Last week while exiting the McIver Parking Deck, I observed parents moving their teenage son into Cone Residence Hall. As they were pulling away, their younger son leapt out of the minivan to give his older brother a farewell hug. Having made his unspoken feelings known, the younger brother ran back to the minivan, and his older brother turned, wiping away a tear. Witnessing this scene, I wondered if the pandemic might have brought these brothers closer, having completed the past year of school online and at home together.
With this student, CVPA welcomes 273 first-year students from the Class of 2025. Our newest Spartans were born in 2003 when the best-selling books were J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Top-rated television shows that season included CSI and The Apprentice. During the year that these students were born, the US Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated, while during their high school graduation year, billionaires were launching themselves into space.
CVPA is also welcoming 82 transfer students and 95 graduate students. Altogether our 450 new students hail from 26 states (2 more states than last year) with international students joining us from China and Spain. Of these, 112 have chosen to live in Studio 91, an arts-based living community in Cone Residence Hall. There our majors have the freedom to explore their artistic pursuits 24/7 with a dance studio, practice rooms, art studio, and music and design computer labs all conveniently located just down the hall.
At our Opening Assembly, we welcomed four new faculty members, including Robi Arce-Martínez, a movement/acting professor; Maranda DeBusk, a lighting design professor; Tim Hagen, a visiting professor of flute; and Quinton Parker, a music education professor. Debbie Storrs, the University’s new provost and executive vice chancellor, opened the meeting, and faculty and staff had the opportunity to meet her during the outdoor reception that followed.
As much excitement as a new academic year brings, I am cognizant that the pandemic continues to shape not only our lives but also arts education. All the arts have had to transition to digital platforms, and this year CVPA will be producing a full season of art exhibits, dance concerts, music recitals, and theatrical productions both in person and streamed online. Like the brothers’ farewell, the pandemic has also made me appreciate the personal connections that we share and the communicative power of the visual and performing arts to bring us closer together.
bruce d. mcclung, Dean
College of Visual and Performing Arts
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SPOTLIGHT ON ARTS EDUCATORS |
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Of CVPA’s 1,548 students this fall, 325 or 21% are pursuing degrees in the College’s degree programs in art education, dance education, music education, and theatre education. Each of these programs has exemplary faculty, students, and alumni who are changing the scope of arts education across North Carolina, the Southeast, and the country.
Recent accolades for CVPA arts education faculty include Dr. Rebecca MacLeod receiving the 2021 UNC Excellence in Teaching Award, Dr. Fran Page being awarded the CVPA Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020, and Dr. Theresa Heiland’s contract for a forthcoming book titled Leaping into Dance Literacy through the Language of Dance.
With an average of sixty new arts education alumni entering the field annually, CVPA arts education alumni can be found in all one hundred North Carolina counties. Additionally, our alumni hold over half of the board positions for the NC Dance Education Organization and NC Music Educators Association, chair positions in NC Art Education Association, and director positions in NC Educational Theatre Association.
Our aspiring arts education students are also receiving their own accolades, including First Place in the Performing Arts for the 2021 UNCG Undergraduate Research Expo going to our string education students, the 2021 UNCG Undergraduate Research and Creativity Award going to our dance education students, and select art education students being invited to present their work at the 2019 National Art Education Association Conference. CVPA salutes the accomplishments of our arts education faculty, students, and alumni!
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ALUMNA SPOTLIGHT
Cassy Whitley is a 2009 alumna of the BFA Theatre Education program. She was named 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year at the Academy at Lincoln in Greensboro, and she was the 2014-2015 recipient of the Arts Greensboro and Guilford County Schools Arts Educator of the Year. She also directs the Junior Thespians Festival with North Carolina Educational Theatre Association.
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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Connie McKoy is the
Marion Stedman Covington Distinguished Professor in CVPA's School of Music, where she teaches music education courses. She has nineteen years of public-school teaching experience, and her research, which has been presented nationally and internationally, has focused on music teachers’ cross-cultural competence and culturally responsive pedagogy in music.
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Kaitlyn Whitaker is earning her BFA in Dance Choreography and Performance with a
K-12 Teacher Licensure Certification. Kaitlyn is student teaching this semester and worked with Dr. Teresa Heiland on her publication regarding
the Language of Dance
last semester. She recently received the 2021 Undergraduate Research and Creativity Award.
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FUND FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY ART AND SOCIAL PRACTICE |
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Prominent arts supporters Victoria Carlin Milstein and Ron Milstein have established the Victoria and Ron Milstein Fund for Interdisciplinary Art and Social Practice. The fund provides support to bring an eminent artist to campus each year who is a leader in the field of Art and Social Practice.
“We are so grateful for such a generous and heartfelt gift from Victoria and Ron Milstein,” said bruce mcclung, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “This gift provides our students and faculty with creative and valuable ways to deepen their understanding of the burgeoning field of Art and Social Practice.”
Victoria Milstein is a portrait artist, public speaker, and arts advocate. She has served on numerous arts and education boards, including the CVPA Board of Visitors, the UNCG Board of Visitors, and the Weatherspoon Art Museum Advisory Board. Ron Milstein is a retired corporate legal counsel and Greensboro community leader.
With the Milstein gift, the School of Art will invite emerging artists and national/international luminaries in the discipline of Interdisciplinary Art and Social Practice for multi-day residencies. Guest Artists will provide public lectures, interactive workshops in the classroom, and an exhibition on campus or at Greensboro Project Space. Exhibitions ideally will be created in collaboration with students in the Interdisciplinary Art and Social Practice Minor.
The fund also includes scholarships for select students minoring in Interdisciplinary Art and Social Practice who demonstrate excellence within the field of socially engaged art. Social Practice explores diverse creative strategies for social engagement, activism, and experiential art in collaboration with a broad spectrum of individuals, communities, and institutions. Currently, the minor is accepting new students. Information can be found here.
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FACULTY/STAFF NEWS & NOTES
Barbara Campbell Thomas (Associate Professor of Art) attended the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency in Granville, NY this summer. The residency is located on a seventy-seven acres that were formerly the summer home of the artist Elizabeth Murray. Campbell Thomas also has a painting in Amplify, a group exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. The show focuses on the experiences of woman-identifying artists in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington, DC.
Guy Capuzzo (Professor of Music Theory) and Sonia Archer-Capuzzo (Clinical Assistant Professor of Library Information Science) have co-authored the book Metaldata: A Bibliography of Heavy Metal Resources (A-R Editions, 2021). It is part of the Music Library Association Index and Bibliography Series. Information on the book appears here.
Mark Engebretsen (Professor of Composition and Electronic Music) and Alejandro Rutty (Professor of Composition) composed music that was performed in a concert by the Hypercube Ensemble in June. The performance also included music by Treya Nash (’20 MM Music Composition) and Linhuen Sirvent (’15 BM Music Composition) and is the culmination of a CVPA Dean’s Research/Creative Initiative Grant.
Jim Fisher (Professor Emeritus of Theatre) has published The Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater, 2nd ed. (Rowman & Littlefield). His book The Theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope, 2nd ed. (Routledge) will come out in September. Both are expanded, revised, and updated editions of Fisher’s previous books.
Jill Green (Professor Emerita of Dance) was honored by Dance Science and Somatics Educators for exceptional contributions to the field of dance science and somatics by educating and inspiring dancers and teachers. Green was also the keynote speaker at the virtual Brazilian Conference, Somatics and Dance: Epistemologies of Somatic Movement.
Lorena Guillén (Lecturer in Music), Alejandro Rutty (Professor of Composition), Guy Capuzzo (Professor of Music Theory), and Adam Ricci (Associate Professor of Music Theory) who collectively perform as the Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble won first place in the “Not Your Average Folk” competition and will appear the NC Folk Festival. The group also won the “World Music” first place at the “Music at the Museum” contest, organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Andy Hudson (Assistant Professor of Clarinet) has published Elements of Contemporary Clarinet Technique with co-author Roger Zare. The book takes clarinetists through twenty-two études and written masterclasses, which explore techniques both traditional and modern. The book was released by Conway Publications (Ann Arbor, MI).
Carla LeFevre (Professor of Voice) was one of four voice teachers from across the United States and Canada invited to serve as Master Teacher for the 2020 National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program, which was rescheduled to summer 2021. The NATS Intern Program is an exceptional training experience that pairs expert, recognized master teachers with twelve talented early career members of NATS. LeFevre also presented a voice masterclass and a two-hour presentation on Fundamentals of Vowel Tuning for Resonance and Registration.
Elizabeth Perrill (Professor of Art History) and School of Art student Sydney Pettice have published an exhibition review in the journal Art and Culture. Read the review here.
Leah Sobsey (Assistant Professor of Photography) was selected to participate in a two-week virtual faculty residency to facilitate the integration of the Plant Humanities Lab and associated resources into curricula related to plants and people. The Plant Humanities Initiative at Dumbarton Oaks is a Harvard University research institute, library, museum, and garden located in Washington, DC. The residency was made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Faculty/Staff News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clip service.
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2021-2022 ALUMNI EVENTS
Invitations to CVPA alumni events will be forthcoming by email, so make sure we know
where to send yours! You may update your contact information using the same form
Washington, DC | November 7, 2021
Wilmington | December 2, 2021
New York City | December 5. 2021
Charlotte | January 28, 2022
Atlanta | January 30, 2022
Asheville | March 2, 2022
Los Angeles | March 6, 2022
Raleigh | Spring 2022, Date TBD
CVPA alumni events will follow all public health protocols at the time of and in the location where they take place. Adjustments to the schedule will be made as necessary.
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ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES
Emma Brock (’21 BM Music Education) has been appointed Band Director at East Forsyth Middle School in Kernersville, NC.
Daria (Toni) Clark (’21 BFA Dance) has signed a two-year contract with the Garth Fagan Dance Company, an internationally acclaimed contemporary company founded by Garth Fagan who is known for his groundbreaking choreography for Broadway’s The Lion King.
Billy J. Hawkains III (’21 MFA Dance) has been appointed as a limited-term Assistant Professor of Dance at Kennesaw State University. This summer he was a Visiting Dance Artist for the Florida Music and Arts Institute in Starke, Florida.
Katie Howard (’20 BM Music Education) has been appointed Director of Bands at West Rowan High School in Salisbury, NC.
Abdoulaye Koita (’20 BA Dance) has been invited to participate in Bill T. Jones’s Deep Blue Sea, a commission by Park Avenue Armory, which revolves around the interplay of single and group identities. Abdoulaye is also working with Asase Yaa African Dance Theatre and teaching for the Mark Morris Dance Group.
Marlin Ludwig (’20 BA Music Education) has been appointed Band Director at North Stanly Middle School in New London, NC.
David Miller (’20 MM and ’13 BM Music) along with Rebecca MacLeod (Professor of Music Education) and Jennifer Walter (Professor of Music Education) recently published “The Status of Band and Orchestra Programs in North Carolina ” in String Research Journal. Their research investigates course offerings, teacher demographics, and teaching responsibilities of North Carolina instrumental music teachers.
Christopher Hansen (’17 PhD and ’12 MM Music Education) conducted a performance of Ola Gjeilo’s Dark Night of the Soul and Luminous Night of the Soul at Carnegie Hall in June. Hansen served as guest conductor, leading selected members from the New England Symphonic Ensemble, professional soloists, and a mass invitational choir consisting of singers from across the country. This opportunity was made possible through MidAmerica Productions. Hansen is Assistant Professor at the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University, where he serves as Online Coordinator of the Master of Music in Music Education Degree and conducts the Anderson University Choir. He also serves the SC American Choral Directors Association as a member of the Collegiate Choral Committee and the South Carolina Music Educators Association as the Collegiate Membership Chair.
Carrie Graham (’16 BM Flute Performance) has been promoted to Director of Artistic Planning with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
Michelle Lanteri (’13 BA Art History and Museum Studies, ’02 BA Media Studies) is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico.
Kim Cuny (’07 MFA Theatre) is featured on the UNC System’s website in an article about “essential workers” for developing a partnership with Peacehaven Community Farm. You can read about her theatre-rooted engagement here.
Sidney Outlaw (’04 BM Vocal Performance) sang with the Greensboro Opera in July in a social-justice themed performance featuring works inspired by Nina Simone, Frederick Douglass, and other lesser-known African American poets and composers.
Calandra Hackney (’00 BA Theatre and CVPA Board of Visitors Member) has been named Assistant Executive Director and Eastern Regional Director for the Actors' Equity Association, the national union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre. Read the announcement in Broadway World.
Bob Newlin (’97 BM Horn Performance) and Trishadee Hall Newlin (’96 BM Music Education) retired from the United States Air Force in June after 24 years of service. Bob's military career included assignments with four Air Force bands and three US Embassies with performances in 30 states and 23 countries. Trishadee taught music and performed in Germany, Albania, Ukraine, and throughout the United States.
John Brown (’94 BM Piano Performance) served as Chair for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize Music Jury this summer. The prize was awarded to Cuban composer Tania León for her work Stride.
Keith Martin (’84 MFA and ’79 BFA Theatre) received the 2021 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, which honors “the true spirit of volunteerism by recognizing individuals who make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service.” Read more here.
Rebecca Faag (’72 BFA Art) and Jack Stratton (’77 BFA Art) are exhibitors in a dual retrospective at the Greenhill Gallery in downtown Greensboro, which displays their paintings and recalls the influence of renowned UNC Greensboro art professors and what was known as the “Greensboro School of Painting.” The show is up through November 7th. Read more here.
Donald Hartmann (’79 BM Piano Performance, ’82 MM Vocal Performance, and Professor of Voice) will present a Faculty Voice Recital, Tuesday, October 26, 2021, 7:30 PM in Tew Recital Hall. He will be assisted by pianist Inãra Zandmane (Academic Professional-Professor), soprano Theresa Bickham (Assistant Professor of Voice), and oboist Ashley Barrett (Professor of Oboe). The program will include selections by J.S. Bach, Franz Schubert, and Giuseppe Verdi. The program will also include a world premiere performance by Christopher Tew (’69 BA Music) titled “Thyestes’ Monologue.” Hartmann will also be singing the role of Simone in Piedmont Opera’s production of Gianni Schicchi in October.
Alumni News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clip service.
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SEPTEMBER CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
Collage
September 18th | September 18th | 7:30 PM | UNCG Auditorium
As You Like It: A Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare's As You Like It
Adaptation by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woorley
September 24th-26th and 29th-October 2nd | Taylor Theatre
An Evening with the Creative Class
September 29th | 7:00 PM | Coleman Dance Theatre
BOX OFFICE
1-800-514-3849
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CLOSING SPOTLIGHT
CVPA Students at Nav1Gate 2021 New Student Convocation, a day devoted to helping Freshmen and Transfer Students find their way at the “G.”
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The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) e-Newsletter is published eight times a year in September, October, November, December, February, March, April, and May.
The Newsletter is emailed to CVPA alumni, faculty, staff, students, patrons, and donors.
Please feel free to forward your copy, and anyone who would like their name to be added to our distribution list can contact us via uncgarts@uncg.edu.
The e-Newsletter is edited by Terri Relos, Director of Marketing and Alumni Engagement. Archived issues can be found in the “News” section of the CVPA website. To submit Alumni News & Notes, please use this form. For Faculty/Staff News & Notes, use this form.
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100 McIver St, Greensboro, NC 27412-5010
Tel: 336-334-5789
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