In Brief: February 1

Take steps to better health this semester

The University has a number of health-building activities and programs this month, beginning with a Healthy Heart Walk on Friday (Feb. 5) at the Eppler South Track.

Come between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a short walking break, have a snack and receive resource materials. Wear red and be entered to win raffle prizes. WellAware, BGSU Dining Services and the Falcon Health Center are partnering to promote awareness during February, American Heart Month.

Employees and students alike are invited to take the “Step It Up Challenge” issued by the WellAware program. The eight-week series focuses on moving toward better health, one step at a time, through increased physical activity and beneficial behaviors.

Participants may register individually or in teams. For each 10 minutes of exercise, earn “steps,” with extras awarded for components aimed at such benefits as eating better, controlling cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure and quitting smoking.

Participants will qualify for a number of raffle prizes while enjoying the support of the group and the program coordinator.

The program is free for faculty, staff and students. It runs Feb. 8-April 3. Register online at the WellAware site by Thuesday (Feb. 5).

Also this spring, Yoga As You Are has returned to the Women’s Center. Open to all employees, the free, gentle yoga class is held Mondays from 12:10-12:50 p.m. in 107 Hanna Hall. Each session offers a low-impact yoga routine followed by a five-minute guided meditation.

No registration is needed.  Just bring a yoga mat or towel.

Pianist Vicky Chow to perform at Clazel Theatre

Pianist Vicky Chow will perform “Surface Image,” a work by acclaimed composer Tristan Perich, at the Clazel Theatre tonight (Feb. 1) as part of the Music at the Forefront concert series sponsored by BGSU’s MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music.

The 8 p.m. concert is free and open to the public. The Clazel Theatre is at 127 N. Main St.

The Canadian pianist has been described as "brilliant" by The New York Times and "one of the new stars of new music" by the Los Angeles Times. She has premiered works by a number of iconic composers — from Steve Reich to Bryce Dessner — and is a member of New York's preeminent Bang on a Can All-Stars. Chow also recently created an arrangement of “The Rite of Spring” for solo piano, of which she gave multiple performances during the centennial celebration, including a live-streamed performance from WNYC's The Greene Space on May 29, 2013 — the exact day the work was premiered in Paris 100 years earlier.

“Surface Image” premiered on Feb. 19, 2013, at Roulette in Brooklyn, N.Y. During live performances, Chow's piano can be seen nested in a sea of cables and circuit boards, each powering one of the 40 loudspeakers hand-wired by Perich to serve as his electric orchestra. Highly praised by many press outlets, Chow’s recording of the work on New Amsterdam was named No. 4 in Rolling Stone's 20 Best Avant Albums of 2014.

Music at the Forefront is an annual concert series featuring performances by accomplished and innovative performers of contemporary music. For more information, contact Kurt Doles at the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, at 419-372-2685 or kdoles@bgsu.edu.