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Katy Perry comes to Lawrence. Page 4C
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James Bond returns in ‘Skyfall.’ Review on page 2C
LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
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ARTS ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLE CULTURE PEOPLE Sunday, January 13, 2013
Kevin Anderson Photos/Special to the Journal-World
KIRK CARSON, THE EAST HILL SINGERS’ CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, LEADS THE SINGERS during a rehearsal Tuesday at the Lansing Correctional Facility. The group, made up of inmates, gives performances throughout the area and will be singing at 4 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont St.
SINGING SINGING for a second chance
Inmates say chorus a path to EVERY redemption, one note at a time
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SUNDAY
arry Swinson, a slight, 75-yearold retiree, regularly slides into church pews at Lansing Correctional Facility between much burlier, blue-uniformed men with more tattoos and less singing experience. The Lawrence resident has been volunteering five years for the East Hill Singers prison chorus, where having a guy in the mix who once carried tunes in barbershop quartets can only help when it comes to staying on key.
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Veterans Day, all day throughout Lawrence Several events throughout Lawrence will honor and celebrate veterans. At 9 a.m., the KU Veterans Day Run, which raises proceeds to support scholarships for disabled veterans and their family members and the KU Memorials Fund, kicks off at South Park. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St., will host a program exploring World War II history in Kansas, and Matthew Thompson of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene will give a presentation. Both the program and
He had tears in his eyes. He said, ‘Nobody ever applauded for me before.’ It brought tears to my eyes, too.” — Larry Swinson
Perhaps his most disquieting moment happened a few years ago at the finale of an off-prison performance when, as audience members smiled and clapped, an inmate standing next to Swinson leaned
over and whispered a confession. “He had tears in his eyes,” Swinson says. “He said, ‘Nobody ever applauded for me before.’ It brought tears to my eyes, too.” That memory stuck with Swin-
By Sara Shepherd
in the
son and helps inspire him to keep working with the East Hill Singers. The chorus of minimum-security inmates, organized through the Arts in Prison program, leaves the prison to perform four times a year, and their last performance of this year will be today at First United Methodist Church in Lawrence. The last time the East Hill Singers came to Lawrence, several Please see CHOIR, page 4C
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exhibit are free. Haskell Indian Nations University, 155 Indian Ave., will host its traditional Veterans Day Powwow from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Coffin Sports Complex. Little Stomp fundraiser, 3 p.m., Barnyard Beer, 925 Iowa St. The second-annual Little Stomp, a downhome, country-musicand-barbecue-beef party this weekend, will feature several popular local bands 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Barnyard Beer, the brewery and venue behind the Merc at 925 Iowa St., to benefit the Lawrence Community Nursery School, the cooperative, parent-run, smilingMike Yoder/Journal-World File Photo red-barn childcare center at Kansas University School of Music’s Holiday Vespers concert will 645 Ala. be at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 today at the Lied Center.
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Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series, speaker Lilly Ledbetter, 7:30 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd., free Equal-pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter comes to KU to speak as part of the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture series. Ledbetter’s pay-discrimination case against Goodyear helped inspire the 2009 law that was the first signed by President Barack Obama after taking office.
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“The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,” 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union, KU cam-
pus, free Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic and author Stephen Greenblatt will discuss his most recent work, “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,” which received both the 2011 National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. An Evening with Newt Gingrich, 7:30 p.m., Dole Institute of Politics Former U.S. Speaker of the House and GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will discuss the presidential election, what to expect on upcoming policy changes and his new book, “Victory at Yorktown: A Novel.” This event will include a book sale and signing.