Quick Center piano recital honors late Bonaventure trustee

Erick and Marianne Laine, black and white, subjects of the story — Erick and Marianne Laine (courtesy St. Bonaventure University)

ST. BONAVENTURE (Oct. 3, 2021) — Sunday afternoon the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will host a solo piano performance in honor of late university trustee and local business executive Erick Laine, who passed away last December at 87.

The event is at 3 p.m. and is free to attend. It will feature internationally renowned English pianist Phillip Edward Fisher. The Julliard-educated pianist will play selections from Beethoven and Hayden, as well as works by Finnish Romantic-period composer Jean Sibelius to honor the Finnish-born Laine.

Marianne Letro Laine, Mr. Laine’s widow and noted local philanthropist, is currently the chairwoman of the Guild of the Quick Center for the Arts and donated the new Steinway piano that will be used in the concert.

“The piano arrived shortly before Covid,” Mrs. Laine told The Intrepid. “But we haven’t had a chance to display it in all its glory.”

Mrs. Laine also spoke about her husband’s contributions to the Bonaventure community.

“One of Erick’s passions… was education,” said Mrs. Laine. “It was a good fit for him to be on their board because he really, really was very interested in the education part of it.”

“His other interest— and this goes back to being Finnish— was, for several years, he supported a tennis program that brought kids from Finland to the U.S. for college. Two of them were named a couple of years ago into Bonaventure’s hall of fame for tennis, and these two came every year for four years and graduated. Erick was thrilled to have participated in that.”

“This is a gift for everyone who loves music,” said Quick Center executive director Ludwig Brunner to the media about the donation.

“I have been a part of the Quick Center before it was the Quick Center,” said Mrs. Laine. “It’s really a treasure, and the community is very lucky to have it.”

Nic Gelyon is the news editor for The Intrepid.

Quick Center hosts eco-friendly exhibit

By Liam McGurl

[Images courtesy of Caitlyn Morral]

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will be hosting an eco-friendly exhibition through next fall, calling on visitors to think about their part in the future of our planet.

“Green Revolution,” geared towards Bonaventure’s K-12 summer program, discusses avenues for minimized carbon footprints and heightened conservation of reusable materials, offering practical advice on ways to “reduce, reuse and recycle.”

Sean Conklin, the assistant curator of the Quick Center, said the exhibition was offered by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), which created basic prototypes for the galleries’ educational panels, sent electronically to reduce carbon footprints. Conklin added that the visual aspects of the panels were created by the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and its Black Creativity Council.

Continue reading “Quick Center hosts eco-friendly exhibit” →

The Loft opens for Bonaventure students

[Photo by Justina Ekibena]

By Danielle Clark, staff writer, @ddaniellee11

ST. BONAVENTURE (Feb.23) – The quiet floor of the library is full, you can’t concentrate in your room and you have a five-page paper due in the morning.

Sound familiar?

Responding to the requests of students, administrators of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts have aimed to provide an additional multi-purpose space.

The third floor of the Quick Center has recently been remodeled into a study friendly area. Administrators ran a naming campaign where students were able to vote for the name of the space.

Open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., The Loft, the new official name, is available for anyone as a study place, a meeting area or a creative space.

Ludwig Brunner, the interim executive director of the Quick Center, described The Loft as a multipurpose place for students’ creativity.

“We see it as a space for student-initiated instillations,” he said.

In addition to a study and meeting place, Brunner described the space as a place for mini recitals, mini performances, poetry readings or slams, artwork, art instillation or play readings.

“I envision it for a place for art students and non-art students to come together,” he said.

Brunner described the atmosphere as vibrant with a beautiful view.

Miranda Earley, a museum educator at the Quick Center, said the space was previously used for storage and as a prep room for gallery exhibits.

Now, bean bag chairs and large wooden tables occupy the room. SBU student artwork scattered throughout, a graffiti board and a piano add to the “creative” space, as Earley described it.

“You’re sort of away from the campus; you can make it home,” Brunner said.

According to Brunner, students are able to move around the furniture to fit their needs or liking. The administration plans to get more furniture for the space including bean bags and carpets.

Earley said there were not considerable costs put forward for the space, just a lot of elbow grease.

“It was a group effort; everyone at the Quick Center kind of came together, and we had a clean-up day,” she said.

Lauren Morris, a senior international studies major who uses the room frequently, described the space as having all the benefits of the quiet floor of the library without all the people.

“I like it because it’s really quiet. There aren’t too many people, which is good,” she said. “Sometimes, there are even people playing piano or doing art.”

Earley said there will soon be art supplies which students can rent out.

“It’s meant to be a creative space,” she said. “We’re just working on getting a cabinet to regulate the materials.”

Brunner said the staff also plans on getting louder speakers for the projector in order to show movies.

Quick Center officials welcome new ideas and said they will accommodate to students’ wishes.

“It’s all initiated by the students,” said Brunner.

clarkde11@bonaventure.edu