Happenings

CONCERTS

University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m. Dec. 8, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Pitt Department of Music, 412-624-4125, www.music.pitt.edu.

Women’s Choral Ensemble Holiday Concert, 8 p.m. Dec. 11, Heinz Chapel, Pitt Department of Music, 412-624-4125, www.music.pitt.edu.

Baltimore Consort: Wassail, Wassail, tunes from France, the British Isles, and Appalachia, 8 p.m. Dec. 11, Synod Hall, Fifth Avenue and North Craig Street, Oakland, Renaissance & Baroque, 412-361-2048, www.rbsp.org, Pitt ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Empire Brass With Elizabeth von Trapp, performances of holiday selections, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13, Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, Carnegie Music Hall Chamber Series, Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, 412-624-4129, www.pittsburghchambermusic.org.

Straight No Chaser Holiday Show, 10-member a cappella group, Dec. 14-16, Benedum Center, 803 Liberty Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 412-456-6666, wwwpgharts.org.

Highmark Holiday Pops, Daniel Meyer, conductor, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Dec. 16-19, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, PNC POPS! 412-392-4900, www.pittsburghsymphony.org.

EXHIBITIONS

Frick Art & Historical Center, For My Best Beloved Sister Mia: An Album of Photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron, works by one of the Victorian Era’s best-known master photographers, through Jan. 2, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze, 412-371-0600, www.frickart.org.

Andy Warhol Museum, Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend, through Jan. 2, 117 Sandusky St., North Side, 412-237-8300, www.warhol.org.

Carnegie Museum of Art, Ordinary Madness, through Jan. 9; André Kertész: On Reading, photography exhibition, through Feb. 13, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, 412-622-3131, www.cmoa.org.

Senator John Heinz History Center, Vatican Splendors: A Journey Through Faith and Art, through Jan. 9, 1212 Smallman St., Strip District, 412-454-6000, www.heinzhistorycenter.org.

Mattress Factory, Queloids: Race and Racism in Cuban Contemporary Art, through Feb. 27, 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side, Pitt’s University Center for International Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, 412-322-2231, www.mattress.org.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture, In My Father’s House, mixed-media exhibition about how African Americans collect and preserve their culture, through June 2011, 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 412-456-6666, www.pgharts.org.

LECTURES/SEMINARS/READINGS

“Career and Family Conundrum,” Claudia Goldin, Henry Lee Professor of Economics, Harvard University, 3:30 p.m. Dec. 6, Ballroom B, University Club, 2010 McKay Lecture, Pitt Department of Economics, 412-648-7073.

Lee Child, mystery writer, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6, Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, Drue Heinz Lectures, 412-622-8866, www.pittsburghlectures.org.

“Representing the Theory of Classical Genetics With Special Attention to Causation,” Bert Leuridan, visiting fellow, Pitt Center for Philosophy of Science, 12:05 p.m. Dec. 7, 817R Cathedral of Learning, Lunchtime Talk Series, Pitt Center for Philosophy of Science, 412-624-1052, pittcntr@pitt.edu.

“The Academic Work-Life Juggling Act: Taking Care of Business, Family, and Self,” Maureen Murray, president, Maureen Murray Associates, 3 p.m. Dec. 7, 1104 Conference Center, Scaife Hall, Pitt Health Sciences Faculty Professional Development Series, Office of Academic Career Development, www.oacd.health.pitt.edu.

“Columnizing in a Postracial World,” Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist, noon Dec. 8, School of Social Work Conference Center, 2017 Cathedral of Learning, Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems, Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney PC Fall 2010 Speaker Series, 412-624-7382, www.crsp.pitt.edu.

“Managing the Direction of Your Career: Using an Individual Development Plan,” Steven K. Wendell, assistant director of postdoctoral development, Pitt Schools of the Health Sciences, 3 p.m. Dec. 9, S120 Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower, Postdoctoral Professionalism Series, Office of Academic Career Development, www.oacd.health.pitt.edu.

“Materials That Can Withstand High Temperatures: An Important Aspect of the Energy Pictures,” Brian M. Gleeson, Harry S. Tack Chair, Swanson School of Engineering, 4 p.m. Dec. 9, 2500 Posvar Hall, Provost Inaugural Lecture, 412-624-5750.

“Depression: Get the Facts,” Ellen Frank, director, Depression and Manic Depression Prevention Program, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, UPMC, 6 p.m. Dec. 13, International Poetry Room, 2nd Floor, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, Pitt Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 412-824-3465, mff5@pitt.edu.

“Pesticides, Parkinson’s Disease, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon,” J. Timothy Greenamyre, UPMC Chair in Movement Disorders, Pitt School of Medicine, 4 p.m. Dec. 16, 2500 Posvar Hall, Provost Inaugural Lecture, 412-624-5750.

MISCELLANEOUS

TIES Informational Luncheon for Researchers and Research Assistants, talk on Text Information Extraction System (TIES), Rebecca Crowley, director, Biomedical Informatics Graduate Training Program, Pitt School of Medicine, 11 a.m. Dec. 15, M3901 UPMC Presbyterian Hospital South Tower, open to Pitt and UPMC faculty, staff, and students, Pitt Department of Biomedical Informatics, 412-623-4753.

Holiday Tour of Clayton: A Gilded Age Christmas, guided tours of Henry Clay Frick’s historic mansion decorated for a turn-of-the-20th-century holiday, through Jan. 3, Frick Art and Historical Center, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze, 412-371-0600, www.frickart.org.

First Night Pittsburgh 2011, live music, dance, and entertainment throughout the Cultural District, Downtown, 6 p.m. Dec. 31, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, www.firstnightpgh.org.

OPERA/THEATER/DANCE/FILM

Los Dioses Rotos (2008, Ernesto Daranas), 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Cuban Eyes/Cubanize: Fifty Years of Cuban Cinema Since the Cuban Revolution Film Series, Pitt’s Center for Latin American Studies, Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures, www.amigocinelatinoamericano@gmail.com.

Hobson’s Choice by Harold Brighouse, through Dec. 18, Charity Randall Theatre within Stephen Foster Memorial, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, www.picttheatre.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

A Musical Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens classic, Dec. 9-23, Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh CLO, 412-456-6666, www.pittsburghclo.org.

The Nutcracker, Dec. 10-26, Benedum Center, 803 Liberty Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 412-456-6666, www.benedumcenter.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Nativity: A Christmas Gift, musical performed by Pitt’s Shona Sharif African Dance and Drum Ensemble, Dec. 10-12, Seventh-Floor Auditorium, Alumni Hall, 412-648-2276.

The Morini Strad by Willy Holtzman, inspired by true story that rocked the classical music world, through Dec. 12, City Theater, 1300 Bingham St., South Side, 412-431-2489, www.citytheatrecompany.org.

Talley’s Folly, Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic comedy by Lanford Wilson, through Dec. 12, O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Public Theater, 412-316-1600, www.ppt.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

The Second City’s “Fair & Unbalanced,” Chicago-based improvisational troupe, Dec. 16-18, O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Public Theater, 412-316-1600, www.ppt.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

Cirque Dreams: Holidaze, musical extravaganza with acrobats, aerialists, and dancers, Dec. 16-26, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, 412-392-4900, www.pgharts.org, PITT ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

A Lyrical Christmas Carol, adaptation of classic Dickens tale, Dec. 16-19, New Hazlett Theater, Allegheny Square East, North Side, Pittsburgh Musical Theater Conservatory Series, 412-456-6666, www.pittsburghmusicals.com.

Burn the Floor, Latin and ballroom dance spectacular, Dec. 28-Jan. 2, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, 412-392-4900, www.pgharts.org, Pitt ARTS Cheap Seats, 412-624-4498, www.pittarts.pitt.edu.

PITT PhD DISSERTATION DEFENSES

Sushama D. Acharya, Graduate School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, 11 a.m. Dec. 6, “Relationships of Diet, Weight Loss, and Insulin Resistance With Adiponectin Levels Among Overweight/Obese Adults,” 451 Victoria Building.

Rafael Ponce-Cordero, School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures, 11 a.m. Dec. 8, “Héroes y bandidos: íconos populares y figuraciones de la nación en América Latina,” 1528 Cathedral of Learning.

Yuttasart Nitipaichit, School of Information Sciences’ Telecommunications and Networking Program, 10 a.m. Dec. 9, “Security in Wireless Sensor Networks Employing MACGSP6,” 1A04 Information Sciences Building.

Su Yon Jung, School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, 11 a.m. Dec. 9, “Mortality After Metastatic Breast Cancer: Co-Morbidity as a Mediator of Age on Survival, and Delays in Treatment for Breast Cancer Metastasis,” 109 Parran Hall.

Yan Wang, School of Medicine’s Molecular Pharmacology Graduate Program, 2 p.m. Dec. 9, “Uncovering the Biological Functions of Phosphatase of Regenerating Liver-2,” 1395 Biomedical Science Tower.

Sue Yeon Syn, School of Information Sciences’ Telecommunications and Networking Program, 10 a.m. Dec. 10, “Generation of Classificatory Metadata for Web Resources Using Social Tags,” 522 School of Information Sciences Building.

Hikmat N. Daghestani, School of Medicine’s Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology Graduate Program, 2 p.m. Dec. 10, “Biophysical and Pharmacological Characterization of Cytoplasmic Dynein Heavy Chain 1,” 1018 Biomedical Science Tower 3.

Velma L. Payne, School of Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Informatics, 3 p.m. Dec. 14, “Effect of a Metacognitive Intervention on Cognitive Heuristic Use During Diagnostic Accuracy,” M185 Parkvale Building. Nimick Conference Room, Hillman Cancer Center.