We are getting excited about hosting our next speakers, Josephine Matyas and Craig Jones on Tuesday, February 22, at 2 p.m. as they present their talk, “In search of the blues: Three chords & the truth.”
Please join us in the CE Forum for food, refreshments, and music! (Free parking in lot B13)
This event is open to the public and no RSVP is required!
This event is open to the public. Masks are required in all NOVA buildings.
*Free parking available for attendees in lot B13*
In this presentation, co-authors Josephine Matyas and Craig Jones will talk about how the music of the Mississippi Delta emerged from the conjuncture of politics, culture/ideology, geography (land/water), and the lived experience of humans under conditions of brutal oppression and inter-generational trauma. These forces converged to produce a form of therapeutic release – music, chants, field hollers – that served a collection of spiritual, psychological, ceremonial, and oppositional needs among enslaved persons. Craig and Jo will talk about the nature of life under slavery and how the reproduction of everyday life produced what became the blues. They will also show how the blues was revitalized in the United Kingdom, and eventually became foundational to North American popular music, informing music genres like Motown, R&B, soul, rock and roll.
The presentation will include a slideshow of the “sacred sites” of the Mississippi blues, which they visited as part of the research for their book, Chasing the Blues: A Traveler’s Guide to America’s Music. Jo Matyas is a long-time travel writer who has explored the globe and has a special interest in the history and culture of a destination. Craig Jones has a PhD in International Political Economy and has worked as a professional musician for 40 years.
Please join us! Tuesday, February 22 @ 2-3 p.m. in the CE Forum in the Ernst Cultural Center – Refreshments will be served.
In this talk, Dr. Kevin Wright will discuss the multicultural roots of American music with a particular focus on three musical instruments (the banjo, guitar, and steel guitar) that had large impact on many genres of American music, including blues, country, bluegrass, jazz, gospel, and rock music. Dr. Wright will discuss the multicultural origins and history of these instruments and the impact they have made on shaping American music as well as demonstrate each instrument. This will include a discussion of multicultural influences (e.g., African, Hawaiian, European) on innovations and features of the modern banjo, guitar, and steel guitar as well as well as how these instruments shaped multiple American musical genres. Dr. Wright brings both an academic perspective on these topics as well as his experience as a professional musician for over 30 years.
Dr. Wright will bring the pedal steel guitar, the banjo, and a guitar for demonstration purposes.
Please join us! Wednesday, January 26 @ 2-3 p.m. in CA 302 – Refreshments will be served.
This spring, the Lyceum Committee is excited to present an inter-disciplinary series of talks surrounding the power of music. From history, to science, to genres and more, we hope that you gain even more appreciation for the impact of music in our lives.
Wednesday, 1/26 @2pm *In-Person* CA 302 – Refreshments served Dr. Kevin Wright Professor and Musician “The Multicultural Roots of American Musical Instruments”
Wednesday, 2/22 @ 2pm *In-person* location CA 302 – Refreshments served Josephine Matyas & Craig Jones, Authors
“In Search of the Blues: Three Chords & the Truth”
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Wednesday, 3/23 @12 noon *Zoom* Dr. Assal Habibi, Professor at University of Southern California
“The Brain’s Crescendo; How Music Training Impacts Child Development”
Brain and music assistant research professor, Assal Habibi poses for a photograph, Oct 24, 2019. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Friday, 4/15 @1pm *In-Person* CE Forum – Refreshments served S. H. Fernando, Author & Producer
“Clan in The Front: How Wu-Tang Transcended the Rap Game to become Cultural Icons”
Thursday, 4/28 @1pm *Zoom* Dr. Alex Weiss, Professor at University of Texas at Arlington
“Physics and Music”
*Check back soon to (1) register for Zoom sessions and (2) Get room information for in-person talks.*
**If you’re a professor bringing a class to an event, please email me mchabot@nvcc.edu to let me know to expect your students, and (2) attendance lists are provided on request**
***We strive to make every event fully accessible with interpreters; if other accommodations are needed, please contact mchabot@nvcc.edu***
In this talk, we will learn how to employ a human-centered approach to solving real-world challenges in the community using a design thinking framework. It will introduce lifelong competencies, practices and concepts needed to collaborate in an interdisciplinary way to solve important challenges such as those posed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The talk will be accessible to all disciplines and majors.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Padhu Seshaiyer is a tenured full Professor at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and he serves as the Director of the STEM Accelerator Program as well as the Director of the Center for Outreach in Mathematics Professional Learning and Educational Technology (COMPLETe). His research interests are in the broad areas of Computational Mathematics, Biomechanics, Data Science, Computational Thinking, STEM Education, Design and Systems Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. During the last decade, he initiated and directed a variety of educational programs including faculty development, post-graduate, graduate and undergraduate research, teacher professional development, outreach and enrichment programs to foster the interest of students and teachers in STEM at all levels.
Dr. Seshaiyer is also actively involved in multiple global collaborative projects and training programs that engage students, teachers and faculty from over 25 countries. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, presented over 300 invited/plenary/keynote talks and serves on several advisory boards including his recent appointment to the VA STEM Advisory Board by the Governor of Virginia. In addition to his research accomplishments, he has contributed extensively to teaching and won several prestigious awards. In 2021, he received the Earle C. Williams Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Social Impact which is the highest honors at George Mason University as well as the top educator award from the State of Virginia for his efforts to promote gender equity in computing. In 2019, he was selected as Figures that Matter and was awarded a honorary doctorate from Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium for being a committed scientist who transcends the boundaries of their own disciplines and to personalities that have been at the frontiers of societal change.
Please join the Annandale Lyceum Committee in welcoming Dr. John Schmitz, NOVA Professor of History, as he delivers a Constitution Day talk based on his latest book, “Enemies among Us: The Relocation, Internment, and Repatriation of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans during the Second World War”
Friday, September 17 @ 2 p.m. over Zoom.
In “Enemies Among Us,” Professor Schmitz examines the causes, conditions, and consequences of America’s selective relocation and internment of its own citizens and enemy aliens, as well as the effects of internment on those who experienced it.
Link to registration to receive the zoom link : Register NOW!