Articles by author: mbalsom

• RHIZOMES takes on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

  Monday, April 25, 2016 | By mbalsom

  In the Soil Arts Festival will be staging the third edition of its increasingly popular RHIZOMES program — a “choose your own art adventure” — throughout the hallways and spaces of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), at 15 Artists’ Common in downtown St. Catharines.

  The three-day festival will showcase artists of all disciplines with a series of one-time audience experiences, including short plays, dance performances, and sound and light installations. Upon entry, audience members will be directed to “The Hive,” a licensed area where you can grab a drink and sign up to experience the 11 creations.

  Seven of the eleven installations involved in this program are connected to the MIWSFPA as students, alumni, faculty and staff from all four disciplines (Visual Arts, Dramatic Arts, Music, and Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture) are active participants. In the Soil Arts Festival is produced by Suitcase in Point Theatre Company, and run by two Brock Dramatic Arts alumni.

  RHIZOMES will be open to audiences in four two-hour blocks over the course of the weekend: Friday, April 29, from 7:30 – 9:30 pm; Saturday, April 30, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm & 10 pm – 12 midnight; Sunday, May 1, from 2 – 4 pm.

  Admission at the door is $20, however, a $40 festival pass will give you access to RHIZOMES and the other 150 acts and installations taking over downtown St. Catharines as part of the In the Soil Arts Festival. Tickets can be purchased through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office 905.688.0722; email: boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca; or online: firstontariopac.ca.

  For more information on the In the Soil Festival visit: inthesoil.on.ca

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  Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905.688.5550, ext. 4765 |E: mbalsom@brocku.ca |W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

  Tags: Arts Festival, In the Soil, RHIZOMES
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Media Releases, News

• Art is in the City

  Thursday, September 03, 2015 | By mbalsom

  MEDIA RELEASE
  R00125
  2 September 2015
  Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs

  Art is in the City

  As Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts opens a new era in its new urban setting, it is launching a performance series to celebrate the bond between the community and the new arts centre of excellence in downtown St. Catharines.

  The series Imagining the City – part of the Walker Cultural Leaders Program, 2015/16 – consists of performances, exhibitions, concerts and conferences, all themed around ideas of the urban, and the relationship between the City and the University.

  “Our goal is to invite the community to engage with us in a series of celebratory events, 40 or more, that run the course of the academic year,” said Derek Knight, MIWSFPA Director. “Formal or improvised, these activities will take place in our dynamic new building and in venues across the City, from the café to the concert hall, the theatre to the gallery, the outdoor environs to the street itself. What a wonderfully immersive way to bridge between our communities and to strengthen our ties.”

  Knight said events will build on the creativity and vision of faculty, students and the professional talents of many sister organizations and collaborators. “The idea that the city is a crucible for creative interaction and collective reflection, is a powerful concept and demonstration of the arts at their most compelling,” he said.

  The series will be dynamic and original and appeal to a variety of people, whether they are fans of theatre, musical performances, exhibitions or discussions.

  Imagining the City will bring Brock, the downtown and the greater Niagara community face-to-face with leading arts professionals and educators, with events occurring at the MIWSFPA, Rodman Hall, and venues within the developing creative arts hub of St. Paul Street.

  “At this crucial moment in the revival of our downtown the vitality of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is manifest in programs such as the Walker Cultural Leader Series,” Knight said.

  The series will consist of more than 40 wide-ranging events, including:

  • performances of First Nations writer Marvin Francis’ epic poem City Treaty, adapted for the St. Catharines setting (September);
  • a Guitar Extravaganza concert featuring faculty, alumni and aficionados of the classical guitar in the local community (November);
  • Confluence, a walking project and virtual reconstruction by acclaimed artist Elizabeth Chitty offering the student community and public an opportunity to explore the environs beyond our new building (January);
  • a collaboration between the Shaw Festival and the Department of Dramatic Arts on a staged reading of George Bernard Shaw’s play Major Barbara, entitled Major Barbara/Major Predictions(February);
  • a concert by the Department of Music’s Wind Ensemble in St. Catharines’ Market Square (March).

  The full program can be found here. Stay connected on social media by following @miwsfpa and #itc.

  All events for Imagining the City are free, and open to the public (the only exception being Poor by Essential Collective Theatre, co-presented by FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre with production assistance by DART).

  For more information or to arrange interviews: Marie Balsom, Communications Coordinator, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University mbalsom@brocku.ca, 905.688.5550 x4765

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  Tags: 15 artists' common, Art is in the City, downtown St. Catharines, Imagining the City, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, performance series, Walker Cultural Leader Series
  Categories: Media Releases, News

• Industrial Fabric 5: Festival of the Arts

  Tuesday, January 06, 2015 | By mbalsom

  

  Industrial Fabric is a festival of student art, imaginative performances and musical collaboration presented by the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  Engage in two months of events that will demonstrate the vitality of the Arts at Brock University – on stage, in studios and galleries, and at regional venues.

  Download the Industrial Fabric 5 Brochure here.

  Visit the MIWSFPA event site for information on all our programming.

  DRAMATIC ARTS

  One Acts Festival (DART 3P54)
  March 20 & 21 at 2 pm & 7 pm
  Upper year directing students present a series of short plays featuring student actors.
  Location: Rooms ST107 (Studio Theatre) and ST103, Schmon Tower, Brock Campus  Admission: Donations accepted

  Visitatio Sepulchri
  Tuesday, April 7; Talk 7 pm | Performance 7:30 pm
  A special Brock preview of a 12th century Easter production, which will be part of the Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) at the University of Toronto’s 50th anniversary Festival of Medieval theatre in June 2015. Performed by MIWSFPA students with music direction by Dr. Brian Power (Music) and stage direction by Virginia Reh (Dramatic Arts). A collaboration between Dramatic Arts, Music and Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
  Location: Concordia Seminary Chapel, Brock Campus  Admission: Donations accepted

  Beethoven Lives Upstairs
  Sunday, April 12 at 2:30 pm
  A partnership between the Niagara Symphony (NSO) and the Department of Dramatic Arts, presenting the story of young Christoph, who develops a unique relationship with his family’s very unusual upstairs tenant: Ludwig von Beethoven. Elizabeth Pereira and Evan Mulrooney, under the direction of DART professor Virginia Reh, will join Bradley Thachuk and the musicians of the NSO for this delightful tale of eccentric genius.
  Location: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock Campus. Tickets: $28.00 adults; $12.00 children (+HST)

  Awkward and Uncomfortable (DART 4F56)
  April 16, 17 & 18 at 7:30 pm
  Three interlocking stories explore how to survive the turbulence that washes over us when we question fundamental aspects of our identities. Is it better to find the answers to our secrets or to leave them locked away? And where is that elusive happy ending?
  Location: Room ST107 (Studio Theatre), Schmon Tower, Brock Campus. Admission: Donations accepted
  

  MUSIC EVENTS

  Student Recitals 
  Saturday, March 14 at 7:30 pm    Sabrina Xin Liu, piano
  Friday, March 20 at 7:30 pm        Serena Atallah, piano
  Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 pm    Victoria Hoshowsky, soprano with Lesley Kingham, piano
  Sunday, March 22 at 7:30 pm       Negin Rezaei Asl, piano
  Location: Concordia Seminary Chapel, Brock Campus
  These are free community events

  ENCORE! Professional Concert Series
  Friday, March 27, 2015, 7:30 pm
  Trio Surgite: Voices of Eastern Europe – Transcendent Music from Troubled Times –  INFO/Tickets

  VIVA VOCE! Choral Series
  Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 7:30 pm
  Spring Choral Concert
  The Brock University Choirs with guest conductor Glenda Crawford –INFO/Tickets

  Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 7:30 pm
  The Avanti Chamber Singers with conductor Harris Loewen
  Folk Song Sweets –  INFO/Tickets

  RBC Foundation music@noon Recital Series
  Generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation, this Tuesday lunchtime recital series is free and open to the public, featuring our performance faculty, talented students and alumni, as well as special guests.
  March 3
  Recital: Piano Students
  Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock Campus
  March 10 – RESCHEDULED to April 7
  Recital: Music Ed Plus Ensembles
  Concordia Seminary Chapel,
  Brock Campus
  March 17
  Recital: Voice Students
  Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock Campus
  March 24
  Recital: Instrumental Students
  Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock Campus
  March 31
  Recital: Piano Students
  Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock Campus

  The University Wind Ensemble
  with conductor Zoltan Kalman
  Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 pm
  This ensemble enjoys a rich tradition of nurturing individual artistic excellence through the study and performance of wind band literature. INFO/Tickets

  VISUAL ARTS EVENTS

  Presencia
  February 2 to March 27
  Screening of video work by Arnold McBay.
  Location: James A. Gibson Library, Brock Campus

  Parallax
  February 7 – March 22
  Opening reception: Sunday, February 8, 2 – 4 pm
  Exhibition of recent works by Duncan MacDonald and Arnold McBay.
  Location: Grimsby Public Art Gallery, 18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby, ON

  Focal Point
  February 23 – March 2
  Opening reception: Monday, February 23, 3 – 5 pm
  A photography exhibition by current and past Visual Arts students.
  Location: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre Lobby, Brock Campus

  Migration Juried Art Show
  Friday, March 6 at 7 pm
  The annual Juried Art Show is a year-end exhibition of the best student works from throughout the year. “Migration” is in honour of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ move to downtown St. Catharines. Art works will be available for purchase.
  Location: Niagara Artist Centre (NAC), 354 Saint Paul Street, St. Catharines

  Time and Space (VISA 2P98 & 3F96)
  Monday, March 23, 8 – 10 pm
  An exhibition of intermedia works.
  Location: Market Square, 91 King St., St. Catharines

  Honours Exhibition (VISA 4F06)
  Curated by Stuart Reid and Marcie Bronson
  Presented in two chapters, this exhibition displays the work of graduating Brock University Visual Arts students. Occupying Rodman Hall’s third floor studios during the academic year, students in the Honours Studio course have been mentored by professors Duncan MacDonald and Shawn Serfas, learning how to develop a focused body of work from concept to public exhibition.

  Honours Exhibition I (VISA 4F06)  March 28 – April 12, 2015
  Opening reception: Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m.

  Honours Exhibition II (VISA 4F06)  April 18 – May 3, 2015
  Opening reception: Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m.

  Location: Rodman Hall Art Centre, 109 St. Paul Crescent, St. Catharines.

  Walker Cultural Leader Series 2014-15
  The Walker Cultural Leader series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society. This educational program is generously funded by Marilyn I. Walker.

  Janet Werner 
  A free community event
  Janet Werner is an acclaimed Canadian painter with an international reputation who teaches at Concordia University. As part of a visit to Brock University – in which she will be selecting works by senior Brock University Visual Arts students to be exhibited in the upcoming exhibition, From likeness to fiction: the portrait inside out – she will also give a public presentation entitled Painting the Imaginary Portrait.
  “In Werner¹s current practice […] an argument erupts between beauty and the grotesque and the figure itself becomes the site of contest.” ~ Parisian Laundry, 2012

  Public Presentation: Painting the Imaginary Portrait  
  March 5, 2015 at 7 p.m.

  Exhibition: From likeness to fiction: the portrait inside out
  April 1 – 26, 2015

  Location: Rodman Hall Art Centre, 109 St. Paul Cres., St. Catharines. Gallery hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

  Tags: Festival of the Arts, Industrial Fabric, Industrial Fabric 5
  Categories: Events, Industrial Fabric

• The Walker Cultural Leader Series 2014-15

  Thursday, August 21, 2014 | By mbalsom

  

  The Walker Cultural Leader series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society. Please join us.

  This educational program is generously funded by Marilyn I. Walker.

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  Brett Polegato

  Brett Polegato is a renowned Canadian baritone, celebrated for his musical artistry and rich, nuanced voice.

  For Niagara-born Polegato this is a homecoming…on two counts! Growing up in Niagara Falls, as a teenager he studied with Brock University voice instructor Deborah Linton, before going on to the University of Toronto for his undergraduate degree. In ‘coming home’ to Niagara, he will not only perform An Evening of Song for the public, but will also coach a private masterclass for Linton’s students, as well as a second masterclass for invited performers from the region.

   

  Sept. 25

  • Group Coaching with Voice Students: Music students, 3–5 pm, TH 147 (closed session)

  Sept. 26

  • Public Performance: An Evening of Song, 7:30 pm, Sean O’Sullivan Theatre
    (free to MIWSFPA students; adults $15.04; seniors and students $8.85;
    eyeGo high school program $5; prices do not include HST)
    Tickets available at the Centre for the Arts Box Office
    905.688.5550905.688.5550 x3257 or visit Arts.BrockU.ca

  Sept. 27

  • Voice Masterclass: Music students, 10 am–12 noon, Sean O’Sullivan Theatre (closed session)
    MIWSFPA students are invited to attend as audience members.

  CONTACT: Prof. Karin Di Bella, Music, kdibella@brocku.ca

  Brett Polegato’s artistic sensibility has earned him the highest praise from audiences and critics: The New York Times has praised him for his “burnished, well-focused voice,” which he uses with “considerable intelligence and nuance.” He appears regularly on the world’s most distinguished stages, including those of Lincoln Center; La Scala; the Opéra National de Paris; Lyric Opera of Chicago; Houston Grand Opera; the Teatro Real; Roy Thomson Hall; the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Andris Nelsons; Bernard Haitink; Seiji Ozawa; Jeffrey Tate; Marc Minkowski; and Martyn Brabbins. Polegato can be heard as soloist in the Grammy Awards’ Best Classical Recording of 2003 – Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (Telarc)with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Robert Spano. His official biography can be found at brettpolegato.com/bio.html

   

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  Janet Werner

  Janet Werner is an acclaimed Canadian painter with an international reputation who teaches at Concordia University. 

  Werner will develop a project for senior Visual Arts students based on the portrait. From the works submitted she will select works to be exhibited in the upcoming exhibition From likeness to fiction: the portrait inside out. During her visit, Werner will give a public presentation entitled Painting the Imaginary Portrait.

   

   

  Mar. 5

  • Public Presentation: Painting the Imaginary Portrait, 7 pm, Rodman Hall Art Centre,
    109 St . Paul Cres., St . Catharines, ON (free community event)

  Click here to view on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Event site

  Apr. 1 – 26

  • Exhibition: From likeness to fiction: the portrait inside out, Rodman Hall Art Centre,
    109 St . Paul Cres., St . Catharines, ON (free community event)

  Click here to view on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Event Site

  May 24 –June 6

  • Exhibition: From likeness to fiction: the portrait inside out, Exhibition Hall, Department of Creative and Festival Arts,
    The University of The West Indies, St . Augustine, Trinidad W.I.

  CONTACT: Prof. Shawn Serfas, Visual Arts, sserfas@brocku.ca

  Born in Winnipeg, Janet Werner lives and works in Montreal where she teaches in the Department of Studio Arts at Concordia University. She holds an MFA from Yale University and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. As a participant in Oh, Canada staged at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in 2012-13, Werner’s presence and the impact of her portraits signaled her as one of our leading painters. “In Werner’s current practice […] an argument erupts between beauty and the grotesque and the figure itself becomes the site of contest.” (“Janet Werner: Earthling,” Parisian Laundry, 2012) Werner has shown widely in Canada at public and private galleries as well as artist-run centres. Selected solo shows include the SBC Gallery, Montreal; Art Gallery of Windsor; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; Ottawa Art Gallery; and the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg. Internationally, her work has been featured in solo presentations in Cape Town and Cologne. Her work can be found in the collections of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Musée du Québec, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Owens Art Gallery, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Mendel Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery and numerous corporate collections. Her biography can be found at parisianlaundry.com/en/artists/janetwerner/bio/

  Tags: Brett Polegato, Janet Werner, Walker Cultural Leader Series
  Categories: Events, Walker Cultural Leader Series

• Media Release: Jehanne of the Witches

  Tuesday, January 28, 2014 | By mbalsom

  Brock University
  Media Release
  St. Catharines, ON
  January 28, 2014

  The Department of Dramatic Arts’ mainstage production of Jehanne of the Witches is beset with twists and turns, black magic, illusion, sexuality, and the use – and abuse – of power!

  Students of Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts present Jehanne of the Witches, a Canadian play that probes into the nature of magic, truth and illusion. Performances will be held at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University on February 13, 14 and 15, 2014.

  Jehanne of the Witches, written by award-winning Canadian playwright Sally Clark, recounts Joan of Arc’s story with historical accuracy, and explores modern, feminist ideals, as well as Christianity and Paganism. Using historical facts, Clark weaves a story exploring the strange relationship that existed between Joan of Arc and her comrade-in-arms, Gilles de Rais – the notorious Bluebeard. In this production, Gilles de Rais is in his own personal purgatory where he is condemned to endlessly relive the events of his life from his first contact with Jehanne to his own death.
  Directed by Virginia Reh, with scenography by David Vivian, and lighting by Cameron More, this second mainstage production of the Department of Dramatics Arts’ 2013-14 Season showcases the talents of students in the undergraduate program: Katie Coseni, Mallory Muehmer, Rachel Romanoski, Hayley Malouin, Elizabeth Smith, Nikki Morrison, Erik Bell, Derek Ewert, Josh Berard, and Lewis Whiteley.

  “Sally Clark’s unique and unorthodox look at the Joan of Arc legend has called to me for a very long time,” states Reh. “This multi-layered play questions the very nature of history: how and by whom it is relayed and manipulated. It deals in power, mystery, a yearning to believe and the very nature of theatre itself. Layers behind layers are torn away in a search for the elusive “truth.” Who is a saint? and who is a monster?”

  This play contains sexual themes and occasional strong language.

  Performances for Jehanne of the Witches will be held in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University on February 13, 14, and 15, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinée performance on February 14 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, $12 for groups, and $5 for the eyeGo high school ticket program. Available from the Centre for the Arts Box Office: 905-688-5550 x3257 or visit: http://arts.brocku.ca/ For more information about this production and the Department of Dramatic Arts visit: brocku.ca/miwsfpa/dramaticarts.

  Productions from the Department of Dramatic Arts are an integral part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate to build connections between the community and the breadth of talent and creativity at Brock University.

  If you wish to experience the legend of Joan of Arc through the media of classic film and live choral performance, then you won’t want to miss Chorus Niagara’s CN CINEMA – The Passion of Joan of Arc, taking place on February 28 and March 1 at 7:30 p.m., held at St. Thomas Anglican Church in St. Catharines. Tickets can be purchased through the Centre for the Arts Box Office (purchase information is listed above).

   

  Media call: Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 6 p.m., held in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University

  For interviews please contact:
  Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905.688.5550, x4765| E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/finearts

  Tags: dramatic arts, jehanne of the witches, media release, plays
  Categories: Media Releases

• Industrial Fabric 4: Festival of the Arts

  Friday, January 17, 2014 | By mbalsom

  

  Download a copy of the Industrial Fabric 4 Brochure.

  Industrial Fabric is a festival of student art, imaginative performances and musical collaboration presented by the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  Engage in two months of events that will demonstrate the vitality of the Arts at Brock University – on stage, in studios and galleries, and at regional venues.

  The Walker School with be moving to its new downtown facilities in 2015.

  ---

   

  Dramatic Arts Events

  • Gimme 2 Festival: March 5 at 8 p.m.
  • One Acts Festival: March 21 & 22 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Fragmentos: April 11 & 12 at 7:30 p.m., Matinee: April 12 at 2 p.m. (Link leads to Facebook page)
  • Theatrical Design Exhibition: March 26 – April 2; Times: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • The Rosina Project: March 31 at 5 p.m.
  • Keavy Lynch Thesis Project: April 15, 16, 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

   

  Music Events

  • Andrew Downing Ensemble: March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Women’s choirs from Brock & McMaster University with conductor Harris Loewen: March 8 at 7:30 p.m.
  • The Brock University Choirs with conductor Harris Loewen: April 5 at 7:30 p.m.
  • The Avanti Chamber Singers with conductor Harris Loewen: April 26 at 7:30 p.m.
  • The University Wind Ensemble: April 1 at 7:30 p.m.
  • RBC Foundation Music@Noon: Tuesdays from 12 noon (Sean O’Sullivan Theatre)
    • Recital: Instrumental students: March 4
    • Recital: Piano students: March 11
    • Recital: Voice students: March 18
    • Recital: Instrumental students: March 25
    • Recital: Piano students: April 1
  • Student Recital:
    • Leanne Vida, soprano with Lesley Kingham, piano: March 21 at 8 p.m. (St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 31 Queenston St., St. Catharines)

   

  Walker Cultural Leader Series Events 

  • Ensemble Vivant: March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

   

  Visual Arts Events

  • VISA 4F06 Exhibition I: March 22 – April 6, Opening Reception March 21 at 7 p.m.
  • VISA 4F06 Exhibition II: April 12 – 27, Opening Reception April 11 at 7 p.m.
  • Exhibition: Time and Space: April 7, 8 – 10 p.m.

   

  Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture

  • Please visit our website for upcoming events.

  Tags: Festival of the Arts, Industrial Fabric, Industrial Fabric 4
  Categories: Events, Industrial Fabric

• Industrial Fabric2: Festival of the Arts

  Thursday, March 01, 2012 | By mbalsom

  

  Brock University
  Media Release
  St. Catharines, ON
  March 1, 2012

  Industrial Fabric2: Festival of the Arts
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  March to April 2012

  The second Festival of the Arts showcasing the remarkable talents of students enrolled in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be held March to April 2012. Industrial Fabric2 signals that time of year when students who have been preparing individually and collectively will bring their in-class, independent or studio projects to fruition. In the spirit of openness and mutual generosity, we invite you to celebrate their achievements on stage, in studios and galleries, and at regional venues.

  As part of the culminating activities that signal the end of the academic year Industrial Fabric2 offers a dynamic range of creative events open to the University and community at large from theatre to musical performances to art exhibitions. Enjoy original student-written and performed plays produced as part of the Department of Dramatic Arts’ Gimme 3 or One Acts Festival, and a production written and produced by fourth-year students called Shadows of a Toymaker; a rich selection of concerts from the Department of Music including its Tuesday Music@Noon series, Student Recitals, the ENCORE! Professional Concert Series, the VIVA VOCE! Choral Series, and the University Wind Ensemble; exhibitions from the students of the Department of Visual Arts reflecting their achievements in photography, drawing, book making, and intermedia as well as the annual juried show, and a fourth-year honours exhibition hosted by Rodman Hall Art Centre. This year we are honoured by the participation of Donna Szoke, Visiting Artist, whose video installation and all watched over by machines of loving grace will be installed at CRAM Gallery.

  “Industrial Fabric2 represents the creative thread that binds students in common effort, to perfect and bring their creativity to audiences both large and small, on and off campus. It promises to deliver over the course of two months a rich plethora of collective and individual talent mentored under the guise of our tremendous faculty and staff. This continues to be a testimony to the strength of our academic programs – where else can one find such brilliant vitality and collaboration that manifests itself from year to year with such vision, energy and dedication?” states Derek Knight, Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, part of the Faculty of Humanities at Brock University, is comprised of the Departments of Dramatic Arts (DART), Music (MUSI), and Visual Arts (VISA), and the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (cSTAC).

  All are welcome.  Click here for a calendar of events.

  Tags: Festival of the Arts, Industrial Fabric, Industrial Fabric 2
  Categories: Media Releases, News

• Dramatic Arts Mainstage production opening Feb 17, 2011: Phèdre.

  Tuesday, February 01, 2011 | By mbalsom

  Phèdre

  Written by Jean Racine
  Translated by Ted Hughes
  Directed by Virginia Reh
  Designed by David Vivian

  Feb. 17, 18, 19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

  Student Matinee: Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 at 01:00 p.m.

  adults $15.00
  students and seniors $12.00
  $5.00 matinee for Brock students and staff

  The myth of Phèdre is one of the most powerful in all of classical mythology. Believing her absent husband Theseus to be dead, the Queen confesses her obsession for stepson Hippolytus, thus entering a nightmare world and spinning a tale of passion that unwinds with disastrous consequences.

  Phèdre: A Primer, is an introduction to our production, prepared by our Dramaturge and Fourth Year DART student, Spencer Smith. Included are:
  1) Collaboration, 2) Play Synopsis, 3) Director’s Notes, 4) Scenographer’s Notes, 5) The Playwright: Jean-Baptiste Racine, 6) The Translator: Ted Hughes, 7) Family Tree, 8) The Myths: Theseus, Phaedra, and Hippolytus, 9) The Labyrinth of Lexicon: People and Places, 10) The Many Faces of Phaedra, 11) Dramaturge’s Notes, 12) List of Figures, 13) Bibliography.

  Download your PDF copy of Phèdre: A Primer (PDF, 16.1 MB)

  Tags: dart mainstage, phèdre, plays
  Categories: Events

• Brock University Wind Ensemble presents “That’s Entertainment”

  Tuesday, March 30, 2010 | By mbalsom

  On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, the Department of Music’s University Wind Ensemble will explore the full breadth of wind ensemble repertoire as they present a concert of musical fireworks, from Rimsky-Korsakov to John Williams, held at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre at 7:30 p.m.

  Under the direction of conductor Zoltan Kalman, the University Wind Ensemble is comprised of 55 musicians drawn from Brock students, high school students, and members of Niagara’s musical community, including the Niagara Symphony and Symphony Hamilton. Seasoned professional players will perform together with university students, as well as high school students from Centennial, Welland; Holy Cross and Eden, St. Catharines; Lakeshore Catholic, Wainfleet; A. N. Myer, Niagara Falls; Grimsby High, Grimsby; Beamsville District Secondary School, Beamsville; Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, St. Catharines, and E. L. Crossley, Fonthill.

  The evening program, entitled That’s Entertainment, features masterworks of the past and present including Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade; Robert Russell Bennett: Symphonic Songs; Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg: Les Miserables (featuring Vanessa Vella, soprano); George Gershwin: I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ (featuring April Curran, soprano); and John Williams: Star Wars.

  “Following on the success of the past three years, this selection of music is designed to highlight both the virtuosity and nuance of the evening,” says conductor Zoltan Kalman, a part-time faculty member in the Department of Music and principal clarinetist of the Niagara Symphony.

  Such performances from the Department of Music are a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’s mandate in building connections between the community and the breadth of talent and creativity at Brock University.

  Join us on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock University, and discover classical and modern wind ensemble repertoire!

  Tags: department of music, music, university wind ensemble, wind ensemble, zoltan kalman
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