HEADLINES

Home for the Thanksgiving holiday
A Madrigal Feast of music and song
Barbara Walters headlines Smart Talk 2005
College Choir sings choral joy
Playback Theatre performs audience's stories
Maybank named Player of the Year; Women's basketball begins title defense
Language educators elect Esa
The Hill magazine offers lots to feast on
Hill Happenings

Two days before their wedding on Nov. 14, 2003, Rebecca Staub '03 and Heath Davis got word that Heath's reserve unit was being called up for Iraqi Freedom. They spent one week on a honeymoon and another doing paperwork. The house the couple was building was just framework when Heath said good-bye to his wife of two weeks to join U.S. troops in Iraq.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving on Nov. 11, Heath came home. It was only for a visit but they celebrated their first anniversary and Thanksgiving – together. And Heath saw his house for the first time with walls.

The sign at the end of the driveway gave a hint as to what was to follow. "Welcome Home Heath. We missed you." American flags lined the driveway. Red, white and blue balloons and lights decorated the porch. A big American flag was projected on the side of the white house. Another sign proclaimed, "You are now entering a sand-free area. Feel free to relax and enjoy."

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McDaniel College Department of Music presents the first annual Madrigal Feast at 6 p.m. Dec. 10 in Decker Center Forum. The evening will include a musical banquet with lots of pageantry plus dinner and a new arrangement of "The Marvelous Toy" written by Tom Paxton and arranged by McDaniel student Lisa Moore.

Tickets are $30 for one and $50 for two. For tickets, please call Margaret Boudreaux at 410-857-2558. Space is limited. The deadline for reservations is Dec. 3. Tickets will not be available at the door.

"Madrigal Feasts have been very popular throughout the U.S. for the last 30 years or so. They involve pageantry and skits, lots of music and the sharing of a good meal," said Margaret Boudreaux, director of the Madrigals and professor and chair of the music department. "Typically they are held in a medieval setting – or some facsimile of such is created."

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First Lady of Television Barbara Walters will kick off Baltimore's 2005 Smart Talk Women's Lecture Series on February 14, the series that gives audiences across America an up-close-and-personal look into the lives of the world's most influential and inspiring women. For the third year, McDaniel College will be the exclusive education sponsor of this five-evening February-to-June subscription series held at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Other speakers will include two-time Grammy Award-winner Patti LaBelle, March 28; French journalist Mariane Pearl whose husband Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter was kidnapped and killed by Islamic extremists, April 18; world renowned model Iman who advocates for the Children's Defense Fund, May 9; and musical theater icon Julie Andrews, June 6. All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m.

For ticket information, call the Meyerhoff at 410-783-8000.

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McDaniel College Department of Music presents "Gloria!," the College Choir Concert, at 7 p.m. Dec. 5 on campus in Baker Memorial Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.

The program's theme is ecstatic expressions of choral joy from ancient to modern times. Margaret Boudreaux, professor of music and chair of the music department, directs the 80-some singers, most of whom are students with some College faculty and staff as well as Westminster community members. Other McDaniel faculty involved in the concert are Senior Lecturer David Kreider and Adjunct Lecturers Don Horneff and Jon Seligman.

The concert will feature several vocal and instrumental solos. The McDaniel Brass will perform with the choir in "The Gloria" from Daniel Pinkman's Christmas Cantata. In what Boudreaux believes is the Maryland premiere of the arrangement, "Psalm 150" will be presented in Hebrew featuring Rachel Siegel '07 on the shofar, a Jewish instrument, and African drumming.

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Playback Theatre is coming to the McDaniel College campus. At 8 p.m. Dec. 3 and 4, a troupe of college actors will bring this internationally recognized form of story theatre to WMC Alumni Hall. This is the first time that students from the college's department of Theatre Arts have produced public performances of Playback Theatre.

Playback is a form of improvisational theatre, created through a unique collaboration between performers and audience. Someone tells a story or moment from their life, chooses actors to play the different roles, then watches as the story is immediately recreated and given artistic shape.

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Broderick Maybank '06 was named Offensive Player of the Year in the Centennial Conference. He also snagged a First Team spot at running back, one of six unanimous selections.

Paul Hugus '06 closed the cross country season Nov. 20 placing 59th at the NCAA Division III National Championships at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He finished the 8-kilometer course in 25:36.0, a new personal best for Hugus by nearly 30 seconds.

The McDaniel women's basketball team began its Centennial Conference title defense Nov. 23 with a 66-49 victory over Swarthmore.

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German professor Mohamed Esa defines multiculturalism. He is a Palestinian with dual Israeli and American citizenship who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg and is fluent in four languages.

In October, he brought together nearly 1,000 secondary school students and their teachers for McDaniel's 10th annual German-American Day celebration. In mid-November, he co-hosted more than 200 people from the campus and local communities at the "Taste of Islam" dinner, held to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The Maryland Foreign Language Association has recognized Esa's skill at building cultural bridges by naming him president of its professional association of language teachers. Helping to facilitate and promote excellence in foreign language education on all levels is a job Esa says he'll relish. It's one at which his students predict he'll excel.

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The fall issue of The Hill serves up delicious stories, and plenty of them. A sizzling account of McDaniel's unique tailgating scene. Fresh words from Robert DuVall '76, our man at the Olympics. Simple recipes for peace and babaghanouj by Professor Mohamed Esa. A filling profile of Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey '59, the woman credited with paving the way for Maryland's first Republican governor in nearly 40 years. And, of course, hot and spicy news in Class Notes.

Check your mailbox soon after Thanksgiving for your copy. Not on The Hill mailing list? Contact alumni@mcdaniel.edu to sign up.

• The Art of Sunny Moon, featuring decorative, realistic freshwater fish carvings, opens Nov. 29 in the Rice Gallery. An opening reception will be held 7 - 9 p.m. Nov. 29. Call 410-857-2595 for information and gallery hours.
  
  
• The Student Clarinet and Saxophone Ensembles perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in Levine Recital Hall. Free and open to the public.
  
  
• A Workshop for Educational Interpreters will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at McDaniel College. For more information, contact Connie Newton at 410-386-4683 or NEWTONWATS@aol.com.
  
  
• The Office of Multicultural Services offers a Kwanzaa Celebration at 2 p.m. Dec. 5 in the President's Dining Room. For more information, call 410-857-2791.
  
  
• The Department of Music presents the Student Solo Recital at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 in McDaniel Lounge. Free and open to the public.
  
  
• The Multicultural Services Film Series continues with "Awara Soup" at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 in Hill Hall Room 108. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call 410-857-2791.
  
  
• The Student Guitar and String Ensembles perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 in McDaniel Lounge. Free and open to the public.
  
  
• The Department of Music presents Jazz Night at 8 p.m. Dec. 9 in Decker Center Forum. Free and open to the public.
  
  
• The McDaniel College Gospel Choir performs at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 in Baker Memorial Chapel. Free and open to the public.