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(WILSON, N.C.) The Lighting of the Luminaries, a long-standing tradition for the Barton College community, will usher in the Christmas season on Tuesday, Nov. 27. The College family invites the surrounding community to join them for this festive celebration.

The celebration will begin with a festive candlelight dinner served in the Hamlin Student Center Dining Hall at 5 p.m. Cost for the meal is $6 for adults and $3 for children and students not on the meal plan.

At 6 p.m. students will light over 1,500 luminaries across 32 acres of the main campus. Students, faculty, staff, friends of the College, and members of the community will gather on center campus for the blessing and lighting of the Christmas tree followed by the Hanging of the Greens and a Christmas Program of Lessons and Carols by the Barton College Choir in Howard Chapel.

For additional information about the Lighting of the Luminaries program, contact Angela Cobos, director of student activities, at 252-399-6372 or email: acobos@barton.edu. For additional information about the choir program, contact Mark Peterson, director of music, at 252-399-6535 or email: mpeterson@barton.edu.

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Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.

(WILSON, N.C.) The Barton College/Wilson Symphony Orchestra will present its Fall Concert on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. in Howard Chapel on the college campus. The orchestra, under the direction of conductor Mark N. Peterson, continues its 2007-2008 season in grand fashion featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Jeremy Thompson for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1.”

Born in Dipper Harbour, New Brunswick, Dr. Thompson earned his doctorate in piano performance from the prestigious McGill University in Montreal where he studied with the renowned pianist Marina Mdivani. Dr. Thompson has a vast and varied repertoire of virtuosic piano music; however, he maintains a strong interest in contemporary Canadian composers. As an orchestral soloist and recitalist, he has played in the Rachmaninoff Hall of Moscow Conservatory, the Great Hall of the Tbilisi Conservatory, the Glinka Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and throughout North America.

Tchaikovsky’s first Piano Concerto has been a favorite standard of the concert repertoire since its triumphant 1874 debut in Boston. The work was originally composed for the Russian virtuoso Nicolai Rubenstein who requested numerous changes from Tchaikovsky, dismissing the piece as "banal, clumsy and incompetently written." Fortunately, the composer ignored these suggestions, and it was given its premier with the celebrated German pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow, an avowed Tchaikovsky fan. This concerto is still remembered as the pieced Van Cliburn played at the height of the Cold War in 1958 to win the first Tchaikovsky competition.

The orchestra will also be performing Beethoven’s dramatic “Egmont Overture” and several of Dvorak’s passionate “Slavonic Dances.”

The Fall Concert will be the second performance of the Barton College/Wilson Symphony Orchestra’s 2007-2008 season, which follows on the heels of an enormously successful “Symphony and Soul” event in early fall with special guest soloist Leonard Rowe. He enthralled the audience with his performances of “I got plenty of nottin’” from “Porgy and Bess” and “Some Enchanted Evening” from “South Pacific.”

During spring semester 2008, the Barton College/Wilson Symphony Orchestra’s will perform its annual Valentine dinner concert on Thursday, Feb. 14, at the “Love the Symphony” Gala with guest pianist Eric Mazonson, and will conclude its season on Sunday, May 4, at the Spring Concert featuring the talent of Robert Burkett, the symphony’s principal oboist.

Following this upcoming concert, the audience is cordially invited to meet the musicians at a reception in the Barton Art Museum hosted by ARAMARK Higher Education. Admission for the fall orchestra performance will be $10 at the door or by season ticket. All students within the community will be admitted free of charge as well as faculty, staff and students of Barton College. For additional information, please contact Lynne Medlin at 252-399-6309 or email: lmedlin@barton.edu.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.

A book signing and reception for Dr. William S. Powell, editor of the Encyclopedia of North Carolina, will be held at Barton College on Thursday, Nov. 15. The event, sponsored by the Friends of Hackney Library, the Friends of the Wilson County Public Library, and the Wilson County Historical Association, will be held in the Willis N. Hackney Library from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. This event is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.

The "Encyclopedia of North Carolina," published by UNC Press (2006) in association with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, features over 2,000 entries on 1,360 pages covering the entire history and culture of North Carolina. The single-volume work is the final installment of a series of three works edited by Powell that includes "The North Carolina Gazetteer" (1968) and the "Dictionary of North Carolina Biography" (six volumes, 1979-96), also published by UNC Press.
"The encyclopedia belongs in every home and every library. It's that important," says William Friday, former president of the University of North Carolina system.

As a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, historian for the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, librarian, writer, and editor, Powell exemplifies a professional commitment that has gained him the respect of countless students and colleagues. "Few individuals—if any—have done as much to promote the understanding of and interest in North Carolina through the written word as has [Powell]," said Robert Anthony, curator of the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill's Wilson Library.

However, the encyclopedia is hardly the work of one man. Instead of soliciting a small board of scholars and experts to write the entries, Powell cast a much wider net, inviting individuals throughout the state to submit entries based on their expertise. The finished contributors list has more than 550 names, ranging from college professors and professional writers to amateur historians passionate about their region’s history and culture. All volunteered to contribute without compensation.

"It's amazing to see how many people have contributed," said Jay Mazzocchi, associate editor of the encyclopedia. "Bill should get all of the credit, because he was the main reason people were attracted to the project and wanted to help. When Bill called on them, they were very willing because of his incredible body of work and his deep love for the history of North Carolina."

Contributors to this "people’s encyclopedia" of North Carolina submitted entries on practically every aspect of the state, including its discovery, exploration, and settlement; the national and ethnic origins of its people; politics and government; military history; the judiciary; religion; education; recreation and sports; business and industry; fine and folk art; customs and manners; agriculture; language and literature; transportation; geology; the natural environment; and legends and folklore. The passion each contributor shared for the encyclopedia led to a work unlike any previously attempted in this or any other state.

The authors of each article are identified, and readers will recognize many celebrated chroniclers of the state’s culture and history. For example, Thomas Parramore writes about "Aviation" and the "Gatling Gun." Bland Simpson covers "Ghosts" and the "Great Dismal Swamp." And Catherine Bishir surveys "Architecture." Bibliographic references follow most of the entries and encourage further research and exploration.

The encyclopedia is a browser's delight. One reader might pick up the encyclopedia hoping to learn more about the Blue Ridge Parkway and additionally discover the impact basketball had on North Carolina’s civil rights movement. Another might be searching for information about the Revolutionary War and be drawn in by the article on the famous Hollerin' Contest in Spivey's Corner.

The authoritative compendium is abundantly illustrated with more than 400 photographs and maps. Illustrations editor Jerry Cotten, who was for many years the photographic services librarian at UNC-Chapel Hill, managed the selection process and included a number of never-before-published images.

For additional information about the upcoming book signing, please contact Cynthia Collins, at 252-399-6503 or email: cecollins@barton.edu.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.

Photos from Homecoming Weekend are available here.

The Barton Art Galleries are proud to present Intimate Strangers, an exhibition of photographs from the collection of Allen G. Thomas, Jr., an art collector and native of Wilson. Intimate Strangers will open on Friday, Nov. 9, with a reception from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. The exhibition will run until Friday, Dec. 7.

When Thomas was first approached by the Barton Art Galleries to exhibit works from his collection, he proposed the idea of an exhibition of portrait photographs. "The title comes from the fact that I'm living with, in some cases, life size strangers all over my walls," says Thomas. Each image in the exhibition offers and intimate look at a real person wearing their life’s history on their face. "When you live with portraits of people you don't know you become very familiar with them," continues Thomas. "I don't sit around making up life stories, but the photographs speak to where these people have been."

The selection of photographs in the exhibition was curated by Gérard Lange, director of exhibitions and assistant professor at Barton College, along with the help of Thomas. Nearly a year passed since the initial discussion of works to be included in the exhibition, but the final selection process came down to Lange, Thomas, and a handful of students from Barton College literally taking the photographs off of Thomas’ walls.

Barton College promotes learning through involvement in activities outside the traditional classroom. "I wanted students to step inside the world of an art connoisseur," said Lange. "They need to understand all aspects related to the business side of art. By taking the students to Mr. Thomas' home to select the work, they were able to become part of the process of arranging an exhibition as well as experience Mr. Thomas' passion for photography firsthand."

Ben Yansom, a sophomore art major at Barton, was impressed with Thomas' knowledge of photography. When the group began to consider a particular work, Thomas would share background information about the artist's career. He also talked about the importance of the particular work in contemporary photography. "He had a personal connection to every photograph there," said Yansom. "It seemed like they somehow related back to his life a bit."

While selecting the photographs, the group would pause frequently and discuss the images. "I'm glad I got a chance to voice my opinion on the work," said Kelli Moss, another Barton sophomore. "I felt really involved and that what I thought mattered."

Images in the exhibition range from what might be considered more traditional portraits to figure studies and conceptual pieces. Two photographs by George Duncan are formal portraits depicting the head and shoulders of young men appearing to be in their early twenties. Each is dressed in a dark t-shirt and positioned in front of a green background, lit from one side only. Their expressions remain blank and emotionless. The prints are slightly larger than life size, which creates an ominous feeling. "Derek (face)," 2003, depicts a young man who is now deceased. This knowledge, combined with the apparent absence of emotion in the image, makes the photograph resemble a death mask, capturing his feature only and not portraying attributes of his personality.

Carrie Levy's untitled portrait of a chemotherapy patient is a particular gem. The woman in the photograph stands in front of a blank white wall, where only a partial glimpse of an electrical socket and a sign give any sense of space. The woman is facing away from the camera, to the right, staring off into the white void. She stands naked in the center of the composition, and her head is shaven with a dark stubble remaining. In her clutched hands, she holds two dark-colored braids of hair, presumably removed recently from her head. The slightly downward angle of her chin reveals a pensive attitude, and her drooping shoulders depict a sadness regarding her condition. One must note though that her hands are clutched, which leads the viewer to believe that the woman has inner strength and fortitude to battle her cancer.

Many photographs in the exhibition were selected as pairs or groups. The thought behind this decision was to give a peek into the artist's thought processes. "Photographs in a series can support one another, reinforcing one's understanding of the individuals depicted," shared Lange. In contrast to the sets of images, a few larger photographs were selected for their individual uniqueness and scale. These photographs are hard to miss in the exhibition because they are greater then four feet tall. "Large scale photography is one of the biggest trends in modern photography," Lange continued. Earlier this year, Thomas loaned many works from his private collection to the North Carolina Museum of Art for an exhibition titled "The Big Picture."

"Intimate Strangers" offers a splendid look into contemporary photography. The depth and breath of the selected works provides a viewing experience unlike anything Wilson has seen.

The Barton Art Galleries, including the Virginia Thompson Graves Gallery and the Lula E. Rackley Gallery, are located in the Case Art Building, at the corner of Gold Street and Whitehead Avenue on the campus of Barton College. The Barton Art Galleries are open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

For additional information about this exhibition or other events at the Barton Art Galleries, please contact Gérard Lange at 252-399-6475 or email: glange@barton.edu.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.

Theatre at Barton's fall production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew opens tonight in Howard Chapel at 8 p.m. The production, which runs through Sunday, has nightly shows Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m. and a matinee at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. respectively. Tickets will be sold at the door –adult admission $8 and student admission $5. (more…)