Events, exhibitions and news to enjoy, this month at Amherst.
Events, exhibitions and news to enjoy, this month at Amherst.
Amherst College Arts & Museums: Happenings Ahead

December Arts Preview

Events, exhibits and news to enjoy this month at Amherst, plus a contest for readers both local and far away.
A smiling woman in a pink hat and scarf holding a plate with a piece of cake in one hand and a fork in the other, behind her, and a cake that reads A promo photo of four students in dark clothes leaning up against a cement wall, with moody blue lighting
A promo photo of eleven men and women, smiling and standing in a row, dressed in all black with a white background, some leaning against one another
'Tis the season to celebrate the start of the winter holidays, the end of the academic semester and Emily Dickinson's birthday! To that end...
  • Amherst's Choral Society performs a festival of lessons and carols, Dec. 3
  • Five College students and the Amherst College Dance Ensemble present an evening of original works in performance, Dec. 8 & 9
  • The Emily Dickinson Museum's birthday celebration features special tours and activities, and the poet's famous coconut cake, Dec. 9
  • Music at Amherst presents its final concert of 2017 with The Tallis Scholars, Dec. 10
  • The Common hosts its annual online Author Postcard Auction, through Dec. 10
  • And the Mead hosts a closing reception for a fall exhibit, Dec. 14
Keep reading to learn more about these and additional Happenings Ahead, and to see a photo gallery from Amherst's production of Peer Gynt, a first-person essay by Senior Resident Artist Betsey Garand, and an interview with Professor Nicola Courtright.
Finally, if you can figure out what Emily Dickinson is describing in the poem below, you'll be entered to win a poster from the Emily Dickinson Museuma great gift for yourself or a loved one in time for the holidays!

Events to Enjoy

A decorated Christmas tree in the foreground with gold and red ornaments, and a choir director with arms extended conducting a chorus of student singers in Johnson Chapel.
Amherst's Choral Society Vespers perform Dec. 3. Photo by David Le.
The Common literary magazine's Annual Postcard Auction
Now through Dec. 10, online only

Bid for a chance to win a postcard from your favorite author, handwritten for you or a person of your choice. (Participating authors include George Saunders, Junot Díaz and Zadie Smith, to name a few.)
The Music of Claude Debussy Performed by Amherst College Student Chamber Musicians
Friday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m., Mead Art Museum

Enjoy performances by student musicians offered in conjunction with the exhibition From the Picturesque to the Modern Vision: Landscape Painting in Europe Across the Centuries.
Performance Thesis by Joshua Ferrer '18E, Cello
Saturday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

Take in a cello honors thesis anchored by two monumental works written from places of darkness: Bach’s Suite No. 5 in C minor and Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano.
Choral Society Vespers
Sunday, Dec. 3, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Johnson Chapel

Experience a festival of lessons and carols performed by the Amherst College Choral Society, Flute Choir and guest musicians.
Film & Media Studies Roundtable Discussion of Internships (For students)
Monday, Dec. 4, 4:305:30 p.m., Johnson Chapel, Room 202

Learn about internship opportunities to jumpstart your career after college.
Gallery Talk with Alla Rosenfeld, Curator of Russian and European Art
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 12 noon1 p.m., Mead Art Museum

Take a break from your day to learn about the history of European landscape painting.
Amherst Arts Night Plus: Poetry Reading and Art Exhibition
Thursday, Dec. 7, 5
–8 p.m., Emily Dickinson Museum
See a pop-up art exhibit and watercolor demonstration by artist Robert Masla, open mic poetry, and a reading by poet Will Dowd.
New Works in Performance
Friday, Dec. 8, and Saturday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m., Holden Theater
Enjoy a
n evening of original works created by Amherst and Five College students.
Amherst College Jazz Ensemble Winter Concert
Friday, Dec. 8, 8 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

Take in a performance by Amherst’s student Jazz Ensemble; donations to the Amherst Survival Center accepted.
Emily Dickinson Birthday Celebration
Saturday, Dec. 9, 14 p.m., Emily Dickinson Museum

Celebrate Emily Dickinson's 187th birthday with a festive open house and a coconut cake
made from the poet’s own recipe.
M@A Masterclass with Tallis Scholars Director Peter Phillips
Saturday, Dec. 9, 45:30 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

Attend a public masterclass with Director Peter Phillips and Amherst's own a cappella singers.
Amherst Symphony Orchestra Performance
Saturday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

See the fourth concert of the ASO’s yearlong survey of American music with works by the early iconoclast Charles Ives as well as the modern minimalist master John Adams.
M@A Chamber Series presents The Tallis Scholars (Sold Out)
Sunday, Dec. 10, 3 p.m., Buckley Recital Hall, Arms Music Center

Enjoy a performance by the award-winning vocal ensemble that specializes in performing a cappella sacred vocal music. Waiting list and free student rush tickets available.
Director & Chief Curator David E. Little Tells It Like It Is
Thursday, Dec. 14, 4
5 p.m., Mead Art Museum
Join the head of the Mead for a gallery talk and closing reception for the exhibition Tell It Like It Is
or Could Be.
Study at the Mead! (For students)
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Thursday, Dec. 20, 9 a.m.12 midnight, Mead Art Museum
Take advantage of the Mead's comfy chairs, ample outlets and inspiring setting during finals week. Snacks, activities and extra tables provided.

In the Galleries

A featureless silver mannequiin wearing a futuristic blouse and skirt with blue, pink and green dots and geometric patterns, with antique, stained glass windows in the background
Rotherwas Project 3, on view at the Mead. Photo by Takudzwa Tapfuma '17.
Rotherwas Project 3: Saya Woolfalk, Life Products and the ChimaCloud
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum

Video, sculpture and multimedia works by New York-based contemporary artist Saya Woolfalk
Tell It Like It Is—or Could Be
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum

Large-scale color photography that seeks to tell stories about the past and the present that often have been elided from historical imagery 
Home Away from Home: Russian Artists Abroad
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum

Works by artists who left the Soviet Union or its pre-Bolshevik predecessor, the Russian Empire, in search of personal or artistic freedom
From the Picturesque to the Modern Vision: Landscape Painting in Europe Across the Centuries
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum
Works examining the evolution of European landscape painting from the 17th to the early 20th century
Perspectives on Michael Mazur
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum

Paintings and prints by of one of the most distinguished artists to have graduated from Amherst
The American Collection: Two Centuries of Art at Amherst College
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum

Works charting the early days in the building of a nation, and a museum
Picturing American Identity
On view through Dec. 31, Mead Art Museum

Black and white photography selected by Mead student interns 
Varieties of Nonconformism: Unofficial Art from the Soviet Union
On view through Feb. 11, 2018, Amherst Center for Russian Culture Art Gallery, Webster Hall (2nd floor)

Works produced by the leading members of the Soviet nonconformist art movement

Newsworthy

Student performers in colorful suits and costumes gathered together on stage, with visual projections of spiraling dots behind them
Amherst's production of Peer Gynt. Photo by Takudzwa Tapfuma '17.
December Arts Preview
Learn more about the arts events and exhibits happening this month at Amherst. Read more»
Queen of Arts
With two prestigious grants, Professor Nicola Courtright explores how art and architecture elevated the queen's role in early modern France. Read more»
In Pictures: Peer Gynt
Last month, Theater and Dance presented a visually compelling, contemporary adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s early play Peer Gynt, which explores an age-old question: What does it mean to know yourself? See the photo gallery»
Series of Thought
In an essay penned for Issue 14 of The Common literary magazine, Amherst's senior resident artist Betsey Garand discusses her inspiration for creating prints. Read the essay»
A charicature of Emily Dickinson, wearing a black dress, with snow and red leafless trees near the bottom
Emily Dickinson Museum poster, Winter, created by internationally acclaimed illustrator Penelope Dullaghan. Size: 18 x 24 in.

Enter to Win

What is Emily Dickinson describing in the following poem?

I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town 
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down 
And then they grew so jolly
I did resign the prig 
And ten of my once stately toes
Are marshalled for a jig!

E-mail your answer to artsmuse@amherst.edu by 11 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3, and you'll be entered to win the poster of Emily Dickinson pictured aboveOne randomly selected reader who submits the correct answer will be notified via email.

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