Greetings Friend of the Mary Lou Williams Center,
Our distinguished history began in the fall of 1983, when the Mary Lou Williams Center opened its doors in the basement of the West Union Building thanks to the countless hours many of you rendered in advocacy and support. Twenty-five years later, the Mary Lou Williams Center is comfortably relocated to the former Oak Room on the second floor of the West Union Building. In the past three years, we have transformed the renovated facility into a warm and inviting space for all, and a place in which the campus community can take great pride.
This fall, the Mary Lou Williams Center will celebrate its year-long 25th Anniversary with a series of events that span the 2008-09 academic year. The commemoration is appropriately themed, Facing the Rising Sun. In this moment, I invite you to reflect on the accomplishments and adversity that distinguish our past and the challenges and opportunities that will shape our future.
Signature events include:
This fall, the Mary Lou Williams Center will celebrate its year-long 25th Anniversary with a series of events that span the 2008-09 academic year. The commemoration is appropriately themed, Facing the Rising Sun. In this moment, I invite you to reflect on the accomplishments and adversity that distinguish our past and the challenges and opportunities that will shape our future.
Signature events include:
• Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams, Friday, October 17th, Mary Lou Williams Center, 1:00pm: Dr. Tammy Kernodle, Associate Professor of Music at Miami University (Ohio) will discuss the life and music of Ms. Williams in her book Soul on Soul, which tells the story of Williams' musical career and personal life. This event is free and open to the public. To learn more about Dr. Kernodle's biography of Ms. Williams,visit http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=14371
• 'Round Midnight, Friday, October 17th, Mary Lou Williams Center, 10:30pm: enjoy an evening of live jazz featuring the musical sounds of Dr. John Brown and friends. Free and open to the public.
• **25th Anniversary Gala, Saturday, October 18th, Von Canon Rooms/ Bryan Center, 6:30pm: our silver signature event is a Saturday evening gala with 300 of the most significant friends of the ‘Mary Lou’. Guests will welcome old friends and make new ones, reflect on the legacy of leadership and lessons learned as we face the rising sun of our new day begun and congratulate all who made the night possible as a result of their contributions the past 25 years. Tickets: $50.00 Students: $25.00
• **Moving with the Spirit: A Gospel Jazz Brunch, Sunday, October 19th, Searle Conference Center/ The Commons Restaurant, 11:00am: will provide an opportunity to experience a presentation of Mary Lou Williams’s great loves music and church. The Deanna Witkowski Trio will delight with an exuberant fusion of jazz and sacred music expressing some of the best work of our namesake. DUBAC will also take time to honor Dean Martina Bryant during this wonderful occasion. Close out Homecoming Weekend with brunch, sacred music and dear friends. Tickets: $25.00
• Speaking of Hope Dialogue, Thursday, October 23rd, Nelson Music Room (East Campus), 7:00pm will highlight the academic excellence and persistent hope found in the Black experience. The indomitable spirit of legendary scholar, Dr. John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History, inspires this conversation. Drs. Vincent and Rachel Harding (father and daughter) have been tapped to engage one another in this inaugural event. FREE
• **Jazz Concert, Evolutions, Saturday, January 31st, Reynolds Theather/ Bryan Center, 8:00pm: twenty-five years after the founding of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke, two groundbreaking female artists celebrate the legacy of this jazz pioneer who was also Duke’s first-ever artist in residence, from 1977 until her death in 1981. The daring Gerri Allen, who played Williams in Robert Altman’s Kansas City (1996), performs Williams’ 12-part suite based on the zodiac. Patricia Barber, with the refined grace that characterizes her singing and piano play, performs her own meditation on stability and change, an 11-song cycle inspired by characters in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Tickets: $5.00 student, $20.00, $28.00 admission
• Jazz at the Mary Lou, Sept 3, 10, 17 ; Oct 1, 8, 22, 29; Nov 5, 12, 19, Dec 3, Mary Lou Williams Center, 9:30pm: fill your Wednesday evenings with live jazz and the exquisite company of jazz lovers from campus and community in an energetic and engaging atmosphere. Enjoy live performances by local musicians as well as Duke music students, with special guest artists all brought together by John Brown, Director of the Duke Jazz Studies Program. Doors open at 9:30 pm until midnight. Light hors d’oeuvres and liquid refreshment will be provided with the option to enjoy late night fare and drinks in the Faculty Commons provided by Sage & Swift. FREE
As we are Facing the Rising Sun, we are seeking to find our voice for a new day. This 25th Anniversary commemoration presents a special opportunity for you to add your voice to the conversation as we craft a vision for the future of the Mary Lou Williams Center even as we take a reverential look at its past.
(** Ticketed event. Click here to register)