Points of Pride lists faculty, student and alumni achievements. It is accumulated and produced three times a year, generally in January, March, and October.
Grants and Awards
John Bailey, Larson Professor of Flute, has been selected for membership in the UNL Academy of Distinguished Teachers.
Donna Harler-Smith, Professor of Voice, was selected to receive the 2002 Annis Chaikin Sorensen Award for Teaching in the Humanities and the College Distinguished Teaching Award.
N. Keith Jacobshagen, Professor of Art, is one of 10 UNL professors to receive the first Cather and Bessey Professorships. Jacobshagen is known as one of the "Heartland Painters," contemporary artists who revived the idea of American Regionalism, depicting dramatic landscapes of the plains. A native of Wichita, Kan., he received his formal college education at Wichita State University, the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, the Kansas City Art Institute (BFA, 1965) and the University of Kansas (MFA, 1968). He joined the Nebraska faculty in 1968.
Earl Jenkins, retired professor of voice, will receive the University of NebraskaâLincoln's Doc Elliott Award at Honors Convocation April 13 in the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Sponsored by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the Doc Elliott Award is presented annually to a retired faculty or staff member whose caring has made a difference in the lives of alumni and who has gone beyond traditional expectations at NU.
Glenn Nierman, Steinhart Professor and Chair of Music Education and Interim Associate Director of the School of Music, was one of six Lincoln-area teachers honored on March 5 at a special breakfast at the Governor's Mansion as part of the Nebraska Teacher Recognition Day's "Thank You Teacher" awards for the college division.
Faculty
Scott Anderson, Assistant Professor of Trombone, will perform for two weeks in April with the Minnesota Orchestra. He has also been invited to perform as part of the trombone section of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra at the 2002 International Trombone Association Workshop in Denton, Texas. He gave a trombone masterclass at Creighton Prep in Omaha and presented children's concerts at Prescott School and First Plymouth Church in Lincoln. The Nebraska Trombone Ensemble collaborated with the University Singers to present antiphonal music in a concert at the Wick Center in February. The group will also present a spring recital at the Wick Center in April.
John Bailey, Larson Professor of Flute, hosted Alexa Still, professor of flute at the University of Colorado in Boulder, as part of the Big 12 Faculty Exchange Program. Prof. Still gave a solo recital, two masterclasses and taught students during a two-week residency in February. Bailey will perform Ellen Zwilich's Concerto for Flute with the University Symphony Orchestra at the biennial national meeting of the Music Educators' National Conference (MENC) in Nashville this April and on tour with the orchestra in Cedar Rapids and St. Louis.
Ariel Bybee, Associate Professor and Artist in Residence, repeated her Brownville program, "Love and Death," at the Opera in San Francisco on February 16. She was assisted by three opera students from the San Francisco Conservatory. The Opera Department continues to have monthly "home concerts" at the homes of people in the Lincoln community. The average attendance of invited guests is from 40 to 50. Opera students sing various selections and acquaint the community with the activities of the opera program.
Mark Clinton, Associate Professor of Piano and Co-Chair of the Piano Area, recently appeared as a guest soloist with the Salisbury (Maryland) Symphony Orchestra, in a performance of Brahms First Piano Concerto. This spring, Clinton also appeared on the Faculty Recital Series with colleagues John Bailey and Diane Cawein, in addition to collaborating in a recital sponsored by Midwest Clarifest with renowned clarinetist Dennis Nygren.
Jeffery S. Elwell, Theatre Arts Chairman, was quoted in an article in the Feb. 8 issue of Back Stage magazine about summer training opportunities. The article included information about the Nebraska Repertory Theatre.
Quentin Faulkner, Larson Professor of Organ and Music History, visited Ohio University in Athens at the invitation of Prof. Paul Barte (MM 1987), where he delivered a multi-media presentation on the interrelationship of religion, culture and the arts, and also performed a solo organ recital. On Jan. 19 he delivered the same multi-media presentation at the Midwinter Workshop of the Omaha Chapter, American Guild of Organists. Together with his wife, Mary Murrell Faulkner (DMA 2000), he presented a recital in Strauss Auditorium at UNO on Sunday, Feb. 24 as the final event in the "Sundays at Strauss" organ series.
Craig Fuller, Senior Lecturer of Tuba and Euphonium, has served on the Omaha Symphony Facilities Steering Committee and was involved in the feasibility study and project planning for the recently announced $90 million Performing Arts Center in Omaha, which will become the primary rehearsal and performance venues for the Omaha Symphony. Phase one of the project will include a 1900-seat concert hall and a 550-seat chamber music hall. Fuller is also working on a new project with dancer and choreographer Ruth Davidson Hahn. Hahn is choreographing two works for solo tuba written for Fuller by Omaha composer Kenton Bales. Her program is entitled "Remembering Archie" and will be performed in Lincoln, Omaha and Minden, Nebr., this spring and summer.
William Kenyon, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, is one of 48 sound designers who have been accepted for membership in the newly formed Sound Design category of the United Scenic Artists (Local 829) union. He was recently elected to the Education Commission of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology.
Karen Kunc, Professor of Printmaking, and Kenny Walton had an exhibition at the Haydon Gallery in Lincoln in January.
Tom Larson, Instructor of Jazz History, scored the music to the documentary film "Monkey Trial" that was shown on PBS on February 17 as part of the American history series "The American Experience" from WGBH-TV in Boston.
William McMullen, Associate Professor of Oboe and Music Theory, and pianist Catherine Herbener, have just released a new CD recording of 20th Century British Music for Oboe and Piano. The CD was accepted for publication and will be given international distribution by Crystal Records in Camas, Wash. The five works on the CD represent one work from each decade from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Tice Miller, Professor of Theatre Arts, has had a paper, "Cultural Memory: The Scopes Trial and Inherit the Wind," accepted for presentation at the 14th World Congress of the International Federation of Theatre in Amsterdam this July.
The Moran Woodwind Quintet (John Bailey, flute; William McMullen, oboe; Diane Cawein, clarinet; Albie Micklich, bassoon; and Allen French, horn) will play concerts in April at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, and Augustana College in Sioux Falls and give clinics and presentations in Sioux Falls public schools.
Glenn Nierman, Steinhart Professor and Chair of Music Education and Interim Associate Director of the School of Music, will be the lead presenter at a three-hour special internet session, "Changing Concepts of Teacher Education: The Impact of New Teaching Standards on Music Teacher Preparation" preceding the Music Educators National Conference in Nashville in April. In addition, he will make a research presentation, as well as presentations on certification requirements and assessment practices for the National Standards at the conference. Nierman has also been invited to do a research presentation on changing teacher education practices at the XXV International Society of Music Education World Congress in Bergen, Norway, in August. Chuck O'Connor, Professor of Theatre Arts, has had two virtual set designs selected to be exhibited at the National Association of Broadcasting conference in Las Vegas this spring.
Giacomo M. Oliva, Dean, gave a featured performance of ragtime music on Jan. 23 for the UNL SAGE (Sharing Across Generations for Enrichment) program's 10th anniversary program. He also served as chair of the NASM visitation team for the Department of Music at St. Xavier University in Chicago and team member of the visitation team for the Department of Music at Austin Peay University in Tennessee.
Pete Pinnell, Assistant Professor of Art, has a one-person exhibition at the Firehouse Art Center in Norman, Okla., continuing through April 7. His recent group exhibitions include "Pots Presented" in Baltimore, "Stoneware for Daily Ritual" in Kansas City, "Grand Opening Exhibition" at Arizona State University, and "Out of Academe" in Manhattan, Ks. Pinnell was the featured artist at the FUSION National Conference at the Sheridan College of Art in Toronto, Canada March 2-3. He gave a lecture and demonstration at the Firehouse Art Center in Norman, Okla., Feb. 23-24. He was also an invited participant in the NCECA (National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts) Endowment Benefit Auction at the National Conference in Kansas City March 13-16.
Clark Potter, Associate Professor of Viola, was the featured soloist with the Southwest Washington Symphony in Longview, Wash., performing the Romance by Max Bruch and the Lyric Movement by Gustav Holst. While visiting in Longview, Potter made four visits to middle and high schools, performing and conducting the school ensembles.
Scribante Professor of Organ and History/Theory George Ritchie's latest volume in his ongoing series recording all the organ works of J.S. Bach has been recently released by Raven Recordings. Titled "Bach Organ Works Vol. V: Orgelbuchlein Plus," this 2-CD set was recorded on the Fritts organ at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. On March 9 and 10, Ritchie gave a 2-hour masterclass for students at Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington and played the complete Orgelbuchlein in concert at Pacific Lutheran University.
Alison Stewart, Associate Professor of Art History, has received a book contract for "Before Bruegel. Sebald Beham and the Origins of Peasant Festival Imagery," from Ashgate Publishing Ltd., London.
Brenda Wristen, Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy, presented a session at the annual meeting of Music Teachers National Association March 20. The presentation was entitled "Small Hands, SOS!: Circumventing Injury and Succeeding at the Piano," and represents an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Lora Deahl of Texas Tech University.
Students
Gina Cole (BME senior) has been accepted for graduate study in saxophone at Arizona State University.
Jason Diefenbaugh (BM senior), a soloist with the UNL Orchestra, was a finalist in the Arapahoe Young Artists Competition. He has been accepted for graduate study in saxophone at Arizona State University.
Andrew Hershey (BFA Art senior) has won the best of show in the statewide Nebraska Art Teachers Association Undergraduate Student Art Competition, currently on display at the Elder Art Gallery at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Karen Hughes (MM) and Elizabeth Moulton (MM) were accepted by the Utah Opera Festival, a professional opera company in Logan, Utah, to sing in their summer season June 15-Aug. 7.
Karen Hughes, Lance Hedlund (MM) and Stephanie Welge (MM) received awards at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions held Jan. 5 in Kimball Hall.
Todd French (BM senior) was chosen to play the Gregson Tuba Concerto with the UNL Wind Ensemble as a result of the Undergraduate Concerto Competition. He was also a finalist in an audition for the principal tuba position of the Shanghai Philharmonic.
Jenni Friedman (MFA printmaking) is presenting a research project at the upcoming national conference of the Southern Graphics Council in New Orleans.
Eric Fuller (MM) won a tuba position with the Plymouth Brass.
Nathan LeFeber's (BME Senior) performed the Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra with the UNL Orchestra.
Phillip Sulzberger (visiting student in voice) just signed a contract for his second year with the Pittsburgh Opera Apprentice Program. Next season, he will sing Silvano in "The Masked Ball" and Publio in "La clemenza di Tito."
Travis Walker (MFA in Theatre Arts) and Misti Bradford (MFA Theatre Arts) were winners of the Region V American College Theatre Festival Barbizon Design Awards and will travel to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in April to exhibit their work and take part in master classes at the national American College Theatre Festival.
Richard Winkels (MM) was a finalist for a euphonium position with the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own," located in Washington, D.C.
Several MFA in Art students participated in the "Where do you draw the line?" exhibition Dec. 4-21 at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery on East Campus. Graduate students in textiles, ceramics, sculpture, painting and printmaking were represented. Under the direction of Textiles faculty member Michael James, the 12 students from across campus examined critical issues in contemporary drawing and created work specifically for this exhibition. The art students who participated are Angela Behrends, Jenni Freidman, Melissa Haviland, Ellen Huie, Erturk Mehmet, Vince Quevedo, Richard Schwartz and Judy Stone Nunneley.
Alumni
Cathy Mallett (Ph.D. Music Education 2000) has been invited to make a presentation showcasing her recently completed project involving technology and music teacher training at the XXV International Society of Music Education World Congress in Bergen, Norway, in August.
Godwin Sadoh's (MM 2000) recent publications include "Music at the Anglican Youth Fellowship, Ile-Ife, Nigeria: An Intercultural Experience" in the Hymn journal January 2001 and "The Creative Process of Nigerian Hymn Based Compositions" accepted for publication in The Diapason in 2001. He is currently a doctoral student in organ performance and composition at the Louisiana State University and organist at First Baptist Church in Gonzales, La.
Affiliates
Artist Diversity Residency Program: Flo Oy Wong, one of the artists in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Artist Diversity Residency Program, has her artwork used on the cover of the spring edition of UNL's literary publication, Prairie Schooner. The multi-media piece entitled "Flag 19: Lew Dung Quock, 1938" is part of her series "made in the usa: Angel Island Shhh," that explores the identity secrets of Chinese immigrants detained and interrogated in the United States. The National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, scheduled this year for May 29-June 2, has accepted a proposal from UNL for a session at this year's conference. The session will be entitled: "Teaching Diversity With an Artist: The Artist Diversity Residency Program and the Core Curriculum."
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery: Nancy Dawson, Community Programs Coordinator, accepted the Governor's Excellence in Arts Education Award for the Sheldon Statewide program. Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery received national news coverage twice in the New York Times. On Jan. 6, "Find the 'Real and Vital' in American Art" reviewed the exhibition "Robert Henri and His Influence," which was then on view at the Heckscher Museum on Long Island. On March 14, "Arts: A Museum Gives Comic-Strip Works New Cachet" was featured. Regionally, the Omaha World-Herald published several articles on the comic art exhibition and programs and on the display of the Reconciliation Quilt.
Janice Driesbach, Sheldon Director, attended the Association of Art Museum Directors conference in January, spoke to the Lincoln Executive and Lincoln Northeast Rotary Clubs, and juried the Fred Wells national art competition for the Elder Gallery at the Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Dan Siedell, Sheldon Curator, spoke on "The Relevance of Art Criticism" at Kansas State University and juried the NATA undergraduate exhibition at the Elder Gallery at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Jessica Kennedy, Sheldon Marketing Director, attended the Nebraska Museums Association meeting to discuss the feasibility of statewide digitized systems. Kennedy, Education Curator Karen Janovy and Driesbach are working with the UNL Advertising Campaign Class to develop marketing strategy proposals for the Sheldon.
Students from nearly 40 schools from throughout the state were given docent tours of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery during January and February. Sheldon.unl.edu served 3,103,293 files during January and February requested from 176,690 unique sites.
The Nebraska Art Association's "Portrait of Jennie Dean Kershaw" was on display in a major Thomas Eakins exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Jacob Lawrence's "Paper Boats" is featured in a retrospective exhibition of Lawrence's work that was on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and Milton Avery's "Offshore Island" was on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida. The exhibition "Human Form: The Photographed Nude," drawn from the Sheldon collection, continued on view through early January at the San Antonio Museum of Art. "Torn Notebook: The Creative Process," this year's Sheldon Statewide exhibition, was hosted at the Alice M. Farr Library in Aurora and at the Holdredge Public Library.
Over 12,000 objects from the Sheldon's collection were moved to secure offsite storage and staff offices were moved to the Nebraska State Historical Society headquarters building at 15th and R Streets. A public closing celebration was held on the evening of March 1, and construction is now well underway on our window wall, HVAC, and vapor barrier installation projects.
Lied Center for Performing Arts: Charles Bethea, executive director, and Nancy Engen-Wedin, director of education and creative initiatives, attended a meeting in February with leaders of the Omaha Nation School District as part of their ongoing participation in the Kennedy Center Partners in Education program. The Nebraska team joined the Kennedy Center's national network of art organizations and schools in 2001.