The holiday season takes off in a burst of music, arts and theater at Bowling Green State University this week. From “A Christmas Carol” to ArtseXtravaganza to the powerful harmonies of the New York Polyphony, the days and nights are filled with activities for the whole family.
Tiny Tim ushers in the season in BGSU’s new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic story of redemption. Combining humor, sentiment and spectacle with authentic period carols, performances of “A Christmas Carol” are at 8 p.m. Nov. 29, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, and at 2 p.m. Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 in the Donnell Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at www.bgsu.edu/arts or by calling 419-372-8171.
The arts at BGSU reach a critical mass on Nov. 30, when ArtseXtravaganza fills the Fine Arts Center and the Wolfe Center. From 6-10 p.m., the community is invited to share an evening of music, art, theater, dance, shopping and activities for all ages. Motion video projections will light up the exteriors of the buildings to welcome visitors inside, where the theme this year is Carnevale.
ArtsX is the occasion for the University’s artists and performers to show off their talents and creations and for the community to enjoy a unique venue for holiday shopping and entertainment. Food and beverages will be available as well.
Work in ceramics, glass, metals, jewelry, printmaking, photography, digital arts and graphic design, much of it for sale. Also on display will be work by architecture and interior design students.
In the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, the annual faculty exhibition will open; many of the pieces will available for purchase. The Willard Wankelman Gallery will offer il[LUMEN]ate, an exhibition of collaborative video installations by digital arts and film students, along with a Japanese tea ceremony.
Visitors can design their own T-shirts and have them printed on the spot in the printmaking classroom. Student groups will offer henna tattoos, face painting and caricatures, and the art education students will host an entire room of fun activities for children.
The studios in the Wolfe Center will also be open, and visitors can see the latest in digital art created by students and faculty as well as costume design and theater workshops.
Families can plan to take in ArtsX and then head to the Donnell Theatre for “A Christmas Carol” or to Kobacker Hall in Moore Musical Arts Center for the Festival Series performance of “I Sing the Birth,” a special program by New York Polyphony. The all-male a cappella quartet’s concert begins at 8 p,m.
“I Sing the Birth” is an intimate meditation on the Christmas season based on the quartet’s Avie Records debut CD, which was hailed by Gramophone as “one of the season’s best.” Spanning nine centuries of music, the program offers a unique and diverse holiday celebration including medieval and modern carols, Gregorian chants and hymns, motets for Christmas and Advent by Renaissance masters, and commissioned works by Andrew Smith.
Fast-rising stars on the classical music scene, New York Polyphony has been praised on National Public Radio for a “rich, natural sound that’s larger and more complex than the sum of its parts.”
Single ticket prices for the performance range from $12 to $38. To purchase tickets online, visit www.bgsu.edu/arts or call the BGSU Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171.