NIU Today

With its fifth production of the 2012-2013 Studio Series season of plays, the NIU School of Theatre and Dance will present a new take on a classic tale with “Hamlet Redux,” a story of political intrigue and one man’s battle with personal demons. Written by William Shakespeare, the adapted play will run from Wednesday, Feb....

This year has brought many changes that improve and revamp the University Honors experience at NIU. With such changes comes the Feb. 1 re-launching of Honorable Mentions. Honorable Mentions, a student-run online publication, will spotlight the multifaceted pursuits of NIU Honors students both in and out of the classroom. Honorable Mention seeks to acknowledge: all...

NIU’s Community School of the Arts is offering spring classes in guitar, steelpan and ukulele. The CSA Steelband meets Monday evenings from 7 to 7:55 p.m., beginning Jan. 28. Students ages 14 to adult learn to play the steelpan in a fun ensemble setting. With a sound like no other, this instrument lends itself to...

Group piano is a fun way to learn to play the instrument and meet other musicians. This spring, the NIU Community School of the Arts offers group piano classes for both adults and children. Group Piano for Adults is for ages 18 and older and taught for two levels of players. Level 1 is for beginners. Level 2...

NIU School of Music professor and guitarist extraordinaire Fareed Haque will celebrate 50 years of music and performance Friday, Jan. 25, at The House Café with performance and premiere. The jazz and classical guitar virtuoso was voted “Best World Guitarist 2009” by Guitar Player magazine, and is known for his long and distinguished career in music....

Young musicians are invited to attend a free, open rehearsal of CSA Sinfonia (Wednesday, Jan. 30), CSA Symphonette (Tuesday, Feb. 12) and CSA Children’s Choir (Wednesday, Feb. 13). These “Bring A Friend Days” give interested players or singers a chance to try out the groups to see if they are right for them. All rehearsals...

On a trip to India during the holiday break, NIU Time Arts professor Bart Woodstrup had the opportunity to present some of his work to Her Excellency Suvra Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (India’s presidential palace). Bart presented several digital prints and a video documentation of his multimedia composition, which is titled “Under Saraswati River.”...

“Arranging Nature,” installations composed of insects pinned directly to a wall in repeating patterns which reference both textiles and wallpaper, will open Friday, Jan. 18, at NIU’s Jack Olson Gallery. The exhibition was created by artist Jennifer Angus, a professor in the Design Studies department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “A tension is created by the...

In conjunction with its “Vice + Virtue” exhibition, the Northern Illinois University Art Museum has announced additional programming. This exhibition is currently on display in all four galleries of the NIU Art Museum, and will run through Saturday, Feb. 23, with a public reception scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24. Supplementary programming...

Start your child’s musical adventure with one of three early childhood music classes offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts. The classes meet Tuesdays or Saturdays. Prelude Class is for children ages 1 to 3 and gives very young children an introduction to musical concepts with a wide variety of songs, dances, rhythm...

Edna C. Williams, who taught voice in the NIU School of Music from 1965 to 1994, died New Year’s Eve in Chicago. She was 79. The internationally known soprano, who also was born in Chicago, continued to give private lessons after her retirement from NIU and also served as a piano accompanist for many musical...

NIU’s Community School of the Arts will launch two theater classes for youth Saturday, Jan. 12. Back by popular demand is the Theatre Boot Camp, a feast of theater experiences for children ages 7 to 13. The class meets for three Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the NIU Music Building. Children stretch...