After muddling though Missy Mazzoli’s repertoire two weeks ago, acolyte of the avant-garde Henry Litwhiler explores the depths of masochism at the Miller Theatre’s latest Composer Portrait, Italian composer Stefano Gervasoni. Stefano Gervasoni was classically trained under Luca Lombardi, Niccolò Castiglioni, and Azio Corghi at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and, after a career that brought him […]

Classical connoisseur Henry Litwhiler spent thirsty Thursday drinking from the beer bong of beauty at Miller Theatre’s Composer Portrait of the unclassifiable Missy Mazzoli. Dubbed in 2010 by Time Out New York as “Brooklyn’s post-Millenial Mozart,” composer Missy Mazzoli has enjoyed mounting fame in the New York and global classical scenes. Her 2012 premiere of Song […]

On Thursday night, American classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein had a “Special Event” concert at Miller Theatre. Muhly-phile Alexandra Svokos was there, though unfortunately missed the first piece (Bach’s Two-Part Inventions for keyboard, BWV 772-786) for a class. Simone Dinnerstein is full of presence and feelings. From her face and posture as she plays, she appears to […]

As campus groups are still rolling into the new season and you still don’t have a shit-ton of work, why not go further?  Break out of the bubble while you still have the chance and catch some of Bwog staff’s cultural picks for the week. Columbia: The Institute for Comparative Literature and Society is hosting […]

A petition calling on Columbia students to “save the arts initiative” has been signed over 1,000 times. Clearly, many people believe the Arts Initiative is trouble. But Melissa Smey—the current director of both Miller Theatre and the Arts Initiative—is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not one of them. She just sent us a statement highlighting the continuing accomplishments […]

The 2012-2013 season at Miller Theatre opened last night with Venezia. It will be playing again tomorrow and is sold out, but a stand-by line will be open at 6 pm. Wannabe Venetian Alexandra Svokos checked it out. Miller Theatre opened their season with the words “I do not know if I am awake, or […]

The Anat Cohen Quartet played a concert at 8 pm in Miller Theatre on Saturday.  Brazilian choro enthusiast Briana Last was on hand to check out a mix of beats that definitely beat your floormate’s Saturday night DJing. Anat Cohen absorbs the klezmer of her heritage and cranks out a mix of Afro-beat, Brazilian choro, […]

Screenings at the second annual Athena Film Festival begin tonight at 6 pm in Miller Theatre. Student priced tickets are available for $7. Alexandra Svokos sat down with festival founders Kathryn Kolbert and Melissa Silverstein. Kathryn Kolbert and Melissa Silverstein (a 30 Rock fan!) come from different professional worlds but have the same goal: to […]

Tonight, Miller Theatre digs deep and offers us the first of its brand new series of Popup Concerts. In exchange for free beer, intimate musical times, and communitarian bonding, all we must do is sit through an hour of atonal music. Punters will be encouraged to grab a bevvie and join the instrumentalists on stage. […]

Why study stay cramped up in Butler this evening when you can have free fun instead? Don’t miss John Zorn, composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and avant garde icon, as he returns to his first instrument for this rare performance—his first solo organ concert in St. Paul’s Chapel tonight at 11 pm. Entry is free with a CUID! The […]

New York City has endless opportunities to enjoy some truly magnificent  (and other not so magnificent) works of theatre, dance, art, and music. But they’re all so expensive?! We know. Stay home this weekend and appreciate what free and not-so-free cultural experiences Morningside Heights has to offer. If you’d like your local (or not so local!) Columbia […]

QuickTix runs alternate Wednesdays, and spreads word of the TIC. Own your student ID. Tickets sold for on campus events this week: 819 Campus events on sale now: MP3 Experiment: September 9th, 12 pm, Ancel Plaza, FREE, Tickets. Lyrics from Lockdown: September 24th, 7 pm, Miller Theatre, $7 w/CUID, Tickets. Tickets sold for off campus events this week: […]

It was announced today that Melissa Smey, Director of Miller Theatre, will be taking over leadership of Columbia’s Arts Initiative. In his university-wide e-mail, PrezBo praised Smey’s work in revamping Miller’s agenda — remember Sonic Youth? — which we chronicled in our profile of her in the November issue of The Blue & White. Bollinger, […]

Hailed as one of the most successful female composers of all time, 3-time Grammy winner, Joan Tower, will be at our very own Miller Theatre tonight. The living legend spared some time to talk to Bwog’s ivory tickling enthusiast Carolyn Ruvkun about “DWEMs” and dead lettuce. Bwog: How would you describe your music? Joan Tower: […]

Just after the conclusion of the Japan benefit concert at Miller, a horde of fire trucks pulled up outside Dodge, in response to a real fire. After hearing from the FDNY that the source was a copier, a student developing photos in the darkroom in Dodge confirmed that a laser printer was the origin of […]