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In late August UNCG’s campus came alive with traffic jams, rolling bins, and tearful family and friend good-byes as students began moving into the dorms. SUVs, cars, and pickups were jammed with boxes filled with clothes, bedding, backpacks, school supplies, and snacks. As I inched my car through the McIver Parking Deck, I remembered my own dormitory move-in and how my generation’s LPs, stereo components, and speakers have been replaced with this generation’s mini fridges, laptops, and ear buds. As digital natives, these students’ intrinsic grasp of technology is transforming the creation, sharing, and consumption of the arts.
This fall CVPA welcomed 562 students for a third consecutive year of enrollment growth. We have 76 new graduate students, 343 new first-time college students, 114 new transfer students, and 25 readmits. Of these, 134 have chosen to live in Studio 91, an arts-based living community in Cone Residence Hall. At Studio 91, arts majors have the freedom to explore artistic pursuits 24/7 with a dance studio, music practice rooms, art studio, and music and design computer labs all conveniently located just down the hall. Across the College, we are up 9.51% in all enrollments (including continuing students) compared to last year.
Our College’s 562 new students hail from 22 of the 50 states (FL, GA, HI, IA, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, and WV) and from Canada, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, and Singapore. Additionally, the diversity of our student body is increasing: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color this year make up nearly half (48.6%) of the CVPA student body--compared to 39.3% just five years ago.
At CVPA’s Opening Assembly, we welcomed 21 new faculty members, including the first-ever professors in such disciplines as Commercial Guitar, Music Production and Technology, and Commercial Voice. Our newest concentrations in the Schools of Art and Music have grown in just three years to include 36 majors in Animation and 69 majors in Popular Music & Technology. And thanks to grants from UNCG Innovate, we opened a new animation studio and welcomed a Post-MFA Fellow in Interactive Media.
Two weeks ago, I volunteered for UNCG’s House Calls program, which welcomes new students and provides them with an opportunity to interact with faculty members, administrators, and staff. We greeted students at their dorm rooms, initiated a brief conversation with them about transitioning to college, and asked about their first week of college life. At a time when some students were feeling homesick and the excitement of moving into dorms and meeting new friends has died down, this program helps students to make additional connections and assists with academic success. I look forward to the impact that this year’s incoming artists will have!
Sincerely,
bruce d. mcclung, Dean
College of Visual and Performing Arts
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GROWING ANIMATION PROGRAM
MOVES INTO NEW SPACE
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Animation students working on industry standard equipment in the new Animation Lab. Photo credit: Sean Norona | |
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Deep inside the Gatewood Studio Arts Building on the campus of UNC Greensboro, tucked away on the back hall of the second floor, is a state-of-the art studio where animators work on industry standard equipment to create 2D, 3D, and interactive projects.
No, Disney hasn’t rented space on campus. This is the new School of Art Animation Lab, created for and by students and faculty in the BFA Studio Arts Animation Concentration with funding by Innovate UNCG, an initiative that helps “turn ideas into impact” through selected projects on campus.
“We decided we would ask for the top end.” says School of Art Associate Director and Art History Professor Heather Holian. “If we got told ‘no’ we would live with that. But we made the case that this is a professional training program, so we need to offer a professional workspace.”
Read more here.
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NEW YEAR BRINGS NEW FACULTY AND STAFF | |
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On August 13th, CVPA held its Opening Assembly and welcomed 21 new full-time faculty members and five new staff.
Top row, from left: Janinah Burnett, Assistant Professor of Commercial Voice; Anna Dulba-Barnett, Lecturer in Theatre History/Dramaturgy; Andrew Eisenman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting; Luke Ellard, Assistant Professor of Clarinet; and Billie Feather, Lecturer in Commercial Guitar.
Second row, from left: David M. Greenberg, Lecturer in Sound Engineering; Marissa Guarriello, Visiting Assistant Professor of String Music Education; Brandon Hicks, School of Theatre Administrative Assistant; Zachary Hobin, Visiting Assistant Professor of String Bass, and Clair Ittner, Assistant Professor of Art History.
Third row, from left: Lindsay Kesselman, Assistant Professor of Voice and Choral Music; Eric Laine, Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice; Joyce Liao, Assistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technology; Gerry” Lopez, Assistant Professor of Music Theory; and MJ Neuberger, Visiting Assistant Professor of 3D Foundations.
Fourth row, from left: Clair Nguyen, Lecturer in Music Theory; Jonathan Perry, CVPA Technology Support Analyst; Jennifer Pugh, School of Dance Business Services Coordinator; Dalia Razo, Academic Professional: Assistant Professor of Music Education; and Varun Saxena, Post-MFA Fellow in Interactive Media.
Fifth row, from left: Khristopher M. Smalling, Academic Professional: Assistant Professor of Music Production and Technology; Gabrielle Thomas, Academic Technology Specialist; Tug Watson, Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre; Ashley White, Visiting Assistant Professor of Directing; and Amy Zigler, Assistant Professor of Musicology.
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Although Jeremy Glasgow is an employee of the University Libraries, we extend them a warm welcome to the CVPA family. Glasgow has been appointed as Music and Performing Arts Librarian and will manage the Harold Schiffman Music Library located in the Music Building.
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FACULTY/STAFF NEWS & NOTES
David Aarons (Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology) presented a paper at the Caribbean Studies Association annual conference in Saint Lucia in June and led a virtual workshop on Jamaican folk songs for the Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy Course in July. Aarons also published his article “Ethiopian Reggae Ambassadors, Rastafari, and the Promotion of Transatlantic Pan-African Solidarity” in the Journal of African Cultural Studies.
Mya Brown (Associate Professor of Acting and Directing) was the intimacy choreographer for the School of Theatre’s fall 2023 production of Galatea, and Theatrical Intimacy Education used an image from the show on its website home page this summer.
Janinah Burnett (Assistant Professor of Commercial Voice) won a 2024 BRIO Award from the Bronx Council on the Arts.
Barbara Campbell Thomas (Professor of Art and Director of the School of Art) was awarded a 24/25 Emerging Arts Administration Fellowship by the National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA). Campbell Thomas will be a Fellow for the 2024 NCAA Conference at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. This summer, Campbell Thomas opened a two-person exhibition at Les Yeux du Monde Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia with Isabelle Abbott (’11 MFA Studio Art). The exhibition, “Influence + Conversation,” showcased Campbell Thomas’s influence on Abbot’s studio practice as well as recent dialogue between the two painters.
Guy Capuzzo (Professor of Music Theory) recently published a peer-reviewed video-essay in SMT-V: The Society for Music Theory Videocast Journal. Watch the video essay here. https://www.smt-v.org/
Tami Draves (Professor of Music Education) collaborated with three UNCG School of Music alumni, Nicole Ramsey (’22PhD, ’18MM, ’14BM), Heather Graham (’23 PhD, ’20 MM), and Drew Brooks (’20 MM), on a research study that has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education. Their article, “A Grounded Theory of Early Preservice Music Teacher Identity Development,” explores music education majors’ experiences of becoming music teachers during their first two years of college. Draves was elected by the Executive Board of the Society for Music Teacher Education to serve as Chair-Elect. Dr. Draves will serve for six years beginning July 1, 2024. Draves also appeared recently on season four of the podcast Parenting Musically to discuss her research on mentoring and observations of songwriting as an expression of musical identity in relation to the experiences of country artist Alex Hall.
Teresa Heiland (Professor of Dance Education) was selected as the recipient of the National Dance Education Organization’s 2024 “Leadership in Higher Education Award.” This award is given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in creating ideas for programs, curricula, and/or projects that have had a significant impact on their specific field of dance
education and who has demonstrated leadership on a local, state, regional, national, and/or international level. Additionally, the recipient of this award also inspires and cultivates vision and leadership in others. Heiland has also been accepted into the BRIDGES Academic Leadership Program held at UNC Chapel Hill.
Dr. Ana Paula Höfling (Associate Professor of Dance) presented at the Dance Studies Association conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina in July on a panel about globalizing dance modernisms organized by Northwestern University professor Susan Manning. She was also elected the Dance Studies Association’s Vice President of Publications and Research.
Heather Holian (Professor of Art History and Associate Director of the School of Art) presented her paper “‘Becoming a Fine Art’: Walt Disney and The Art of Animation Exhibition, 1958–66” at the annual conference of the Popular Culture Association. Holian also published this article in The Journal of American Culture. Read the article here.
Annie Jeng (Assistant Professor of Piano) and Luke Ellard (Assistant Professor of Clarinet), along with recent UNCG School of Music alumni Rachael Keplin (’24 DMA Viola Performance) and Erik Schmidt (’17 MM Percussion Performance), have formed the groove-based contemporary chamber music and improvisational quartet Sounding Board and have been invited to perform and present masterclasses at the 2024 UIC (The Industrial University of Santander) International Percussion Festival in Bucaramanga, Colombia in October.
Lindsay Kesselman (Assistant Professor of Voice and Choral Music) co-taught her annual workshop “A Heretic’s Guide to Musicianship: A Score Study and Interpretation Workshop” with Kevin Noe at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute this summer. Twenty-four conductors from across North America participated, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble was in residence along with composer Ivette Herryman Rodríguez.
Courtney Miller (Assistant Professor of Oboe) was awarded UNCG Scholars’ Travel Funds for her recital “Resilience” and her Reed Talk Live Podcast Event at the 53rd International Double Reed Conference in Flagstaff, Arizona in July.
Adam Ricci (Associate Professor of Music Theory) presented his paper “Tigran Hamasyan’s Rhythmic Translations” at the Edinburgh Music Analysis Conference in July.
Josh Ritter (Senior Lecturer and Theatre Manager) published his article “Repairing a Potential Omission in Arts Administration Training Programs: A Pedagogical Blueprint for Preparing Students to be Arts Organization Education Leaders and Managers” in the American Journal of Arts Management. Read the article here.
Leah Sobsey (Associate Professor of Photography) will present work at The Huntington Library and Museum in San Merino, California during a virtual conversation on October 8th led by Linde B. Lehtinen, The Huntington’s Philip D. Nathanson Senior Curator of Photography, as part of the exhibition “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,” which opens on September 14th. Read more here.
Kevin Vanek (Academic Professional: Associate Professor of Sculpture and Foundry Director) will exhibit their new sculpture “One Last Sip” at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan this month. ArtPrize is an annual international art competition with over $600,000 in prize money. “One Last Sip” is the largest work created by Vanek to date, standing over twelve feet tall and weighing over twenty-three hundred pounds.
Stephanie Ycaza (Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium) and Steven Landis (Part-Time Lecturer in Bass and Composition) performed and presented at the Southeast and Midwest Regional Tuba Euphonium Conferences in May. Dr. Ycaza performed as a soloist and as a member of the Winnfield Quartet. Dr. Landis is also a member of the Winnfield quartet and composed one of the pieces that the group performed. The other members of the quartet are Amy Zigler (Assistant Professor of Musicology, piano) and Erik Schmidt (’18 MM Percussion Performance). Ycaza also presented a panel discussion as part of the International Tuba Euphonium Association’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee.
Faculty/Staff News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clipping service.
Submit your Faculty/Staff News here.
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JOIN US FOR AN ALUMNI EVENT THIS YEAR | |
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UNCG Homecoming
Friday, October 4th & Saturday, October 5th
Various locations and times
See full list of events here.
Free to attend, but registration requested. Sign up here.
Visit the CVPA tent at Spartan Street Fest on College Avenue
Save the Date—Invitations for These Events Coming Soon*
Jazz at Oden
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Oden Brewing Company
802 West Gate City Blvd., Greensboro
Washington, DC Alumni Brunch
Sunday, November 3, 2024
The Churchill Hotel, 1914 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
Fall Dances and Alumni Reception
Friday, November 8, 2024
Coleman Dance Theatre | Campus
New York City Alumni Brunch
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Pat Wasserboehr Exhibition and Alumni Reception
Spring 2025
Gatewood Gallery | Campus
Atlanta Alumni Brunch
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Los Angeles Alumni Brunch
Sunday, March 9, 2025
School of Theatre presents: Side Show with Alumni Reception
Friday, April 11, 2025
UNCG Auditorium | Campus
Chicago Alumni Brunch
Sunday, May 18, 2025
*Invitations to CVPA Events come via email and/or mail, so please make sure we have your most recent contact information. Use the button below to make updates.
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Patricia Garcia Gil (’24 DMA Piano Performance) has been appointed as Postdoctoral Associate and Artist in Residence at the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards at Cornell University’s Department of Music.
Bjorn Bates (’23 BFA Studio Art), Sean Mulcahy (’20 BM Music Composition), and Caitlyn Schrader (’22 MFA Dance) were selected to present their durational performative experiment, “Intercession,” at the Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center’s {Re}HAPPENING event, held at the historic Black Mountain College campus in April.
Destiny King (’23 BM Music Education) recently accepted a position as Marketing and Communications Administrative Assistant at Arena Stage following her ten-month fellowship as the Allen Lee Hughs Marketing and Media Fellow.
Allison Beaty (’22 MFA Dance) has been appointed Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Performing Arts and Technology at North Carolina State University.
Seth N. McKnight (’22 DMA and ’19 MM Music Education) has been appointed Assistant Professor of Music Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. His prior appointments were as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education at Augustana College and Instructor of Music Education and Western Illinois University. Prior to being a college instructor, he spent seven years teaching elementary general music in the North Carolina public schools. McKnight’s research interests are elementary music teachers working conditions, the invisible work of elementary music teachers, and concerns of closeted low brass players.
EmmaRuth Siler (’22 Music Education) has been appointed Junior High Choir Chairperson for the White Mountain Music Teachers Association in Northeast Arizona.
Brian Franco-Winn (’21 MFA Dance) has been appointed Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Theater and Dance at Winthrop University.
Bethany Uhler Thompson (’20 DMA and ’17 MM Cello Performance) continues to be recognized for her work in strings education with underserved populations. The Tampa Bay Times published a story on the violin/cello programs she directs with foster-involved children and teens in juvenile detention. Read the story here.
Nina Kossler (’19 MFA Dance) has been appointed Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Theater, Dance & Film at Providence College.
Jacqueline Springfield (’02 MFA Acting) made her acting debut with the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina this past spring playing the role of Wiletta in Alice Childress’s play Trouble in Mind. Written in 1955, Trouble in Mind tells the story of a group of actors rehearsing for a Broadway show. When Wiletta Mayer, a Black actress of a certain age, stands up to the racial stereotypes that have been written into the play, sparks begin to fly. Trouble in Mind was supposed to be the first play written by a Black woman to premiere on Broadway, but because Childress would not make the play more sympathetic to the white characters, producers refused to take it to Broadway. It finally made its Broadway premiere in 2021 with LaChanze playing the role of Wiletta.
Michael Kolstad (’96 DMA, ’90 MM Trombone Performance) was featured in a story by WXII television in Winston-Salem about composer Leo Arnaud and “Bugler’s Dream”—a piece known as the Olympic theme song. Kolstad is Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President at Evangel University, and Leo Arnaud was his dissertation topic at UNCG. Watch the interview here.
Judith B Tankard (’63 BA Art History), a well-known authority on the history of landscape architecture and garden design, recently donated her professional research files and library to the Cherokee Garden Library in Atlanta. The collection is currently being catalogued.
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PERFORMANCE AND EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS | |
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Jan ru Wan Exhibition
August 30th–October 8th | 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
Artist Talk and Reception | September 18th | 4:00–6:00 PM
Gatewood Gallery
“Trash Bash!”
2nd Annual Competitive Art Installation
and Exhibition presented by GPS + Reconsidered Goods
September 16th–20th | 12:00–5:00 PM
Competition September 14th | 5:00–7:00 PM
Greensboro Project Space
Words, Music, Memory: Songs Commemorating the the Holocaust
Courtney Miller, oboe | Sheena Ramirez, soprano | Suzanne Polak, piano
September 19th | 7:30 PM
Tew Recital Hall
For a complete listing, visit vpa.uncg.edu
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Brandy Clark performing at UNCG Auditorium on September 6th. Photo credit: Mike Micciche | |
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The 2024–2025 UNCG Concert and Lecture Series kicked off on September 6th with a concert by 16-time GRAMMY® nominee and winner of the 2024 GRAMMY® for “Best Americana Performance,” Brandy Clark. Clark also won the 2014 Country Music Award for “Best New Song” and was Tony-nominated for her music and lyrics to the hit Broadway musical comedy Shucked.
In addition to the public performance, Clark conducted a masterclass moderated by Assistant Professor of Commercial Guitar Billie Feather.
UCLS continues in October with
SW!NG OUT: This night of Lindy Hop and social dance accompanied by a live Big Band will conclude with an invitation to the audience for an on-stage jam session.
Collage: Join School of Music students and many of our world-class faculty members for this captivating and totally unique experience, featuring an incredible range of performers presenting one riveting work after another.
Roomful of Teeth: This two-time GRAMMY® winning vocal band is dedicated to reimagining the expressive potential of the human voice and revolutionizing choral music.
Lang Lang: A virtuosic pianist whose musicianship and charisma make him one of the most sought-after performers of this century, Lang Lang regularly opens the season at Carnegie Hall.
The season also includes two Robinson Family Visiting Jazz Artists Peter Bernstein, guitarist and Brevan Hampden, percussionist.
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UNC Greensboro’s University Concert and Lecture Series (UCLS) is the oldest continuous concert and lecture series in the state of North Carolina. Charles Duncan McIver, the University founder and first president, began an Entertainment Course in 1893–1894 with a series of lectures by Greensboro locals and readings from Shakespeare by a traveling actor.
Music was added in 1894–1895, and by 1895 the University and Greensboro YMCA joined to sponsor a Combined Entertainment Course of eight performances. Beginning in 1913 students were charged an annual concert-lecture fee to support concert and lecture programs, which were held at downtown theatres. These performances were moved on campus with the opening of the UNCG Auditorium in 1927 where they are still performed today.
Bringing luminaries and up-and-coming artists to campus for public performances and student masterclasses is an expensive endeavor requiring funding beyond student fees and support from the Offices of the Chancellor and Provost. For that we look to sponsors, and we have been fortunate to have the support of some real champions of the arts.
Sincere and abundant gratitude to our UCLS Sponsors:
PRESENTING SPONSORS
Joseph M. Bryan, Jr.
The Cemala Foundation
UNDERWRITING SPONSORS
Melissa Greer/ Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices/ Yost & Little Realty
UNCG Housing and Residence Life
HOSPITALITY SPONSOR
Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels
MEDIA SPONSOR
Our State Magazine
PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Pam Pittman and Ward Robinsont (Robinson Family Visiting Jazz Artists)
Pam and David Sprinkle (SW!NG OUT)
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CLOSING SPOTLIGHT
New CVPA students on day one at the G during Nav1Gate 2024. A day-long event, Nav1Gate is designed to help new students get to know the people, ideas, and opportunities that await during their time at UNCG. Here, students are cheering at the kick-off pep rally in Fleming Gym.
Photo credit: Sean Norona
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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
vpa.uncg.edu
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