University of Alabama Opera Guild hosting fundraising gala Friday
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
The University of Alabama Opera Guild is not the type of organization to sit around, bake brownies and sell things; it’s here to promote opera. It’s a business. And for a new group, it seems to be doing well, recently adding its 22nd member, and kicking off the 2014-15 season with tonight’s fundraiser “Music & Food From Around The World: A Gustatory Gala.” “The time was right,” said Paul Houghtaling, director of UA Opera Theatre, on why the guild was only recently established. Newly retired from UA’s School of Library and Information Studies, which she formerly directed, Elizabeth Aversa was seeking something she could not put her finger on. She recalled going to Houghtaling and telling him she needed something to do. He put her to work. What started off as a mailing list grew to something more official, joining Opera Volunteers International as a nonprofit entity, and getting a tax ID number. The group is applying for 501C-3, tax-exempt status, a time-consuming process. Such formalities help with funding, Aversa said, because sponsors were reluctant to offer money to an unaligned group.
Deep discounts offered at University of Alabama Press’ fall book sale
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 22
The University of Alabama Press’ fall book sale will be this weekend on the second floor of the McMillan Buildling, 200 Hackberry Lane. The sale offers hundreds of new and old books at deep discounts as low as 50 percent and 75 percent off. Some books are as little as $3. The sale includes books by authors of local and national note about the history of UA, UA football, Alabama and Southern history, civil rights, fiction and literature, archaeology, communications and more. Cash, debit/credit cards and checks are welcome. Free coffee will also be provided.
Buy for Rise Set Up (gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
Keren McElvy, left, Melissa Williams and Gianna Gutherie set up for the 11th annual Buy for Rise at the Rise School on Johnny Stallings Drive in Tuscaloosa Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014. A pre-sale with items marked 75 percent off and silent auction will be from 5-8 PM Friday with tickets available for $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Saturday the sale continues, with items up to 90 percent off, from 8-11 AM and admission is free. Proceeds benefit the Rise School.
George Hutcheson Denny and the University of Alabama
Gulf Coast News Today – Sept. 25
Whether you bleed crimson or favor the “loveliest village on the plains,” you most likely know the location of Denny Chimes and you certainly know all about Bryant-Denny Stadium. But do you know the background of the namesake for both iconic structures? Both are named in honor of George Hutcheson Denny whose list of remarkable achievements at the University of Alabama is, for most, an enigma. With that stated, it is time we delve into his monumental contributions to the University of Alabama. Upon his death in 1955, Denny had, though not in office at the time, served longer than any other University of Alabama president; and the list of achievements during his tenure were phenomenal. Denny was a native Virginian born in December 1870 to George and Charlotte Denny. His future was firmly centered in the educational field when he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College and then doctorate from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in 1896. Denny moved into teaching almost immediately, first at Hampden-Sydney and then at Washington and Lee University located in Lexington, Virginia. He also served as the president of Washington and Lee University prior to accepting the same position at the University of Alabama in 1912.
Want Tide football season tickets? 32,000 on the waiting list, says long-time assistant AD
Al.com – Sept. 25
Through nine head coaches, eight athletic directors and five presidents, Assistant Athletics Director Tommy Ford has witnessed the growth of the University of Alabama sports program in a way few others have. And, he said, he’s seen first-hand how passion for sports in Tuscaloosa is at an “all-time high.” Ford spoke Thursday afternoon at a meeting of the Homewood Rotary Club, sharing experiences from his years at the Capstone beginning in 1982. Ford, who is also the author of such books as The University of Alabama All-Access Football Vault and A Season to Remember: Faith in the Midst of the Storm (with Carson Tinker), said that there are currently 32,000 names on the Tide Pride waiting list for season tickets and only half of one percent of ticket holders drop off the list annually. “It’s amazing to see the demand,” Ford said.
“Dining Room” by Alabama’s theater department features a small cast, but dozens of parts
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
Like his better-known “Love Letters,” A.R. Gurney wrote the “The Dining Room” as a series of episodes. Unlike “Love Letters,” an epistolary tale told by a pair of longtime friends, “The Dining Room” rolls with nearly 60, rather than two, characters. Part of the complexity is that those different figures, ranging in ages, settings and eras, are played by just six actors. That challenge intrigued Steve Burch, the associate professor of theater history and playwriting at the University of Alabama, who’s directing the production opening in the Allen Bales Theatre on Monday. “This is an actor’s play,” said Burch, who is co-artistic director of the Rude Mechanicals, a summer Shakespeare company. He has directed numerous scenes and shows in the area since 2002, though this is his first on the UA Department of Theatre and Dance season. “It’s a portrait, a series of studies.”
MEET THE BAND: Chandler Sawyers
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
This week, we’re talking with pianist and musical-therapy major Chandler Sawyers. Q: What is your name and what do you do? A: My name is Chandler Sawyers. I play piano and I am a music therapy major at the University of Alabama. I have been here for three years, and I am on track to graduate in May of 2016. I came to school here because my family has been Alabama fans all their life and I knew I could exceed in what I wanted to do on this campus. UA is the only school in Alabama that offers music therapy, so it just seemed to fit. Q: Are you part of any bands here in the area? A: Yes. I play and I am a part of the Calvary worship team at Calvary Baptist Church. I love being a part of a team that has the same views and ideas I have. I play piano twice a week for them during the Sunday morning services. It really is assuring that I get to do something I love in playing the piano to a crowd that is there to learn and grow.
LOCAL Q&A: Paul Houghtaling, Opera director at the University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
This week, we spoke to Paul Houghtaling, the associate professor of voice and director of opera theater at the University of Alabama. Born and raised in New York, he now calls Tuscaloosa home. After a long career in opera, Houghtaling teaches and coaches students at the university. Q: Where are you from? What brought you to the Druid City? A: My hometown is Troy, N.Y., but I moved here seven years ago after living in Manhattan for almost 20 years. I came to Tuscaloosa for my job as director of opera at UA. Q: What is keeping you here? A: Two things: My students and the community. I’m lucky to have hard-working students who are committed to being the best young artists they can be and for the fantastic support of both the university administration and the community, especially the Opera Guild.