fleurs / Sous le dôme épais from Lakmé. Arias from Rossini and Bizet echo 29 years of PMMF opera.*

You may purchase tickets at the door for all events. Calumet and Crystal Theatres order at pmmf.org/tickets. All other shows order through Michigan Tech's Ticketing Service: (887)746-3999 or through pmmf.org/tickets, all concerts are at 7:30. Check the web site (pmmf.org) for the Children's Concert time in your area.

Through the $129 Family Pass, the Festival hopes to draw the next generation into a love of classical music through live performances. The Pass covers the whole family for all shows. Our patrons make up the difference by including a gift with their orders.

* Click here for the PMMF Schedule.

Inset photos: Miles Masicotte, Hristina Blagoeva, and Giovanni Perez. 

Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra to perform "Rhapsody in Blue," "Firebird Suite," more April 20 in Rozsa Center

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra will present its last concert of the year Saturday, April 20, in the Rozsa Center. (File photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra will present Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. Popularized in Disney’s Fantasia, Rhapsody in Blue will be performed along with the haunting ballet music to Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and the angst-ridden Chamber Symphony of Schoenberg.

"This is our last concert of the year, so we saved the very best for last," said Joel Neves, conductor for the event. "Everyone loves Rhapsody in Blue, one of the great jazz-infused orchestra works of all time. Popularized in Disney's Fantasia, Rhapsody in Blue features local pianist extraordinaire, Jon Ensminger, who plays the soaring, swinging, sophisticated piano solo. Also on the program is sublime music by Verdi, Schubert, and Schoenberg, as well as Stravinsky's magical Firebird Suite, also featured in Fantasia. You don't want to miss this fantastic program!"

Founded in 1970, the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra is the Upper Peninsula’s oldest orchestra. The KSO is a college-community ensemble comprising Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff, and community musicians. Most of the musicians pursue something other than music as a career, with engineers, scientists, mathematicians, educators, and retirees filling the roster. Students occupy about 60 percent of the orchestra; none are music majors. The KSO presents 4-5 concerts per year -- including choral-orchestral, opera, ballet, and pops -- in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are on sale now, $19 for adults, $6 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex (SDC) , or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. Note the Rozsa Box Office only opens two hours prior to performances.

For more details, contact Joel Neves at (906) 487-2859 or jbneves@mtu.edu.

Rozsa Center to host three holiday concerts -- Dec. 13, 14, 15

Enjoy three different holiday concerts this week at the Rozsa. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts)

HOUGHTON -- Celebrate the holidays with music at the Rozsa! Join the Rozsa Center and the Michigan Tech Department of Visual and Performing Arts for three holiday inspired concerts this week: First, a free Trombone Choir on Thursday, Dec. 13; next, enjoy Gifts of Music, a concert by the Superior Wind Symphony on Friday, Dec. 14; and the Michigan Tech Choirs performing Celebration of Lights on Saturday, Dec. 15. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

According to Michael Christianson, director of Bands and conductor of both Trombone Choir and Gifts of Music, "The Trombone Choir concert presents music by the melodious Michigan Tech Trombone Choir in the beautiful Rozsa Lobby and will include a pianist and a vocalist, with other surprises! Then on Friday, The Superior Wind Symphony brings musical gifts that are varied and diverse for you at the end of this year. The Gifts of Music program includes 'The Sussex Mummer’s Christmas Carol' by Percy Grainger and Mike Christianson; 'Three Moods of Hanukkah,' arranged by Lenny Niehaus; two traditional carols, 'Silent Night' and 'O Tannebaum,' co-arranged by Wynton Marsalis; and 'Variations on a Shaker Melody' by  Aaron Copland -- among other holiday-inspired songs."

Jared Anderson, associate professor of Music and director of Choral Activities at Michigan Tech, describes A Celebration of Lights: "The choirs will sing of light from the menorah, the moon, stars, warm homes, a cradle. We hope that people from across the Keweenaw will take some time to join us for this concert. We are especially looking forward to collaborating with the Copper Country Bells, a local group of handbell players who will join the combined choirs for two numbers on the program."*

Trombone Choir is free. Tickets for Gifts of Music and Celebration of Lights are on sale now: $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the show at the Rozsa box office, which opens two hours prior to performances.

(Inset photos courtesy Rozsa Center)

* Click here and on each event to access a program.

41 North Film Festival Nov. 1-4 at Rozsa Center to feature independent films, filmmakers, more...

In a scene from The Unafraid, a new documentary by Keweenaw native Heather Courtney, DACA (Dreamer) student Sylvia speaks at a rally for the right to education. The Unafraid is one of 20 independent films featured in this year's 41 North Film Festival Nov. 1-4 at Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center. (Photo courtesy Erin Smith, 41 North Film Festival director)

By Mark Wilcox, Michigan Tech News Writer
Posted on Michigan Tech News Oct. 30, 2018
Reprinted here in part with permission.

HOUGHTON -- The 41 North Film Festival will be held from Thursday, Nov. 1, through Sunday, Nov. 4, at Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. The festival, now in its 14th year, showcases more than 20 award-winning independent films and filmmakers from around the region, country, and world -- along with special events and music.*

All events are free and open to the public. All films are in the main Rozsa theater unless otherwise noted. Michigan Tech students may bring an I.D. and enter through the south door of the theater to tap your I.D. upon entrance to each film. All others, please see the Festival Admission page for information about how to acquire a free ticket for all the films.

While this year’s films focus on a variety of topics from solar-powered flight to the bizarre world of industrial musicals, several films will be of particular interest to Copper Country audiences.

Bisbee '17: A tragic and complicated past

Described by critics as "a ghost story by way of a documentary," Robert Greene’s Bisbee '17 looks at a former copper mining community’s attempt to grapple with its tragic and complicated past. A brutal act of retaliation against labor organizing efforts in 1917 still haunts the town and defines the relationship of the community to its ancestors. Although Bisbee is 2,000 miles from the Keweenaw, the Bisbee mining district was built by men from Calumet, Michigan. The Calumet and Arizona Mining Company, which cooperated with the other companies in orchestrating the ruthless events of 1917, had officers with close family ties to our local copper mines. It is a story that will be both new and familiar to those interested in local mining history.

Bisbee '17 will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. Following the screening there will be a Q and A and panel discussion with the film’s director, Robert Greene (via Skype), Sarah Fayen Scarlett and LouAnn Wurst from Michigan Tech’s Department of Social Sciences and Jo Urion Holt from the Keweenaw National Historical Park.

The Unafraid: Heather Courtney and the Dreamers

Keweenaw native Heather Courtney, director/producer of the award-winning Where Soldiers Come From, brings her new documentary, The Unafraid, to the festival. It follows the lives of three DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students, or Dreamers, in Georgia, a state that has banned them from attending their top state universities and disqualified them from receiving in-state tuition at any other public college. Shot in an observational style over four years, this film takes an intimate look at the lives of Alejandro, Silvia and Aldo as they pursue their right to education and fight for the rights of their families and communities.

In addition to the screening of their documentary at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, Courtney and one of the students from the film, Alejandro Galeana-Salinas, will participate in a question and answer session. A reception for them at 9:30 p.m. Friday follows the screening and discussion.

Keweenaw native Heather Courtney, director/producer of The Unafraid, will be one of the filmmaker guests at the 2018 41 North Film Festival. (Photo courtesy Erin Smith, 41 North Film Festival director)

Festival Director Erin Smith says, "Heather Courtney is the kind of thoughtful and committed documentarian who is able to bring us close to her subjects because of her profound respect for them. In her hands, huge, often polarizing issues like war or immigration become grounded in the experiences of people who help us imagine their more subtle and complicated dimensions."

Copperdog: A work in progress

Also of particular interest to Keweenaw audiences, is Copperdog (working title) which follows four women mushers and their dogs as they train for the annual CopperDog 80/150. Director Laurie Little and cinematographer Justin Jones, will be in attendance for this special work-in-progress screening of their film at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4. Some four-legged special guests will be on hand as well.

The Providers: Health care in a rural area

A film of interest to anyone concerned about health care in a rural area is The Providers (2018). Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage and the opioid epidemic in rural America, this film follows three health care professionals working in a remote area much like ours.

A scene from The Providers, a film about health care in a rural area. (Photo courtesy Erin Smith, 41 North Film Festival director)

With intimate access, the documentary shows the transformative power of providers' relationships with marginalized patients, raising as many questions as it answers about health care challenges facing rural communities today. Dr. Leslie Hayes, who is featured in the film, will join Ray Sharp from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department for a discussion following the film screening at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. Dr. Hayes was recognized by the White House in 2016 as a Champion of Change and is married to Michigan Tech alumnus David Rich.

STEM in the spotlight

This year, 41 North will screen five films delving into history, issues and accomplishments relating to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) innovation.

The featured films look at high school students competing for an international prize (Science Fair), an early Silicon Valley startup (General Magic), internet censorship (The Cleaners), the first photograph of the moon taken from space (Earthrise) and the first solar-powered flight around the world (Point of No Return).

Following the showing of Science Fair at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, there will be a discussion featuring a panel of STEM educators.

A little something for everyone

With more than 20 films to choose from, the 41 North Film Festival offers a little something for everyone. However, Smith challenges festival goers to choose at least one film that doesn’t seem like something that would interest them.

"After every festival, one of the things I hear the most is how surprised someone was to discover that they loved a film that wasn’t high on their list," Smith notes. "Use the festival as an opportunity to explore something new."

* Click here for the schedule of films and events. Click on each film for a link to a description of the film.

Rozsa Center to host two concerts, art exhibit opening this weekend

Michigan Tech's Choirs will present "Beyond the Veil" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, at the Rozsa Center. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center will offer art and music lovers three events featuring talent from the local community this Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21.

Michigan Tech Choirs to present "Beyond the Veil" April 20

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and Michigan Tech's Department of Visual and Performing Arts will present a concert by the Michigan Tech Choirs -- conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers and the Michigan Tech Concert Choir at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 20, in the Rozsa Center.

According to Jared Anderson, chair, Visual and Performing Arts Department, and choirs director, "The choirs at Tech have been working hard to prepare a concert that includes a number of interesting themes. The title of the concert, 'Beyond the Veil,' refers to themes that seem to be opposites as if on two sides of a veil: love and loss, life and death, health and sickness, slavery and freedom, youth and old age. There will be something for everyone at the concert this Friday -- love songs, spirituals, folksongs, and sacred motets."

Tickets for "Beyond the Veil" are on sale now, $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee; tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. Please note the Rozsa Box Office only opens two hours prior to performances.

"From There to Here": Opening Reception Friday, April 20

The Rozsa Center and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) invite the public to visit their semi-annual student showcase, "From There to Here," featuring works of art created by Michigan Tech students who are participating in Project Learning Lab, an innovative arts classroom based inside  Rozsa gallery b.

Work on display was created by students in Lisa Gordillo’s Traditional Sculpture, Advanced Sculpture, and 3D Design classes. Students from many campus disciplines are represented, including Materials Sciences, English, and Theatre Arts.

The exhibition continues through this Friday, April 20. A reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, in Rozsa Gallery b. The reception is free and all are welcome.
  
Students in Traditional Sculpture study traditional ways of making art around the globe, including Guatemalan kites, Zimbabwe-Shona carving, and metal casting, with help from Michigan Tech’s department of Materials Sciences. Students in Advanced Sculpture are encouraged to work with the gallery’s architecture and to create large-scale installations in the gallery. Students in 3D Design have designed and built a tree house for a local, three-year old client.

Student artists represented: Shane Arnold, Rebecca Barkdoll, Jalen Beck, Jessica Boelcke, Alyssa Cinder, Scott Davison, Holly Eyrich, Charlie Heckel, Mads Howard, Aaron Kruzel, Alex Kuehn, Haylee Lakenen, Miles Lefevre, Dakota Lowrance, Michael Miller, Adam Mitchell, Evan Monko, Zack Nelson, Neal Nordstrom, Via Ouellette Ballas, Justin Pearl, Ted Smith, Matt Tascarella, Gabe Toczynski, Makenzi Wentela, Kitty Williams, and Amanda Wils.

For more information please contact Lisa Gordillo, Assistant Professor, Visual and Performing Arts, 906-487-3096, lijohnso@mtu.edu.

Superior Wind Symphony to celebrate contemporary composers Saturday, April 21

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts will present a concert by Michigan Tech's Superior Wind Symphony and Campus Concert Band, titled "Right Now," a celebration of music written by contemporary composers. They will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 21, in the Rozsa Center.

According to Michael Christianson, Michigan Tech director of bands, "The Superior Wind Symphony and Campus Concert Band combine once again for their year-end wind concert: 'Right Now!' -- the music of living composers. These 14 composers are people who walk among us and who you could conceivably meet. I have met five of them and performed with two of them. Two of them have been on this campus!! Two of them are jazz bassists! They range in age from 33 to 94 and write in a wide range of styles, so there is bound to be something you will love. Composers include: John Mackey, Shelley Hanson, Chris Brubeck, Eric Whitacre, Michael Daugherty, Fred Hersch, Rufus Reid, Esperanza Spalding, Radiohead, Bjork, Andrew Boysen, Jr., Tan Dun, and Sammy Nestico! Join us for a fresh and invigorating evening!"

Tickets for "Right Now" are on sale now, $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee; tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. Please note the Rozsa Box Office only opens two hours prior to performances.

For more information please contact Mike Christianson at mchristi@mtu.edu, 906-487-2825, or visit mtu.edu/rozsa.

(Inset photos courtesy Rozsa Center)

Rozsa Gallery exhibit "Always Room for Rain" continues through March 31; reception with artists March 2

Art by Raquel Alvizures of Guatemala. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center) 

HOUGHTON -- "Always Room for Rain," the spring exhibit at  the Rozsa Center Gallery, featuring work by artists Ross Chaney (Santa Fe, NM) and Raquel Alvizures (Guatemala), continues through March 31. A reception with both artists will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, March 2, with an artist talk at 5:30 p.m. that evening. Gallery hours are M-F 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturdays 1 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Ross Chaney (b. 1972, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Raquel Alvizures (b. 1973, Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, Guatemala) lives and works in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The exhibition of their work is curated by Lisa Gordillo, Assistant Professor, Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Michigan Tech. Gordillo was attracted to the way each artist uses color, texture, and line to express ties to their cultures and to the stories that shaped them. Gordillo also felt that the stories each artist draws from for inspiration are particularly important to share with our region.

"Their work makes a very strong pairing," she says. "It’s my hope that this exhibit will result in many good conversations."

Mr. Chaney is an accomplished visual artist, with works of art in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, NM. His works are influenced by time in Asia and by his Asian and Native American (Osage) ancestry.

Art by Ross Chaney of Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

The exhibit showcases his recent works on paper and canvas with Sumi ink and acrylics. The works are mostly non-objective; their free and fluid use of color and texture recall geographical maps and the policies of westward expansion through manifest destiny which influenced his circumstances growing up.

Chaney’s free and liberal use of color is reminiscent of the beadwork Ross grew up seeing on the Osage reservation in Oklahoma. The colors, often polar opposites, compete with each other creating clashes of conflict on the canvas. The heart of the artwork deals with issues and ideas about the human capacity for empathy and Ross’s belief that empathy and healthy boundaries are key to humans’ connection with society, and the world at large.

Ms. Alvizures lives and works in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She grew up in rural Mataquescuintla, in the outskirts of an agricultural town. Her geometrically abstract and patterned paintings aim to express the vibrancy and mystery of the stories of her culture.

Ms. Alvizures will use part of her time on campus to create a mural for the Rozsa Center. The public is welcome to visit with the artist between March 5 and March 9 in the North Mezzanine of the Rozsa Lobby, as she paints the mural. 

The artists’ visit is supported in part by the Michigan Tech Visiting Women and Minority Lecture Series, which is funded by a grant to the Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion from the State of Michigan's King-Chavez-Parks Initiative. Both artists will spend time with the community during their visit.

The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public, and the show will remain open through March 31.

For more information please contact A-Space gallery director Lisa Gordillo, Assistant Professor, Visual and Performing Arts, 906-487-3096, gordillo@mtu.edu.

Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra to present "Carnival of the Animals" Feb. 24 in Rozsa Center

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra will present "Carnival of the Animals" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, in the Rozsa Center. (Poster courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra will present "Carnival of the Animals" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

One of the great zoological works in the orchestral canon, "Carnival of the Animals," by Camille Saint-Saëns, includes humorous depictions of elephants, donkeys, lions, hens, roosters, tortoises, kangaroos and the famous "swan" for solo cello.

This concert also features two Russian masterworks: Dimitri Shostakovich’s "Festive Overture" and Modest Mussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Tickets are $19 for adults, $6 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech Fee. Tickets are available online, by phone at 487-2073, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Center Box Office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office opens two hours prior to performances.

This concert is sponsored by a gift from John and Biruta Lowther.

41 North Film Festival to offer films, discussion, music, more Nov. 2-5 at Rozsa Center

Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc, an evening of film and music in collaboration with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and the ConScience Michigan Tech Chamber Singers, will open this year's 41 North Film Festival at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- From a silent film accompanied by a symphony and choral performance to topical and historical films with expert panelists, the 41 North Film Festival brings together acclaimed films from around the world -- with participants from the local community -- for engaging, informative and inspiring events Nov. 2 -5 at Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center. In celebration of this year's theme of community, the festival will also present a special "City Light" award to retired Michigan Tech film professor and photographer Joe Kirkish in recognition of his many contributions to film appreciation in the Keweenaw.

Kicking the festival off at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, is Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc, an evening of film and music in collaboration with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and the ConScience Michigan Tech Chamber Singers. The 1928 silent film classic by Danish director Carl Th. Dreyer will be presented with Richard Einhorn's hauntingly beautiful composition for solo voices, chorus and orchestra performed live. Famed film historian and theorist David Bordwell will participate in the event, giving a public lecture earlier in the day on Dreyer’s work at 2 p.m. in the Rozsa.

On Friday at 7:30 p.m., the festival offers a chance to contemplate and debate artificial intelligence innovations with its presentation of AlphaGo (Kohs, 2016), the story of Google Deepmind’s A.I. challenge match with the world champion of the complex Chinese board game Go. Several Michigan Tech faculty who work in this field will be joined for a panel discussion by recent Michigan Tech grad Josh Manela of Argo A.I., a Ford subsidiary developing self-driving cars.

The celebration of community ramps up on Saturday. Joe Kirkish will be honored before the screening of Faces Places (Agnès Varda/JR, 2017) at 4 p.m. A reception for Kirkish follows the film at 6 p.m. Cake and beverages will be served. Kevin Blackstone and Clare Zuraw will provide music.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the festival explores local heritage with its presentation of the Swedish film Sami Blood (Kernell, 2016), the story of a young Sami woman in the 1930s who struggles with racism when forced to attend a government school. The film will be shown with Ogichidaa (Ryan, 2017), featuring Michigan Tech’s Jerry Jondreau of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. Finlandia University’s Jim Kurtti, Hilary Virtanen, and Joanna Chopp will join Jondreau for a discussion following the film.

Sami Blood will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Rozsa, followed by Ogichidaa), featuring Michigan Tech’s Jerry Jondreau of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, as part of the community heritage exploration during the 41 North Film Festival. A discussion will follow these two films. (Photo courtesy 41 North Film Festival)

Ending the four-day line-up is Far Western (James D. Payne, 2016), which tells the story of a dedicated group of Japanese country/bluegrass musicians and the unique bonds forged across cultures through music. Keweenaw Brewgrass takes the stage to start off the event at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5.

Among other feature films included this year are Dealt (Luke Korem, 2017),  Buzz One Four (Matt McCormick, 2017), Brimstone and Glory (Viktor Jakovleski, 2017), Donkeyote (Chico Pereira, 2017), ACORN and the Firestorm (Reuben Atlas, Samuel D. Pollard, 2017), The Migrumpies (Arman T. Riahi, 2017), The Good Postman (Tonislav Hristov, 2017), This Giant Papier Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy (Christian Nicolson, 2016) (shown in Fisher 135), and The Road Movie (Dmitry Kalashnikov, 2017).

All events are free with the exception of Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc. Tickets for that event are $19 for adults, $6 for youth, and free for Michigan Tech Students with the Experience Tech fee. A free film festival ticket is required for admission to free events. All tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the door at the Rozsa Box Office (opens one hour prior to event start).

Sponsors include the Humanities Department, the Visual and Performing Arts department, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. To learn more about the films and events, visit http://41northfilmfest.org. Click here for the schedule. For more information email 41north@mtu.edu.

Music-O-Rama to celebrate variety of music in concert by Michigan Tech music ensembles Sept. 30 in Rozsa Center

Michigan Tech's Superior Wind Symphony, pictured here, will join other Michigan Tech music ensembles to play music from around the globe in the annual Music-O-Rama concert at 7:30 p.m.Saturday, Sept. 30, in the Rozsa Center. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech University)

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech's Department of Visual and Performing Arts will present Music-O-Rama at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30, in the Rozsa Center. This annual musical variety concert celebrates the diversity, history, and variety of music at Michigan Tech.

Performers from all of the major Michigan Tech music ensembles: Jazz Lab Band, Superior Wind Symphony, Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers, Michigan Tech Concert Choir, and AstroSax will appear throughout the hall, playing music from around the globe -- from America to  Latvia, France to Mexico, Brazil to Italy. The concert will begin on a patriotic note with Igor Stravinsky’s arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner, for band and choir. Then enjoy more band and folk music selections including Yankee Doodle, Old Man River, and a Brazilian folk song, Samba-lelê, to stir memories and evoke bygone days.

According to Jared Anderson, chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department and director of Choral Activities, "This concert features performances from all of the auditioned music ensembles at Michigan Tech and shows how talented our students are. Music-o-rama has become an audience favorite for the past number of years for its fast pace and varied repertoire. I know that the audience will love the show."

There will be something for every musical taste, with composers including Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Ottorino Respighi, and Arturo Márquez. The concert will end with the Superior Wind Symphony and the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra combining for a performance of "The Pines of the Appian Way" from Respighi’s Pines of Rome.

Tickets are on sale now: $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the show at the Rozsa Box Office, which opens two hours prior to performances.

Tech Theatre and Keweenaw Symphony bring "West Side Story" to Rozsa April 13, 14, 15

With music by the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, West Side Story will be performed at the Rozsa Center Apr. 13, 14 and 15. (Program cover photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center, Michigan Tech Department of Visual and Performing Arts (Tech Theatre), and the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra present West Side Story at 7:30 p.m. for three nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- April 13, 14 and 15 -- in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

West Side Story changed the very nature of American Musical Theatre. With music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by a young Stephen Sondheim, the play was grounded in a distinctively modern sound with a passionately poetic statement: A place where everyone can grow beyond the confines of hate and poverty, a safe and beautiful place. A modern adaptation of a quintessential tale of star-crossed lovers, West Side Story isn't performed often for a very good reason.

According to Director Patricia Helsel, "It's simply a very difficult play to perform. The show requires many different dance styles ranging from jazz, to 50s 'hipster beat,' to Latino and ballet. The music is also challenging with complex rhythms and styles for the ensemble, matched with a call for operatic technique for the young lovers. Overall, this is not your typical, run-of-the-mill golden era musical comedy."

The subject matter is highly charged with racial tension, fear, hate, and LOVE -- some pretty intense emotion that is intricately woven in textures throughout the play, taking the audience on a meaningful journey. Comedy plays a matching role in the show, with memorable numbers like "Officer Krupke" and "America."

Tickets are on sale now: $19 for adults, $6 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at Rozsa.mtu.edu, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the event, one hour before show time, at the McArdle Theatre Box Office.

Follow the Rabbit! "Alice In Wonderland" comes to the Rozsa

Alice in Wonderland comes to the Rozsa this Saturday, Feb. 18, with two performances by  the acclaimed theater troupe Tout à Trac, from Québec. (Photo courtesy Tout à Trac.)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center is pleased to welcome the acclaimed theater troupe Tout à Trac from Québec, Canada, with their adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland for two shows -- at 2:30 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18. Fun for all ages! In addition to the performance, guests at the 2:30 p.m. matinee will be treated to a "KC Bonker’s Tea Party" in the lobby, after the show, co-hosted by KC Bonker’s, the Portage Lake District Library, and the Rozsa Center.

Tickets are on sale now, $16 for adults, $6 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at Rozsa.mtu.edu, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the Rozsa Box Office preceding the performance. Please note the Rozsa Box Office only opens two hours prior to performances.

Faithful to the madness and the lively humor of the original piece, this revisitation of the famous Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, written and directed by Hugo Bélanger and translated by Maureen Labonté, has a unique twist: The setting is no longer a garden but a library full of pop-up books! Each book is then a discovery and a door to the next adventure. Alice refuses to do her homework. Preferring to play and day-dream, she hides in her father’s study. Out of nowhere comes a curious looking rabbit, eater of novels. Wanting to keep the rodent from devouring all the books, Alice chases the rabbit through his borough and discovers a wonderland. Will you follow the white rabbit?

Recipient of the Acadie-Rideau Prize 2008. Nominated for the Prix de l’Association Québécoise des Critiques de Théâtre 2009-2010. More details from the Tout à Trac Alice In Wonderland website:  www.toutatrac.com/en/show/alice-in-wonderland/.

Visiting artist Sarah Hewitt to present lecture "She Vows" Oct. 25 in Rozsa

EmpressSyracuse2, by Sarah Hewett. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center and Michigan Tech's Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) will present a lecture by visiting artist Sarah Hewitt titled "She Vows," at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, in the Rozsa Lower Level atrium. Hewitt’s exhibit Flats and Rounds, which opened Sept. 30, is on display in the Rozsa A-Space Gallery, through Nov. 18. Hewitt has also created a weaving installation on-site, in the Rozsa Lobby through Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The lecture, installation, and gallery exhibition are free and open to the public. A-Space Gallery and Rozsa Lobby hours are M - F 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Saturday 1 p.m. - 8 p.m. This lecture is presented as part of the VanEvera Distinguished Lecture Series.

According to VPA Assistant Professor and A-Space gallery manager Lisa Gordillo, "Hewitt’s works and manifesto, SHE VOWS, question old-school boundaries established by the art intelligentsia. Hewitt weaves and cuts into these "classifications." She has willingly and handily accepted the term "hybrid." Using laborious handcrafts, sacred rituals, mass-produced materials, and vivid colors the artist leads us into a conversation about art/craft/feminism/gender and sexuality. Hewitt is about the rise of the feminine and honoring our matri/patrilineal lines."

Sarah Hewitt is an artist who currently lives in New York but calls northern New Mexico and mid-coast Maine home. Her work has been exhibited throughout the country. Upcoming exhibitions include Kindred Beasts at the Everson Museum, and Flats and Rounds. Hewitt has received awards and residencies from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Vermont Studio Center, Purchase College/SUNY, Quimby Colony and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Hewitt describes her work this way:

She vows
To make plastic art
Redefine plastic art
To make you love plastic art
To challenge and bewitch you with what you think is formal or plastic
To make you bow to her craft
Redefine craft

To weave
To weave your mind
To weave your mind into confusion
To drag you into the sacred without your consent

"State of the Union" opera to feature Helsinki Chamber Choir Sept. 29 - Oct. 6

On their first U.S. tour, the Helsinki Chamber Choir will present State of the Union, a new opera by Eugene Birman and Scott Diel, in performances from Marquette to Houghton to New York City from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. The opera will be performed at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2. (Poster courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- In their new work, State of the Union, an opera of economic inequality and obliviousness, composer Eugene Birman and librettist Scott Diel have turned their attention to everything that ails the planet.

Part opera seria, part satire, State of the Union is an opera for 12 singers which considers environmental sustainability, economic inequality, and the general obliviousness of society.

The 40-minute work will be premiered by the Helsinki Chamber Choir, which composer Jonathan Harvey has termed "probably the best choir anywhere in the world, particularly for contemporary music." The choir will be touring the United States for the first time.

Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts will present State of the Union at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016. State of the Union will tour the United States starting Sept. 29 and 30 in Marquette, with the final performance on Oct. 6 in New York City at Wall Street’s Trinity Church (see Schedule below).

An island off the Keweenaw Peninsula gave birth to State of the Union. Commissioned by the Rabbit Island Foundation, the work was conceived and composed on Michigan’s Rabbit Island, 91 acres of solid bedrock and forest that has never been developed, has no electricity or modern comforts, and is accessible only by small craft. Birman and Diel created the opera over a period of two weeks of seclusion on the island.

Librettist Scott Diel, left, and composer Eugene Birman are pictured here on Rabbit Island, where they created the opera State of the Union. (Photo © Andrew Ranville and courtesy Scott Diel)

Rabbit Island, located in Lake Superior three miles east of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, is held under a conservation easement granted by the Keweenaw Land Trust and supports programs fostering science, art, preservation and recreation. Rabbit Island is a laboratory for artists to consider the modern relationship between art and the environment, and this is what Birman and Diel have done.

View of Rabbit Island from Michigan Tech's Research Vessel Agassiz. (2014 Keweenaw Now photo) 

According to the Rabbit Island Foundation, "The opera condemns no one and everyone, yet its finale doles out redemption to those open to it. State of the Union is four characters -- the environment, the rich, the middle class, and the poor -- meeting and interacting over seven movements. It reflects a belief that many of our problems stem from how we view and treat one another. As a society we too often equate wealth with wisdom, and poverty with personal shortcomings. This work pushes forward the genre of classical music and also advances the medium to underscore a new subject: humanity’s relationship to its natural environment in the context of modern society."

The Koch brothers, Dick Cheney, Russell Brand’s Revolution, hedge fund tycoons, the middle class, the social safety net and those who depend on it: no one comes out unscathed.

The work has been brought to life thanks to generous support from the Rabbit Island Foundation, Northern Michigan University’s Northern Nights concert series, DeVos Art Museum, and the U.P. Beaumier Heritage Center.

State of the Union is the fourth work by Birman and Diel. Their first, Nostra Culpa, which dramatized the austerity-stimulus Twitter feud between economist Paul Krugman and Estonia President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, was quickly labeled the "Twitter opera" by the international press. It was featured by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, was the subject of a BBC documentary by Tanya Beckett, as well as covered in most every international newspaper.

Birman/Diel followed up with No. 289, an opera about the Russian border treaty of 1920 (Peace of Tartu), and a reworking of Erlkönig, both music and libretto, for the Oxford Lieder Festival.

The Helsinki Chamber Choir (Helsingin kamarikuoro) was founded in 1962 as the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir and assumed its current name in 2005. It is currently Finland’s only professional chamber choir.

The Helsinki Chamber Choir. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts)

The choir’s Artistic Director from 2005–2007 was Kimmo Hakola. Since 2007 Nils Schweckendiek has been responsible for the group's artistic planning. While its wide-ranging repertoire includes music from the Renaissance to the present day, the Helsinki Chamber Choir is particularly highly regarded for its work with new music. The choir regularly commissions new works and has given over 50 world premieres in the seasons since 2005, as well as more than 30 Finnish first performances. The choir appears frequently at major Finnish music festivals and collaborates with orchestras and Baroque and contemporary music ensembles. Recent touring has included concerts in Russia, Estonia and Belgium.

Here is the Performance Schedule for State of the Union:

Sept. 29, 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. -- Forest Roberts Theatre, Northern Michigan University campus, Marquette, Mich.

Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. -- Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, Mich.

Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m. -- Rozsa Center, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.

Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m. -- Arts Center, Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste Marie, Mich.

Oct. 6, 6 p.m. -- Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York City

For more information or tickets for the Rozsa performance, contact Michigan Tech Ticketing Services at the Central Ticket Office (SDC), at 906-487-2073, or go online at rozsa.mtu.edu.