Rachmaninoff Centennial

November 6-7, 2009

Smith College marks the centennial of Sergei Rachmaninoff's first public performance in the United States, presented in College Hall in 1909.  Events celebrate both Rachmaninoff and Sophie Satin, his cousin, sister-in-law and biographer, who was a member of the Smith faculty from 1943 to 1955.

Friday, Nov. 6  

Rachmaninoff: The Musician Behind the Brand Name

Francis Crociata, Rachmaninoff Biographer

4:15 p.m. Neilson Library Browsing Room

Rachmaninoff in Songs and Dances: Vocal and Instrumental Music Performed by Faculty and Students

8:00 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall

Saturday, Nov. 7

Sophie Satin: Life and Work

Joan Afferica, Professor Emerita of History, and C. John Burk, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences

4:15 p.m., Neilson Library Browsing Room

Dedication of Rachmaninoff Bronze

Carol Christ, President; Jane Bryden, Professor of Music; Vladimir Tropp, Pianist and Donor

7:30 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall

Concert: A Program of Compositions of Gergei Rachmaninoff

Vladimir Tropp, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music and Moscow Conservatory

8:00 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall

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November 4-December 23

Sergei Rachmaninoff and Sophie Satin at Smith

Exhibition of Photographs and Memorabilia

Morgan Gallery, Neilson Library Entrance

For more information and related events, visit www.smith.edu/rachmaninoff

Presentation of the Major and History Fair

Monday, November 2, 4:30 p.m.
Dewey Common Room

Lecture: "The Precious Raft of History: The Past, the West, and the Woman Question in China"

Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 4:30 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room
Joan Judge, Associate Professor, Division of Humanities and School of Women's Studies, Founders College, York University

Professsor Judge is a renowned scholar of modern Chinese history who focuses on women's and gender history. Her books on modern print culture and women's history as well as her articles have made outstanding contributions to the field of modern East Asian History and women's history. Her lecture will also complement the offerings of the History Department in women's history, providing a view of a non-Western country.

Lecture: "The Pinochet Effect: Secret Documents and the Pursuit of Justice in Latin America"

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 5 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room
Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at the National Security Archive at George Washington University

Lecture: African-American Activism v. the "Black Swan:" (Mis-) Representing the Race in the 1850s

Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 4:30 p.m., Graham Hall
Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, Presidential Post-doctoral Fellow, University of California Los Angeles Law School

Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor will join Smith College, History Department in Fall 2009.

Lecture: "Obama, Africom, and the Mitilarization of U.S. Policy Toward Africa"

Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Graham Hall
Daniel Volman, Director of the African Security Research Project, Washington, DC

Daniel Volman is the author of numerous articles on US security policy and African security issues. His work has recently appeared in such journals as The New African, The Review of African Political Economy and Third World Quarterly.

Symposium Honoring Neal Salisbury: "Native American History: Current and Future Directions"

Thursday, March 5, 2009, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room
and Friday, March 6, 2009, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Neilson Browsing Room

Symposium Program (PDF) >

Lecture: "The Challenges of Governance in Africa"

Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Neilson Library Room
George Nzongola-Ntalaja, Former Official, United Nations Development Program (UNDP); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Film Screening: Detained: The New Bedford Immigration Raid

Thursday, February 5, 2009, 4 p.m., Stoddard G2
Screening followed by a discussion with filmmaker Jenny Alexander, workers who were detained, and allies, including Alexandra Pineros Shields, Corinn Williams, Director of the New Bedford Community Economic Development Center.

On March 6, 2007, U.S. immigration officials raided a New Bedford, MA factory that makes vests and backpacks for U.S. soldiers. Many of the 361 immigrants who were detained were women with small children, from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Portugal and Cape Verde.