Fall 2018 Jackson

Teton County Library, Ordway Auditorium

125 Virginian Lane | Jackson, WY

September 29, 2018 | 9:00 AM

8:30 AM doors open for coffee and donuts

 

How to Swoon for a Swarm: Creating Characters and Narratives for the Chamber Opera Locust 

Dr. Anne Guzzo, Associate Professor of Music, University of Wyoming

In a song, music distills, crystallizes and intensifies the lyrics.  In an opera, the lyricist tells the story while the composer dramatizes it. The music animates the characters, identifying them and evoking their personal qualities—warmth, depression, energy, humor, steadfastness, etc.  While the music carries the central narrative forward, it  can also tell an additional story—one that may align itself with the main tale or perhaps contradict its words or maybe even tell its own story. Composer Anne Guzzo will reveal the inner musical workings of the environmental murder mystery opera, Locust, written with lyricist Jeff Lockwood. 

Click here for the Youtube video.

 

The Locust Opera: Set Design as Art Installation

Ashley Hope Carlisle, Associate Professor of Art, University of Wyoming

We often think of art as static, standing in a traditional gallery space or hanging on a wall in a home. But what about art which is used, which people interact with? Join artist Ashley Carlisle as she discusses the conceptualization, visualization and creation of the costumes and set for the interdisciplinary opera Locust.

Click here for the Youtube video.

 

The Rocky Mountain Locust: From Magnificent Profusion to Mysterious Extinction

Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood, Professor of Philosophy, University of Wyoming

In 1875, 3 trillion Rocky Mountain locusts formed a swarm stretching 1800 miles. Yet less than 30 years after causing such wide-spread devastation, it had disappeared. How did this locust fall from ecological triumph to extinction so rapidly? The scientific sleuthing that answered the question began with local historical accounts and obscure maps and extended to ice core analysis from Wyoming's remote glaciers. The killer lacked a motive and used the simplest of means; the extinction was an incredible accident. This fortuitous collision of humans and nature provides powerful lessons for the modern world.

Click here for the Youtube video.

 

Saturday University in Jackson is sponsored by the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Humanities Council, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Teton County Library, and Central Wyoming College-Jackson.