World music diva Rokia Traoré has entered the ranks of international world music starts by mingling the music of her native Mali with Western blues, jazz, and folk. Her beguiling stage presence and subtle, bluesey guitar playing accompany flute-like singing distinguished by sinuous phrasing and West African vocal flourishes. With a growing following that includes such international tastemakers as Peter Gabriel, Peter Sellars and the Kronos Quartet, she spellbinds one moment with a haunting ballad, then rocks the house with high-energy Afro-pop the next.

Rokia Traoré will be performing at the FAC Concert Hall on Wednesday, April 14 at 7:30 P.M. There will be a pre-performance talk by WFCR's Jazz Safari host Kari Njiiri at the rear of the Concert Hall from 6:30 to 7:00 P.M.

Tickets for Rokia Traoré are $30, $25, and $15; Five College GCC/STCC students and youth 17 and under are elibible for a special discount, with a ticket price of only $5. Tickets may be purchased at the Fine Arts Center Box Office, by calling 545-2511 or 800-999-UMAS, or online at the Box Office website

Traoré's appearance is funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies.

Over 100 Friends gathered high above the UMass Campus Center to celebrate the 80th birthday of Dr. Frederick C. Tillis, Director Emeritus of the Fine Arts Center. With some persons travelling from as far away as New York, Connecticut, and South Carolina, the evening was a reunion for many and an artistic salute to the beloved composer, poet, educator, lecturer, and administrator.

Featured were several compositions by Dr. Tillis, including a saxophone quartet played by students, and two works performed by the Tradewinds Jazz Ensemble, with whom Fred performed and toured internationally. Massachusetts State Senator Stan Rosenberg, founder of the UMass Arts Extension Service, presented a formal proclamation in honor of Dr. Tillis. By the end of the evening, more than $15,000 in donations had been made in his honor.

The event was an enthusiastic confirmation of Dr. Tillis' own oft-stated conviction about the importance of the arts in the lives of the our educational institutions and communities: "Yes! I believe in the arts!"

On Saturday, March 27, the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall was the domain of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, whose music has the demonstrated strength to move people's minds and hearts.

An enthralled audience of more than 1200 people were carried into a trance as Zakir and his fellow musicians created a spellbinding mix of speed, dexterity, and rhythm with a variety of drums from India and the world, as well as musical strings: Sarangi and violins. Zakir is unique among percussionits in the world today, distinguished by the way he communicates to the world via the tabla.

Photograph: Zakir Hussain with Asian Arts & Culture Program Director Ranjanaa Devi

On Tuesday, April 13, at 4:00 P.M. the University Museum of Contemporary Art will be hosting its 5th-Annual Roundtable on Careers in the Arts and in Art History. The panel discussion will be held in 227 Herter Hall, on the UMass Amherst Campus.

Distinuished Panelists include:

Jonathan Greenberg, Sotheby's Senior Vice President, New York, N.Y.
Marjory Jacobson, Former Director of MIT's List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Mass.
Trevor Smith, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Panelists will discuss one of the most critical issues affecting the art world toda—the building of collections at public institutions. With prices at astronomical levels, the atmosphere has never been more heated and challenging. A myriad of questions and issues will weave into their conversation: How will museums compete with collectors for the great works of art? What strategies are institutions using to survive and thrive? From the perspective of the museum, the private collector, and the corporate/business world, is there a symbiotic relationship between these sectors of the art world? And finally how have boundary shifts in museum and private collecting changed the role and practices of the auction house?

The event is free and open to the public.

The University Museum of Contemporary Art and the Fine Arts Center gratefully acknowledge the support of the Dean of the Graduate School and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement.

Photo: PEM Portrait Mask, 19th century, wood and paint

In Conjunction with the currently-showing Greening the Valley exhibition, the University Museum of Contemporary Art presents a panel discussion titled "Sustainable Landscapes: The Greening of our Urban and Suburban Places."

The talk will be held at the University Museum of Contemporary Art , in the Fine Arts Center Building, on Thursday, April 15 at 7:00 P.M. The event is free and open to the public.

What is a sustainable landscape? Can suburbia be green? Panelists will discuss these and other issues surrounding the landscapes in our built environment.

Panelists include:

Kim Erslev, Faculty, Conway School of Landscape Architecture
Patricia McGirr, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, UMass Amherst
Erica Rioux Gees, AIA, Kuhn Riddle Architects.

(Continuing education credits are provided by the Western Massachusetts AIA.)

Photo Credit: "Planting sedum on Ford Hall roof, Smith College, Northampton Mass."
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, 2009
Woodruff Brown Photography