September 2019
Dean bruce d. mcclung
From the  Dean's Desk

With the beginning of the 2019-20 academic year, we have the opportunity to welcome a robust class of students in art, arts administration, dance, music, and theatre. Faculty, staff, and returning students are all helping these new students get acclimated in the classroom, rehearsal hall, and studio.

Among our 302 first-year students, 186 chose to live in Studio 91, an arts-based living community in Cone Residence Hall. I was on hand to welcome them and their family members on move-in day -- a sweltering summer day in the 90s -- with freezer pops.

I also participated in House Calls, Housing  and Residence Life's program for faculty and staff volunteers to visit first-year students in the dorms and to hear about their experiences after a first week on campus. I was struck at how many appreciated the "living in the trees" ambiance of Cone Hall, a connection with roommates and floormates, and the freedom to pursue to their artistic passions 24/7 with a dance studio, practice rooms, arts studio, and music and design computer labs all just down the hall.

CVPA also welcomed 95 transfer students and 98 new graduate students. Altogether CVPA's 495 new students hail from 19 states with international colleagues joining from Bermuda, China, and Taiwan. 

With so many new faces in the College -- including 12 new faculty and 7 new staff members -- it is truly a season of new beginnings and possibilities. As this college's inaugural dean and a newcomer myself, I am honored to carry on CVPA's educational and artistic mission while joining such a caring and welcoming community of artists, educators, and scholars.


Sincerely,

bruce d. mcclung, Dean
College of Visual and Performing Arts

Welcome to the G!

Fall Semester began on August 19, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts welcomes all of our new faculty, staff, and students!

CVPA incoming students (in the pink shirts) listened to Chancellor Gilliam's address at NAV1GATE,  a day for all incoming students to learn what they need to know   for their first year at UNCG.

The dean and student ambassadors helped everyone keep their cool on move-in day at Cone Hall, a.k.a Studio 91. 
  
New School of Dance students getting to know one another during NAV1GATE 
New Faculty Members

Theresa Bickham, Assistant Professor of Voice

Jonathan Caldwell, Assistant Professor of Conducting and Assistant Director of Instrumental Ensembles
 
Andrew Duff, Visiting Assistant Professor of Lighting Design
 
Jehann Gilmann,  Lecturer and Hair, Wig, and Makeup Specialist

Teresa Heiland, Associate Professor of Dance Education

Annie Jeng, Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy
 
Garrett Klein, Lecturer in Trumpet
 
K aren Messina, Lecturer in Music Theory
 
Jennifer Reis, Assistant Professor of Arts Administration
 
Alfonso Atiba Rorie, Lecturer and Dance Music Coordinator
 
Nicole Scalissi, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art History
 
Olukayode Talabi, Lecturer in New Media and Design

Read more detailed information about our  new faculty 

New Staff Members 

Ken White, Interim Associate Dean

James Goins, Production Manager UNCG Auditorium

Abigail Harris, Box Office Manger

Cat Keen Hock, Assistant Director School of Music

Brad McMillan, Director of Outreach Programs School of Music

Jon Goodman, Instrument Repair Technician and Inventory Manager School of Music

Anamarie Diaz, Ensembles Office Manager and Assistant to the Director of Outreach Programs School of Music
A COLLAGE for Two Cities

Collage 2019 kicks off the new academic year for the UNCG School of Music in spectacular fashion with the 12th Annual Greensboro performance on September 7 at the UNCG Auditorium.  Musicians then travel to Charlotte on September 15 to perform Collage at the Knight Theatre at the Levine Center for the Arts.

Collage is uniquely captivating, featuring an incredible range of performers presenting one work after another with no time in between.   Over 300 students from the School will perform in the concert, along with many of our world-class faculty members.  With performances taking place all around the auditorium and special lighting effects, it's a non-stop evening of amazing performances you won't want to miss!

Click here for Greensboro or here for Charlotte for more information and ticket prices.
George Washington 
by Keith Carter
 "Poet of the Ordinary":  Keith Carter at GPS

The UNCG School of Art and Weatherspoon Art Museum present Keith Carter: Fifty Years, an exhibition at Greensboro Project Space (GPS), CVPA's downtown art gallery.   

The installation, which runs September 5 - 27, kicks off with a weekend of events, including an artist talk on September 5 at Weatherspoon Art Museum and the opening reception with book-signing on September 6 at GPS.  Folk/Bluegrass band Warren, Bodle & Allen will perform at the opening reception.
 
Often called "a poet of the ordinary," Keith Carter's images hold a sensitivity to our everyday world, which is both evocative and ineffable.
 
This site-specific installation of large scale photographs, curated by Lori Vrba from Carter's just released monograph from University of Texas Press, is the second iteration of the extraordinary exhibit that premiered at the Click! Photography Festival in October 2018.
 
The exhibition is sponsored by the Maggie and Gene Triplette Program Fund at UNCG.

Read more about Keith Carter .  Visit our Facebook event page to attend the opening reception.


A legendary soprano, Hamilton's original Thomas Jefferson,
Tony-nominated choreographer and cutting-edge dance company,
and a wildly popular piano duo are all coming to Greensboro 
for the  2019 - 2020 UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series.

The UCLS Season also includes two lectures
in partnership with the Falk Visiting Artist Endowment 
and the Betty Little Lectureship in Creativity.


Season Tickets are sale now.  Single Ticket Sales begin on September 3.
CVPA CALENDAR CHECK-IN

There's always a good reason to come to campus.  In addition to the items mentioned above, here are some additional events coming up in September:

Antoine Williams:  Exhibition
September 1 - 27 | Gatewood Building Gallery

Staging Brazil by Dr. Ana Paula Höfling  
Book Launch Party: September 6 @ 6:00 pm | Scuppernong Books  

An Evening with the Creative Class 
September 11 @ 7:00 pm | Coleman Dance Theatre 

Partitathon!  Andrew Willis, Fortepiano
September 21 @ 1:30 - 6:00 pm | Organ Hall, Music Building
The six Partitas of Johann Sebastian Bach in one afternoon

Pippin, The Musical:  Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Book by Roger O. Hirson  
September 27 - October 5 | Taylor Theatre  

Mary Kelly, Falk Visiting Artist:  Exhibition
September 28 - December 8 | Weatherspoon Art Museum

Sinfonia
September 30 @ 7:30 pm | Tew Recital Hall, Music Building

That should get you started!   
For the full listing of CVPA events,  visit our website.

FACULTY NEWS & NOTES

Barbara Campbell Thomas, Associate Professor of Art, will have a solo exhibition in October at the Painting Center in New York City.  Thisness will be up October 1 - 26.

Holly Silvers, Adjunct Lecturer in Art History, will present "Sculpture and Spice: The Migration of 'Romanesque' Sculpture from South and Southeast Asia" at the 2019 Southeastern Medieval Association Conference (SEMA) at UNCG in November. Silvers's research explores the transmission along the Spice Routes of both portable objects like textiles and printing blocks as well as ideas from permanent forms of temple sculpture that influenced the growth and maturation of twelfth-century Western European sculptural motifs. Read about the conference here.

Duane Cyrus, Professor of Dance, will complete a commission for the Charlotte Ballet this winter. The work is inspired by The Mint Museum's upcoming exhibition "Immersed in Light: Studio Drift at the Mint."  Read more about the performances.

Ana Paula Höfling, Assistant Professor of Dance, published her first book, Staging Brazil: Choreographies of Capoeira, with Wesleyan University Press.

Mark Engebretson, Professor of Composition, was selected as a composer for the 2019 Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition.

The School of Music's Opera Theatre, under the direction of David Holley, has been awarded the American Prize for the 2018-19 season. Their production of Mozart's
"The Magic Flute" ("Die Zauberflöte") tied for third place in the category of university opera performance.  Read more here.

Denise Gabriel, Professor of Movement and Acting, will be presenting "Japan Study Abroad -- Mindfulness for the Artist: Esthetic Realization"  at the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival.   

Kevin Geraldi, Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting, spent part of his summer in residence at the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, China.
He rehearsed and conducted a sold-out performance with the symphony orchestra and taught conducting seminars.

Dr. Rebecca MacLeod, Professor of Music Education, recently published a new text, Teaching Strings in Today's Classroom, which assists music education students, in-service teachers, and performers to realize their goals of becoming effective string educators. 

Dominick Amendum, Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Program, is the music supervisor for The Prince of Egypt, a new musical based on the celebrated Dreamworks Animation film, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Philip LaZebni.  The musical opens on London's West End this February.  Read more here.   Watch video of rehearsal with Stephen Schwartz.
 


Faculty News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions and 
from the university news clips service.  Submit your Faculty and Staff News here.

Once a Spartan, Always a Spartan!  

Upcoming CVPA All Arts Alumni Events:

September 15 - Charlotte

September 24 -  Asheville 

October 19 - HOMECOMING Visit our CVPA tent on Kaplan Commons

October 27 - New York City

November 3 - Washington, DC

Spring 2020,  Dates TBA  - Raleigh, Atlanta and Los Angeles


Make sure you're on our list to receive invitations to these and all future CVPA Alumni events by emailing [email protected].  Put your city and the words "alumni event" in the subject line.


ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES

Janet Galván (EdD '87, MM '74, BM '73) was awarded one of 6 Faculty Excellence Awards for Ithaca College. 

Beth Leavel (MFA Acting '80) has a new project: the reading of a new play by Matthew Lombardo, "Conversations with Mother," with a New York City industry presentation on September 12.  Read more in Playbill

Travis Newton (BM '02 ) recently received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. At Le Moyne, Travis is director of the undergraduate and graduate arts administration programs, and conducts the Le Moyne College Symphony Orchestra. 

Timothy Heath (BM '07) joins the faculty of the Wake Forest Music Department as Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Teaching Professor of Music for the fall of 2019. 

Melody Causby (PhD '19, MM '08 ) has joined the faculty of The University of Southern Mississippi School of Music as Associate Professor of Instrumental Music Education.

Will Kelley ('14) has been selected as one of 12 young conductors to compete for the Deutscher Dirigentenpreis (German Conductors' Award) 
October 11 - 18 in Cologne, Germany. The Deutscher Dirigentenpreis is one of the most important conducting competitions in Europe with a first prize of 15,000€ and concert engagements with major German orchestras. The competition's residents orchestras are WDR Sinfonieorchester and Gürzenich-Orchester Köln.

Carmen Neely, (MFA Studio Arts '16) spent the summer as an artist-in-residence at The McColl Center for Art + Innovation in Charlotte.  Following her residency, she took up her position as a new Visiting Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University.   Read more here.

Sheena Rose (MFA Studio Arts '16) has been curated into T he Other Side of Now: Foresight in Contemporary Caribbean Art at the Perez Art Museum Miami.    Read more about the exhibition here.

Catheryn Shaw Foster (PhD '18) recently completed her first year as Lecturer and Coordinator of Music Education at Fayetteville State University.

William L. Lake Jr. (DMA '18) has been appointed Associate Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music Education at The Crane School of Music - SUNY Potsdam.

A lumni News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions 
and from the university's news clip service.   Submit your Alumni News here. 

Community Engagement Corner

 

School of Art student Ansu King and GPS Director Adam Carlin brought the CVPA Art Truck to Music in the Park on August 18.  Kids of all ages enjoyed drawing a picture about their summer and sticking it to a 12' beach ball, which they took for a spin around Latham Park.    See the summer ball of fun in action.


School of Music Student Tucker Daniel played
"God Bless America" on his saxophone at the 
UNCG Night at the Greensboro Grasshoppers game.  Listen here.

Next up:  CVPA Night at Spartan Cinema!
Look for the Art Truck and more student musicians at LeBauer Park in downtown Greensboro on September 13.


Thank you to all of our faculty and students who participate in these terrific ways to bring the CVPA to our community!