January 31, 2025
February brings noted speakers, and theatrical and musical performances to Susquehanna University’s campus. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Author to present reading of work
Susquehanna’s Seavey Reading Series presents author Clifford Thompson at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in Isaacs Auditorium in Seibert Hall.
Thompson’s books include What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues (2019), which Time magazine called one of the “most anticipated” books of the season, and the graphic novel Big Man and the Little Men (2022), which he wrote and illustrated.
He is a recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award for nonfiction. His essays and reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice and Best American Essays, among other places, and his essay La Bohème was selected for the 2024 Pushcart Prize Anthology.
Thompson teaches creative nonfiction at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.
Recitals span clarinet, piano, violin and voice
The Department of Music will host several recitals throughout the month. All performances are in Stretansky Concert Hall in the Cunningham Center for Music and Art:
- The Prestige Clarinet Quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.
- Violinist Austin Hartman will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13.
- Tenor Jeffrey Fahnestock, adjunct faculty member in music, and pianist Naomi Niskala, associate professor of music, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Nikole Hannah-Jones to speak at Susquehanna
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize–winning creator of The 1619 Project, will speak at Susquehanna University at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12, in Weber Chapel’s Auditorium. Following the lecture, copies of The 1619 Project and Born on the Water will be available for purchase.
Hannah-Jones is best known for her creation of the The 1619 Project — the No. 1 New York Times bestselling book and 2024 Emmy Award–winning Hulu docuseries.
The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s origins from that point in time, placing the consequences of slavery and the experiences and contributions of Black Americans at the center.
Click here for more event information.
Theatre presents plays by David Ives
The Department of Theatre will present An Evening with David Ives at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, in Degenstein Center Theatre in the Charles B. Degenstein Campus Center.
The event will include several student-directed short plays by playwright David Ives.
Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for seniors and non-SU students.
Susquehanna to host Honors Band Festival and concert
Susquehanna University’s Honors Band Festival will culminate with a finale concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, in Weber Chapel Auditorium.
This concert is the capstone for the university’s 32nd annual Honors Band Festival, held February 14-16, during which the campus will host 115 skilled high school students from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Nevada.
Broadway at Susquehanna
The Department of Theatre will present A Night on Broadway Cabaret at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in Isaacs Auditorium in Seibert Hall.
The event stages several student-directed and performed songs from Broadway musicals.
Jesuit founder of Homeboy Industries to speak at Susquehanna
Jesuit priest Greg Boyle will deliver this year’s Alice Pope Shade Lecture based off the title of his latest book, Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, in the Degenstein Center Theater at Susquehanna University.
Boyle has dedicated his life to helping Los Angeles’ most marginalized individuals find a place in society’s ranks. Having witnessed the devastating impact of gang violence in the 1980s, Boyle founded Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation and reentry program in the world.
Read more about the event here.
Ticket information
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Degenstein Center Box Office Monday through Friday while classes are in session, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; by calling 570-372-ARTS; or online at http://susqu.universitytickets.com/.