This was the second year the University's Center for Integrated Arts Education has hosted this event which was attended by educators, arts specialists and administrators from nine schools. The brainchild of Dr Andrew Svedlow, Dean of the College of Performing and Visual Art, and spearheaded by Executive Director Connie Stewart, the seminar provided speakers, panelists and hands-on activities that could be used in the classroom. Teams from the newly established Loveland Integrated School of the Arts (LISA) were also given time to meet together to discuss the progress they are making in arts integration and to plan activities for the upcoming year.
Svedlow commented, "The University is proud to play a role in helping individual schools and districts strategically plan ways to infuse the arts into their curriculum, as well as to provide opportunities to encounter new ideas about the role of the arts in the intellectual, physical, and creative development of young people."
Julie Marshall, currently an Associate Professor of Art at San Francisco University showed a video of 5th graders learning science and social studies through an "arts" project. The students had finished researching ancient Mayan civilizations and were assigned to create their own society. They were given the task of choosing the type of government, deciding on the style of architecture, the art, music and method of barter. They wrote a short history of their society and created a tiny model - then buried it with sand and traded their civilization with a neighboring class. Next they role-played archeologists, excavating and extrapolating from the artifacts they discovered. They constructed a "museum" of their findings before collaborating with the founders of the society to discuss original experiences how they interpreted what they found.
This example showed how integrating arts into other disciplines makes a potentially dry subject come alive. By using visual and tactile elements, students experienced another dimension of learning that would be far more memorable than reading alone. The creative process allowed the students to draw their own connections to people of another time and place.
"The speakers were great," said Sandy Sawyer, the Bill Reed LISA coordinator. She was particularly impressed with keynote speaker Morengo Hunt, the Vice President of Education and Director of the Educational Institute of North Carolina's Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. He spoke about how to set up an integrated arts program that encourages collaboration between the schools and community. He also shared ideas on how to effectively use artists in residence to support the goals of the curriculum.
According to Dr Michael Thaut, Co-Executive Director, School of the Arts, and Chair of the Music Department at Colorado State University, arts should be taught, "not because they make you smarter at math, but because they make your brain smarter." He has conducted research on the impact of music training on brain function and believes that the imagery of the arts is a distinct "language" of the brain that may precede linguistic and mathematical language development. His studies show that people who have received music training can use different parts of the brain, allowing them to observe and solve problems in a variety of ways.
The LISA program at Garfield Elementary, Bill Reed Middle School and Mountain View High School is intended to appeal to children who have a visual/spatial learning style and a passion for the arts. Arts integration at these schools means both offering quality arts instruction during and after school AND using the arts as a tool to help teach science, math, social studies and language arts.
For Bill Reed art teacher, Sherry Burrell, the development of the LISA program is the fulfillment of a life-long dream.
"I've always wanted the students to have a way they could explore their passion areas and go as far as they could go," she explained. She and music teacher Alek Gorely are designing a "LISA 101" course that will expose the new 6th graders to the full spectrum of the arts by studying both regional and foreign cultural traditions.
Looking back at the first year of the program, Sawyer and her Bill Reed team members were very upbeat about what was accomplished, and are excited about collaborating with the Garfield and Mountain View teams even more in the year to come.
Svedlow believes "the LISA project is quickly becoming a model arts education program for the state, and that with such a talented pool of arts educators and artists in our community, the program will readily become a national model."
He also added that he has vested interest in its success since one of his daughters will be a new Bill Reed LISA student this fall.
The personal connection aside, Svedlow finds that "The LISA project is not only innovative, thoughtful, engaging and relevant; it is also right in line with the best practices in education."
UNC on youtube—check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rntgUwH3j9U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sm_WG0cDq4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CGY-o-Xszn0
UNC College of Performing and Visual Arts one of 24 programs featured in publication about best practices in arts teaching
Transforming Arts Teaching: The Role of Higher Education examines innovations in arts-teacher training. Best practices at 24 higher-education institutions are featured, along with proceedings from Dana’s national symposium, an event that examined ways in which colleges, universities, and conservatories can enhance arts learning.
This free publication features a prolegomenon by Dana Chairman William Safire and full text of the keynote address given by Cornell President David Skorton, M.D., at the Dana symposium. Highlights of the symposium are featured in an executive summary by Editor Jane L. Polin and through panel excerpts.
The book also includes profiles of programs at two-dozen higher-education institutions, chosen by a select committee for their exemplary training of arts educators.
More information at the Dana Foundation web site:http://www.dana.org/news/publications/publication.aspx?id=10158
Theatre Students Competed at Regionals for Kennedy Center
American College Theatre Festival
In February, students from the UNC School of Theatre Arts and Dance traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to participate in the Region VII Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival hosted by the University of Wyoming. KCACTF brings together thousands of college theatre students each year from eight regions across the country to celebrate student achievement in all areas of theatrical production.
The UNC School of Theatre Arts and Dance was singled out for a number of awards and honors for 2008.
• Rocky Horror show was presented on Thursday February 21 to an SRO audience.
• Over 175 students competed on Monday and Tuesday in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition. That group was narrowed down to 32 for the semi-finals and 16 for the finals. UNC was represented in the semi-finals by Scottie Collins (partner Jessica Lightfoot) Kat Doyle (partner Kurt Larson), Joya Moore (partner Yumarie Morales) and Katie Owsley (partner Sam Watters). Katie Owsley and Joya Moore were then selected for the finals where Joya received the Region VII Diversity Acting Award.
• Kirk Starks received the Barbizon Lighting Design Meritorious Achievement Award for his lighting design for the opera LITTLE WOMEN.
• James Dykstra received the Barbizon Scenic Design Meritorious Achievement Award for his scenic design of FLAGS
Dean Andrew Svedlow has recently published chapters in two new books
Dr. Svedlow’s essay, Yielding Gently: Building Museum and School Partnerships is included in the tri-lingual book, Pensare, Valutare, Ri-Pensare (Thinking, Evaluating, Re-Thinking) published by Franco-Angeli, Milano, Italy and his chapter, Hermeneutic Phenomenology of a Mark Rothko Painting appears in Beauty’s Appeal: Measure and Excess published by Springer Verlag: Heidelberg, London, and New York.
Dean Andrew Svedlow’ paintings and Assistant Professor of Art Mike Lemke’s ceramics will be on exhibit at the Tointon Gallery at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley from January 25-February 4, 2008. An opening reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 pm on January 25th. For more information, contact the Gallery at 970.350.9491.
Creative Spaces
Creative Spaces summer arts camp returns June 2-13, 2008—Middle and high school students interested in dance, theatre and visual arts from Northern Colorado come together for a two-week program hosted by the College of Performing and Visual Arts at University of Northern Colorado. Each morning is dedicated to skill-building in the various artistic disciplines, and in extended afternoon workshop sessions, students choose theatre, visual art or dance as their main focus. Students collaborate to create original works of art to be shown in final sharing for friends and family on the last day. Find more information at http://arts.unco.edu/creativespaces/
School of Music
• Renowned pianist Lei Weng joined the UNC School of Music in the fall of 2007 as Assistant Professor of Music. Says Weng of his first semester, “I really enjoyed my first three months at UNC. My faculty debut recital/opening concert for Pathways to China went really well. It was a full house; people even stood on the back of the hall and sat on the steps. And I was so happy to see many Chinese people came, students, professors, and even people from Fort Collins and Boulder.” Professor Weng received a full house standing ovation and encored two pieces at his debut recital—a hearty UNC welcome!
Professor Weng looks forward to collaborating with his colleagues on these upcoming performances: Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with Dr. Galen on March 10th; a Tchaikovsky Concerto with UNC Symphony and Dr. Russell Guyver; a Mozart Concerto with Wind Ensemble and Dr. Singleton. Greeley Philharmonic director Glen Cortese has also invited Weng to perform an American piano concerto next year.
• New York Times December 18, 2007: “Mark Nuccio, the Philharmonic’s associate principal clarinetist, offered the evening’s highlight with Brahms’ Clarinet Sonata in E flat (Op. 120, No. 2). The talents of the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld lured Brahms out of an intended retirement to compose four works for the instrument, including this sonata. Mr. Nuccio did the work full justice, shaping his phrases beautifully with a rich, expressive tone in an effective collaboration with Ms. Grimaud.”
• Andrew Dahlke, Assistant Professor of Saxophone, enjoyed performing and conducting clinics with the Capitol Saxophone Quartet this past fall. The group was invited to Elon University in North Carolina for a jazz and quartet clinic in September. They also performed with the Indianapolis Symphony that same month. Capitol Saxophone Quartet’s performance of the Philip Glass Saxophone Quartet concert with the Peoria, Illinois Symphony in November received rave reviews in the Peoria Journal Star.
Dr. Dahlke’s article, “The Jazz Notebook, Teaching Improvisation in the Applied Studio” will be published in the International Association of Jazz Education's Jazz Education Journal in 2008.
The Saxophone Journal (circ. 50,000+) has interviewed Dahlke for a cover/feature article to run in 2008.
• Diane Bolden-Taylor and Charlotte Mills have been invited to present a vocal/lecture recital at the 6th Annual Hawaii Conference on the Arts and the Humanities. The conference is from the 11-14 of January, 2008. The topic is “Songs of Freedom and Faith from Slavery” to the 1960s.The music will include spirituals and art songs by composers such as William Grant Still, Margaret Bonds, H. T. Burleigh and Jester Hairston. “Needless to say this is a great honor for me and Charlotte,” Bolden-Taylor said.
From Jazz Studies...
• The UNC student chapter of IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education) is the largest in the world.
• Erik Applegate will perform with six-time Grammy nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon at this summer’s Strings in the Mountains series.
• Dana Landry, Jim White, and Erik Applegate have finished recording a new CD and plan to release it in summer 2008. The project features songs written by Memphis-based jazz musicians and highlights the trio’s strong ties to those musicians and their work.
• In January 2008, Dana Landry, Jim White, and Erik Applegate performed the premiere of a new work in Toronto during the conference of the International Association for Jazz Education. The work is by Coloradoan Wil Swindler, who won a major composition award, the Gil Evans Fellowship, this year.
• January 29, 2008 is the date for the first UNC Jazz Composers Concert, which will feature pieces by SOM faculty and staff, including David Caffey, Dave Stamps, Matt Fuller and Erik Applegate, as well as the winners of the first UNC Student Jazz Composition Contest, which was sponsored by the UNC student chapter of IAJE.
• Both Dr. Mark Montemayor, Assistant Professor of Music Education, and Dr. Robert Al Harding, Head of Music Education, will be presenting research at the National MENC Conference in Milwaukee during April 2008.
• Outside of his position as a part-time bass instructor at UNC, Jim Vaughn’s professional life essentially evolves around a variety of freelancing circles. It’s a career that has afforded him a wealth of performance highlights, such as performing in the orchestra accompanying Luciano Pavarotti in his appearance at the Pepsi Center; Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg in her 2004 live performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Colorado Symphony (which was also released as a recording); as well as Jerry Lewis, Robert Goulet, David Ogden-Stiers, Joshua Bell, Lyn Harrell, Susan Anton, Roy Clark.
Jim recently finished playing in the pit orchestra for the production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Prior to that, Jim played bass in the pit orchestra for the premier performances of Disney's Little Mermaid last July through September.
What’s in store for Jim in 2008? He’ll be playing the Colorado Symphony/Opera production of Don Pasquale that begins in February. Jim also plans to again participate as a performer in an award-winning elementary and preschool music appreciation program called “Inside the Orchestra,” which is sponsored by the Junior Symphony Guild of Denver, Inc. and has been in existence since 1985. He’ll continue as the principal double bassist of the Colorado Ballet and the Greeley Philharmonic, and continue his role as the GPO’s personnel manager.
• In addition to completing his comps and orals last semester, UNC Vault/Work Crew Supervisor and doctoral candidate Ron Brooks arranged the Rocky Fanfare for 12 trumpets to be performed at the Gala, completed some brass accompaniments for Christ Community Church, and accepted a commission to compose a piece for 4 virtuoso trumpets.
Over the next few months, Ron will be writing an original composition for big band and continuing work on his dissertation (The Improvisational Style of Terence Blanchard). Occasionally, he says, he still gets to practice.
School of Theatre Arts and Dance Notes
• In November, UNC’s theatre department performed “Rocky Horror Show” for 2,500 high school students at Colorado Thespians Conference in Denver.
• Justin Michael Terry (’07 Acting) is on the two-year, 100-city national tour of “Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience.” The live show is based on the BBC’s award-winning series.
• Professor David Grapes will be premiering a new musical revue, “Simply Simone: The Music of Nina Simone,” at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in February 2008. The score to “Simply Simone” crosses genres from gospel to blues to Broadway to rock and roll, and features such definitive Simone classics as “I Loves You Porgy,” “The Look of Love,” “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” and “Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.”
• STAD will be taking 12 students to compete in the Irene Ryan competition at the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) in Laramie, Wyoming in February. The ACTF program was founded in 1969 to encourage, recognize, and celebrate the finest and most exciting work produced in college and university theatre programs and provides opportunities for participants to develop their theatre skills.
• Molly Fahey (’07, Musical Theatre) is shooting a yearlong documentary film titled “The First Billion is the Hardest.” Ms. Fahey lives in New York City.
• STAD is hosting the International Thespian Production of “Hairspray” to open the Little Theatre of the Rockies season in June. Professor Vance Fulkerson of UNC will direct the 48-member cast and crew from 17 states.
School of Art & Design
Congratulations to Zach Van Camp (Senior, Graphic Design) for finishing second in the Spark Scholarship competition. There were close to 40 applicants from around the region. The competition was created by Burns Marketing Communications to help college undergraduate and graduate students ignite their marketing careers with real-world marketing experience. The students were tasked with developing comprehensive marketing campaigns for the Discovery Science Center.
Zach Van Camp presented his campaign for the Discovery Center to several professionals last semester. To read a Q&A with Zach and see his entry, go to www.burnsmarketing.com/spark/.
Intercultural Conversations About Contemporary Art Images
Dr. Connie Bethards is conducting research with her colleagues, Dr. Wen-Shu Lai, from the Institute of Applied Arts, National Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu, Taiwan and Dr. Connie Stewart of UNC. They are collaborating on a project that allows graduate students from Colorado and Taiwan to have intercultural online conversations about contemporary art images. During the fall semester of 2006, graduate students from both universities were engaged in an online discussion about current art images from Taiwan and the United States. The format of this dialogical experience encouraged critical questioning and personal interpretations of current art imagery. Its design enabled participants to clarify their own perhaps taken-for-granted cultural points of view, and also to discover commonalities emerging from their different cultures. This project was conceived, in part, as a way to develop a supportive intercultural community of new scholars.
The graduate students and professors continued their conversations about contemporary art at the National Art Education Association annual conference in New York during March 2007 when some participants had the opportunity to meet face-to-face.
Dr. Bethards and Dr. Lai will continue their research project during spring semester of 2008, when they will teach concurrently an online course exploring the theme of contemporary artists from Taiwan and the United States.
