Lunchtime Series – January to June 2012

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Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:30 pm
McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) representatives Robert Hamilton, Senior Director of the Glen Campus Development, and Jonathan Goldbloom, Executive Director of The Best Care for Life Campaign, give an illustrated presentation on the “New MUHC”. They will also answer questions about the hospital’s historic $2.25 billion project to transform care for generations. For more information, go to www.muhc.ca/construction.

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Blù Bambù, a double reed ensemble, perform a varied musical program, including classical and jazz works – a delightful January treat! The musicians are Cynthia Viel, Caroline Plamondon and Christian Navratil.

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Richard Gwyn
, award-winning author and well-known journalist, reads from and discusses the second volume of his best-selling biography of Sir John A. Macdonald. Nation Maker – Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times covers the years from Confederation until his death in 1891.
With funding for the author from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Tea taster Kevin Gascoyne gives an inside view into the World of Tea, his unusual profession and the breathtaking tea gardens of Asia he visits every year to select precious leaves for the world-famous catalogue of Camellia Sinensis.  Fine tea prepared by Kevin will be served to the audience. For more information, go to http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/.

Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Award-winning haiku poet Angela Leuck gives a session on “Love Haiku” just in time for VALENTINE’S DAY. Learn how to compose something special for your loved one!

Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:30 pm
To celebrate BLACK HISTORY MONTH the IMANI Gospel Singers, directed by Marcia Bailey, perform a program of spiritual music and discuss the evolution of Black gospel music. For more information about the group, see www.imanigospelsingers.com.

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:30 pm
For BLACK HISTORY MONTH, Concordia University Music Professor and jazz trumpet player Charles Ellison gives a presentation on aspects of the history of jazz.

Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 12:30 pm
A program of WORDS AND MUSIC features author Mary Soderstrom discussing her book Making Waves: The Continuing Portuguese Adventure, and guitarist Timothy Dobby performing complementary music.

Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 12:30 pmFor INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, author Merrily Weisbord reads from and discusses The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das, the acclaimed book that was a finalist for Canada’s major non-fiction awards in 2010 and 2011. For more information and online discussion about the book, go to http://www.facebook.com/lovequeenofmalabar.
With funding for the author from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, world-renowned musician and holder of the Johnson Chair in Quebec and Canadian Irish Studies at Concordia University, gives an illustrated talk on Irish music in Canada, and plays the concertina, to celebrate ST. PATRICK’S DAY.

Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 12:30 pm
To celebrate WORLD STORYTELLING DAY, the Montreal Storytellers’ Guild presents “Around the World through Stories”. Through their stories and songs, the Guild’s gifted tellers provide a free trip to the most intriguing and farthest corners of the earth.

Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Le Groupe MusiArt, the choir of the MUHC Department of Psychiatry directed by Dr. Marie-France Boudreault, performs a variety of choral music in English and French. The choir’s new CD, Perception, will be on sale.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Ghada Begdache, Feng Shui consultant, gives a presentation entitled “Change your home, change your life”, and shows how application of the ancient Chinese principles of Feng Shui can improve your life. For more information, go to www.fengshui-esthetics.com.

Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Master chef and baker James MacGuire gives a talk on the fascinating history of the croissant … with samples!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Gregory McCormick, Programming Director, gives a preview of the 2012 Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, taking place from April 18 to April 23 at the Montreal OPUS Hotel, corner of Sherbrooke and St-Laurent. For more information, see http://bluemetropolis.org.

Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Violinist Françoise Morin-Lyons, a founding member of the internationally-acclaimed I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra, gives a lecture-demonstration about the violin. She will be playing as well as inviting members of the audience to try the violin. This event is part of the ReachOut with Music program of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul: www.standrewstpaul.com.

Monday, April 23, 2012 at 12:30 pm
“William Shakespeare, Mechanical”, a special program to celebrate SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHDAY, features actor Paul Hopkins and McGill University Professor Paul Yachnin.  Hopkins and Yachnin bring together theatrical performance and historical scholarship to tell the story of Shakespeare’s life as a working man of the theatre.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 12
:30 pm

Ojibwa author, humorist and playwright Drew Hayden Taylor reads from and discusses Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, a finalist for the 2010 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction.
With funding for the author from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Jean Bélisle
, Concordia University art history professor, gives a talk on aspects of Montreal’s maritime history.

Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Montreal poet Steve Luxton gives an illustrated talk entitled “A Settled Wild: The Poetry of Nature in the Townships”. He will draw on his writing about the natural beauty of the Townships, discussing and reading his poetry, and showing photos of the places which inspired the poems.

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Alain Fréchette, Head of Education and Cultural Services at the Stewart Museum, gives an illustrated presentation on the fascinating exhibitions and exciting programming at the Museum, which is located in a former British military complex on Ȋle Sainte-Hélène. For more information, see www.stewart-museum.org.

Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Writer James Little talks about Charles Dickens’ 1842 visit to Montreal and reads his QWF 2011 Quebec Writing Competition shortlisted story, Train Ride, from his collection Could Be: New Fiction.

Thursday, June 7, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Healing coach, meditation and yoga teacher Jackie Roberge gives a presentation on “5 Fun Strategies to Boost Your Immune System and Stay Healthy”.  For more information, see http://www.cancershift.com/events/.

Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 12:30 pm
A program celebrating BLOOMSDAY MONTRÉAL features Concordia University’s Dr. Dana Hearne, who will introduce and moderate the event, as well as talking about the central importance of Nora Barnacle in James Joyce’s life and writing; Dr. Gus O’Gorman, who will perform a selection of readings from Joyce’s Ulysses; and Beverly McGuire, accompanied by a pianist, who will sing some of the best loved songs associated with this great novel. Bloomsday Montréal is an initiative of the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning (MCLL). For more information, go to http://www.mcgill.ca/conted/milr/bloomsday.

Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Author Robert Landori reads from and discusses his latest work of international intrigue, Mayhem on the Danube. “Al-Queda, Iran or Iraq:  Who will own the vaccine that will save mankind?” For more information, see www.robertlandori.com.

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