Lawrence writer earns award nomination

The Horror Writers Assn. has nominated Lawrence writer Jai Nitz for a 2004 Bram Stoker Award.

Nitz was nominated in the illustrated narrative category for his graphic novels series, “Heaven’s Devils,” published by Image Comics. The story follows a magic-wielding outlaw in Mexico and a federal agent with the National Center for Infectious Disease who cross paths with a radical environmentalist.

Each year the 900-member group presents the Bram Stoker Awards for superior achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of the “Dracula” author. Other nominees in various categories this year include such notables as Stephen King, Charlie Kaufman, Peter Straub, Clive Barker and Chuck Palahniuk.

The awards will be given out during a June 25 convention in Burbank, Calif.

Comedy show set for April 16

Kansas Public Radio’s award-winning comedy show “Right Between the Ears” is back for another round of performances at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Hall.

The 8 p.m. show will be broadcast live on KPR stations, on the World Wide Web and via the KPR Web site at http://kpr.ku .edu.

The April edition of “Right Between the Ears” is expected to include topical take-offs on President George W. Bush’s proposed overhaul of the Social Security system; actor Russell Crowe, allegedly the target of an Al-Qaida kidnap plot; domestic diva Martha Stewart; and the Michael Jackson trial. Also planned are episodes of such audience favorites as Incompetents Hospital and The Antonio Banderas Show.

Tickets for Right Between the Ears are on sale at the Liberty Hall box office and at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets also may be purchased by calling (816) 931-3330.

Collegium Musicum to give spring concert

Kansas University’s Collegium Musicum will present its spring performance, “From Requiem to Resurrection,” at 7:30 p.m. April 17 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1234 Ky.

The Vocal Collegium Musicum is conducted by Greg Ramsdell, a graduate teaching assistant in choral conducting. Paul Laird, professor of musicology, directs the Instrumental Collegium Musicum.

The choir’s major work will by the Requiem by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), a setting of the Roman Catholic texts from the Mass for the Dead.

The Instrumental Collegium Musicum will perform excerpts from La Resurrezione by George Frideric Handel (1685-1750), an oratorio based on the Easter story from early in Handel’s career, when he lived in Rome in 1708. Other works on the program include a motet for Ascension by Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) and an early string quartet by Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789).

The concert will be repeated 7:30 p.m. April 24 at First United Methodist Church in Topeka.