A Night at the Opera: Soulful, Vengeful, Comedic and More

After more than 30 years as Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Opera and guest conducting across the country, James Caraher now relies on his vast expertise to prepare the next generation of opera talent—students. Caraher, who joined the Butler Opera Theatre as Music Director in January, has opera students preparing for the upcoming “A Night…

Jimmy Page Said Listen. To Her Delight, They Did.

There’s a lady who’s sure Jimmy Page’s endorsement is gold. And her name is Caroline (Hauss) Taylor ’97. Taylor, who majored in Music Business at Butler, is the business manager for the Louisville (Kentucky) Leopard Percussionists, a performing ensemble featuring about 65 student musicians ages 7-12 who play xylophones, vibraphones, drums, and other instruments. In…

Woods Series Presents Jessica Green

Jessica Green will discuss “Cities Unseen: How Microbes Can Make Public Spaces, Buildings, and Human Beings Healthier” on April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Atherton Union Reilly Room, the final lecture in Butler University’s 2014-2015 J. James Woods Lectures in the Sciences and Mathematics. Her talk is free and open to the public without…

Celebration of Diversity Lecture Series Presents Majora Carter

Urban revitalization strategist and Peabody-winning radio broadcaster Majora Carter will speak about “Home (Town) Security” at Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series. Admission to all talks in the series is free, but tickets are required. They are available at…

Finally! Icarus Ensemble Releases First CD

In the liner notes on their self-titled debut CD, the Icarus Ensemble—Butler University School of Music faculty members Jon Crabiel and Gary Walters and three members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra—thank their fans. “You’ve waited a long time for this,” the group writes, “and we hope it was worth the wait.” Their followers have, in…

When It Comes to Theatrical Design, He’s All Set

Associate Professor of Theatre Rob Koharchik needed a couple of cartons of Kents, and he needed them fast. But after checking three smoke shops—and being told they’d cost $68 each—he decided to make them himself. “Just give me a carton of your cheapest cigarettes, and we’ll fake the rest,” said Koharchik, who needed the cigarettes…

Visiting Writers Series Presents Lois Lowry at Clowes Hall

Newbery Medal winner Lois Lowry will speak in Clowes Memorial Hall on March 4 at 7:30 p.m. as part of Butler University’s spring 2015 Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. Admission is free and open to the public without tickets. For more information, call 317-940-9861. Lowry writes in many ways about the importance of human…

When Jonathan Franzen Speaks, People Bristle

One of the perks of being an MFA student at Butler is meeting renowned visiting writers such as Margaret Atwood, Louise Gluck, Cheryl Strayed, and Jonathan Franzen. In addition to the public readings, students are invited to intimate Q&A sessions and private dinners. Whenever possible, MFA students also get the opportunity to interview writers for…

Elise Kushigian, Clowes Hall’s Longtime Executive Director, to Retire

Elise J. Kushigian, the executive director of Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University for the past 20 years, will retire at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year after overseeing more than 8,000 performances. While at Clowes, Elise built a strong and lasting legacy of innovative programming, groundbreaking education initiatives, and capital projects that have…

You Can’t Spell DeGeneres Without DGs

Ellen DeGeneres surprised her friends at Butler University’s Delta Gamma sorority—again. Barely a month after making a Skype phone call to the sorority, DeGeneres flew 10 DGs to Los Angeles to appear on the Thursday, February 12, episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. (Watch their segment here.) But the fun didn’t end with a free…

Visiting Writers Series Presents NoViolet Bulawayo

Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winner NoViolet Bulawayo will speak on February 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Atherton Union Reilly Room as part of Butler University’s spring 2015 Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. All events in the series are free and open to the public without tickets. For more information, call 317-940-9861. Bulawayo is the…

CCOM Presents a Four-Day Symposium on Servant Leadership

The President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a former CIA officer whose job included briefing former President George W. Bush, and the new CEO of the Indiana-based Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership will be among the speakers at Butler University’s College of Communication (CCOM) Symposium on Servant Leadership, March 2–5. The second annual symposium presented…

Meet Two COB Students With APPtitude

By Sarvary Koller ’15 Andres Pena ’15 sat in his Intro to Marketing class at Butler University last year mulling over a prompt: change the world through a mobile device. Pena considered how the smartphone, with its seemingly endless capability, could be used as a tool to help those in need. He came up with…