Brundibar

See the Brundibar exhibit at the Ritz Library, Hudson Hall, 3rd Floor

Do you know Brundibar?

It is one of the most important (I think the most important) children’s musicals of the 20th Century. It had its first production in 1943 in the concentration camp at Terezin. After the final performance most of the young performers in that original cast and the composer, Hans Krasa, were murdered! The paragraph below tells more of the story but even more has developed over the last couple of days. Two years ago, while doing my research for the production, I visited Terezin outside of Prague in the Czech Republic. Recently I have been e-mailing with people there. They sent me some material for a small exhibit I have created in the DCC library. In one of the e-mails I found out that one of the children, Ela Weissberger, lives in Tappan Hill! I spoke with her a couple of days ago. What an amazing woman! She is the author of a book about her experiences, “The Cat with the Yellow Star, Coming of Age in Terezin.” We are trying to arrange her coming to one of our performances! And yesterday I spoke with Maurice Sendak’s secretary – Mr. Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are, etc.) is the co-author with Tony Kushner of the new and special translation I am using. Brundibar is one of the most unique of all theatre stories. DCC is one of the first theatres in America to get the rights to produce it. Google reveals over 100,000 sites about Brundibar! Even Wikipedia tells the story. You Tube has pictures from around the world.

Brundibar is one of the most joyous, charming & funny children’s musicals ever written! Is it just for children? No! Definitely no! It is for the happy “forever-after” child in all of us! It is for any child/adult from 5 to 105. In the 1940s Brundibar’s happy story and delightful music tried to illuminate a world of terrible darkness – one of the darkest moments in world history. Google Brundibar for its history but come to the James & Betty Hall Theatre at Dutchess Community College on November 14 at 7:00 pm, November 15 at 2:00 & 7:00 pm and Sunday, November 16 at 2:00 pm. Come for its joy & laughter but never forget its history. This production uses the new translation by famed children’s book author Maurice Sendak and noted playwright Tony Kushner. It is directed by Steve Press who held the Greenspan Trust Handel Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Dutchess Community College. The musical director is Dr. Christopher Brellochs. The choreographers are two former DCC students, Susie Riefenhauser & Samantha Dahowski. The production is produced by the college Department of Performing Arts & the Masquers Guild. As a free bonus the college will present a brief curtain raiser before Brundibar: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Steve Press’s delightful comedy, The Spider and the Bee, five talented actors directed by Will Szigethy will perform the story of The Spider and the Bee. Go to the college’s web site for directions to the Theatre and telephone 845 431-8696 for additional information. Children and seniors $5.00. DCC students and staff are free. General admissions is $10.00. No advance reservations – all tickets sold at the door at the time of the performance.

I’m proud that DCC is producing Brundibar for our community. I hope you will inform others about this important college project.

Steve Press

Copyright copy-right!

Confused about copyright laws? Concerned that you may be infringing on someone else's intellectual property rights? Columbia University has produced a website titled "Columbia University Libraries/Information Services Copyright Advisory Office" to help individuals and organizations understand what current copyright laws are and how to apply them. Included on the website are case studies and a Copyright Quick Guide link to help people understand how the law applies in their situation. Besides written works, copyright applies to creative works including choreography, images, computer programs, websites, art and music, among others. While fair use allows for use of much materials in an educational setting, it is important to understand what constitutes fair use, and what might be ruled an infringement of copyright law.

Student Essay Contest!

Have you had a wonderful college experience? Has a particular professor, staff member or administrator gone out of their way to assist you at Dutchess Community COllege? If so, you may be interested in entering the first annual Community College Week - NISOD Student Essay Contest.

The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) is pleased to announce the first annual Community College Week–NISOD Student Essay Contest. The winning essay is awarded a total of $3,000+ in prizes to be shared with the student author, the outstandingfaculty/staff/administrator featured in the essay, and the student’s community college.

The essay contest is an opportunity to celebrate teaching and leadership excellence on college campuses by recognizing those who are making a difference in the lives of students. This is also an opportunity to recognize the community colleges who are the proud recipients of these exemplary faculty, staff, and administrators.

Click here to access the entry form and get additional details about the contest!

Also, I'd like to thank Peter Phipps of BHS for this posting.

Translations 2009 at Dutchess!

Do you enjoy art? Being creative? Do you like to volunteer to help out at events? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then you may want to learn more about Translations 2009 at DCC. The purpose of Translations 2009 is to give students an opportunity to explore social issues of the past, present and/or future. This year the focus is on social concerns relating to the Hudson River. So what's involved? Students will complete research through methods learned at DCC, whether it be in an academic discipline such as Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Science, Sociology or through a professional program such as Education, Nursing or Paralegal Studies. They will create a research notebook which will then be interpreted through an artistic medium such as (but not limited to) film, performing arts, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry and play writing. On April 18, 2009, a festival competition will be held where students can present their work.

In case you are wondering, you can work either individually or as a team!

Three categories of awards for artistic expression will be awarded: Performance Art, Visual Art, and Reading of Literature. A monetary award will be given for the best in each category and ALL participants (students, staff and faculty) will be recognized.

Please contact Pete Phipps for more information or to ask any questions about the festival and how you can be involved. The deadline to enter the contest is April 3, 2009. In addition to submitting research-to-art projects, students can be involved as volunteers in a number of capacities. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to be involved as project advisors, mentors, and as judges for the competition.

Pete's office is located on the 4th floor of Hudson Hall (H403-L) and his office phone number is 431-8341. You can also contact him via email at mailto:phipps@sunydutchess.edu.

To print a hard copy of the application, click here.

This post was created by information liberally borrowed from Pete Phipps.

Speeches En Regalia

An election year is a banner opportunity for political candidates to show off their oratorical skills. It's also a banner year for instructors to assign papers on speeches. So where's a comprehensive place to go for speeches?

A great source is Vital Speeches of the Day. This publication has collected the best in oratory since 1934. It contains speeches & addresses by important public figures on topics of national & international interest.

Searching is straightforward. To look for all speeches by an individual, search on the person's name, last name first. For example, "Radloff, Toby".

To search this database on campus, click on this link: Vital Speeches of the Day and go to "Search within this Publication". To find out how to search it from home, call 431-8634 or send e-mail to Reference.

Also remember that the Ritz Library owns a number of collections of speeches that you can take out or copy. Here's a list of those books.

Economic woes?

Looking for information on the current global economy? Worried about where the market goes from here? What makes up an economic crisis? How does it affect us locally and abroad? Middletown Thrall librarians have put together comprehensive resources to help you find answers and understand what's going on nationally and internationally these days. Click here .

Introducing Research...

Not sure where to start or how to approach researching a topic? Ron Crovisier, our head of Reference Services, created a PowerPoint presentation on Introduction to Research which I am liberally borrowing from to create this entry.

Ask yourself, what subject(s) is my topic about? What do I mean by "subject"? The subject is "the field of knowledge into which the topic fits". Typically, fields of knowledge can be broken down into the sciences, social sciences and humanities. Sciences include physical sciences such as biology, chemistry, math and physics. Social Sciences are psychology, sociology, civilization. Humanities cover art, English literature, philosophy. Jot down your possibilities and try to note how the topic relates to a specific field of knowledge. What kind of question are you trying to answer? Is it one of direct measurement (physical science)? Is it a philosophical question (humanities)? Or is it a social science question?

When you think you know what you're looking for, search online using our catalog, electronic books or databases for information pertaining to your subject. Are you finding suitable resources? If not, narrow or widen your focus to include additional ideas. SUBJECT headings or SUBJECT terms in the databases and catalogs can greatly help you focus in on what really interests you. When in our catalog, if you click on the title of a book, it will take you to the bibliographic record. Three-quarters of the way down the page you'll see links that say SUBJECT. Those links can lead you to additional books on your topic of interest. In the databases, the subject terms will be either on the left hand side or in a box at the top of the screen. Check out this pdf for quick notes on using the databases in the library.

We have 80,000 books in the library, 30,000 electronic books through ebrary, and 60 databases for people to access. Among the books are encyclopedias, dictionaries, and specialized guides on different subjects. Our databases allow for simple or complex searches to be built, and also allow for access to both primary and secondary sources of information. See blog entry on primary sources. In essence, primary sources are first hand accounts of a situation as related in newspapers, diaries, photos. Secondary sources use primary sources to draw conclusions, examine or interpret primary info and may be written years after the event occurred.

Once you've gotten a grip on your research material, you can start outlining and writing your paper. Remember the all important fact to cite your sources! There are a number of citation generators available out there, including KnightCite and there is citing functionality built into the databases and also ebrary. Remember to give us a call, email or meebo us if you are having any trouble, and we'd be glad to help!