Articles from:September 2021

• PROJECT: Soundscape, on exhibit September 24

  Friday, September 24, 2021 | By dvivian

  

  IMAGE CREDIT: REINHARD REITZENSTEIN

  Music, Noise, and Soundscape: Gayle Young and Ryan Bruce in Conversation

  Created in 2021, Music, Noise, and Soundscape: Gayle Young and Ryan Bruce in Conversation is a virtual project of the Research Centre in Interdisciplinary Arts and Creative Culture homed in the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC) at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University. It includes an interview, performances and demonstrations, as well as an outreach activity.

  Gayle Young is a composer and musician based in the Niagara region who creates her own instruments and performs music for them, often employing unusual tunings. She has also performed and recorded works by John Cage and Yoko Ono. Gayle composes works for voice and chamber instruments and creates electronic sound for film and visual art installation. Many of her compositions include environmental sounds recorded through tuned resonators that she invented to integrate harmony and soundscape.

  Gayle wrote The Sackbut Blues, the biography of pioneering electronic instrument inventor Hugh Le Caine (1914-1977), who invented several instruments for electronic music, including the Sackbut, an innovative touch-sensitive keyboard instrument first recorded in 1946. As editor of Musicworks Magazine for over two decades, she presented an inclusive gaze on the world of experimental music.

  Ryan Bruce is an ethnomusicologist, jazz historian and saxophonist. His research concentrates on the transition of jazz styles from the 1950s–1960s (bop and the jazz avant-garde) with investigations in jazz historiography, improvisation, musical analysis, and interdisciplinary comparisons to other avant-garde art forms. His work includes special focus on collaborating with performers to create digital resources for teaching jazz history, improvisation, and world music traditions.

  Ryan holds a PhD in Music from York University and has published articles on jazz criticism, musical analysis, and specific musicians for the current Grove Dictionary of American Music. He is also an active teacher and performer of jazz and free improvisation on saxophone. In 2021, Ryan is teaching STAC 2P93 Critical Practice in the Fine and Performing Arts.

  Experience the ‘Soundscape’ exhibition by visiting the Brock University Digital Scholarship Lab

  Please note the virtual exhibition is best viewed on a laptop or desktop computer. Headphones are recommended.

  Tags: Brock University Digital Scholarship Lab, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, Gayle Young, music, Noise, Project Soundscape, Research Centre in Interdisciplinary Arts and Creative Culture, Ryan Bruce, Soundscape, STAC
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News, Uncategorised

• Brock community members nominated for St. Catharines Arts Awards

  Friday, September 24, 2021 | By gminaker

  

  Image caption: Artists and Instructors from Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Andrew (Curtis) Tye (left) and Barbara Worthy (right) are among the nominees for the 2021 St. Catharines Arts Awards.

  Originally published in The Brock News WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | by Gillian Minaker

  The City of St. Catharines is gearing up to celebrate the local arts scene and those who champion it — including members of the Brock community.

  Among the City’s recently released nominees for the 2021 St. Catharines Arts Awards are several individuals and one group who are connected to the University.

  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) instructors Andrew (Curtis) Tye and Barbara Worthy were nominated for the Arts in Education Award and Making a Difference Award, respectively.

  Other Brock nominees include alumna and musician Kathryn Sinopoli (BA ’13, BEd ’13), who received the nod for the Emerging Artist Award, and social, economic and environmental justice organization OPIRG Brock and retired Visual Arts faculty member Jean Bridge, who were both nominated for the Making a Difference Award.

  Tye, who has been an Instructor with the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) since 2013, is honoured to be nominated for the second year in a row in for the Arts in Education Award, which celebrates individuals and groups committed to engaging residents through arts education.

  “I have always believed learning through the arts is a collective endeavour — there is no single individual that makes that successful,” he said. “I am someone who helps facilitate group and collective success, and I believe in a common goal for learning.”

  Tye currently teaches DART 2P21 Drama in Education II and DART IP95 Creative Play for Education. Along with teaching and a successful career as a corporate public speaking and leadership coach, Tye also serves as a committee member for Brock’s Social Justice Research Institute.

  Worthy, a MIWSFPA Instructor famous for her energetic class warm-ups and always having her little white dog at her side, has taught in DART since 2006 and teaches at the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture. Currently, Worthy is teaching DART 3P92 Scriptwriting, to students in the Dramatic Arts, English and Creative Writing, Film and GAME programs. An experienced creative producer and writer, Worthy is also thrilled to be a part of the awards celebration.

  A former longtime producer for CBC Toronto and former actor with Shaw Festival, Worthy’s teaching philosophy is informed by her professional career in the arts and a strong belief in the importance of experiential learning.

  “What truly makes a difference to communities everywhere is the power of art, the power of drama and the power of the written word,” Worthy said. “Making a difference to me means providing students with access to the real world, specifically their local communities, where they can truly experience the arts for themselves.”

  The St. Catharines Arts Awards will be presented online Sunday, Nov. 21, livestreamed from the stage of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC).

  “The city’s cultural and artistic community has exploded in recent years — there are so many diverse voices and visions out there,” said Kathleen Powell, the City’s Acting Supervisor of Cultural Services. “These nominees represent some of the best our community has to offer, world-class talents who call St. Catharines home and step up to build a community we can all be proud of.”

  For more information about the arts awards and how to view the celebration, visit the City of St. Catharines website.

  Tags: Andrew Tye, Barbara Worthy, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, City of St. Catharines, community engagement, Curtis Tye, dart, Department of Dramatic Arts, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Jean Bridge, Kathleen Powell, Kathryn Sinopoli, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIWSFPA, St. Catharines Arts Awards, STAC
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised