The Office of University Communications at Indiana University will publish a special "arts and humanities" issue of IU Home Pages, the faculty and staff newspaper for all eight IU campuses, on Monday (Oct. 13).

The 10 original members of Indiana University's favorite a cappella group, Straight No Chaser, will perform a reunion show Saturday, Oct. 25, (7:30 p.m. at IU Auditorium) just three days before the group's Atlantic Records CD debut. Tickets to the show will become available today (Thursday, Oct. 2) at 10 a.m. Straight No Chaser first formed 12 years ago when its members were IU students. After taking part in a 2006 reunion show and posting footage from a 1998 concert on YouTube, the group experienced a resurgence in popularity and became a YouTube fan favorite, even attracting attention from Atlantic Records.   Full Story

Indiana University Ballet Theater begins its 2008-2009 season Oct. 10 with Ballets of Our Time, featuring top choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries -- including IU Ballet Department Chair Michael Vernon, who will present the world premiere of his new ballet Endless Night, with music by Philip Glass and a guest performance by Daniel Ulbricht, principal dancer of the New York City ballet. In addition to Endless Night, Ballets of Our Time will include George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments and Twyla Tharp's Sweet Fields, set to live music for the first time ever.   Full Story

From the moment of implosion when a building is demolished to a lone balloon slowly deflating its way to the floor, an upcoming exhibit at Indiana University's School of Fine Arts Gallery (SOFA) showcases six artists' interpretations of a fleeting moment in time. "One Moment," opening Oct. 17, comes to Bloomington from the Thomas Robertello Gallery of Chicago.   Full Story

Indiana University's first-ever "Celebrate IU Week" in 2007 was so successful, university officials will continue the new tradition with a monthlong tribute to all eight of IU's campuses. Highlights of the October celebration will include IU President Michael McRobbie's first State of the University address (Oct. 14); Homecoming (Oct. 17-25); the music of Hoagy Carmichael, for whom a bronze statue was dedicated last week at IU Bloomington; performances of La Traviata marking IU Opera Theater's 60th anniversary season and its 400th performance; groundbreakings; dedications and even a student video contest on YouTube.   Full Story

The recent appointment of Arthur Fagen, a former assistant conductor at the Frankfurt Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and the expanded responsibilities of Cliff Colnot, conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, brings to five the number of world-class instrumental conductors on faculty at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. "With these recent appointments, the nucleus of our instrumental conducting program is in place," said Jacobs Dean Gwyn Richards. "In combination with the new appointments of cellist Eric Kim and violinist Jorja Fleezanis, both of whom share an orchestral profile at the highest level, the orchestral program is now poised for unprecedented development."   Full Story

From the time he could walk, Rod Clemmons took every opportunity to toddle over to the nearest piano bench and start pounding away. He could just make out the difference between the black and white keys -- Clemmons was born legally blind. He was also talented enough that his mother started taking him to piano lessons at the University of Arkansas when he was four years old. He attended college at Indiana University, where Clemmons was accepted to the prestigious piano program at IU's Jacobs School of Music.   Full Story

Indiana University's Digital Library Program received a federal grant of $481,987 to demonstrate the benefits of an emerging form of cataloging using IU's vast collections of sound recordings and scores at the Cook Music Library. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums, announced the National Leadership Grant Wednesday.   Full Story

Adding to a growing list of renowned instrumentalists who have wide experience in orchestral performance, the IU Jacobs School of Music announced September 16 that concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, Jorja Fleezanis, will join its faculty as Professor of Music (Orchestral Studies, Violin) and the Henry A. Upper Chair in Orchestral Studies, in the fall of 2009.   Full Story

Music informatics professor Chris Raphael has received a 3-year, $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for his proposal titled, "Real-Time Planning of a Conductable Orchestra."   Full Story