(Posted September 9, 2002)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Juniata College Artist Series will offer entertainment events for the 2002-2003 season that run the gamut from a cowboy humorist to Asian acrobatics, starting with Tap On, Oct. 5 in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall on the Juniata campus.

The Juniata College Artist Series offers six performing arts concerts each year and asks many of the performing groups to teach workshops or residencies within the Huntingdon community or on the Juniata campus.

For tickets and information about the Juniata College Artist Series, please call (814) 641-3333. General admission tickets for single performances are $15, except where otherwise noted. Season tickets are $65. Single-show tickets for seniors over age 65 and children age 18 and under are $8 and season tickets fro seniors are $30. Juniata College students are admitted free with a student ID.

The 2001-2002 Juniata College Artist Series schedule is as follows:

--On Tap: Oct. 5 at 8:15 p.m. in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall.
Hard-working tap dancers use percussive dance techniques to illuminate the legacy of tap in this high-energy show. The performance traces the history of tap dancing from its origins through urban tap styles and street dancing.

--Baxter Black, cowboy poet and humorist: Nov. 23 at 8:15 p.m. in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall.

Fans of National Public Radio will be familiar with the dry-as-a-tumbleweed humor of Baxter Black, a poet and humorist who has been a regular commentator on National Public Radio for years. A former large-animal veterinarian, Black switched careers to become an entertainer, describing himself as "the best-selling cowboy poet in the known universe."

He has written 12 books, including a novel centered on rodeos. Black started writing poems in his mid-30s and published his first commentary column in the Record Stockman in 1980.

--Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats, Jan. 22 at 8:15 p.m. in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall.

The 20-person troupe uses the centuries-old acrobatic tradition of China to showcase feats of strength, balancing, coordination and dance. Performing in spectacular costumes, the acrobats update acrobatic tricks that date back 2,000 years. The ensemble has performed around the world in more than 65 countries on five continents. The group has received the National Association of Campus Activities Entertainer of the Year Award seven times.

--Robin Spielberg, pianist, March 15, 2003 at 8:15 p.m. in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall.

Piano instrumentalist Robin Spielberg has been a successful recording artist since 1993, with the release of her album "Heal of the Hand." She has gone on to record two other albums of piano solos, "Songs of the Spirit" and "Dreaming of Summer." She has appeared on the PBS special "The Soul of Christmas: A Celtic Music Celebration with Thomas Moore" and "CBS This Morning."

Ms. Spielberg also recorded "Beautiful Dreamer, an album of lullabies and songs for parents and children, as a result of her experience in seeing the positive effect music had on her baby daughter during the prematurely born child's stay in a neonatal intensive care unit.

--Jonatha Brooke, singer-songwriter, March 28, 2003 at 8:15 p.m. in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall.

Jonatha Brooke is a singer who has recorded two critically acclaimed albums in the past three years, "Steady Pull" and "10-cent Wings." She also recorded "Plumb" with the band Story. One of her songs, "I'll Try" is featured on the soundtrack of the feature film "Peter Pan 2: Return to Neverland" She also sings the song "Second Star to the Right" on the soundtrack.

--Turtle Island String Quartet, April 11, 2003 at 8:15 p.m. in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall.

The Turtle Island String Quartet brings such American popular music styles as bluegrass, jazz, rhythm 'n' blues and bossa nova to the classic string quartet format. While still playing time-honored classical compositions, the quartet seeks to incorporate improvisation and American vernacular music into their repertoire.

The quartet records for Windham Hill Records and has released such albums as "On the Town," "Spider Dreams," "A Night in Tunisia, A Week in Detroit' and "Metropolis."

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.