Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — Before the spring semester ends at Kansas State University, there's still time to take in some drama, get in rhythm and explore your artistic side.

The university is offering a variety of cultural events in May, sponsored by the McCain Performance Series, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. These events, most free unless otherwise noted, include:

• K-State Theatre will wrap up its season with the Oscar Wilde classic "The Importance of Being Earnest." The comedy, which follows the distressing romances of two hapless gentlemen, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. May 1-3, with a matinee at 2:30 p.m. May 4, all in Nichols Hall's Chapman Theatre. Tickets are available at the McCain Auditorium box office or online at http://www.k-state.edu/theatre/.

• "Take Shelter: An Installation by Tom Parish" Artist Talk will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Beach Museum of Art. Parish will discusses his photography and research on Flint Hills native stone subterranean shelters. David Vail, public services archivist at Hale Library's Morse department of special collections, will provide historical context.

• The Kansas State University Choirs will present "Rhapsody" at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. This inaugural event, with conductor Julie Yu Oppenheim, associate professor and co-director of choral studies, will feature the Grand Chorus and a professional orchestra performing Johannes Brahms' "Ein Deutsches Requiem." In addition, Kansas State University alumna Jan Kraybill, conservator of the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant at the Kauffman Center, will be featured in a solo performance. Proceeds provide scholarships and performance opportunities for Kansas State University students. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased online at http://www.kstatechoirs.com/rhapsody-kauffman-center.html.

• Piano students of Slawomir Dobrzanski, associate professor of music, will perform a recital at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan, 481 Zeandale Road.

• The Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, directed by Don Linn, instructor of music, and Wind Symphony, directed by Phillip Payne, assistant professor of music, will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in McCain Auditorium.

• A staged reading of the opera "The Book of Job" will take place at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 5, in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall.

• The university Concert Band, directed by graduate student conductors, and the University Band,

directed by undergraduate student conductors, will share a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 5, in McCain Auditorium.

• The Theory Class Composition Recital, featuring the best compositions from Theory 1-4 classes, will be at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 6, in All Faiths Chapel.

• Guest organist Brett Valliant will perform accompaniment to the silent film "Safety Last!" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, in All Faiths Chapel. Valliant has been a featured performer on National Public Radio's "Pipe Dreams" as well as the National Bible Broadcasting Network, where his imaginative hymn arrangements are heard daily throughout the United States.

• At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, at the Beach Museum, the university's Movement Fundamentals class will present a dance inspired by quotes about breathing. The dancers' breath rhythms join together to create the sound score for the piece.

• The Early Release Workshop on papermaking will be 2-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at the Beach Museum. Participants will make handmade paper incorporating plants from the Hummel Family Meadow near the museum. This workshop is for ages 5 and up. The cost is $5 per participant, $3 for members.

• "A Recital of Theatrical Proportions" will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at the Beach Museum. From Shakespeare to Zach Braff, university juniors and seniors in theatre will present their best solo performances from a wide array of classical and contemporary playwrights.

• The dance program's senior program, "Treasuring Time," will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 11, in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union. Admission is free.

• The high and lonesome sound of the Appalachians will meet the hot and lively jazz of New Orleans when the McCain Performance Series presents the Preservation Jazz Hall Band and the Del McCoury Band at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at McCain Auditorium. Purchase tickets at the McCain Auditorium box office, online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain or by calling 785-532-6428.