News

  • Brock signs contract with construction firm for downtown fine and performing arts facility project

    Friday, January 18, 2013 | By

    construction rendering of the downtown fine and performing arts facility project

    (Source: The Brock News, Friday, January 18, 2013 | by . Photo: An artist’s rendering of the Marilyn I. Walker School for the Fine and Performing Arts)

    Earlier today, Brock University finalized a construction contract with Bird Construction Group to build its new fine and performing arts facility in downtown St. Catharines.

    Activity at the site of the old Canada Hair Cloth textile mill at 198 St. Paul Street is expected to start the week of Jan. 21, 2013, with site preparations beginning in early February.

    Construction bids for the project were received in October 2012 and all bids were over the University’s budget. Brock then entered into successful negotiations with Bird Construction, the low bidder for the new home of the University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts facility, to reduce construction costs and move the project forward.

    A groundbreaking ceremony to mark the official start of the project is expected to take place mid-February.

    The new facility will put about 500 students, faculty and staff into the city’s downtown when it relocates from Brock’s main campus. The new school will be adjacent to a new Performing Arts Centre and Spectator Facility, which are being built by the City of St. Catharines.

    Tags: , , ,
    Categories: In the Media, News

  • The Walker Cultural Leader Series 2012-13

    Tuesday, August 21, 2012 | By

    wcls2012-13banner

    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 in this inaugural year of the series.

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

    danielbarrowwcl

     

    Daniel Barrow

    Daniel Barrow, creator of graphic performance and manual animation, will offer studio visits with students, an artist talk open to the general public, a workshop with Foundation students, and a public performance at Robertson Hall

     

    Oct. 16

    • Studio visits: 1:30 – 3 pm, 7 – 8 pm, Rm. GLN 162 and EA 115 (closed session)

    Oct. 17

    • Studio visits 9 – 10:30 am, Rm. GLN 162 and EAA 115 (closed session)
    • Artist Talk: Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, 12 noon – 1:30 pm (free community event)

    Oct. 18

    • Workshop with foundation students: 10 am – 12 noon, Rm. GLN 162 (closed session)

    Oct. 19

    • Public performance: Robertson Hall, Folk Arts Centre: 7 – 8 pm (free community event)
    • Wrap-up party with DJ Granny Ark: 8 – 10 pm (free community event)

    Robertson Hall, Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre, 85 Church St., St. Catharines, Ontario
    Contact: Prof. Duncan MacDonald, Visual Art

    Winnipeg-born, Montreal-based artist Daniel Barrow uses obsolete technologies to present written, pictorial and cinematic narratives centering on the practices of drawing and collecting. Since 1993, he has created and adapted comic book narratives to “manual” forms of animation by projecting, layering and manipulating drawings on overhead projectors.

    Daniel has exhibited widely in Canada and abroad. He has performed at the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), PS1 Contemporary Art Center (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s TBA festival, and the British Film Institute (London). Barrow is the winner of the 2010 Sobey Art Award. He is represented by Jessica Bradley Art + Projects, Toronto.

     

     

    wclsjoanwatson

     

    Joan Watson

    Joan Watson, principal horn of the Canadian Opera Company and member of True North Brass, will be providing workshops on setting career goals for musicians.

     

    Nov. 2

    • Workshop on setting career goals for musicians I: 3 – 5 pm, Concordia Seminary Chapel (free to MIWSFPA students, $5 admission for the public)

    Nov. 3

    • Workshop on setting career goals for musicians II: 10 am – 12 noon, Concordia Seminary Chapel (free to MIWSFPA students, $5 admission for the public)

    Contact: Prof. Matthew Royal, Music

    Joan Watson is Canada’s foremost horn soloist, principal horn, lecturer and educator. She is highly regarded as a consummate musician and skilled virtuoso. Her contributions across the country include presently serving as principal horn of the award-winning Canadian Opera Orchestra, founding member of the prestigious True North Brass quintet, associate principal horn of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for 14 seasons (having won the job while 8 months pregnant), and principal horn of the Esprit Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, and the Pacific Opera and Vancouver Opera Orchestras.

    A member of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, Joan teaches horn and lectures on Performance Skills, audition preparation, practice tips, and creating a passionate and fulfilling life of music making.

     

     

    nachmanovitchthumb

     

    Stephen Nachmanovitch

    Stephen Nachmanovitch, performer, author and workshop leader who emphasizes improvisation and creativity in “life and the arts” will provide a presentation and workshops for students, workshop for fine arts teachers, and a public performance.

     

    Nov. 15

    • Presentation to DART 1F95 students: 9 – 10 am, Rm. AS 202 (closed session)
    • Workshop for DART 1F95 labs 1 & 2: 11 am – 1 pm; labs 3 & 4: 2 – 4 pm, Pond Inlet (closed session)

    Nov. 16

    • Public lecture/performance: 7:30 – 9 pm, Rm. TH 325 (free community event)

    Nov. 17

    • Workshop, invited faculty and students, 9 – 12 noon, TH 103/105 (closed session)
    Contact: Prof. Joe Norris, Dramatic Arts

    Author of the book Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art, improvisational violinist Nachmanovitch has dedicated his life to fostering the creative spirit within us all. Central to his beliefs is the importance of play. He has traveled world-wide lecturing on creativity and the spiritual underpinnings of art. He has presented master classes and workshops at many conservatories and universities, and has had numerous appearances on radio, television, and at music and theater festivals.

    Collaborating with other artists in media including music, dance, theater, and film, Stephen has developed programs melding art, music, literature, and computer technology. He is a pioneer in free improvisation on the violin, viola and electric violin and has developed software including The World Music Menu and Visual Music Tone Painter. While music has been his major artistic form, his work inspires the artists of any genre. More information about Nachmanovitch and his work can be found at freeplay

     

     

    robertsilverman02

     

    Robert Silverman

    Robert Silverman, leading Canadian pianist and Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia will be providing a lecture-recital at the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, and a public master class with piano students from the Department of Music.

     

    Jan. 11

    • Hammering the Klavier: Beethoven’s Earthshaking and Bone-crushing Masterpiece, Lecture/Recital: 7:30 pm, Sean O’Sullivan theatre (free to MIWSFPA students, $15 admission for the public)

    Jan. 12

    • Master class with Dept. of Music piano students: 10 am – 12 noon, Sean O’Sullivan Theatre (closed session)

    Contact: Prof. Matthew Royal, Music

    Recognized as one of Canada’s premiere pianists, Robert Silverman has reached a level of musical and technical authority that can only be accomplished after years of deep commitment to the instrument and its vast literature. Many aspects of Silverman’s playing are frequently noted: a polished technique, an extraordinary range of tonal palette, an uncanny ability to sing his way into the heart of a phrase, and probing interpretations of the most complex works in the repertoire.

    The distinguished pianist has performed in concert halls throughout North America, Europe, the Far East and Australia. Under the batons of such renowned conductors as Seiji Ozawa, John Eliot Gardiner, Gerard Schwarz, Neeme Järvi, and the late Kiril Kondrashin and Sergiu Comissiona, he has appeared with orchestras on three continents, including the Chicago Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the BBC (London) Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, and every major orchestra in Canada.

     

     

     

    daniellevinsonwcl

     

    Daniel Levinson

    Daniel Levinson, movement and stage fighting expert, will be providing a Movement and Stage Combat Intensive program delivered Feb 20 – 23, 2013

     

    Feb. 20, 21, 22 & 23

    • Single Sword workshop:  9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Dance Studio, Walker Complex (closed session; registrants only)
    • Unarmed Combat workshop: 1:30 – 4:30 pm, Rm. TH 141 (closed session; registrants only)

    Maximum enrollment: 20 students; apply by Nov. 1 at the DART main office ST 104, or by email. There is a non-refundable $10 deposit upon registration.
    Contact: Prof. Virginia Reh, Dramatic Arts

    Daniel is one of the leading fight directors and stage combat instructors in Canada. He is a certified Fight Director and Fight Instructor with Fight Directors Canada, and the past president of Fight Directors Canada.  His qualifications are recognized by the Society of American Fight Directors, the British Academy of Dramatic Combat, the Nordic Stage Fight Society, the New Zealand Stage Combat Society and the Society of Australian Fight Directors. Daniel is the Artistic Director of Rapier Wit and The Rude Mechanicals, and is resident Fight Instructor at Sheridan College and Theatre Erindale.
    Daniel has performed with and/or created fights for numerous theatre companies including Factory Theatre, Equity Showcase, Crow’s Theatre, Canadian Stage, Skylight Theatre, Walking Shadow Theatre Company, The Canadian Opera Company, Earthbound Theatre, Lovers & Madmen, Tarragon Theatre and Theatre Voce. He is in his fourth season at the Stratford Festival, where last season he worked on Jesus Christ Superstar and went on with it to Broadway.

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Categories: Events, Walker Cultural Leader Series

  • Brock welcomes more community partners to downtown project

    Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | By

    Artist's rendering of the Marilyn I. Walker School for the Fine and Performing Arts

    An artist’s rendering of the Marilyn I. Walker School for the Fine and Performing Arts showing the new theatre for the Department of Dramatic Arts.

    (Source: The Brock News, Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | by )

    As Brock University prepares to select a contractor for its new arts school in central St. Catharines, community members are coming forward to financially back a project many people see as being a crucial bridge to future economic and cultural health.

    This summer, contractors will be invited to bid on the major job of renovating and expanding the old Canada Hair Cloth textile mill into the new home for Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. Work is to begin this fall.

    Besides relocating 500 students, faculty and staff into the downtown, the new school will also complement and share some facilities with a public Performing Arts Centre being built by the City of St. Catharines on an adjacent lot. Both projects are scheduled for completion in 2014.

    Brock’s school has a construction budget of $39.6 million. The Ontario government has given $26.1 million to the project, and the University is continuing efforts to raise more than $10-million to pay its share.

    Important supporters of the Brock project were revealed today when it was announced that three donors with strong ties to the community and Brock University are making gifts totaling more than a quarter-million dollars.

    Peter and Janet Partridge are giving $100,000 to the project. Art and Val Fleming have also committed $100,000. And the St. Catharines law firm of Lancaster Brooks & Welch is donating $75,000 to the new school.

    Peter Partridge, Vice President and Portfolio Manager with RBC Dominion Securities and a past member of Brock’s Board of Trustees, said their gift is a way of giving back to the community.

    “To have a cultural campus strategically positioned in the heart of the downtown is very important,” he said. “This is going to bring a whole new level of artistic experience not only to young performers but to an audience here in Niagara.”

    The Flemings are also eager to see the Walker School flourish.

    “We really believe in Brock,” said Val, a Brock graduate and past member of the Board of Trustees. “We especially want the Walker project to succeed. It’s a wonderful opportunity, and we believe the downtown will definitely be rejuvenated because of it.”

    At the offices of Lancaster Brooks Welch, senior partner Dave Edwards said the law firm believes the benefits of the new school will be more than economic.

    “This will change the culture of the city centre for the better by bringing students into the downtown during normal working hours,” said Edwards, a former member and chair of the Brock Board of Trustees. “It will provide an integration that’s entirely different compared to when they’re only downtown at nighttime.

    “It makes you think of Kingston, and how students there are often in the downtown during the day. This will help our restaurants, stores, coffee shops, and bring a new vibrancy to the downtown throughout the day.”

    Douglas Kneale, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Brock and a member of the committee overseeing the University’s downtown project, said the support is very heartening and much-needed.

    “The truth is, we really are all in this together, this strengthening of the community,” said Kneale. “And when you have partners like these marvelous people, it is this kind of support that helps make these dreams come true for everybody.”

    Tags: , , , , , , ,
    Categories: In the Media, News

  • Work to begin on Brock’s downtown arts school

    Tuesday, March 20, 2012 | By

    The new home of the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    After more than a year of planning and design, construction will soon begin at the future home of Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in a vacant factory in downtown St. Catharines.

    Following a tendering process, a contract has been awarded to JMX Environmental Inc. to conduct preliminary work this spring at the site of the former Canada Hair Cloth textile mill at 198 St. Paul Street.

    This “Early Works” phase involves clearing interior space and abatement of hazardous materials within the building. Work should begin in late March and take about three months to complete.

    Crews will remove some interior non-load-bearing walls and redundant services, and deal with hazardous materials that are common in older buildings. Asbestos floor and ceiling tiles will be removed, as will asbestos insulation on water pipes. Workers will also remove or seal surfaces containing lead-based or chromium-based paints. All environmental abatement work must pass inspections and meet regulatory requirements.

    The Walker School will put about 500 students, faculty and staff into the city’s downtown when the facility relocates from the main Brock campus in 2014. It is part of a collaboration that includes a new Performing Arts Centre being built on adjacent land by the City of St. Catharines.

    from University Marketing & Communications
    March 20, 2012

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Categories: In the Media, News

  • Industrial Fabric2: Festival of the Arts

    Thursday, March 01, 2012 | By

    Industrial fabric poster

    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: , ,
    Categories: Media Releases, News

  • INDUSTRIAL FABRIC 2: FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

    Thursday, March 01, 2012 | By

    Industrial fabric poster

    Download the official Industrial Fabric2 visual flyer

    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 stimulate the mind while demonstrating the vitality and vibrancy of the Arts at Brock University – on stage, in studios and galleries, and at regional venues.

    DART Events

    • Gimme 3 Festival: March 2 at 8 p.m.
    • One Acts Festival: March 16 & 17 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
    • Shadows of a Toymaker: April 11 12 & 13 at 7 p.m.

    MUSI Events

    • The University wind Ensemble: A Weekend in New York: April 3 at 7:30 p.m. (Sean O’Sullivan Theatre)
    • Tempted by Opera… Give in to Carmen!: March 23 at 7:30 p.m.
    • Music @ Noon: Tuesdays from 12 noon – 12:50 p.m. (Sean O’Sullivan Theatre)
    • VIVA VOCE! Choral Series: A Great Lakes Choral Festival: March 2 at 7:30 p.m.
    • VIVA VOCE! Choral Series: I Come Singing: March 31 at 7:30 p.m.
    • VIVA VOCE! Choral Series: There is Sweet Music Here : April 28 at 7:30 p.m.

    VISA Events

    • Exhibition: Silent Conversations: March 5 – 11, opening reception March 5, 5-8 p.m. (Sean O’Sullivan Theatre)
    • VISA 2P94 Exhibition: Open-ended: March 6 – 16, opening reception March 6, 4-6 p.m. (OPRIG Info Shop)
    • VISA 3P93 Exhibition: One Moment, One Thought, One Meaning: March 21 – April 6, opening reception March 26, 4-7 p.m. (Sean O’Sullivan Theatre Lobby)
    • Juried Exhibition: Monitor: March 24 – April 7, opening reception March 23, 7-9 p.m. (Rodman Hall)
    • VISA 3F99 Exhibition: Left Out: March 31, opening reception 6:30 p.m.(Niagara Pumphouse Art Centre)
    • VISA 2P98 Exhibition: YES: April 2 at 7p.m. (Market Square)
    • VISA Honours Exhibition: Perceptionists: April 21 – May 6, opening reception April 20 at 7 p.m. (Rodman Hall)
    • Video Installation Donna Szoke: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace: April 27 – May 22, opening reception April 28 at 7 p.m. (CRAM Gallery)
    • Video Screening Donna Szoke: Canoe: April 12 – 22 (Buffalo Niagara Film Festival)

    Tags: , ,
    Categories: Events, Industrial Fabric

  • DART Professor’s book wins Outstanding Book Award

    Wednesday, December 21, 2011 | By

    Professor Joe Norris with Kakali Bhattacharya, Chair of the Outstanding Book Award Committee of the Qualitative Research SIG of the American Educational Research Association.

    Professor Joe Norris with Kakali Bhattacharya, Chair of the Outstanding Book Award Committee of the Qualitative Research SIG of the American Educational Research Association.

    Joe Norris’ book, “Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory Arts-based Approach” was selected as the winner of the American Educational Research Association’s Qualitative Research SIG’s 2011 Outstanding Book Award. This book not only met all the criteria for the award, it exceeded every criteria. Norris bridges arts-based research, qualitative inquiry, and playbuilding grounded in rich theories and created dialogue for various social justice issues. The committee members (Linda Evans, Allison Anders and Kakali Bhattacharya – see in the photo with Joe Norris) exclaimed not only about the accessibility, utility of this book, but the ways in which this book challenged their thinking, made them imagine how the audience participation might look like at the end of the scenes, and created the fertile ground for much needed dialoguing. The committee was honored and privileged to review the works of such great thinkers as Valerie Janesick, Kathryn Roulston and Norman Denzin, change agents, and activists in qualitative research and are delighted to present Joe Norris with this years’ Outstanding Book Award.
    Congratulations, Joe.

    Tags: , , , ,
    Categories: Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Another reason to learn with us: Brock receives above-average marks in NSSE

    Wednesday, November 23, 2011 | By

    Brock University reports that the latest National Survey of Student Engagement results show senior-year undergraduates at the institution scored the university higher than both the Ontario and Canadian averages on benchmarks of active and collaborative learning, level of academic challenge, supportive campus environment, and student-faculty interaction. Brock students also exceeded provincial and national averages when asked “How would you evaluate your entire education experience at this institution?” and “If you could start over again, would you go to the same institution?” See more in the Brock News article.

    Tags: , , ,
    Categories: Current Students, Future Students, In the Media, News

  • Douglas Kneale on Brock’s new performing arts centre

    Monday, November 21, 2011 | By

    Douglas Kneale, Dean of Humanities, in an interview at the Globe and Mail

    Douglas Kneale, Dean of Humanities, in an interview at the Globe and Mail

    Douglas Kneale, Dean, Faculty of Humanities discusses how Brock University’s expansion in the heart of St. Catharines will benefit both students and the local community.

    please see the video here

    Video published Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 1:27PM EST in the Globe and Mail website

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Categories: In the Media, News

  • General Brock’s October Soiree for 2011 a brilliant success!

    Monday, October 17, 2011 | By

    Students from the Department of Dramatic Arts along with their colleagues in the Departments of Music and Visual Arts entertained almost 350 guests and dignitaries in period costume at the General Brock’s October Soiree, held Saturday October 15, 2011.  More than $110,000 was raised, fifty percent of which after costs will accrue to scholarships in support of students in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    Douglas Kneale, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, remarked “To judge from the comments of guests during the evening, it was universally acknowledged as the best Soiree yet, with a high degree of talent and professionalism in our re-enactors, emcee Derek Ewert, and all the singers and dancers.”

    See the Cogeco TV news item which includes on-camera interviews with several Brock spokespeople.

    Tags: ,
    Categories: Events

1 … 41 42 43 44 45