The cover of the Dec. 6 issue of Sports Illustrated paying tribute to the 2004 Boston Red Sox was designed by alumnus Robert Silvers (S.M. 1996). While at MIT, the Media Arts and Sciences graduate developed a computer-aided technique that creates mosaics out of individual photographs. Currently president and CEO of Runaway Technology, Silvers used 2,000 photos from the magazine to create an image of the team's logo for the cover. "Believe me," said the Red Sox fan and Massachusetts resident, "when I got the call from SI, it was not lost on me that this was my team."
"Watermarks," a documentary by Yaron Zilberman (S.B. and S.M. 1994) won both an award and a rare standing ovation at the Boston Jewish Film Festival in November. The film, which won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature, tells the story of seven Jewish women athletes who had expected to compete in the 1936 Olympics, but were forced to flee their native Austria when Hitler annexed the country in 1938. Today the women are in their 80s and scattered around the world. The film will open theatrically in New York City on Jan. 24, 2005 at the Quad Theater and in Boston on Feb. 18 at the Coolidge Corner Theater.
Dante Anzolini, associate professor of music, is one of eight conductors selected from a pool of more than 200 to participate in the American Symphony Orchestra League Conductor Preview event in Jacksonville, Fla. March 22-23, 2005. Anzolini, music director of the MIT Symphony and chamber orchestras, was selected by a national advisory panel. Each conductor will work with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra for approximately one hour to showcase his or her skills.
Frederick Harris Jr., a lecturer in music and director of MIT's Wind Ensemble, has written an essay included in a brochure/CD issued in honor of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, the 2004 distinguished artist of the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis. Skrowaczewski, a conductor for nearly 70 years and a composer for nearly 75, was maestro of the Minnesota Orchestra (1960-1979) and the Hall��� Orchestra in Manchester, England (1984-1991) and is the subject of an upcoming biography by Harris. "In an age when popularity and commercialism increasingly dominate our airwaves and concert halls, Skrowaczewski remains a beacon of what it means to be a pure artist," wrote Harris in his essay titled, "A Lifelong Love Affair with Music."
One of the many perks of being a student, staff or faculty member at MIT is free access to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.
Students can enjoy the MFA's regular exhibitions by presenting their student ID. They can purchase discounted tickets to special exhibitions, including the highly acclaimed "Art Deco: 1910-1939" (through Jan. 9), for a special rate of $7 (full-price admission is $22) on weekday afternoons. They can also get reduced-priced tickets to the museum's films, lectures and concerts, and a 10 percent discount in the Museum Shop.
MIT staff members can borrow one of eight membership passes to the museum for daily or weekend use. Reservations are accepted only 24 hours in advance. Call 253-4003 to reserve.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on December 8, 2004 (download PDF).
