Daniel Asia with David Yeagley

David Yeagley (DMA '94) had a solo concert of his music at the Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. on November 11. Other works of his were also presented in concert before and after, all as part of the series “Classical Native.” The first American Indian (Comanche) classical composer to be recorded on professional labels (Opus One, Azica, ERM, Albany), Yeagley has composed classical music for the American Indian flute. He released the album Awakenings in 2004, and a portion of his full-length grand opera on the Holocaust was recorded by Opus One (2005) with the Polish National Radio Symphony. His work for Native American flute and orchestra, Wes-ih-vah-peh, was given its American premiere by James Pellerite and the Phoenix Symphony.

"Pancho Goes to College" Cast and Crew

“Pancho Goes to College,” written and directed by Ruben Reyes (BA '88) won 1st Prize for BEST FEATURE and BEST ACTOR (Camiliano Juarez) at the East LA Cine Sin Fin Chicano Film Festival. The cast and crew traveled to Los Angeles for the festival. While in East Los Angeles, they visited community schools and businesses. "It's great to be highlighting Tucson in a positive way, especially Chicano filmmakers," said Reyes.

In November, “Pancho Goes to College” was screened in Mexico City at the first Festival de Cine Chicano. This festival brings Mexican-American culture to Mexico via film.

Humberto Colon Rivera

This year, graduate string bass student Humberto Colon Rivera has shown he can include film composing among his many talents. As a performer, he has won numerous competitions and awards, and this summer will travel to his native Puerto Rico to perform a recital with UA master’s student Dalia Rodriguez Aponte.

His interest in film composition began after attending a Crossing Barriers concert. The Crossing Barriers Group is a groundbreaking multi-media, multi-genre ensemble of creative artists who present thought-provoking and entertaining experiences that cross the boundaries of contemporary performance art.

Humberto Colon Rivera graduated this fall with a Master of Music degree, and will begin a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in bass performance in the spring.

Kodak 35mm Project Student Crew

“April’s Last,” a short film by students from the School of Media Arts, premiered in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 23 as part of the Kodak 35mm Project Showcase. The Showcase features student films from seven film schools chosen to participate in the project. “April’s Last” is a story about the universal themes of sacrifice, friendship, survival, and the effects of war on everyday people. On November 7, “April’s Last” was screened for donors at the College of Fine Arts and Medici Circle "Fall Celebration 2007."

Student crew:
Director, Joe Odea; Director of Photography, Kelli Dickinson; Producer, Joey Heslinga; Producer, Stephanie Joyce; Starring, Aaron Shand; Writer, Hamdija Ajanovic; Editor, Randall French; Sound Designer, Michaela Pentacoff.

Faculty supervisors:
Michael Mulcahy, Patrick Roddy, and Lisanne Skyler.

Catalina Saxophone Quartet

Congratulations to Jonathan Wintringham, Winner of the Arizona Music Teacher National Association (MTNA) Collegiate Young Artist Woodwind Competition. Wintringham will represent the state of Arizona in the MTNA Regional woodwind competition that is held in January 2008 in Las Cruces, NM.

UA saxophonists Derek Granger (state alternate), J. Adam Briggs (Honorable Mention), and Kimberly Reece (Honorable Mention) were also recognized in the competition.

In addition, UA's Catalina Saxophone Quartet (Reece, Wintringham, Briggs, Granger) was named Winner of the Collegiate Chamber Music Competition, and will compete in January in Las Cruces to qualify for the MTNA National Finals in Denver, CO.

CR Crew in Rehearsal

Culture Rhythm Dance Crew, (CR Crew) is a student club on The University of Arizona campus. Their mission is to inspire and motivate Tucson’s youth to stay away from drugs, violence, and hatred by using hip-hop dance as a positive outlet.

The CR Crew organized an annual benefit hip-hop show to aid the Casa de los Niños organization. The first benefit show “Urban Elites” brought together the best of Tucson’s high school and professional hip-hop crews to showcase their skills, and perform for the betterment of children. In December of 2006, CR Crew donated $2,000 to Casa de los Niños. The second annual “Urban Elites” benefit show, November of 2007, raised over $3,000 which was donated to Casa de los Niños.

The CR Crew is now in its 4th year of existence at The University of Arizona. For more information, please call or email Bryan Wong at 928-580-6697, bwong1@email.arizona.edu.

Carrillo Elementary Students

In November, the School of Dance hosted 25 fourth and fifth grade students from Carrillo Elementary School. At the UA School of Dance, students explored how dance can enhance education. Their visit included a tour, the opportunity to observe advanced ballet and modern dance classes and the UA Dance Ensemble rehearsing a section of the “Brahms Waltzes”. The students participated in a class taught by Cesar Rubio and Victor Lipscomb. It was refreshing to see the genuine interest and the insatiable hunger for knowledge.

At the end of their class the students had a Q & A session with Mr. Rubio and Mr. Lipscomb. “I couldn’t believe the complexity of some of their questions,” says Mr. Lipscomb. “It is very rare when a ten year old asks me how I pay for my education,” he said with a laugh. It is important for the next generation of Wildcats to be exposed to art and education.

Photograph by Martina Shenal

Martina Shenal, Assistant Director of the School of Art, has been appointed to a faculty tenure track position for the School of Art photography program. Shenal, who began her Assistant Directorship in 2005, will now balance her time between overseeing graduate and undergraduate programs and operations and conducting instruction and research.

Shenal assumed her new duties in August 2007. This past semester she taught an introductory course in black and white photography and plans to teach a color photography course next fall. In the short term, she will be teaching one course a year and, administratively, working toward the transition of the School’s graduate students into their new building. The Visual Arts Graduate Research Laboratory will be ready to house students in the fall of 2009. The new facilities for graduate students are important, as they will “help facilitate an easier interaction between students, faculty, and our visiting artists and scholars”.

Theatre Education and Outreach faculty members Laura A. McCammon and Bobbi McKean participated recently in two international conferences: The International Drama/Theatre and Education Association (IDEA) 6th World Congress July 16-22 in Hong Kong and The American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE) Conference held in Vancouver, BC, July 31-August 5. Laura McCammon was also an invited speaker for a first World Creativity Summit sponsored by the World Alliance for Arts Education held in Hong Kong July 23-25.

Faculty member and coordinator of Musicology John Brobeck attended the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society in Quebec City, Canada. Brobeck read a paper entitled “A Missing Portrait and Mathieu Gascongne’s Canonic Motet Ista est speciosa: New Evidence for a Reinterpretation of the Origins of Pepys MS 1760.” This paper reinterprets one of the central music manuscripts created for the delectation of the French royal court during the first two decades of the sixteenth century. The annual meetings of the American Musicological Society are the most highly select venues in the discipline. At this meeting, only 140 papers were selected for presentation out of 577 submissions.

Design and Technology faculty member Clare Rowe published her first book “Drawing & Rendering for the Theatre: A Practical Course for Scenic, Costume, and Lighting Designers” with Focal Press.

Theatre Education and Outreach faculty member and Teacher Certification Program Coordinator Laura A. McCammon participated in a symposium sponsored by the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning on Creativity Education through the Arts: Goals, Methodology and Impact November 10 &11, 2007 at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. Together with her research partner, Aud Berggraf Sæbø (Norway), she reported on the results of an international survey on drama/theatre teachers’ perceptions of creativity and teaching for creative achievement.

Joseph Peragine

The Museum of Art is presenting selected work from artist Joseph Peragine’s Hell on Wheels (2004-2006). The exhibition is presented in conjunction with Goya’s Mastery in Prints: Los Desastres de la Guerra and is the third in a series entitled, Correspondence: In Relation to Goya. Los Desastres de la Guerra is a series of 80 aquatint etchings that depict the horror and brutality of war; Hell on Wheels is arranged to complement Goya’s series, creating a dialogue between the two artists.

According to Museum, Hell on Wheels highlights themes in Goya’s suite through the “mechanics of military force, the spectacle of modern warfare, and the media representation of armed engagement”. Peragine’s series originated with a trip he made to Normandy where Sherman tanks have been installed as WWI memorials. The title refers to the 2nd Armored Division, under General George S. Patton, who boasted of his troops as ‘hell on wheels.’”

Award Winners Amber Duke and Emily Schoen

The College of Fine Arts held its annual Honors Convocation ceremony on October 19 at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre. The event was presided over by Jory Hancock, Director of the School of Dance, and attended by 180 CFA students, along with their family and friends.

Teralyn Morriss (BFA Art and Visual Culture Education) and Giada Gallo (MA Art and Visual Culture Education) received the Crizmac Award for an outstanding undergraduate and graduate student majoring in Art and Visual Culture Education; Tim Mckiernan (BFA Acting) received the Coris Family Trust Fine Arts Award for an outstanding, talented and deserving student enrolled full-time and pursuing a degree in one of the Fine Arts disciplines; and Megan Simpson (BM String Bass Performance) received the Presser Foundation Award for an outstanding student majoring in Music at or near the end of the student’s junior year.

Other honorees included ten Creative Achievement Awardees, nine Arizona Community Foundation Scholars, fifty-one Highest Academic Distinction Awards (4.000 Grade Point Average for the 2006-2007 Academic Year), and 209 Academic Distinction Awards (3.500 to 3.999 Grade Point Average for the 2006-2007 Academic Year).