OFA announces fall 2003 grants

The Office for the Arts (OFA) has announced that more than 700 students will participate in over 20 projects in dance, music, theater, and multidisciplinary genres at the University this fall. Sponsored in part through funding from OFA, the grants aim to foster creative and innovative artistic initiatives among Harvard undergraduates.

The Council on the Arts, a committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, funded 80 percent of the grant requests. Council members include Robert J. Kiely (chair), Elizabeth Bergmann, S. Allen Counter, Deborah Foster, Jorie Graham, Christopher Killip, Annette Lemieux, Cathleen McCormick, Jack Megan, Robert J. Orchard, Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Marcus Stern, and John Stewart.

The OFA, which administers the grants, also offers funding for projects taking place during spring semester 2004 and Arts First 2004 – Harvard’s annual celebration of the arts.

For more information, visit www.fas.harvard.edu/~ofa.

Fall 2003 grants for dance

Expressions Dance Company, Cassandra Cummings ’05: Kahn Grant for a concert featuring a variety of dance styles with a focus on hip-hop. A large portion of the concert will be dedicated to showcasing student-choreographed pieces.

Harvard Ballet Company, Laurie Schnidman ’05: Kahn Grant for a “West Side Story”-themed performance. The company plans to incorporate both traditional and more contemporary styles of ballet choreography, in addition to modern and jazz pieces. Musicians from Harvard student groups will provide accompaniment.

Mainly Jazz Dance Company and TAPS for “Rhythm of the Night,” Melissa Miller ’04 and Kim McCarthy ’04: Kahn Grant for a dance recital featuring individual and combined group performances showcasing a variety of musical and dance styles.

Harvard Ballroom Dance Company, Danielle Brown ’05: Kahn Grant for the first winter recital by the company. Different types of ballroom dancing will be showcased.

Fall 2003 grants for literature

Diversity & Distinction Magazine, Stefanie Plant ’05: OFA Grant for the printing of the fall 2003 issue. Diversity & Distinction examines multiculturalism and probes social and civil rights issues including ethnicity, race, and gender.

Place, Mary Jirmanus ’05: OFA Grant for the premiere issue of a magazine focusing on spaces, their cultural and political significances, the stories that fill them, and the art dedicated to them.

Fall 2003 multidisciplinary grant

The Harvard Advocate, “Translations: A Reading,” Lily Brown ’04: OFA Grant for a reading by multilingual students of their own translations.

Fall 2003 grants for music

Harvard Wind Ensemble, “A Tribute to T.J. Anderson,” Nat Dickey: Kahn Grant for a concert in honor of noted African-American composer T.J. Anderson. A newly commissioned work will be premiered during the concert.

Bach Society Orchestra for Concerts I and II, Miriam Lense ’05: OFA Grant for two fall concerts featuring works by such composers as Adams, Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, and Stravinsky. Additionally, the orchestra intends to commission the premiere of an orchestral work.

Boston Jazz Composer Night, Harvard’s Assistant Director of Bands Nat Dickey: Kahn Grant for a concert honoring Boston-area composers Jorrit Dijkstra, Mike Gibbs, and Phil Wilson.

Harvard Band 84th Annual Dartmouth Concert (with Wind Ensemble and Monday Jazz Band), Nat Dickey: OFA Grant for the band’s annual potpourri concert that will honor the Harvard Police Department and former Chief Robert Tonis. The concert will feature compositions by Boston composer Jeff Friedman and guest soloist Ron Barron, principal trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing Samuel Adler’s transcription of the Leopold Mozart Concerto and traditional Harvard songs conducted by Jack Miller ’04.

The Harvard Early Music Society, “The Ethiop,” Marisa Green ’04: Eckstein-Lipson Grant for a November production of the Baroque opera “The Ethiop.” The annual opera is a festive occasion, with students participating as cast members, musicians, and senior staff. Performances feature English translations.

Harvard-Radcliffe Contemporary Music Ensemble (hrCME) for a fall concert, the Make-Your-Own-Instrument Parade, and hrCME Standing Ensemble, Alexander Ness ’04: OFA and Kahn grants for three fall projects: a concert of contemporary classical, experimental, and electronic music featuring works by undergraduates and established composers, the staging of a parade in Harvard Yard featuring homemade instruments, and the creation of a permanent hrCME performing group that promotes the composition and performance of contemporary music by undergraduates.

The Holden Choirs (Radcliffe Choral Society, Harvard Glee Club, and Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum), Mozart Requiem, Barbara Urbanczyk ’04: Kahn Grant for a performance of Mozart’s Requiem.

The Harvard University Drummers (THUD), fall concert, Emily Kahn ’05: OFA Grant for a concert of percussion music to be performed by a small ensemble. The program will include works by composers such as John Cage and Steve Reich as well as pieces utilizing unconventional instruments. Several pieces will be written or arranged and choreographed by ensemble members.

Fall 2003 grants for theater

Five short plays by Paul Knox, Naresh Ramarajan ’04: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a production of plays that explore same-sex love in South Asia. The plays challenge viewers to confront their preconceptions and stereotypes about homosexuality.

Sophocles’ “Ajax,” Brian Fairley ’05: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a production in the Adams House Kronauer space of Sophocles’ drama of revenge, despair, suicide, and loyalty.

“South Pacific,” Rebecca Rubins ’05: Cobey Grant for a production of the classic musical set on a tropical island during World War II that speaks to the issues of love, war, and prejudice.

“Tartuffe,” Mike Donahue ’05: Cobey Grant for a production in the Loeb Experimental Theater of Moliere’s satire. The production will include visuals using the color pallette, brush strokes, and costumes of Lautrec’s Parisian-Bar scenes, as well as the physicality/caricature of Daumier’s busts.

“The River,” Jean Ann Salisbury ’04: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a production of an original play that explores the tense relationship between a mother and daughter in light of the young girl’s sexual awakening.

Fall 2003 grant for traditional cultural arts

Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan and RAZA, Aztec and traditional Mexican dances, Raudel Yanez ’06: Kahn Grant for joint workshops celebrating and showcasing Mexican dances from the Aztec empire to contemporary times, concluding with a performance open to the entire Harvard community.