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

Gail Kendall, Hixson-Lied Professor of Art, has been selected to receive the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). The award will be presented at their national conference in April. The Excellence in Teaching Award places Kendall in the elite company of the finest educators in the country, recognized for their many years as extraordinary teachers, as well as demonstrated excellence in their own work and continuing accomplishments among students.

Glenn Nierman, Associate Director of the School of Music and Steinhart Professor of Music Education, was elected to the Nebraska Music Educators Association Hall of Fame and was presented this award at the Association's Annual Conference Banquet in November 2008.

Janice Stauffer, Associate Professor of Costume Design in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, was selected by the Executive Committee of Region V to receive the highest honor that the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival can give, the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion. The award is given for a significant body of work related to KC/ACTF and its students. She received her medallion Jan. 23 at the Region V Festival Awards at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

The School of Music opera, "Dead Man Walking" won first place in its budget category in the 2008 Opera Production Competition for the National Opera Association. The opera was staged by UNL Director of Opera William Shomos and conducted by UNL Director of Orchestra Tyler White.

The following faculty received UNL Research Council grants in December:

  • Diane Barger, School of Music, $666 for guest artist John Masserini.
  • Ed Forde, Department of Art and Art History, $800 for guest artist Manuel Aguilar-Moreno.
  • Paul Haar, School of Music, $793 for guest artist Gary Foster.
  • Wendy Katz, Department of Art and Art History, $3,188 for The Politics of Art Criticism in the Penny Press, 1833-1861.

With 22 finalists, the School of Music was the most successful participating school in the 2008 National Association of the Teachers of Singing's (NAST) West Central Regional Vocal Auditions, held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Kearney, Neb. Michael Cotton, UNL's staff accompanist, was named "Accompanist of the Year" in recognition of his artistic excellence and collaborative musicianship. UNL Junior Bryan McKnight received 2008 Singer of the Year honors when his performance in the musical theatre finals was selected as the most outstanding vocal performance in all of the final auditions. Other winners included:

  • First-year Women: 1st Allison Harvey; 4th Arica Coleman; Semi-finalist Melanie Holm.
  • Sophomore Women: 1st Adria Caffaro; Semi-finalists Dani Cisna, Shani Daws, Cami Philgreen and Kellyn Wooten.
  • Junior Women: 2nd Allison Frenzel; Semi-finalist Paige Whitaker.
  • Senior Women: 1st Jessie Beran.
  • Graduate Women: 1st Elizabeth Neuerburg; Semi-finalist Jessie Cotton.
  • Non-Traditional Students: 3rd Sara Linde.
  • First-year Men: 3rd Jon Sill.
  • Sophomore Men: 2nd Tyler Buglewicz; 3rd Sam Hartley; 5th Brett Guster.
  • Junior Men: 1st Adam Fieldson; 3rd Stuart Richey; and 4th John Gieringer.
  • Senior Men: Honorable Mention Dan Beard.
  • Graduate Men: 2nd Kyle Sandall; 3rd Nicholas Soutsos.
  • Lower College Musical Theatre: 1st Cami Philgreen; 2nd Sam Hartley; Semi-finalists Adria Caffaro, Arica Coleman, Brett Guster, Jon Sill and Kellyn Wooten.
  • Upper College Musical Theatre: 1st Bryan McKnight; 2nd Adam Fieldson; 3rd Allison Frenzel; Semi-finalists Jessie Beran, Dustin Paugh, Stuart Richey and Paige Whitaker.

The following students received Hixson-Lied Undergraduate Creative Research Grants in November:

  • John Albrecht, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, $1,000.
  • Rosemary Burk, Department of Art and Art History, $1,050.
  • Jonathan Goodding, Department of Art and Art History, $1,000.
  • Michael Huston, Department of Art and Art History, $350.
  • Edward Sharp, Department of Art and Art History, $1,895.
  • Ashley Thiems, Department of Art and Art History, $790.

The following faculty received Hixson-Lied Faculty Development Travel Grants in November:

  • Dale Bazan, School of Music, $500, Instrumental Music Teacher Education Colloquium in Mt. Sterling, Ohio.
  • Kate Butler, School of Music, $700, Residency with Master Teacher Shirley Emmons in New York City.
  • Dana Fritz, Department of Art and Art History, $300, Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Philadelphia.
  • Michael Hoff, Department of Art and Art History, $500, Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Philadelphia.
  • Aaron Holz, Department of Art and Art History, $800, Annual Meeting of the College Art Association in Los Angeles.
  • Wendy Katz, Department of Art and Art History, $300, Annual Meeting of the College Art Association in Los Angeles.
  • Christin Mamiya, Department of Art and Art History, $800, Annual Meeting of the College Art Association in Los Angeles.
  • Scott Parker, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, $1,000, USITT National Conference and PDW Electrical Workshop.
  • Brenda Wristen, School of Music, $900, Annual Meeting of the Music Teachers National Association in Atlanta.

Roxanne Reiland, Department of Art and Art History undergraduate, received a $2,000 Hixson-Lied Study Abroad Support Grant in November for her study at the American University of Rome.

The following students received Hixson-Lied Presentation of Scholarly and Creative Activity Grants in November:

  • Nicholas Kenney, School of Music, up to $775 for MTNA Regional and National Brass competitions.
  • Jen-Kuang Chang, School of Music, up to $500 for presentation of his composition at the Society of Composers Conference in Santa Fe, N.M.

The following students received Hixson-Lied Graduate Student Creative/Research Grants in December:

  • Trudy Teijink, Department of Art and Art History, $911.
  • Josh Johnson, Department of Art and Art History, $3,500.


Faculty

John Bailey, Larson Professor of Flute, was invited to give a lecture and masterclass at the University of Arizona in January. Bailey was also a featured soloist, along with Professor William McMullen, English horn, in a performance of Honegger's Concerto da Camera with the UNL Symphony Orchestra last December.

Carolyn Barber, Associate Professor and Director of Bands, conducted the La Crosse Central High School Wind Ensemble in a performance at the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference in Madison, Wisc., last October. Earlier this month she worked with the Simpson College Symphonic Band and High School Honors Wind Ensemble in a clinic in Indianola, Iowa in January. Also, she wrote another chapter for the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band Series. "An Analysis of James Barnes' Dream Journey." Teaching Music through Performance in Band, volume 7 (Edited by Richard Miles. Chicago: GIA Publications, December 2008).

Diane Barger, Professor of Clarinet, is one of the newest educational recording artists for the Carl Fischer Music Co. "Trade Winds" ensemble. Barger recorded in Tampa, Fla., with "Trade Winds" in January and performed in concert with the ensemble at King High School.

Paul Barnes, Professor of Piano, performed a solo recital on the South Nyack Recital Series last November. Barnes also conducted a masterclass and gave a solo recital at Nyack College in November. Barnes served as adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association West Central Division piano competition held at St. Olaf College in Northfield Minn., in January. Barnes performed with both the Moran Woodwind Quintet and the Chiara Quartet on the UNL Faculty Recital Series.

William Grange, Professor of Theatre, had his book Cultural Chronicle of the Weimar Republic published by Scarecrow Press last fall. His review titled "Wallenstein," was published in Western European Stages in April 2008. It was about the multi-million dollar production of the Schiller classic trilogy, starring Klaus Maria Branduer in the title role, staged by Peter Stein in Berlin. Grange has also been invited to present a paper titled "Marlon Brando and the Stella Adler 'Michpoche' in the mid-1940s" at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City for the "Jews in Theatre and Performance" Conference in February.

Stanley Kleppinger, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, was recently designated a Friend of the Arts by Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women. As part of this honor, Kleppinger was granted honorary membership in the organization at a ceremony in December sponsored by the Kappa chapter and by the Lincoln Alumnae-Patroness chapter of the fraternity.

Jeffrey McCray, Assistant Professor of Bassoon, was a featured artist in the "Bassoonists of Today" recital series at the University of Arkansas, where he presented a masterclass and recital in October. He also performed as principal bassoon with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic for two Classical Series concerts. In November, McCray performed as principal bassoon with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, and he made a repeat appearance with that orchestra in January.

Glenn Nierman, Associate Director of the School of Music and Steinhart Professor of Music Education, was invited to present a session on assessment at the North Central (NC) Division Conference of the MENC—The National Association for Music Education in Indianapolis in January. As President of the NC Division, he also chaired a meeting of the Division Board at the Indianapolis Conference. In April he will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to present a paper on his Student Musical Instrument Capability Test to the 2nd International Symposium of Assessment.

Jamie Reimer, Lecturer in Voice, had her proposal to present a poster on Robert Owens' Heart on the Wall accepted for the International Congress of Voice Teachers' Conference in Paris this July. Her article, "Revealing Robert Owens: A study of compositional style and performance practices in the song cycle 'Heart on the Wall,'" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Singing, the official journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Reimer's lecture, "Journeys to Other Spheres: The song cycle 'Heart on the Wall' as an example of Robert Owens' compositional style and poetic interpretation" has been accepted for presentation at the Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium VII to be held in Newfoundland, Calif., this July.

John W. Richmond, Professor and Director of the School of Music, was elected to a three-year term on the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Music at the annual National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Conference in Seattle last November.

Sharon Teo, Associate Professor of Film and New Media, was selected as one of 20 participants to attend the 20th Annual Academy of Television Arts and Sciences foundation Faculty Seminar in Los Angeles last November. As a Faculty Seminar Fellow, she participated in discussions, panels and interactions with writers, producers, directors, designers, editors and studio executives from shows like "Brothers and Sisters," "Six Feet Under," "Family Guy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Scrubs." Panelists included top production and programming people from ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, HBO, Disney Channel, USA Network, CW Television Network and Cartoon Network. Other activities included visits to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at NBC, the set of "Brothers and Sisters" at Disney Studios and the premiere of the television special honoring Mitzi Gaynor at the Television Academy. Faculty can only be selected for this fellowship once.



Students

Celeste Case-Ruchala (B.M. sophomore) was accepted into the 1009 International Honors Wind Symphony. She will perform in concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City in May.

Autumn Cipala (M.F.A. Art 2010), David Eichelberger (M.F.A. Art 2010), Seth Green (M.F.A. 2009) and Elisa Di Feo (M.F.A. Art 2010) will be showing their work in the juried student exhibition at the National Council on the Education of Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference in April.

Nicholas Reynolds (B.M. Senior) won the UNL Undergraduate Soloist Competition held in October in the School of Music. Stavros Laparides (D.M.A.) won the Graduate Student Soloist Competition. Both students will perform with the UNL Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 11. They are both students of Professor of Piano Paul Barnes.

Katherine White (B.M. sophomore) won the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra's Young Artist competition in October. She played a solo with the Lincoln Symphony at a concert in January.

The Department of Art and Art History had seven graduate students selected for the North American Graduate Art Survey exhibition presented at the University of Minnesota Regis Center for Art. Only 55 artists were selected for this exhibition from more than 250 entries nationally. The seven students were: Sarah Barnard-Blitz, John Carrasco, III, Josh Johnson, Kelly Manning, Sean P. Morrissey, Emily Newman and Kimberly Thomas. Additionally, the printed brochure featured images of work from Manning and Morrissey. The exhibition is on display through Feb. 19.



Alumni

Susan Belau (M.F.A. Art 1999) has been appointed assistant professor of art at San Francisco State University.

Meredith Brickell (M.F.A. Art 2006) recently completed a ceramics residency in Denmark.

Michael Burton (M.F.A. Art 2007) was selected as "Best in Show" at the Sioux City Art Center's 61st Juried Exhibition. The exhibition was juried by Christoph Heinrich, curator of the Denver Art Museum. The exhibition runs through Feb. 15.

Sarah Detweiler (B.F.A. Art 2000) was promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Her work was recently published in the book Crammed Organisms, published by Cranky Yellow in St. Louis, Mo. In January and February of this year, her work is being exhibited at Morehead State University in an exhibition juried by Eleanor Heartney.

Susan Dewsnap (M.F.A. Art 2008) had her piece, "Four Small Plates," accepted into The 5th World Ceramic Biennale 2009 in Korea. The competition drew nearly 3,200 entries from 1,726 applicants from 70 countries. The exhibition will be April 25-June 21 at the Icheon World Ceramic Center and Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum.

Roxanne Jackson (M.F.A. Art 2003) has been accepted into a residency at the Berlin Ceramics Center in Berlin, Germany.

Amy Smith (M.F.A. Art 2000) will join Hixson-Lied Professor of Art Gail Kendall at The Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, Mt., in February for a five-person Artist Invites Artist event.

Melinda Yale (M.F.A. Art 2006) recently launched her artist book, "What Mom Says," published by the Women's Studio Workshop through their 2008 Art-in-Education Residency.

Three UNL Ceramics graduates were selected to participate in the NCECA National, an important juried exhibition that takes place at the NCECA Conference each year. Only 56 works were selected from approximately 2,500 entries. Jason Briggs (M.F.A. Art 1999), Roxanne Jackson (M.F.A. Art 2003) and Susan Dewsnap (M.F.A. Art 2008) were selected.

 

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