December Highlights

Sketching in Ancient Egypt
Oriental Institute Museum
5 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 8 and 15

Artists of all levels are invited to the Oriental Institute Museum’s new Grimshaw Egyptian Gallery on Wednesday evenings for informal sketching sessions of Egyptian artifacts. Sketching possibilities include a 17-foot, 6-ton, 3000-year-old statue of King Tutankhamun (pictured left), gold jewelry and papyrus drawings from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Chairs will be provided, but artists must bring their own materials. 1155 E. 58th St. 702-9507. Free.

Arthur H. Compton Lectures
Enrico Fermi Institute
11 a.m. Saturdays, Dec. 4 and 11

The 50th series of the Arthur H. Compton Lectures, “Black Holes, Quantum Mechanics and String Theory,” will come to a close in December with “The World as a Hologram” on Dec. 4 and “Challenges for the New Millennium” on Dec. 11. Learn how black holes have provided one of the finest triumphs of string theory, a promising new theory that has emerged in recent years and could unify the two main pillars of 20th-century physics. Presented by Finn Larsen, the Robert R. McCormick Fellow at the Enrico Fermi Institute. A scientific background is not necessary, only an interest in modern scientific research. KPTC 106, 5720 S. Ellis Ave. 702-8098. 702-7823. Free.

Handel’s Messiah
Department of Music and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3
1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4

The University Chorus and Motet Choir will join soprano Sarah Lawrence, mezzo-soprano Stacy Eckert, tenor David Anderson and baritone Peter Van de Graaff in presenting Handel’s Messiah. The Rockefeller Bach Soloists, with University artists-in-residence Pacifica String Quartet at its core, will serve as orchestra for this traditional holiday event. Randi Von Ellefson will conduct. Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. $20 chancel; $15 nave; $8 students. Call 702-7300 for tickets.

“The African Diaspora: The Decline and Fall of the Novel”
The Renaissance Society
2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4

Kenneth Warren, Professor in English Language & Literature at the University and author of Black and White Stranger: Race and American Literary Realism, will deliver a lecture titled “The African Diaspora: The Decline and Fall of the Novel” in conjunction with The Renaissance Society exhibition of work by Moshekwa Langa. Cobb 402, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. 702-8670. Free.