Posts by Robert D.
Architect David Adjaye tells Stanford audience how he designs civic spaces to create community
Speaking at the annual Presidential Lecture in the Arts and Humanities, David Adjaye, the designer of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, described how he sees civic buildings as fulcrums of emotion and memory that engage with the people who use them.Architect David Adjaye is international both in his heritage and in his career. Between his childhood and his working life he has spent considerable time in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the United States. He has built houses for Kofi Annan and, pro bono, for displaced residents of New Orleans’ Ninth Ward; he also…
Read MoreStanford d.school students ‘humanize’ a truck for a good cause
Stanford students get their hands dirty designing and rebuilding a truck to serve the specific needs of San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation.The well-used delivery truck came with seats for two. Now it needed sturdy, safe seats for three people and a dog. And the passenger seat had to be removable so mechanics could maintain and repair the engine. That’s just one of dozens of design challenges that must be solved by Stanford students in the Humanize…
Read MoreStanford scholar reveals the surprising cultural history of four-hand piano playing
German studies professor Adrian Daub examines the social mores of 19th-century Europe through a study of "four-handed monsters" – when the hands of two players intermingled on the same piano. It was a phenomenon that both fascinated and repelled.In 19th-century Europe – long before LPs, CDs or mp3s – there were only two ways to listen to, say, the latest Beethoven symphony: either you were lucky enough to hear it performed at the local concert hall, or you played it at home yourself. Not with a full orchestra, of course, but in a…
Read MoreHappy 2015!
Welcome to the new year!We are looking forward to everything 2015 will bring in the arts at Stanford – new exhibitions at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford Live performances at Bing Concert Hall and beyond, engagement with the Anderson Collection at Stanford University – and of course the enormous variety of performances, events, exhibitions and programs put on by…
Read MoreFernando Lopez-Lezcano to receive 2014 Marsh O’Neill Award
Lopez-Lezcano, the systems administrator at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, has won the annual prize given to staff members who have made outstanding contributions to Stanford's research mission.Keeps the lab humming. Faces daily crises with stellar aplomb. Constantly innovating. Intimately “groks” and practices the very science and art that is the research mission of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). Increases the creative capacity and artistic agency of all who work there – students, faculty and visiting researchers…
Read MoreStanford music scholar explores how Indian traditional folk music fuses the devotional with the political
In the first-ever ethnography of Hindu nationalism and music, Stanford music Professor Anna Schultz examines an Indian performance medium embedded with nationalist political messages.What happens when religious folk songs are used for political purposes? Stanford ethnomusicologist Anna Schultz explores this question in her latest publication, Singing a Hindu Nation: Marathi Devotional Performance. For centuries people in India have gathered in temples or on pilgrimages to hear kirtan, a form of Indian folk music that praises the divine. Schultz…
Read MorePhotographer Robert Frank drops in on a panel discussion of his work
The artist celebrated his 90th birthday with a visit to his exhibition at the Cantor.The event was supposed to be an in-depth discussion of the Cantor Art Center’s special exhibition Robert Frank in America, with three panelists providing analysis of select photographs. For the lucky guests who got in, it lived up to the description, and then some. Robert Frank dropped in to participate. Frank visited the exhibition with his wife, June Leaf, a few days before…
Read MoreSeen – and heard! – on campus
It’s hard to believe finals are right around the corner – what an exciting fall quarter! We have seen an amazing roster of high-profile artists and creative industry leaders on campus. I realize it may be difficult to keep up with them all – so for those keeping score at home, here are a few:…
Read MoreStanford Symphony Orchestra performs Mahler’s Symphony No. 6
The 120 musicians of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra rehearse at Bing Concert Hall for a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 in A minor, “Tragic.” The 90-minute epic transports performers and audience members through Mahler’s world of poetic landscape, sinister visions and profound love. Directed by Jindong Cai, the orchestra features a number of unique…
Read MoreMatthew Billman, “Bring Him Home”
Stanford+Connects is a 16-city world tour that brings the best of Stanford University to alumni around the world. Designed as a full afternoon of learning and connecting, attendees meet up with new “classmates” then head to the classroom for micro lectures and seminars taught by top Stanford faculty. Each event offers a broad program with…
Read MoreWeston Gaylord, “Paper Chains: Cultivating Creativity”
Stanford+Connects is a 16-city world tour that brings the best of Stanford University to alumni around the world. Designed as a full afternoon of learning and connecting, attendees meet up with new “classmates” then head to the classroom for micro lectures and seminars taught by top Stanford faculty. Each event offers a broad program with…
Read MoreA trio of Stanford Art Spaces exhibitions
Advanced Geometry: Katie Hawkinson, Joe Slusky and Stephen WilmothStanford Art Spaces is pleased to announce its November-December 2014 art exhibitions: Elementals, oil paintings by Katie Hawkinson; Steel Dreams, painted, welded sculptures, along with drawings and collages, by Joe Slusky; and Sacred Geometry, paintings of geometric polyhedrons by Stephen Wilmoth. Hawkinson (who, incidentally, teaches at Stanford Continuing Studies) and Slusky are a well-known Berkeley…
Read MoreThe Shenson Series celebrates 10 years of recitals
The A. Jess Shenson Recital Series will celebrate its 10th anniversary this Sunday by welcoming baritone Stephen Salters to Campbell Recital Hall for a performance featuring Rachmaninoff, Strauss and American, Spanish and Brazilian folks songs. The Shenson Series was founded in 2004 by pianist LAURA DAHL, a lecturer in music, to bring vocalists to campus…
Read MoreStanford and Warner make music – leaders
A new collaboration between Stanford and the music industry will cultivate the next generation of leaders in the music world.
Innovation and entrepreneurial thinking are key factors that make the music business a shapeshifting industry. They are also part of the learning ethos at Stanford – and will drive the Stanford/Warner Music Group Leadership Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to identify and develop a new generation of undergraduate Stanford students from across various…
Read MoreBritish puppetry theater group Blind Summit teaches master class at Stanford
Speaking to members of the Stanford community at the Bing Concert Hall Studio, the celebrated Blind Summit Theatre group demonstrated its unique take on ancient Japanese Bunraku puppetry. At one point, three audience members tried their hand at puppeteering – each controlling a separate part of a single puppet’s body. This weekend, Blind Summit will…
Read MoreNovember State of the Arts – Imagining the Universe
The universe has always been a platform for life’s big questions. Who are we? Where did we come from? It’s a way to explore and deepen our understanding of the universe while we learn about ourselves.“Imagining the Universe” is a collaborative campus-wide program bringing together a broad array of partners on campus and in the Bay Area.* The cosmos has long inspired our imaginations – fueling research, reflection, and creative response. There’s a lot to be learned from this vast topic. That’s why the series will host exhibitions, performances, public…
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