University of Mary Washington - Index

University of Mary Washington - summer08 - Index

It took seven days
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The long-awaited climactic week of the Centennial Celebration began with
the opening of One Hundred Years Together in Jepson Alumni Executive
Center. The exhibition featured works by artists from the Fredericksburg
region that reflected the culture of the area. Another show, the Centennial
Alumni Exhibition, opened a few days later in Ridderhof Martin Gallery.
A juried competition, it displayed the artistic accomplishments of Mary
Washington graduates.
A signal moment in the institution’s history and a highlight of the
Centennial Celebration occurred on Monday of Founders Week. No one
had – or could have – planned it, but the serendipitous announcement
came of Judy G. Hample as UMW’s eighth and first female president.
Each succeeding day of Founders Week offered a special event. On
Tuesday, the 12th annual Fredericksburg Forum featured acclaimed
Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward; on Wednesday, Phi Beta
Kappa visiting scholar and Harvard University physics professor Eric Mazur
presented a lecture, “How the Mind Tricks Us”; and Thursday brought
the Great Lives lecture series, now in its fifth season, and George Mason
University professor emeritus Peter Henriques, who spoke on “Mary
Washington and Her Son George.”
Founders Week closed Saturday evening with a special centennial
concert, Heroes Past and Present, by the University-Community Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Kevin Bartram. The program opened
with a new take on a favorite tune – The Alma Mater – written long ago by
alumnae Jean Crotty ’47 and Irene Taylor ’47, and arranged for its premier
orchestral performance by Jeffrey Zeiders ’08 and Jeremy Vaughn ’08.
Another first followed in the performance of LXXV+XXV: A Celebratory
Overture for Orchestra, guest conducted and composed for the occasion
by UMW music professor David Long. A sentimental moment came with
the appearance of Distinguished Professor Emeritus James Baker, the
orchestra’s founder and longtime maestro, who returned to conduct two
pieces.
The centerpiece of the program was the première of Quest, Symphony
of Celebration. Internationally renowned composer James Grant was
commissioned to craft the symphony especially for UMW’s centennial;
he traveled from his home in Canada for the performance. The historical
piece was punctuated by the words of presidents Combs and Anderson,
sensitively interpreted by English professor Gardner Campbell. Historic
recordings were interspersed, too, in the symphony, of the voices of
presidents Woodard and Anderson as they addressed the academic
community, and of music by the Mary Washington Marching Band and the
Mary Washington Chorus of the 1940s and ’50s.
Top to bottom: Artist W.E. Richardson posed with his painting "Rappahannock White Water," which took first place in the UMWcommunity
art show One Hundred Years Together. Free Lance-Star editor Ed Jones moderated the discussion with journalist Bob
Woodward of The Washington Post at the Fredericksburg Forum. Composer James Grant crafted Quest, Symphony of Celebration
especially for UMW. Music professor David Long composed and guest conducted LXXV+XXV: A Celebratory Overture for Orchestra.
Artists Heidi Lewis ’86, Margaret Embree ’86, and Thomas Little ’86 pose in front of "Reggie." The painting, created by Embree, won
first place in the Centennial Alumni Exhibition; Little’s painting "Five Fifty Two – Central Islip" took second place.
Photo provided by Margaret Embree Karen Pearlman Karen Pearlman Karen Pearlman Robert A. Martin
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