Mark Harvey, lecturer in music, has been commissioned by the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE) to create an extended jazz composition entitled "Modern Invention" inspired by William Billings, a prominent Boston composer of the Revolutionary War period. "Modern Invention" will receive its world premiere in a concert presentation on Friday, March 11 by the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra with guest vocalist Jay Clayton as part of the OAKE National Conference in Springfield, Mass. The program will also include the Duke Ellington composition "It's Freedom," featuring senior lecturer Pamela Wood as vocal soloist and narrator.
Neon artist Alejandro Sina, who was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies in the 1970s, is currently showing his sculptures, which range from tabletop sculptures to mobiles to large installations that move or spin in programmed patterns, at Boston's L'Attitude Gallery (218 Newbury St.). On Sunday, March 6, he and his wife/collaborator Moira will present a multimedia talk titled "The Art and Science of Neon Lightworks" at 7 p.m. at the gallery. Their exhibit, "Light Up Your Night," will be on view through March 31.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 2, 2005 (download PDF).