Arts & Culture

In 1995, a bus crash outside Kokstad, South Africa, left 12 schoolboys dead. Wild rumors swirled: the crash was caused by witches, the deceased made zombie slaves. In the weeks that followed, mobs executed two elderly women while local sangomas (traditional Xhosa shamans) tried to resurrect the boys. Such is the true story behind Ipi Zombi?, Brett Bailey’s exploration of the South African psyche, presented Jan. 27 to Feb. 5 in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre.

The Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences has announced its Spring 2007 Faculty Fellows. The three recipients are: Patrick Burke, Ph.D., assistant professor of music; Gerald Izenberg, Ph.D., professor of history; and Akiko Tsuchiya, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish, all in Arts & Sciences. Each will spend a semester in-residence with the center, researching a new book project while attending a variety of presentations and delivering one formal, public lecture about their work.

DavisKathryn Davis, recently appointed senior fiction writer in the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will open the program’s spring reading series at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, in Hurst Lounge.

Courtesy photoTurtle Island String QuartetTwo of the most adventurous ensembles in contemporary American music, The Turtle Island String Quartet and the all-sibling Ying Quartet, will perform selections from their Grammy-nomindated collaboration 4 + Four (Telarc Classics) at Washington University’s Edison Theatre. The special, one-night-only concert begins at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series. In addition, Turtle Island will present an all-ages matinee performance of “The Art of the Groove,” a cross-cultural musical journey ranging from Vivaldi to Jimmy Hendrix, as part of the ovations! for young people series at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21.

Featured faculty presenters will be Keith Sawyer and Rebecca Lester; Larry May will deliver a keynote address on “The Moral Writer.”

The Community Music School building in University City includes the 1,115-seat E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, a 300-seat theater & a small recital hall.

The performances will feature close to 40 student dancers, selected by audition, performing six works by faculty and guest choreographers.

The Concert Choir of Washington University will perform a concert of “Works from the Renaissance to American Folksongs” at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, in Graham Chapel. John Stewart, director of vocal activities, directs the program.

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. John Stewart, director of vocal activities, directs the program.

The Washington University Opera will present “Two Operatic Cinderellas,” featuring excerpts from Gioacchino Rossini’s “Cenerentola” and Jules Massenet’s “Cendrillo,” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17, in Karl Umrath Lounge.