Are you interested in reading about issues and interests in post-secondary education? If so, please come and share your thoughts. We will be discussing Book#1: Appreciative Inquiry in Higher Education: A Transformative Force
by Jeanie Cockell and Joan McArthur-Blair. This is available as an e-book in the James A. Gibson Library.
Friday December 12, 10:00 am, TH 253
Join us at the… 10th annual Tribute to Teaching reception to commemorate Brock’s award winning instructors.
Thursday December 4, 12:00 pm, at Alphie’s Trough
This will include a Celebration of Teaching Awards with the recipients of the 2014 Brock University Award for Excellence in Teaching for Early Career Faculty, the Don Ursino Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Large Classes and a public address by Marilyn Cottrell, Department of Economics, the 2014 Brock University Award for Distinguished Teaching recipient.
CHEER, APPLAUD and CELEBRATE teaching at Brock University!
RSVP online or contactl Wanda at wgilmore@brocku.ca or call X 3933.
Brock University’s Rodman Hall Art Centre was recognized with two prestigious prizes this week at the 37th annual Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) Awards, presented at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto Nov. 5.
Jimmy Limit: Recent Advancements, curated by Marcie Bronson, was recognized as Exhibition of the Year, Monographic.
The exhibition catalogue Milutin Gubash – co-published by Rodman Hall Art Centre, Carleton University Art Gallery, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Southern Alberta Art Gallery and Mus_e d’art de Joliette – received an Honourable Mention in the category of Art Publication of the Year.
Find the Full Story HERE on the Brock News Page.
Seven students from DART attended the Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators (CODE) conference in Ottawa from October 17th until October 19th, 2014. The title of the conference was “Mirrors in Drama and Dance: A Journey to Identities.”
DART instructor Helen Zdriluk, in collaboration with Faculty of Education Professor Kari-Lynn Winters, first thought to organize DART DIE/AT students to help at the 40th annual CODE conference, in 2010, held at Niagara on the Lake. It has been an annual tradition for our students to attend CODE since then.
At the conference the students’ tasks varied. They helped presenters set up and tear down their workshops, thanked workshop leaders, assisted attendees, and participated at the book fair. When they were not helping out the organizers, DART students attended workshops and keynote presentations.
DART instructors Helen Zdriluk, Suzanne Burchell, and recently retired Professor Glenys McQueen-Fuentes were all presenters at CODE. Their topics were (respectively): “Through the Looking Glass: reflections for Primary/Junior teachers,” “Shakespeare: Mirror to the Soul,” and “Movement and Music based on Le Coq’s Structures Approach.”
Our students applied for the Student Initiative Grant from the Brock Student Union, which helped cover their transportation and accommodation fees. Upon their return, the students were asked to do class presentations about their experiences, what they had learned, and what inspired them at CODE this year. Here are some of the responses they shared with their professor:
Being at the CODE conference around many drama and dance teachers enhanced my excitement to begin teaching in the near future.
Michelle Sundborg
Being at CODE was an incredibly inspirational experience. Not only have I become excited for my future as a drama teacher, but I also feel that by attending workshops my drama tool belt has grown substantially.
Allyson Yates
The CODE conference was an incredible experience that allowed me to experience and interact with teachers of a very diverse age range and hear their thoughts and opinions on the way drama and dance is taught and current issues that have emerged in our society today.
Keith Childs
The Code Conference was an amazing experience. Being able to interact with and experience the workshops of so many amazing, brilliant dance and drama professionals is something that I will never forget.
Amber Hussey
Volunteering at the CODE conference was so valuable for me as a future drama teacher. Such great opportunities to interact with and learn from professionals in the field. An unforgettable experience!
Charlotte Ristich
Going to CODE was an amazing experience. It felt great to be surrounded by professionals working in our field. It was also nice knowing that in that space we were all equal and we could share our experiences and ideas. It didn’t matter what training, education, or degree you had: we were all there to collaborate, learn and enjoy the arts.
Rory Vandenbrink
DART students Amber Hussey, Rory Vandenbrink,
and Charlotte Ristich with renowned dancer Luca “lazylegs” Patuelli.
prepared by Dr. Yasmine Kandil with content from the particpants.
for more information about the Drama in Education and Applied Theatre Concentration in the Department of Dramatic Arts please contact Dr. Joe Norris jnorris@brocku.ca or Dr. Yasmine Kandil ykandil@brocku.ca
Associate Professor Duncan MacDonald’s recent group exhibition in Cambridge, Ontario entitled ‘5 over 4’ has recently been reviewed in Canadian Art’s 30th year edition. The exhibition featured artworks by artists working with sound in a variety of mediums. Artists included: Eleanor King, Christof Migone, Marla Hlady, Duncan MacDonald and Ursula Nistrup.
For more info click HERE.
Saturday, November 15, 2014, marks the release of the Avanti Chamber Singers’ third CD “Beauty is Before Me,” the fifth installment in the “Voices of Niagara” CD series, featuring works by local composers.
The release will occur in conjunction with the Avanti Chamber Singers’ (ACS) season-opening concert, Viva La Musica! Presenting compositions from 1600 to the present day, this concert is a celebration of the joy and power of music. Rising Toronto oboist Aidan Dugan will perform as the featured guest artist.
The CD is a collaborative project by ACS, Brock University’s student choirs, and the former Niagara Vocal Ensemble, all conducted by Harris Loewen. The sequence of works on the album flows through a variety of themes: the beauty of nature, the patron saint of music (St. Cecilia), the War of 1812, elegiac reflections, and a group of spirituals.
The occasion also marks the re-release of the first two CDs in the series, recorded by the Niagara Vocal Ensemble, an all-women’s ensemble that was active in the Niagara Region between 1991 and 2011. All CDs are available through ACS and the Department of Music at Brock University.
As with all five recordings in the "Voices of Niagara" CD series, the music on every track is written or arranged by composers with a Niagara connection, most recorded for the first time. Composers represented on this latest recording include Penny Blake, John Butler, the famous Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), Erik Gero, Brock professors Peter Landey and Harris Loewen, Gail Poulsen, folk singer Stan Rogers, Matthew Tran-Adams, and Ronald Tremain (1923-98), Brock’s first Professor of Music.
The concert opens with a rousing fanfare written especially for the occasion, based on the familiar round "Viva La Musica." The program includes works by the great Renaissance composers, Jacob Handl and Orlandus Lassus, as well as a variety of more modern pieces. Canadian composers (e.g. Stephen Chatman, Eleanor Daley, Ruth Watson Henderson) are well represented, and the concert also provides samples of works from the latest CD. Oboist Aidan Dugan will perform lyrical pieces by familiar 19th century composers Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.
Conductor Harris Loewen states, “This latest album marks an exciting milestone in this multi-choir CD project that has been developed and released to the public over the last few years. I’m so extremely grateful for the fine and energetic musicianship that all the singers and instrumentalists have contributed in both concert and recording. It’s a truly wonderful choral legacy for the region.”
The Viva Voce Choral Series, presented by the Department of Music, is a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University.
Come and enjoy this choral celebration and CD release on Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m., held at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 31 Queenston Street, St. Catharines. Admission at the door is $25 for adults; $20 for seniors & students; $5 for the eyeGo program for high school students. A $5 discount is available for advance tickets (excluding eyeGO) and can be purchased at two St. Catharines locations: BookSmart (Scott & Vine Plaza) and Thorold Music (Glendale Avenue).
For more information contact: Marie Balsom, Communications
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
T: 905-688-5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: http://www.brocku.ca/finearts
We encourage members of the Brock community to recognize the contributions of those who teach at Brock University. Details regarding eligibility and nomination procedures are available at the links provided below.
Brock University Award for Excellence in Teaching for Early Career Faculty
and
Don Ursino Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Large Classes
Nomination packages must be submitted to the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation (CPI, TH 253A) by November 1st.
For additional information contact cpi@brocku.ca or call 905.688.5550 x3933.
“When I came to Brock I had done exactly one small part in one play. I had only ever seen two plays and one of them was Cats. I knew nothing about acting, nothing about theatre, nothing about life really. I was an English major planning to become a lawyer who thought that theatre would be a fun elective. When I left, five years later I couldn’t conceive of doing anything else with my life.” Wes Berger, class of 1999.
Department of Dramatic Arts alumnus Wes Berger, who has just directed the world premiere of George F. Walker’s Parents Night in Hamilton, has certainly made good use of the 15 years since he left DART. He has an extensive acting resume which includes stage, film and TV. Theatre credits include Tarragon, Young Peoples Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Blyth Festival. He has worked as director on several Walker plays at this point, as well as Fringe and Summerworks shows in Toronto and projects with Lyndesfarne here in Niagara.
Parents Night is a one-act, three-character comedy/dramedy set in a Grade Three classroom. The action takes place in real-time, starring Sarah Murphy-Dyson as concerned and unhinged teacher Nicole, sitting down for a serious discussion with the parents of two of her most troublesome students. John (Matthew Olver) a wealthy and neurotic businessman whose wife has recently walked out on him and Rosie (Dana Puddicombe) a brassy and strong-willed working class woman with a drug-addicted husband, each star as delightfully defensive parents, loyally and valiantly advocating for their children against Nicole, one another and society itself. John’s son and Rosie’s daughter may be having their problems in Nicole’s class – mostly with each other – but when these parents go to school for a Parent/Teacher interview, their own problems soon bubble over and take over the classroom.
A funny, touching and truthful play for anyone who’s ever been a teacher. Or had a teacher. Or had a parent. Or wanted another kind of parent.
Read Review from Gary Smith at The Spec
There’s still time to catch the show. Parents’ Night runs through October 12 at the Pearl Company, 16 Steven Street in Hamilton. For more information, go to thepearlcompany.ca
Many Canadian orchestras have brought Classical Kids’ Beethoven Lives Upstairs program to their stages over the years, but the Niagara Symphony has brought a fresh new approach to this classic event. Brock Dramatic Arts student Elizabeth Pereira and alumnus Evan Mulrooney will play the roles of Christoph and the Uncle respectively, in performance with the Niagara Symphony (led by music director Bradley Thachuk) in April 2015. They earned the roles through competitive auditions at the school, and will be directed by Brock Professor of Drama Virginia Reh.
It’s part of a many-faceted partnership between the NSA and the university. The Niagara Symphony is Orchestra in Residence at Brock University, NSO concert notes are prepared by Brock Music Department faculty member Dr. Brian E. Power, the NSO participates in the Community Arts Partnership with the Brock Department of Music, Brock Music Ed Plus ensembles are featured in as part of Spotlight On!, Music Ed Plus students mentor and volunteer at Summer Music Camp, Brock faculty members coach, and adjudicate practice auditions, for students in The Academy @ SMC, NSO musicians Laura Thomas, Brent Adams, Gordon Cleland, Steve Fralick, Zoltan Kalman, Vera Alexeeva and Patricia Dydnansky are on faculty with the Brock Department of Music, and the NSO offers special PSSTnso (post secondary student ticket) pricing for university students.
from the article posted September 17 in the Orchestra News, Weekly Newsletter
at http://orchestrascanada.org/2014/09/17/new-partnership-for-the-niagara-symphony/
DART Co-op students take their studies in theatre to related work opportunities at some of the best employers in the the GTA and Niagara cultural sector. Fifteen students began their Co-op studies at DART in the fall of 2014.
Elena Milenkovski, DART, worked as an intern with SummerWorks Performance Festival, Toronto. The SummerWorks Festival is an 11-day festival spanning theatre, dance, live art and music that enables approximately 40 – 50 independent productions per year to be staged. SummerWorks supports work that has a clear artistic vision and explores a specific theatrical aesthetic. It encourages risks, questions, and creative explorations while insisting on accessibility, integrity and professionalism. Elena was very excited to add this experience to her resume. She proved to be an invaluable part of the team. Her organizational skills, initiative and strong interpersonal skills aided the festival in marketing and gaining sponsors for the 2014 event.
@alesiadane @BrockCoop Ditto! We can’t overstate our love for Elena and her significant contributions to #SW14.
Emi Forster, SummerWorks Performance Festival, August 19, Twitter
Three DART students worked at the Shaw Festival Theatre for the 2014 season. Amanda McDonnell, Sarah Bradford and Alexandra Towne worked in various roles in the green room, box office and retail sections of the theatre. Dianne Gibbs, Human Resources Manager, felt that these students had the perfect combination of communication and interpersonal skills mixed with a love of theatre for these roles.