Students
We’d like to tell you about a late but exciting addition to our music performance season. On
Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. the piano program will present
Música con sabor, celebrating the music of Spain, Italy, Argentina and Uruguay, with performances by OU piano majors who studied abroad last summer or performed at independent music festivals.
And now some piano news: Once again this year, an Oakland piano student won the Rosamond P. Haeberle Piano Award from the Tuesday Musicale of Pontiac. Congratulations to
Hannah Bossner! The award comes with a $4000 cash prize and a performance for the Musicale on
March 10. Hannah plans to use her winnings to attend a national music festival this summer.
For the fourth consecutive year, some of our very best dancers will perform at The Berman Center for the Performing Arts in an event called "The Michigan Five." On
March 14, you can see dancers from OU share the stage with others from Hope College, the University of Michigan, Western Michigan University and Wayne State University in a unique dance concert, which is choreographed by the industry’s top choreographers and organized by
Gregory Patterson, dance professor and OU dance program director. More information is
available from the Berman here.
You may be familiar with the work of
Sam Carner and
Derek Gregor, who are included in
Playbill.com’s Contemporary Musical Theatre Songwriters You Should Know. Our musical theatre students got to know them quite well when the composers came to campus on January 23 for an afternoon workshop. In the evening the students gave a free concert showcasing the work they had done. Carner and Gregor’s songs are heard in concerts around the country and the world. They’ve even been performed in Antarctica!
Every year, all our theatre productions are adjudicated by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and this season eight of our students were chosen as Irene Ryan acting scholarship nominees and invited to attend the festival. The students work with theatre faculty coaches to find material and rehearse three contrasting selections for their presentation.
Our students were in competition with a total of approximately 350 acting nominees from all over the region, some of them from big state schools and others from grad students. The top two move on to the national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Three of our OU nominees were selected for the semi-final round of 32 participants, after which, all three moved forward to the final round of 16.
And all three received an award.
Cassady Temple, (partner
Stefanie Sambrano) came so close! She was the alternate recipient of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, effectively coming third in the entire competition.
Brian Baylor (partner
Gabrielle Minchella) received the Voice and Speech Trainer's Association (VASTA) Award for Voice.
Aubrey Fink (partner
Nathan Larkins) received the Selectors' Award in Musical Theatre.
We also had students presenting designs from our productions and
Jason Maracani was one of five finalists for scenic design (
Sweet Charity) and one of five for lighting design
(The Life).
Ellie Tuecke was a finalist for her unrealized costume design for
Pericles. OU was also well represented among the list of people who received certificates of merit:
Stacey Fleming, Freckleface Strawberry, Choreography;
Daniel Robinson, Freckleface Strawberry, Costume Design;
Jason Maracani,
Sweet Charity, Scenic Design;
Ensemble,
Sweet Charity, Excellence in Performance; Ensemble,
The Liar, Excellence in Performance;
Stacey Fleming,
The Life, Assistant Choreography; Jason Maracani,
The Life, Lighting Design;
Ellie Teucke,
The Life, Hair & Makeup Design;
Laura Gist, Under Milk Wood, Lighting Design;
Karen Sheridan, Under Milk Wood, Direction;
Ensemble,
Under Milk Wood, Interpretation & Execution.
You may have already heard that the
OU Brass Band won second place at the 2015 Butlins Mineworkers National Open Brass Festival in Skegness, England. They were stealth competitors, a totally unknown quantity to almost everyone at the event, and their achievement won them not just a healthy check for £1000, but also some new international fans. The students had some great times exploring London and Yorkshire. You can see some photos shared by the band
on their Facebook page here.
Musical theatre voice coach
Julie Malloy wrote to tell us about a trip she,
Fred Love and
Alissa Hetzner made, along with 10 musical theatre majors, to three high schools in Dearborn. They gave a presentation on musical theatre styles and talked about what it’s like to major in theatre in college. And, of course, what Oakland University is like.
Julie said, “It was such an incredible day! Our first stop at 8:30 a.m. (belting at 8:30 I give these students a lot of credit!) was at Fordson High School. Fordson is a very large high school but they . . . had not had a play or musical in over 20 years. When our students started singing it was great to see the smiles and watch the high schoolers’ eyes get so wide in amazement. It was awesome.” Julie and associates also visited Dearborn High School, which has a very long history of theatre excellence. Their director served as president of the National Thespian Association for years and performed in various tours and regional theatre. Julie said, “Their students were so eager for us to be there and talk about the techniques the students use in each style they demonstrated, as well as the college process.”
Their last stop was Edsel Ford High School, where Julie says our students were proud to hear director
Robert Doyle boast about how he had seen OU musical theatre professor Fred Love perform “back in the day.” Julie had nothing but praise for the MT students who participated. “They did such a fine job representing OU in their performances and they led most of the talkbacks at each school. To hear them speak with such pride about MT, theatre, dance, and OU in general was awesome.” Thanks to freshmen
Victoria Armenio and
Brandon Santana; sophomores
Gabby Minchella, Stefanie Sambrano, Cassady Temple and
Maria Reed; junior
Garrett Markgraf; and seniors
Nathan Larken and
Jillian Hoffman for making time to share the day with the high school students.
We are very excited to announce that the
Oakland University Trumpet Ensemble has been invited to perform at the fortieth anniversary conference of the International Trumpet Guild at the Hyatt Regency Columbus, in Columbus, OH this May. Some very high profile artists are playing there
. Read more about the conference here. And you can read more about the Guild
on their Facebook page here.
Alumni
Theatre Design and Technology alum
Gina Smothers established a new project last year, in partnership with theatre faculty member
Jeremy Barnett. The Amarant Design Collective (ADC) is an installation art organization dedicated to exploring found spaces through environmental art. The installations invite people to experience familiar spaces in unexpected ways. Jeremy said, “The work of Amarant Design Collective challenges the rules and assumptions that govern our relationships to everyday objects by using simple graphic design elements such as color and repetition and by using familiar objects in unfamiliar settings.”
On February 26 they opened their most recent exhibit at the Howell Opera House with an hors d'oeuvres and silent auction reception. The project is entitled "RED" and is a celebration of the history and architecture of the historic theatre. It uses abstract lines, shapes and the contrasting primary color red to draw attention to the energy and delicate details of the historic space. OU students
Chelsea Criger, Ashley Gaal, Elena Hensel, Lucy Price, Jason Maracani, Chris O’Meara, Allie Reynolds, Billy Robinson and
Britney Spindler have worked with ADC over the past five months. You can follow Amarant Design Collective on their
Facebook page here.
We’re sure that many of you follow the Detroit Music Awards every year and have already scoured the list for our alums and faculty so you can cheer them on. If not,
read it here and check back after the winners are announced on April 10.
Voice alum
Jacquelyn Wagner, who won the MaTilDa Award for Outstanding Student in Voice Performance in 2002, is forging an impressive career on the European opera scene. She was featured in a January issue of the German online magazine
Badische Zeitung.
You can read that here. If your German is a little rusty don’t forget the Google translate feature!
OU master’s alum
Kent Wattleworth teaches at Wyandot Middle School in the Chippewa Valley School District. His 8th grade choir was selected to sing at the recent 2015 Michigan Music Conference, and Kent was elected to direct the SSA Middle School Honors Choir at the 2016 conference. Congratulations!
You can see a slideshow from 2015’s 10th anniversary conference here.
Two of our musical theatre alums,
Lauren Knox and
Rachel Hull, are currently appearing in
Steel Magnolias at the Purple Rose Theatre, in Chelsea. In one fabulous review, which called it a “magnificent” production, all the cast was praised, but Rachel, who is making her Purple Rose debut, was singled out. Encore Michigan wrote, “I suspect many playgoers will come away especially impressed with Hull's performance as Shelby. Though new to the PRTC, some will remember this fine young actress from the Michigan Shakespeare Festival's productions of
Cymbeline and
The Importance of Being Earnest.” You can
read Encore complete review here.
Rachel and Lauren are also featured on PDTC’s Facebook page
which you can see here. And Rachel is currently the featured artist on the company’s website.
You can see that here.
Steel Magnolias continues through
March 14. For performance and ticket information, call 734-433-ROSE or go to
purplerosetheatre.org.
Out in Los Angeles, theatre alum
Joshua Tyler Kelly recently filmed a very cool commercial for Adidas with hip hop artist Big Sean. In the final cut it’s hard to spot Joshua but he said, “I still get paid the same and made residuals off of it!” Nothing to complain about there. Joshua also told us he attended the premiere of a movie he recently completed. It was shown on the Warner Brothers lot on a day which had the added excitement of a high level of secret service security because Vice President Joe Biden was appearing on the Ellen Show. More details on the movie coming soon. You can see
Joshua’s IMDb page here.
Musical theatre alum
Kryssy Becker had the female lead in
Spring Awakening at the Stagecrafters in Royal Oak this winter. You can read more in
this article in the Oakland Post. There were also OU alums playing in the pit, as
Matthew Dudek wrote to let us know.
Neal Wright and
Dave Mety were in the orchestra and Matthew said they were all really happy they got to back an alum like Kryssy.
Faculty
Two of our theatre faculty have been busy at Meadow Brook Theatre. Professor
Karen Sheridan appeared in the comedy
Things My Mother Taught Me, which opened 2015 for MBT. You can read a review
here in the Oakland Press.
If you hurry you can just catch MBT’s current show, which runs until
March 8.
Jeremy Barnett, assistant professor of theatre, was the scenic designer for
Once On This Island. Jeremy said, “I worked with a team of OU alumni that included MBT artistic director
Travis Walter, costume designer
Corey Globke and production manager
Sarah Warren.”
Jeremy also sent us a list of current students who were involved. He said, “
Jason Maracani was my assistant scenic designer and worked tirelessly with me for nearly five months to create the landscape of the show.
Chelsea Criger, Ashley Gaal, Craig Horning, Chris O'Meara, Lucy Price, Allie Reynolds, Billy Robinson, Krystal Smoger, Britney Spindler and
Josh Williams all helped with a variety of departments including painting, hanging lights and building scenic details.”
The set won some amazing reviews. Encore Michigan wrote, “The pull of tradition and escapism is hinted at in the...building blocks of designer Jeremy Barnett’s wide elemental set, a gaping abstract vortex of driftwood, corrugated metal, and empty bottles that elegantly points out the have-not realities of these island storytellers."
The Detroit Free Press wrote, "The real stars of
Once on This Island may be the set and costume designers, who perform Broadway-caliber magic on a Meadow Brook budget. Jeremy Barnett meticulously arranges weathered green-painted fence boards to depict ramshackle surroundings and a violent storm's aftermath. He also revives the ramp from his last MB production,
Next to Normal and employs its various elevations to reflect class differences inherent in the island culture."
The Michigan Parkinson's Foundation (MPF) has invited
Ali Woerner, assistant professor of dance and co-director of
Take Root, to the PD Support Group Facilitators Conference on April 20 and 21. She will give a class and a talk about the Dance for Parkinson's Disease class Take Root hosts at OU. These classes were recently featured in a slideshow in the
Oakland Press. Ali is very excited to share her experiences.
Oboe instructor
Timothy Michling, who is the principal oboist with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, was interviewed by the
Ann Arbor News when he appeared “front and center” performing as the soloist in the Mozart
Oboe Concerto in C Major during the Mozart Birthday Bash the orchestra performed in January.
You can read that here and we highly recommend it, although it may leave you wondering exactly what you do with your time!
The OU Jazz Quartet, Miles Brown, Sean Dobbins, Scott Gwinnell and
Mark Stone, played at the Manresa Jesuit Retreat in Bloomfield Hills as part of their concert series on Sunday, January 25. You can
read more about that series here.
OU choral program director Professor
Mike Mitchell conducted the
TTBB State Honors Choir at the recent Michigan Music Conference and we
are reliably informed, “They tore the place down!” Here are just a few
quotes from Dr. Mitchell's Facebook page. “Thank you to Mike Mitchell . .
. for changing lives this weekend with your incredible musicianship.”
“Absolutely awwww-some MSVMA TTBB State Honors Choir Saturday! You've
had a profound effect on so many....my son, included! Thank you!” “MSVMA
TTBB Men's Honor's Choir rockin' the house with Mike Mitchell!”
In the January Prism we told you that
Terry Herald, who teaches audio technology, had been called on to appear as a singing cowboy in the movie,
The First Rosa, an extra gig, since he was primarily connected to the project as a composer. In February, he flew out to LA in to see the edited version of the movie so he could begin working on the score. Once the producers are happy with his composition, he will hire Michigan musicians and begin recording in his studio.
The California trip left Terry on a very tight turnaround schedule, because he was one of the three guitarists playing in the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings “Guitar Summit” concert on February 20, a part of its Nightnotes series. This was a totally OU affair with OU Provost
James Lentini and guitar instructor
Bret Hoag making up the trio. They played a concert of classical and contemporary guitar works, including original compositions written by Lentini and Herald, as well as music by J.S. Bach and Dusan Bogdanovich, in arrangements for trios, duos and solos. The concert was held at Hagopian World of Rugs in Birmingham. It was the first time guitar was featured in the popular Nightnotes concert series in its 16-year history. Provost Lentini said, “It’s an honor for all three of us to perform at this Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings event. The DCWS is one of the major classical music organizations in Detroit.”
Read more about DCWS here.
Finally, we want to be let you know that
Haruna Walusimbi, one of Uganda’s most celebrated artists, arrived in mid-February to spend three months at OU as a visiting scholar. He will give three concerts in mid-April, one of them
a Kids’ Concert. Don't miss this opportunity to see and hear this world renowned Grammy Award winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, dancer and educator.
Photos:
Top right: Musical theatre students with Sam Carner and Derek Gregor (front). Photo by Fred Love.
Top left: Musical theatre students talkback with Dearborn high school students. Photo by Julie Malloy.
Center right: The Oakland University Trumpet Ensemble. Photo by Jessica Boone, JL Boone Photography.
Center left: Kent Wattleworth at the 2015 Michigan Music Conference. Photo by Deborah VanderLinde.
Lower right: Set for Once on This Island
at Meadow Brook Theatre. Design by Jeremy Barnett. Photo by Jeremy Barnett.
Lower left: Mike Mitchell conducting the TTBB State Honors Choir at the 2015 Michigan Music Conference. Photo by Deborah VanderLinde.
Bottom right: (l-r) Terry Herald, James Lentini and Bret Hoag. 