High School Challenge season continues Saturday

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota High School Challenge continues with Round 1C 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 20, in the World Room, located in the SMU Hendrickson Center. The 2010-11 season marks the 40th year of the longest running, locally produced television program showcasing Eastern Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, and Northeast Iowa high school students in an educational forum.

High School Challenge is a contest in which high schools compete to correctly answer questions dealing with high school subjects, general information and current events. Thirty-two teams compete in winner and consolation bracket tournaments at Saint Mary’s. The final eight games of the tournament are taped at SMU and are televised on Fox 25 La Crosse and Fox 48 Eau Claire.

High school students receive scholarships to Saint Mary’s for participating in High School Challenge. Schools that win their first game receive $2,000 scholarships to SMU. Schools that lose their first game receive $1,000 scholarships to SMU. These scholarships are for any member of the senior class with a B or above average.

The following schools will participate: West Salem, Winona Senior High, Onalaska, Holmen, DeSoto, Blair-Taylor, Cotter (White team) and Riceville.

Teams that win their afternoon game will return Dec. 4 for the Consolation Championship games with Logan (White team), Cotter, Bangor, Weston and Eau Claire Regis (White team). Teams that win their morning and afternoon games will return Feb. 19 for the Super Challenge Championship with Logan (Red team), LaCrescent, Lewiston-Altura, Osseo-Fairchild and Eau Claire Regis (Green team).

For more information, contact Nicole Witt Gerdes, High School Challenge coordinator, at ngerdes@smumn.edu or (507) 457-1761.

Winona Area Youth Singers winter concert is Nov. 22

WINONA, Minn. — The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts will present the Winona Area Youth Singers’ (WAYS) winter concert, “Art,” at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22, at the Valéncia Arts Center Recital Hall, 1164 West 10th St.

The concert will feature texts of famous writers, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Emily Dickinson, as well as the melodies of Handel, Tchaikovsky, and other famous composers.

Reserved tickets are not necessary. Admission is $10 at the door for adults (cash and checks only please). Admission is free for children and students ages 2-21.

The choir will also perform in a special collaboration with the Conservatory’s dance division in the Dance Repertory Company’s production of The Nutcracker, Dec. 2-5, at Saint Mary’s University’s Page Theatre.

WAYS members are students in grades four through eight from Winona and the surrounding areas. WAYS is dedicated to providing quality, artistic and educational vocal music experiences for all young people, regardless of their financial circumstances. WAYS is tuition-free to all students for the 2010-11 academic year.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008. This activity is also made possible in part by a grant from the Young Singer’s Foundation.

For more information about WAYS or MCA’s other performing arts programming, visit www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org, e-mail mca@smumn.edu or call (507) 453-5500. The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts is an affiliate program of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

High School Challenge season continues Saturday

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota High School Challenge continues with Round 1B 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 13, in the World Room, located in the SMU Hendrickson Center. The 2010-11 season marks the 40th year of the longest running, locally produced television program showcasing Eastern Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, and Northeast Iowa high school students in an educational forum.

High School Challenge is a contest in which high schools compete to correctly answer questions dealing with high school subjects, general information and current events. Thirty-two teams compete in winner and consolation bracket tournaments at Saint Mary’s. The final eight games of the tournament are taped at SMU and are televised on Fox 25 La Crosse and Fox 48 Eau Claire.

High school students receive scholarships to Saint Mary’s for participating in High School Challenge. Schools that win their first game receive $2,000 scholarships to SMU. Schools that lose their first game receive $1,000 scholarships to SMU. These scholarships are for any member of the senior class with a B or above average.

The following schools will participate: Lewiston-Altura, Bangor, Decorah, Weston, Aquinas, Osseo-Fairchild, Seneca, and Eau Claire Regis. Round 1C will be Nov. 20.

Teams that win their afternoon game will return Dec. 4 for the Consolation Championship games with Logan (White team) and Cotter high schools. Teams that win their morning and afternoon games will return Feb. 19 for the Super Challenge Championship with Logan (Red team) and LaCrescent high schools.

For more information, contact Nicole Witt Gerdes, High School Challenge coordinator, at ngerdes@smumn.edu or Ext. 1761.

SMU Oldie Moldies to perform at Signatures Nov. 20

WINONA, Minn. — Catch dinner and a show with the Oldie Moldie All-Stars from Saint Mary’s University Saturday, Nov. 20, at Visions Event Center.

Rock along to your favorite ’50s, ’60s and ’70s tunes while you enjoy a menu of house salad, pan-seared Canadian walleye fillet, wild rice pilaf, mixed vegetables, caper tarter sauce, rolls and butter, and a root beer float. A chicken or pasta option is available by reservation.

The Oldies are members of the national music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Saint Mary’s. The group consists of 10 talented and engaging singers and band members.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7 p.m.; the Oldies will perform two sets, one at 6:30 p.m., and a second at 7:45 p.m.

The price for the dinner and show is $32 per person; reservations can be made now through Nov. 19 by calling Signatures at (507) 454-3767. Payment is accepted at time of reservation.

Visions Event Center is located at Signatures Restaurant, 22852 County Road 17 in Pleasant Valley.

Gifts for Winona application deadline is Friday, Nov. 12

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona — in its ninth year — is providing gifts to area children and seniors in need this holiday season.

Families looking for help obtaining gifts this year must apply by Friday, Nov. 12.

Families may pick up an application form through one of the human service agencies that they work with (Habitat for Humanity, Project FINE, Winona County Department of Human Services, Winona Senior Advocacy Program, Winona Volunteer Services, Winona Red Cross or Women’s Resource Center). Gifts for Winona’s main priority is to provide gifts to children 18 years of age and younger and individuals 60 years of age and older.

Other community partners that join SMU to help make this program possible are the Winona Post, Winona Radio and Winona Volunteer Services.

MCA to host Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Party Nov. 21

WINONA, Minn. — The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) will hold its sixth biennial Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Party, Sunday, Nov. 21, at Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 West 10th St.

This year’s Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Party features two tea sittings at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., providing specialty teas and exquisite finger foods. The Land of the Sweets Gift Boutique, featuring holiday gifts and crafts, as well as products from At Home America, Forever Engraved, Mon Petit Cupcake and USBorne Books, will be available for purchase from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 per person. All children attending the tea party will receive a complimentary professional photo with their favorite live character from the Nutcracker Ballet. Tea attendees will enjoy the sounds of MCA’s Winona Area Youth Singers, as well as flute, clarinet and piano accompaniment by MCA’s music division instructors.

To reserve seats, or a full table of six, call (507) 453-5500. The Valéncia Arts Center is handicapped accessible.

The Sugar Plum Fairy Tea party is MCA’s first big event of its Nutcracker production season. The company will present the full-length ballet Dec. 2-5, at Saint Mary’s University Page Theatre. This year’s 80 cast members include students from Saint Mary’s University, Winona State University and children and community members from Winona and the surrounding areas.

Tickets for the Nutcracker performance are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, or visit www.pagetheatre.org.

Proceeds from The Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Party will benefit the MCA student scholarship fund and Nutcracker production costs.

Kowles publishes book about wonder of genetics

WINONA, Minn. — Dr. Richard Kowles makes the complexities of genetics both humorous and understandable in his new book, “The Wonder of Genetics: the Creepy, the Curious and the Commonplace.”

Dr. Kowles, a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in Biology at Saint Mary’s University, drew upon his lifelong career in teaching (38 years at Saint Mary’s and 14 at the high school level) to answer such questions as, “Why do some people look like their relatives, while others don’t?” and “Why are some of us male and others female?”

“I wrote the book as a challenge because most people (and publishers) refuse to believe that genetic concepts can be explained to the average public; hence, I took on the challenge,” he said. “Consequently, it is a trade book geared to the general public and also to non-biology majors in college. Prometheus (the name of the publisher), in Greek mythology, means ‘inventive’ and ‘daring.’ How fitting for such a book.”

Kowles, known internationally for his research in genetics, explains that genetic concepts tend to be almost everywhere. The book deals with topics like: the genetic differences between males and females, the potential effects of radiation on the human genome, eating irradiated or genetically modified foods, cloning, genetic therapy, stem-cell research, nature vs. nurture, and how genes are related to many diseases, psychological disturbances and possibly other behaviors. Dr. Kowles concludes by addressing common misconceptions about genetics and emphasizing the discipline’s potential for curing some diseases, extending the human lifespan, enhancing medicine and agriculture, and generally improving society.”

And he accomplishes all of this with some tongue-in-cheek humor.

"Good teaching is to transplant what is in your head into the head of others with understanding — whether they are college students or the general public. And humor never hurts,” Dr. Kowles said. “Some ‘zingers’ are indeed embedded in the book.”

“The Wonder of Genetics” — Dr. Kowles’ fourth book— was published on Oct. 29. It is available by contacting Prometheus Books, 800-421-0351; on Amazon.com; at Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstores; and at other local bookstores and online retailers.

MCA offers free dance workshops for boys and men Nov. 9-12

WINONA, Minn. — The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) will hold free Dance Technique for Boys classes and Men’s Dance workshops Nov. 9-12.

With instruction by visiting guest artist Allen Fields, the dance classes are a great opportunity for male students to build athletic endurance, balance and coordination. MCA offers nurturing classes with both male and female instructors, allowing male students to feel comfortable while building technique, creativity and confidence.

The classes will run from Tuesday, Nov. 9, through Friday, Nov. 12, at MCA’s Valencia Arts Center, 1164 West 10th St., and will focus on developing physical technique used in Classical and contemporary dance disciplines, such as ballet, modern and jazz. The Dance Technique for Boys classes are for male students ages 8-12 and will be held from 5 to 5:45 p.m. The Men’s Dance workshops are for male students ages 13-21 and will be held from 6 to 7 p.m.

Pas de deux workshops

Fields will also instruct Pas de deux workshops from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, and from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. Male students ages 13-21 and intermediate and advanced female ballet students on pointe are invited to attend these free workshops as well. Students will learn the basics of classical partnering work.

The tuition waiver for these activities is made possible in part by a grant from the Sewell Family Foundation.

Advance registration for the Dance Technique for Boys classes, Men’s Dance and the Pas de deux workshops is required. Register online at www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org or in person at MCA’s Valencia Arts Center. For more information, call (507) 453-5500.

MCA receives grant from Minnesota State Arts Board

WINONA, Minn. — The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) was selected to receive grant funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

MCA was awarded the funding through the State Arts Board’s Community Arts Schools and Conservatories grant division, which funds organizations that provide open access and arts learning opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. The formulary and merit-based funding acknowledges MCA as a leader in Minnesota community arts education.

The Minnesota State Arts Board funding will help support and expand MCA’s dance, music and theatre programming for children and adults. Furthermore, the grant will allow MCA to venture into new community outreach projects, move into the implementation stages of a visual arts division and remain fiscally responsible with balanced budgets. “Writing the Community Arts Schools and Conservatories grant was an intense and time consuming process, but it was well worth it,” said managing director Christine Martin. “This grant helps solidify the future of MCA.” As a non-profit organization, grant support allows MCA to offer quality arts programming to the Winona and surrounding area communities.

The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts exists to provide quality arts education and performance by nurturing and encouraging artistic expression in children and adults. MCA’s service to the community ranges from recreational to pre-professional dance and performing arts curriculum and programming designed to provide physical and aesthetic benefits, heightened self-respect, discipline and confidence. MCA is an affiliate program of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

For more information about the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, visit www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org.

SMU Concert Band debuts sixth Kaplan Commissioning Project

By Connie Budin
Cardinal staff

WINONA, Minn. — It is not every day that a band gets to perform a piece of music written specifically for them. On Nov. 14, the Saint Mary’s University Concert Band will be performing the world premiere of “If You Could Only See the Frog,” composed by Paul Richards, at 2 p.m. in the Page Theater.

The event is sponsored by the Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation Commission Project. The foundation allows the SMU Concert Band a certain portion of its budget every two years to commission a composer of Jewish heritage to create a masterpiece to be premiered at the annual concert.

Director of Bands, Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, is also the Kaplan Commission Project Chair and heads the event from start to finish.

The created composition, as listed on the Kaplan Commissioning Project application, states that the work must be a “grade 4” level of difficulty, meaning appropriate yet difficult enough for high school bands and collegiate ensembles.

The piece must be five to eight minutes long, and based on a Jewish melody from a folk or religious source. The composer also interacts with the SMU band students about the composition, provides the necessary music for rehearsal and will be present at the premiere performance of the piece, with the option of conducting or having a solo.

Since starting in 2000, the Kaplan Commissioning Project has had great success. After being a finalist the last two auditions, Paul Richards was finally selected as a winner. His piece is taken directly from the playful feel of “Si Veriash a la Rana,” the title of a children’s song from Bulgaria sung by exiled Jews in the Spanish-Jewish dialect of Ladino.

Richards “knows what he has to do to create a great piece [and is an] artist who is knowledge-based for writing concert music,” said Heukeshoven. During the long process of bringing this composition to life, Heukeshoven has had a lot of contact with Richards in commenting, learning and changing things about the piece.

“Working with the composer is a blessing,” Heukeshoven said.

Richards also enjoys working with the band, especially on this particular piece.

“The thing that intrigues me most about Jewish musical tradition is that it is the tradition of a displaced people,” said Richards. “It is at once joyous and sad – a simultaneity that is best expressed, I believe, through music.”

Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, (507) 457-1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.
For more information, contact Dr. Heukeshoven at jheukesh@smumn.edu or (507) 457-1675.