Crimson and Gold Connection; Joe Firman

Welcome to Crimson and Gold Connection, keeping you connected with the people and current events at Pittsburgh State University. This is the Crimson and Gold Connection. This week we're joined by Joe Furman, Director of the Vicknell Family Center for the Arts. Joe, thanks for joining us this week on the Crimson and Gold Connection. Thanks so much, glad to be here. We call this spring session. It still kind of feels like winter. We still have a couple more months of winter. Either way, things are going to be red hot coming up here in February at the Vicknell Family Center for the Arts. We are super excited about all the things we've got going on coming up in February, which starts with the Opera. A lot of people don't realize that in the music department they have the Pitt State Opera Theater, or the PSU Opera Theater. The Opera this year is done by Mozart, and it is going to be pronounced terribly by me, but it's a fun story about... Well, according to this Wikipedia page, all women do it, or the school for lovers. This first Kuzi Vantutsi, or however you pronounce it, was first performed, believe it or not, in 1790 in Austria. Austria, sorry.

So you're not the only one who screws up this financiations. So this year we're having some real fun, because not only are we doing the Opera, but the Pitt Orchestra is going to be the full orchestra. So in previous years, you would have the Opera, but it would be music piped in. Well, it would be a smaller ensemble in the Pitt, but this year it is going to be the Southeast Kansas Symphony at Pittsburgh State University doing the music in the Pitt for the music department opera singers who will be on stage. So this is a full-fledged opera, a full-fledged symphony orchestra coming together for the first time. As a partnership. They've done this before in years gone by, but this will be the first time that I can remember since I've been here. So there's always something new, even after five years of performances and events at the Bignol Family Center for the Arts. This is something new for you and for Real Mungia. I think Raoul's done it before, but not here. Not in this building, right? Definitely. And of course, Raoul has been involved in so many incredible things on stage. He's been in the Pitt before, but it's the first time that the symphony and the opera have come together like this in the Bignol Center.

So it's well worth coming out. And of course they do these beautiful backdrops that it's a fully staged opera. And so it's one of the larger productions that we do on campus on the main stage with our own students and symphony. So when is that exactly? Well, that is exactly the 14th and 16th of February. So they do it on Friday and Sunday. And they like to have a lot of fun by bringing this all together. It is all the operas they do are fun and they're approachable and the students just do an incredible job. And what's also really cool about this is because of the number of opera singers they have on campus, some of the cast changes from Friday night to Sunday. So when you come to this on Friday, you have different performers than on Sunday. And so even our video folks are going to be recording both operas for the production work just so that all the students are able to be recorded and be able to see themselves afterwards. So when I looked at the dates for this, I thought it was symbolically put on February 14th Valentine's Day.

But that just happens to be a Friday and a Sunday. Yep, and this is how we usually do it. It's usually the same Friday and Saturday and Friday and Sunday in the calendar year each year. And so they'll come in and rehearse on stage for a couple of weeks before they take the performance live. And what's exciting is they also involve members of our theater faculty who come over and help with the backdrops. So it's a big to doing and it's a lot of fun. We really enjoy being a part of it. And speaking of students, like you just were a minute ago, a former Pittsburgh State student will be performing at the Big Null Family Center for the Arts in about mid to late February. Absolutely. Jennifer nap is coming back and she has had an amazing career. She started as a Christian artist and of course graduated from Pitt State. So she has connections with our music program and we're super proud whenever one of our alumni can come back. She's also an author. So we're also going to have several book clubs around campus that are reading her book and she's going to be meeting with them while she's here as well. So in addition to that, we have a master class. So she's also going to be teaching students here on campus about the music industry and what it's like to be a performer out in the in corporate music.

So it's super exciting to have all of those opportunities for our students and readers here on campus. And for the public, we are super thrilled to have the opportunity for them to come to the master class as well as the concert. One other note on ticketing that you had brought up is we also love it when people want to figure out what seat they want to sit in. If they come by the building, we will show them right where the seats are so they can kind of get a judge of what seats favorite for them. Everybody has their own favorite seat, which is really fun. I have mine and people want to come in and sit in 10, 15 different spots in the room just to figure out which one they want to buy. We're all for it. We love to have them stop by and it's a great way to understand what you're going to be walking into on the day of the concert. And that's an advantage going to see performances at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. That you wouldn't get other places at bigger venues. They're not going to walk around and change your seat, are they? No, there are some center for the arts that like to charge to give tours.

And I've always kind of laughed at that because we run into people all the time coming into the Bicknell who were just poking their head in and we say hi and give them a full tour of the building. So it's really exciting for us to be able to share it. As a state facility, it was built by private donation but gifted to the state. So all of the taxpayers have a vested interest in the success of the building and have part ownership. We want to make sure that the owners are happy. So when you come to campus and take a tour of the building, we're thrilled to have you there. We think of it as much as it being a student run facility where we want them to have ownership and we want the general public to have ownership. We want everyone to have a real sense of having a home away from home and knowing that we are glad to have them there with us. So what are some of the other events happening in February, March and April? Be right here. It's right around the corner. Well, the PSU feeder is going to have silent sky and that'll be February 27th through the 29th and March 1st. Then for Best of Broadway, we have our final show of the season, which will be March 4th, which is American in Paris.

And that is based off of the movie. And so it is a wonderful tale of love and romance and dancing. And it is just an absolutely magical experience to see those sort of shows on the stage. And one of the great things about our theater as well is it's a perfect Broadway house. Being that there are only 1,100 seats when you are sitting in the very back row. You were still much, much closer than you would be in any larger theater. But with the exact same experience and better, in my opinion, because you're able to be that much closer in part of a tight-knit audience that really gets to have that shared experience. There's something so special about, is I like to say getting off the couch and going out and sharing an experience with your fellow human beings. It really makes it a memorable part of your life that you'll be really remembering fondly for years and years to come. Joe Furman, director of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. Thanks for joining us this week on the Crimson and Gold Connection. Always my pleasure.

You can learn more about all of the upcoming events at the Bicknell Center at their website, bicknellcenter.com. I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro and you've been listening to the Crimson and Gold Connection, a production of 89.9 KRPS. Join us for Crimson and Gold Connection Wednesdays at 8.50 and Fridays at 350.