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
Congratulations!! The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts DVD won a Silver Award in the Video and DVD category of the Galaxy International Media Awards in November. The DVD project also received two honorable mentions from the Accolade Competition and "Honors" in the League of Communication Professionals: Magellan Awards Competition.
The following faculty have received Hixson-Lied Presentation of Scholarly/Creative Activity Grants from the Hixson-Lied Endowment Fund:
- Paul Barnes, Associate Professor of Piano, $480, for a presentation at the 2004 meeting of the American Liszt Society.
- Mark Clinton, Associate Professor of Piano, and Nicole Narboni, Senior Lecturer, $900 each, for a performance of a recital at L'Eqlise Saint-Germain L'Anxerrois in Paris, France.
- Lisa Fusillo, Professor of Dance, $830, for presentation of her research paper entitled "Dance Injuries: Surviving Hallux Rigidus and Other Degenerative Problems" at the Taiwan College Dance Festival.
- Wendy Katz, Assistant Professor of Art, $350, for a panel presentation "The Place of the Local in American Art" at the annual meeting of the College Art Association.
- Karen Kunc, Cather Professor of Art, $370, for presentation and formal exhibition "Out of Japan! Watercolor Woodcuts in Japanese Style" in New York City.
The following students received support from the Hixson-Lied Endowment Fund:
- Olga Bojovic, MM, $700, Study Abroad funding.
- Anna Drozda, BA in Art History, $1,200, Study Abroad funding.
- Lincoln Print Group, $2200, Scholarly and Creative Activity funding.
The following faculty have been awarded funding from the UNL Research Council:
- Paul Barnes, Associate Professor of Piano, $10,000 Faculty Seed Grant, for "Commemorating Lewis and Clark: Commissioning, Performing and Recording a New Piano Concerto by Philip Glass."
- Dana Fritz, Assistant Professor of Art, $6,500 Grant-in-Aid, for "American Gardens: Authenticity and Exoticism."
- William McMullen, Associate Professor of Oboe, $482 Visiting Scholar Grant, to bring Dr. Mark Hill to Lincoln in February.
- George Ritchie, Scribante Professor of Organ, $6,500 Grant-in-Aid, for "J.S. Bach Organ Works, Vol. VI: Youthful Brilliance."
- Alison Stewart, Associate Professor of Art History, $6,500 Grant-in-Aid, for "Before Bruegel, Sebald Beham and the Origins of Peasant Festival Imagery."
- Tyler White, Associate Professor and Director of Orchestral Activities, $9,500 Faculty Seed Grant, for "Composition of Mystic Trumpeter for Voice and Orchestra." The award will cover commissioning and copying costs for a new vocal/orchestral work based on the texts of Walt Whitman. The work will be premiered in April 2005 by the UNL Symphony Orchestra at UNL's international conference commemorating the 150th anniversary of the publication of Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Arts groups received more than $48,000 in the Lincoln Arts Council's Tour de Lincoln bike auction in October. Groups that received proceeds included the College, the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Friends of Opera, Friends of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, Arts Are Basic, MEDICI, the Nebraska Art Association, the Lentz Center for Asian Culture, and the Lied Center for Performing Arts.
Interactive Information Research and Development (i2rd), a university entity in its incubation stages at our Research Technology Park, is making up to four paid internships available this spring and summer for graphic design students. Students in Associate Professor Ron Bartels's advanced section class worked on i2rd's corporate identity and the brand visual identity for "X Job," software developed for internet enterprise business in a class project fall semester.
Jeffery Elwell, Professor and Chair of Theatre Arts, received an additional grant of $78,320 from the Nebraska Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission to produce the Nebraska Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Signature Event this summer.
Lisa Fusillo, Professor of Dance, received a $6,500 grant from the Cooper Foundation and a $2,000 grant from the Nebraska Arts Council, in support of the educational and outreach activities of the "Bob Fosse and American Musical Theatre" project, which received a National College Choreography Initiative award earlier.
Faculty
Scott Anderson, Associate Professor of Trombone, presented his faculty recital in October. The program consisted of performances of Paris Conservatory works that are part of a larger research project that will culminate in recordings of Paris Conservatory Solo Competition Repertoire from 1897-1956. He also performed Anders Hillborg's "Hautposaune for Trombone and Tape" with The New Music Agency, a chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of new music, in Lincoln. Anderson recorded and performed with the Dallas Brass Quintet while they were on tour in November. He has been invited to perform with them again when they are in Lincoln in March. Anderson arranged master classes with the Offutt Air Force Base Quintet in October and an upcoming January 29 master class with New York jazz trombonist John Fedchock at UNL.
The Nebraska Trombone Quartet performed school and community concerts in and around the Lincoln area. The Quartet includes Scott Anderson and his three graduate students: Nancy Vogt (DMA), Cody Davids (MM) and Jason Faas (DMA). The Quartet also performed at Red Letter Day in November and presented their fall recital on November 17.
John Bailey, Larson Professor of Flute, was on faculty development leave in Europe during the Fall 2003 semester. He researched contemporary standard flute and piano repertoire at conservatories in England, Germany and Italy, and presented programs and lecture/recitals on contemporary American flute repertoire in Prague, Leipzig, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Munich, Manchester, London, Milan and Modena. In November, he assumed the presidency of the National Flute Association, which has more than 7,000 members.
Carolyn Barber, Associate Professor and Director of Bands, presented clinics at both the Nebraska Music Educators Association Convention in November and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in December. The sessions, entitled "The Essential Conductor: Looks Can Be Deceiving" and "Creative Practice Strategies for the Improvisational Conductor," respectively, are based upon Barber's ground-breaking research in the field of conducting practice and pedagogy. This research also contributed to Barber's appointment, from a national pool, to be one of seven members of the inaugural College Band Directors National Association New Era Think Tank beginning this past fall.
Diane Barger, Associate Professor of Clarinet, presented her faculty recital in September and traveled to the University of Alabama-Birmingham in October to give a recital (with Associate Professor Mark Clinton, piano, and Assistant Professor Albie Micklich, bassoon) and master classes in the Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall. Barger was the featured soloist with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra in November with a performance of Gerald Finzi's "Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra." Barger had a review of the 2003 International Clarinet Association's High School Competition published in The Clarinet, the professional journal of the I.C.A. in December and will have another feature article published in the March issue.
Paul Barnes, Associate Professor of Piano, was featured in the October 2003 edition of New Music Box, the online publication of the American Music Center. His recording of his unique lecture-recital "Liszt and the Cross: Music as Sacrament in the B Minor Sonata" was released on the Liszt Digital label. Another recording featuring Barnes's performances of the music of Jeffrey Hass was also released on the Albany label. Barnes's recording of his transcriptions from the operas of Philip Glass also received favorable reviews from New York critic Joseph Dalton and San Francisco critic Michael McDonagh. In December, Barnes was among 16 former students of Menahem Pressler invited to perform at the 80th Birthday Celebration Concert held at Indiana University on December 18. Barnes performed with pianist Ian Hobson.
Mark Clinton, Associate Professor of Piano, and Senior Lecturer Nicole Narboni, piano, were featured in a recital sponsored by the Mayor of the First Arrondisement of Paris on December 21. The recital took place in the historic church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois - the Gothic masterpiece that was at one time the parish church of the kings of France. The repertoire included "Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos" by Rachmaninoff, as well as the "Rite of Spring" by Stravinsky (arranged for piano four-hands by the composer). An enthusiastic audience brought back the duo for encores by Tailleferre and Debussy.
Jeffery Elwell, Professor and Chair of Theatre Arts, served as a consultant for the Hendrix-Murphy Program in Literature and Theatre Arts Department at Hendrix (Ark.) College and as a NAST accreditation visitor at California University of Pennsylvania last Fall.
Quentin Faulkner, Larson Professor of Organ, is guest artist at a Bach Festival sponsored by the Area Music Teachers Association in South Bend, Ind. on January 16-17. He will deliver a presentation and will conduct a masterclass on J.S. Bach's keyboard fingering practice and (assisted by his wife, Mary Murrell Faulkner, DMA 2000) will perform a recital at the First United Methodist Church in South Bend.
Gretchen Foley, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, delivered a paper entitled "Arrays and KNets: Transformational Relationships Within Perle's Twelve-Tone Tonality" at the national conference of the Society for Music Theory held in November in Madison, Wisconsin.
Lisa Fusillo, Professor of Dance, gave a poster presentation, "Surviving in Dance with hallux rigidus" at the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science conference in London in October. This presentation has led to several other invitations to present this research study and to collaborate with Austrian and Italian orthopedic surgeons on a larger study of treatment and surgical techniques for this problem in dancers. Recognizing her contribution to dance at an international level, Fusillo has been invited to represent the United States in UNESCO's International Dance Council in Paris. In November, she delivered a presentation, "How to Survive in Dance after Serious Dance Injuries" at the Taiwan College Dance Festival in pan-Chiao, Taiwan. She also gave another presentation at this conference, "Breaking Down Ballet: Details for Better Technique" and presented two master classes in classical ballet. Her proposal for the presentation, "Teaching Dance Heritage in the Classroom and the Studio: Charles WeidmanâNebraska's Legacy in American Modern Dance" has been accepted for presentation at Nordic Forum for Dance Research conference in Reykjavek, Iceland, in April. Fusillo has been selected for inclusion in Who's Who of American Education and Who's Who of American Women for 2003.
Donna Harler-Smith, Professor of Voice, starred in TADA Productions' "All I Want Is For You To See This Show" at The Loft at The Mill in Lincoln in December.
Keith Jacobshagen, Cather Professor of Art, had an exhibition of his work, along with New York artist Wolf Kahn, entitled "Pastels from the Field" at Kiechel Fine Art in Lincoln in November and December.
William Kenyon, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, served as designer for the Metropolitan Playhouse (New York City) production of "East Side Stories," which is a cycle of 10 new plays exploring the history of the East Side of Manhattan over the past 200 years. The production will open January 22. Kenyon will also serve as a National Design Respondent for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Region 3 Festival, held at the University of Illinois in January 2004.
The Moran Trio (Associate Professor Diane Barger, clarinet; Associate Professor William McMullen, oboe; and Assistant Professor Albie Michlich, bassoon) performed at a chamber music series at Pittsburgh State University (Ks.) in November and presented a recital at UNL in December.
Mo Neal, Associate Professor of Art, presented a lecture on December 6 at the Sioux City Art Center in conjunction with the juried exhibition, "Local Perspectives 2003." Neal spoke in-depth about her work, the development of her career as a sculptor, and current issues in contemporary sculpture.
Jack Oliva, Dean, gave presentations this past fall at the annual meetings of the College Music Society in Miami; the annual meeting of the International Music Council in Montevideo, Uruguay; the Association of European Conservatories in Karlsruhe, Germany; and the National Association of Schools of Music in Seattle, Wash. He has also been named to the steering committee of the International Music Education Policy Symposium that is being sponsored by MENC and the National Association of Music Merchants, which will take place as part of the MENC Biennial Meeting in Minneapolis in April.
John Richmond, Professor and Director of the School of Music, was featured in two presentations, one on the construct of collegiality as a manageable item in promotion/tenure decisions and the other on creative approaches to music teacher certification programs, at the Annual Conference of the National Association of Schools of Music in Seattle, Wash. In March, Richmond will be the featured speaker/clinician at the Music Education Leadership Institute at the Georgia State University in Atlanta.
George Ritchie, Scribante Professor of Organ, recorded the final two CDs (10 and 11) of his series of recordings of the organ works of J.S. Bach. He recorded on the Fisk organ at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minn., and on the new Pasi organ at St. Cecilia's Cathedral in Omaha. The CDs will be released on the Raven label next July under the title "J.S. Bach Organ Works, Vol. VI: Youthful Brilliance." Ritchie also played an all-Bach recital at St. Cecilia's Cathedral in November and gave a master class for the Omaha chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Virginia Smith, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, served as guest director in residence at Hendrix College in Arkansas and directed "The Tempest."
Alison Stewart, Associate Professor of Art History, co-edited with Jane Carroll Saints, Sinners, and Sisters: Gender and Northern Art in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2003). These essays were written for this volume and published here for the first time. In addition to bringing the essays together, editing them, and providing the introductions, Stewart wrote one of the essays, "Distaffs and Spindles: Sexual Misbehavior in Sebald Beham's Spinning Bee."
Tyler White, Associate Professor and Director of Orchestral Activities, had his recording of his 9/11 memorial composition, "Elegy for the orphans of terror" for flute, harp and string orchestra released in December by ERMMedia in Volume 1 of the 12-CD collection, "Masterworks of the New Era." The recording, performed by flutist Christo Pavlov and the Philharmonia Bulgarica with Robert Ian Winstin conducting, is available at Amazon.com.
Robert Woody, Assistant Professor of Music Education, presented a research poster entitled "Musicians' Use of Mental Imagery in Practicing Expressivity" at the state convention of the Nebraska Music Educators Association. He also had an article, "The Motivations of Exceptional Musicians" appear in the January issue of the Music Educators Journal.
Brenda Wristen, Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy, performed a faculty piano recital on October 9. Her repertoire included selections by Haydn, Debussy, Prokofiev, Chopin and Judith Lang Zaimont.
Students
Harold Barnard II (MM) will be performing five roles with the touring production of "Titanic" beginning in Orlando, Fla., for three months.
Andrew Binkard (BM, Freshman) was selected as a finalist for the 11th Annual John Shildneck Young Artist Competition.
Denise Brady (MFA in Art) won a gold medal in the professional miscellaneous category at the recent AIGA Nebraska Graphic Design Competition and Show in November. She won for her book, King of the Butterflies, a poem by Christopher Howell with a mezzotint, linocut title page initial, handmade cotton rag cover and endsheet papers, letterpress printing and hand-binding by Brady.
Meredith Brickell (MFA in Art), who is a Maude Hammond Fling Fellow, won the Juror's Choice All Star First Place Award in the juried exhibition, "Cup: The Intimate Object" at the Charlie Cummings Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The juror for the exhibition was Julia Galloway, a lecturer in ceramics at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Scott Herr (MM) performed a recital featuring the works of Gerald Finzi, which was featured on two international websites, including Boosey and Hawkes (www.boosey.com) and The Finzi Trust (www.finzi.org.uk).
Tyler Hottovy (BME, Senior) won the UNL spot on the NMEA Collegiate Showcase Recital. He performed on November 20 at the NMEA Conference at UNL.
Kim Kahman (BA, Senior) and Ashley Woodward (BA, Senior) performed their choreography, "Footprints in the Sand," a lyrical modern dance work, and "Get it on," a hip-hop piece, on the Taiwan College Dance Festival Student Concert on November 17. They each taught classes in modern dance, jazz and hip-hop to the festival participants. The project, sponsored by Professor Lisa Fusillo, was part of UNL's UCARE (Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences) program.
Jeff Keele (MM) was featured in a segment on KLKN-TV 8 in Lincoln for winning the Singer of the Year Competition at NATS in Kearney in November. Keele will be performing the title role in Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" in a Young Artist production this summer at the Pine Lake Music Festival in Michigan. He will also sing the role of Colline in "La Boheme" by Puccini in a mainstage production with the same company.
All You Can Eat Comics (www.aycecomics.com) is publishing Mark Spencer Reynolds (BFA Senior) in Super Comic Buffet. Spencer, a graphic design student from Holland, Nebraska, has created a comic rendition for a five-page introduction into the bigger story of a superhero called "Liquiknight." Reynolds has plans on developing and creating more comics based on this story.
Alumni
Mike Kula (BFA in Art 1997) wrote, produced and directed, "A Hysterical Mind," a 33-minute video on schizophrenia in the final stages of production. He hopes to screen it this spring. The film was featured in an article in the January 8 Lincoln Journal-Star.
Robin McKercher (MFA in Directing 1999), former Lincoln Community Playhouse Artistic Director, will return to UNL this spring to be the director and scenic designer for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Department of Theatre Arts, School of Music, and Lied Center for Performing Arts joint production of the Frank Loesser classic musical, "Guys and Dolls" in April.
Richard Moses (BFA 1959) has recent work on display at the Peru State College Art Gallery January 12-February 14.
Lance Nielsen (MM 1998, BSED 1991) has been elected to the position of President-Elect of the Nebraska Music Educators Association at the November NMEA Clinic/Convention. Nielsen also serves on the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Board.
Constance Rock (MM 1984, BM 1980) performed in a concert of classical music at Presbyterian Church of the Cross in Omaha on January 11. Rock is an associate professor of voice at the University of Connecticut.
Affiliates
Arts Are Basic: Arts Are Basic is working with the Lied Center for Performing Arts and the Watts Prophets, a poetry performance group, on "Poetry in Motion, Still" in February. A performance fee grant was received from the Heartland Arts Fund to help support the two school matinees on February 13. In addition, a $2,000 grant was received from the J.C. Seacrest Trust to support their first after-school program with the Lincoln Arts Program that will involve 25 students and a theater and visual arts unit of study.
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden: The Hugh H. Genoways Award of Achievement was bestowed on P.J. Jacobs by the Nebraska Museums Association at its annual meeting in October 2003. This prestigious award is given to museum professionals who demonstrate a commitment to their institution above and beyond the call of duty.
Sharon Gustafson, Sheldon Statewide coordinator, was recently named 2003-2004 Museum Educator of the Year by the Nebraska Art Teacher's Association. Her work on the current Sheldon Statewide exhibition titled "The Spirit of Aztlan," has garnered attention in its celebration of Mexican and Mexican-American art and culture. The September opening reception in Scottsbluff coincided with weekend activities celebrating Mexican Independence Day including a parade and dance. UNO Sociologist and native Scottsbluff resident, Thomas Sanchez, spoke at the opening and participated in related community events. "The Spirit of Aztlan" was also well received in North Platte, where it again coincided with community activities, celebrating Latino heritage. Approximately 150 people attended the reception that included food, music and lectures by Sharon Gustafson and Thomas Sanchez. Following the opening event was a performance at the local theater by Gran Ballet Folklorico de Mexico from Mexico City. Sheldon Statewide has also been exhibited in Holdrege and in 2004 will travel to York, Lexington, Grand Island, Columbus, Kearney and Omaha.
Sheldon Curator Daniel Siedell organized the exhibition "Enrique Martinez Celaya: The October Cycle, 2000-2002," which travels to the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale in early 2004. In addition to the exhibition, Siedell wrote an extensive essay for the book accompanying the exhibition. The book is being distributed nationally via D.A.P. (Distributed Art Publishers). Siedell also published a review of "Two art histories: the university and the museum," edited by Charles Haxtausen (Yale University Press) in College Art Association Reviews. His essay "Art criticism as narrative strategy: Clement Greenberg's critical encounter with Franz Kline" was accepted by the Journal of Modern Literature, appearing in the spring 2004 publication. Finally, Siedell edited "Weldon Kees and the arts at mid-century" published by the University of Nebraska Press this past fall, which includes an essay on Kees's art criticism.