UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The 2022-23 Penn State Forum Speaker Series continues this spring, with Velvet Brown, David P. Stone Chair, professor of tuba and euphonium, associate director for equity, diversity and inclusion in the School of Music, and the Penn State Laureate for 2022-23.
The talk and buffet-style luncheon will be held Thursday, Feb. 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Presidents Hall of the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel, on the University Park campus.
Brown's talk, titled “Look Up and Expand Your Reach,” will be accompanied by a performance. A tubist who has been teaching at Penn State since 2003, she is an international soloist, composer/arranger, chamber ensemble performer, recording artist, conductor and orchestral player.
Visit the registration page to purchase tickets/tables.
Brown has performed and taught throughout Europe and the United States, and in Russia, Japan, Cuba and Canada. She is the principal tubist of the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra and was previously principal tubist for the Hope and Harmony Ensemble, which recorded a video of fanfares for the 2021 Presidential Inauguration conducted by Marin Alsop.
She is the co-founder of MOJATUBA: Tuba and Dance Fusion Project and is in her 16th year as lead tuba with Howard Johnson's "Gravity" Tuba Jazz Ensemble. Brown is a founding and current member of Stiletto Brass Quintet, Monarch Brass Quintet and Brass Ensemble, and the Quintet of Americas. She is also a founding board member of the International Women’s Brass Conference and artistic director of the Chromatic Brass Collective.
Brown, who has released five solo CDs, has performed and worked closely with jazz, commercial and classical artists regarded as some of the most influential musicians of all time, including Howard Johnson, Marie Speziale, Bob Stewart, Susan Slaughter and Doc Severinsen.
The Penn State Laureate, an annual faculty honor established in 2008, is a full-time faculty member in the arts or humanities who is assigned half time for one academic year to bring greater visibility to the arts, humanities and the University, as well as to their own work. In this role, the laureate is a highly visible representative of the University, appearing at events and speaking engagements throughout the commonwealth.
About the Forum Speaker Series
The forum series is modeled after the National Press Club Speaker Series, which includes a presentation by an invited speaker, followed by audience questions.
The buffet-style luncheons are held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Presidents Hall of the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel, on the University Park campus.
All events are open to faculty, staff, students and the general public. Tickets for the Penn State Forum are $25 each, or $250 for a table of 10, and include a buffet lunch. Tickets may be purchased by visiting the Forum Speakers website.
Upcoming speakers for the series include:
- March 23 — Sabaah Folayan, award-winning film director of the documentary “Whose Streets?", will present “The Art of Alignment: How knowing yourself and having the courage to change course can lead to personal fulfillment and professional success."
- April 20 — Derek Lee and Monica Bond, wildlife biologists, activists and Penn State Eberly College of Science professors will present “True Tall Tales from Tanzania."
Forthcoming lecture topics will be added as they are available. More information about the series is available on the Penn State Forum Speakers website.