Short Takes

September 19, 2017 | Jim Townsend

UHCL Alumni Celebration Oct. 7

Tickets are on sale for University of Houston-Clear Lake's 2017 Alumni Celebration, Saturday, Oct. 7 at South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center, 2500 South Shore Blvd., League City, Texas.

The black tie-optional event will honor recipients of awards for Distinguished Alumni, Early Achievement and Outstanding Professor.

This year’s Distinguished Alumni honorees are Denise S. Navarro, founder and CEO of NASA contractor Logical Innovations Inc.; Estella Hernández Gillette, who joined Logical Innovations as a consultant after a long career at Johnson Space Center,  Michael Squyres, founder and president of Flow-Cal Inc., which provides software systems for the global energy industry.

UH-Clear Lake’s Early Achievement Award honoree is Michael D. Larrañaga, principal consultant and health-practice leader for Ramboll Environ Inc. This year’s Outstanding Professor Award will be received by Associate Professor of Humanities Daniel Silvermintz.

A cocktail reception begins at 6 p.m.; the dinner and program begin at 7 p.m. Tickets go on sale soon: $125 each or $50 for UHCL students. Table sponsorships are available. For more information, call 281-283-2040, email alumni@uhcl.edu or visit www.uhcl.edu/alumni/events/celebration.

UH-Clear Lake Harvest Fair seeks vendors

University of Houston-Clear Lake is looking for local vendors for the 2017 Harvest Fair, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Oct. 17-19 in Atrium II of the Bayou Building, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston.

Vendors can rent space – 6 feet by 6 feet with two 6-foot tables and two chairs – for $35 per day. Contact Administrative Secretary Lee Ann Wheelbarger, College of Business, at 281-283-3116 or wheelbarger@uhcl.edu.

The three-day event is open to the public and features jewelry, apparel, crafts and edible treats. Admission is free. Free parking is provided for vendors and shoppers.

Friday Morning lectures start Oct. 6

 University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Friday Morning Continuing Education series starts Oct. 6 with a continuation of a discussion on 19th century seductresses and a lesson on the origins and history of Islam.

Explore 19th century European culture of the femme fatale with a discussion of work by author Oscar Wilde and director Alia Nazimova. Then, broaden your understanding of Islam with a discussion lead by Associate Professor in Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Studies Maria Curtis.

The fee includes a one-time membership fee of $26 and $18 for each class. Benefits to membership include borrowing privileges at the UHCL Neumann Library, discounts at the UHCL Bookstore and Patio Café. For more information and to register, visit www.uhcl.edu/academics/extended/friday-morning-ce.

UH-Clear Lake concert an aural trip through time

Concertgoers are in for a unique experience when Mercury: The Orchestra Redefined performs Brahms’ 2nd and Mendelssohn’s 5th in the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake on Friday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. They’ll hear these works the way the original audiences heard them: using instruments and played in the pitch the composers would have used in their day.

“The instruments we use look physically almost the same, but since the strings were made of sheep’s gut at the time, the sound was about a half pitch lower,” said Concertmaster Jonathan Godfrey. “And for wind instruments, a ‘natural’ trumpet had no valves. It was more like a bugle.”

Oboes of the time period were made with fewer keys and more holes, like a recorder, he added. “The advancements in instruments since then have been great, but they changed the character of the sound,” Godfrey said.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students at the door. To purchase tickets call 281-283-2065 or visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/events-tickets.