Each year, the Student Activities Office strives to assemble a stimulating lecture series for our College community. Comprised of prominent speakers, renowned artists and other dynamic guests, the Lyceum programs are well worth your time.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
“Was Malcolm Right…the argument for Black Nationalism in 21st Century America”
Dr. Weldon McWilliams
12:30 p.m., James and Betty Hall Theatre
"In light of the death of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, the question arises...What does this say about how America feels toward the Black communities and Black men. After no indictments in both cases, the larger amount of Black men who are connected to the Criminal Justice system wonder if the American Dream has escaped the grasps of the Black Man and the Community. Has integration been good for the Black Community? Would it be more beneficial if the Black Community began to look at itself and operate under their own value system? Malcolm X warned against the potential drawbacks of full integration. Have those drawbacks exposed themselves?”
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Rhythm and Identity
Master Percussionist Neil Clarke
12:30 p.m., James and Betty Hall Theatre
Baba Neil Clarke is an internationally noted percussionist, who has been a student of his craft for more than fifty years. He studied through long term apprenticeships with Chief James Hawthorne Bey among others, and an immersion in the rich cultural environments which surround his craft.
The majority of Clarke’s professional life has consisted of exploring the source, structure and foundations of the rhythmic dimensions of African culture in the Diaspora and maintain their presence in contemporary music contexts, most recently using his artistry in the jazz idiom for NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston. His work with Harry Belafonte (1979-1994) allowed Baba Neil’s music to have a social and political impact.
In addition to a professional performer, Mr. Clarke has been an educator and a consultant for four decades. Clarke has been engaged as both a presenter and moderator on subjects related to the exploration of the history and historical presence of the African drum in America. Clarke’s artist residences have included Harvard, NYU, and Duke to name a few.
Currently, as an Adjunct professor in the Music Department and CCNY since 2004, Mr. Clarke conducts a popular course of his sown design on Traditional African Percussion Ensemble performance and theory.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Matt Finley and Rio Jazz
28th Annual Evening of Brazilian Jazz
7:30 p.m., Drumlin Hall
You are cordially invited to the 28th anniversary of Matt Finley and the Rio JAZZ performing at Dutchess Community College. Join us for one of our favorite nights of the year and listen to bossa nova, sambas and original compositions by the band members. It is a great night of Brazilian jazz not to be missed. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month.
Multi-instrumentalist Matt Finley has played professionally for 50 years and has performed and recorded with many of the finest jazz musicians in the world. He studied composition with Edgar Curtis, Director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. A CD of Matt’s compositions, “Brazilian Wish” has garnered international recognition, and two of his compositions were finalists at the Los Angeles Music Awards. Matt is a retired professor of computer information systems and former Dean of Academic Affairs at Dutchess Community College
Thursday, April 9, 2105
Daphne Uviller
“Lying and Stealing on the Job…Otherwise Known As Writing Fiction: A Conversation About the Business on Both Coasts”
12:30 p.m., Bowne 122
Daphne Uviller is the author of the novels Hotel No Tell and Super in the City, which were optioned for television by Paramount Pictures, and is the co-editor of the anthology Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo. She is a former Books and Poetry editor at Time Out New York, and her reviews, profiles and articles have been published in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsday, The Forward, New York Magazine, Oxygen, Allure, and Self, for which she wrote an ethics column
Ms. Uviller will be giving a mini talk about writing fiction for book and screen, followed by a reading from her first novel in her three part series, Super in the City, and then there will be a discussion and Q & A Session.
