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 following faculty received Hixson-Lied Faculty Presentation Grants in February and March:
- Paul Barnes, School of Music, $760 to support his presentation at the Society for American Music National Conference in Denver, Colo.
- Dale Bazan, School of Music, $1,350 to support his presentation at the American Educational Research Association National Conference in San Diego, Calif.
- Karen Becker, School of Music, $1,100 to support her presentation at the American String Teachers Association National Conference in Atlanta, Ga.
- Alisa Belflower, School of Music, $1,500 to support her presentation at the Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium VII in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
- Anthony Bushard, School of Music, $3,600 to support his presentation at the College Music Society International Meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
- Dana Fritz, Art and Art History, $930 to support her presentation at the Foundations in Art: Theory and Education Conference in Portland, Ore.
- Rhonda Garelick, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, $1,140 to support her presentation at the American Comparative Literature Association Annual Conference at Harvard University.
- Kevin Hanrahan, School of Music, $1,500, to support his presentation at the Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium VII in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
- Michael Hoff, Art and Art History, $420 to support his presentation at the 8th Roman Archaeology Conference at the University of Michigan.
- Stanley Kleppinger, School of Music, $620 to support his presentation at the Annual Conference of Music Theory Midwest at the University of Minnesota.
- Peter Lefferts, School of Music, $700 to support his presentation at the Society for American Music 35th Annual Conference in Denver.
- Glenn Nierman, School of Music, $980 to support his presentation at the Second International Symposium on Assessment in Music in Gainesville, Fla.
- Pete Pinnell, Art and Art History, $600 to support his presentation at the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts Conference in Phoenix, Az.
- Francisco Souto, Art and Art History, $2,300 to support his presentation at the VI of International Biennial of Engraving in Cremona, Italy.
- Robert Woody, School of Music, $1,350 to support his presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego, Calif.
The following faculty received Hixson-Lied Faculty Research/Creative Activity Grants in March:
- Scott Anderson, School of Music, $1,800 for his project "Copernicus for Brass Quintet and Wind Ensemble/Wind Band."
- Dana Fritz, Art and Art History, $5,000 for her project "Terraria Gigantica: The World Under Glass."
- William Grange, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, $4,000 to support his research in Marbach and Berlin, Germany, for the Historical Dictionary of German Pre-War Literature.
- Michael Hoff, Art and Art History, $4,970 for his project "Antiocheia ad Cragum Imperial Temple Project: 2009 Season."
- Wendy Katz, Art and Art History, $1,700 for her project "The Politics of Art Criticism in the Penny Press, 1833-1861."
- Pete Pinnell, Art and Art History, $5,000 for construction of a new kiln.
- Francisco Souto, Art and Art History, $5,000 for materials for his exhibition at the Nebraska Museum of Art in Kearney, Neb.
Faculty
John Bailey, Larson Professor of Flute, was the featured guest artist for the annual Flute Day of the Flute Society of St. Louis in March 2009. Bailey gave a pedagogy lecture, conducted a flute choir reading session, gave a masterclass, and performed a solo recital. Bailey also gave a masterclass at the University of Arizona in Tucson in January 2009. Bailey will also be conducting the International Flute Orchestra (35 professional flutists and teachers from the U.S. and Canada) on tour in Poland, in May 2009, giving concerts in Krakow, Zakopane, Warsaw and Gdansk.
Dale Bazan, Assistant Professor of Practice in Music Education, presented on recruiting and retaining students in band programs and incorporating popular music into music classrooms at Music Conference Alberta (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada) on Oct. 31, 2008. He has a paper on recruiting and retaining band programs accepted to an upcoming issue of the Canadian peer-reviewed pedagogical journal Canadian Winds. Bazan will be traveling in April to present on two research studies, one on after school rock bands and their perceived value to adolescents, the other on the instructional planning and assessment practices of Iowan high school band directors at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego, Calif. He will also be involved in a panel discussion on the use of student-directed instruction in band programs at the Biennial Colloquium of IMTE (Instrumental Music Teacher Educators) in Mt. Sterling, Ohio, on May 15.
Peter Bouffard, Lecturer of Guitar, premiered a new arrangement of "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra in December. In February, he was a featured guest performer and arranger with the Plymouth Brass for their annual Mardi Gras concert, and was an adjudicator at the South West Iowa Jazz Festival. In March, Bouffard was a featured clinician at the Bellevue East Jazz Festival. He will be Director of Jazz Activities at the University of Maine Summer Youth Music program in July.
Hixson-Lied Professors of Art Gail Kendall and Pete Pinnell each served on panels at the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference in April in Phoenix. Kendall, Pinnell and Associate Professor of Art Eddie Dominguez also exhibited work at exhibitions at the conference, including the Ceramics Research Center on the Arizona State University campus.
Peter M. Lefferts, Professor of Music History, attended the annual conference of the Society for American Music in Denver in March 2009, where he read a paper entitled, "Native American Boarding School Bands and Their Bandmasters."
Christopher Marks, Assistant Professor of Organ, performed the Symphonie Concertante by Joseph Jongen with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra in April. He also presented a recital at Oklahoma City University in March, along with a lecture-recital on the organ music of Seth Bingham, in connection with his recent recording of Bingham's organ works.
Jeffrey McCray, Assistant Professor of Bassoon, will be performing as principal bassoon with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic for subscription series concerts in April and May. While in Colorado, McCray will also be giving a masterclass at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
Nicole Narboni, Senior Lecturer in Piano, was featured in a remote broadcast from the Lied Center for Performing Arts in March with Steve Robinson from WFMT 98.7FM in Chicago. Robinson, formerly with NET Broadcasting and now the Executive Vice President for Radio and Project Development at WFMT, talked to Narboni about her recently released CD, The Solo Piano Works of Jean Francaix, and she performed selected works from the CD during the interview.
Robert Woody, Associate Professor of Music Education, was appointed to the Editorial Committee of the Journal of Research in Music Education.
Tyler White, Associate Professor and Director of Orchestral Activities, was one of three composers awarded a commission to create a musical composition to be premiered by members of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The commissioning project is part of the NSO American Residency Program.
Students
The UNL Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Assistant Professor Paul Haar, received a positive review in All About Jazz for their second CD, Beyond the Plains. The reviewer wrote, "In only four years, Haar has transported the UNL Jazz Ensemble I not only "Beyond the Plains" but far above the ordinary."
Carla Potter, David Eichelberger and Autumn Cipala, all M.F.A. Art students in ceramics, won top awards in the juried student exhibition at the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference in early April.
David Eichelberger (M.F.A. Art) was awarded a scholarship at NCECA to attend a one-month residency at a university in Canberra, Australia.
Jen-Kuang Chang (D.M.A.), has had one of his compositions selected to be presented at the University of North Texas College of Music's CEMI Centerpieces concert series this spring. Also, one of his works has won the juror's choice award with a cash prize at Raritan Valley Community College's International Juried Video Show in New Jersey.
Chris Seidholz (B.M. sophomore) placed second in the solo competition for his age group at the Great Plains Regional Tuba Symposium.
Ying Zhu (M.F.A. Art) received third place and a cash award and Sara Lucart (M.F.A. Art) was accepted into the Crossing 2009 exhibition at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, N.M. The exhibition will be on display June 5-July 30. Only 19 people were accepted into the exhibition from 95 applications. Crossings 2009 is a national juried competition open to all United States graduate students.
Ying Zhu (M.F.A. Art) had two of her sculptures accepted into the Texas National Exhibition, an annual competition open to all U.S. artists, at Stephen F. Austin State University from April 4-May 17.
Alumni
Six UNL alumni were featured in three ensembles at the College Band Directors National Association National Conference in March in Austin, Texas. Julie Neal (D.M.A. 2008) and Katie Brennan (D.M.A. 2008) performed with the Michigan State Wind Ensemble. Spencer Nielsen (B.M.E. 2007) and Liz Love (B.M.E. 2008) performed with the University of Texas Wind Ensemble. And Jake Wallace (M.M. 2005) and Sarah Hranac (B.A. Music 2006) performed with the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble.
Jim Cantrell (B.F.A.Ed. art 1958) will have an exhibition of new small oils at the Bardstown Art Gallery in Bardstown, Ky. His image, "Oil," was featured in the spring 2009 issue of The Bourbon Review magazine.
Susan Dewsnap (M.F.A. Art 2008) won an award in the competitive National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts Conference National Juried Exhibition in April. Only 55 were selected from approximately 3,500 entries.
Cecilia Lee (D.M.A. 2008) completed a residency at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada. She will return for a three-month residency next fall.
Joseph Pintz (M.F.A. Art 2006) was one of six selected out of more than 60 nominations for the Emerging Artists presentation at the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts Conference in Phoenix in April.
Michael Reichman (B.M. 2008) conducted a concert entitled "Musical Diplomacy: A Concert and Discussion on Rights and Responsibilities during Wartime" in March at the New England Conservatory, where he is a Master of Music student. Created and performed entirely by students the event used "music as a means to spark discussion on current political issues."
Rhonda Willers (M.F.A. Art 2007) was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio's Spectrum West show on her artwork and exhibition at the Space: A Center for Creativity in New Richmond, Wisc. Willers was also elected to the NCECA Board at their conference in April.