The Olin Arts Center is launching a new music series, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½Downtown, in downtown Lewiston with jazz and classical concerts featuring ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty members.

Pianist Tom Snow and guitarist John Smedley play jazz at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26.

Violinist Dean Stein and pianist Chiharu Naruse perform music by J.S. Bach and Beethoven at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3.

Both ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½Downtown concerts take place at 22 Park St. (the former Maple Room) and are open to the public at no cost. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½Downtown series “came from the simple idea of trying to branch out and essentially ‘share’ the music we have here on campus out in the community,” says Seth Warner, the college’s concert hall manager.

“We hope we attract an audience that might not normally visit our campus — but also hope we can capture the attention of members of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community who’d like to know more about the people, places and things that make Lewiston-Auburn the ‘L/A’ of the East.”

Snow, the director of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Jazz Band, has recorded on the Telarc and Origin labels and has three CDs as a leader: Northern Standard Time (1997), Christmas at Mast Cove (2001) and Some Other Time (2007). His career has included wide-ranging tours to Australia and throughout the United States with noted Irish tenor John McNally, and he frequently accompanies folk singer Jonathan Edwards.

Physics professor and jazz guitarist John Smedley.

Smedley, a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ physics professor, is a jazz guitarist known for performances solo and with the Three Point Trio, the Tom Snow Trio and other combos. A specialist in atomic physics, he also teaches musical acoustics and the physics of electronic sound, and offers a jazz guitar course that provides a historical survey of the genre and individual instruction on the guitar.

Violinist Stein has performed throughout the world with orchestras, chamber music ensembles and as soloist. He is particularly well-known from his work with a previous incarnation of the Maine-based DaPonte String Quartet.

Stein now performs with the Atlantic Piano Trio and is concertmaster of the Maine Music Society. With oboist Kathleen McNerney, he founded the VentiCordi (“winds and strings”) music festival in Kennebunk in 2009. Since 2003, he has directed the historic Arcady Music Festival in Bar Harbor.

Stein is on the faculty of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Bowdoin colleges and has taught at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Division, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Maryland at College Park and the New England Suzuki Institute.

Naruse holds master’s degrees in music performance and music instruction from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. She has performed throughout the world in recitals and piano competitions including the Hyogo Piano Competition in Japan (silver prize) and the International Mozart Wettbewerb in Salzburg, Austria.

In 2002, Naruse moved to the United States to study under Frank Glazer, the renowned pianist and artist in residence at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. She has performed solo recitals at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the University of Maine campuses in Farmington and Augusta; played concerts with Glazer, the Portland String Quartet and the DaPonte quartet; performed piano concertos by Beethoven, Mozart and Rachmaninoff with the Augusta Symphony; and recently concluded concert tours of France and Japan.

Naruse is a member of the applied music faculties at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the University of Maine at Farmington, the Portland Conservatory of Music and the Bay Chamber School, and has a teaching studio in Hallowell.

The Lewiston-Auburn jazz band Three Point Trio opens the 2009 ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Midsummer Lakeside Concert Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 9, in the Florence Keigwin Amphitheater at the college’s Lake Andrews.

The 2009 series also presents Maine singer-songwriter Carolyn Currie, Maine-based folk trio Ti’ Acadie, the collaboration of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Dance Festival musicians known as the One World Music Ensemble and ¸éé±¹±ð¾±±ô±ô´Ç²Ô²õ!, a band known for its modern take on traditional Québécois music.

Lakeside concerts start at 6 p.m. on five consecutive Thursdays in July and August. Sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the Bingham Betterment Fund, the concerts are open to the public at no cost. Picnics are encouraged, as is bringing lawn chairs or blankets.

The rain site is the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St., adjacent to the amphitheater. For more information, please call 207-786-6400.

Here’s the complete schedule:

July 9, : The Three Point Trio has shared its passion for jazz with the Lewiston-Auburn area since late 2007. Guitarist and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ physics professor John Smedley, bassist Tim Clough and drummer Tom Schipper play a combination of jazz standards and original compositions.

The trio cites “Miles, Monk and Mingus” — Davis, Thelonious and Charles — among their greatest influences, along with such artists as Elvin Jones, John Coltrane and Charlie Haden. Three Point Trio’s performances are based around the love of sharing jazz. Learn more.

July 16, : Carolyn Currie has charmed audiences across the U.S., including at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, with her layered blend of folk, ballads and Celtic music. A true singer-songwriter with a talent for lyrics, Currie has written prolifically since recording her first CD, No Heroes, in 1995. She has played such gatherings as the Telluride Bluegrass festival, Napa Valley Folk Festival and the BMI Showcase for songwriters.

According to one reviewer, if you watch Currie “you’ll swear, by the end of the night that at least one of her poetic melodies was written specifically about you.” Currie supports her lyrics with music that has been described as “luminous, haunting and spellbinding.”

Currie’s CD Kiss of Ghosts was named one of the top independent releases by Performing Songwriter magazine. Her latest, Waves of Silence, featured as CD of the week on the BBC’s Scottish Gaelic channel. Learn more.

July 23, : Ti’ Acadie, or “little Acadia” in French, is a folk trio whose name refers to the Francophone culture of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, a culture reflected in the Cajun people of Louisiana. Ti’ Acadie features Pam Weeks on fiddle, mountain dulcimer and vocals, Jim Joseph on button accordion and five-string banjo, and Bill Olson, a singer, guitarist and bassist also known as a contradance caller.

The three have made music together since they met in the Maine contradance band Scrod Pudding in 1990. In 1996, united by a love of high-energy, highly percussive Cajun music, they formed Ti’ Acadie. Since then, they have toured together, offering not only Cajun music but old-time songs with tight harmonies, Québécois dance tunes and NewEngland contradance music.

Ti’ Acadie is fascinated by the link between the Cajun and Acadian peoples, and uses music to explore this connection. This blending of styles makes for an interactive, engaging and undeniably unique concert experience. Learn more.

July 30, One World Music Ensemble: One World Music Ensemble comprises musicians from the . This nationally recognized dance festival brings together an extremely diverse and talented group of musicians.

This program promises to be a tapestry of rhythms and melodies from all corners of the globe. The ensemble plays a vast array of world instruments, including accordion, kalimba, bouzouki, marimbas and percussion, making for an incredible collaboration of cultures.

Aug. 6,: Aligning themselves with “the current universal . . . longing to ‘return to our roots,’ ” ¸éé±¹±ð¾±±ô±ô´Ç²Ô²õ! is influenced by the Québécois tradition. The group hails from Montreal and features David Berthiaume on vocals, jaw harp and concertina, Marc Maziade on guitar, tenor banjo and vocals, Richard Forest on fiddle and Jean-Francois Berthiaume as the band’s caller.

¸éé±¹±ð¾±±ô±ô´Ç²Ô²õ! is French for “Wake up!” Since forming in 1996, ¸éé±¹±ð¾±±ô±ô´Ç²Ô²õ! has played reels, jigs, French songs and step dances at major festivals in Quebec and cities around the U.S. and Canada. Learn more.

Robert Cogan and Pozzi Escot, known internationally as composers and as music theorists expert in relationships between music and such disciplines as math and physics, are spending a weeklong residency at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College that includes two events open to the public at no cost.

They will offer a joint lecture titled “Poetics and Science of Music” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the Keck Classroom (G52) in Pettengill Hall, Andrews Road.

Music by Escot and Cogan will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. The musicians include members of the avant-garde soprano Joan Heller, head of the voice department at the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University; and the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Symphony Orchestra.

Faculty members at the New England Conservatory, Cogan and Escot will visit ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ under the auspices of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Their visit was initiated by Professor of Physics John Smedley, one of several faculty at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ who explore the relationship between music and physics.

The residency is underwritten by a curriculum development grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and has been coordinated by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. For more information, please call 207-786-6195.

Cogan has sustained a threefold career as composer, music theorist and teacher. For more than 30 years he has been chair of graduate theoretical

studies and professor of composition at the conservatory. His book New Images of Musical Sound (Harvard, 1984) won the Society for Music Theory’s Distinguished Publication Award in 1987.

More recently, he published Music Seen, Music Heard and The Sounds of Song (both Publication Contact International, 1998-99). Cogan’s compositions have been performed by the Cleveland Orchestra, major regional orchestras in Germany and at festivals such as Avignon and Tanglewood.

Escot is a professor of composition and music theory at NEC and holds a professorship at Wheaton College. She is editor-in-chief of the internationally acclaimed journal Sonus and president of the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies. She is widely regarded as a pioneer in the study of the relationship between music and mathematics, and has published numerous articles exploring that and other theoretical and interdisciplinary topics.

In 1975, Escot was named one of the five most remarkable women composers of the 20th century, and that same year the New York Philharmonic premiered her Fifth Symphony, to critical acclaim. She and Cogan co-wrote Sonic Design: The Nature of Sound and Music and Sonic Design: Practice and Problems (Prentice Hall, 1976). She recently completed two books, The Poetics of Simple Mathematics in Music and Oh How Wondrous — Hildegard von Bingen, Ten Essays.

Cogan’s works on the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ program are Utterances, sung by Heller; Aflame in Flight, featuring violinist David Fulmer of the Second Instrumental Unit, and the string quartet America Is, with Fulmer and SIU colleagues.

Escot’s works are: Jubilation, String Quartet No. 5, performed by the SIU players; Eure Pax, with Fulmer; and the Violin Concerto, with Fulmer as soloist, accompanied by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ orchestra, conducted by Philip Carlsen.

Founded in 1945, the is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to the encouragement of excellence in education. Its Visiting Fellows program was established to encourage the flow of ideas between the academic and non-academic sectors of society, and to connect a liberal education with the world beyond the campus.

Wilson Fellows represent various professions, such as business, diplomacy, journalism, literature and art. Fellows spend a week on the campuses of small liberal arts colleges helping students and teachers relate education to the needs of society. Through classes, seminars, workshops, lectures and informal discussions, the fellows, students and faculty promote understanding between the academic and non-academic worlds.

The Visiting Fellows program began in 1973 with a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. It is now a self-sustaining program, with colleges contributing a small fee to support the activities of each fellow. More than 200 colleges have participated.

At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Cogan and Escot will visit classes as varied as music theory, physics, psychology and philosophy, and will speak with students in less-formal settings, such as mealtimes.

Joan Heller, a vocalist whose stylistic range embraces orchestral literature, chamber music and dramatic solo music, is particularly known for her work in contemporary repertoire. Senior lecturer in music at SMU, she released her first solo compact disc, To the Verge, on Neuma Records in 1992.

Violinist and composer David Fulmer is a co-founder of the Second Instrumental Unit, specializing in the most progressive forms of music being written today. Of a Fulmer performance, David Cleary of the New Music Connoisseur wrote, “Special bravos are reserved for . . . Fulmer, who played like a man possessed: his stage presence, tone, bow control and finger technique were simply stunning.” In 2003, Fulmer performed the world premiere of Escot’s Violin Concerto, a concerto written for and dedicated to him.

At the request of college President Elaine Tuttle Hansen, students, staff and faculty at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College have created an environmental task force.

Chaired by Professor of Physics John Smedley, the 11-member group is charged with creating a five-year plan to bring the college closer to environmental sustainability. In addition, the task force will facilitate campus communications around environmental issues and help educate ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, staff and faculty about those issues.

In essence, Smedley says, “we’re trying to infuse a sustainability ethic at all levels of the college” — affecting not only such obvious factors as energy use, recycling and waste management, but considerations like the environmental friendliness of the school’s financial investments.

“A goal is to think as broadly as we can about the environment,” Smedley says, and how ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ — with 109 acres, 85 buildings, 1,750 students and 700 staff and faculty — affects it.

“The most important objective of the task force at this point is to establish clear priorities among the many things that can be done, so that we’re making sound choices and finding the most feasible, coherent ways to be environmentally responsible,” says Terry Beckmann, vice president for finance and administration at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

The task force aims to have its plan ready by the start of the new year. At the same time, it is creating a Web site that will share information about its work and serve as a means of collecting information and ideas from the campus community.

“In the process of developing a five-year plan, we’re going to be looking for feedback from people,” Smedley says.

“ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has a history of commitment to environmental issues,” says Hansen, “and to sustain this commitment we need to re-examine periodically what we’re doing and make sure that we’re reaching our goals in the most effective and well-coordinated way.”

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Dining Services, in particular, is known for sustainability measures that include an innovative, money-saving system of recycling food wastes that has been held up as a model for other Maine institutions.

Launched in 1996, the college’s interdisciplinary Environmental Studies program was the seventh most popular major among the class of 2004. Coupled with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ robust commitment to service-learning, the ES program puts many students right into the community to explore first-hand the environmental issues affecting local residents.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ Environmental Coalition is an active student organization with members now serving on the task force.

The educational piece of the task force effort is key, Smedley says. For one thing, given the green consciousness of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, the task force is a necessary symbol of the institution’s commitment to sustainability.

In addition, environmental issues constitute “a really important part of a student’s education,” Smedley says. “What do we want students to know when they graduate from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½? We just can’t ignore an institution’s impact on the environment.”

Sept. 21: Soprano Atsuko Hirai, Kazushige Hirasawa Professor of History at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and pianist Frank Glazer, artist in residence at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, will perform an all-Gounod program, including “The King of Thule” and “The Jewel Song” from Faust and “Juliet’s Waltz Song” from Romeo and Juliet.

Sept. 28: Guitarist John Smedley, associate professor of physics at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, will perform a jazz program with Mike Hansen, conga drums.

Additional information about the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Noonday Concert Series is available by calling the Olin Arts Center at 207-786-6135.

A number of musicians will perform, including guitarist John Smedley, associate professor of physics at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½; the Deansmen, a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ a capella ensemble; saxophonist Linda Williams, assistant professor of music at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½; the Yankee Jazz Ensemble; and Cheyn Band.

College sponsors of the concert include the Multi-Faith Council, Solidaridad Latina and the International Club.

Feb.2: John Smedley, associate professor of physics at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and Michael Hansen will perform a program of guitar music.

Feb.9: Pianist Frank Glazer, artist in residence at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and dance students of Marcy Plavin, lecturer in dance, will perform A Sentimental Musical Journey of Concert Pieces from a Bygone Era with music from Moszkowki, Godowky and Delibes.

Feb.16: No concert scheduled due to winter recess at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

Feb.23: Concert to be announced.

Additional information about the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Noonday Concert Series is available by calling the Olin Arts Center at 207-786-6135.

Sponsored by the Office of the Chaplain at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the Spiritual Journeys lecture series features speakers from a variety of traditions who tell the stories of their spiritual awakening and development. Speakers are invited to explore how they experience a sense of the holy in their everyday lives, how their perspectives and disciplines have shaped that sacred experience, and how they understand religion as a resource or an obstacle to the life of the soul. Speakers may also address what the political and social consequences of their spirituality.

Next in the Spiritual Journeys series will be photojournalist Jim Daniels on Witnessing Spirit: A Photojournalist’s Observations on Wednesday, Jan. 20, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Skelton Lounge, Chase Hall.

A member of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty since 1987, Smedley specializes in atomic, molecular, optical and chemical physics. He graduated magna cum laude from Colby College in 1979 with membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and he received a doctoral degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Tracy, author of God, Action, and Embodiment (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1984) and editor of The God Who Acts: Philosophical and Theological Explorations (Penn State, 1995), specializes in the philosophy of religion, Western religious thought in the modern world and medical ethics. He received a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in 1971 and master’s and doctoral degrees from Yale University. Tracy joined the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty in 1976.

Established in 1987 by international investment manager John Marks Templeton, the John Templeton Foundation awards grants to encourage the discovery and use of scientific evidence to reveal knowledge about God and the natural laws that govern the universe.

Located midway between the coast and the mountains in south-central Maine, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is a 142-year-old undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences and is rated among the top 25 national liberal-arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ offers majors in 23 academic departments and seven interdisciplinary programs, and encourages independent study, research with faculty members and participation in off-campus programs. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ does not require standardized-test results for admission.

The presentation will feature the compositions of gospel artist Edmund Bullock of Boston and jazz musician John Smedley, associate professor of physics at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Smedley and Bullock will be joined by vocalist Kathi Cutler, music teacher at Edward Little High School and choir director for the United Baptist Church in Lewiston, and Mike Hansen, a professional jazz musician.