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Week of 27 March 1998 Vol. I, No. 25 Arts April is renewal month for the fine and performing arts at SFA by Judith Sandler It's the School for the Arts, not the School of Athens, but the muses will be ambient throughout the grueling month of April, when its lively menu offerings will feature music, theater, art, and special events. After seven decades of performing and teaching, Roger Voisin retires this year. Photo by BU Photo Services Boston painter Jon Imber (SFA'77) has curated Recent American Portraits: A Personal Selection, a portrait exhibit that will be on display in the George Sherman Union Gallery March 31 through May 3. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, includes portraits by such well-known painters as Louise Bourgeois, Philip Guston, Alex Katz, Fairfield Porter, and SFA Professor Emeritus John Wilson, along with lesser-known artists. Imber has selected an interesting mix of portraits, "from tightly controlled figurative work to wild abstraction," he says. "I chose portraits that moved me. Each is powerful in its own way." Many of the local artists in the exhibition will be at the opening reception April 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. to socialize and offer insights into their art. For a closer examination of the exhibit, in a gallery talk on Monday, April 13, at 1 p.m., Imber will be joined by George Nick, who is also represented in the show. John Daverio has constructed an unusual concert for the third and final event of SFA's Schumann Series on Tuesday, April 7. SFA associate professor and author of the recently published biography Richard Schumann: Herald of a New Poetic Age, Daverio selected the works in this series and has brought together two rarely performed pieces that were created and published as a pair. With texts taken from a novel by Goethe, Meister Lieder tells a story that concludes with Requiem für Mignon. Special guest artist Craig Smith, conductor of Emmanuel Music, will lead the Boston University Symphonic Chorus, Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Chorus in this program, which also includes one of Schumann's most popular works, the Symphony no. 1, Spring. This free concert is at 8 p.m. in the Tsai Performance Center. Jason Alexander (SFA'81, Hon.'95) On Friday, April 24, Seinfeld comes to town. Well, not exactly. But Jason Alexander (SFA'81, Hon.'95), who portrays the hapless George Costanza on the popular television series, will return to BU for a benefit for his alma mater just two days after filming the final episode. SFA presents the stage, screen, and television star and award-winning actor in An Evening with Jason Alexander, a special fundraiser at the Boston University Theatre to benefit the Theatre Arts Division. Moderated by Boston's WHDH Channel 7 arts and entertainment reporter Sara Edwards, the evening will feature an informal master class with SFA theater students, a conversation with the audience, and a short question-and-answer session. Admission for this event, which begins at 8 p.m., will be $50 and $75. The number for tickets and further information is 617-266-0800. Preferred seating and a postperformance reception are available for $200. Call 353-7293. A play inspired by the 1950s McCarthy Senate hearings will run at the Boston University Theatre from April 29 through May 3. SFA's Theater Arts Division will present Arthur Miller's The Crucible, directed by Elaine vaan Hogue. The 1953 Tony Award-winning play is based on court records of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692. "The play is really about what happens to a society when it's gripped by panic and hysteria," explains vaan Hogue. "It's about intolerance, fear, oppression, and tyranny. The reason the play has lasted so long is that these issues are so relevant -- we confront them in today's society in America." Tickets are $8 and $6 for general admission, $4 for students and seniors, and free to the BU community. Tickets and further information are available at the BU Theatre box office, 617-266-0800. The month ends with a flourish at SFA. On April 30 in the Tsai Performance Center, the final concert of the Boston University Symphony Orchestra will be the focal point for a number of important events. Prior to the performance, at 7 p.m., SFA's celebrated trumpeter and teacher Professor Roger Voisin, who retires at the end of the academic year, will be fêted for his nearly 30 years of dedication. Following the festivities, this teacher who has trained generations of trumpet players and served as principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra will share the conducting responsibilities with Associate Professor Richard Cornell for the 8 p.m. concert. The program will include Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture and will feature the four winners of the Concerto Aria Competition. And because this concert closes the SFA season, it is also the honors concert where awards are presented to outstanding students in recognition of their musical accomplishments.