Friday, March 27, 2009

Hilary Demske Piano Concert

This Wednesday, pianist Hilary Demske performed in Dana Library as part of the Arts @ Newark concert series. She played music composed by our very own Professor and pianist Henry Martin for a standing-room only crowd. It was a great concert. For those of you who missed her, I've uploaded two short videos from the concert. You can't see it in the one below, but if you view the video from her final piece on our YouTube Channel, you'll see how fast her fingers fly across the keyboard as she plays!



Hilary is the First prize winner of the "Citta di Barletta" International Piano Competition. An active solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, she has garnered numerous awards both in the United States and abroad.

An avid performer of contemporary music, Hilary has collaborated with George Tsontakis, Stephen Hough, and Michael Daugherty in venues that include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Guild and the Da Camara of Houston. She is currently working on a recording project for Albany Records of the solo piano music of Henry Martin, including music heard in these clips.

The next free concert will be held next Wednesday, April 1st, at the Robeson Gallery, celebrating composer Felix Mendelssoh's 200th birthday: check the Events Calendar for more details.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A Little Green in Winter

Ever wonder what's in those greenhouses on campus? You've probably walked by them dozens (or if you've been here a while like me, even hundreds) of times, and never been inside.

Germaine Benemile, RBS '09, sent these photos from inside the greenhouse, where plants are flourishing even as the rest of Newark is still covered in snow. (photo on the left is a view from above)

Germaine wrote: Most of these were taken during my General Horticulture lab, which is an undergraduate class in the Biology department. I just thought it might be interesting because most people walk right by the greenhouses (next to Boyden) but never get to see inside!

Below, the class learns how to create roots on the stem:
Some beautiful orchids (I used to have one of these at home, they're gorgeous, but flowers have a tendency to die around me and after a while mine stopped flowering)
Germaine wrote that You feel you're in a jungle when you're in here. The bottom photo really does look very jungle-like. It must be a welcome change from the freezing temperatures outside!

You can go to the entire set on flickr to see more.