An hour-long presentation of Davis & Elkins College’s performing arts, along with displays and demonstrations of students’ work in the visual arts, will highlight the evening of Tuesday, March 28. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the five-day celebration marking the inauguration of the College’s 15th president Chris A. Wood.
Each day, March 26-30, is designated with a theme to celebrate D&E’s spiritual life, athletics, arts and academics.
Celebrate D&E’s Arts begins at 7 p.m. in The Joni and Buck Smith Arts Forum. Student performances are scheduled by the Davis & Elkins College Concert Choir, the Theatre Department and Appalachian Ensemble. Afterward, guests are invited to a student art exhibit, studio tours and screen printing demonstrations in the lower level of Myles Center for the Arts.
The Concert Choir, under the direction of Liz Marshall-MacVean and accompanied by Donna Baroudi Huffman, will perform “Seize The Day” from “Newsies” by Feldman, Menken and Roger Emerson, and “Seasons of Love” from “RENT” by Jonathan Larson and Roger Emerson. MacKinzie Smith of Renick, W.Va., will play a piano solo “Etude for the Dreamer” by Jennifer Thomas.
In addition to Smith, members of the Concert Choir are Jacob Antoline of Elkins; Megan Augustine of Dallas, Ga.; Blake Boswell of Belpre, Ohio; Katrina Carpenter of Elkins; Patrick Christ of Hydes, Md.; Bri Conley of Roanoke, Va.; Jacob Currence of Beverly, W.Va.; Lauren Digman of Elkins; Tiffany Dodd of Petersburg, W.Va.; Denise Folley of Charlottesville, Va.; Clay Friel of Hillsboro, W.Va.; Megan Huffnagel of Elkins; Madeline Lessner of Waldorf, Md.; Lauren Lunemann of New Milton, W.Va.; Eric Matheny of Lebanon, Va.; Sheena McAllister of Inglewood, Calif.; Shannen McClure of Marlinton, W.Va.; Allen McGraw of Hinton, W.Va.; Jamey Perrine of Rock Cave, W.Va.; Will Roboski of Elkins; Hannah Shiflett of Beverly, W.Va.; Josh Thompson of Parsons, W.Va.; Brandon Ulrich of Roanoke, Va.; and Matthew Weintraub of Lewisburg, W.Va.
Theatre students will present “The Cyclops,” a scene from their spring production “The Odyssey,” a radio play adapted by Simon Armitage for BBC Radio.
Directed by kb saine, assistant professor of theatre, the production includes cast members Thompson as Antiphus; Ulrich as Polites; Friel as Eurybates; Kyle Hall of Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as Elpenos; Weintraub as Odysseus; Currence as Cyclops; McClure, Huffnagel and Thompson as sheep; and the cast as Foley Artists. Conley serves as sound designer and Emmett Jaeger of Los Alamitos, Calif., is the stage manager.
Appalachian Ensemble, the string and dance band under the direction of Emily Miller and Emily Oleson, will present select works. Members of the String Band are fiddler Branson Raines of Asheville, N.C.; percussionist and dancer Matthew Olwell of Charlottesville, Va.; bassist Devon Rose of Benwood, W.Va.; fiddler and mandolin player Ben Zorn of Chicago, Ill. Dancers in the Ensemble are Nina Stump of Buckhannon, W.Va.; Jonathan Callahan of Harrisonburg, Va.; Katharine Manor of Rockville, Md.; Will Roboski of Elkins; Eli Lucchesi of Alma, Mich.; Alina Soltis of Saline, Mich.; Madalyn Humphrey of Elkins; Allison Riley of Huntington, W.Va.; Elizabeth Brown of Roanoke, Va.; Katie Little of Beckley, W.Va.; Cierra Merril of Clarksburg, W.Va.; and Tiffanie Toler of Elkins.
Events for inauguration week begin with Celebrate D&E’s Community Service and Worship on Sunday, March 26, and continues with Celebrate D&E’s Athletics on Monday, March 27, Celebrate D&E’s Arts on Tuesday, March 28, and Celebrate D&E’s Academics on Wednesday, March 29. Various events fill Inauguration Day, Thursday, March 30, beginning with a lecture by alumnus and Trustee David Morrison, ’79, at 11 a.m. in Robbins Memorial Chapel, the dedication of the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith and Public Policy at noon, and the inauguration ceremony at 4:30 p.m. in Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium.
A native of Huntington, W.Va., Wood was named to D&E’s presidency in June and assumed the duties on August 1. Wood, his wife, Lisa, and their two daughters, Lacey and Lexi, along with their miniature schnauzer puppies, Hallie and Henry, reside at Hearthstone.
Prior to coming to D&E, Wood was vice president for advancement at Wesley College in Dover, Del. He also has worked as vice president for advancement at the University of Mount Olive in Mount Olive, N.C., executive director of Mission West Virginia Inc., and, as an ordained United Methodist pastor, served congregations in Illinois and Maryland.
Related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Davis & Elkins College is located in Elkins, 2 hours east of Charleston, 3 hours south of Pittsburgh and 4 hours west of Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit the College website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.