Provided

Mann Library Gallery's new exhibition on microbes has an opening reception Nov. 4 after a public lecture by A.D. White Professor-at-Large Margaret McFall-Ngai.

Philharmonic choir

The Prague Philharmonic Choir, renowned representatives of Czech music worldwide, will performs works by Dvořák and Brahms, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall.

The concert is part of the 2014-15 Cornell Concert Series. Single tickets are $35 for the general public and $25 for students.

Cornell Concert Series tickets are available at www.baileytickets.com. Upcoming concerts include Tafelmusik’s “The Galileo Project,” Saturday, Nov. 15, in Bailey Hall.

Border expert

Writer and activist Todd Miller will give a talk on border and immigration issues, “Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security,” Nov. 3, 12:15-1:30 p.m. in 202 Uris Hall.

Miller has researched and written about U.S.-Mexican border issues for more than 10 years. He has worked on both sides of the border for Borderlinks in Tucson, Arizona, and Witness for Peace in Oaxaca, Mexico. He now writes for the NACLA Report on the Americas and its blog “Border Wars,” among others. His first book is “Border Patrol Nation.”

His talk is co-sponsored by the Latin American Studies Program, the Latino Studies Program, the Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations and the Latin American Studies Program at Ithaca College.

Art and microbes

A.D. White Professor-at-Large Margaret McFall-Ngai will give a public lecture, “Art in Unseen Partnerships: The Beauty of Small Things,” Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. in Room 160 Mann Library.

A reception follows in the Mann Library Gallery, where the related exhibition, “Shifting the Paradigm: Microbes as Animal Helpmates,” will be on display, Nov. 4 through January 2015.

McFall-Ngai is an expert in the biological study of interactions between microbes and their animal hosts and is one of the foremost life scientists encompassing the fields of immunology, symbiosis and marine biology. She has published her research in Science and other leading journals and is a strong advocate for science education in the United States.

A professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an affiliate professor at the University of Hawaii, McFall-Ngai’s honors include a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2009-10) and EU/Marie Curie ITN Researcher (2010-15) at the Max Planck Institute, Bremen, Germany.

Reviving AIDS

The Messenger Lecture Series presents David Román on “Reviving AIDS: On the 2011 Revival of ‘The Normal Heart’ on Broadway,” Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the Schwartz Center’s Film Forum. Free and open to the public.

Román is a professor of English at the University of Southern California with a joint appointment in American studies and ethnicity. He is the author of “Performance in America: Contemporary U.S. Culture and the Performing Arts” and “Acts of Intervention: Performance, Gay Culture and AIDS.”

He is co-editor (with performance artist Holly Hughes) of “O Solo Homo: The New Queer Performance,” which won the 1999 Lambda Literary Award for Drama. His current book project, “Reviving Broadway,” considers the cultural politics of Broadway from the 1930s to the present.

The LGBT Studies Program and Cornell Cinema will present the 2014 film adaptation of “The Normal Heart” starring Mark Ruffalo and Julia Roberts, Nov. 4 at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre. A limited number of free tickets is available from the LGBT Studies office, 391 Uris Hall.

Book talk

Professor of history of art Cynthia Robinson will give a Chats in the Stacks book talk Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. 
in 107 Olin Library on “Imagining the Passion in a Multiconfessional Castile.” Free and open to the public.

Robinson’s book, published in 2013 by Penn State University Press and subtitled “The Virgin, Christ, Devotions and Images in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” reveals the interrelation of late medieval Iberian religious practices and devotional culture among coexisting sects. Robinson found that the “personalized” imagery narrating Christ’s passion, then prevalent in religious art across western Europe, was not a major influence for Castilian followers’ individual relationships to Christ.

Light refreshments will be served and books will be available for purchase and signing.

‘Pippin’ on stage

Cornell’s Melodramatics Theatre Company will present the musical “Pippin,” Nov. 6-8 at 8 p.m. in Kiplinger Theatre at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $10 general, $6 for all students regardless of age or school, available at www.cornellpippin.com. The show is not recommended for children under age 8.

The musical is directed by Emily Ranii ’07, a visiting lecturer teaching acting and directing in the Department of Performing and Media Arts, and features music direction by Danny Bernstein ’14. A cast and crew of Cornell and Ithaca College students are collaborating on the production.

“Pippin,” with pop­inspired songs by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson, debuted on Broadway in 1972 and was revived on Broadway in 2013. The coming-of-age story follows the son of King Charlemagne as he pursues an extraordinary life.

“What was initially attractive about this show is its ability to transcend audiences’ age, era and background; in Pippin’s quest, we see our own,” said Sarah Byrne, Melodramatics general manager and co-producer.

Melodramatics is a Cornell student organization as well as a nonprofit community organization. Past productions have involved talent from Cornell, Ithaca College, Tompkins-Cortland Community College and the Ithaca area.

Social entrepreneurship

The Center for Transformative Action’s third annual Finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute, Nov. 7-9 at Cornell and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, will feature Omar Freilla of Green Worker Cooperative, Paul Schmitz of Public Allies, Veronika Scott of The Empowerment Plan, and Yve-Car Momperousse and Stephane Jean-Baptiste of Kreyol Essence.

The institute includes field trips showcasing socially transformative local enterprises, a pitch session and workshops on compassionate communication, and tools to start and manage social ventures. These include designing a business model, plotting organizational activities to support strategic discussions, a people-centered design process, and bringing people together from different sectors (nonprofit, for-profit, government, education) to solve a complex social problem.

Limited full and partial scholarships are available to help cover the institute’s registration fee. Information: www.centerfortransformativeaction.org