It’s that time of year to bring in the specimens you’ve found to the Wagner Free Institute of Science’s Natural History Road Show. Our panel of expert scientists, specializing in shells, insects, fossils, rocks and minerals, will identify your treasures and answer any questions you have about them.

This year we’re trying something new. For the first time, we will have an interactive, temporary exhibit in our 19th century museum. For this pilot project we will feature YOUR specimens in one of our wood cases in an exhibit curated by the public!

Here’s how it works: Bring your treasure and the story of how you found it. After our panelists identify it, you can submit your specimen to be a part of an exhibit that will open in June. Imagine your specimen on display beside specimens collected by William Wagner, Joseph Leidy, and other naturalists!

Schedule for the Day

12 – 4 PM
-Explore the museum collections in the exhibition hall. Do a scavenger hunt!
-Celebrate National Urban Biodiversity Week with outside activities (weather permitting).
-Peruse old library books and purchase some to take home with you.

1 – 2 PM
-Enjoy a presentation in the Victorian lecture hall: The Big Bug Show with Philadelphia firefighter Olly McDonagh, featuring giant bugs from around the world!
-Venture outside after the show for some fabulous photo ops with the critters (weather permitting).

2 – 4 PM
-Have your natural history treasures identified by experts in the exhibition hall and submit your specimen to our temporary exhibit to be displayed this summer.

Cities across the country will participate in “Nature Block Party” for the first annual celebration of National Urban Biodiversity Week, May 13-19, 2012. The Wagner Free Institute of Science is proud to kick off this week with the Natural History Road Show on Saturday, May 12.

This exciting initiative is a collaboration between NYC Wildflower Week, the National Wildlife Federation, Project Noah, and institutional partners in cities across the country. For more information about events like guided walks through city woodlands, native plant workshops, planting opportunities, and fun program for families, visit: http://natureblockparty.org

Come early to explore our unparalleled natural history collection and National Historic Landmark building — just around the corner from your campus!

“Instructing Our Cells to Rebuild Our Bodies”
An illustrated presentation by Dr. John Gearhart, University of Pennsylvania

Few topics have had such a major impact on society as stem cell research — and few discoveries hold such promise for the future of disease treatment. Dr. Gearhart, Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, led the research team that first identified and isolated human embryonic stem cells. His groundbreaking research has paved the way for the new field of Regenerative Medicine.

It was only in 1998 that Gearhart and his team isolated human stem cells. Since that time, the emerging field of Regenerative Medicine has rapidly grown and evolved. Regenerative Medicine looks at how cells and tissues are formed and how they can be repaired, regenerated, or replaced. By reprogramming stem cells for regeneration, the patient could essentially heal themself by growing replacement tissues and organs. This field could profoudly change the way diseases are treated and solve problems of organ donor shortages from and organ transplant rejection.

In his presentation, John Gearhart will shed light on the unique properties of stem cells, explaining what makes them so special and how they can be used for organ regeneration and improved drug development. He will also cover the evolution of stem cell research, the current status of the field of Regenerative Medicine and what lies ahead for clinical application.

Left: Pluripotent Stem Cells. Right: Mouse neurons generated by direct reprogramming of astrocytes. Courtesy of the Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Saturday, February 18, 2012
Church of the Holy Trinity
Rittenhouse Square, 1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

Join us for free using your PEX Passport!

1:00pm – Raise Your Voice

Kristin Lee, violin
Susan Babini, cello
Julietta Curenton, flute
Harrison Hollingsworth, bassoon
Andrea Lam, piano
Special guests:
Che-Hung Chen, viola
Jeffrey Lang, horn
Karen Slack, soprano
Joshua Stewart, tenor
African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Chancel Choir
with Jay Fluellen, Minister of Music
Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, composer, pianist, vocalist
Jeri Lynne Johnson, poetry reader
Rev. Kevin Johnson, poetry reader
David Sanford, poetry reader

Program:
Maya Angelou The Rock Cries Out To Us Today
David Sanford Sinfonia (1989) for viola, cello, and piano
Angelou I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Angelou Million Man March Poem
George Walker Violin Sonata No. 1
Angelou Excerpt from Still I Rise
Alvin Singleton Almost A Boogie (2010)
Langston Hughes I Dream A World
Gary Powell Nash Deformations V for bassoon and piano
Sonia Sanchez Malcolm
Arr. Evelyn Simpson-Curenton Do You Believe/Certainly, Lord
Arr. Simpson-Curenton O Glory
Arr. Simpson-Curenton Git On Board
Arr. Simpson-Curenton Amazing Grace

Astral’s exciting multicultural three-concert festival opens with a program featuring readings of poetry written by Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Sonia Sanchez, alongside the music of celebrated African-American composers, performed by Astral artists and special guest The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Chancel Choir.

4:00pm – Flutist Julietta Curenton

Julietta Curenton, flute
Susan Babini, cello
Andrea Lam, piano

Program:
Henri Dutilleux Sonatine
Bach Partita in A minor
Schubert Introduction and Variations on “Trockne Blumen”
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson Sonata for Flute and Piano
Undine Smith Moore Afro-American Suite for Flute, Cello, and Piano
William Grant Still/ trans. Alexa Still Mother and Child from Suite for Violin and Piano
John Rosamond Johnson/ arr. Evelyn Simpson-Curenton Concert Variations on Lift Every Voice And Sing

Julietta’s Philadelphia recital debut is the second of three concerts in Astral’s Spiritual Voyages Festival. A special highlight of the program is her performance of spirituals written by her mother, critically acclaimed composer/organist/vocalist Evelyn Simpson-Curenton.

8:00pm – From The Andes To The Yangtze

Kristin Lee, violin
Susan Babini, cello
Angel Hsiao, flute
Andrea Lam, piano
Dísella Làrusdóttir, soprano
Special Guests:
Barbara Govatos, violin
Che-Hung Chen, viola
7 cellists from the Curtis Institute of Music
Jordan Dodson, guitar
Gamelan Semara Santi of Swarthmore College
Thomas Whitman, Director
Indonesian Cultural Club Dance Troupe
Mutia Hite, Director
Vivian Fung, poetry reader
Gabriela Lena Frank, poetry reader

Program:
Balinese gamelan music
Cheyanne Whien if you can dream
Vivian Fung Glimpses for prepared piano
Nguyen Quyen Pairs Of Shoes
Fung Pizzicato for Strings
Gabriela Lena Frank Ghosts in the Dream Machine for piano quintet
Gabriela Mistral Decalogue Of The Artist
Ástor Piazzolla Histoire du Tango for flute and guitar
Heitor Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for soprano and 8 cellos

The closing concert of the Spiritual Voyages Festival features music from cultural heritages and sonic influences as vibrant and varied as the Argentine tango nuevo, Indonesian gamelan, and Latin American folklore, along with readings of poetry by Gabriela Mistral, Cheyanne Whien, and Nguyen Quyen.

Join us for free using your PEX Passport!

Come early to explore our unparalleled natural history collection and National Historic Landmark building — just around the corner from your campus!

“What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Fertilization Imagery in the Art of Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo, and Diego Rivera”

An illustrated presentation by Dr. Scott F. Gilbert, Swarthmore College

Saint Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love between intimate companions, is often symbolized by images of hearts, doves, cupids and… embryos? Images of fertilized cells and fetuses may not be traditional icons for Saint Valentine’s Day, but a few unconventional 20th-century artists used these modern scientific depictions to speak about love, passion, politics, and society.

Dr. Scott Gilbert, a Professor of Biology at Swarthmore College, recently made the fascinating discovery that Klimt, Kahlo, and Rivera all depicted images of fertilized cells and embryos (often with scientific accuracy) in their artwork, and each to convey a unique, powerful message. Scott will take an in-depth look at their paintings to see how they merged science and art, and to explain the meaning behind their deliberate appropriation of scientific images of cells.

Join us to examine this fascinating period in history when science and art intermingled – when biology influenced artistic creativity and created a new language for political and social commentary. Scott Gilbert will again bring science to art with new insight into the history, and meaning of these works.

How does an artist paint love? How will you represent and communicate love this Valentine’s Day? We recommend consulting a biology textbook for inspiration and bringing your date to this lecture.

Dr. Scott Gilbert is the Howard A. Schneiderman Professor of Biology at Swarthmore College and is a Finland Distinguished Professor at the University of Helsinki. He teaches developmental genetics, embryology, and the history and critiques of biology.  His award-winning research looks at the ways in which evolution is a product of embryological changes.  Dr. Gilbert’s work has been published extensively in academic journals and he is the author of three textbooks

Photographs, left to right: Gustav Klimt, photograph by Josef Trcka, 1914. Frida Kahlo, photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1932. Diego Rivera, photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1932.

SYNOPSIS

Oberto takes place in Northern Italy in 1228.  Riccardo, the Count of Salinguerra is about to wed Cuniza, the sister of Ezzelino da Romano, but has seduced and abandoned Leonora, daughter of Oberto, Count of San Bonafacio, who was recently defeated in battle by the Salinguerra.  Oberto and Leonora travel to Bassano, where the wedding is to take place, to tell Cuniza.  Unwilling to accept her future husband’s infidelity, Cuniza calls off the wedding, but Oberto demands revenge.  He challenges Riccardo to a duel, and is mortally wounded.  Riccardo goes into self-imposed exile and Leonora enters a convent.

Tickets are $60 for Adults, $50 for Seniors,$25 for anyone 30&Under, and $10 for Students.  ID is required for 30&Under and Student tickets.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.avaopera.org or call 215-735-1685.

Michelle Johnson in the title role of Suor Angelica. Photo credit Paul Sirochman.

Yulia Van Doren, soprano
Stephen Stubbs, lutes & guitars

Program:
Monteverdi Sì dolce è’l tormento
Traditional Greensleeves
Michel Lambert Vos mépris chaque jour
Barbara Strozzi Lagrime mie
Britten I will give my love an apple
Purcell From rosy bowers
José Marín Niña como tu mudanças
José Marín Turveme, Celinda hermosa
Juan Hidalgo ¡Ay, que sí, ay, que no!
Schubert An die Laute
Mozart Das Veilchen
Mozart Abendempfindung
Henry Lawes On hearing Mary Knight sing
Henry Lawes Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph that liv’st unseen
Purcell Sweeter than roses
Purcell If music be the food of love
Purcell The fatal hour comes on apace
Purcell Fairest Isle
Purcell I attempt from Love’s sickness to fly
Purcell She loves and she confesses too

OperaNow! calls Yulia Van Doren “the Anna Netrebko of early music” and the Northwest Reverb says her singing is “dizzying” and “flawless.” For her Philadelphia recital debut, Yulia is joined by renowned lutenist and Baroque guitarist Stephen Stubbs for a program that ranges from Claudio Monteverdi to Benjamin Britten, and includes Baroque gems by Spanish composers as well as Mozart and Schubert Lieder accompanied by Baroque guitar. Mr. Stubbs also performs solo Spanish guitar works.

Join us for free using your PEX Passport!

Now is the time for some relief….  1812 Productions holiday show, This Is The Week That Is, will give you the break or reward you need.

Laugh at the news – the world – just laugh.

Now through December 31

Check the web for full schedule.

http://www.1812productions.org/

Or

Saturday, December 3, 2011
Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square,
1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

1:00pm – Obsessed With Bethoveen

Julietta Curenton, flute
Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet
Benito Meza, clarinet
Harrison Hollingsworth, bassoon
Special Guests:
Soovin Kim, violin
C.J. Chang, viola
Peter Stumpf, cello
Joseph Conyers, double bass
Jeffrey Lang, horn

Program:
Beethoven Septet
Brahms Serenade for nonet

Astral’s Philadelphia Brahms Festival – now in its third year – opens with a celebration of the connection between Brahms and Beethoven. Astral’s brilliant artists are joined by special guests in a program of works by the two great masters, including a rare opportunity to hear Brahms’ Serenade played by nine instruments.
Join us for free using your PEX Passport!

4:00pm – Baroque Brahms

Korbinian Altenberger, violin
Special guest Jennifer Stumm, viola
Susan Babini, cello
Ilya Poletaev, piano

Program:
Handel Piano Suite No. 1
Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1
Brahms Piano Quartet in C minor

“Baroque Brahms,” the second of the three concerts in Astral’s Philadelphia Brahms Festival, features Astral artists – including Ilya Poletaev, the First Prize winner of the prestigious XVII International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig – in a program that explores the influence of the Baroque on great works by the great composer.
Join us for free using your PEX Passport!

8:00pm – Sextets For Agathe & Florence

Benjamin Beilman, violin
Kristin Lee, violin
Special guests:
Ida Kavafian, viola
Steven Tenenbom, viola
Peter Wiley, cello
Peter Stumpf, cello

Program:
Brahms Sextet No. 2
Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence

In the final concert of Astral’s Philadelphia Brahms Festival, Astral violinists Benjamin Beilman and Kristin Lee perform alongside some of their illustrious mentors – Ida Kavafian, Peter Wiley, Steve Tenenbom, and Peter Stumpf.
Join us for free using your PEX Passport!

See two world premieres and a third Ballet X original work at the Wilma Theatre.

Final Week to see Azuka Theatre’s fabulous and funny show.

Now Playing – November 20, 2011