The Bryan Series®

Yo-Yo Ma Participates in Sen. Ted Kennedy's Funeral Mass

Yo-Yo Ma participated in the funeral mass for Sen. Ted Kennedy Aug. 29 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Roxbury, Mass. 

Ma performed Sarabande from Cello Suite No. 6 by J.S. Bach as a cello solo.  He was joined by tenor Placido Domingo and organist James David Christie in performing Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck.

To view a New England Cable News video of Ma playing Sarabande, click here.

58 Senators, 21 former Senate members and four living Presidents of the United States including Barack Obama attended the funeral mass for the long-term Senator, who died Aug. 25 of brain cancer.  The President offered the eulogy.

Ma speaks in the Bryan Series Oct. 26.

NBC's coverage of Kennedy's death included commentary from past Bryan Series speakers Michael Beschloss (on the day of the funeral) and Doris Kearns Goodwin (on Meet the Press Aug. 30).  Beschloss spoke in February 2005 and Goodwin, in October 2000.

Fewer than 200 Tickets Available for Yo-Yo Ma Lecture Oct. 26

Fewer than 200 tickets are available for sale to the lecture and solo musical performance by Yo-Yo Ma Monday, Oct. 26, at War Memorial Auditorium.  The event is a bonus program in this year's Bryan Series.

As of Aug. 25, 2,035 tickets had been sold or distributed.  On Sept. 15, 154 tickets will be available for sale to Guilford students, faculty and staff on campus.  Any unsold Guilford tickets will be returned for public sale.   Auditorium capacity for this event is just over 2,400.

To purchase tickets, visit www.Ticketmaster.com or the Greensboro Coliseum Advance Box Office.

Guilford is partnering with the Eastern Music Festival to present this program.

Anna Deavere Smith's "Let Me Down Easy" Opens in NYC Sept. 15

Anna Deavere Smith's play "Let Me Down Easy" opens Sept. 15 at 2econd Stage Theatre in New York City, after a successful run in selected cities in the U.S. over the past year.

Smith, who speaks in the Bryan Series Feb. 28, explores the power of the body and the resilience of the human spirit, featuring first-person accounts from a wide variety of sources, including Lance Armstrong, and former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Smith takes a look at the world of healthcare from both the patient and practitioner perspective in the play.

To view a 3-minute preview of the show, click here.  Following the preview there are other YouTube videos featuring Smith.

Anna Deavere Smith Named to Oprah's "Power List"

Anna Deavere Smith, who speaks in the Bryan Series Feb. 28, was named to Oprah Winfrey's first-ever "Power List," which appears in the September issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

The actor and playwright was among 20 "remarkable visionaries who are flexing their muscles in business and finance, politics and justice, science and the arts," according to the magazine.

She was recognized for speaking out and "loud" about social issues through her theatre performances.  Her one-woman play "Let Me Down Easy" is on stage in New York this fall.

Other women recognized were author Terry Tempest Williams, tennis champion Venus Williams, political analyst Donna Brazile, Buddhist nun Pema Chodron, Army general Ann Dunwoody and others.

Tutu, Poitier, Robinson Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

Three former Bryan Series speakers -- Desmond Tutu, Sidney Poitier and Mary Robinson -- were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Aug. 12.  President Obama honored 16 medal recipients in the East Room of the White House.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom -- along with the Congressional Gold Medal -- is the highest civilian award in the United States. It is designed to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Tutu, who spoke in the Bryan Series in November 2005, was cited for leading South Africa "through a turning point in modern history, and with an unshakable humility and firm commitment to our common humanity, he helped heal wounds and lay the foundation for a new nation."

Poitier, who spoke in the series in December 2003, is an award-winning actor and social activist who "brought us the common tragedy of racism, the inspiring possibility of reconciliation, and the simple joys of everyday life," his citation stated.

Robinson (pictured), who spoke in September 2006, was cited for being "a trail-blazing crusader for women’s rights in Ireland and a forceful advocate for equality and human rights around the world."  She is the former president of Ireland and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Colin Powell (1999) and George Mitchell (2004) are other Bryan Series speakers who have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

2002 Speaker Oscar Arias Suffering from Swine Flu

Oscar Arias, who participated in a Bryan Series debate with Ralph Nader in 2002, is suffering from the H1N1 virus, the New York Times reported Aug. 11.  Arias is president of Costa Rica and is the first head of state known to have contracted swine flu.

Arias won the Nobel prize in 1987 for a peace plan to end Central American civil wars and guerrilla conflicts.  He debated globalization issues with Nader in front of a crowd of 1,000 at Dana Auditorium in March 2002.  Arias served as president of Costa Rica from 1986-90 and was re-elected in 2006.

Arias is one of three heads of state to appear in the Bryan Series, joining Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union (2004) and Mary Robinson of Ireland (2006).  He is one of five Nobel Prize winners in the series, including Paul Krugman (Nov. 3).