Events

Award-winning pianist returns to Brock for Walker Cultural Leaders Series

Thursday, November 08, 2018 | By Brock University

Award-winning Canadian concert pianist David Jalbert will give a recital Friday, Nov. 16 as part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ 2018 performance season.

(From The Brock News, Wednesday Nov. 7, 2018 | By: Sarah Moore)

Renowned Canadian concert pianist David Jalbert is returning to St. Catharines Friday, Nov. 16 as the next performer in the Walker Cultural Leaders Series.

The performance will also open this year’s Encore! Professional Concert Series, hosted by the Department of Music at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

Jalbert, who performs regularly as a soloist and recitalist across North America and Europe, last came to Brock as part of the MIWSFPA’s 2013 performance season.

A national and international prize-winner, he has won five Opus Awards, was nominated for three Juno Awards and was the 2007 laureate of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Music Department Chair Matthew Royal said the accomplished performer will be a highlight to the School’s 2018 event season, both for the public and music students alike.

“We are delighted to have David Jalbert return to Brock to give a master class to our piano students, and to perform a solo piano recital,” he said. “He is a superbly expressive pianist whose musicality and intelligence are supported by a flawless technique.”

Jalbert will perform in Partridge Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Art Centre, where attendees will be treated to a program of solo piano works by Bach, Schumann, Liszt and Fauré. The recital will conclude with a performance of Prokofiev’s monumental Sonata No. 7, Op. 83, in B flat major.

“The highlight of this concert will, I believe, be the Prokofiev 7th Piano Sonata,” Royal noted. “This is one of those pieces that all pianists worth their salt must conquer at some point in their careers. I predict it will be a ‘tour de force.’”

Tickets are available by contacting the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office at 905-688-0722 or firstontariopac.ca

Tickets are $29 for adults, $23 for seniors and students and $13 for children 14 and under. Special $5 tickets are also available through the eyeGo program.

The Walker Cultural Leaders Series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to Brock’s MIWSFPA.

The sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in society. The education program is generously funded by Marilyn I. Walker.

Tags: David Jalbert, department of music, Encore! Professional Concert Series, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, matthew royal, miwsfpa, Walker Cultural Leader Series
Categories: Announcements, Events, News, Walker Cultural Leader Series
Guitarist to conclude faculty Music@Noon performances

Friday, November 02, 2018 | By Brock University

Guitarist Tim Phelan will perform as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon series on Nov. 6.

(From The Brock News | Friday, Nov. 2)

Fans of Queen are in for a treat during the next RBC Foundation Music@Noon concert.

Guitarist Tim Phelan will take the stage of the Cairns Recital Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 6 with an arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody by Niagara composter Floyd Turner.

The performance will also include Turner’s Twelve Preludes as well as solo guitar works by Tárrega, Villa-Lobos and Bach.

Phelan is a classical guitarist, conductor, composer, arranger and educator currently teaching at Brock University and Mohawk College. At the age of 18, he made his CBC recording debut as concerto soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. Since then, he has been heard in solo, concerto and chamber music performances over CBC Radio and Television, Radio France, Radio Caribbean and Cuban National Television and Radio.

The Department of Music invites faculty, staff, students and the community to come and experience his performance. The Music@Noon Series features free, one-hour concerts that occur most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

For more information about upcoming performances, please visit the Department of Music website.

Tags: Cairns Recital Hall, department of music, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, music@noon, Tim Phelan
Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
DART Faculty co-direct a Play in Four Hours at Curriculum and Pedagogy conference in New Orleans

Wednesday, October 31, 2018 | By Brock University

Classroom Territoriality (Left to Right) Joe Norris, Rich Edmonson, Sharon Gile, Rick Breault, Janis McTeer

A Play in Four Hours

Using the playbuilding research process, Dramatic Arts Chair Joe Norris and graduate student Kevin Hobbs co-directed delegates at the Curriculum and Pedagogy conference in New Orleans, Oct. 17 and 18.

After two, one and one-half hour devising sessions, and a one-hour rehearsal, they performed their series of nine vignettes, entitled: The Shape of School, at the closing conference event. The emergent themes included territoriality of classroom spaces, the pervasiveness of heteronormativity in the school yard, forms of administrative control of students and teachers, perceived status of particular schools and competing educational philosophies. It was concluded that these and other issues are strong undercurrents that contribute to the ethos of school experiences.

Audience members participated in workshopping the scenes through body sculpting and discussions, with one conference delegate claiming that the images and issues would haunt her for some time to come.

In addition to Norris and Hobbs, the participating playwrights were Rick Breault, Ashland University; Sharon Gile, Claflin University; Janis McTeer, Kent State University; Karen Morris, RJ Reynold High School, North Carolina; Sam Tanner, Penn State University; and Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Rich Edmonson, and Zulema Williams all from University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.

The Shape of Schools (Left to Right) Kevin Hobbs, Sam Tanner, Sharon Gile, Janis McTeer

Leave it at the Door (Left to Right) Sharon Gile, Janis McTeer, Kevin Hobbs and Rick Breault

Tags: Curriculum and Pedagogy conference, dart, directing, joe norris, New Orleans, playbuilding
Categories: Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
Brock Music students to take the stage for first time this season

Friday, October 26, 2018 | By Brock University

(From The Brock News, Friday Oct. 26, 2018)

For the first time this season, students in Brock’s Department of Music are set to perform on the same stage that their instructors did just weeks before.

The RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series continues on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

Students have the opportunity to perform in the Cairns Recital Hall in front of staff, faculty, fellow students and the community. Performers will include piano, vocal and instrumental students.

Music@Noon is a free recital series that takes place most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year.

For more information about the series, please visit the Music@Noon webpage.

Tags: department of music, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, music@noon
Categories: Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, News
Public roundtable to explore Antigone’s relevance to modern society

Thursday, October 25, 2018 | By Brock University

Students in Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts have been working for months to bring the classic Greek tragedy Antigone to the mainstage this weekend. The production will have a six-show run at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre in downtown St. Catharines, opening on Friday, Oct. 26. Seen during last week’s media call are actors Catherine Tait (Antigone), left, and Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk (Ismene).

(From The Brock News, Thursday Oct. 25, 2018 | By Jaquelyn Bezaire)

Gender inequality, corruption and the conflict between personal beliefs and the laws of society are all at the centre of Brock’s new mainstage production, Antigone.

And although the classic Greek tragedy is more than 2,500 years old, a roundtable discussion will be held at the University next week to discuss its relevance to today.

Elizabeth Vlossak, History Professor and Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), hopes to delve into the reasons why Antigone is one of the most read, performed and adapted plays in all of dramatic literature.

On Wednesday, Oct. 31, she will moderate the roundtable that will include a panel of professors from Brock’s departments of Classics, Political Science, Philosophy and Dramatic Arts.

Faculty, staff, students and the community are invited to join the panellists in the conversation, which begins at 3 p.m. in the Scotiabank Atrium of the Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex.

The informative and lively discussion will highlight the importance of Antigone and the connections that can be made across academic disciplines.

The panellists will explain why Antigone is not only studied in courses about Ancient Greece but is also used to explore political theory, gender dynamics and various religious and moral problems.

Panellists include professors Roberto Nickel (Classics), Adam Rappold (Classics), Athena Colman (Philosophy), Stefan Dolgert (Political Science) and Mike Griffin (Dramatic Arts).

Vlossak organized the event in part to promote the upcoming production of Antigone, which opens Friday, Oct 26. The play is presented by Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts.

“One of my goals as Director of the MIWSFPA has been to increase student, faculty and public awareness, interest and participation in our programming at the school,” said Vlossak. “But this interdisciplinary panel discussion is also about bridging the two campuses. It’s bringing faculty from different departments together to share their expertise with students and the public, and it’s showcasing how the fine and performing arts can be incorporated into all of our teaching, learning and research, as well as our everyday lives, in meaningful ways.”

The roundtable will begin by exploring the world of Sophocles and Antigone’s significance in ancient drama and performance.

Other topics of discussion include the legacy of Antigone in the fields of politics and philosophy, the continued pedagogical value of studying Antigone, and the play’s relevance in the current political climate.

“Antigone still inspires political rebels today, who find in her obstinate resistance a role model for action in the present,” said Dolgert. “Antigone is for those who refuse to accept the tired cliché that politics is ‘the art of the possible,’ as it is her seemingly irrational affirmation of the impossible that ultimately prevails.”

Griffin, a Dramatic Arts lecturer and the production’s Director, will join the panel and explain why he chose the play for Brock’s mainstage performance.

He hopes to “paint Antigone as a strong woman,” and aims to show how themes of the #MeToo movement are reflected throughout the production.

Antigone runs Oct. 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. and Nov. 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a high school matinee on Nov. 2 at 11:30 a.m.

The production will be held in MIWSFPA’s Marilyn I. Walker Theatre in downtown St. Catharines. Tickets are available through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office at 905-688-0722 or on the PAC website.

Tags: Adam Rappold, Antigone, Athena Colman, department of classics, Department of Dramatic Arts, Department of Philosophy, department of political science, Elizabeth Vlossak, Mike Griffin, Roberto Nickel, Stefan Dolgert
Categories: Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
Sounds of clarinet and piano to fill Music@Noon stage

Friday, October 19, 2018 | By Brock University

Clarinetist Zoltan Kalman will perform Tuesday, Oct. 23 as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

(From The Brock News, Friday Oct. 19)

Pianist Gary Forbes.

Clarinetist Zoltan Kalman and pianist Gary Forbes will combine their sounds for the next RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series performance on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

The show, which include works by composers Aaron Copland, Johannes Brahms and Luigi Bassi, is part of the free weekly concert series hosted by the Department of Music and generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation.

Kalman performs as principal clarinetist for both the Niagara Symphony and Symphony Hamilton, and also acts as the conductor for the University Wind Ensemble at Brock University.

Along with his work at Brock University as Staff Accompanist, Forbes is a freelance collaborative pianist, Director of Music at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church and founder of the Reverberations Concert Series.

Kalman and Forbes are among many talented musicians who will grace the Music@Noon stage throughout the academic year. Performances in the concert series take place most Tuesdays at noon in Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

For more information about upcoming performances please visit the Music@Noon web page.

Tags: department of music, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Gary Forbes, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, music@noon, rbc foundation, zoltan kalman
Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
Brock cello instructor to take stage for Music@Noon

Monday, October 15, 2018 | By Brock University

Cellist Gordon Cleland will perform on stage for the RBC Foundation Music@Noon series on Oct. 16 at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

(From The Brock News, Monday, Oct. 15)

The 2018-19 RBC Foundation Music@Noon series continues with its second performance of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation and hosted by the Department of Music, the free concert series performance will feature Brock cello instructor Gordon Cleland. All are invited to attend the recital, taking place in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

Currently performing with the Niagara Symphony as the principal cellist, Cleland has also performed as a soloist for the Debut Series in Montreal as well as across North America.

Music@Noon takes place at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year.

For more information on upcoming performances, please visit ExperienceBU.

Tags: department of music, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Gordon Cleland, music@noon, rbc foundation
Categories: Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News
Public talk and exhibition explore selfies and homeownership

Friday, October 05, 2018 | By Brock University

In his exhibition running until Nov. 7, Alejandro Cartagena has curated a selection of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s vast collection of publicly shared selfies. (Photo courtesy of Alejandro Cartagena, from the official website of the office of the President of Mexico)

(From The Brock News, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 | by Sarah Moore)

While acclaimed artist Alejandro Cartagena’s work focuses mainly on suburban life in Mexico, the themes expressed in his photographs bear uncanny resemblances to issues also currently impacting Canadians.

Brock Visual Arts Professor Amy Friend said it’s that universality that made Cartagena’s work so appealing and was why she invited him to this year’s Walker Cultural Leaders Series at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

Alejandro Cartagena, an international award-winning artist, self-publisher and editor who lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico, will present a lecture and exhibition as part of the Walker Cultural Leaders Series Oct. 17. (Photo courtesy of Alejandro Cartagena)

“I’ve seen Cartagena’s work making an impact in how he is able to question political issues, mostly focused in Mexico, but I think there is a really universal message in what he is presenting,” she said. “It’s also important for students and the public to interact on a personal basis with a successful, working artist. To see that these are real people making real work in the real world — and it’s creating a dialogue.”

Cartagena is presenting an exhibition, Presidential Guide to Selfies, and giving a public lecture titled Visualizing space and some ideas of homeownership 2006 to 2018. The exhibition opening reception and the lecture both take place on Wednesday, Oct. 17 and are free and open to the public.

Hosted in the VISA Gallery and Student Exhibition Space, Presidential Guide to Selfies asks people to question the motives behind Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s vast collection of publicly shared selfies.

Cartagena has curated a selection of these selfies (currently posted to the President’s Official website) as a means to examine whether these images are being shared to show the Mexican President’s engagement with the people of his country, or whether it is merely an exercise in vanity as he ‘poses with his fans.’
Cartagena has also created an accompanying photobook for this exhibition in which he details the events surrounding each selfie.

Friend noted that in an age of cell phones and social media, and with Canada’s own Justin Trudeau often affectionately and critically called ‘Prime Minister Selfie,’ the exhibition’s exploration of politics, social media connectivity and celebrity culture is exceptionally timely.

Following the gallery opening, Cartagena will explore the interdependence of humans and landscape in the face of urban expansion in a lecture drawing from his own body of work.

Carpoolers, for example, is comprised of a series of photographs taken of migrant workers travelling around Mexico in the beds of pickup trucks.

In his public lecture on Oct. 17, Alejandro Cartagena will explore issues of home and ownership through the use of his work such as Carpoolers, which documents migrant workers riding in the back of vehicles. (Photo courtesy of Alejandro Cartagena)

The images of hardworking labourers travelling from job to job during the harvest season can conjure connections to Niagara’s own large migrant worker population.

In Ontario alone, tens of thousands of migrant workers come to farms, orchards and greenhouses as part of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program every year. They work and live in communities in the Niagara Fruit Belt, often spending six to eight months working in the agricultural hub of the province.

“The idea of ownership floats around in Cartagena’s work, looking at suburban Mexican homes, border issues, migrant issues, issues of poverty and wealth,” said Friend. “It’s quite poignant now, in particular with what is happening with migration issues worldwide, and it also makes us question how we treat our own migrant workers. How do we decide how housing is built? Do we even know what is happening here in Canada?”

The lecture is being held in the Robertson Theatre at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

Steve Solski, Executive Director, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, said hosting the event in conjunction with the MIWSFPA is another example of the close community partnership between the two establishments.

“The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and our neighbours at the Marilyn I. Walker School have together truly become the cultural hub for our city and region,” said Solski. “The synergy between bringing together the very best artists from across our country and world paired with nurturing and developing local artists and young creative minds, is key to our thriving arts community.”

Tickets to the lecture are free, but registration is required by visiting the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website. The exhibition runs until Nov. 7.

Presidential Guide to Selfies
Exhibition opening: Wednesday, Oct. 17, 5 p.m., VISA Art Gallery and Student Exhibition Space, MIWSFPA
Exhibition runs: Oct. 4 to Nov. 7

Visualizing space and some ideas of homeownership 2006-2018
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m., Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

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 education program is generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker.

Tags: alejandro cartagena, Amy Friend, Department of Visual Arts, VISA, walker cultural leaders series
Categories: Events, Walker Cultural Leader Series
Walker Cultural Leaders Series Presents: Zine Making Workshop

Thursday, October 04, 2018 | By sackles

The Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture celebrates book-making!
Join us for a zine-making workshop as part of our 2018 Walker Cultural Leaders Series. This is a free event open to the university and the general public.

When: Thursday, October 18, 2018 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)
Where: MIWSFPA 229A (inside the Learning Commons)
What: Zine-Making Workshop, with Christine Cucciniello

A zine is a small, non-commercial, often homemade publication.

In this 3-hour-long workshop, zine author Christine Cucciniello will help participants in the creation of a common zine. Please join us for a fun, creative experience. Each participant will receive a copy of the zine. To reserve a spot, please contact Catherine Parayre at [email protected]

The event is presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture for the Walker Cultural Leader Series, generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker.

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 education program is generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker.

Tags: Catherine Parayre, Christine Cucciniello, stac, studies in arts and culture, walker cultural leader, Walker Cultural Leader Series, workshop, zine making
Categories: Events, Walker Cultural Leader Series
RBC Foundation Music@Noon recital series returns for another season

Friday, September 28, 2018 | By Brock University

Flutist Patricia Dydnansky is the first performer in the 2018-19 RBC Foundation Music@Noon Series, opening on Oct. 2 at noon at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

(From The Brock News, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018 | by Jaquelyn Bezaire)

The popular RBC Foundation Music@Noon series is returning this fall with another stellar lineup of free recitals in downtown St. Catharines, beginning Oct 2.

Generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation, and hosted by the Department of Music, the series features noon-hour performances by faculty, guests and music students that take place at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre most Tuesdays throughout the year.

The 2018-19 season will open with a performance by Brock’s own flute instructor, Patricia Dydnansky.

Currently performing with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra as the Second Flute and Piccolo, Dydnansky has also performed with the Shaw Festival Orchestra, the Stratford Festival Orchestra and the Hamilton Philharmonic. A veteran performer in the Music@Noon series, Dydnansky said patrons can look forward to hearing repertoire from around the world in her recital.

“This program includes music by composers inspired by the Native American flute and Japanese shakuhachi, a set of Celtic tunes on my new Windward Irish flute, and a delightful set of short dances for piccolo inspired by British folk songs,” Dydnansky said. “Ibert’s gorgeous Pièce pour Flûte Seule is on the bill, as well as pieces by the Baroque composers Telemann and Marais, both displaying the ability of a solo instrument to play polyphonically.”

The series will continue with performances by Music faculty members Gordon Cleland, Zoltan Kalman, Tim Phelan, Karin Di Bella and Devon Fornelli, and conclude with student performances at the end of each semester.

Music Chair Matthew Royal said this allows students studying at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) to watch their instructors perform on stage before having the opportunity to perform in a professional environment themselves later on in the year.

“We are so grateful for our generous sponsors, the RBC Foundation, that allow us to host these concerts every year,” he said. “They provide a great opportunity for students to learn all that’s involved in performing in a professional-level recital, and for our talented faculty and students to showcase the hard work they have put into their performances with the local community.”

A line-up of talented guest performances will also round out the programming this year, including Maltese-Canadian flutist Rebecca Hall, who will perform with Brock pianist Karin Di Bella on Jan. 8. The performers first connected over their shared interest in the work of Jack Behrens, a Canadian composer, and will be continuing to work together after their early 2019 show.

On Jan. 29, percussionist Devon Fornelli will perform with pianist John Sherwood. Fornelli, a percussion instructor at Brock, has a wide range of experience performing as a soloist, an orchestral percussionist and as a chamber instrumentalist, and Sherwood, the piano tuner at Brock, is listed as being among the top jazz pianists in Ontario.

Royal encourages both students and those from around the community to come and experience the talented musicians that Brock University has to offer.

The Music@Noon Recital series is generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation and will run most Tuesdays at noon throughout the academic year. The concerts are performed in the Cairns Recital Hall at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. This is a free event that is open to the public.

For more details about future performances, please visit brocku.ca/miwsfpa/music/concerts

2018-19 RBC Foundation Music@Noon Series:

Oct. 2: Patricia Dydnansky (flute)
Oct. 16: Gordon Cleland (cello)
Oct. 23: Zoltan Kalman (clarinet) and Gary Forbes (piano)
Oct. 30: Piano, vocal and instrument students
Nov. 6: Tim Phelan (guitar)
Nov. 20: Voice, guitar and piano students
Nov. 27: Instrumental students
Dec. 4: Piano students
Jan. 8: Rebecca Hall (flute) and Karin Di Bella (piano)
Jan. 29: Devon Fornelli (percussion) and John Sherwood (piano)
Feb. 5: Voice, guitar and piano students
Feb. 12: Instrumental students
Feb. 26: Karin Di Bella (piano)
March 5: Walker String Quartet: Vera Alekseeva and Anna Hughes (violins), Faith Lau (viola) and Gordon Cleland (cello)
March 12: Piano students
March 19: Instrumental students
March 26: Voice, guitar and piano students
April 2: Piano students

Tags: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, matthew royal, music@noon, Patricia Dydnansky, rbc foundation
Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News