Author: Liam Otten

Washington University’s Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will present its annual sing-along of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, in Graham Chapel. Nicole Aldrich, director of choral activities, directs the program. The performance, which lasts about an hour, will include the Christmas portion of Messiah as well as the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

The New York Times best-selling historian Douglas Brinkley and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast will present keynote addresses for “Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors”, Washington University’s 10th annual faculty book colloquium. Organized by the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences and the Washington University Libraries, the colloquium also will feature new book presentations by four faculty authors, as well as a display of all faculty books published during the past three years.

From the Arab spring to the London riots to the ongoing Occupy protests, themes of revolution, unrest and community are very much in the news today. They are also very much in the dance studio, as evidenced by Kinetic Field Work, the 2011 Washington University Dance Theatre concert. The annual showcase, which takes place in Edison Theatre Dec. 2, 3 and 4, will feature more than 50 student dancers, selected by audition, performing new and original works by seven faculty and guest choreographers.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will host a dedicaiton for a new, as-yet-untitled work by internationally known artist Patrick Dougherty at noon Monday, Nov. 21, on the south lawn of Givens Hall. The large woven-wood sculpture was designed and completed as part of a master class Dougherty led for students in architecture, landscape architecturea and the visual arts. The piece will remain on view through fall 2013.

For 56 seasons, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus — which describes itself as the area’s only “itinerant choir” — has devised a cappella programs that allow audiences to both visually and acoustically explore many of St. Louis’ most architecturally significant venues. On Nov. 20, the Chamber Chorus will pay its first visit to Washington University’s 560 Music Center. The concert, titled “A Mentor’s Memory,” will honor the academic setting with a series of works highlighting the relationships between celebrated classical composers and their most influential teachers.

The Center for the Humanities and Program in Film & Media Studies will host the Eighth Annual Children’s Film Showcase Nov. 18, 19 and 20. Titled “An Exploration of Children’s Films and Their Audiences,” the showcase is presented in conjunction with Cinema St. Louis, as part of the 20th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival. In all, the Children’s Film Showcase will feature 11 screenings as well as lectures and Q&A sessions with several of the filmmakers.

Washington University’s Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has been ranked 4th in the nation, according to DesignIntelligence, which publishes an annual guide to America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools. The 13th annual report polled leaders from 277 architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design and interior design firms about which programs have, over the last five years, best prepared students for professional practice.

The city of the future is a utopian confection of luxurious modernist skyscrapers, except when it’s a hidden nightmare of exploited subterranean workers, a comedy of anonymous office spaces or a collection of geodesic domes orbiting Saturn. Throughout the 20th century, filmmakers have explored the ever-quickening pace of technological development through visionary images of both social and architectural space. In December, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will screen three such films as part of its Cities of the Future Film Series.

Is it a comic book? A radio play? A conquering sludge monster from outer space? Yes! The Intergalactic Nemesis: Live-Action Graphic Novel is all that and more. Follow intrepid reporter Molly Sloan, her trusty assistant Timmy Mendez and mysterious librarian Ben Wilcott as they race against time and fight to save humanity from impending invasion. The resistance begins at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19, as part of the Edison Ovations Series at Washington University.

“Well, Anatol,” says Max, “I envy you.” And what’s not to envy? Anatol is young, rich and good-looking, blessed with charm and taste and a hedonistic nature, unencumbered by family, scruple or employment. Later this month, Washington University’s Performing Arts Department will present an original adaptation of Anatol, Arthur Schnitzler’s strikingly modern deconstruction of a dapper but self-deluding would-be Don Juan.