News

  • Students wrap up Music@Noon series for the semester

    Friday, November 16, 2018 | By

    Brock Music student Divya Iyer is seen on stage playing piano.

    Music student Divya Iyer was one of four performers for the first student performance of the year on Oct. 30. The next group of students will perform on Nov. 20 at Cairns Recital Hall.

    (From The Brock News, Friday Nov. 16, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Over the past two months, professors and senior music students in Brock’s Department of Music performed on stage as part of the RBC Foundation Music@Noon Recital Series. Now, in the final three performances of the semester, first-year music students will have the chance to showcase their talents on stage, as well.

    The next concert in the series will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Vocal, guitar and piano students will perform.

    Brock’s instrumental students will then perform on Nov. 27 and piano students will follow with a recital on Dec. 4. Music@Noon will return in the new year with a performance on Jan. 8 featuring flutist Rebecca Hall and Brock Professor and pianist Karin Di Bella.

    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 website.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News

  • Avanti Chamber Singers to commemorate the Christmas Truce at first concert of the season

    Thursday, November 15, 2018 | By

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are led by Rachel Rensink-Hoff during choir rehearsal.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are led by conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff during rehearsal for their upcoming performance Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines.

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday November 14, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    On Christmas Day, 1914, French, British and German soldiers along the Western Front laid down their weapons, emerged from the trenches and joined in song to celebrate the season. Now referred to as the Christmas Truce, the unofficial ceasefire was a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amid the violence of the First World War.

    To mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice, conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff will lead the Avanti Chamber Singers in a performance to remember the truce on Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines. This marks the first performance of the season for Brock’s choir in residence.

    Titled And on Earth, Peace, the concert will include Remembrance Day tributes, popular songs from the time of the First World War and classic Christmas carols. Songs will be performed in English, German and French, and the audience will be invited to sing along to carols that soldiers would have sung.

    “The moving story of the Christmas Truce was fitting inspiration for our first performance of the season,” said Rensink-Hoff, Assistant Professor of Music in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. “As we look back to Remembrance Day and forward to the holiday season, we will join together in song — just as those soldiers did more than 100 years ago.”

    Many differing stories about the Christmas Truce have been shared. Even today, it is still unclear exactly what happened on Christmas Day all those years ago.

    The most commonly shared account is that soldiers all sang carols together in celebration on Christmas Eve before emerging to wish their enemies a Merry Christmas the next day. After the soldiers ceased fire, they met to exchange small gifts and souvenirs.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers is comprised of 30 musicians from around the Niagara region.

    Rensink-Hoff said she works with different individuals every year, and hopes to showcase the hard work and talent of this year’s choir at the opening concert.

    “The challenge with a new choir is gelling together as a group — not just musically, but interpersonally,” she said. “This is now my second season with Avanti and it makes a big difference when you know people more closely because it helps all of us feel that we are in this together.”

    Accompanying the Avanti Chamber Singers will be pianist and organist Lesley Kingham and guest trumpeter Timothy White.

    And on Earth, Peace takes place Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Advanced tickets are available through the Avanti 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.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be performing on Feb. 23 and April 27 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church.

    Rensink-Hoff is also the conductor for the Brock University Choirs, which includes both the chamber choir and the new women’s choir. Their first performance will take place Dec. 1.

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

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    Categories: Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

  • Public French-language tour to be held at Rodman Hall

    Wednesday, November 14, 2018 | By

    People are sitting on a roof that is built inside of Rodman Hall

    Associate Professor Peter Vietgen and teacher candidates from Brock University’s Faculty of Education explore the Northern Oracle exhibition by Heather Hart at Rodman Hall Art Centre.

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday November 14)

    A public tour will lead French-speaking art enthusiasts through the exhibitions of Rodman Hall Art Centre on Saturday, Nov. 17.

    Catherine Parayre, Associate Professor in Brock’s Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, will lead the French-language tour and related discussion while moving through the historic St. Catharines building.

    The event, Maisons de l’art: Conversations en français et visite des expositions, begins at 2 p.m.

    Current Rodman Hall exhibitions include Up Close and In Motion: Selected Works from the Permanent Collection, curated by Emma German, and Northern Oracle by artist Heather Hart.

    Northern Oracle features a rooftop installation rising from the gallery floor and mixed media drawings. The work considers ideas of Black history, access to home ownership and the significance of having a place to call home. Gallery visitors are invited to interact with the installation by accessing the rooftop and its floor-level attic space.

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

  • Talk to explore tips for leading a vegan lifestyle

    Wednesday, November 14, 2018 | By

    Carol is sat on a porch swing sitting next to two dogs

    Author Carol J. Adams will give a talk about her newly released book, Protest Kitchen, on Nov. 15 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. (Photo supplied by Jo-Anne McArthur and The Unbound Project)

    (From The Brock News, Tuesday November 13, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Going vegan does not have to happen overnight, says author Carol J. Adams.

    Instead, she encourages those curious about the lifestyle change to begin with something as simple as trying non-dairy milk, continuing the process gradually from there.

    Adams will share tips and tricks for maintaining a vegan lifestyle during an upcoming talk about her newly released book, Protest Kitchen.

    The event will take place at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 11 a.m. A free vegan lunch provided by Mahtay Café will follow.

    Adams, a feminist-vegan advocate, activist and independent scholar, will discuss the work that went into Protest Kitchen and answer questions about the content during the event. Copies of Protest Kitchen will also be available for purchase, and Adams will be on-hand to sign copies and mingle with guests during the lunch.

    Co-authored with Virginia Messina, the book pairs recipes with daily actions that serve as a guide for making broader lifestyle changes.

    Brock Visual Arts Professor Keri Cronin, who organized the event, has been a fan of Adams since her days as an undergraduate student.

    “Carol is a very engaging and entertaining speaker, so I’m looking forward to her presentation,” said Cronin. “I also am very happy that we will be able to bring some of her ideas to life by providing a free vegan meal as part of the event.”

    Adams has been writing for more than 20 years and has authored several successful books including The Sexual Politics of Meat and Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian’s Survival Guide.

    The event is free and open to staff, faculty, students and the community. Cronin encourages everyone — vegan or not — to attend.

    “Even if someone isn’t vegan or has no intention of going vegan, I’m hoping that they will see how the choices they make do not happen in isolation,” Cronin explained. “Making small changes can have a powerful impact.”

    The event starts at 11 a.m. in room MW156 of the downtown arts school. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required due to limited seating.

    Reserve a seat online or email keri.cronin@brocku.ca for more information.

    Adams’ visit and the lunch have been made possible by Niagara VegFest, VegFund and Niagara Action for Animals.

    For more information about Carol J. Adams, Protest Kitchen or the book talk, visit caroljadams.com.

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    Categories: Events, News

  • Exhibition explores link between childhood trauma and mental illness

    Thursday, November 08, 2018 | By

    Emma Mary Sked poses with her art book and small toy animal made from colourful fabric.

    Brock Visual Arts student Emma Mary Sked’s Maybe You Should Drive will be installed in the VISA Gallery and Student Exhibition Space at the MIWSFPA from Nov. 13 to 27.

    (From The Brock News, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018 | By: Sarah Moore)

    Emma Mary Sked’s childhood greatly impacted her mental health as an adult.

    And now, the Brock Visual Arts student is channelling her life experiences into a new exhibition opening Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Maybe You Should Drive is a mixed media exhibition featuring a collection of art books and brightly coloured fabric animals depicting the fragility and comfort of childhood, and the lived experience of adults with mental illness.

    The exhibition features work that culminated from the artist’s studies in the VISA 3F99 Independent Study course at MIWSFPA. Sked completed the project under the guidance of Visual Arts Associate Professor Shawn Serfas.

    “VISA 3F99 engages a heightened level of creative and critical literacy for our undergraduate students,” Serfas explained. “Emma’s exhibition explores the complex relational narratives between mental health and creativity.”

    Sked felt it important to use her own experience with mental illness and addiction as inspiration for the featured work.

    “When I was a kid I moved a lot, which really impacted how I coped with things and I now struggle with anxiety and depression,” she shared. “Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve met people who have developed mental illness that they also have to cope with every day and they will be able to relate to this work and make connections to their own life.”

    Sked chose to explore the use of art books and tactile objects for this project so that viewers could interact with the subject matter on a more immersive level.

    She also hopes the exhibition will encourage others to share their own experiences in order to find support and develop their own coping mechanisms.

    “It’s not just about the negative impacts of these issues,” she stressed. “It’s about bringing hope to people and showing them that they aren’t alone.”

    Maybe You Should Drive will be installed in the VISA Gallery and Student Exhibition Space at the MIWSFPA from Nov. 13 to 27.

    An opening reception will also be held in the Gallery on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 5 to 8 p.m.

    The event is free and suitable for all audiences.

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, News

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

    Thursday, November 08, 2018 | By

    david jalbert-cara

    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.

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, News, Walker Cultural Leader Series

  • Brock prof unveils Invisible Histories at Toronto exhibition

    Wednesday, November 07, 2018 | By

    glowing green rat on black background 3d image

    Invisible Histories, by Brock researcher and Visual Arts Chair, Professor Donna Szoke, is installed at the John B. Aird Gallery and CONTACT Gallery in Toronto until Nov. 23. Her work is pictured above: Donna Szoke, Invisible Histories. Geo-loactive smart phone/tablet app, 2015

    (From The Brock News, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 | By: )

    The work of Brock Professor Donna Szoke on the hidden history of nuclear waste is being featured in a Toronto group exhibition that opened last week.

    Szoke, a researcher and Visual Arts Chair, has her work on display as part of Digital Animalities — a two-venue exhibition of artworks that examines how human-animal understandings and relationships are changing through the use of ubiquitous media and new technologies.

    The exhibition is part of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada(SSHRC)-funded research project titled “Digital Animalities: Media Representations of Nonhuman Life in the Age of Risk,” led by Jody Berland of York University.It brings the work of artists and researchers together to highlight the challenges and opportunities for new understandings of animals in contemporary digital culture.

    Co-curated by Giovanni Aloi, Matthew Brower and Curatorial Assistant Seb Roberts, Digital Animalities divided the works into two exhibitions: Mapping (at the James B. Aird gallery) and Rendering (at CONTACT Gallery).

    Szoke’s Invisible Histories (a geolocative smartphone/tablet app she developed in 2015) is featured in the Mapping exhibition.

    The free app maps nuclear waste at a Niagara Falls, N.Y., storage site, where more than 270,000 mice used in radioactive experiments have been buried.The app brings public awareness to the fact that there is radioactive evidence of secret atomic testing that took place during the infamous Manhattan Project in Niagara.

    Users are guided through the app to the rodent burial site through the leadership of green, glowing 3D mice that become more prevalent on-screen as the site grows near.Szoke said it’s ironic, because no one actually wants to go towards nuclear waste, but the mice guide users to their graves to reveal their tragic end.

    Szoke was awarded the 2017 Faculty of Humanities Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity.

    Her artistic work includes media art, interactive animation, installation, drawing, experimentation and printmaking.

    Digital Animalities runs at the John B. Aird Gallery and CONTACT Gallery in Toronto until Nov. 23.  The Invisible Histories app is available for free download at the iTunes store (OsX) and Google Play (Android).

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    Categories: Announcements, Department/Centre News, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Active attacker info sessions to be held at MIWSFPA Nov. 8 & Nov. 14

    Wednesday, November 07, 2018 | By

    facade of the School

    (From The Brock News, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018)

    Would you know what to do if there was an active threat or shooter on campus?

    It’s a scenario most people could never imagine happening at Brock University, but one that Campus Security wants to ensure the community is prepared for.

    Campus Security at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) will be holding two information sessions for staff, instructors, faculty and students of the School this month to discuss emergency preparedness in an active attacker situation.

    Rick Fraser, Brock’s Manager, Emergency Management and Life Safety, will be presenting material on the active attacker protocol that has been adopted at the University during these sessions.

    The information and training sessions will take place in MWS 156 on:

    • Thursday, Nov. 8 from 8 to 9 a.m.
    • Friday, Nov. 16 from 11 a.m. to noon

    No registration is required, but the sessions are currently limited to those who study or work at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, due to space limitations.

    For more information on the MIWSFPA sessions, contact Rick Tollar, Supervisor, Campus Security Services, at 905-688-5550 x 6399.

    Information on the active attacker protocol adopted at Brock University is available on the Campus Security website.

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

  • DART prof wins national award for theatre criticism

    Tuesday, November 06, 2018 | By

    karen fricker
    Karen Fricker, Associate Professor of Dramatic Arts, is being honoured by the Canadian Theatre Critics Association.

    (From The Brock News, Tuesday Oct.30, 2018 | By: )

    Karen Fricker is getting rave reviews from a respected national audience.

    The associate professor in Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts is being honoured with the 2018 Nathan Cohen Award for excellence in critical writing by the Canadian Theatre Critics Association.

    Fricker won the award’s short category for her 2016 Toronto Star review of Michel Tremblay’s classic Hosanna, as revived by Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre.

    Fricker, whose research areas include Quebec theatre, said the play is a complicated touchstone of Quebecois culture.

    “A big challenge of writing this review was trying to use the research-based knowledge I had about the play without being overwhelmed by it,” she said. “It was a really hard review to write, so it’s gratifying that it’s being recognized.”

    Fricker has a long history with theatre criticism, having written for outlets including The Guardian and Variety, as well as being the founding editor-in-chief of Irish Theatre Magazine, a publication that operated from 1998 to 2014. She has written for the Toronto Star since March 2016.

    Fricker joined Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts in 2013. Her research interests include contemporary theatre and globalization, popular performances of nation and cultural identities, and theatre criticism. Recent projects have included work on circus performance.

    “The benefits between my work at Brock and at the Toronto Star flow both ways,” Fricker said.

    “I try to connect students in my courses to what’s happening in GTA theatre, and we learn from each other’s responses to the work. When we publish their edited reviews on the DARTcritics website, their voices enter the broader dialogue.”

    As part of her interest in arts criticism in the digital age, Fricker established the blog DARTcritics.com to provide students with an opportunity to publish their work. The site grew from a space for student coursework to a year-round source of quality arts criticism in Niagara. The site now includes reviews and features by students and graduates who are paid for their work.

    The Nathan Cohen Awards were established in 1981 and are given out every two years to honour outstanding critical writing about theatre and performance in print or electronic media. The awards are named after legendary Toronto Star and CBC critic Nathan Cohen.

    A history of the awards and past recipients may be found on the CTCA website.

    Fricker will receive her award in December at a special luncheon in Toronto.

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    Categories: Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Guitarist to conclude faculty Music@Noon performances

    Friday, November 02, 2018 | By

    Tim Phelan poses with his guitar.

    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.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

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