Hoppin’ J-Term
You might think the big news from the past weekend at Messiah would be about the sold-out Regina Spektor concert. Or, maybe the Tim Warfield jazz coffee hour. Or, the fact that a high school senior from Ohio won a full ride to Messiah after wowing Messiah faculty and members of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra with his piano performance of a concerto by Chopin. But, no. The big news seems to be the snow, the light dusting of grainy, slippery snow that fell lightly on Sunday night and lingered throughout the day on Monday. I’ve heard more than one student comment on the long-awaited snow, and I’ve heard more than one wish for much, much more. I suppose many think the only justification for the current seasonably cold weather is if it’s accompanied by a good snow…
I’ve just marked my one anniversary at Messiah, so my perception of J-Term has little historical perspective. But, I’ll go out on a limb and assert this nonetheless – Messiah seems to really be hopping this J-Term! My case in point: Regina Spektor sold-out Brubaker, the women’s basketball team is ranked third in the nation (!) in the DIII standings, tickets for The Decemberists go on sale Feb. 5 for the March concert, and a very hip, 80-year-old retired postal worker from Pittsburgh is displaying his jazz-inspired sculptures in the Aughinbaugh. I could go on and on and on. And, I will…but just to mention one more very cool thing. Retired art faculty member Catherine Prescott has a portrait, “Girl With a Mink Pelt,” in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. The Smithsonian — wow! The Patriot-News covered the reception Messiah held in Prescott’s honor and gave us great placement on the front of the Local and State Section. Unfortunately, a quote and the presidency of Messiah College were attributed to Kelly Phipps instead of Kim Phipps, but thankfully we have a president with a sense of humor and a newspaper that prints corrections!