School of Music Feb. 17, 1998 Contact Scott Barkhurst (541) 346-1163 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 EUGENE--The extraordinary achievements of a prolific German nun who was a "Renaissance woman" before the Renaissance began will be commemorated in a series of events March 2-5 at the University of Oregon on the 900th anniversary of the birth of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). "Hildegard of Bingen at 900: A Celebration of her Spirituality and Music" will bring together musicians and scholars to reflect and comment on Hildegard's spirituality and music as central aspects of her multifaceted legacy. Organizers say the events are intended for general audiences extending from the university campus throughout Oregon. Recognized as the first great composer in the Western tradition, Hildegard created music and poetry for the use of her abbey, including the earliest known morality play. She also supervised the production and illustration of manuscripts containing her works, which include treatises on ethics, medicine and theology. Hildegard was consulted by persons in all walks of life, including popes, emperors, kings and archbishops. Currently, she attracts great interest in academia, popular culture and New Age religion. From 3-4 p.m. on Monday, March 2, in the Browsing Room at the Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid St., Margot Fassler, director of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, will present a free public lecture, "Sounding Icons and Sounds of Struggle: Hildegard's Jesse Tree and Monastic Education." The lecture will place Hildegard's music and poetry in the context of monastic life. Fassler is a distinguished scholar of 12th-century liturgical music. Her 1993 book, "Gothic Song," has won awards from both the American Musicological Society and the Medieval Academy of America. From 10-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, at the School of Music's Beall Concert Hall, 961 E. 18th Ave., the early music ensemble Tapestry will give a free public master class on performing Hildegard's music. The Boston-based vocal ensemble, directed by Laurie Monahan, consists of Monahan, Cristi Catt, Sandra Ramirez and Daniela Tosic. The group specializes in performing medieval music, particularly that of Hildegard. Tapestry's concert, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, in Beall Concert Hall, is titled "Celestial Light: The Music of Hildegard von Bingen," with medieval polyphony and a new work by Robert Kyr, a UO music composition and theory professor. The concert will feature music on Tapestry's recently released CD of the same title, which includes Kyr's "From the Circling Wheel," set to poetry by Hildegard and commissioned by Tapestry. Tickets for the March 4 concert, available at the door, are $7 general admission and $4 for students and senior citizens. Assistant Professor Susan Boynton will give a free pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m. in Beall Hall. The celebration will conclude with a free public colloquium, "Hildegard of Bingen and Women's Spiritual Traditions," from 7-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, in the Knight Library Browsing Room. The program will address Hildegard's spirituality through her writings, music and the illustrations of her works, and place these perspectives in the context of other women mystics, such as Marguerite Porete and Teresa of Avila. This colloquium is organized by Boynton, a musicologist, and sponsored by the Reclaiming the Past Research Interest Group at the UO Center for the Study of Women in Society. Speakers include faculty and students from the University of Oregon and elsewhere, plus the members of Tapestry. The four-day celebration is sponsored by the Oregon Humanities Center, Center for the Study of Women in Society, College of Arts and Sciences, Medieval Studies Program and School of Music. For information, send e-mail to boynton@oregon.uoregon.edu or call Boynton, (541) 346-3748. -30- #P-2155/A&E,Special