UIS and Benedictine to host co-exhibit with internationally acclaimed Russian artist

The first North American solo exhibition of the artwork of Sergei Chepik is being announced by Benedictine University at Springfield and the University of Illinois Springfield, co-exhibitors. This first-ever co-exhibit by the two Universities will display forty lithographs by the internationally acclaimed Russian artist who currently resides in Paris. The prints were inspired by the novel The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov and were commissioned in 2006, with an initial exhibit held in 2008 at the Bulgakov Museum in Moscow.

Displaying remarkably powerful images of the Russian Revolution, the Chepik co-exhibit will begin October 1, 2009, at both the BUS Becker Library Gallery and the UIS Visual Arts Gallery, running through November 5 and October 28, respectively.

An opening reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. on October 7 in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery with a gallery talk by associate professor Rosina Neginsky, personal friend of the artist and author of Sergei Chepik: Between East and West, published by Benedictine University at Springfield.

A closing reception will be held from 6:30–8:30 p.m. on November 5 in the Brinkerhoff Home on the Benedictine campus with a gallery talk by Neginsky. The November 5 closing reception will occur together with the 2.2 release gala for Quiddity International Literary Journal and Public-Radio Program, published and produced by Benedictine University at Springfield and NPR member WUIS. Quiddity 2.2 includes Sergei Chepik as a featured artist.

For further information, please contact:
Marianne Stremsterfer
Benedictine University at Springfield
mstremsterfer@sci.edu
(217) 525-1420, ext. 518

Liz Murphy Thomas
University of Illinois Springfield
thomas.elizabeth@uis.edu
(217) 206-7547

Speakers Series: State of the Recovery

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents a State of the Recovery panel discussion on the status of the Central Illinois economy.

WHEN: Friday, September 18, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) Lobby at UIS

(The event will be available via live webcast and video on demand at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html)

ADDITIONAL INFO: WUIS General Manager Bill Wheelhouse will facilitate the panel discussion featuring Jeremy Hobson, Marketplace Wall Street reporter; Tim Landis, State Journal- Register business editor; and Ronald McNeil, Dean of the UIS College of
Business & Management.

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries or contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

Smithereens' lead singer to perform at WUIS studio

Pat DiNizio, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Smithereens, will appear in Springfield on Thursday, April 9 for a benefit “living room” concert at 7:30 p.m. for WUIS, the public radio affiliate based at the University of Illinois at Springfield campus.

DiNizio is currently traveling around the country doing a series of living room concerts in people’s homes. He will perform in the WUIS Suggs’ Performance Studio, which will take on a living room motif for the show, for an audience of up to 50 people.

DiNizio will showcase acoustic versions of Smithereens songs, along with performances from his tribute to Buddy Holly released this year on the 50th anniversary of Holly’s death.

“The show will allow DiNizio and fans to interact, and proceeds will go to the fund dedicated to the performance studio. It will also be recorded for later broadcast,” said Bill Wheelhouse, WUIS General Manager.

Admission is $50 per person, with proceeds going to the WUIS Suggs Performance Studio Fund. For more information or to make a reservation for the show, call WUIS at 217/206-6516.

WUIS marks War of the Worlds 70th anniversary

In observance of the 70th anniversary of Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, WUIS, in association with Gordon Productions, will present a re-creation of the original program at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 30, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield.

WUIS will broadcast the performance on Halloween night at 9 p.m.

With a nod to the night that the Mercury Theatre radio group panicked America, the live show at the Hoogland Center will be presented as if it were an actual 1930s radio show. The actors will be dressed in period costumes, reading from scripts, while sound men provide all of the appropriate sound effects.

Cast members are Kevin Purcell (reading the Orson Welles role), Don Schneider, Pat Foster, Dennis Rendleman, Flynn Hanners, Brett Rutherford, and Steve Krampitz, along with local broadcasters Dave Leonatti (WUIS), Bob Murray (WTAX), Jim Leach (WMAY), Johnny Molson (ALICE 97.7/WMAY), and Joe Crain (NewsChannel 20).

Tickets for the stage performance are $12, and can be picked up at the Hoogland box office, by calling 523-2787, or online.

For information about the broadcast on Halloween night, call WUIS at 217/206-6516.

See an article about the performance from the October 30 State Journal-Register.

WUIS to air special centennial coverage of the Springfield race riot

Public radio station WUIS will present special, original programming in observance of the 1908 Springfield race riot over three days – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, August 6, 7, and 8.

This special coverage for the centennial of “The Riot” was produced by WUIS reporter Jenna Dooley. Segments will air each day on Morning Edition at 8:20 a.m. and All Things Considered at 4:50 p.m.

Illinois Edition will also present programming observing the centennial at 6:30 p.m. Friday, August 8, and at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 9.

While Springfield is known as the home of Abraham Lincoln, the city was also the site of a darker chapter in the history of American race relations. One hundred years ago this August, racial tensions erupted into three days of rioting that left two black men dead and many black-owned businesses burned to the ground. Several others, black and white, were injured in the mob violence.

These special programs will present a history and timeline of those bloody three days, including archived audio clips from first-person accounts. Listeners will also hear an interview with the oral historian who, some years later, collected interviews from members of the black community who had lived through the riot. Finally, a look at the status of race relations in Springfield today will include conversations with community members who are taking a leadership role in preserving the history of the past.

WUIS-WIPA is a listener-supported public radio service of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Springfield. WUIS' mission is to satisfy a curious, societally engaged audience through programming and community outreach.

For more information or for the program schedule, visit www.wuis.org.

WUIS to air special Jacksonville Symphony programs in August

Public radio WUIS/WIPA will air four programs of "Forty-five Years of Great Music" from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Chorale during August. The programs will be broadcast from 1 to 3 p.m. on four consecutive Fridays beginning August 1; rebroadcasts will be from 10 p.m. to midnight on the following Monday.

Recorded live in historic Rammelkamp Chapel on campus at Illinois College in Jacksonville, the programs will also feature interviews with JSO conductor Garrett Allman. Allman is currently celebrating 27 seasons as the symphony's music director and conductor and is also an associate professor of music at Illinois College, where he conducts the Concert Choir and Brass Ensemble.

The first program, "Operatic Gems," will feature lyric soprano Diane Dietz in an evening of operatic favorites including "Ah! Je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette. The August 8 presentation will showcase accordionist Maria Merkelo and violinist Dorothy Matirano playing works by Dominick Argento and Johannes Brahms. The third program, on August 15, will feature the Illinois College Concert Choir with "Choral Gems." The August 22 program brings the husband-and-wife duo of Erik and Heidi Harris, members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, to perform the Grand Duo Concertante by Giovanni Bottesini.

WUIS-WIPA is a listener-supported public radio service of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Springfield. WUIS' mission is to satisfy a curious, societally engaged audience through programming and community outreach.

For more information or for the program schedule, visit www.wuis.org or contact WUIS Music Director Karl Scroggin at 217/206-6407.