Follow the Tasman String Quartet!

Already into their second week of residency, the Tasman String Quartet has kept busy with visits to Birmingham, Scottsboro, and Pisgah, Alabama. Want to follow them on their mission to bring music to students around the state? Visit http://tasman.tumblr.com/ for photos and videos, as well as a calendar of their outreach activities.

Brought to Auburn under the auspices of the Breeden Eminent Scholar, held by Dr. Howard Goldstein of the College of Liberal Art's Music Department, the group will offer unique opportunities in string education and performance for students and faculty as well as the general public. The residency is coordinated by Goldstein, the Auburn University Music Department and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities.

Questions about the quartet, the Breeden Scholar, or the center's outreach activities? Email us at cenarts@auburn.edu.

Tasman String Quartet Residency

Beginning February 15, the Auburn University College of Liberal Art's Department of Music will host the Tasman String Quartet in a month-long residency. The group will serve as guest faculty at Auburn, perform in concert and travel the state giving lessons and workshops.

Founded in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2006, the Tasman String Quartet includes violinists Anna van der Zee and Jennifer Banks, violist Christiaan van der Zee and cellist Miranda Wilson. The Quartet was mentored by the New Zealand String Quartet and quickly gained acclaim and was invited to perform in many cities. They were also invited to perform for Chamber Music New Zealand and Radio New Zealand.

While in residence at Auburn, the Tasman Quartet will be involved in several special events. A concert on Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Department's Goodwin Hall will kick off the residency. The concert is free and open to everyone; a reception follows the show.

Online Introduction to Civic Reflection

On Friday, February 20 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities will host an online introduction to Valpraiso University's Project on Civic Reflection with project director Dr. Elizabeth Lynn.  The meeting will take place via conference call and online at connect.auburn.edu/cah and is free and open to anyone interested.

For over ten years, the Project on Civic Reflection has helped civic groups build capacity, commitment and community through discussion of short readings from a variety of genres-classic and modern-as a means of reflecting on basic questions at the heart of their giving, service and leadership. For more information on the project, visit civicreflection.org.  For more information and conference call instructions, please email mwilson@auburn.edu or call Mark Wilson at 334-844-4948 by February 18.

Join us for "The Business of Southern Energy"

We invite you to join us on Thursday, February 12, 2009, from noon to 2:00 p.m., for a Southern Growth Policies Board forum on "The Business of Southern Energy: Making Choices for Your Community." The forum will take place in the boardroom of the Alabama State Council on the Arts in Montgomery and will be moderated by Jennifer Jones and Christopher McCauley, graduate students in the department of political science at Auburn University.

Formed by the region's governors in 1971, Southern Growth Policies Board is a non-partisan public policy think tank based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and provides a network for collaboration among a diverse cross-section of the region's governors, legislators, business and academic leaders, and the economic and community development sectors. This annual forum, sponsored by the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and DesignAlabama, is one of several forums to be convened around the state by SGPB partners this spring.

To RSVP and receive a copy of the discussion guide and directions to the Alabama State Council on the Arts offices, please email mwilson@auburn.edu or call 844-4946 by Tuesday, February 10.

Cultural Crossroads

Join us for the eighth annual Cultural Crossroads, an Alabama history symposium, which will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on January 31, 2009 at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.

Auburn professors Angela Lakwete and Patience Essah of History and Gary Mullen of Entomology will join Auburn University Montgomery English professor Nancy Anderson; author Jeffrey Benton and Alabama Historical Commission architectural historian Robert Gamble; and Dr. Betsy Sheldon and Paula Weiss.  Entitled "Settling In," the program will focus on the settlement and early development period of Alabama, 1820s-1840s.

Cultural Crossroads is sponsored by Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University. Major funding is provided by the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Registration:  Members of Landmarks Foundation and the Montgomery Museum, $30; the general public, $35; and students and faculty members, $20. Registration fee includes refreshments and lunch.  For information and further details, please contact the Landmarks Foundation at 334-240-4518, 334-240-4500 or 1-888-240-1850 or the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts at 334-240-4333.

A registration form may be found here. (PDF)

View the Nordan Symposium Online - Live!

If you are not able to attend Lewis Nordan and the Heartbreaking Laughter of Transcendence and Hope: A Symposium in person -- you can attend virtually!

On January 23rd, visit www.connect.auburn.edu/cah to access live video of the symposium. Viewers will be able to chat with other participants and ask questions. If you are having trouble connecting, visit www.auburn.edu/img/connect for troubleshooting tips.

Would you like to see more events like this broadcast live? Or videos and podcasts available on our website? We would love to hear your comments and suggestions. Email us at cenarts@auburn.edu.

Winter 2009 Newsletter

The Winter 2009 Newsletter (PDF) is available on our website.

In this issue, you will find information about:

• Lewis Nordan and the Heartbreaking Laughter of Transcendence and Hope: A Symposium


• New Perspectives: Views from Alabama's Historically Black Colleges and Universities


• 2009 Draughon Seminars in State and Local History


• Daniel F. Breeden Eminent Scholar for the Humanities


• The Creek War and War of 1812 in the South: A Symposium


• and more!

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