The University of Lynchburg Wind Symphony and Orchestra are set to perform their first holiday performance since 2019.
“A Holiday Concert: Reliving the Wonders of Childhood”, is scheduled to perform for two showings, Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is taking place in Sydnor Performance Hall, located on the campus of University of Lynchburg.
Associate Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, Dr. Oeida Hatcher, said, “ I am most excited about the all children’s theme of the concert”
: Wind Symphony and Orchestra Bring the Holiday Spirit(more…)
Lynchburg’s DanceWorks in collaboration with the Lynchburg Wind Symphony Orchestra, will host a holiday dance extravaganza on Dec.1st and 2nd at 7:30 p.m.
The show this season is Reliving the Wonders of Childhood. The Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Oeida M. Hatcher, will feature DanceWorks along with Community Big Band, under the direction of Dr. Chris Magee.
“We’re performing with the wind ensemble for the holiday concert. This is a part of music and theater together,” says Loretta Wittman, who choreographs DanceWorks.
The City of Lynchburg has decided to remove College Lake’s dam to turn it into a wetland, but this decision comes with some dispute among scientists.
Dr. Henry-Stone, an environmental sciences professor at the University of Lynchburg who has been working in collaboration with the City of Lynchburg to help coordinate the dam’s removal, says, “The lake was much bigger when it was first built in 1934 and it’s been filling in with sediment which is dirt runoff from around the city, so the lake has shrunk in size. Therefore it has sort of reduced the habitat for aquatic organisms but it also comes with other forms of pollution like bacteria from sewage,” when asked about what environmental problems the lake poses.
(Photo of University of Lynchburg students at the Italian Embassy learning more about Italian values right before the simulation)
The University of Lynchburg traveled to Washington D.C. on Nov. 10 to participate in the 30th annual Mid-Atlantic European Union Simulation, dominating the competition.
The simulation gives the students the opportunity to act as elected politicians from their European member-states, and would then discuss and amend proposed legislation over the two main topics: Human Trafficking in Europe and the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis.
Dr. Marek Payerhin, who is in charge of handling the simulation, says, “Everybody’s going in the right direction, I’d like us to repeat the very successes we’ve had in the past. We tend to be very good in winning different positions and influencing debate on the floor.”
The simulation asks students to pick apart legislation created in relation to the biggest problems in Europe, then amend said legislation in accordance with their party’s views
University of Lynchburg theatre majors will host the One-Act Play Festival from Dec. 3-6 at Studio Theatre, showcasing rehearsed acts from fall classes.
Professor Jeff Wittman’s students have prepared in seven small groups, each performing scenes from a different play studied in class.
The production allows students to gain experience on stage while directing opportunities are available for upperclassmen.
Senior theatre major Connor McCroy is directing The Agreement, a play written by Douglas Taylor. Compared to acting, the role of director has posed a wealth of new responsibilities throughout the rehearsal process.
“The directors, they’re not just the director,” McCroy said. “We’re going to be lighting design, scenic design, costumers; we’re taking care of pretty much all the technical aspects of the play.”
McCroy’s position allows him to engage audiences with new forms of entertainment.
Chief Innovation Officer in the Center for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships at The University of Lynchburg, Savannah Cook, thinks the wall is, “a good amenity and will be totally free to students.”
Cook said, “We have a lot of student interest right now, that if we had it (the rock wall) on campus I wouldn’t need to go to rise up and pay all those fees,” and “It’s to Improve the student experience and potentially recruitment.”
Giving students an opportunity to climb and live a healthy lifestyle is a goal of the project.
Senior Aaron Walton, currently rock climbs about five times a week as his primary source of exercise.
Walton said, “it would get people into rock climbing more,” and that, “it’s hard to get down to the (rock climbing) gym downtown.”
Since the only rock climbing gym in town can be expensive for students, the new wall will give student outdoor enthusiasts a free chance to try out something new or hone in on their skills.
To check on the progress of the wall and find updates on the completion, make sure to check the university’s social media platforms and website for announcement of the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Established in 2021, the Center for Innovation and Strategic Partnership tackles the ideas from faculty, staff, and students that will improve the university.
This taskforce of innovators is a group of individuals that wishes to enrich the campus experience as well to meet the initiatives of President Alison Morrison-Shetlar.
Chief Innovation Officer Savannah Cook said, “One of the biggest things we have been working on is we have over 90 ideas that have been submitted to us. A lot of them are from last year.”
Cook said the committee is sorting ideas based on the goals of Center for Innovation and Strategic Partnership, CISP and that priority is placed on ideas that are revenue generating, cost saving, or improve the campus experience in some way.
The committee is currently working on the iRacing rig which was a donation from Dr. John “J” Salmon.
Vice Chair of CISP, Cameron Lohr explained, “the iRacing rig is really important to the IC (Innovation Collaboration) because we had an outside contributor. We also had the donation so that sort of was the first for us also. (This was the first time) where we had someone from the community come in and pitch an idea to us, we helped him make it happen on campus.”
From left to right, Isaac Howard, Alyssa Camejo, Caroline Gilmore, Monica Chisom, Lauren Moseley, Rick Smallshaw.
Photo of concerto-aria contestants taken by Chris Magee on Nov. 4, 2022. Retrieved by Alyssa Wilson on Nov. 7, 2022.
Every year the Music Department at the University of Lynchburg hosts a concerto-aria competition for vocalists and instrumentalists to perform for a panel of judges, which prepares them for a future in the performing arts.
The competition is open to any and all music students who are interested in performing, starting at the end of the previous semester. Students who performed in this year’s competition worked on their pieces from the end of the spring semester through the fall semester.
The week leading up to the competition, however, demands lots of preparation and nerves according to Camejo. She said, “I’ve been really preparing since the start of the semester, and as for this week I’ve been sucking on lots of cough drops and just trying to rest my voice.”
For both instrumentalists and vocalists, they must perform between seven and ten minutes of music. In the past this music was required to be memorized, but due to this being the first competition since COVID-19, organizer and associate professor of music, Dr. Chris Magee decided to change that this year.
On the men’s side, the Hornets swept the field for the first time in history. Senior Frank Csorba took the individual title with an eight-kilometer course time of 25:38.4. Fellow Hornet, Corbin Green followed closely behind with a time of 25:38.7.
Senior Sam Llaneza and sophomore Marko Kocacevik and Cooper Hurst rounded out the top five to secure a top five sweep of the field for the Hornets. There were also four more Lynchburg runners represented in the top 15.
Junior runner Sam Graham spoke highly of the program’s culture attributing that to their consistent success. “Obviously success is great and everyone wants to be part of a good team, but it takes a cultural commitment and buy-in to turn into a competitive program year-in and year-out. That’s what Coach Reed has established during his time at Lynchburg,” said Graham.
The women’s team also saw a top five sweep in the championship race. Senior Kelsey Lagunas led the way for the Hornets winning her second consecutive championship. She finished the six- kilometer race with a time of 21:55.8. Sophomores Sarah James, Allison Dell, and Molly Silva and junior Lauren Massey completed the top five sweep.
Photo from Delight’s kickoff night, taken from @delight_lynchburg on Instagram retrieved by Jordan Abbott.
A chapter of Delight Ministries was started on campus at the beginning of the semester to provide a “Christ-centered community for women @ UofL,” according to the group’s Instagram page.
Sophomore social media coordinator and team director for the chapter, Riley Winefordner says, “Basically, when I came in freshman year I knew that I wanted a Christ-centered community and I didn’t have fellowship in high school at all, so it was something I was really looking for when I came to college. I found some groups that I really enjoyed, but I was really craving that women’s group where I could be more vulnerable and connect with women and really share struggles while still learning about God, and honestly having a place where I could come week to week knowing that everything else fades away and be with other Godly women who can encourage me.”
Delight Ministries is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and has 205 chapters at colleges all across the country. \
On a rainy Halloween night, the students of the University of Lynchburg gathered in the Drysdale Student Center for some trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting, and socializing with different organizations.
The event, sponsored by the Student Activities Board, was moved from the Dell to Drysdale after rain throughout the day forced SAB to relocate the event.
Different organizations including the Outdoor Leadership Program (OLP), Christian Outreach (CRU) and yours truly were stationed at tables giving away free candy and SAB handed out caramel apples.
Lynchburg, Va. hosted a walk at Riverfront Park on Oct. 29th which was rescheduled from its original date in early October due to Hurricane Ian.
Many community members joined together in walking to raise money towards research and studies that help prevent suicide.
The event’s fundraising goal was $60,000 and was surpassed by over $20,000.
In addition to fundraising, community members also came out to show support and spread awareness for those who have lost their lives to suicide.
Among these community members were many Greek brothers and sisters from the University of Lynchburg, who gathered to remember Phi Kappa Tau brother Sean Williams who passed away in the spring of 2021.
