Olin Fine Arts Center to open series with ‘American Spiritual’
Olin Fine Arts Center at Washington & Jefferson College will open the 2014-15 Arts Series with Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem’s “American Spiritual” at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Olin Theatre.
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem draw on 200 years of roots music as they debut this program, which features hymns, prison work songs, blues, gospel and original compositions.
With infectious camaraderie, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem easily coax audiences to join their harmonies, clap to fiddle tunes and open their hearts to songs of love and loss.
The band also will hold a free workshop, “Arts in Medicine,” at 1 p.m. Monday in Olin Theatre. The workshop will focus on the healing properties of music.
Rani Arbo, a breast cancer survivor and trained hospice volunteer, is available to visit cancer survivor groups, nursing homes, pediatric clinics, infusion centers and hospice programs. She can play at bedside for patients of all ages and conditions.
Tickets are required, and can be reserved by calling the Olin box office at 724-223-6546. Tickets are $12 for general admission; $10 for senior citizens older than 60, W&J alumni and non-W&J students; and $7 for children 12 years and younger.
The remainder of the Arts Series schedule includes:
• Christopher O’ Riley, “Out of My Hands” – 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29. The acclaimed American pianist’s repertoire includes R.E.M., Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, the Bad Plus, the Smiths, Tears for Fears, Radiohead and Elliott Smith.
• Randy Riggle, “Nostalgic Christmas Show” – 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4. The show will take the audience down memory lane in the 1950s and ’60s.
• Oscar Nominated Short Subjects – 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 and 21. W&J will roll out the red carpet and show short films in anticipation of the Academy Awards. Individual tickets will be available at the door for each night, but at the full ticket price.
• The American Shakespeare Center’s “Much Ado About Nothing” – 7:30 p.m. March 25.
• Whitewater, featuring 2008 W&J graduate and adjunct music department professor Greg Thurman – 7:30 p.m. April 1. Thurman and his bandmates, Ryan Mullins and John Posey, are an acoustic string trio based in Morgantown, W.Va., that specializes in traditional and contemporary bluegrass as well as original compositions. This concert is free.
The Olin box office, 285 E. Wheeling St., Washington, is open from noon to 6 p.m . Monday through Friday and all day on the day of a show. For more information, call 724-223-6546.