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Faces
February
2001
Speaking
as a potential candidate for mayor of New Haven, real estate developer Joel
Schiavone '58 told an undergraduate group on November 15 that neither New
Haven nor Yale has done enough to attract private investment in the city. Schaivone
told the Yale Entrepreneurial Society that they are "the most important organization
in New Haven" and that Yale must persuade its graduates to stay and start businesses.
Schiavone's candidacy will be cut short unless he successfully challenges the
city's length-of-residency requirement; he moved to New Haven from Hamden two
years ago. |
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Academy
Award-winning actress Frances McDormand '82MFA doesn't
mind being called on for quirky roles like the sheriff in the
film Fargo. She told a master's tea at Ezra Stiles College
on November 2 that she gets a wider range of roles because she
is considered "off- center." Said McDormand: "I don't mean that
I try to be off-center. I just am, and I've come to terms with
it." McDormand also said she works in movies in part "to pay
the bills" so she can afford to work in live theater. |
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On
November 16, Oregon State University marine biologist Jane
Lubchenco explored the challenges involved in making the
transition to a sustainable world. Lubchenco, a member of the
National Academy of Sciences, was speaking as part of the forestry
school's "Globalization and the Environment" Centennial Lecture
Series. "We've become a major force of nature," she said, describing
what scientists know about our impact on the planet's land,
oceans, atmosphere, and climate. "The rates, scales, and kinds
of changes we're causing are vastly different than ever before,
but there are also reasons for hope." |
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In
the days before the results of the presidential election were
decided for good, political comedian Al Franken came
to Yale on December 7 for an event sponsored by Pierson College
and the Yale Record. Franken, a liberal Democrat, offered
advice for Al Gore from his self-help-addled character Stuart
Smalley, who said Gore should tell himself: "I'm good enough,
I'm smart enough -- and doggone it, 48 percent of the people
like me." Franken also demonstrated his ability to draw a freehand
map of the United States from scratch on a nearby blackboard. |
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Author Catherine Bush '83 read from her two novels, Minus
Time and Rules
of Engagement, at a master's tea in Ezra Stiles College
on December 5. Bush, a native of Canada, said her novels have
required a great deal of research into subjects ranging from
space travel to international affairs. "I know you're told in
writing class to write about what you know," she said, "but
if I have any kind of dictum, it's to write about what I want
to know." |
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Levi
Jackson '50, a New Haven high school football star who
became Yale's first African American football captain, died
on December 7, 2000, in Detroit after an extended illness. Jackson,
who chose Yale over a contract with the New York Giants when
he was discharged from the Army, had a notable career as a Ford
Motor Company executive and civic leader in Detroit after he
graduated from Yale. He also served on the Presidential Commission
on White House Fellows and the Selective Service Appeals Board. |
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Close-Up:
Boris Berman
On October
30 at Sudler Hall, pianist and School of Music professor Boris Berman described the "grit, ingenuity, and imagination" necessary to become
a concert performer in the 21st century. Berman's talk coincided
with the publication by Yale University Press of Notes
from the Pianist's Bench, his advice on everything from
the best fingering patterns to dealing with stage fright.
"This is a very difficult
job," said the veteran musician, a "pianist's pianist" whose playing
has been praised for "its poetic refinement and intense musicality"
and who is listed in the book The Most Wanted Piano Teachers
in the U.S.A. "To give a performance that can touch the heart,
we have to develop sensitivity and intuition, have an emotional empathy with the work we're performing, and have the charisma to
command the attention of our audience."
In his talk, Berman
alternated between the lectern and the keyboard, offering insights culled from
a career that began when he was a student in his native Russia, a country he left
for Israel in 1973. He came to Yale in 1984 and currently heads the piano department
at the School of Music. In addition, Berman continues to perform around the world,
and he maintains an active recording schedule.
To get to the heart
of a musical work, the performer has to be part detective, part actor, and consummate
technician. "Practice efficiently, but no more than is necessary to fix whatever
needs to be fixed. There are more fascinating things in life than practicing piano."
he admonished. And never think that technique, however well honed, is enough.
"A performer who has just fingers, but neither soul nor brain, cannot move an
audience."  |
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