News

  • Brock prof to premiere new works by St. Catharines composer

    Monday, February 25, 2019 | By

    Pianist Karin Di Bella will perform at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

    (From The Brock News, February 22, 2019 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Following her recital with Maltese-Canadian flutist Rebecca Hall last semester, Associate Professor Karin Di Bella will give a solo performance on Tuesday, Feb. 26 as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

    Focusing on one of her areas of expertise, contemporary Canadian repertoire, Di Bella will premiere a set of works by St. Catharines composer James Moffett during her performance in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    Di Bella is currently working at Brock where she teaches studio piano, master classes, accompanying, keyboard harmony, piano literature and piano pedagogy. She has been sought after as an adjudicator for music festivals across Canada and is a senior piano examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music.

    The RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series features free one-hour concerts most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year. Students, faculty, staff and the community are invited to join the Department of Music on Tuesday, Feb. 26 in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

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

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Event to explore bodies and illness through art and literature

    Thursday, February 21, 2019 | By

    Yasmine Kandil, Associate Professor of Dramatic Arts, and six Brock Dramatic Arts students will present “Still Here,” cat the fifth annual Art, Archives and Affinities event. Hosted by the Social Justice Research Institute, the event takes place at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

    (From The Brock News, February 21, 2019 | By: Alison Innes)

    Art-making and trauma. Non-human organisms in the human body. Early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

    These are some of the ideas and experiences Brock scholars will explore through art and literature at the upcoming Art, Archives and Affinities event hosted by the Social Justice Research Institute.

    Held Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines, this year’s event features scholars from Visual Arts, Dramatic Arts, and English examining ideas about the body, illness and trauma.

    Included among the speakers is Candace Couse, an artist and PhD candidate in the Interdisciplinary Humanities, who will present an art installation and discuss her research on art and illness. Couse’s research examines the role that producing art has on artists who are undergoing illness and body trauma and how addressing trauma and illness through art-making helps artists reclaim their bodies and experiences.

    Also presenting is Adam Dickinson, Associate Professor in the Department of English, who subjected himself to a wide variety of bio-medical tests to measure and identify the precise chemical and microbial diversity of his body. The book of poetry he wrote examining the experience and its results, Anatomic, explores how we rely on nonhuman organisms to make us human and the permeability of our bodies to the environment.

    Yasmine Kandil, Assistant Professor in the Department of Dramatic Arts, and a team of six Dramatic Arts students will present performance piece “Still Here” at the event. Students created the performance based on interviews they did with caregivers of people with early onset Alzheimer’s. The performance explores the disease and the impact it has on caregivers.

    Art, Archives and Affinities is free and open to the public.

    What: Art, Archives and Affinities
    When: Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 2 to 5 p.m.
    Where: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Room 151 and Studio D

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • REDress event highlights pain, resilience of Indigenous women and girls

    Thursday, February 21, 2019 | By

    Red dresses could be seen hanging outside on Brock University’s main campus as part of the REDress Project on Feb. 14. (Photo by Jane Theriault-Norman)Red dresses could be seen hanging outside on Brock University’s main campus as part of the REDress Project on Feb. 14. (Photo by Jane Theriault-Norman)

    (From The Brock News, February 20, 2019 | By: Jeannie Mackintosh)

    In Ojibway, Mashkawizii means “she has inner strength.”

    That strength was harnessed during a powerful event held at Brock University last week to draw attention to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

    The REDress Project’s second annual initiative saw flowing red gowns hung outside around Brock University’s main campus and Rodman Hall Art Centre, as well as inside at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.

    Each dress was meant to represent the spirit of a missing or murdered Indigenous female.

    Members of the women’s drum group from the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre accompanied the speakers at the REDress event.

    The Feb. 14 event culminated in presentations in Thistle Complex by local Indigenous women who shared messages of pain, resilience and hope.

    Following a smudging ceremony, Robyn Bourgeois, an Indigenous scholar and Assistant Professor in the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, welcomed guests and introduced speakers Eileen and Sheena Joseph, Lyn Trudeau and Leona Skye — all “people who have felt this trauma personally,” Bourgeois said.

    Eileen Joseph shared the story of her daughter, Shelly, who was murdered. The tragedy left Eileen to raise her then infant granddaughter, Sheena.

    Years later, Eileen and Sheena have, with quiet determination, learned to support one another as well as fellow survivors.

    Addressing the crowd through tears at the event, Sheena, now a mother herself, offered love to those in attendance who themselves were suffering.

    “I have enough to share,” she said.

    Brock PhD student and instructor Lyn Trudeau presented her response to a recent stage production of Pig Girl about the Robert Pickton murders, a play she called “obscene” and “disrespectful.” Originally written and produced by a non-Indigenous team, it has since been re-imagined and presented by Indigenous players.

    A self-described advocate and survivor of human trafficking, artist Leona Skye was once numbered among Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

    Her name was removed from the list only two years ago when “they realized I’d been found,” she said.

    She spoke not only about the abuse she suffered since she was a young child, but also of the compassion she eventually felt for her “first pimp,” her father who had himself been abused in the residential school system.

    In her talk, Trudeau quoted a Cheyenne proverb: “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is finished; no matter how brave its warriors or how strong their weapons.”

    This year’s REDress event called Hearts of our Nations was a testament to the strength and resilience of Indigenous women in Canada.

    “We’re still here,” said Bourgeois. “This is the largest gathering of Indigenous women on campus.”

    The event was punctuated by song from the women’s drum group from the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre.

    The REDress project, founded by Métis artist Jamie Black, aims to focus attention on the issue of gender- and race-based violence in Canada.

    Support for this year’s event was provided by the Student Justice Centre, Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, Women’s Campus Safety Fund/Human Rights and Equity Office, Sexual Violence Prevention Committee, Department of English Language and Literature, Tecumseh Centre for Aboriginal Research and Education, Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) Brock, Master in Social Justice and Equity Studies program, Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation at Brock, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and Rodman Hall Art Centre. Organizers also wish to thank the many support staff across the University who helped with this event.

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    Categories: News

  • Scrap textiles to be turned into artistic treasures at Brock workshop

    Thursday, February 21, 2019 | By

    Brock Visual Arts student Emma Mary Sked

    Fifth-year Visual Arts student Emma Mary Sked will lead a workshop Feb. 27 to teach participants how to transform scrap fabric into unique sculptures, similar to the animals she created in her recent exhibition, Maybe You Should Drive.

    (From The Brock News, February 21, 2019 | Sarah Ackles)

    Bits of fabric set to be thrown away will instead be used to create unique sculptures during a workshop held on Brock’s main campus next week.

    Fifth-year Visual Arts student Emma Mary Sked, who is also part of the upcoming VISA 4F06 Honours Exhibition, will show participants how to transform the scraps into works of art on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the James A. Gibson Library.

    The workshop is the third event in the new Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) Wellness Series, which is hosted by the MIWSFPA and features free monthly activities that promote well-being and the benefits of engaging in the arts.

    Sked recently worked with textiles to construct brightly coloured fabric animals as part of her Maybe You Should Drive exhibition at the MIWSFPA in November.

    She is excited to now teach others how to bring their own creations to life.

    Everyone in the Brock and broader community looking to relax and unwind, while harnessing their inner creativity and learning a new skill, is welcome to attend. The event runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in ST231 of the Library’s Matheson Learning Commons.

    No previous art experience is required and all necessary materials will be supplied.

    The event is free, but registration is required at ExperienceBU or by contacting sackles@brocku.ca

    For more information about the event and others in the series, visit the MIWSFPA Wellness Series web page.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News

  • King Ubu coming to Marilyn I. Walker Theatre

    Friday, February 15, 2019 | By

    Cast and crew members of the upcoming mainstage production King Ubu have been busy preparing for opening night on Friday, March 1. Tickets are on sale now for the production, presented by Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts.

    (From The Brock News, February 13, 2019 | By: Sarah Ackles)

    Alfred Jarry’s controversial classic King Ubu will bring audiences face-to-face with the absurdity of modern life when the production comes to Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker Theatre starting Friday, March 1.

    Presented by Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART), the show is an avant-garde and hilarious commentary on human folly and the dangers of unchecked political ambition.

    Director and Associate Professor David Fancy said Ubu’s references to populism and the blurred lines between celebrity culture and politics are fitting themes for our current climate. Although first performed in 19th century France, King Ubu, he added, offers “an invitation to look critically at, but not disengage with, the current moment in time.”

    The play centres on Ma and Pa Ubu’s bloodthirsty quest to become the new king and queen of a fictionalized version of Poland.

    Between their continuous bickering, Pa, an egotistical and inept tyrant who wields an enormous toilet brush while speaking nonsense, and Ma, his enabling and devious wife, scheme to take over the world through a series of antics that play out like a reality show gone wrong.

    To emphasize the theatrical nature of Ma and Pa Ubu’s political exploits, the show features puppets, karaoke numbers and a giant puppet head that eats half the cast.

    Although the production stays true to the absurdist spirit of Jarry’s original work, Fancy said there is also a layer of introspection that exists beneath all the silliness.

    “On one side we’re being playful, irreverent and sarcastic like Jarry, but on the other side there are also lots of heartfelt moments,” he said. “We can use laughter on some level to celebrate, criticize and escape, but we will also be forced to confront the fact that these are real people having difficult experiences. We question what caused them to become such trainwrecks — and whether we need to have compassion for these people who are perhaps not so different from us.”

    The show’s gender-bending lead role selection also provides a unique twist.

    “Ubu admonishes supremacy logic in all of its forms and casting a woman as Ubu helps heighten the critique of patriarchy. At the same time, this casting points out that anyone, given the right context, can engage in human folly,” Fancy said of the distribution of roles across genders. “Everybody can behave like a dangerous fool.”

    All these aspects of the production, combined with intense and moving performances, make for an entertaining experience, he added.

    “I think a big part of it is tapping into the creative possibility of what theatre can be as an art form,” Fancy said. “The experience gives our cast and crew the creative confidence to respond to the world around them, like Jarry did, using their own, creative voices.”

    King Ubu is translated by David Edney and directed by David Fancy, with costume design by Jo Pacinda and scenography and scenography by James McCoy.

    The production showcases the talents of students in the DART undergraduate program, including Ash McEachern, Avery Delaney, Chris Murillo, Emma McCormick, Jackson Wagner, Jasmine Case, Juan-Carlos Figueroa, Lauren Reid, Leah Eichler, Rachel Frederick, Samuel Donovan, Taylor Bogaert and Tsipporah Shendroff.

    Brock students, staff and faculty members of the creative and production team include Kristina Ojaperv (Assistant Director), Jordine De Guzman (Stage Manager), Alicia Bender (Assistant Stage Manager), Meryl Ochoa (Assistant Lighting Designer), Trevor Copp (Choreographer), Holly Kurelek (Wardrobe Supervisor), Diego Blanco and Molly Lacey (Dressers), Brian Cumberland (Production Manager), Gavin Fearon (Technical Director), Ed Harris (Shop Supervisor), Dawn Crysler (Theatre Technician), Danielle Wilson (Shakespeare Coach) and Roberta Doylend (Head of Wardrobe).

    King Ubu runs from Friday, March 1 to Saturday, March 9 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines. Showtimes are March 1, 2 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., March 3 at 2 p.m. and March 8 at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

    Tickets for the show are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. A group rate is also available. Tickets are available through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office at 905-688-0722 or on the PAC website.

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    Categories: Current Students, News, Uncategorised

  • Avanti Chamber Singers to give a cappella performance

    Friday, February 15, 2019 | By

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will perform an a cappella concert at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. (Photo: Julie Hoff)

    (From The Brock News, February 15, 2019 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Guests at the upcoming concert performed by the Avanti Chamber Singers are in for a surprise.

    Voices Raised, led by Rachel Rensink-Hoff on Saturday, Feb. 23, is a chance for Brock University’s choir-in-residence to celebrate the raw power of the human voice.

    The group will be performing an a cappella concert, with pieces ranging from early classical works to contemporary repertoire. The show promises to be the most diverse concert to date, with everything from open-throated chant singing to spoken word poetry.

    Members of the Avanti Chamber Singers have been working hard since their performance last November to build confidence with pitches and tuning, since there are no accompanying instruments this time around.

    “I am proud of what Avanti has accomplished in the short period of time since our last concert,” said Rensink-Hoff. “We can’t wait to share this program with our audience next week.”

    The group will also be performing a bit of beat-boxing and a deeply moving text by Indigenous poet Rita Joe titled I Lost My Talk. The singers will also be premiering two new compositions — one by Niagara-based composer James Moffett and the other by Laura Hawley.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be inviting the audience to join in a singalong during the concert.

    Seating at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church is limited and guests are encouraged to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.

    Voices Raised takes place Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Advanced tickets are available through the Avanti Chamber Singers website, at Thorold Music and Booksmart, or from choir members for $20 for adults and seniors. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. A $5 ticket is available for students and eyeGo program members.

    Rensink-Hoff is also the conductor for the Brock University Choirs, which includes both the chamber choir and the new women’s choir. Their next performance is Saturday, March 30.

    For more information about upcoming choral performances, visit the Brock University Music website.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • REDress Project to draw focus to missing and murdered Indigenous women at Brock

    Monday, February 11, 2019 | By

    The REDress Project returns to Brock on Thursday, Feb. 14. Red dresses will be hung around Brock’s main and downtown campuses to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

    (From The Brock News, February 11, 2019 | By: )

    Striking red gowns will soon aim to catch the attention of passersby as they’re hung in various areas around Brock University’s main and downtown campuses.

    The statement clothing pieces, part of the REDress Project, will appear Thursday, Feb. 14 and carry a strong message, drawing awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

    The brainchild of Métis artist Jamie Black, the REDress Project is an activist art installation that is now in its second year.

    Red dresses will be hung around Brock’s main campus, the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and Rodman Hall Arts Centre, along with information on the extraordinarily high rates of violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls in contemporary Canadian society.

    A related panel discussion, featuring community speakers connected to the issue, will also be held Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. in TH 247. The event will also include a presentation by Lyn Trudeau, a Brock PhD student and instructor. Trudeau will discuss her recently published paper on the play Pig Girl (based on the Pickton murders in Vancouver) and its implications for Indigenous women and girls.

    This event is presented by the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies and is open to everyone.

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    Categories: Events, News

  • Spotlight on students for next Music@Noon recital

    Friday, February 08, 2019 | By

    Music student Jessica Tigchelaar performed last term as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

    (From The Brock News, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019)

    For the second week in a row, Brock University’s Music students are the focus of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

    The instrumental students will perform on Tuesday, Feb. 12 in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    The upcoming recital will include performances by Jacob Gill, Synthia Khairallah, Rebecca Heathcote, Zack Guo, Alyssa Shanghavi and Jessica Tigchelaar.

    Music@Noon is a free, one-hour recital series that takes place most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year. The Department of Music invites and encourages staff, faculty, students and the community to attend.

    For more information about the Music@Noon Recital Series, please visit the Music@Noon web page.

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    Categories: Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, News

  • Students ready to shine for Music@Noon

    Friday, February 01, 2019 | By

    Music student Ruth Jones performed last semester as part of the Music@Noon Recital Series, which continues Feb. 5 in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    (From The Brock News, February 1, 2019)

    It’s time once again for Brock University Music students to take over the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series.

    Instrumental, Piano and Voice students will perform on Tuesday, Feb. 5 in the Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    This week brings both previous performers and newcomers to the stage including Divya Iyer, Alyssa Shanghavi, Ruth Jones, Marcus Tranquilli, Patrick Tanner, Nicole Abbruscato, Can Kilic, Donglan Liu, Grace Martins, Taj Crozier, Cassandra Sullivan and Ryan Baxter.

    Music@Noon is a free, one-hour recital series that takes place most Tuesdays at noon during the academic year. The Department of Music invites and encourages staff, faculty, students and the community to attend.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News

  • MIWSFPA faculty, alumni nominated for 2019 St. Catharines Arts Awards

    Thursday, January 31, 2019 | By

    Visual Arts alumna Kylie Haveron (BA ’18) is among the nominees selected for the Emerging Artist category for the 2019 City of St. Catharines Arts Awards.

    (From The Brock News, January 31, 2019 | By: Sarah Ackles)

    Congratulations are in order for the numerous faculty members and alumni of Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) nominated for the 2019 City of St. Catharines Arts Awards.

    The awards recognize and celebrate excellence in all areas of artistic creation and seek to increase the visibility of St. Catharines’ artists and cultural industries, honour cultural leaders and their achievements and cultivate financial and volunteer support for the arts sector.

    Visual Arts alumna Kylie Haveron (BA ’18) is among the nominees selected for the Emerging Artist category, while Dramatic Arts Chair Joe Norris and Assistant Theatre Professor Danielle Wilson were both nominated for the Arts in Education award.

    Nominated in the Established Artist category are Wayne Corlis (BA ’05, MA ’12), who majored in Visual Arts and earned a master’s in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts, and Colin Anthes (BA ’14, MA ’16), who completed a combined Psychology/Dramatic Arts degree with a minor in Philosophy and a master’s degree in Philosophy. Anthes currently works as a part-time instructor in Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts.

    Nominated in the Making a Difference category is alumna Emma German (BA ’14), who majored in Visual Arts and worked as a curator at the City of St. Catharines and Brock’s Rodman Hall Art Centre.

    Also nominated in the same category is the Willow Arts Community, a non-profit arts organization based at Rodman Hall that provides free artistic training and exhibition opportunities to community members with lived experience of mental health and addiction.

    The recipients of the City of St. Catharines Arts Awards will be recognized at a reception on Friday, May 3 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Tickets will be available in March.

    A full list of nominees is available online.

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    Categories: Alumni, Faculty & Instructors, News

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