Bridgewater College announces arts, events for 2018 spring semester

From lectures by featured speakers to music performances and theater productions, Bridgewater College offers a wide range of arts and events for the community to enjoy during the 2018 spring semester.

National and local guests will serve as special speakers. All presentations will be at 7 p.m. in Cole Hall unless otherwise noted.

Bridgewater College alumnus Duane Dinkel, co-founder and CEO/President of OpTek Systems, a South Carolina manufacturer of optical systems used in military guidance systems, oil and gas sensors and medical devices, will speak on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Eugene Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, newspaper columnist and an associate editor of The Washington Post, will speak on “We’re Someplace We’ve Never Been: Race, Diversity and the New America” at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observance at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15.

Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed on. Saturday, Jan. 27 with a screening of Misa’s Fugue, a documentary of Frank “Misa” Grunwald’s journey as a victim of Nazi oppression. Grunwald used his love of art to endure some of the most horrific events of the Holocaust. The screening will be followed by a talk-back with producers Sean Gaston and Jennifer Goss.

Dorri Scott, CEO of Ruby Red Press and publisher of three Northern Virginia publications – Loudoun Woman, Prince William County Woman and Arlington Woman – will speak onThursday, Feb. 1, in the Boitnott Room.

Two cartoonists will be featured on Thursday, Feb. 8. John Rose, cartoonist for Snuffy Smith, will speak at 4 p.m. and Thomas Yeates, cartoonist for Prince Valiant will speak at 7 p.m.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, writer and actor David Mills will perform his interpretation of some of Langston Hughes’s works in the Carter Center for Worship and Music.

Eric Bryan, director of internal affairs at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Va., will speak on Thursday, Feb. 22, in the Carter Center for Worship and Music.

Gabriel Flood, public speaker, writer and voice actor, will speak about growing up with undiagnosed high-functioning autism, about surviving non-Hodgkin lymphomatic cancer at age 29, and about the struggles of building a life with a brain that functions in ways that diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal,” on Thursday, March 1, in the Boitnott Room.

The spring schedule includes a wide variety of music programs, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Carter Center for Worship and Music unless otherwise noted.

Dr. Larry Taylor, associate professor of music at Bridgewater College, and Lacey Johnson, instructor of music, will present a piano duo recital on Sunday, Jan. 28.

Zoe-Elizabeth McCray, a graduate of James Madison University, and Dr. Tonya Menard, adjunct instructor of music at Bridgewater, will present a recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11.

Bridgewater College’s Oratorio Choir will present a concert on Friday, Feb. 23.

Maria Yefimova, instructor of piano at the College of William and Mary, will present a lyceum on Monday, Feb. 26.

Lynda Dembowski, senior chief musician for the U.S. Naval Academy Band, will present a clarinet recital on Friday, March 16.

Ranky Tanky from Charleston, S.C., will perform old Gullah songs with a contemporary twist on Tuesday, March 20, in Cole Hall.

A Gospel Extravaganza will be held on Friday, April 6.

The B.C. Symphonic Band will give a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 8, in Cole Hall.

A choral concert featuring Bridgewater College’s Chorale and Concert Choir will be held on Friday, April 20.

The B.C. Jazz Ensemble will present a concert on Saturday, April 21, in Cole Hall.

Theatre at Bridgewater College will present The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman at 8 p.m. on Feb. 22-24 and at 3 p.m. on Feb. 25, in Cole Hall. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors and non-BC students. Call 540-828-5631 to make ticket reservations. This production is directed by Dr. Scott Cole, associate professor of theater at Bridgewater College.

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to more than 1,900 undergraduate students.