In June and July, Ives Hall on the Sonoma State campus will resonate with the sounds of young voices in song, while classically trained performers on all instruments pass on their love of music to talented players from beginning to advanced levels. Across the way in Person Theatre, apprentice teen actors will discover the secrets of the stage through comprehensive classes in acting, singing and dancing.
These activities and more are Greenfarm, now in its second year from June 24-July 28 as the arts plus education component of the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University. In addition to housing the Santa Rosa Symphony and SSU's performing arts programs, the Green Music Center will serve as a cultural and artistic hub for the greater North Bay region.
At present, Greenfarm harnesses conservatory-level training opportunities from the studios of symphony, university and Bay Area professional musicians, actors and dancers and provides a space to bring it all together with performances of orchestral, chamber and vocal music and an original theater piece during the summer. Current and future programs will find their home in the Green Music Center upon its completion. Additional program offerings include academic enrichment classes for youth and Orff-Schulwerk training for K-4 teachers.
Performances will take place throughout the five-week program, culminating in a final youth festival weekend, Greenfarmfest, on July 27-28, featuring two days of performances, guest artists and a celebration barbeque for participants and their families.
Tuition costs vary from $75-$600 depending upon the program. A limited number of scholarships are available. For information about individual programs or to receive a brochure, call (707) 664-3312 or visit Greenfarm's website at www/greenfarm.org.
Participating Greenfarm 2002 programs:
Young Artists Chamber Ensembles (YACE) for string, woodwind, brass and piano players ages 7-18. Led by pianists Marilyn Thompson, Peggy Nance and Robin Beloff-Wachsberg, composer-conductor Brian S. Wilson of the SSU Wind Ensemble and coaches from the SSU faculty, San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony and Sonoma/Marin County educators. Meets 1-4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week from June 24-July 28.
Santa Rosa Symphony Music Academy for young musicians ages 5-18, offering string classes for beginning through advanced levels; three levels of string orchestra, three wind ensembles, advanced jazz ensemble and Greenfarm Youth Festival Orchestra. Meets 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday from July 1-28. String groups led by Linda Ghidossi-DeLuca (Advanced), Jeanette Isenberg (Beginning and Intermediate) and Karen Zimmerman (Beginning and Intermediate and Bass Class) of the Santa Rosa Symphony. Wind groups led by Rincon Valley Middle School teacher Spiro Xydas (Beginning and Intermediate Wind Ensemble), Santa Rosa Junior College professor Meryl Wamhoff (Advanced Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble) and Sonoma State University professor Brian Wilson (Advanced Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble). Guest conductors of Greenfarm Youth Orchestra include Peter Jaffe, Michael Neumann and David Ramadanoff.
Greenfarm Children's Chorus for young singers ages 8-15, offering beginning voice and musicianship training centered around classical choral repertoire for children. Led by Carol Menke of Santa Rosa Junior College and director of the Santa Rosa Children's Chorus. Meets 1:30-3:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday from July 2-28.
Summer Arts for Youth (SAY) for teens ages 14-17 who love theatre. Training in acting, dancing and singing grows out of the creation of an original work for performance at Greenfarmfest. Led by SSU professor Nancy Lyons, with SSU professor Tori Truss and actor/playwright Charles Queary. A limited number of full scholarships are available to Santa Rosa students through the DeMeo Fund, with other need-based assistance available from the Evert B. Person Endowment. Classes meet from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday from July 8-28.
School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education (SPACE) of Ukiah offers a unique program of dance, drama, singing and cultural education, serving Northern California youth ages 3-18 at Mendocino College in Ukiah. Meets 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday from July 1-28 and performs at SSU during Greenfarmfest.
EXCEL 2002 for gifted and exceptionally motivated children grades 4-10. Three sessions of accelerated cultural enrichment classes with guest speakers and field trips, meeting from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Coordinated by Greer Upton of SSU's School of Extended Education. Session I: June 24-28. Session II: July 8-19. Session III: July 22-26.
Music and Movement for Teachers, an in-depth introduction to Orff-Schulwerk, a creative, improvisatory approach to teaching children music. Applications include model lessons integrating music and movement in science, math, language and social studies curricula. Led by Orff specialist Janet Greene of Sebastopol. Meets July 8-12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
JDS Uniphase has announced its donation of nearly $1 million of analyticalequipment in support of Sonoma State University's new master's degreeprogram in Computer and Engineering Science.
The equipment will be used in a new photonics laboratory which will beready for use this summer in the university's Salazar Hall. The lab is partof the new Cerent Engineering Science Complex which will include seven otheradvanced high tech laboratories in addition to the photonics lab.
Dr. Saeid Rahimi, Dean of the School of Science and Technology, says"We expect to have about 50 graduate students in the program by next Fall. The relatively large number of masters students is a clear indication of the need for such a program in the North Bay region."
The equipment will permit students to characterize a broad variety of optical components that are typically used in fiber optics
telecommunications systems. Components can be measured for such properties as spectral characteristics, inband transmission, out of band rejection, polarization loss characteristics and dispersion.
Fiber optics systems allow communication of voice and data information using pulses of light guided on hair-thin glass fibers. Many channels of information, each at a slightly different wavelength and each carrying a very large stream of information, can be carried simultaneously over long distances on a single optical fiber. The extremely large information capacity of fiber optics systems will enable the continued growth of a wide variety of broadband applications in business and in the home.
Most of the equipment is near state-of-the-art design and includes some unique systems developed and manufactured by various divisions within the JDSU organization. This will enable students to learn various characterization methods using the latest equipment available in the industry. This will allow students to quickly transition into engineering positions within the telecommunications industry.
"As one of Sonoma County's major high technology companies for over 45 years, we are pleased to be able to provide support to SSU's Computer & Engineering Science program," said Joe Zils, President of JDSU's Thin Film Products Group. "This program will be a great benefit to the students and the many high tech companies located in the greater Sonoma County area."
Dr. Fred Van Milligen, VP & Chief Technology Officer of the Thin Film Products Group, noted that OCLI currently employs many Sonoma State graduates. "We are especially pleased that the new MS program will enable our employees to further their technical education at the graduate level without having to commute to the Bay Area. We look forward to working with SSU as their programs continue to develop."
Internationally-acclaimed journalist Greg Palast will be speaking on the Sonoma State University campus on Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m. in Warren Auditorium on the Rohnert Park campus. General admission is $5.
An award-winning reporter for BBC Television's Newsnight and London's top newspapers, Greg Palast's extraordinary reports have been front page news in Europe, yet blocked out of America's main stream media.
Palast will discuss, among other topics, his new book, "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth about Globalization, Corporate Cons and High Finance Fraudsters."
The Guerrilla News Network, naming Palast "Reporter of the Year," wrote: "His stories about Bush's election theft, intelligence agency cover-ups, and globalization - backed up with smoking gun documents, inside sources and on-record interviews - will shock even the most informed readers."
Palast won Britain's highest journalism honors for his 1998 undercover investigation of influence peddling within Tony Blair's cabinet by Enron and other US corporations. He then turned his sleuthing skills on to the Bush money trail and uncovered for the BBC and The London Observer the uncomfortable truths of how the Bush Administration quashed investigations of Saudi financing of terror.
Before taking up the pen for the The Observer and Guardian newspapers, Los Angeles-born Palast traveled the globe as expert investigator of corporate fraud and racketeering. For the Chugach Natives of Alaska, he unearthed the doctored safety records that proved the Exxon Valdez disaster was an inevitability, not an accident.
In 1988, Palast directed the government's investigation of a US nuclear plant builder in which the jury awarded the largest racketeering penalty in US history.
The lecture is sponsored by Project Censored, the media project at Sonoma State University. For further information, phone (707) 664-2500.
Internationally-acclaimed journalist Greg Palast will be speaking on the Sonoma State University campus on Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m. in Warren Auditorium on the Rohnert Park campus. General admission is $5.
An award-winning reporter for BBC Television's Newsnight and London's top newspapers, Greg Palast's extraordinary reports have been front page news in Europe, yet blocked out of America's main stream media.
Palast will discuss, among other topics, his new book, "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth about Globalization, Corporate Cons and High Finance Fraudsters."
The Guerrilla News Network, naming Palast "Reporter of the Year," wrote: "His stories about Bush's election theft, intelligence agency cover-ups, and globalization - backed up with smoking gun documents, inside sources and on-record interviews - will shock even the most informed readers."
Palast won Britain's highest journalism honors for his 1998 undercover investigation of influence peddling within Tony Blair's cabinet by Enron and other US corporations. He then turned his sleuthing skills on to the Bush money trail and uncovered for the BBC and The London Observer the uncomfortable truths of how the Bush Administration quashed investigations of Saudi financing of terror.
Before taking up the pen for the The Observer and Guardian newspapers, Los Angeles-born Palast traveled the globe as expert investigator of corporate fraud and racketeering. For the Chugach Natives of Alaska, he unearthed the doctored safety records that proved the Exxon Valdez disaster was an inevitability, not an accident.
In 1988, Palast directed the government's investigation of a US nuclear plant builder in which the jury awarded the largest racketeering penalty in US history.
The lecture is sponsored by Project Censored, the media project at Sonoma State University. For further information, phone (707) 664-2500.
For the first time in its twelve-year history, the International Conference on Virginia Woolf will be held on the west coast of the United States. The event is coming to Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park from June 6-9.
A variety of activities are planned to celebrate the work of this English modernist author. In addition to panel discussions, readings, and paper presentations, there will be two art shows presented in homage to Woolf.
One, curated by Elisa Baker of the Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County, features a dual hanging of the work of contemporary artists in homage to Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury group with an array of collectors? pieces from the Bloomsbury group themselves.
This show will hang in the University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University from June 6-28, with an opening reception planned to kick off the first evening of the conference, June 6, from 6-8 p.m.
The second exhibit is travelling from the East Coast, where it was recently shown in the Boston Public Library. Curated by Krystyna Colburn, "Contexts, Books and Ephemera" will display first editions, manuscripts, magazine articles, and cover art from Woolf and the Bloomsbury group.
It will be on display in the University Library Art Gallery at the Schulz Information Center from June 6-August 2, with a reception on Friday, June 7, 6-8 p.m. Both art shows and their receptions are free and open to the public.
Evening entertainment will present an assortment of responses to the work of Virginia Woolf. On Thursday, June 6, beloved Sonoma County singer/musician Sarah Baker will present the world premiere of Inneracts: a musical essay in tribute to Virginia Woolf . This will be a multimedia event featuring original music composed by Sarah Baker.
On Friday, June 7, New York actor Tod Randolph will perform a dramatic reading of Woolf?s famous essay, A Room of One?s Own. Saturday night will see the premiere of a dance performance based on the short story "A Haunted House" along with other Woolf tributes performed by the Bay Area?s Stephen Pelton Dance Theater. Evening events will be in Person?s Theater, Sonoma State University. Tickets are $10 each, available at the door.
Press Democrat columnist Susan Swartz has already issued the call for a spring reading assignment: read one piece by Virginia Woolf before June. Then come and join over 300 readers, scholars and Woolf fans from around the world who will inhabit the campus of Sonoma State during the first week in June.
For more information, call conference headquarters at (707) 664-2882 or visit the web page at www.woolfconference.com
The North Bay Central Labor Council will sponsor the Fifth Annual Labor and Social Action Summer School June 21-22 at Sonoma State University.
Bill Fletcher who is currently the Executive Director of TransAfrica Forum in Washington, D.C. and was former assistant to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney will be part of a panel discussion kicking off the Labor and Social Action School on Friday evening June 21. The discussion topic will be " The New Corporate Tyranny and the Challenge to Progressive Politics." Joining Bill will be Medea Benjamin, Founding Director of Global Exchange, and internationally recognized leader and organizer for economic justice and human rights.
Stephanie Luce, Assistant Professor at the Labor Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will also be a panelist. Stephanie has been involved in the living wage movement for the past six years and is the co-author of " The Living Wage: Building a Fair Economy."
A plenary session "Successful Organizing Models for Social Change" will open the School on Saturday, June 22 followed by fifteen workshops. Workshop topics will include Common Sense Economics, Labor Organizing in a Changing World, How to Build Progressive Coalitions, Working With the Media, Living and Minimum Wage Campaigns, Organizing Low Wage Workers, Campaign 2002:Local Electoral Coalitions, Sexual Orientation and Organizing, and Immigration Rights.
Peter Olney former Organizing Director for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and currently the Associate Director for the Institute For Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley, will be among the thirty-five presenters from the Bay Area as well as around the nation and Sonoma County.
The cost for the entire conference including lunch, appetizers, and the keynote is $55 with limited scholarships available. Cost for only Friday's keynote panel and discussion is $5-$10 sliding scale-no one will be turned away. Spanish translation for the keynote and selected workshops will be provided.
College credit is available from Office of Extended Education, Sonoma State University at (707) 664-2394 or check the web at www.sonoma.edu/exed. For further information call (707) 545-7349 ext. 219 or e-mail Tulaabu@aol.com. A schedule of workshops can be found at http://northbayclc.home.mindspring.com.
Each year graduating Sonoma State University students with Latino, Hispanic, or Chicano heritage gather for a Latino graduation celebration.
This year's 25th La Raza annual ceremony is Friday, May 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Evert B. Person Theatre. Danza Azteca will provide Aztec dancing from 5-5:30 p.m.
Many of the 25 graduates attending are first generation college graduates and this special celebration allows them to personally thank their advisors, professors, family and friends, says one of the organizers, Juana Reynoza.
The ceremony includes a keynote and student speakers. Graduating students will have the opportunity to address the audience and thank those who have helped them through college.
The ceremony traditionally draws a few hundred people and is open to the general public.
La Raza Graduation is meant to be a more personal event unlike the traditional commencement, says Reynoza, and it is targeted at the Spanish-speaking community. "We are all here because someone early on in our life told us we need to study and go to college to get a good job and be successful," she says.
"There are graduates such as myself that are first generation college students and at this celebration we are allowed to thank all and any (in English or Spanish) that helped us throughout our education," she says. "I am one of those graduates that could not have done this alone. I was given this opportunity by my parents who came to this country for a better chance at life."
The organizing committee include Reynoza, Karla Marroquin and Blanca Flores and with the assistance of Aida Diaz. "Advisor Richard Rodriquez (Director of Psychological and Counseling Services at Sonoma State University) has been a great help to us and a strong supporter, " Reynoza adds.
The Sonoma State University French Program and the Alliance Francaise de Santa Rosa report that Rachel Newman, a Sonoma State University senior French major, has been named a laureate in the Concours National de l'Alliance Francaise.
Newman was one of five students nationwide in her category to receive the honor from this international French organization. She was chosen for her essay on the advantages and pitfalls of living as an ex-patriate in France. Her essay was inspired by a year spent as an assistant in a French high school and by her plans to begin an internship as a translatory and interpreter in Paris in January.
Newman is from Mariposa, California.
Summary of ceremony-----------------------------------------
* Ceremony: Saturday, May 25 - 10 a.m. for Schools of Science and Technology and Social Sciences and 3 p.m. for Schools of Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, and Education. Some 1,938 students are eligible to graduate and 1,400 expected to attend the ceremonies. Approximately 15,000 graduates, family and friends expected at the event on Commencement Lawn.
* Oldest graduate: Suzanne Capella, Petaluma, 68, B.A, Music
* Youngest graduate: Suzann Pershing, Santa Rosa, 14, Summa Cum Laude, B.S.
in Chemistry
* Keynote speaker: Pete Golis, Editorial Director, The Press Democrat,
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ROHNERT PARK ? Sonoma State University holds its 41st annual commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 25 in an event expected to draw 15,000 graduates and their guests to the Rohnert Park campus.
The youngest graduate is 14-year-old Suzann Pershing of Santa Rosa who graduates summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.
Pershing has been attending SSU since she was ten years old and excelled not only in the sciences but also English, political science and macroeconomics. Her genuine interest in any class she attends has had a positive impact on her classmates, say her professors. The teen has applied to medical school with thoughts of becoming a physician or medical researcher. She has been a volunteer at the American Red Cross and at the SSU Tutorial Center.
The oldest graduate is Suzanne Capella, 68, of Petaluma who earned a B.A in Music. Cappella went to college for a bachelor's degree following her passion for music after retiring from the Department of Motor Vehicles. A violinist who performs with community orchestras, she has high praise for the music faculty and is thrilled the department is developing in the direction it is involving the Green Music Center and Festival.
Cappella said it was a wonderful privilege to work with some of the faculty. "They told me to just keep plugging away at my degree and pretty soon I would have it." They were right, she laughs.
Of the 1,938 students eligible to graduate, some 1,400 are expected to take part in Commencement 2002 on the lawn behind the Student Union and Commons buildings. The average age of all eligible graduates for 2002 Commencement is 29 years. Of the graduating class, 67% are female and 33% are male
The ceremonies are scheduled at 10 a.m. for graduates of the Schools of Science and Technology and the School of Social Sciences. and at 3 p.m. for graduates of the Schools of Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, and Education.
Keynote speaker is Pete Golis, editorial director for The Press Democrat. whose speech is entitled "Life and Other Unscheduled Events." Golis is a graduate of SSU and in 1990 was named a Distinguished Alumni.
During his time as chairman of the editorial board, the newspaper has championed increased public support for education, affordable housing, open space protection, health care reform and public awareness of Sonoma County's growing ethnic diversity.
Student speakers at the commencement include Jennifer Colley who graduates magna cum laude with degrees in history (with distinction) and Spanish and Amanda Hilty. who has earned a bachelor?s degree with distinction in Liberal Studies from the Hutchins School.
Excellence in Teaching Awards will go to Jean Bee Chan, a professor of mathematics and LeiLani Nishime, an assistant professor of American Multicultural Studies.
Staff Excellence Awards will go to John Champie, a member of the Facilities Services team, and Sue Foley, an administrative analyst and specialist for the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies.
Reservations and tickets are not needed to attend Commencement 2002 and the public is invited to attend. Parking is free in designated areas. For more information, contact Anne Handley, Commencement Coordinator, (707) 664-2018 or e-mail anne.handley@sonoma.edu.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Judge Joseph Rattigan of Santa Rosa, one of the founding fathers of Sonoma State University who helped expedite legislation that created the university in the 1960s, will hand over his granddaughter Molly's diploma to her during the morning ceremony.
The Fifteenth Jack London Awards ceremony at Sonoma State University this week handed the annual trophy to Lisa Fogg and Keith Bergman, teachers in the Washington Elementary School Physical Education Program in Cloverdale.
The program was recognized for its educational excellence not only in teaching sports, fitness, and games, but its emphasis on teamwork and cooperation among students in grades in 4-6. The physical challenges of the program are part of the California curriculum framework and standards. The delivery, however, is very special.
Students in the "Muscle-Purpose Room" learn about a new bone and muscle every week. Students, teachers and staff wear pedometers to track physical activity levels. "Washington School Walks Around the World" is a school-wide, interdisciplinary project in which everyone's cumulative distance is logged.
The school moves that distance on a world map on a virtual journey circumnavigating the globe. Studies of these countries, ocean exploration, and geography are a part of this virtual journey.
Parents are involved too, with Family Fitness nights, that bring together over 150 students and parents.
Lisa Fogg, the program coordinator, said that "all students can have a fulfilling age-appropriate physical education experience that can be carried on for a lifetime." Douglas Earl, one of the Jack London judges who visited Washington School to observe the program, is a professor of kinesiology at Sonoma State. He gave the program high praise: "I am trying to have all of our kinesiology majors who are interested in teaching go to Cloverdale and observe this exceptional physical education program."
Past Jack London award winners have included Walter Gloshinski, coordinator of a special education program at Santa Rosa Middle School; Kathy Huffstutter for the Dolphin Kings Chess Club at Stevens Elementary school; Jan Sofie of the Art Quest program at Santa Rosa High School; and Ginger Dale for the student exchange program at CaliCalmecac School in Windsor.
Phyllis Fernlund, Dean of the School of Education at Sonoma State, said "the Jack London Awards are an opportunity to honor all of the dedicated, passionate educators who have created innovative program that are having a positive impact on students."
Dean Fernlund identified the Jack London awards criteria for selection including programs with novel and creative approaches, measurable student outcomes, excellent communication with parents, and adaptability to other schools."
Other nominees honored at the ceremony include Maria Carrillo High School (Santa Rosa) senior poetry project, Mariposa Magnet School (Sebastopol) literacy program, Petaluma High School multicultural literature program, and Washington School (Cloverdale) reading program.
Join the Sonoma State University campus community on Tuesday, May 14 in forming a 50 foot, human number "40" on the Commencement Lawn in honor of SSU's 40th Anniversary. Aerial and ground photos will be taken which will be available in postcard form during Final's Week.
This festive event begins at noon and features music, goodies, and the promise of a good time for everyone. For more information, call (707) 664-2804 or e-mail mo.phillips@sonoma.edu.
Pyschology professor Gerryann Olson doesn't normally think of a glue gun as a major tool.
But she brings it and fabric and hair and trinkets to students who
become immersed in her popular doll-making workshops, as high school students at Santa Rosa High School will do this week and next.
Olson starts today with a slide show of the role of figurative art throughout history, including the psychological role of dolls in different cultures. Then she will bring 27 inch doll "blanks" for the students to work with as part of the culmination of the high school Art Quest "A Child of Our Time" program which has been been running all school year.
The students will use the dolls as part of an expressive arts program that will encourage them to explore their gifts, strengths and fears in a time of economic and cultural unrest, Olson says.
An associate psychology professor at Sonoma State University, Olson will have visited 15 classrooms and 300 children this year with her expressive arts program by the time she is through. One school made doll heroes, a Jewish school turned out dolls of the Prophets. Others created dolls of the Westward Expansion. Some took on fantasy characters
The doll making is combined with writing assignments and research, expanding their social science and language skills. The project also explores how the arts can enhance learning and build self-esteem.
Olson started out making dolls as a teenager with motivational sayings like "I Can Do This." sewn on them. This was at the suggestion of her mother, a lecturer for a national diet business. She has been involved in the doll- making process for over thirty years and sees it as a tool for healing, creativity, self-exploration and learning.
Olson is an award-winning doll artist and known as an innovative educator who supports using the visual and performing arts as a part of learning. She has designed a service learning course that allows students to bring art experiences to the K-12 classroom at the request of area teachers.
Olson goes into the classroom at SRHS on May 2 and 3 to begin the project and she will visit the program several times the following week as students continue to work on the dolls.
On May 10, they will work on journal writing, poetry and reflection on the process as the dolls are completed.
