Sewanee Event Highlights

Nov. 7, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library

Join us in duPont Library for a celebration of Sewanee alumni and local authors. Books will be available for purchase. Please direct questions to Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds, C'98 at rehildebrandt@gmail.com. 

Nov. 5-7, 7:30 p.m.
Studio Theatre at the Tennessee Williams Center

A sharp satirical comedy by MacArthur Fellow Larissa FastHorse. When schoolteacher is tasked with creating a "culturally sensitive" Thanksgiving pageant, she assembles a team of well-meaning collaborators. Through biting humor, FastHorse exposes the contradictions of performative ally-ship, liberal guilt, and the ways American institutions continue to misunderstand and erase Native voices. The show has performances Thursday, Friday & Saturday, Nov. 5-7. All three performances are sold out, but if you come to the Tennessee Williams Center lobby at 7 p.m. and put your name on a waitlist, we may be able to get you a seat.

Nov. 8, 3 p.m., 6 p.m.
St. Luke’s Chapel

3 p.m., Ellanna Swope, C’27. Her recital is an exploration of the liberal arts through music, featuring a diverse array of composers from Judith Cloud and John Corigliano to Sir Arthur Sullivan and Stephen Sondheim with Vicki Collinsworth, piano, and Erik Gustafson, tenor.
6 p.m., Louise Block, C’28, soprano. Her recital is a bouquet of song from a variety of styles and eras, featuring works by Lambert, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Strauss, and Somervel with Vicki Collinsworth, piano, and Rebecca Van de Ven, oboe

Nov. 10, 5:15 p.m.
Convocation Hall 

Dinner & Dialogue is a cherished campus tradition that brings together faculty, staff, seminarians, and students for thoughtful conversation, laughter, and connection. Through guided dialogue and lighthearted improv, this session explores the complexities of dinner table dynamics; those moments that challenge our patience, empathy, and grace as the holiday season approaches. RSVP with a guest, someone who holds a perspective different than yourself, to enrich conversation. RSVP here.

Nov. 4, 4:30 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library

Join us for a special presentation by Humphreys Entrepreneur-in-Residence Jim Henley, C'96. Henley serves as chief technology officer at Quanturisk Analytics, where he leads technology strategy and product innovation to translate environmental and climate risks into quantifiable financial insights. He credits Sewanee with shaping his lifelong commitment to inquiry and exploration, a foundation that offered him success across his many professional roles.

Nov. 2, 5 p.m.
Convocation Hall

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival's one-hour, five-actor traveling production of Shakespeare's classic tragedy. No reservation required, first-come, first-served.

Nov. 1, 4 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel

All are welcome for choral evensong in All Saints' Chapel. The University Choir will offer a brief service of sung psalms, canticles, and anthems under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Ward, University organist and choirmaster, and accompanied by Stephanie Yoder, assistant University organist. Music will include: Preces and Responses by M. Kretsinger-Harries; Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A by William H. Harris; Lord, Let Me Know Mine End by Maurice Greene; and Thomas Norris's Setting of Psalm 34. Rev. Leigh C. Preston, associate University chaplain, will officiate. If you cannot attend in person, you may livestream the service.

Oct. 29, 9 p.m.
Tennessee Williams Studio Theater

A culminating student performance from our four-day workshop with acclaimed solo performance guest artist Tim Miller. No reservation required, first-come, first-served.

Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library

The Russian Department cordially invites the University community to a Вечер / Evening when students of Russian will perform an abridged play by one of the most popular and provocative Russian playwrights alive, Ivan Vyrypaev. The playwright's “Iran Conference” takes place at a symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark, where eight of the world’s leading specialists on Iran share, one by one, their opinions and their scientific findings about the secrets to the meaning of human life.

Oct. 29, 4:30 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library

This lecture is a natural and cultural tour of rain, from the torrents that filled the oceans four billion years ago to the modern story of climate change. A wellspring of life, rain also has a place in our souls. Changing rainfall patterns are proving some of the most disruptive consequences of our warming globe. Armed with computer models looking forward, there is also much to learn from looking back. Too much and not enough, rain is an experience we share. Its history has much to tell us about coming together to live more ethically with water, and adapt to the stormy times ahead.

Oct. 26 - 28 , 8 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel

This walking ghost tour of central campus unearths the spooky side of Sewanee: from history and haunts, to legends and lore. Tours last approximately 1.5 hours. Meet us in front of All Saints' Chapel, if you dare!

Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.
Biehl Commons

An evening celebrating Sewanee's undergraduate research through engaging presentations that bring big ideas to life. Enjoy gift card giveaways, themed snacks, and live music throughout the event. Open to all students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Oct. 27, 5 p.m.
Convocation Hall

Art, Storytelling, and Creative Placemaking on the St. Mark’s Heritage Trail is part exhibition and part workshop, showcasing existing creative projects along the trail, and inviting new ones. The projects shared here commemorate and honor a community that has been an essential part of Sewanee for well over a century.

Oct. 21, 4:30 p.m.
McGriff Alumni House

The writers Alice Bolin and Daniel Hornsby will lecture on Wilkinson’s poetry. The Sewanee bookstore will be there selling selected titles by our winner and lecturers. These events are free and open to the public.

Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel

Join Sewanee Visiting Professor of Guitar William Yelverton for a recital of works for guitar and lute in the beauty of All Saints' Chapel. Spanning five centuries and four continents, this program features music of Dalza, Rameau, Albéniz, Dowland, Domeniconi, and more. Now in his 10th year of teaching at Sewanee, Dr. Yelverton also serves as director of guitar studies and professor of music at Middle Tennessee State University. Free admission.

Oct. 19, 5 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library

Please join us for a poetry reading and conversation with Laura Candler, C'09. She will be reading from her newly published chapbook, Common Name. Associate Professor of Creative Writing Molly McCully Brown will join us for the discussion. Richard Candler will be offering musical accompaniment. Chapooks will be available for purchase and signing. 

Oct. 18, 2:30 p.m.
University Cemetery

A ceremony to recall and commemorate the lives of the people of Sewanee’s St. Mark’s community whose graves in the historic cemetery have vanished over the many generations. Please join us and participate in the placing of hand-forged bronze grave markers, each surmounted by a figurative dogwood blossom and especially designed to mark the 148 lost graves in the historic Black graveyard in Sewanee’s University Cemetery. The event will include a reading of a newly commissioned poem by National Book Award for Poetry Finalist and Sewanee School of Letters faculty member Tiana Clark.

Oct. 17, 9:30 a.m.
Gailor Hall

Alumni, parents of Sewanee students and alumni, and professionals from a variety of medical practice areas will return to the Mountain to share information on the process from "application to practice" in their fields. The day includes practice-specific conversations, a panel discussion, and networking opportunities. Students of all class years are invited to participate. Students should register in Handshake by Oct. 7.

Oct. 14-17 at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17-18 at 2:00 p.m.
Tennessee Williams Center

Inspired by a true story, Bright Star features a Tony-nominated bluegrass score. Set in the Smoky Mountains in the 1920s and 1940s, this tale explores memory, love, loss, and redemption. Reserve your free tickets here.

Oct. 15, 5 p.m.
The Carlos Gallery

Hedley is a Midwestern sculptor who reimagines the familiar in wool. By working in the slow, engaged, and tactile process of needle felting, their sculptural works are intimately familiar yet detached from this reality. Informed by storytelling and distorted recollection, objects and forms that are subconsciously attached to memories become outlets to re-examine personal histories, generational folklore, and perceptions of society. 

Oct. 16, 4 p.m.
Manigault Park

Farm to Table is a free, community-wide celebration featuring locally sourced food, a craft fair, community dance, and yard games. This event brings together all corners of our community while highlighting the people and places that grow and produce the food that sustains us!
The Cumberland Community Dance will be hosting a contra dance during Farm to Table at Manigault Park starting at 6 p.m. This event is open to everyone! 

Oct. 15, 4:30 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium

Professor Chris McDonough will talk about the representation of The Odyssey in film from his course, The Classics in Film. The course focuses on portrayals of Greek and Roman culture in film, with readings from classical and later literature in translation as well as criticism. McDonough is the executive producer of the award-winning documentary, Mine 21, which deals with a fatal coal mine explosion and its impact in Marion and Grundy counties. In 2022, he published Pontius Pilate On Screen: Sinner, Soldier, Superstar, in Edinburgh University Press's Screening Antiquity series. McDonough is also the founding co-editor of the new American Journal of Classical Reception, published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Through Oct. 14
University Art Gallery

Award-winning photographer Kristine Potter's Dark Waters is on view in the University Art Gallery. Potter explores the intersection between culture and the experience of place, considering the tradition of murder ballads and the representation of the South. Free and open to the public.

Oct. 14, 8 - 11 a.m.
The Quad

The vice-chancellor and the Order of the Gown invite all faculty, staff, and students to Coffee on the Quad. For questions regarding accommodations or access for this event, please contact the Executive Offices at eo@sewanee.edu.

Oct. 13, 4:30 p.m.
Harris Commons, Spencer Hall

The center brings together the Office of Civic Engagement, the Office of Global Citizenship, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and the First-Year Experience. We want to celebrate your contributions to experiential learning. The vice-chancellor will say a few words, we will have a few stellar students talk about how valuable experiential learning has been for their academic and personal development, and we will have a special gift for attendees. Please help us celebrate all of the good work that is occurring at Sewanee in experiential learning by kicking off our new center! 

Oct. 10, 12:30 p.m.
Sewanee Bookstore

As the co-founder of Smart Girls, Meredith Walker has spent years making ideas feel real, relevant, and approachable to young people. Now she’s written a whole guide devoted to helping teen girls discover who they are, feel their feelings, develop their confidence—and figure out what to do next. Compact, insightful, and full of warm wisdom, Be Yourself and Other Bad Advice is the perfect book for any reader letting go of the old rules to create a life that’s truly their own. Catering by Word of Mouth Provisions.

Oct. 10, 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium, Blackman Auditorium, Convocation Hall

Environmental advocates, attorneys, students, and community members from across the Southeast will gather at the University of the South Oct. 9–11 for the third annual Southeastern Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (SPIEL). The weekend will feature discussions on clean water, forest conservation, public lands, environmental justice, and other pressing environmental issues. A keynote address by longtime environmental advocate and Sewanee alumnus the Rev. Mark Johnston will highlight the conference, which will also include a Saturday evening screening of short environmental films. Community members are welcome to attend the keynote or participate in the full conference. Registration and the complete schedule are available here.

Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Guerry Auditorium

Singer and Sewanee alumna Alyssa Fair joins the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mario Alejandro Torres for a program spanning rock, jazz, Latin, pop, and country, with a special place for Dolly Parton’s songwriting.

Oct. 4, 1 p.m.
St. Luke's Chapel

Join the Performing Arts Series and the Music Department for this recital of song cycles and piano works by living composers including Sarah Rimkus, Gregory W. Brown, and Thomas LaVoy. Soprano Mary Hubbell is an accomplished soloist and has performed with ensembles including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. She excels in a wide range of styles and specializes in the works of contemporary composers. 

Oct. 4, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
All Saints' Chapel 

Canon Corsello has served as vicar of Washington National Cathedral since 2017, overseeing its worship and congregational life. Previously rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, she more than doubled Sunday attendance, erased a significant budget deficit, and co-founded an interfaith food pantry serving Chinatown and lower Nob Hill. A graduate of the University of Missouri and the General Theological Seminary, she was ordained in 1999. Her son is a current student at Sewanee.

Oct. 2, 2 p.m.
Carlos Gallery, Visual Arts Building

To celebrate Family Weekend, Sewanee's Art Department faculty will be hosting an open house in the Carlos Gallery within the Visual Arts Building on Sewanee's campus. Food and beverages will be provided. Come join us!

Oct. 1, 4 p.m.
Nailor Auditorium

The Asian Studies and Economics departments are co-sponsoring a lecture via ZOOM from Dr. Dan Du, associate professor of history from UNC Charlotte. This World in a Teacup is the first book to detail the American tea trade with China after the American Revolution through the early 20th century. Drawing on archival sources and perspectives from both sides of the Pacific, Dan Du offers new insights to help understand fundamental developments in U.S.-China relations within a global context. 

Sept. 28, 5:25 p.m.
Convocation Hall

Join us for a campus conversation about social media, digital anonymity, and our value of EQB. RSVP by Friday, Sept. 25, with a guest, someone who holds a perspective different from your own, to enrich the conversation. 

Sept. 23, 7 p.m.
Guerry Auditorium

Join us for an evening of music for solo cello featuring Paul Christopher, associate professor of music at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Songs, Dances & Variations explores the remarkable expressive range of the cello from variations inspired by a traditional spiritual to vibrant dance-inspired writing and the meditative sound world of Glass. The program brings together three very different perspectives on the sound of the cello.

Sept. 21, 7 p.m.
Guerry Auditorium

Join Sewanee voice faculty Kerry Ginger and pianist Vicki Collinsworth for an evening of musical mementos from interwar Berlin and Vienna. From nostalgia to irony, romanticism to modernism, sincerity to satire, the soundscapes of these intertwined musical cities reflect the aspirations and anxieties of a fascinating and complex era.

Sept. 18, 4:30 p.m.
All Saints’ Chapel

Families are welcome to be on campus for convocation and gowning. Please note that seating in All Saints’ Chapel is limited to faculty, students being inducted, and those who are gowning them. All other guests may watch the livestream from Guerry Auditorium or on their own devices and then join their students on the Quad following the ceremony.

Sept. 15, 6 p.m.
Ayres Multicultural Center

Hispanic heritage night. Share Latin-Inspired food, music, and games while connecting with others. This program will give everyone the opportunity to engage with one another and to build community. We will have giveaways! All are welcome.

Sept. 14, 4 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library

Frank Odom, C’15, is the founding engineer at Tower Research Ventures, where he helps evaluate investments, advises portfolio companies, and works directly with founders to research new markets and build products from scratch. His technical work has included language models, computer vision, product management, and technical leadership roles. He double-majored in math and physics at Sewanee and later earned an M.S. in physics from UC Davis.

Sept. 11, 8-8:45 a.m., Flag planting, the Quad
9 a.m., Memorial service, the Quad

Sewanee students, faculty, staff, and other community members are invited to the Quad to plant American flags to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost 25 years ago. Please join us immediately after for a memorial service led by the Very Rev. Chris Epperson, dean of All Saints' Chapel and University chaplain. All are welcome.

Aug. 26 and 27, 7 p.m.
Tennessee Williams Center

Be prepared to sing one minute of a song, either a cappella or accompaniment with your phone. The song can be a pop song, country/bluegrass ballad, or show tune of your choice. You will read script from the show and learn a short dance combination. Performances will be Oct. 14-18. If you have any questions, email Jim Crawford.