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
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STUDENT LED EVENT CREATES UNITY IN DIVERSITY | |
School of Theatre MFA students and professors celebrate the success of the “Unity in Diversity” event organized by MFA student Jamaas Britton. Front row (L-R): Natalie Blackman (Assistant Professor of Voice/Acting), Margaux Wellman, Rachel Briley (Professor of Theatre for Young Audiences), Jamaas Britton, Spencer Hamilton. Second row (L-R): Emily Gustafson, Luis Macias, Daniel Stargel, Jim Wren (Professor of Acting and Directing), John Gulley (Professor and Director of MFA Acting Program). Back row: Liam Roos. Photo credit: Stella Vatnsdal | |
“Unity in Diversity” was held on February 23rd in the Sprinkle Theatre with Black, Indiginous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students performing theatre scenes, opera, musical theatre, and other vocal performances. The event was organized by Jamaas Britton (MFA Candidate in Theatre).
“Diversity can mean a multitude of things. There’s diversity in the sense that this group of BIPOC students are here in the CVPA. You can also see the diversity in talent and the way we are bringing different arts disciplines together. I want to celebrate the richness and representation of our art in a way that is broad enough to not feel exclusive.”
Read more here.
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ANIMATION CLUB SPARKS CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY | |
The Animation Club is not just for those studying animation—students from across the University are showing interest and joining. Photo credit: Sean Norona | |
The School of Art’s new animation concentration in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program is giving students a chance to explore new artistic avenues. And now, the UNCG animation club is offering students a chance to connect through their love for the art.
Read more here.
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FIND YOUR PEOPLE HERE
CVPA students are connecting through a number of organizations that include affinity groups, clubs, fraternities, and sororities:
Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society
American String Teachers Association
Animation Club
Ballet Club
Black Theatre Play Reading Club
Mu Phi Epsilon, Alpha Xi Chapter (music fraternity)
National Association for Music Education, Collegiate (NAfMEC)
National Band Association (NBA)
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Iota Epsilon Chapter (music fraternity)
Prime Movers
School of Theatre Black, Latinx, and Neurodivergence affinity groups
Sigma Alpha Iota, Kappa Gamma Chapter (music sorority)
Spartaneous Improv Troupe
Triumph Theatre
If you are a student, or faculty or staff member, you can visit SpartanConnect for a full listing of the student organizations offered at UNCG.
Prospective students can contact Sandra Barinowski (Director of Recruitment) for more information about all that CVPA and UNCG have to offer.
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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.
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Alumni News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clip service.
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Los Angeles Alumni Brunch
Sunday, March 17, 2024
12:00–2:00 pm
The Breakfast Club
1600 Vine St., Hollywood, California
Register Here
Triad Alumni Reception following UCLS Presents: Garth Fagan Dance
Friday, April 5, 2024
UNCG Auditorium
Register Here
Chicago Alumni Brunch
Sunday, May 5, 2024
12:00–2:00 pm
Barrio
65 W. Kinzie St, Chicago, Illinois
Register Here
Invitations to CVPA Events come via email and/or snail mail, so please make sure we have your current contact information. Use the button below to update your information.
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FACULTY/STAFF NEWS & NOTES
David Aarons (Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology) was nominated for the UNCG James Joyner Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. Aarons was also awarded a UNCG Internal Research Award for his project “Pan in the Sanctuary: Steel Bands in Jamaica and a Postcolonial Ethics of Instrumentation.”
Michael Burns (Professor of Bassoon) performed the Vanhal Concerto for Bassoon with the UNCG Concert Band on February 28th in the UNCG Auditorium.
Barbara Campbell Thomas (Director of the School of Art and Professor of Painting, Printmaking, and Drawing) has a two-person exhibition, “Geochroma,” at the James May Gallery in Milwaukee from February 27th through April 27th.
Gavin Douglas (Professor of Ethnomusicology) recently served on the National Screening Committee for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2024–25 award cycle. In partnership with more than 140 countries worldwide, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers opportunities in all academic disciplines to graduating college seniors, graduate students, and young professionals from all backgrounds. Program participants pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English abroad.
Dan Hale (Assistant Professor of Animation) has a new artwork premiering on March 16th at LEAP: Artists Imagine Outer Space at the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art. Read more here. Hale also presented his research on returning animation to its original, physical presence at the Beaufort International Film Festival’s Digital Symposium on February 24th in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Leah Sobsey (Associate Professor of Photography) was awarded a grant from the Office of Research and Engagement for her collaborative project with Amanda Marchand, “This Earthen Door,” which remakes Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium with the historical plant based anthotype photo process.
Faculty/Staff News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clip service.
Submit your Faculty/Staff News here.
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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES AND EXHIBITIONS | |
There are just three more artists left in the 111th season of UNC Greensboro’s Concert and Lecture Series. Visit ucls.uncg.edu to get your tickets to live your life with live arts! | |
Moroccan photographer
known for her staged photographs of Arab women in contemporary art
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Internationally acclaimed contemporary American
dance company led by
The Lion King choreographer Garth Fagan
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Saxophonist, recording artist, and educator | |
CLOSING SPOTLIGHT
CVPA faculty, staff, students, and alumni took over the Spartan Spot at the Men’s Basketball Game against Western Carolina University on February 21st. It was a win both on and off the court! Top left: Luke Ellard (Visiting Assistant Professor of Clarinet) and Annie Jeng (Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy). Center: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Ken White and his wife, Barri White. Top right: Lee Walton (Director of the School of Dance and Professor of Art) with Topher Alexander (’20 MFA Studio Arts). Bottom right: Spiro with Dean bruce mcclung.
Photo credit Terri Relos
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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 External Relations. Archived issues can be found in the “News” section of the CVPA website. To submit Alumni News & Notes, please use this form. To submit 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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