The Artists Behind the Desk series continues its fall season on Wednesday, Nov. 8 as composer and pianist Richard St. Clair sits at the piano instead of his desk to perform world premieres of solo piano compositions he has written over the past 10 years.
Earlier this year, at the Janus Ensemble's performance of Dr. St. Clair's Lamentations of Shinran (based on medieval Japanese Buddhist texts), music critic Lloyd Schwartz wrote in the Boston Phoenix, "St. Clair has created a fascinating sound world, both charged and atmospheric. His is a stirring and original voice." Dr. St. Clair is publications coordinator in the Center for Environmental Initiatives.
On Wednesday, Nov. 15, soprano Carla Chrisfield will present a recital with pianist William Merrill. Ms. Chrisfield, a staff assistant at the Dibner Institute, has appeared in concert and recital in Great Britain, the Netherlands and throughout the United States. When she performed arias by Bach and Handel with the Colenso Consort in Amsterdam, the Soester Courant wrote, "Soprano Carla Chrisfield performed with great skillfulness and imagination, moving the heart of many a listener."
All Artists Behind the Desk concerts take place from 12-1pm in Killian Hall and will continue through Wednesday, Dec. 20.
Staffers whose artistic bent is toward the visual arts will present their works in an exhibition of photography, works on paper, fabric and sculpture that opens Tuesday, Jan. 16 at the Rotch Library of Architecture and Planning in Rm 7-238.
Artists Behind the Desk is a standing committee of the Working Group on Support Staff Issues, showcasing the creative talent of staff at MIT in the visual, literary and performing arts.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on November 8, 2000.
