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Edgar Helms
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During the centennial anniversary of Goodwill Industries, founded
by Edgar Helms, class of 1889, the campus is celebrating
a "Year of Good Will." Guest lecturers will visit campus,
and an international traveling exhibit about the Goodwill story
was displayed at Cole Library in November. Other events will communicate
the values of citizenship, volunteerism, and community.
Goodwill, a U.S. leader in promoting opportunities for people with
disabilities and other barriers to independence, was founded by
Helms in 1902. A Methodist minister serving Boston's poverty-stricken
south side, Helms collected used goods and clothing in wealthier
areas of the city, then trained poor people to mend, repair, and
sell the used goods.
Helms' legacy of service to the community is alive at Cornell. Last
year, 78 percent of Cornell students participated in service, volunteering
more than 13,000 hours.
'Messiah' returns
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Desmond Barrit is surrounded by members of the cast and
crew of Twelfth Night: (clockwise from left) Abigail Cape, Benjamin
Parrish, Nat Fuller, Roxanna Westcot, Alice Wagner, Jason Sawatzki,
Steph Savage, Eliav Cohen, Liza Bourquin, Britta Nord, Jon Geary,
and Luke Behaunek. |
Cornell's annual holiday concert featured college and community
voices uniting in Handel's "Messiah," but not in the sing-along
format that was a tradition for more than 20 years.
More than two months of rehearsals preceded the early December
concert by about 120 singers-students, faculty, and area residents-and
an orchestra of students, faculty, and area professionals. Tjett
Gerdom '01 and six current students were soloists.
"The holiday concert has often featured major works, and this
was our presentation of the most beloved and popular major work
associated with the holiday season," said Lisa Hearne, director
of choral music.
From 1977 to 1998 Cornell hosted an annual "Messiah" sing-along,
which for 19 years was directed by music professor emerita Marcella
Lee '48. Professional vocalists in the area were soloists; the
chorus, which many years numbered over 100, included area residents
who gathered for a single rehearsal just hours prior to the performance.
Brit actor directs 2nd Shakespeare play
Desmond Barrit, award-winning actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company,
returned to direct the fall English department production, Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night. English professor Stephen Lacey '65 first brought
Barrit to campus in 1999 to direct The Comedy of Errors, and this
year's production was funded by the Stephen Lacey Memorial Fund.
A veteran of the stage, small screen, and radio in England, Barrit's
most recent role was as Falstaff in the Royal Shakespeare Company's
production of Henry IV, Parts I and II, which earned him a nomination
for the Laurence Olivier Award, an honor he's won twice.
"You feel he could just get out of his director's chair and
play any role in the play, and do an amazing job," says sophomore
Amber Swenson of Brooklyn Park, Minn., who played Feste in Twelfth
Night. "He allows each actor creative freedom, but he also
molds each performance through clear-cut direction." |
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