Apr 30, 2013 — An anti-bullying organization will use a play written by a St. Lawrence University theater professor as part of its "peaceful schools" tour this spring.

SLU Associate Professor of Performance and Communication Arts Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, is the author of the one-act play, Have you Filled a Bucket Today?. She says schools and parents seem eager to use the arts and creative ways to address bullying in schools.

Based on Carol McCloud's popular children's book of the same name, the play also emphasizes that bullying is wrong. The organization, Peaceful Schools, will perform the play at schools in northern and central New York throughout the 2013-2014 school year.

Halstead told Todd Moe that she first heard about McCloud's book at a meeting at her son's school, and was thrilled when McCloud gave her permission to adapt it as a play.  Go to full article

Apr 23, 2013 — The Vagina Monologues, a celebrated play about female empowerment, will be performed at St. Lawrence University this weekend. The performances are Friday and Saturday night, 7 pm, in the Winston Room of the Sullivan Student Center. This year marks the 15th anniversary of V-Day Campaign, a national movement to end violence against girls and women. V-Season was inspired by the play, which debuted in New York City in 1996, and includes a wide variety of events, from local theatrical productions to film screenings and workshops.

Written by Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues is noted for its central literary device: a series of actors giving solo speeches on topics such as sex, love, rape, menstruation, female genital mutilation, masturbation, birth and orgasm. The monologues are based on interviews Ensler conducted with more than 200 women. Todd Moe talks with Haley Feickert and Anne Clements, co-producers of the St. Lawrence University performances. The local cast includes 16 women of varying ages and backgrounds.  Go to full article

Apr 17, 2013 — The North Country has a rich history of outstanding community bands. And the number of local concert bands has increased in just the last few years. Some are year-round ensembles that rehearse at local colleges or community centers. Others garner heaps of applause in parades and gazebos during the summer months. Organizers will tell you that community bands give every player a chance to contribute in their own way.

The St. Lawrence Wind Ensemble began more than 25 years to offer students and local musicians a challenging and rewarding musical experience in an encouraging environment. Today, the group includes just over 30 students, faculty and community musicians.

Members say the St. Lawrence University Wind Ensemble fills a void because every college or university needs its own band and has a pool of eager student, faculty and community members. But the main reason most everyone gave for joining was to keep their instruments out of mothballs.

Todd Moe stopped by a rehearsal of the SLU Wind Ensemble this week as the group prepared for its spring concert, next Monday night in the Peterson-Kermani Performance hall.  Go to full article

Apr 09, 2013 — We're gaining about three minutes of daylight every day now, and the winter constellations such as Orion are starting to slip below the horizon. Jupiter will be the brightest object in the sky other than the moon. Look in the southwest sky in the early evening near the Pleiades. This weekend, the crescent moon will be paired up with Jupiter in the early evening.

Look for Saturn in the morning sky in the southwest. In May we will start to see Venus in the western sky close to Jupiter. Martha Foley talks with St. Lawrence University astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue.  Go to full article

Apr 03, 2013 — The spring theater production at St. Lawrence University this week examines the challenges of growing up, the power of the media and the struggle to remain unique in an interconnected world. Hush: An Interview with America, opens in Gulick Theatre tonight.

In the play, Maggie Parks, an imaginative 12-year-old blind girl, senses an unexplained presence in her backyard apple tree. Her "vision" captures the imagination of a national news personality. Todd Moe talks with director Charlie Pepiton and some of the cast for a preview of the show.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Mar 11, 2013 — More than two-dozen teams of young cooks from Franklin, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties gathered to show off their culinary skills in Canton on Saturday. Middle and high school teams with names like, The Bacon Boys of Brasher Falls, Peru Blue and the Massena Treble Chefs, competed for top kitchen honors at the North Country Junior Iron Chef competition at St. Lawrence University. The event was organized by St. Lawrence Health Initiative. The dishes were judged based on taste, creativity, presentation and whether their peers would eat them in the school cafeteria.

For today's Heard Up North, Todd Moe caught up with the Hermon-DeKalb Dominators -- 6th and 7th graders Garrett, Miranda and Cassidy, and their faculty coach Erin Green -- working on their Hillbilly Chili recipe.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Mar 01, 2013 — Women are consistently rendering images from the media of the "ideal" body type. This has driven women to sacrifice their natural shape with unhealthy practices. Abigail Moss has utilized her senior project at St. Lawrence University as an opportunity to promote the voices and stories of women she has encountered including her own who have struggled with food and body image. Her play, Witness: Real Stories of Women and Strength will be performed tonight at St. Lawrence University.

Abigail hopes that the power of performance will be an experience for the audience that will make a difference in the way that women feel and think about their own body. Kitty Higgins, the NCPR news intern interviewed Abigail and had a conversation about her inspiration for the performance, it's importance and the messages the media sends.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 08, 2013 — Five members of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra will share their passion for early music at a concert tonight (8 pm) in the Peterson-Kermani Performance Hall at St. Lawrence University.

Two of the founders of the chamber group, Seattle Baroque Soloists, gave us a sample of their music this morning during the 8 o'clock Hour. Todd Moe welcomed violinist Ingrid Matthews and harpsichordist Byron Schenkman during a live broadcast earlier today.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Dec 21, 2012 — The end of the year can be stressful. There's shopping to be done, cookies to be decorated, gifts to be wrapped, and holidays to be celebrated. And for college students, there is the added stress of finals.

St. Lawrence University in Canton recognizes this stress, and in an effort to help students get through the crunch time, the school offers stress-relieving activities as part of a "Study-A-Thon." One of this year's Study-A-Thon events was the doggie de-stress event.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Dec 07, 2012 — A student choral group, The Laurentian Singers, directed by Barry Torres, joined us on the Eight O'Clock Hour, live from Peterson/Kermani Hall on the Canton campus of St. Lawrence University, to perform holiday favorites.

The chorus performs Friday at 7:30 pm at the historic Edwards Opera House in their 13th annual Holiday Concert entitled "Bach and Baroque for the Season." The chorus will be joined by a small string orchestra, and will lead the audience in a carol sing. Saturday at 2:00 pm, the chorus will perform in the Gunnison Chapel on the St. Lawrence University campus.  Go to full article