Annual Christmas at L-R Concert Set for December

The A Cappella Choir, College Singers, Brass Ensemble and Handbell Ensemble will present this year’s Christmas at Lenoir-Rhyne concerts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, and at 7:30 p.m. December 6 and 7 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Hickory.

These concerts are open to the public. Admission is free, but an offering will be taken to help defray costs. Due to the popularity of these programs, those wishing to attend are encouraged to arrive early.

The LRU Youth Chorus Kicks off the Holiday Season with a Concert on November 30th

The LRU Youth Chorus will be performing on Tuesday, November 30, from 7pm – 9pm at St. John's Lutheran Church in Conover, North Carolina

L-R Student James Crapps Receives Statewide Community Impact Student Award!

James “J.J.” Crapps of Lenoir-Rhyne University recently received North Carolina Campus Compact’s fifth Community Impact Student Award. Crapps was one of thirty-four college students across the state who received the award for making significant, innovative contributions to their campus’ efforts to address local community needs. Awardees also received a Volunteer Certificate of Appreciation from Gov. Beverly Perdue.

Crapps volunteered at several organizations including Rape Crisis Center of Catawba County, Hickory Police Department, Centro Latino and Habitat for Humanity, completing NC-ACTS! requirements twice. On campus, he has been a part of the homecoming committee, the campus activity board and served as a resident assistant. As the philanthropy chair for his fraternity, Crapps organized and facilitated several events and projects including fundraising for several organizations, hosting clothing drives and holding the first book drive for the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library.

The awards were presented at two NC Campus Compact Student Conferences that brought together over 300 college students and guests representing 34 North Carolina higher education institutions. On Oct. 30 at NC Wesleyan College, the Compact’s Executive Director, Dr. Lisa Keyne, presented the awards with the Reverend James Gailliard, CEO of the Impact Center and Senior Pastor of Word Tabernacle Church. Budd Berro, the Piedmont Regional Director for the Office of the Governor, joined Dr. Keyne in presenting the awards at Johnson C. Smith University on Nov. 6.

Western Piedmont Youth Symphony to Perform Fall Concert

The Western Piedmont Youth Symphony will perform on Monday, November 22 at 7 p.m. in the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley Auditorium. General admission with open seating is $5 per person with a family admission of $15 (up to four).The Youth Symphony is directly sponsored by Frye Regional Medical Center with additional support from the von Drehle Corporation.Reception to follow concert.

Over 80 young musicians have been hard at work preparing for their first concert of the season. Directed by John Gordon Ross, the Youth Symphony boasts a full complement of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Come and support our young musicians.

Western Piedmont Symphony is a grant recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council and a funded affiliate of the United Arts Council of Catawba County.Business offices are located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory.Business hours are 9:00 am until 5:00 pm daily.Contact the Business Office at (828) 324-8603 for concert box office schedule or for more information.Visit the Symphony’s website at www.wpsymphony.org

Grab The World By The Horns

Kimberly Caporale in Peru feeding a llama.
Photo Credit- Lindsay MeGill

Grab The World By The Horns

Editorial By: Kimberly Caporale

College is the perfect time to embrace all sorts of things, like learning to keep yourself organized, what is important and what’s not, becoming part of a new organization and taking classes that might actually interest you.  Something that seems to fall by the wayside though, is traveling. 

Traveling, even within the U.S., opens your eyes to all sorts of things.  Like different types of food, different leisure activities, different dialect, but more important than all that in the sense of independence that comes from traveling. 

I know a lot of people who have never even left the state and honestly that is shocking to me since most of my family vacations were to FL or to visit family up north.  But some people have never had a reason to go anywhere with the beach and mountains being so close, what more could one want?

In high school, I traveled with a group from school to Peru.  It was the most enlightening experience my parents could have ever given me.  It opened my eyes to an entirely different way of life that existed just a few hours away via airplane.  In ten days I saw so many different things that are still to this day indescribable. 

Traveling to Peru started my love affair with going to different places and trying new things.  I’ve flown to Florida by myself multiple times along with Chicago and New York.  Being immersed in the hustle of airports, trying to find a gate, or in a new city attempting to find this great place to eat that someone told you about. 

Sure it may seem daunting, but at the same time it is the best feeling in the world and also eye opening, widening your view point of the world, which is what a liberal arts education is all about. 

Going somewhere new may be too much for a student, which is alright.  But there are other opportunities out there.  Different departments organize trips to many places.  Sometimes this requires taking a specific class and other times it only requires that you inquire about it.  Some clubs do trips so students can attend a particular conference, which links you with others who have the same interests as you or who are in the same field. 

Take these opportunities that are practically being handed to you.  There may never be another eye opening experiences like these next four years offered to you again.  

Creative Chaos on Campus!

Students in the FYE "Creative Chaos" class display their creative side through spontaneous graffiti on campus!

Not Your Average Violin Player to Appear at LRU

The second concert of the Lenoir-Rhyne University Concert Series will host innovative composer, performer, violinist, and bandleader Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Belk Centrum on campus. His unique sound is unlike any that has visited L-R before. DBR will perform music from his most recent album, “Woodbox Beats & Balladry.”

The concert is free of charge and is open to Lenoir-Rhyne students as well as the entire Hickory community. DBR will also perform his Voodoo Concerto No. 1 on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 8:00 p.m., with the Western Piedmont Symphony on the second Masterworks concert of their season. Contact the Symphony directly for ticket information for the Saturday show, 828-324-8603.

DBR is a Haitian-American violinist, composer, performer, re-mixer, and bandleader who has established himself as one of the most relevant artists on the contemporary classical music scene. He is known worldwide for his fearless exploration through his extended violin techniques, often infused with electronics. His eclectic style is exposed in “Woodbox Beats & Balladry,” which encompasses his musical elements of classical minimalism, dance club beats, traditional ballads, and thick distorted noise.

"Woodbox Beats & Balladry is an amalgam of what contemporary composers are doing and where contemporary classical music might be going," says DBR.

His career is varied as he has performed with artists such as pop-singer Lady Gaga, the Seattle and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, dancers Bill T. Jones and Savion Glover, composers Philip Glass and Derek Bermel, DJs Radar, Scientific and Spooky, jazz-singer Cassandra Wilson, and the infamous 2 Live Crew.

The core of the performance is DBR's signature custom 6-string amplified violin, which utilizes an array of extended techniques, effect pedals, and additional MAC-based processing.

DBR's frequent aggressive, percussive lower-string bowing (an extra two strings are added to his instrument for bass lines) makes his violin a compelling sonic and compositional force.

The Lair WLRZ 99.3 Campus Radio Schedule Announced

One-on-One with the Doc
Monday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. & Wednesday from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Sports Talk with Ryan Pegarsch & Randolph Carroll
Monday from 7:00-9:00 p.m. & Friday from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Nightcap with Boogie Watson
Monday from 11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.

Fuzzy Creatures featuring Boogie Watson, Big Bear, and the Penguin
Tuesday & Thursday from 4:00-5:00 p.m.

The Gun Show with Pragmatic Pegelow & Foxy Fox
Tuesday & Thursday from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

The Variety Show with Laura Diane Greene
Tuesday & Thursday from 9:00-10:30 p.m.

Reese Institute for Conservation of Natural Resources

Photo Credit: LRU

The application deadline has been extended until November 8! 

In an effort to emulate multidisciplinary development/research teams found in industry and business, the Donald and Helen Schort School of Mathematics /Computing Sciences and the Reese Institute for Conservation of Natural Resources have teamed up to offer a course during the Spring Semester of 2011. Weekly class meetings culminate in a trip to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) over Spring Break with data analysis and interpretation to follow.

There are currently three research projects: 1) beach erosion quantification 2) water quality assessment and 3) a Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) population survey in Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum) beds. Each of these projects will assist the BVI government (Conservation and Fisheries Department) with critical conservation issues facing the islands.

Students are expected to write a manuscript with publication in a peer reviewed journal in mind, and present their findings at SOURCE in April. Students must be Juniors or Seniors, hold a GPA above a 3.0, have completed one science (lab) course and a statistics course (with a B or higher in each), be interested in multidisciplinary research, and be able to live without air conditioning (on a boat) in the tropics for 10 days. Please provide the name of a faculty member that is willing to speak on your behalf.

Students are expected to pay $300.00 for the trip. Those who are unable to pay this amount and can document financial need can work through LR financial aid to pay for an offset of the fee. LR financial aid will evaluate your financial and arrangements will be made to provide some support. A $100 deposit will be required by Dec. 8th, with the balance due on the first day of classes in January. Refunds will only be given due to illness (that results in a student’s inability to go on the trip).

NOTE: Although most people consider a trip to the Caribbean to be a vacation, realize that we will be living on a boat in close quarters with fellow students and professors without air conditioning . Although we can take daily swims, fresh water showers are very limited. We encourage students willing to live “in the field” for 10 days to apply. If you have never gone camping and expect creature comforts, this may not be the course for you. Temperatures during March normally range from 78-85F for the high of the day, and 73-77F for the low.

To complete an application click HERE! 

Students Attend National College Media Convention

Six students had the opportunity to attend the National College Media Convention in Louisville, Kentucky October 27-31, and will be sharing their experiences in a newspaper article in the Lenoir-Rhynean to appear next month. 


The students were able to travel to the convention thanks to funding provided from SGA as well as through fundraising of their own. The convention focused on journalism as well as career planning tips. Attendees were able to speak with representatives from CNN, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Associated Press.  


Check out some pictures from their trip! 

Our view of the Ohio River 

Jamie Frye hard at work!

Fourth Street Live! in downtown Louisville, Kentucky

Alyssa Carlson and Amanda Parmelee pose with Captain Jack Sparrow at Fourth Street Live!

Kate Coleman taking a break from dinner conversation