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
The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts received a $25,000 Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence award for the proposal STARTS (Students in the Arts). The program, submitted by Associate Dean Robert Fought and Advising Coordinator Sara Fedderson, is a comprehensive startup program of advisement, mentoring and retention services for students entering the College (new freshman, external transfer students, and current UNL students).
Paul Barnes and Philip Glass Photo by Don Hunstein
"The Lewis and Clark Concerto," a television performance and documentary produced by Nebraska Educational Television and featuring Associate Professor of Piano Paul Barnes, was awarded an Emmy in the Entertainment category at the 19th Annual Heartland Regional Emmy Awards in October in Denver. It also won the top honor for a performance production at the National Educational Telecommunications Association's annual meeting.
Wendy Katz, Associate Professor of Art History, received a $1,500 grant from the Nebraska Humanities Council for a thematic website "The Gilded Age Plains City: The Great Sheedy Murder Trial and Booster Ethos of Lincoln, Nebraska."
Tyler White, Associate Professor of Conducting and Composition and Director of Orchestral Activities, received Honorable Mention in The ASCAP Foundation's Rudolf Nissim Prize Competition. The Nissim competition is open to all ASCAP members who compose concert works requiring a conductor that have not been professionally premiered. White's piece was "Music Trumpeter (Symphony No. 2)" for baritone and orchestra with text by Walt Whitman.
Tyler White
The following students received Hixson-Lied Scholarly Funding Support Grants in December:
- Melinda Yale, Jennifer Ghormley and others, Department of Art and Art History, $2,000, to assist with the presentation of an exhibition at the Haydon Art Center
The following students received Hixson-Lied Undergraduate Creative Research Grants in October:
- Mark Romano, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, $1,800, 'Improv-A-Paluza' project. Romano is producing a 52-hour improv show to take place in Chicago later this spring. The event will consist of 15 students from Lincoln, as well as students from Sioux Falls, S.D., Miami, Fla., and professional performers from Second City in Seattle and Los Angles. There will be four groups of improvisers that will rotate being on stage for a total of 52 hours in order to break the current world record for longest improv show.
- John Skinner, Department of Art and Art History, $1,035, 'Art of Communication' project. Skinner has been photographing Nebraska's communication hardware as a personal project and to document the electronic pathway that connects Omaha to Kearney. The result will be a multimedia portfolio presented as a solo show in Lincoln in March 2006.
The following faculty received funding from the Research Council in December:
- John Bailey, School of Music, $800, visiting scholar grant for Dr. Richard Soule.
- Diane Barger, School of Music, $740, visiting scholar grant for Dr. Frank Kowalsky.
- Santiago Cal, Department of Art and Art History, $6,500, "Other Epochs."
- William Grange, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, $2,000, "Hitler Laughing: Comedy in the Third Reich." This book, published by the University Press of America, is the first book published with the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film name attached.
- Wendy Katz, Department of Art and Art History, $800, visiting scholar grant for Dr. Brian Dippie.
- William McMullen, School of Music, $677, visiting scholar grant for Dr. Sandra Stimson.
- Albie Micklich, School of Music, $6,500, "20th Century Works for Bassoon and Piano."
- Albie Micklich, School of Music, $455, visiting scholar grant for Dr. Nicolasa Kuster.
Faculty
John Bailey
John Bailey, Larson Professor of Flute, performed Persichetti's Parable for alto flute and judged the annual Young Artist Competition for the Nebraska Flute Club in Omaha in September. Bailey was also a guest clinician for the Kansas City Flute Association in October, where he gave a clinic on Mozart's Concerto in G for high school flutists and served as a judge for their annual 'Rising Stars' competition.
Paul Barnes, Associate Professor of Piano, performed his lecture/recital October 21 featuring the transcriptions of Liszt pupil Alexander Siloti at the Nebraska Music Teachers Association State Convention at UNO. The following week, Barnes performed a solo recital at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and then adjudicated the Iowa and Kansas Music Teachers Association State Piano Competitions in November.
Dana Fritz, Associate Professor of Art, had some of her work purchased by the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago for their collection. Fritz has also been offered her first international exhibition, a one-person show at Le Chateau de Villandry near Tours, France, in the summer of 2007.
William Grange's "Hitler Laughing: Comedy in the Third Reich"
William Grange, Professor of Theatre Arts, will be playing the role of Caldwell B. Caldwell in the February Haymarket Theatre production of "Urinetown."
Kevin Hanrahan, Assistant Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy, recorded two songs with Z. Randall Stroope, which Stroope composed, "I So Liked Spring" and 'Shall I Compare Thee." Hanrahan also premiered "Light From Out of Darkness: The Promise of Christmas" by Brian K. Pfoltner with Abendmusik: Lincoln.
Keith Jacobshagen, Cather Professor of Art, had an exhibition entitled 'Scrapings' at the Tugboat Gallery in Lincoln in January.
Joseph Kraus, Professor of Music Theory, has been named Reviews Editor for Theory and Practice, the journal of the Music Theory Society in New York state.
Assistant Professor of Art Francisco Souto discusses his art at the American University in Cairo, Egypt
Karen Kunc, Cather Professor of Art, organized an exhibition in Egypt entitled 'Open Expression: Contemporary American Prints,' in collaboration with the visiting scholar that UNL hosted several years ago, Wael El Kadar El Sabour. The exhibition was presented at the American University in Cairo from November 14-28. Kunc and Assistant Professor of Art Francisco Souto attended the opening and presented seminars for students, faculty and the public.
Peter Lefferts, Professor of Music History, presented a Paul A. Olson Seminar in Great Plains Studies at UNL entitled "Music at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, Omaha, 1898: The Career of Willard Kimball and the UNL Alumni Organ" in November.
Susan Levine
Susan Levine, Assistant Professor of Dance, created three original dance works that were performed with School of Music colleagues Diane Barger and Mark Clinton, in Barger's faculty recital last fall. Setting her work on seven UNL dancers, Levine created three distinct pieces, the sole unifying theme being that all the music was composed for clarinet.
Tice Miller, Professor of Theatre, wrote the introduction to William Dunlap's "A History of the American Theatre from its Origins to 1832," published by the University of Illinois Press.
The Moran Woodwind Quintet (John Bailey, flute; William McMullen, oboe; Diane Barger, clarinet; Albie Micklich, bassoon; and Allen French, horn) presented a lecture/performance on the wind chamber works of German composer Theodor Blumer and performed for UNL Assistant Professor of Theory Gretchen Foley's presentation exploring aspects of two movements of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wind Quintet No. 4 of George Perle at the College Music Society's 2005 National Conference in Quebec City in November.
(L-R) Sandie Hager, Rhea Gill, Faye Kopke, Giacomo Oliva, Linda Luedtke, Stacy Anderson and David Bagby at the Floyd Oldt Boss of the Year luncheon
Giacomo Oliva, Dean and Professor of Music, served as a music consultant to the Department of Music at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, in November. He also gave a presentation this past October at the First World Music Forum, sponsored by the International Music Council (IMC). The Forum was held in Los Angeles. Oliva was also a finalist for the UNOPA 2005 Floyd S. Oldt Boss of the Year Award at UNL.
Clark Potter, Associate Professor of Viola, had his piece, 'Pastime Blue (for adventurous young string orchestra)' premiered by the Lux Middle School Orchestra (Lincoln Public Schools) under the direction of Mr. Del Whitman at the meeting of the Nebraska Music Educators Association last November. The piece will also be performed by the Millard West High School Orchestra under the direction of Patricia Ritchie in Kansas City at the national meetings of the American String Teachers Association and the National School Orchestras Association in March.
John Richmond, Professor and Director of the School of Music, has been elected to the National Association of Schools of Music Committee on Ethics.
Virginia Smith, Associate Professor of Theatre and Artistic Director of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, hosted Tatiana Anosova, Associate Professor from the Schepkin School, the training wing of the Maly Theatre in Moscow, Russia, for the fall semester, and assisted her as co-director of the production of 'The Seagull.' Smith wrote six video vignettes on 'Handling Difficult Situations' for training teaching assistants, a collaboration between the Office of Graduate Studies, the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film and N.E.T., supported by a grant from the 2005 Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence of $22,500. Smith was also the script consultant and the director for 'This Day,' a 17-minute multi-media object theatre installation that opened in December at the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Her work included casting 34 voices, editing the audio, selecting photographic images and assisting in setting the timing. 'This Day' was supported by a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Assistant Professor of Film Sharon Teo's film, 'Almost Normal' will play the Berlin Film Festival in February.
Students
Several School of Music students competed at the Music Teacher's National Association Young Artist Piano Competition. Richard Fountain (DMA) was an alternate, and Cecilia Lee (DMA), Egle Uljas (BM), and Nicholas Reynolds (BM) all received honorable mention. In addition, Reynolds won the Nebraska Music Teachers' Association Collegiate Competition.
Members of the School of Music's Jazz Combo 1 (Liz Love, BME; Paul Krueger, BME; George Bryan, BM; Jared Bader, BME; and Dave Hall, BM) performed at the Crescent Moon Friday Night Jazz Series in September. Musicians are paid for their efforts by the money from the tip jar. Members of the Jazz Combo 1 donated their $325.64 to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.
Eight students from the Department of Art and Art History were accepted into the Midwest Society for Photographic Education Student Photography Competition exhibition entitled "Down by the Riverside: Politics, Propaganda and Pixels" in St. Louis in October. There were more than 200 entries from 25 colleges and university, and 91 pieces were selected for exhibition. The students selected were Ashley Goodwin (BFA), Diana Sanchez (BFA), Mary Johnson (BFA), Stephanie Baker (BFA), Kris Lyons (BA), Sarah Johnson (BFA), Emily Sipp (BFA) and Jackie Cornell (BFA).
Associate Professor of Art Ron Bartels' Graphic Design class this past fall did an identification project for the new ethanol plant in Adams, Neb. E-Energy Adams gave cash prizes to the top three 'winners' of the identity presentations and made a donation to the graphic design program, as well.
Sherry Black (MFA in Art) has been selected to receive the Southern Graphics Council's Graduate Student Fellowship at the Madison conference this April. She will receive $1,000 to support her research.
Richard Fountain (DMA), Egle Uljas (BM freshman) and Elizabeth Grimpo (DMA), all students of Associate Professor of Piano Paul Barnes, won this year's UNL Concerto Competition in October and will perform with the UNL Orchestra on March 9.
Tertia Hock (BM senior) received the Opera Omaha Guild $600 award in the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions.
Xanthe Isbister (MFA in Art) received the Lila Atchison Wallace Reader's Digest Award. The prize is administered through the University of Manitoba and awarded to an outstanding former undergraduate student doing graduate work outside of Canada.
Denny Schmickle (MFA in Art) and Xiaomiao Wang (MFA in Art) won awards at the student AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Nebraska chapter's honors in November. Schmickle won Best of Show for his poster design work for One Percent Productions, a Gold citation for Tugboat Gallery, a Silver citation for One Percent Productions, and four Bronze citations for his silk-screened poster work. Wang won Bronze citations for her motion and sound Flash design sequence work for River Hee movie trailer and for an interactive web site, Rose of Ponte.
Kim Thomas (MFA in Art) has been awarded the Midwest SPE Graduate Student Scholarship to attend the Society for Photographic Education National Conference in Chicago in March and to present her work at the Midwest Regional Conference next Fall. She was selected by blind jurying of her work from applicants from the 13 states in the Midwest region.
Mike Vithoulkas' "Spin the Bottle" and Jeremie Memming's "Cash Monkey" lottery game designs
Egle Uljas (BM freshman) set a national Estonian record in the indoor 800 meter run on February 4 at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational with a time of 2 minutes, 5.30 seconds. It also set a Nebraska record. She also now has the second fastest time in the nation this year.
Mike Vithoulkas (BFA senior) and Jeremie Memming (BFA senior) were winners in the Nebraska Lottery's first College Design 'Em Contest and received a $1,000 scholarship from the Nebraska Lottery. In September, students on Nebraska college campuses were invited to submit their ideas for $1 Scratch games. Selection as a Design 'Em Contest winner does not guarantee that a ticket will find its way into distribution among Nebraska Lottery retailers. However, ticket designs may be tested for marketability. Vithoulkas won for his entry entitled 'Spin the Bottle,' while Memming won for his design entitled "Cash Monkey."
Alumni
Kristé Belt (MM 2005) and veteran of all the joint staged productions between Music and Theatre and the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, came through Lincoln in a touring production of 'Thoroughly Modern Millie.'
Chris Deaton (BA Theatre Arts 2005) performed as an Equity company member with Surflight Theatre in New Jersey from May until November. He performed as Gaston in 'Beauty and the Beast,' as well as a variety of other featured and leading roles.
Heather Hernandez (MM 1999 and DMA 2005) began working as an accompanist with the Phoenix Girls Chorus in November. The five choirs perform frequently in the Phoenix area. In June and July 2006, the Tour Choir will tour in France and the Cantabile Choir will tour in Germany. Heather continues her work as director of parish music at Lutheran Church of the Master in Phoenix, Arizona.
Roxanne Jackson (MFA 2004) received a Bemis Foundation Residency and is back in Nebraska. She also will be one of the 'Emerging Talent' presenters at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference in March in Portland, Oregon. This juried event draws hundreds of nominations from across the globe, and 10 individuals are selected.
Catherine Meier
Jeff Keele (MM 2004) won first place and $1,500 in the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In February he goes to the Regional Auditions to compete against other District winners.
Catherine Meier (BFA 2005) had her animated film, "A Time to Speak" shown at The Director's Cut in December in New York City. The Director's Cut accepts submissions from filmmakers around the world quarterly and selects the top 20. Those 20 are voted on through an online process to select the top 10 shown at the public event.
Abby Miller (BA Theatre Arts 2002) has recently appeared in TV commercials for State Farm Insurance and Southwest Airlines.
Jeff Nathan (BA Theatre Arts 2005) moved to New York City, received his Equity card, and performed the lead in Theatreworks' premier of the musical, "Henry and Mudge" in New York. He will soon be reprising this role on tour.
Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson (center, seated) plays Henry V, the title role, at the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival. Photo courtesy of E. Thibodeaux-Thompson
Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson (MFA Theatre 1994) and Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson (MFA Theatre 1992) both acted, directed and survived in New York City for three years after leaving Lincoln. Missy taught at Cornell University for one year, at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte for three years, and Georgia Perimeter College. They are now both living in Springfield, Illinois, with their five-year-old daughter, Emma. Missy has been a half-time assistant professor of theatre at Illinois College (IC) in Jacksonville, Illinois, for two years. She will be directing Diana Son's 'Stop Kiss' next spring. Last year she directed 'The Glass Menagerie' at IC. Most recently, she directed and acted in an original one-act by a local woman, Judy Dyer, about two breast cancer survivors. Unfortunately, the playwright was unable to make the reading as she passed away from breast cancer three weeks prior to the reading, making it a powerful, yet sad, experience. After NYC, Eric taught at Winthrop University, the University of Virginia's College at Wise, Georgia Perimeter College and Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga. He is now the Director of Theatre at the University of Illinois at Springfield (since 2002). He directed 'Oedipus the King' at UIS this fall and next spring will direct 'Hedda Gabler.' Last summer, Eric was an actor in 'Macbeth' and 'Henry VIII' at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.