E.M.U. Theater to stage ‘Haunted’ reading

The E.M.U. Theater company will do a staged reading of “Haunted,” by Dean Bevan, at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

Bevan is a retired Baker University creative writing professor.

Dan Born is directing the show, a short play about a married couple who are visited by the ghost of the husband’s former lover, a woman who died four years ago.

Admission is free.

Japanese drummers pound out ancient beats

The Wadaiko Yamato drummers, based in Nara, Japan, will perform a taiko drum concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday as part of the Lied Center’s World Series.

Taiko is a Japanese drumming style that originated more than 1,400 years ago. Translated as “fat drum,” taiko actually refers to the drums themselves, but is often associated with the style of music played on the drums.

Wadaiko Yamato was founded in 1993 by Masaki Ogawa.

For more information, call 864-ARTS.

Halloween concert features student music

A musical piece developed entirely from sounds recorded at the dentist’s office is among the innovative and creative works the Kansas University Electronic Ensemble will perform during a special Halloween concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Swarthout Recital Hall.

Admission is free.

The performance will include a soundtrack to a film made by sewing with yarn directly onto the film and shredding guitar solos.

The KU Electronic Ensemble is made up of students in the electronic music class taught by Kip Haaheim, assistant professor of music theory and composition at KU. The ensemble features 12 members.

For more information, call 864-3436.

Local artist featured in two exhibitions

Lawrence artist Susan Jordan will have paintings in two national exhibitions.

Her landscapes “On the Way to Coyote” and “Brilliant Melancholy” will be on display as part of the Degas Pastel Society’s 13th Membership Exhibition. The show opened Saturday in New Orleans and continues through Nov. 21.

Two other pastel landscapes, “Echoes of Abiquiu” and “A House in Taos,” will be included in an exhibit sponsored by the Pastel Society of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. The exhibit runs Nov. 7-23.

Texas musicians to visit Kansas University

As part of its Visiting Artist Series, the Kansas University music and dance department will welcome musicians Kevin and Susan Wass.

Kevin is an assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at Texas Tech, where Susan is the senior staff accompanist.

Their performance will include works such as Bach’s “Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1029.”

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Room 130 of Murphy Hall. For more information, call 864-3436.

Gospel choir to perform campus concert

Inspirational Gospel Voices will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Swarthout Recital Hall at Kansas University.

The group has performed at numerous KU events as well as for Sen. Sam Brownback, KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and former Sen. Bob Dole.

Tickets, available at the door, are $5 for adults and $2 for students. Proceeds will support the group’s goal of visiting other states.

For more information, call 864-3436.

Retired piano faculty to offer private lessons

Carole Ross, an emeritus member of the Kansas University piano faculty, is accepting private piano students.

Children and advanced students of any age are eligible.

Ross taught piano at KU for more than 30 years. She has a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University, a master’s degree from The Juilliard School and a doctorate from The Catholic University of America.

Her teachers have included Herman Godes, Irwin Freundlich, Emerson Meyers and William Masselos. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician, and continues to adjudicate throughout the region.

To arrange an audition, contact her at 841-2719 or e-mail her at cross@ku.edu.

Clarinetist to perform lunch-time show

Larry Maxey, professor of clarinet at Kansas University, will perform for Brown Bag Classics at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

Accompanied by Holly Beneventi on piano, Maxey will play a various selections on his clarinet. Maxey has toured nationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player.

Admission is free. For more information, call 864-3436.

Posts shift in music, dance department

The former director of Kansas University’s Midwestern Music Camp, David Bushouse, was recently appointed to the position of associate chair of the music and dance department.

Bushouse, professor of music, directed the camp for 24 years. His new responsibilities will include coordinating the undergraduate programs and the departments facilities in Murphy Hall and Robinson Education Center.

James Hudson will take over as director of the camp. Hudson was recently hired as director of athletic bands and director of the Jayhawk Marching Band. He previously was director of bands at Southwest Texas State University.

WomenSpeak lecture announces next speaker

Molly Young Brown, a professional counselor and author, will discuss distress and conflict during a talk, “Awakening Compassion,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Brown has a master’s degree in humanistic and transpersonal psychology and a Masters of Divinity. Her writing credits include “Growing Whole” and “Coming Back to Life.”

The WomenSpeak lecture series is sponsored by One Hundred Good Women. The Douglas County-based organization is a nonpolitical, nonprofit community of women and men embodying the spirit of altruism. Membership is open to anyone.

Suggested donations are $5-$10.

Art gallery announces new season

Signs of Life Gallery, 722 Mass., will open a show featuring its 2003-2004 season of artists from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the gallery.

The works, by both national and local artists, explore the intersection of the inner and outer lives of the artists through memory and imagination. Others depict urban and rural scenes, still-lifes, and drawings and prints reflecting biblical narrative.

Various artists will be available to discuss their work, and new works from several artists will be unveiled.

Admission is free; refreshments will be provided. For more information, call 830-8030.

Award-winning guitarist to play recital

Overland Park — Guitarist Cynthia Egger will perform a free concert at noon Monday as part of the Ruel Joyce Recital Series at Recital Hall of the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd.

Egger is a graduate of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She teaches at Rockhurst University and serves as musical director at St. Andrew Christian Church. She received the Andres Segovia Award from the Kansas City Guitar Society.

For more information, call (913) 469-8500.

Bass quartet to perform

Overland Park– The KC Bass Quartet will give the final performance in Johnson County Community College Jazz Series.

The quartet is comprised of Kansas City-area bassists Gerald Spaits, Bob Bowman, James Albright and Craig Akin.

The concert begins at noon Tuesday in the Recital Hall of the Carlsen Center on the JCCC campus. Admission is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

For more information, call (913) 469-8500.

Acclaimed pianist en route to JCCC

Overland Park — Stephen Hough, British concert pianist and chamber musician, will perform a concert for both the Carlsen Center Celebrity Series and Recital Series.

Hough, born in Cheshire, England, studied at the Juilliard School. He received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a prize never before given to a classical performer. He also has performed at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and Carnegie hall.

The performance begins at 8 p.m. Saturday in Yardley Hall at the Carlsen Center on the Johnson County Community College campus. Tickets range from $15 to $20 and can be reserved by calling (913) 469-4445 or visiting www.jcc.net/CarlsenCenter.

Smithsonian Institution exhibit to tour Kansas

Emporia — “Produce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front, 1941-1945,” a touring exhibit developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Museum of American History, will be in Emporia Thursday through Dec. 12.

The exhibit contains 25 replica vintage posters from the World War II era. It will be on view at the Lyon County Historical Museum, 118 E. Sixth Ave.

The colorful posters circulated by the government and private organizations used patriotism to urge Americans to join the war effort. The posters aimed to not only increase productivity in factories but also to enlarge people’s views of their responsibilities.

For more information, contact J. Greg Jordan at (620) 340-6312.

AIDS Project looking for young artists

The Douglas County AIDS Project is searching for artists 18 years old and younger to submit artwork for the 2003 Red Ribbon Art Auction.

All entries will be judged by area artists, and prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners.

Artists are encouraged to create work using this year’s World AIDS Day theme: “Are You HIV Prejudiced?” For more inspiration, visit the World AIDS Day Web site at www.worldaidsday.org.

The auction will be Nov. 23 in the Naismith Ballroom at Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in the Riverfront Plaza. All entries will be displayed at the auction and again on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day.

Entries are due by Thursday at the Douglas County AIDS Project office, 2518 Ridge Court, Suite 101. For more information, call 843-0040.