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
Jeffery Elwell, Chair of Theatre Arts, received funding for Phases I ($24,970) and II ($29,183) of a $199,920 grant from the Nebraska Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission and Friends of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial to produce the Signature Event of the Nebraska Bicentennial at Fort Atkinson, Neb., in August 2004. Elwell also received a $2,500 grant from the New Media Center at UNL in August.
The UNL Dance Division's Charles Weidman Project was selected to perform in the Sharing the Legacy Concert sponsored by Hunter College and Harkness Foundation for Dance at the Kaye Playhouse in New York City. They performed on May 3. The UNL Dance Division was one of 12 schools selected from the 51 colleges and universities who received the National College Choreography Initiative award to perform on the Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on May 14 in celebration of collegiate dance. A photo of the UNL dancers in the performance was selected as the icon on the Kennedy Center internet archives for that performance.
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery was awarded $50,000 from the conservation program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to acquire and install compact storage units in its basement storeroom areas as part of an ongoing effort to ensure the safekeeping of its landmark American art collections. Sheldon has also received $81,500 over three years from the Woods Charitable Fund, Inc., matched by the University of Nebraska Foundation to fund a Development Director position for three years. Terry Nygren, who was most recently Assistant Vice President for Major Gifts at the University of Kansas Alumni Association, will be assuming this position as of Oct. 1.
Fourteen Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts undergraduates have received UCARE (Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences) funding totaling $27,600 for 2002-03.
Arts Are Basic has received a $100,000 endowment from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. AAB will receive another $100,000 if it can raise matching funds by the end of the upcoming school year. A Friends of Arts Are Basic organization has been formed. Artist Pippa White is the board president.
Faculty
Paul Barnes, Associate Professor of Piano and Co-Chair of the Piano Area, was the featured artist for the Schoenhals Symposium at Seattle Pacific University. He also lectured and performed at the 2002 American Liszt Society Festival at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. In June, he was convention artist for the Colorado State Music Teachers Convention in Denver. Barnes will be doing his second recording of American Piano Concertos this November with the Slovak Radio Orchestra in Bratislava. Cuts from his first CD can be heard at http://www.geocities.com/unlklavier/Recordings.html.
Patricia Flanagan Behrendt, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts, presented a paper, "Scholars vs. Practitioners: Staging Wilde's Beautiful Untrue Things," at the Wilde Scholars International Conference at the University of London in June.
Ariel Bybee, Associate Professor and Artist in Residence, has been busy this summer with the School of Music's Midwest tour of "The Bohemian Girl" opera. The performance had a successful run last spring on the UNL campus. The Midwest tour included the Brown Grand opera House in Concordia, Ks.; the Minden Opera House in Minden, Neb.; the Farris Theatre in Richmond, Mo.; and the Thespian Hall in Boonville, Mo. "The Bohemian Girl" performance was the opening event at the Missouri River Festival of the Arts. The next stop on the tour is Waterford, Ireland, Sept. 26 at the Royal Theatre. Bybee was in Vienna, Austria, in July to attend the opera and masterclasses of the famous German soprano, Gundula Janovitz.
Diane Cawein, Associate Professor of Clarinet, was invited to perform in recital at the 2002 Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. While at the symposium, Cawein also served as a judge for the final round of the Young Artist Competition for high school students.
Ann Chang-Barnes, Senior Lecturer in Piano, is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Meadowlark Music Festival, which presented its second season in Lincoln and surrounding communities July 18-21. The Festival hosted the Shanghai Quartet, Brazilian Guitar Quartet and pianist Frederic Chiu. National Public Radio gave the festival a second look by sending its host of "Performance Today," Fred Child, to cover the unique concerts. The third season will be from July 17-20, 2003. For more information, visit meadowlarkmusicfestival.com.
Mark Clinton, Associate Professor of Piano and Co-Chair of the Piano Area, appeared in June with UNL Associate Professor of Clarinet Diane Cawein in a featured artist recital at the 2002 Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. Later in the summer, Clinton and Assistant Professor of Piano Nicole Narboni were part of the international artist faculty at the 2002 Ameropa Chamber Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. During the two-week event, Clinton and Narboni performed in concerts held in such historic venues as the Rudolfinum, the St. Agnes Convent, and the Klementinum. Five UNL School of Music students joined Clinton and Narboni in Prague, where they studied with international artist faculty, attended masterclasses and seminars, and performed in concerts sponsored by the Ameropa Festival.
Carolee Curtright, Professor Emeritus of Music, completed a commission entitled "I Have a Song" for the 50th anniversary celebration of the North Carolina Summer Institute of the Choral Art and also conducted the middle school choir of 300 singers for that event in June. She also finished another composition for the Central Virginia Children's Choir-Cantate for their competition and 10th anniversary celebration.
Peter Eklund, Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities, conducted the music for prime Sunday Masses at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Mark's in Venice and at the Verona Cathedral (twice) this past summer. Additional concerts were given at Canterbury Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral, Mozart's Salzburg Cathedral and the American Chapel in Normandy. The choral ensemble was the Midwest American Youth Honor Choir representing four states that had secured honor performances at these prestigious venues.
Jeffery Elwell, Chair of Theatre Arts, had his play, "First Date" performed at the Off Off-Broadway Short Play Festival at the American Theatre for Actors in August 2002. His monologue, "The Night We Met," will be published in Monologues for Men, Vol. 2 by Heinemann sometime in 2003.
Quentin Faulkner, Larson Professor of Organ and Music Theory/History, together with his wife, Mary Murrell Faulkner (DMA 2000), performed an organ recital at the Wenzelskirche, Naumburg, Germany, on Aug. 9 and a second brief recital on Aug. 14. Faulkner also delivered a lecture-demonstration on the organ registration indications of G.F. Kauffmann. He is collaborating with UNL DMA students Heather Hernandez and Robin High in preparing articles for The Organ Encyclopedia, soon to be published by Routledge in New York City.
Craig Fuller, Senior Lecturer of Tuba, performed with the Ruth Davidson Hahn Dance Company during the Arts on the Green Festival in Omaha. Fuller performed two solo tuba works by Omaha composer Kenton Bales. He also performed in the company ensemble in works by Kurt Weill. This past summer, Fuller worked at the British Library studying the manuscript scores and sketch books for one of the most important works for tuba, the Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Lisa Fusillo, Professor of Dance, was the lead-off speaker at the CORPS de Ballet International (Council of Organized Pedagogical Researchers of Ballet) annual conference in Kalamazoo, Mich., which was honoring the great star of the Ballet Russes, George Zorich. Fusillo had a professional paper, "University Training vs. Professional Schools: Realistic Goals for Careers in Ballet" accepted for presentation at the International Dance Council of UNESCO conference "Dance in the World Today 2: Creativity and Education." The conference, originally scheduled for June in Paris, has been postponed until Oct. 31 in Corfu, Greece. Fusillo was a guest artist at the Kingsport Ballet Summer Workshop, along with Sergei from the Kirov Ballet in Russia. Fusillo staged the variation from "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" by George Balanchine, which was performed at the annual Kingsport FunFest celebration on July 12. Fusillo directed a recording, which has now been made into a CD titled "Backstage: Music for the Ballet Class" and is being prepared for commercial release this November. Fusillo received a 2002 Humanities Center Summer Faculty Support for Research and Creative Activity Program Award for the choreography and performance of Soliloquy, a classical ballet solo and Pas de Deux, a classical ballet to be set on professional dancers. She received a college travel grant to participate in The Grand Prix Dance Italia 2002 held in Cesena, Italy, June 19-25. The work Soliloquy was premiered at the Festival on June 21.
William Grange, Professor of Theatre Arts, had his review of "Theatre Under the Nazis" by John London, Univ. of Manchester Press, accepted for publication in the refereed journal, Essays in Theatre.
Tom Larson, Lecturer in Music, will have his first book, "The History and Tradition of Jazz" published by Kendall Hunt Publishing of Dubuque, Iowa. It is already being used by five other colleges and universities in addition to his own classes here at UNL.
William McMullen, Associate Professor of Oboe, performed five duets for flue and oboe (with flutist Claudia Anderson) at this past summer's International Double Reed Society convention in Banff, Alberta, Canada, in August. Due to their successful reception at the conference, plans are now in the works for a new CD recording of these duets. Their performance of these duets was a result of several years' of collaboration between the two musicians as both have been on the faculty of the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colo., for the past five summers.
Albie Micklich, Assistant Professor of Bassoon, taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Whitehall, Mich., in August. He taught bassoon and chamber music to junior high school students and also performed with the faculty woodwind quintet, orchestra and band. In June, Micklich taught bassoon at the Great Plains Music Camp at UNL.
Tice Miller, Professor of Theatre Arts, presented his paper, "Cultural Memory, the Scopes Trial and Inherit the Wind," at the International Federation for Theatre Research conference at the University of Amsterdam in July.
Mo Neal, Assistant Professor of Sculpture, has sculpture in a two person show at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings in a show that opened in July and continues through Oct. 10. "Grabber" is one of the sculptures in the show. Neal is also showing at A.I.R. Gallery in New York from Sept. 14 through Oct. 5. The National Affiliates Show, opening in the new Chelsea gallery, has 5 members from across the United States.
Glenn Nierman, Steinhart Professor and Chair of the Music Education Division and Interim Associate Director of the School of Music, is completing work on a chapter of a book, Step-by-Step Guide to Using Benchmarks in the Music Classroom, soon to be published by MENC, the National Association for Music Education. He will lead an in-service presentation on assessment for 120 members of the music education faculty of the Omaha Public Schools in October.
Professor of Theatre Arts Charles O'Connor's work in virtual scenery for television and new media was exhibited at the International Broadcasting Conference in Amsterdam Sept. 13-16.
Giacomo Oliva, Dean, was installed as the President of the International Society for Music Education at the Society's biennial meeting in Bergen, Norway, this past August. Oliva will serve as President for the 2002-2004 biennium.
Clark Potter, Professor of Viola, toured Italy and Austria as guest principal violist of the Southwest Washington Chamber Orchestra in June and July, giving performances in Florence, Vienna and Salzburg, among others. He was also a guest artist for a performance at Rocky Ridge Music Center in Colorado in August.
George Ritchie, Scribante Professor of Organ, gave a paper in Houston in April at the biennial meeting of the American Bach Society. The paper was titled "The recently restored Naumburg organ: a direct link to J.S. Bach." In June, Ritchie gave a lecture-demonstration and a masterclass in Bryn Mawr, Pa., at the 11th American Guild of Organists National Conference on Organ Pedagogy. The lecture was titled "Introducing the Organist to Bach Performance Practices." In August, Ritchie gave a solo recital and was one of three professors giving masterclasses for the 23rd UNL Organ Conference on the recently restored 18th-century Hildebrandt organ in the Wenzelskirche in Naumburg, Germany. Conference leaders included Dr. Christoph Wolff, William Powell Mason Professor of Music at Harvard University and Director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, Germany; Dr. Robert Clark, retired Professor of Organ, Arizona State University; Dr. Quentin Faulkner, Larson Professor of Organ, UNL; and Ritchie. Registrants for the conference totaled 103, from 25 states as well as Canada, England, Germany, and New Zealand. This included organ faculty and students from 22 colleges and universities. Faulkner and Ritchie and eight current and recent UNL organ students participated in lectures, recitals, and master classes.
Sharon Teo, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, completed principal photography for her independent feature film, Breeders, in August.
Darryl White, Assistant Professor of Trumpet, will release his second CD, "In the Fullness of Time" on Sept. 20. He has been invited back to the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City to promote the CD as their featured artist of the month.
Rusty White, Associate Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Performance, was invited to join the Kansas City Symphony in April to augment their bass section for rehearsals and two performances of Bruckner's Symphony #7.
Students
Harold (MM) and Sarah (Kouma) Barnard (BM) sang leading roles in the Casper, Wyo., Community Theatre's sell-out production of "The Secret Garden" in July.
Sarah Geske (MM) and Josh Straub (BM) attended the Boesendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna this summer.
Jeff Keele (MM) was Caiphas, Gary Kubert (BA Music 1999) and Laurie Martinez-Lessman (MM) was Mary Magdalene in the Lincoln Community Playhouse production of "Jesus Christ, Superstar."
Karen Kness (MM) has been invited to be a semi-finalist in the Vera Scammon International Save Our Singers Competition in Denver in early October. Kness competed and was chosen as a finalist in the same prestigious competition last year.
Vince Quevedo (MFA Art and a Senior Lecturer for Visual Literacy) received the top faculty design award at the International Textile and Apparel Association's conference this August in New York City.
Milvia Rodriguez (DMA) just returned from Moscow, where she was conducting research on the piano music of Nicholai Medtner.
Melissa Wallner (DMA) has returned to UNL to complete doctoral course work after having performed roles in "Nun Crackers" and "Titanic" at theatres in Denver. She is currently playing the lead of Claire De Lune in the Lincoln Community Playhouse's production of "On the Town."
During the spring semester, the UNL dance students presented 20 performances and lecture-demonstrations in public and private schools, retirement communities and rehabilitation facilities in Lincoln and surrounding areas, as part of the "Celebrating Charles Weidman" project initiated by sponsorship from the NEA and Dance/USA through the National College Choreography Initiative. The UNL Dance Division's project on Charles Weidman was featured in The New York Times July 28 in a story on alternative dance projects of the National College Choreography Initiative. UNL was noted in the article for the recognition by our governor of the important contribution of Charles Weidman.
Alumni
Karen Blessen (BFA 1973) wrote and illustrated a cover story on Aids in Africa entitled "Faces of a Plaque" for the Dallas Morning News in June.
Karen Hollister (BA 1981) has started a new business, Spotlight Promotions, Public Relations and Event Marketing. Her company handles promotions for Disney on Ice in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, and events for area businesses.
Don Jacobson (BME 1970 and MM 1977) retired from the Millard Public Schools on June 1. He taught band for 31 years in Nebraska and South Dakota.
Kate Leonard (MFA 1994) of Colorado is featured in the exhibition "Dyr/Portal" with Valgerour Hauksdottir of Iceland. The exhibit documents the visual interpretations of two artists whose lives have been shaped by the landscapes of Iceland and Colorado, which have both lured settlers while simultaneously confronting them with formidable natural challenges. The exhibition was shown in Iceland last July and will be shown in Colorado in 2003.
Jason Meyer (BFA 2000) was featured in a Chicago Sun Times article in June.
Ryan Sorensen (BFA 2002) is a senior graphic designer for Smith, Kaplan, Allen and Reynolds in Omaha.
Affiliates
Danny Lee Ladely, Director of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater, traveled to Los Angeles in June to attend the annual Student Academy Awards. The Student Academy Awards program is a national competition conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Foundation. Ladely serves as co-coordinator for Region Two, overseeing the preliminary judging process, which he has done for more than twenty years. This past Labor Day weekend, Ladely attended the Telluride Film Festival, on which he serves as a member of the festival's staff. The internationally celebrated and exceedingly prestigious Telluride Film Festival selected the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater and Ladely to conduct the screening process to help choose films for the Telluride Film Festival's Filmmakers of Tomorrow Student Prints program open to student filmmakers from throughout the world. During the past several months, Ladely has served on the national film selection committee for the Rural Policy Research Institute's national symposium "Rural Matters: Making Place and Culture Count!" to be held in Nebraska City Oct. 16-18. He will also serve as facilitator for discussion sessions held in conjunction with the film screenings during the conference. For the second year this summer, Ladely served on the Rockefeller Foundation's Film/Video/Multimedia Fellowship Program nominating committee, which provides fellowships to media artists.
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery lent important works from its collections to the following exhibitions: Thomas Eakins (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); Over the Line: The Life and Art of Jacob Lawrence (Detroit Institute of Arts; High Museum, Atlanta); Milton Avery: The Late Paintings (Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles); Barnett Newman (Philadelphia Museum of Art); and Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock).
Sheldon traveled three exhibitions from its collections: Robert Henri and His Influence(Sunrise Museum, WV; Westmoreland Museum of Art, Greensburg, PA); Human Factor: Figuration in Contemporary American Art (Brauer Museum, Valparaiso, IN; Fort Wayne Museum of Art, IN; Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, GA); and Torn Notebook: The Creative Process (Columbus, NE; Fremont, NE, Cozad, NE, Hastings, NE) Sheldon also hosted the Nebraska Art Association's Jazz in June, which attracted more than 10,000 visitors to campus over a four-week period.
Janice Driesbach, Sheldon Director, spoke to Lincoln Center Kiwanis and Welcome Wagon, and gave a public tour of Sheldon@Joslyn in Omaha. She also served as a manuscript reader for the University of California Press. Daniel Siedell, Sheldon Curator, presented a lecture on Robert Henri at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss., in association with the Sheldon traveling exhibition Robert Henri and His Influence. His review of the Andy Warhol retrospective exhibition and catalogue will appear in Books and Culture in October-November 2002. Siedell also wrote a review of Alfred H. Barr and the Intellectual Origins of the Museum of Modern Art by Sybil Kantor for CAA.Reviews, an on-line publication of the College Art Association, and served as a juror for the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art residency program and for Tour de Lincoln.
Karen Janovy, Sheldon Curator of Education, wrote articles that appear in The Docent Educator: "It Works for M3 . . . Tips and Techniques," (Spring 2002) and "Reinforcing Object-Based Learning"(summer 2002). Janovy conducted training and faculty leadership at Prairie Visions Teacher Institute in Omaha in June and attended "Learning in Museums," a seminar for museum educators in Nashville, Tenn. With collections manager Stacey Skold and Marketing Manager Jessica Kennedy, she also represented the Sheldon at the annual meeting of the American Association of Museums in Dallas.