News Briefs

A UNC junior with a double major in music and physics has received the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award.

Eric W. Hirsh, son of Donald and Lisa Hirsh of Carrboro, was recognized for his jazz composition "Urbane Asylum," written during the spring semester of his freshman year. The piece was recorded on the UNC Jazz Band’s 2003 CD "From One to Another."

Hirsh, 21, is one of two dozen award recipients, selected through a nationwide juried competition for composers ranging in age from 12 to 30. The prize, which includes a $1,000 cash prize, was established in 2002 to encourage gifted American jazz composers to create new works.

Hirsh has been playing the piano for 14 years. He performs, composes and arranges for the UNC Jazz Band and UNC Jazz Combos in the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of music. Through the department’s jazz program, he has studied with visiting artists Marcus Roberts, David Berkman, Dick Oatts and Slide Hampton.

Hirsh also is a member of Charanga Carolina, a Cuban music ensemble that specializes in danzón music of the 1930s. In addition, he performs with his own funk-disco band, "Bazungu," and is the producer for the electronic indie-rock duo, "Full of Stars."

His previous awards include the Stacey Guess Outstanding Musician Scholarship at Chapel Hill High School and the Fred and Gail Fearing Jazz Award at UNC. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in music technology.

The ASCAP Foundation supports the American composer and the development of American music through educational programs.

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The UNC Sustainability Coalition’s 2005 Environmental Film Series begins Thursday (Feb. 17) with the viewing of "Thirst," a film about water privatization, at 7 p.m. in room 103 of Bingham Hall.

"Thirst" is a 2004 documentary, produced and directed by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman. Filmed in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Rajasthan, India and Stockton, Calif. – communities that find themselves threatened with losing public control of their water resources to multinational corporations – the documentary attempts to show the clash between the corporate culture and the culture of local communities.

Also featured is guest speaker Dr. Dale Whittington, professor of environmental sciences and engineering in the School of Public Health and of city and regional planning in the College of Arts and Sciences. Whittington is an expert on environmental economics and water resources planning and policy in developing countries.

This event is sponsored by the Sustainability Coalition, Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) and UNC’s department of environment, health and safety and is a Green Games recognized event. Green Games is an environmental competition among UNC’s residence halls.

The next film in the series, "Rising Water/Baked Alaska," will be shown March 23. Visit http://sustainability.unc.edu/ for more information.

UNC’s School of Information and Library Science is taking student registration for a first-ever summer seminar in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in addition to an existing program in Oxford, England.

"Participants learn first-hand about libraries and library service in a different culture," said Dr. Barbara Moran, director of international programs at SILS. "They are able to gain a global perspective on issues facing libraries across the world and come to appreciate that librarians everywhere are linked in a global community of information provision."

SILS has partnered with the University of Ljubljana’s department of library science, information science and book studies to offer the Slovenia seminar, which will run from June 5 through 18. Dr. Jerry D. Saye, a UNC professor who will lead the seminar, was a Fulbright scholar in Slovenia and has been to the country nine times since 1999.

The seminar in England is through the University of Oxford and will run from May 15 through 28. Participants will study at the world-renowned Bodleian Library and tour Oxford University Press, the British Library and Blackwell’s Bookshops.

Participants must register by Feb. 28. For more information visit http://sils.unc.edu/programs/international.

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Note: A photo of Hirsh is available at http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/hirsh_eric_2_05.JPG

News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu