The Arts at Harvard

Extracurricular arts activities are a major feature of Harvard undergraduate life. During a typical academic year, students mount some 80 dramatic productions and present at least 550 musical events. Students regularly produce dance recitals, film festivals, multimedia events, and exhibitions of their own work. Student groups also publish numerous literary journals, and sponsor hundreds of talks and readings by visiting artists and authors.

Student arts activities take place in the undergraduate Houses as well as in more formal settings like libraries, museums, the Loeb Drama Center, Agassiz Theatre, Lowell Hall, Sanders Theatre, and Paine Concert Hall.

The Office for the Arts at Harvard (est. 1973) supports all forms of artistic expression, and OFA programs annually involve more than 45 percent of Harvard's 6,700 undergraduates. OFA subsidizes independent music lessons, runs the Ceramics Studio and the Dance Program, provides seed money for innovative projects, and brings students and seasoned practitioners together in flexible formats ranging from informal talks and demonstrations to workshops, master classes, and large-scale collaborative public-art projects. Learning from Performers, a visiting-artists series (est. 1975), is perhaps OFA's best-known program.

Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20, is performed by graduate students in chemistry and biophysics in a concert at the Science Center orchestrated by two music-loving chemistry professors.

Thousands of Boston-area residents and visitors have joined the University community for a concentrated sampling of Harvard creativity since the 1993 debut of Arts First, the annual College-wide festival sponsored by the Harvard Board of Overseers. Coordinated by OFA, the event showcases the kaleidoscopic talents of more than 2,000 students during an entire late-April or early-May weekend. Since 1995, Arts First has also provided the occasion for presenting the Harvard Arts Medal to a former Harvard or Radcliffe student or faculty member who has made distinguished contributions to the arts.

Since 1986, the last weekend of February has brought the annual Cultural Rhythms festival, sponsored by the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, which features an international food festival and more than two dozen student groups (including members from Harvard graduate schools) performing traditional songs and dances from around the world in a benefit for community-based social-service agencies.

Several undergraduate arts organizations have venerable histories.The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (est. 1808 as the Pierian Sodality) is the nation's oldest continuous musical organization, while the Hasty Pudding Club (est. 1795 as a social group) has produced theatrical shows since 1844 (student-written since the mid-1860s), making it the nation's oldest drama group. The Harvard Lampoon (est. 1876) is the country's oldest humor magazine. The annual Christmas Carol Services (est. 1910) of the University Choir (est. 1834) are believed to be the oldest tradition of lessons and carols in the United States. In 1930, the Harvard Band (est. 1919) introduced the cleverly shaped field formations that have since become standard halftime fare at football games.

Following is a selected list of arts activities.

American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.), 65 Brattle St., a professional acting company, presents five Mainstage productions in repertory throughout the year at the Loeb Drama Center. Robert J. Orchard is managing director and Robert Brustein is artistic director.Student passes are available at a discount. For more information, call the A.R.T. Box Office, (617) 547-8300. An on-line subscription ordering service is available at http://www.amrep.org

In late April and/or early May, the Harvard Board of Overseers sponsors the annual Arts First festival, initiated by John Lithgow '67, to galvanize and celebrate the Harvard-Radcliffe arts community. Arts First 2000 included over 2,000 students presenting more than 200 concerts, theatricals, dance productions, exhibitions, and multimedia installations. For more information, call the Office for the Arts at (617) 495-8676, Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Harvard University Band (HUB) performs at Harvard football, hockey, and basketball games, as well as other special events. One of the largest organizations on campus, the 81-year-old HUB strives for a distinctive blend of musical tradition, spirit, and humor. The director is Tom Everett. The Band Office is located at 74 Mt. Auburn St.; (617) 496-BAND (2263).

The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts showcases contemporary visual art. Exhibitions go up throughout the year. Regularly scheduled events in mixed media and film occur almost daily in the auditorium, in addition to lectures and symposia. Students in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies and others from the H-R community participate in the Center's activities. 24 Quincy St.; Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-midnight; Saturday-Sunday, noon-midnight (closing times vary depending on time of screenings). (617) 495-3251.

The Radcliffe Ceramics Studio, a collaborative workshop supervised by Nancy Selvage, attracts a diverse group of professionals and students who take classes, obtain independent study credit, share work space, and learn from visiting artists. The spacious studio (located just beyond the Harvard Stadium) is well-equipped with many wheels and different types of kilns. Classes at all levels develop basic technical skills and encourage personal expression through class projects, slide presentations, group critiques, and individual consultations. Special workshops in soda vapor and raku firing and a course in glaze chemistry are offered. Semester fees for Harvard students are $120; for all others, $610. Eligible staff members may use TAP ($220). Semester courses are 14 weeks long. The studio is at 219 Western Ave., Allston, MA 02134. (617) 495-8680.

The Harvard University Choir is a 40-member, mixed-voice paid choir whose members are drawn from undergraduates, graduate students, and others in the Harvard community. The choir provides music for the nondenominational Sunday services in the Memorial Church, and a select group sings for daily Morning Prayers in Appleton Chapel. For more information, call the Memorial Church, (617) 495-5510.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus (HRC), founded in 1979 and comprised of 150 student, faculty, staff, and community singers, performs major choral and choral-orchestral repertoires. For more information, call conductor Constance DeFotis, (617) 495-0693.

Cultural Rhythms, coordinated by the students of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, features multicultural performances of music, dance, and poetry. The annual event celebrates Harvard's rich cultural diversity. For more information, call the Harvard Foundation Office, (617) 495-1527.

The Arts Dance Program, under the auspices of the Office for the Arts at Harvard, offers classes in many dance disciplines. Instruction in a wide variety of dance styles and levels is open to undergraduates, graduates, and members of the Harvard community. The Rieman Center for the Performing Arts is the primary dance studio for the program, and the site of numerous undergraduate dance performances during the academic year. Registration and fee information may be obtained by calling the Dance Office at (617) 495-8683. Eligible staff may use TAP forms.

The Harvard Film Archive (HFA), located in the lower level of the Carpenter Center, presents a wide selection of cinema classics and innovative new releases that offer the community an unparalleled encounter with the culture of film. Times and dates for events and series are published in the HFA Program. Showtimes vary on weekdays and weekends. For more information, call the HFA, (617) 495-4700, or visit the HFA Website http://www.harvardfilmarchive.org for a list of current screenings.

Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT), the oldest undergraduate theatrical organization in the United States, produces one show annually, mid-February through mid-March, at 12 Holyoke St. During spring break the show goes to New York City and then to Bermuda. Although casting is limited by tradition to male undergraduates, undergraduate women are involved in all other aspects of the production. HPT hires professional directors, designers, costumers, and conductors. The script is always an undergraduate-written musical comedy, submitted in the fall for the following year's show. The company selects the script in September and holds auditions in December. For more information, call (617) 495-5205.

The Loeb Drama Center is the University's major center for student theater as well as the home of the American Repertory Theatre and the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. The Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club presents four productions on the 556-seat Mainstage each academic year as well as numerous productions in the approximately 100-seat Experimental Theatre. The HRDC office is located in the Loeb. (617) 495-2668.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO), led by Musical Director James Yannatos, is America's oldest continuously performing musical organization. A subscription includes four concerts for the price of three. For more information, call (617) 496-6276 or visit the Website at http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hro.

WHRB (95.3 FM) broadcasts classical music, jazz, underground rock, news, and Harvard sports 24 hours a day, seven days a week. WHRB also offers live broadcasts of local performance groups and events, including Memorial Church services and special block programming. Weekly music features include hillbilly, R&B, and blues. Harvard Radio Broadcasting is managed and staffed by students. For more information, call (617) 495-4818 or visit the Website at http://www.whrb.org.

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