Classical guitarist, Jankovic, to perform April 14-15

WINONA, Minn. — The passion of Latin American music will fill Saint Mary’s University’s Figliulo Recital Hall when the Page Series presents classical guitarist Petar Jankovic April 14 and 15.

Jankovic is an artist who masterfully translates music into emotion. He connects with audiences and they find themselves moved. What is most appealing about Jankovic's style is his genuine, expressive interpretation of any given composition. More than a classical guitar player, he is a person with the gift of communicating honest emotions of the human experience.
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Jankovic will perform six works during his concert by composers such as Isaac Albeniz, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Frederico Moreno-Torrobba, and will conclude the program with three tangos by Astor Piazzolla.

Jankovic expressive performances and a technical mastery found only among the world's top musicians make it easy to understand why Jankovic has received overwhelming international acclaim. Since beginning his professional music career in 1985, he has delighted audiences at recitals and enlightened students in his master classes throughout Europe and the United States. As a performer at major competitions around the globe, his universally evocative sound has won high regard with the world's classical music community, and as a result, Jankovic has garnered numerous prestigious awards.

Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert Saturday, April 14, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 15, cost $12, $9 for senior citizens and $8 for students. Tickets are available online at www.pagetheatre.org or from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays at the Performance Center box office (507) 457-1715.

Women in Mathematics Colloquium March 19 at SMU

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics is hosting a “Women in Mathematics” Colloquium Monday, March 19.
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Dr. Judith Rich O’Fallon, professor emeritus at the Mayo Clinic, will speak about “Biostatistical Careers in Medical Research.” Her presentation will address responsibilities and challenges of biostatisticians engaged in medical research through personal examples. This colloquium is supported by a grant from the Tensor Foundation to encourage women to study mathematics.

The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Salvi Lecture Hall (Room 332), located on the third floor of Saint Mary’s Hall. A reception for Dr. O’Fallon, sponsored by the Saint Teresa Leadership and Service Institute for Women, precedes the talk at 3:45 p.m. in the Common Room, also located on the third floor of Saint Mary’s Hall. The public is welcome to both events. For more information, contact Dr. Kevin Dennis, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, at (507) 452-0416 or kdennis@smumn.edu.

Saint Teresa Institute celebrates Women’s history

Saint Teresa Institute invites community to celebrate Women’s history

WINONA, Minn. — In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Winona community is invited to the Saint Teresa Institute's first annual Women in Leadership and Service Symposium, Wednesday, March 21, at Saint Mary’s University.
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The event, planned for 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Toner Student Center Lounge, will feature three distinguished speakers from 6 to 7:30 p.m., followed by two short breakout sessions for questions and discussion. Presenters will include Lori Severson, entrepreneur and instructor; Nikki Fennern, athletic director for Saint Mary's; and Terri Wintering, J.D., family and civil law practitioner, each speaking on their professional experiences in leadership and service, as well as the importance of empowering one another to achieve balance in mind, body, and spirit.

Everyone is welcome; refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Holly Richard, director of the Saint Teresa Leadership and Service Institute for Women at Saint Mary’s, at (507) 457-6651.

La Crosse and Eau Claire Challenge competition

WINONA, Minn. — On La Crosse’s Fox 25/48 last Sunday, Winona Senior High School defeated La Crescent High School, 160-115 in the first quarterfinal game of High School Challenge, a tournament of knowledge sponsored by and held at Saint Mary's University. With this win, Winona Senior High advances to the semi-finals.

Airing this Sunday, La Crosse Aquinas will take on Eau Claire Regis in the second quarterfinal game of High School Challenge. Tune in at 10 a.m. on Fox 25/48 to see which team will take on Winona Senior High in the semi-finals!

Kirk to give piano concert March 24-25

Photo: Dr. Ned Kirk

WINONA, Minn. — When the Page Series presents Dr. Ned Kirk in concert March 24 and 25, audiences will be treated to a variety of piano music ranging from a little known “jewel” to one of the greatest works ever written for piano.
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Among the program selections are Ottorino Respighi’s “Notturno,” which Kirk called “a wonderful, small jewel of a piece that’s rarely played,” and three movements of Claude Debussy’s “Estampes” that evoke images depicted by their titles: Pagodas, Evenings in Grenada, and Gardens in the Rain.

Also on the program are “Alberto Ginastera’s “Argentinian Dances, Op. 2,” “El Puerto from Iberia, Book 1” by Isaac Albeniz, and Johannes Brahms’ “Variations and Fugue in B-flat major on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24.”

“This is one of Brahms’ largest works and stands as one of the great variation works in the piano repertoire,” he said.

Kirk, a native of Redding, Calif., is an associate professor of piano at Saint Mary’s University. He earned his B.A. in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and his D.M.A. in piano performance from the University of Washington. He has performed throughout the world, been a faculty member and/or musician with Colorado Music Festival and Marrowstone Music Festival, and will be performing this fall in Kenya.

The Page Series will present two concerts by Kirk — 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24, and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25 — both in Figliulo Recital Hall, located in the SMU Performance Center. Tickets cost $12, $9 for senior citizens and $8 for students and are available at the Performance Center box office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Annual SMU benefit dance raises nearly $13,500

Annual SMU benefit dance raises nearly $13,500 for La Crosse family

Approximately 550 people danced to the Johnny Holm Band during this year’s Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance March 3 at Saint Mary’s University.






Money raised at this year’s Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance will help Shelly McMahon of La Crosse, pictured at right with three of her four young children. McMahon’s husband died last spring after battling severe depression. The benefit’s namesake, Taylor Richmond, bottom left, and his mother, Nikki, top right, welcomed the McMahons at the event.



WINONA, Minn. — Approximately 550 people attended Saint Mary’s University’s seventh annual Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance
on March 3.

Proceeds from the dance — and a silent auction held on campus — raised close to $13,500 for this year’s beneficiary, Shelly Kubicek McMahon and her four young children.
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McMahon is a SMU SMU alumna from the La Crosse, Wis., area. Her husband, Sean, also a 1994 alumus of SMU, died last spring after battling severe depression. Shelly is now raising their four young children as a single parent. Both Sean and Shelly were also employees of the university; Sean worked for the De La Salle Language program and Shelly worked in Student Activities.

In addition to raising money to help the McMahon family, planners of the event raised awareness about the disease of depression and how it can be managed through treatment.

This benefit dance has become an annual tradition since it was started by students in 2001 in honor of Taylor Richmond, son of Saint Mary’s Campus Ministry and Student Activities staff member Nikki Richmond. Taylor has a genetic terminal illness called Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) and the money from his benefit was used to fulfill Taylor's dream of going to Disneyworld. Each year this event benefits someone in the SMU community in need.

Donations are still being accepted. To help, send checks — payable to the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance — to Jason Richter, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, 700 Terrace Heights No. 45, Winona, MN 55987.

‘From Faust to Wikipedia’ presentation March 15

WINONA, Minn. — Dr. Mark Barber, professor of philosophy at Saint Mary’s University, will discuss “From Faust to Wikipedia: Intellectual Achievement and Its Discontents” Thursday, March 15, at SMU.

The event — free and open to the public — will begin at 7 p.m. in the President’s Room of the Toner Student Center. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Dr. Carolyn Ayers at (507) 457-1523 or cayers@smumn.edu.

Dr. Barber’s presentation is sponsored by the National English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta.

Noted theologian to speak on torture March 19

WINONA, Minn. — Dr. William Cavanaugh will speak on "Torture, Terror, and Resistance: Theological Reflection on the Political Landscape" Monday, March 19, at Saint Mary’s University.

The event — free and open to the public — will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Salvi Lecture Hall, located in Saint Mary’s Hall.
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Dr. Cavanaugh is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He brings a radical vision, grounded in a deeply traditional understanding of Catholic teaching, to bear on issues such as consumerism, corporate power, the nation-state, war and torture. He has written extensively on these issues, and his clear, insightful approach has been compared to that of the great Catholic activist and writer Dorothy Day.

Among his recent writing on torture is his book, “Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ” (Blackwell Publishing, 2006).

He worked as a Catholic lay missioner in Chile during the Pinochet regime and helped found a Catholic Worker house, Casa Guadalupana, for primarily Spanish-speaking immigrants on St. Paul’s West Side. He is also active in the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), which speaks against torture as a moral issue from a variety of religious perspectives.

The talk is sponsored by a number of departments and offices at Saint Mary’s University including the departments of Theology, History, and Social Science; the Lasallian Core Tradition and the Lasallian Honors programs; the Office of Campus Ministry and the Office for Mission.

The sponsors believe that torture is one of the most important political and moral issues facing our country today; it is their hope that this talk will deepen our understanding and provoke thoughtful discussion. For further information about this event, contact Dr. Susan Windley-Daoust at (507) 457-1995 or swindley@smumn.edu

Renewable Energy program at SMU March 10

WINONA, Minn. — The Midwest Renewable Energy Association, along with a grant from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, has developed a new program called “Renewable Energy 101 for Universities.”
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The “Renewable Energy 101 for Universities” program will be coming to Saint Mary’s University on Saturday, March 10, the eighth stop on its 10-university tour.

The primary goal of this program is to provide a substantive understanding of different renewable energy technologies. The program includes different advocacy strategies that have historically worked across the nation and Canada.

Presenters will include Chamomile Nusz, executive director of Citizens Energy Cooperative of Wisconsin; Benjamin Nusz, solar hot water site assessor; and Chris Talbot, workshop/promotion coordinator of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.

The schedule will be:

10 to 10:45 a.m. — Energy Efficiency
10:45 to 11:40 a.m. — Solar Hot Water
11:40 to 11:50 a.m. — Break
11:50 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. — Photovoltaics
12:45 to 1:35 p.m. — Lunch
1:35 to 2:30 p.m. — Wind Systems
2:30 to 2:40 p.m. — Break
2:40 to 3:35 p.m. — Other Alternatives (biodiesel, biomass, geothermal, hydro, passive solar construction)
3:35 to 4 p.m. — Campus Energy Challenge

This program, co-sponsored by the SMU Department of Philosophy, will be held in Salvi Lecture Hall, located at Saint Mary’s Hall. The event — free and open to the public — does not include lunch. Space is limited. Register by Friday, March 9, with Jake Olzen at (507) 457-7502 or jxolze03@smumn.edu.

For more information about the program, contact the Midwest Renewable Energy Association at (715) 592-6595.