Appleton

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University student musicians accounted for four of the five winners at the 13th annual Neale-Silva Young Artists competition held March 16 in Madison.

Pianists Amy Lauters, Will Martin and Michael Smith along with the string quartet of Danielle Simandl, violin, Katie Ekberg, violin, Sarah Bellmore, viola, and Max Hero, cello, shared top honors with clarinetist Brian Viliunas of Milwaukee in the state competition sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio. Simandl also advanced to the finals as a soloist.

This was the eighth time in the past 10 years that Lawrence students have won or shared top honors in the Neale-Silva event.

The competition is open to instrumentalists and vocal performers 17-26 years of age who are either from Wisconsin or attend a Wisconsin college. This year’s competition attracted 26 soloists and ensembles, with 14 of those (11 soloists and three ensembles) advancing to the finals.

Lauters, Martin, Smith and the members of the string quartet will reprise their winning performances Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater. The concert will be broadcast live statewide on the NPR News and Classical Music Network of WPR. In addition to the radio broadcast, all seven winners received $400 for their first-place performances.

For the April 30 concert, Lauters, a freshman from Manhattan, Kan., will perform Haydn’s “Piano Sonata in C major, no. 60,” Chopin’s “Nocturne” and Ravel’s “Jeux D’eau.” Smith, a sophomore from Davis, Calif., will play Schumann’s “Sonata no. 3 in f minor, op. 14” and “Fantasia” from J.S. Bach’s “Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue.” Martin, a sophomore from Floosmoor, Ill., will perform Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Bellmore, a senior from Appleton, Ekberg, a junior from New Hope, Minn., Hero, a freshman from Wauwatosa and Simandl, a junior from Marquette, Mich., will perform Shostakovich’s “String Quartet no. 8.”

Lauters and Martin are students in the piano studio of Associate Professor of Music Anthony Padilla. Smith studies with Associate Professor of Music Michael Kim. Assistant Professor of Music Wen-Lei Gu serves as chamber coach of the string quartet.

The Neale-Silva Young Artists’ Competition was established to recognize young Wisconsin performers of classical music who demonstrate an exceptionally high level of artistry. It is supported by a grant from the estate of the late University of Wisconsin Madison professor Eduardo Neale-Silva, a classical music enthusiast who was born in Talca, Chile and came to the United States in 1925.

APPLETON, WIS. — Growing up in Lima, Peru, Lawrence University senior Valeria Rojas experienced the sting of discrimination firsthand. Even though she was born and raised there, she was a “mestiza” — a person of mixed ethnicity — and her darker skin made her a target of childhood taunts.

“I grew up in a society where open discrimination against the indigenous people or anyone without European features was more the rule than the exception,” says Rojas.

Her childhood experiences have motivated her as an adult to combat stereotypes and discrimination. As one of the 50 national recipients of a $25,000 fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation announced March 14 by the Rhode Island-based foundation, Rojas will have an opportunity to pursue her passion. She will embark on a year-long examination of ethnic discrimination and social exclusion throughout South America.

Rojas was one of 50 seniors from 23 states and five foreign countries awarded a Watson Fellowship, which supports a year of independent travel and exploration outside the United States on a topic of the student’s choosing. Nearly 1,000 students from up to 50 selective private liberal arts colleges and universities apply for the Watson Fellowship each year. This year’s award-winners were selected from among 175 finalists.

“The awards are long-term investments in people, not research,” said Rosemary Macedo, the executive director of the Watson Fellowship Program. “We look for people likely to lead or innovate in the future and give them extraordinary independence in pursuing their interests. They must have passion, creativity and a feasible plan. The Watson Fellowship affords an unequalled opportunity for global experiential learning.”

Beginning in August, Rojas’ project will take her to Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador to study the historically prominent indigenous communities of the Mapuches, Aymaras and Quechuas, spending approximately four months living in each community. She intends to explore the issue of discrimination and social exclusion from three perspectives: the indigenous people themselves, the government and civil society.

“I want to learn more about these native communities by immersing myself in them and experiencing their cultures every day,” said Rojas, 22, who is majoring in economics and government with a minor in anthropology at Lawrence. “I want to learn more about their rich, cultural past, the current social situation and their future aspirations. I want to know what they think about the ethnic discrimination and social exclusion they face. By living with them, I will be able to observe how discrimination affects their self-esteem and attitude toward the rest of society.”

Part of her stay in each community also will involve working as a volunteer with local and regional non-governmental organizations and government institutions dedicated to promoting the development of the indigenous communities. She already has made arrangements to work with the Chilean National Commission for Indigenous Development (CONADI) and the Bilingual Intercultural Education Training for the Andean Countries Program (PROEIB) in Bolivia.

At the end of her “wanderjahr,” Rojas hopes to share her experiences with as many people as possible, especially other mestizos like herself.

“The ethnic discrimination and social exclusion experienced daily in Latin America is something I cannot tolerate and I feel like it has become my duty to help in a struggle that divides entire populations,” said Rojas, who intends to pursue graduate studies in international development following her fellowship. “I want to promote a change in attitude among Latin Americans. I’m not trying to be a savior, but someone has to start breaking down the stereotypes and make people stop to think about their opinions and what those opinions are based on. The Watson fellowship offers me the unique opportunity to help make that happen.”

“Vale’s project grows out of her academic work at Lawrence, her personal experiences and her passionate devotion to social justice,” said Tim Spurgin, associate professor and Bonnie Glidden Buchanan Professor of English, who serves as Lawrence’s campus liaison to the Watson program. “Her project will definitely be challenging, but there’s no doubt of her ability to succeed with it.”

Rojas is the 66th Lawrence student awarded a Watson Fellowship since the program’s inception in 1969. It was established by the children of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the founder of International Business Machines Corp., and his wife, Jeannette, to honor their parents’ long- standing interest in education and world affairs.

Watson Fellows are selected on the basis of the nominee’s character, academic record, leadership potential, willingness to delve into another culture and the personal significance of the project proposal. Since its founding, nearly 2,500 fellowships have been awarded.

APPLETON, WIS. — Art found in natural and everyday objects and the history of art education at Lawrence University will be explored in a new exhibition at Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center Galleries. The exhibition runs March 21 – May 4.

Chicago artist Brad Killam will deliver the exhibition’s opening lecture Friday, April 4 at 6 p.m. A reception will follow the address, which is free and open to the public.

Killam’s installation of sculptures made from objects found outside the art studio will be exhibited in both the Hoffmaster and Kohler galleries. His works focus on finding the aesthetic qualities of art in ordinary materials and studying the transformation of a functional object into something that causes viewers to regard it as artistically interesting.

A graduate of Illinois State University and the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he earned his master’s of fine arts degree, Killam has exhibited internationally and been the recipient of grants from several art foundations, including the Danish Contemporary Art Foundation. He currently is an assistant professor of art at the College of DuPage in suburban Chicago.

The Leech Gallery will feature a research presentation by senior Katherine Elchert that traces the history and development of Lawrence’s art education program from the time of the Milwaukee Downer College art program to the present. An art history and history double major, Elchert’s exhibition is her senior project for the history department.

Wriston Art Center hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday-Sunday from noon – 4 p.m. The gallery is closed Mondays. For more information, call 920-832-6621 or visit http://www.lawrence.edu/news/wriston/.

APPLETON, WIS. — The Lawrence University Wind Ensemble will be among a select group of featured performers March 13-15 at the College Band Directors National Association North Central Division Professional Conference at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Under the direction of Andrew Mast, assistant professor and director of bands, the Lawrence Wind Ensemble was one of six college ensembles in the 10-state region invited to perform at the conference. The invitations were based on audition tapes of live performance recordings from the 2006-07 academic year.

“The selection is done by peers who know and understand the difficulties and challenges of the repertoire,” said Mast. “It is always a special honor to be recognized by one’s colleagues and peers.

“The north central region is among, if not the, strongest region in the nation for college and university bands,” Mast added. “I’d compare it to winning the ACC title in college basketball versus winning the Patriot League. We are simply in a part of the country with more and better ensembles, so earning a conference invitation against that level of competition is very gratifying.”

The Lawrence Wind Ensemble will perform on Saturday afternoon in the Strauss Performing Arts Center, the last of the six invited ensembles to do so. The hour-long program will include “Early Light” by Carolyn Bremer, Yo Goto’s “Lachrymae,” “Sunan Dances” by Dorothy Chang, “Frenzy” by Andrew Boysen and “Prevailing Wings” a work written by former Lawrence faculty member Rodney Rogers in 1983 for Bob Levy and the wind ensemble.

“Getting to perform on the last day of the conference in a marquee time slot was like icing on the cake,” said Mast.

Putting together the program for the conference proved to be both a joy and a challenge.

“I attempted to represent the widest possible swath of wind band repertoire I could in an hour program,” Mast said. “There is variety in the composers’ gender, ethnic background and style. I also wanted to present a unified journey from the beginning to the end of the program that takes listeners and performers through the entire gamut of emotions — joy, celebration, mourning, passion, vigor.”

Joining Lawrence as audition-selected performers at the conference will be the Drake University Wind Symphony, the Northwestern University Symphonic Band, the University of St. Thomas Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the UW-Eau Claire Wind Symphony and the Western Illinois University Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the students and the hard work they have put into this program,” said Mast. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to prepare for the conference and I’m looking forward to showcasing Lawrence and our talented students.”

The College Band Directors National Association began its existence as a committee of the Music Educators National Conference in the 1930s and assumed its current organizational name in 1947. Members of the CBDNA are dedicated to the teaching, performance, study and cultivation of music, with particular focus on the wind band medium.

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University’s recent production of “Blood Wedding” drew accolades from the American College Theatre Festival for the cast, production staff, musicians and director.

Juniors Brune Macary, Lyon, France, and Cara Wantland, McAllen, Texas, earned invitations to the 2009 Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition for their individual performances, while the ACTF issued Certificates of Merit for the ensemble, the music design, and the production’s director, Annette Thornton.

Macary and Wantland will vie for a $500 scholarship in the Ryan competition next January in Saginaw, Mich., at the ACTF’s five-state regional competition. Winners at the eight regional competitions advance to the national auditions at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in April, 2009.

In Lawrence’s production of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca’s tale of love, passion and betrayal, Macary played the role of the wedding bride, an unhappy young woman tormented by the presence of a former lover on the night of her arranged marriage. Wantland portrayed Death, an eerie and morbid personification of the force that drives two men to their ends.

In awarding an ensemble (cast and production staff) certificate of merit, Roger Held, chair of the theatre department at Michigan Tech University and an ACTF respondent, wrote “the movement of actors whether in a scene or executing a scene shift was perfect, effortless and economical. They created a mental realm and moment-to-moment focus that kept the audience transfixed.”

In his certificate for music design, Held cited the 10 student musicians for providing “a unified musical voice that, with so many participants, could easily have degenerated into chaos. The collaborative and unselfish efforts of these students is remarkable and gave a special and unique quality to the performance.”

Held praised Thornton as “the epitome of a theatrical director, one who gives direction to the arts and crafts of others while making their personal contribution almost invisible” in his certificate of merit for direction.

Founded in 1969, the ACTF recognizes the finest and most exciting work produced in college theatre programs and provides opportunities for participants to develop their theatre skills. Conducted since 1972, the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship was established in the will of the late actress, best known for her role as the lovable and feisty Granny Clampett on the TV hit show “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

APPLETON, WIS. — Everyone should have such successful first tries.

Lynn Gilge had never shot a video before getting an assignment for one for her digital processes class at Lawrence University. Not only did her videography debut earn Gilge an ‘A’ for the assignment, it wound up being selected for the exhibition “Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes” at Minneapolis’ prestigious Walker Art Center.

The four-minute video titled “Continuous Fence” features a dizzying series of fence styles, including traditional white picket, decorative wrought-iron and industrial chain link. Gilge, a sophomore at Lawrence from Phillips, shot the video in one day while walking around Appleton. Some thoughtful observation turned into spontaneous inspiration.

“Back home, I live out in the country, but as I thought about people living in suburbia and started looking at how close the houses are and how many of them have fences around their yards, I was struck with the notion of ‘Are they trying to keep things in, or are they trying to keep things out?,'” said Gilge.

“It’s incredible that Lynn was able to communicate her artistic vision so poetically and that the Walker recognized its hypnotic beauty,” said Julie Lindemann, assistant professor of art at Lawrence, who co-teaches the digital processes class.

“Continuous Fence” was one of 12 videos selected by the Walker Art Center from a nation-wide call for submissions through the popular Internet site YouTube. All of the videos are being shown on a television set in a faux 1970’s suburban basement rec room — complete with paneling, shag carpet and bean bag chairs — the art center constructed specifically for the exhibition, which runs through Aug. 17.

“I couldn’t believe it when I received the email saying my video had been selected for the exhibition,” said Gilge, who is pursuing a major in both studio art and English at Lawrence. “I started calling everyone I knew. It was really kind of surreal. The work of some very famous artists are on display at the Walker, folks like Jasper Johns, Mark Rothko, even Yoko Ono, so to have something I did featured in the same art museum with artists of that stature is beyond description.”

While heartily endorsing the video-making experience as “a lot of fun,” Gilge said it wasn’t without its anxious moments.

“I was a little nervous walking in front of all these people’s houses with a video camera,” Gilge said. “I was worried someone would be suspicious of my intentions and report me to the police.”

During her filming, she did draw the attention of one excited homeowner, who came out to question what she was up to. But Gilge’s explanation of a class assignment quickly defused the situation.

That Gilge’s video debut wound up being part of an exhibition at a major art museum is even more remarkable given the fact she was initially “wait-listed” for the digital art class due to enrollment limitations. It took someone else dropping out for her to get in.

“There was a whole lot of luck involved in all of this,” Gilge said with a laugh.