Variety of Music, Art, Film and Lectures Open to the Public this Spring

March 1, 2016

Hudson Valley Community College announces several events, open to the public, as part of its spring cultural affairs programming. Performances, film screenings, exhibitions and lectures will be presented in various venues on the college's Troy campus. Admission is free of charge, unless otherwise noted.

Caroline Motherjudge and Mitch Elrod highlight the schedule on Friday, March 11 at noon with a concert of Americana folk guitar tunes influenced by the country blues of Hank Williams and Ray Charles and the swampy rhythms and deep gospel soul sounds of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Colonel Bruce Hampton. The duo's broad songbook of originals and well-chosen covers will be presented in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium.

The Hudson Valley Community College Guitar Festival, sponsored by the Cultural Affairs program, takes place on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23 in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center. Workshop facilitators, guitarists and luthiers selected exclusively from the Capital Region will present this "hands-on" celebration of electric, bass and steel- and nylon-string guitar. Musical styles include blues, bluegrass, classical, flamenco, gypsy jazz, metal, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, roots rockabilly and western swing. Admission is $20 for all workshops, programs and performances. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (518) 629-8071 or at the door.

The award-winning Lisa Ades film, "Miss America," paints a vivid picture of an institution that reveals much about a changing nation in screenings on Monday, March 14 at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium. Tracking the country's oldest beauty contest from its inception in 1921 to the present day and featuring rare archival footage, this presentation celebrates Women's History Month with the film's moving, inspiring and infuriating human story lying beneath the commercialism, sexual politics and big business of the pageant itself.

Hudson artist Carlos Loret De Mola discusses his photography on Tuesday, March 15 at 3 p.m. in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium. De Mola's work can be seen in the college's Teaching Gallery through March 19 as part of the exhibition, "In This Place," that also features photographs by Brooklyn artist Monika Sosnowski. From minute details that capture intimate glimpses of events and locations to larger 'views' that more generously share their narratives, the work of both artists brings a sense that they are observing life from the outside. For gallery hours, go to www.hvcc.edu/teachinggallery.

From March 30 to April 28, the Marvin Library Learning Commons will feature a juried art exhibition of paintings, drawings, video and sculpture by 30 students of 23 school districts in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties. The exhibit is sponsored by Quester III. The college's Fine Arts students will be featured in the Advanced Study in Drawing and Painting End-of-Year Exhibit in the Teaching Gallery from mid-April through May. Specific dates will be announced.

The public is invited to the following lectures taking place in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium as part of the college's Voices library lecture series:

• Wednesday, March 2 at 1 p.m., "Change and Innovation in the Digital World: Building the Future with Virtual Reality Software"
• Tuesday, March 15 at noon, "Everything is Energy: A Look at Healing Touch Energy Therapy"
• Thursday, April 7 at noon, "Hudson River Issues: Threats and Opportunities"
• Tuesday, April 19 at 1 p.m., "The Music of the Oppressed and the Oppressor during the Nazi Holocaust"

For details about these talks, go to www.hvcc.edu/voices.

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Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 80 associate degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 75,000 alumni.