Ithaca's new Light in Winter festival will brighten up the local area, Jan. 23, 24 and 25. This fusion of music, art and science features 21 distinctive festival events, including performances by the internationally renowned Paul Winter Consort, Mamadou Diabate, Samite of Uganda and members of the Ithaca, Cornell University and Ithaca College communities.
Light in Winter 2004 features music, poetry, performance art, ice climbing, singing whales plus a "Gallery Night" and special exhibits and programs along Ithaca's Discovery Trail for the entire family. Shuttles from downtown Ithaca will run on Saturday and Sunday from Green Street to the Cornell and Ithaca College campuses. Tickets are available at the Clinton House Ticket Center (273-4497) or at the door for each event.
For a complete Light in Winter schedule, maps and ticket prices, visit this Web site: http://www.LightinWinter.com or call 1-800-824-8422 for festival information. The Ithaca Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, La Tourelle Country Inn and the Statler Hotel on campus each offer special Light in Winter packages for the weekend. Packages include lodging, tickets for nine Light in Winter performances and more. Find package details and booking information at http://www.visitithaca.com.
The Light in Winter 2004 event schedule follows:
8 p.m.: "Winter in Africa," State Theatre
African musicians Mamadou Diabate and his group of
jeli musicians, along with African musician Samite of Uganda, will join Cornell bioacoustician Katy Payne -- a specialist
in elephant acoustics and communication -- sharing stories, sounds and images of African elephants and winter's upheavals among these highly communicative beings. The evening
will end with an African music concert.
10:30 a.m.: "Messiaen's Birdsong," Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Cornell neurobiologist Ron Hoy and Cornell student and pianist Emily Goldman will explore the music of French composer Olivier Messiaen and his transcription of bird song
into beautiful pieces full of texture and color.
11:30 a.m.: "Winter Garden Walk," Cornell Plantations
A tour of the Mullestein Family Winter Garden will teach participants what plants can be used to create a garden that is at its best in winter. $3 per person; Cornell
Plantations members free. Reservations: 254-7430.
2 p.m.: "Spineless Wonders" Call Auditorium of Kennedy Hall, Cornell
Renowned Cornell biologist Thomas Eisner will team with improvisatory cellist Sera Smolen and author Loretta Roome to illustrate the pulse of love, courtship, conflict and
death in the insect world. Vivid slide projections and flights on the cello will combine in this presentation for audiences of all ages.
3:30 p.m.: "Light in Winter Concert" Barnes Hall, Cornell
The Taliesen Trio will play "Between Tides" by Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu; oboeist Paige Morgan and percussionist Conrad Alexander will perform "Firewing: The
Moth and the Flame" by American composer Dan
Welcher, based on a story by Annie Dillard to be read by Percy Browning;
Women's Works and Bente King will perform chants by
the 12th century abbess and naturalist Hildegard von Bingen.
4:35 p.m.: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," Cinemapolis
Pre-movie talk by Roger Payne, collaborator on whale song score; $5 at the door.
5 p.m.: "Winter Words and Music," Sage Hall Atrium, Cornell
Nobel Prize-winner and Cornell chemist Roald Hoffmann, who does double duty as a published poet and writer, will pair up with nationally known performance artist/poet
Michelle Berry for their takes on the theme, with improvised accompaniment of Jenny Cleland on Celtic harp and Chris White on electric cello.
8 p.m.: "Earthbeat," State Theatre
Grammy winner Paul Winter and the Paul Winter Consort will be joined by whale expert Roger Payne for a musical and visual collaboration that celebrates the diversity of life
on Earth.
9:30 a.m.: "A Snowy Experience," Cornell Plantations, Botanic Garden
Led by instructors Verne Rockcastle and Raylene Ludgate, this adventure will allow participants to look closely at different snow crystals, learn how they form and how they
are classified. Reservations: 254-7430. $5 per adult/child pair (Plantations members and Cornell students), $10 per adult/child pair (nonmembers).
Noon: "Ice Climbing," Six Mile Creek,
Van Natta's Dam
In this free "vertical ice dancing" performance, experienced ice climbers will take the sport to a new artistic level by combining choreography and athletic skill in an
exhibition of ice climbing at an existing or human-made frozen waterfall.
1:30 p.m.: "Voice of the Whale," Museum of the Earth at PRI. See Saturday at 10:30 a.m. for details.
1:30 p.m.: "Messiaen's Birdsong," Cornell Lab of Ornithology. See Saturday at 10:30 a.m. for details.
3 p.m.: "Star Songs," Ford Hall, Ithaca College
Cornell astronomer Yervant Terzian will combine forces with digital virtuoso composer David Borden, director of the Digital Music Program at Cornell. Together they
will take the audience on a slide and music history show of the universe.
4:30 p.m.: "Sync: The Phenomenon of Spontaneous Order," Ford Hall, Ithaca College
Cornell applied mathematician Steven Strogatz explains the scientific concepts of spontaneous order in nature from his best-selling book
Sync and its applications to our everyday
lives. The program includes a piece for 100 metronomes, audience participation, video footage and a jazz quartet with Frank Campos, John White and Peter Chwazik, illustrating the
mathematical principles involved and the sublimity of human synchrony as expressed in music.
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