We want students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts to find their people here and a place that they can call home. Many of our prospective students may be the only person in their high school or community to be considering a career in the arts. Guidance counselors, family, and friends may be at a loss as to how to advise these prospective students other than encouraging them to follow their dreams. Once these students matriculate, it is our mission to ensure that they find a community of like-minded individuals. 

Last month the School of Music hosted over two hundred middle and high school students for Brass and Percussion Day. These students participated in two large brass and percussion ensembles with faculty-led rehearsals, masterclasses, and clinics throughout the day. The participants included over twenty-four tuba players who had the opportunity to meet and work with Dr. Stephanie Ycaza, the School of Music’s new professor of tuba and euphonium, and collectively met others who are passionate about the same low brass instruments. 

Once on campus, these CVPA students will continue to engage with their people. For example, the School of Art launched an Animation Club along with its new BFA concentration in animation. The club meets for workshops on such topics as storyboarding, practicing traditional animation, or creating characters on a given theme. Club member David Garcia says the club gives him a feeling of belonging, “I’ve honestly never had this experience in any school where there is a gathering of students with the same interest as me.” 

In the School of Dance, the student group “Prime Movers” plays a vital role in fostering collaboration and skill development among undergraduates. Annually, they organize a student-run dance production, showcasing the group’s collective talents as choreographers and dancers. This production not only provides a platform for students to express themselves but also teaches undergraduate dance majors the entrepreneurial skills needed to produce such as event. 

Together with students from North Carolina A&T, School of Theatre students have formed a Black Theatre Play Reading Club. Another group of theatre students have founded “Spartaneous”—an improv troupe. Yet another club is Triumph Theatre, which provides students “from all backgrounds and skill sets to have the opportunity and venue to produce work for the community to see.” There are also Black, Latinx, and Neurodiverse affinity groups within the School of Theatre. 

Clubs, professional fraternities, and honor societies all bring CVPA students together. Students can even choose a living community called Studio 91 in Cone Residence Hall with others who share a common passion for the arts. Our students also opt to collaborate off campus at Greensboro Project Space, the School of Art’s downtown gallery. While our students may come from a myriad of diverse communities and lived experiences, once at CVPA they will find their people here and a place to call home. 

Sincerely,

bruce d. mcclung, Dean

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Cordara Harper (’21 Post-Master’s Certificate/School Administration, ’20 MM Music Education) has received the 2024 University of Louisiana System Outstanding Faculty Award. Dr. Harper is Assistant Professor of Music Education/University Choir Director at Grambling State University and has been elected to the Executive Board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. 

Jackson Cooper (’16 BA Theatre) has written a children’s book titled A Kids Book about Kindness. Cooper hopes to help young people learn that “you’re never too old, or too young, or too busy to be kind.” 

Grace Lin Anderson (’09 DMA Cello Performance) and Alan Black (Principal Cellist Emeritus of the Charlotte Symphony) will travel to Germany from April 4th to 14th to perform the Solo Cello Suites by J. S. Bach. On a tour organized by Davidson College’s WDAV Classical Public Radio, the two cellists will perform these celebrated works in Saxony and at venues where the composer lived and worked—in Weimar, Cöthen, and Leipzig. The tour will culminate with a final concert in Leipzig’s historic St. Thomas Church. 

Princess Howell Johnson (’07 BA Dance Studies and BS Business Administration) and Sharneisha Joyner (’10 BM Flute Performance and School of Music Building Manager and Inventory Specialist) are premiering an original ballet, The Hair Journey, on April 23rd and April 24th at the UNCG Auditorium. Johnson wrote, choreographed, and produced the ballet, while Joyner composed the music. Read more here.

Jennifer Willard (’07 BFA Art Education) is featured in the March issue of Forsyth Woman in the Artbeat section, which spotlights women in creative fields in the Winston-Salem area. Read more here.

Chris Chalk (’01 BFA Acting) will star in a new series Welcome to Derry, the prequel to Stephen King’s book and movie It. Welcome to Derry will air in 2025 on HBO Max.