Lawrence University News

Lawrence Jazz Series welcomes guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel

Trailblazing guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and his New Quartet band close out Lawrence University’s 2015-16 Jazz Series Friday, May 13 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets, at $25/$30 for adults, $20/$25 for seniors and $18/$20 for students are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

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Kurt Rosenwinkel

During his 25-year career, Rosenwinkel, who lives in Berlin, Germany, has evolved the language of jazz in a way few other guitarists have since his arrival on the scene. He won the 1995 Composer’s Award from the National Endowment for the Arts and since has released 10 studio albums.

He also has been featured on more than 75 other albums, including hip-hop veteran Q-Tip’s “Renaissance” project. His extensive list of collaborations includes such dynamic peers as Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, Joshua Redman and Chris Potter as well as jazz elders Joe Henderson, Paul Motian and Gary Burton.

“Kurt is both unique and very steeped in bebop tradition,” said Steve Peplin, who teaches jazz guitar at Lawrence. “His earlier work really shows how deeply rooted he is in the language of jazz. His compositions, on the other hand, are very modern, often informed by the new augmented-scale thing happening around the globe, but much more deep than just another harmonic concept Kurt reminds me of Lennie Tristano in the way he synthesizes the old and the new.

“His emphasis on tone and a light touch, combined with singing his lines in unison with his guitar creates a ghostly sonority not often heard in modern jazz guitar,” Peplin added.

Rosenwinkel says his music is about “the relationship that we each have with the universe at large and how we use our intuition to hear what it is telling us.”

His most recent album, 2012’s “Star of Jupiter,” which he says came to him in a dream, underscores that concept, transporting “listeners on a journey toward discovery, truth and ultimately peace.”

It features his New Quartet band — pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner — a fiery group of rising stars and veterans-in-the-making.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Spoerl Lecture explores relationship between African-Americans and environmentalism

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Carolyn Finney

Carolyn Finney explores the complex relationship of African Americans to nature and environmentalism in the Lawrence University Spoerl Lecture Series address “Radical Presence: Black Faces, White Spaces & Other Stories of Possibility.” The presentation, Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m. in Thomas Steitz Hall of Science 102, is free and open to the public.

The talk is based on Finney’s 2014 book “Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors,” in which she held “green” conversations with black people from around the country. Using film, literature and popular culture, as well as historical moments, including the establishment of the Wilderness Act in 1964 and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Finney exposes the perceived and real ways nature and the environment are racialized in America.

Finney, assistant professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, is a member of the U.S. National Parks Advisory Board, working to assist the park service engage in relations with diverse communities.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence welcomes former IRC, Columbia president as Visiting Scarff Professor

The former president of the International Rescue Committee will spend 10 days at Lawrence University beginning May 8 as the college’s Visiting Scarff Professor of International Affairs for 2015-16.

George Rupp spent 11 years (2002-2013) as president of the IRC, a NewGeorge-Rupp_newsblog York City-based non-profit organization that responds to humanitarian crises around the world. As president, he oversaw the agency’s relief and rehabilitation operations in 25 countries as well as refugee resettlement and assistance programs throughout the United States.

During his Scarff appointment, Rupp will guest lecture in several government department classes. He also will deliver a free, public address, “Passionate Conviction and Inclusive Community,” Tuesday, May 10 at 8 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium.

The author of six books, Rupp’s public lecture will be based in part on his most recent book, 2015’s “Beyond Individualism: The Challenge of Inclusive Communities,” in which he Rupp pushes modern individualism to recognize the role of communal practice in the world. He advocates for new solutions to global challenges ranging from conflicts in the developing world and income inequality to climate change and mass migration.

An ordained Presbyterian minister with bachelor’s degrees from Princeton University and Yale University and a Ph.D. in religion from Harvard University, Rupp led two of the country’s premier institutions. Prior to heading the IRC, he served as president of Columbia University for nine years (1993-2002) after serving as Rice University’s president from 1985-1993.

Rupp, a native of New Jersey, began his academic career at the University of Redlands in California before returning to Harvard as a theology professor in the divinity school. He later spent two years in the late 1970s at UW-Green Bay as professor of humanistic studies and dean of academic affairs before returning again to Harvard as dean of the divinity school.

Since leaving the IRC, Rupp has served as senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and was elected chair of the International Baccalaureate Organization in 2015.

Besides “Beyond Individualism: The Challenge of Inclusive Communities,” Rupp is the author of “Christologies and Cultures: Toward a Typology of Worldviews,” “Beyond Existentialism and Zen: Religion in a Pluralistic World,” “’Culture Protestantism’: German Liberal Theology at the Turn of the 20th Century,” “Commitment and Community,” and “Globalization Challenged: Conviction, Conflict, Community.”

Rupp joins a long list of distinguished scholars and notable public servants who have previously held the Scarff professorship, among them William Sloane Coffin, Jr., former chaplain at Yale University, noted civil rights advocate and peace activist, Takakazu Kuriyama, former Japanese ambassador to the U.S., Russ Feingold, former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and Alexander Wilde, senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former director of the Washington Office of Latin America (WOLA).

The Scarff Memorial Visiting Professorship was established in 1989 by Edward and Nancy Scarff in memory of their son, Stephen, a member of the Lawrence class of 1975, who died in an automobile accident in 1984. It is designed to bring civic leaders and scholars to Lawrence to provide broad perspectives on the central issues of the day.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Mnozil Brass, Children of the Light Trio highlight Lawrence’s 2016-17 Performing Arts Series

World-renowned Mnozil Brass and the impeccable Children of the Light Trio headline a diversely talented array of artists Lawrence University’s 2016-17 Performing Arts Series.

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Mnozil Brass performs March 29, 2017.

Subscriptions for both the Artist and Jazz series are on sale now. Subscribers may choose from either series or a “Favorite 4” package, with discounts available to senior citizens and students. Single-concert tickets go on sale Sept. 16. For more information, contact the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749 or boxoffice@lawrence.edu.

All concerts are held in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Mnozil Brass visits Lawrence March 29, 2017. Since it’s founding in 1992, the Austrian brass septet has established itself as one of the world’s premiere brass ensembles, captivating audiences with its blend of virtuosity and theatrical wit. With more than 130 performances a year, they have sold out concert halls around the world.

“I know this is an incredibly overused phrase, but the Mnozil Brass concert is an absolute ‘must-see’ event,” said Marty Erickson, an instructor of tuba and euphonium in the Lawrence conservatory. “They play everything from Bach to Zappa, from the classics to new movie music and it is all surrounded with choreographed theater and dance moves and a massive dose of humor.

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Children of the Light — Brian Blade, Danilo Perez and John Patitucci — will be the second concert of the Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration Weekend Nov. 5.

“Not only are they considered the finest brass ensemble of its kind in the world, they do it all seemingly effortlessly with great fun,” Erickson added. “Imagine hearing Debussy and then Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” or an opera excerpt followed by Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” While most of the members have classical-based backgrounds, they also are versatile in jazz, pop and more. They are a hoot!”

The members first met at the Vienna Conservatory as young brass musicians. In the ensuring years, they have embraced repertoire from classical and folk to jazz and pop, all executed with the same fearlessness and immense technical skill.

“Not only are they considered the finest brass ensemble of its kind in the world, they do it all seemingly effortlessly with great fun.”
— Marty Erickson on Mnozil Brass

Children of the Light, featuring three members of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, performs Nov. 5 as part of the Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration Weekend.

The three multiple Grammy Award winners — keyboardist Danilo Perez, cellist John Patitucci and percussionist Brian Blade — celebrate Shorter’s old and new compositions. Their three-way conversations produce a collective improvisation, unfolding and constructing music like a rhythmic and smoldering chamber recital. As they apply their considerable individual talents to the trio, each member maintains his own distinct personality.

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Clarinetest David Shifrin, violinist Ani Kavafian and pianist Andre-Michel Schub open the Artist Series Oct. 7.

“When these three virtuosos come together, they bring layers of intricate melodies, rhythm and textures, which is explosive,” said José Encarnación, director of Lawrence’s jazz studies program. “Just as light naturally stimulates sights and makes things visible, so does this trio. They bring enlightenment and illumination to all their audiences.”

While Children of the Light is partially defined by the absence of Shorter, they add new influences, particularly of Latin and jazz, that are uniquely their own.

The Kavafian–Schub–Shifrin Trio opens the Artist Series Oct. 7. Friends for 25 years, violinist Ani Kavafian, pianist Andre-Michel Schub and clarinetist David Shifrin form a trio with palpable chemistry. Each is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Kavafian is one of the most sought after chamber musicians in the country as well as a frequent soloist. Shifrin has appeared in critically acclaimed recitals across the country and is a frequent major orchestra soloist. As a piano recitalist, orchestra soloist and chamber musician, Schub has earned critic and audience acclaim since launching his career more than 30 years ago.

The trio’s programs include themes of dance, folk and French connections, highlighting a diverse range of 19th- and 20th-century works.

“Just as light naturally stimulates sights and makes things visible, so does this trio. They bring enlightenment and illumination to all their audiences.”
— José Encarnación on Children of Light Trio

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The internationally acclaimed Elias String Quartet graces the Lawrence Memorial Chapel stage Feb. 3.

The Elias String Quartet, internationally acclaimed as one of the leading ensembles of its generation, performs Feb. 3, 2017. Known for its intense and vibrant performances, the quartet has traveled the globe collaborating with some of the finest musicians and playing in the world’s great venues.

In 2015, the quartet completed their ground-breaking Beethoven Project, performing and recording the complete string quartets of Beethoven. The project was broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and performed in 11 major venues in the UK.

The quartet has been recognized with the 2010 BBC Music Magazine’s Newcomer of the Year Award and a 2013 Mentoring Scholarship from the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.

Closing out the Artist Series, Roomful of Teeth makes a return visit April 7, 2017. The ensemble performed at Lawrence in 2014 as part of the college’s New Music Series.

Classically trained vocalists, RoT performs an eclectic repertoire commissioned specifically for the group, branching into everything from Tuvan throat singing, yodeling, Korean P’ansori and Hindustani music.

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The eclectic Roomful of Teeth makes its second appearance at Lawrence on April 7.

The New York Times has described their distinct style as “voices and percussion meshed to a colorful effect, the story propelled by a high-energy blend of stylistic influences including reggae, hip hop and rock.”

In March 2015, RoT performed the world premiere of “Drone Mass” by Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson, whose score for the film “The Theory of Everything” was nominated for an Academy Award.

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Singer Luciana Souza, with her bandmates Romero Lubambo and Cyro Baptista, open 2016’s Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration Weekend Nov. 4.

The Luciana Souza Trio opens the Jazz Series Nov. 4, kicking of the Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration weekend.

Grammy Award-winner Luciana Souza is one of jazz’s leading singers and interpreters. A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Souza’s work transcends traditional boundaries with a musical style rooted in jazz, winding through world music and incorporating an enlightened approach to new music.

Souza has been releasing acclaimed recordings since 2002, including six discs that earned Grammy nomination. She has performed and recorded with such high-profile artists as Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, James Taylor and Bobby McFerrin as well as the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Joining Souza will be Brazilian jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo and Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista.

Gerald Clayton, one of the foremost pianists of his generation, performs Feb. 24, 2017. Schooled in hard-swinging, melodic jazz by his father, John Clayton, uncle Jeff Clayton and mentors Billy Childs and Kenny Barron, he also has collaborated with contemporary jazz innovators Ambrose Akinmusire and Kendrick Scott. In his long-standing trio with drummer Justin Brown and bassist Joe Sanders, Clayton blends those styles into a musical language all his own.

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Pianist Gerald Clayton, along with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, performs Feb. 24.

A 2006 runner-up in the prestigious Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz Piano Competition, Clayton garnered Grammy nominations in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Delfeayo Marsalis, one of the top trombonists, composers and producers in jazz today, comes to campus May 13, 2017. In January 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family — father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton and Jason — received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award, the nation’s highest jazz honor.

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Trombonist extraordinaire closes the Jazz Series May 13, 2017.

Marsalis has toured internationally with Art Blakey, Slide Hampton and Max Roach as well as leading his own groups. In 2005 Marsalis released “Minions Dominion,” a tribute to legendary jazz drummer Elvin Jones followed by a reorchestrated verson of the classic Ellington suite “Sweet Thunder.”

Marsalis’ most recent album, “The Last Southern Gentlemen,” displays his technical expertise and frequent touches of humor, such as his playful rendition of “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence music education professor Matthew Arau helps launch historic band conference in Cyprus

As reunions go, this one has historic overtones.

Two Lawrence University graduates, Matthew Arau, the chair of Lawrence’s music education program and the associate director of bands, and Yiannis Miralis, an associate professor of music at European University Cyprus, soon will renew their friendship at a three-day band conference May 6-8 in Nicosia, Cyprus.

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Matthew Arau ’97 is chair of Lawrence’s music education department.

The conference, “Wind Bands in Greece and Cyrpus — Realities and Prospects,” will be the first of its kind for the entire eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East.

Miralis, a 1993 Lawrence graduate, is helping organize the conference, made his former saxophone studio colleague at Lawrence in the early 1990s an offer he couldn’t refuse: come to Cyprus to help launch this conference in style by delivering the conference’s keynote address and work with our attendees.

“What an incredible opportunity,” said Arau, who returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in 2014 after graduating in 1997 with a bachelor of arts degree in government and a bachelor of music degree in instrumental music education and music performance (classical and jazz studies).  “This is a ‘ground floor’ conference and I’m thrilled to be a part of the first one. It will be an honor to work with band directors from throughout the region and help them get their programs closer to United States’ levels.”

The inaugural conference is expected to attract more than 50 band conductors, instrumental teachers and community leaders from Cyprus, Greece, eastern Mediterranean and Middle East countries.

Arau will deliver the address “Leading from the Podium.” Beyond his keynote address, he will guest conduct the European University Cyprus symphonic band, play a saxophone concerto, give a talk on the history of the wind band, conduct an open rehearsal and participate in a round-table discussion on music education as part of the conference.

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Yiannis Miralis ’93

“In America, we are fortunate to have music ensembles as an integral part of the public education system,” said Arau. “Lawrence University is a leader in the field of music education and innovation. I look forward to sharing cutting-edge music education methods, concepts and points of view regarding leadership and conducting with the attendees at the international wind band conference.”

Arau and Miralis first met in 1991 as the only two freshmen students in Professor Steve Jordheim’s freshman saxophone techniques class. Yiannis attended Lawrence on a Fulbright Scholarship from Cyprus and graduated with a bachelor’s of music degree in music education.

Following the conference, Arau plans to stay with Miralis for a few extra days, catching up with his former classmate and working with some of Miralis’ university music students.

“This event marks the most hats I have ever worn at a music conference – speaker, teacher, conductor and performer.  I guess this is a true testament to my liberal arts education at Lawrence,” Arau said with a smile, looking forward to seeing his old friend and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Photography exhibition examines Cuban revolution from the inside

Photographs taken by Lawrence University Professor of Spanish Gustavo Fares during a recent trip to Cuba will be exhibited in the Warch Campus Center from May 2-18.

Cuba-exhibition_newsblogThe exhibition, “Cuba: The Revolution from the Inside,” features 10 large-scale digital prints of photographs Fares took of display cases inside the Museo de la Revolución — the Museum of the Revolution —  in Havana, which served as Cuba’s presidential palace until 1959.

In light of President Obama’s recent historic visit to the island — the first by a U.S. president in 80 years — it is clear Cuba is on the verge of change.  The exhibition, divided into 10 themes, among them agrarian reform, Guantánamo and missile crisis, examines the ways the Cuban government presents the history of the 1959 revolution and the subsequent consequences for the Cuban people. It questions the tension between history and memory, our perspective from the present on the events of the past.

“In the United States we tend to be more familiar with the Cuban revolution as seen from the outside,” said Fares. “This exhibition wants to present a Cuban perspective of the revolution from the inside.

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Gustavo Fares

“I did not want to take away the visual features that characterizes a visit, a ‘being there,’ with the light, the people, the heat, the warm breeze coming through the museum’s open windows,” Fares added. “I believe one of the core values of photography is precisely to remind us that a body was there, present, to take the photograph. I tried to preserve the visual clues that remind us of that fact.”

Fares was part of a 34-member Lawrence-sponsored trip that spent eight days in Cuba in mid-March of this year.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Civic Life Project community film screening May 3 in Warch Campus Center

 Jamie DeMotts began experimenting with filmmaking when she was 11 years old.Civic-Life-Project-logo_newsblog

Without any editing software, the Lawrence University senior from St. Cloud, Minn., had to settle for manipulating an old JVC tape camera, recording over old footage to shoot new scenes.

With the help of “real” equipment and some valuable guidance from Lawrence faculty, DeMotts’ skills as a filmmaker have blossomed. One of her latest efforts, “Brown Water,” which she made with classmates Taylor Dodson and Hugo Espinosa, will be one of four documentaries shown Tuesday, May 3 at 6 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center at the fourth community screening of Lawrence University’s Civic Life Project.

The screening is free and open to the public, but advance registration is requested at http://go.lawrence.edu/qdfw or by calling 920-832-7019.

“Filmmaking is a fantastic way to communicate stories,” said DeMotts, a self-designed environmental studies and film studies major. “Thanks to online videos, anyone can be a filmmaker. It’s a great way to express yourself and find your voice. I think everyone should be a filmmaker.”

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A scene from “Brown Water.”

Finding one’s voice is an important part of the mission of the Civic Life Project, which was created by award-winning filmmaker Catherine Tatge, and her husband, Dominique Lasseur. The CLP was launched at Lawrence in 2012 as an innovative educational tool to challenge students to learn about democracy in a unique way, discover more about the community in which they live and and find their own individual voice through the creation of a documentary video.

The ecologically-focused “Brown Water” explores the interaction between dairy farming and groundwater quality.

“People have heard about environmental problems so many times that it’s important to keep thinking of ways to represent them in a way that hits a target audience,” DeMotts explained of her team’s inspiration for film.

Other films featured at screening will be:

  • “Breaking the Silence: Unseen Racism” An examination of how racism goes unseen in a college town like Appleton.
  • “A Generation On Change” A local transgender student fights for not only her rights, but also for the rights of other transgender youths in the Fox Valley.
  • “Mental Health in the Prison System” A look at the value and use of mental health diagnosis and treatment in the Wisconsin criminal justice system.
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A scene from “Breaking the Silence: Unseen Racism.”

The topics for the documentaries grew out of conversations Tatge conducted with numerous community leaders to identify issues of concern in the Fox Cities. Three-member teams of Lawrence students then shared the roles of writer, editor, producer, director and videographer in creating the documentaries.

Students will lead brief, round-table discussions related to the issues following the screening of each film.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Haydn’s masterpiece “The Creation” performed by Lawrence Choirs, Symphony Orchestra

The Lawrence Symphony Orchestra joins forces with the Lawrence University Choirs in a performance of Franz Haydn’s masterpiece “The Creation” Friday, April 29 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.

Choir-+-LSO_newsblogThe dramatic, three-part musical adaptation of the biblical story of creation — sung in the modern English translation by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker — will feature four guest artists: Neenah native Emily Birsan, soprano; Evan Bravos, baritone; Lawrence Associate Professor of Music Steven Paul Spears, tenor; and university organist Kathrine Handford, harpsicord. Birsan and Bravos are 2008 and 2010 Lawrence graduates, respectively. The performance will be directed by Phillip Swan, associate professor of music and co-director of choral studies.

Written in the late 1790s, the work commemorates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis and John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” The three soloists in the work represent the archangels Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Twice as Nice: Senior Tim Carrigg wins second national DownBeat magazine Student Music Award

When Fred Sturm, the former director of Lawrence University’s jazz studies program, suggested to Tim Carrigg that he venture outside the box, he took the advice and ran with it.

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Tim Carrigg ’16

The end result, “Namaste,” earned Carrigg national recognition from DownBeat magazine as the 2016 undergraduate winner in the original composition/large ensemble category in its 39th annual Student Music Awards competition.

It was the second year in a row Carrigg has been honored by DownBeat. In last year’s SMA competition, he won the undergraduate jazz arrangement category for his six-minute, big band arrangement “Once Upon a Time,” which was inspired by Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.”

Carrigg is in rare company at Lawrence as a back-to-back winner. He is only the second individual Lawrence student to win consecutive DownBeat awards, joining Javier Arau, who won SMAs in 1996 and 1997. The seven-member student band, Fatbook, which won two straight awards in 2010 and 2011 in the college blues/pop/rock group category, is Lawrence’s only other multiple winner.

Announced in DownBeat’s June edition, the SMAs are considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education. They are presented in 13 categories in five separate divisions: junior high, high school, performing high school, undergraduate college and graduate college.

Written over a period of six months, “Namaste” was actually performed and recorded live two months before Carrigg found out that “Once Upon a Time” had won a SMA.

“I certainly didn’t think I had another winner when I finished writing ‘Namaste’ because at the time, I wasn’t even aware I had won the first time,” said Carrigg, who is pursuing a bachelor of music degree at Lawrence in music theory/composition major with a jazz emphasis.

It was shortly after he had finished “Once Upon a Time” that Sturm, who passed away in August 2014, encouraged Carrigg to “write something that’s really original, really different.”

“At that time, I had been listening to a lot of rock I had heard when I was younger, bands like Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana,” Carrigg recalled of his conversation with Sturm. “I took all those influences and basically brought them together into ‘Namaste.’

Tim-Carrigg_newsblog_2016_2“I wound up with this really cool fusion between ’90s rock and more traditional elements of jazz. It has this feeling of solemnness but also excitement. In the middle of the piece, the horns start playing the texture of a lush chorale, only to catch you by surprise when the piece suddenly breaks for a heavy drum solo.”

The nine-minute piece features 18 musicians — five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones and five rhythm section players.

“Tim incorporates unconventional sounds and instruments and heavy metal/rock/fusion elements in his jazz ensemble works, which has greatly influenced his unique style of composing,” said Patricia Darling, who teaches jazz composition and arranging classes and directs the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble. “I love working with him because he has such a clear vision of what he wants to create and is determined and able to make it happen. It will be exciting to see where he goes with this when he heads to graduate school next year.”

“Namaste” is the latest of 15 concert style works Carrigg has written, five of which will be performed during his upcoming senior recital on May 14. He puts “Namaste” among his top three favorites.

“I put a lot of work into that piece and certainly was excited when I found out it won the DownBeat award,” said Carrigg. “The performers put in a lot of time on it and they all sounded great. It’s such a fun piece.”

Tim-Carrigg_newsblog3Following graduation in June, Carrigg will head to the University of Oregon where he’ll be a graduate teaching fellow while working toward a masters in jazz composition.

“What I would really love to do is be in a small group where I’m writing for individuals,” said Carrigg, who plays piano. “There’s something very special about writing for a small group of people where you’re connected on an individual level but you also know their personalities on the instrument.

“I love writing for big ensembles too, and that’s a skill set I’ll always have,” he added. “Ultimately, I’d like to be a performer as well as a composer. Small group writing has a pretty big place in my heart, whether that is through freelancing or being part of a group or collaboration.”

Since DownBeat launched its Student Music Awards competition in 1978, Lawrence students and ensembles have won a total of 27 SMAs, including seven in the past six years.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Political fallout of Common Core standards focus of economics colloquium

The political ramifications of the adoption of the Common Core education standards will be examined in a Lawrence University economics colloquium.

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Arnold Shober

Arnold Shober, associate professor of government at Lawrence, presents “You Wanna See Utah Become a Blue State? How the Common Core Raised Standards and Broke a Thirty-Year Truce between Republicans and Democrats” Thursday, April 28 at 4:30 p.m in Thomas Steitz Hall of Science 102.

When the Common Core State Standards were adopted in 2010 by 46 states, supporters thought they had gotten it right. After the spectacular flame-out of national standards 15 years earlier, Common Core boosters were determined to foil political opposition by applying lessons gleaned from earlier battles. The new standards touched only reading and math, were drafted by a large and diverse panel of experts and were state-led.

While supporters got what they wanted, in the process they wound up upending a long-standing, but uneasy, political peace.

Shober, a specialist on policy change and accountability in American education, is the author of the 2016 book “In Common No More: The Politics of the Common Core State Standards.” The book explores the shifting political alliances related to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, explains why initial national support has faded and considers the major debates running through the Common Core controversy.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.