Visual and Performing Arts News

Congratulations Nate Lyons on Bronze Award in AES Student Recording Competition

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Nate Lyons (VPA Sound Design, ’25) brings home the Bronze Award in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) international Student Recording Competition, Sound for Visual Media category for his sound design audio replacement of the video game Celeste. This is the second year in a row Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) sound design and audio production and technology students have received awards in the prestigious international competition. As an award winner, Nate will receive a prize that includes audio software from Bettermaker, Empirical Labs, and Eventide.

As part of VPA career development and professional presentation travel courses, students have an opportunity to attend and present at the international Audio Engineering Society convention in New York City led by Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood, Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).

This opportunity is well suited for students interested in studio recording and music production, video game design, live sound, theatre, and AV or acoustics consulting. The week-long study away experience includes networking with Grammy-winning and Academy-winning professionals at the convention and a curated experience including private meetups with AV consulting and acoustics firms, facility tours, backstage tours and shadow opportunities, Broadway and other live productions, sightseeing, and Michigan Tech VPA alumni meetups for our students to form industry connections as they launch their careers.

This year VPA students presented in the AES Student Recording Competition, Student Mix Critiques sessions, and participated in career fairs hosted by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the co-located National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference.

As part of the curated study away experience, Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood (VPA) also arranged visits of international concert touring production company Clair Global, Broadway audio rental shops PRG and Masque Sound, backstage tours of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Little Island, and talkbacks with sound designers from Stereophonic (Broadway) and Bad Kreyol (Off-Broadway) after seeing both productions as a group.

Congratulations to Nate Lyons and Department of Visual and Performing Arts sound design and audio production and technology students in their presentations at the 2024 AES New York convention.

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VPA Faculty Terri Frew Art Exhibition “Creepshow”

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Assistant Teaching Professor Terri Frew recently installed a solo art exhibition titled “Creepshow” at the Overbrook Gallery on the campus of Muskegon Community College. The exhibition will run from September 16 – October 24, 2024 with an artist lecture on October 17 at 4:00EDT.

Through her art, Frew says she is interested in contributing to the contemporary dialogue concerned with breaking down boundaries between art and craft, while the exhibit aims to “confront and challenge antiquated notions of art media hierarchy.”

The art below are two pieces that are included in the show.

There will be a public reception at the gallery October 17 at 5pm and a free plant foraging and ink making workshop on October 18, 9am-12pm (contact Erin Hoffman hoffmane@muskegoncc.edu to reserve your spot).

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Michigan Tech Concert Choir tours New Zealand

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On May 1-15, 2024 the members of the Michigan Tech Concert Choir participated in a successful tour of New Zealand. They traveled through Auckland, Rotorua, Hamilton, Wellington, Hanmer Springs, Christchurch, Queenstown, and Dunedin; traveling from the far north to the far south of the country. They were fortunate to have beautiful weather for the trip, with a lot of sunshine and temperatures much like we experience now in the Keweenaw. 58 individuals traveled in the group: 47 performers (including the conductor and pianist) and 11 friends. The youngest choir member was 16 years old and the oldest was 82 years old. Travelers included 17 Michigan Tech students, 2 Houghton HS students (one will be a freshman at Tech in the fall), 6 faculty, 4 retired faculty/staff, 7 choir alumni, and 22 community members.

The choir performed to audiences in lovely venues in each of the major cities. Proceeds from each concert were donated to local charities:

Auckland: St. Matthew-in-the-City Anglican Church
Hamilton: Exchange with the Hamilton Civic Choir (held on the campus of the University of Waikato)
Wellington: St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church
Christchurch: The Philip Carter Family Concert Hall at The Piano
Dunedin: St. Paul’s Cathedral (Anglican)

Highlights of the tour included visiting the extinct caldera of Mt. Eden (Maungawhau) in Auckland, exploring Hobbiton (near Rotorua), crossing the Cook Strait, seeing the Southern Lights in Christchurch, feeling the mountain air in Hanmer Springs and Queenstown. The choir experienced beautiful vistas, wonderful food, welcoming audiences, and warm sunshine.

Director Jared Anderson said, “I am so proud of how the choir performed in each concert on the tour. They sang with great heart and really represented the university well to each audience. I am also especially grateful for the ways that the members of the choir remained positive through long travel days and the usual obstacles experienced in a travel group of this size. It is a trip that will remain in our memory for a long time. I am also grateful for the support of the College of Sciences and Arts and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts along with many donors who helped to underwrite some the expenses of the trip for the students. Through donor generosity, each student received significant support that was applied to their travel fee. We look forward to traveling again in the future.”

Choral singers performing

Members of the Michigan Tech Concert Choir perform in St. Paul’s Cathedral in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Lake Pukaki with Mount Cook in the background.

Lake Pukaki with Mount Cook (highest point in New Zealand) in the background.

Southern Lights (Aurora Australis)

A view of the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) from downtown Christchurch, New Zealand.

Choral rehearsal with choir on stage and conductor standing in audience

The Michigan Tech Concert Choir rehearses for a performance at The Piano in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Members of the Michigan Tech Concert Choir and the Hamilton Civic Choir.

Members of the Michigan Tech Concert Choir and the Hamilton Civic Choir.

Students posing by rock sign at Waiotapu

Members of the Michigan Tech Concert Choir at Waiotapu (Rotorua, NZ)

Hobbit home

Bilbo Baggins’ home at the movie set for The Hobbit.

Michigan Tech Concert Choir and audience at St. Matthew-in-the-City.

Michigan Tech Concert Choir and audience at St. Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland, NZ.

Michigan Tech Concert Choir standing in rows

Michigan Tech Concert Choir at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Students posing atop Maungawhau with downtown Auckland in the background.

Students from the Michigan Tech Concert Choir pose atop Maungawhau in Auckland, New Zealand.

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Don Keranen Jazz Awards

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Each year, excellence in Jazz is recognized by way of the Don Keranen Memorial Jazz Scholarship. Two students are chosen by their peers in recognition of improvement, excellence, and leadership. Our award winners this year include one of the drummers from R&D Jazz Band, Eira Techtmann, and The Jazz Lab Band’s lead trumpeter Michael Tarske.

These students all showed leadership, dedication, excellence, and improvement this year. I am grateful for them, and wish them continued success in the coming years. 

Director of Jazz Studies, Adam Meckler

Eira is a drummer, percussionist, and videographer/photographer for Michigan Technological University. They play in a total of 5 bands, including the R and D Jazz Band and Video Game Jazz Ensemble. With drumming influences from Jojo Mayer, Max Roach, and JD Beck, they try to play with a mix of traditional and new jazz whenever they can.

Michael Tarske is a Trumpeter that has been playing Jazz since High School. At Michigan Tech he is an Electrical Engineering Technology major with interest in automation. He started his music journey at Tech by sitting in on an R&D Big Band rehearsal and quickly found interest in the Jazz program. Regardless of where the future takes him, Michael plans to keep Jazz music a prominent part of his life.

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Visual and Performing Arts Student Awards

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The Department of Visual and Performing Arts has announced its student award and scholarship recipients. Each year, a nomination and selection process is conducted by VPA faculty and staff with input from department students to identify outstanding student achievement. Below is a list of recognized students.

Jos Olson smiling

Student of Promise: Jos Olson

Jos just finished his second year at Tech as an Audio Production and Technology Major. He is honored to receive the Student of Promise Award. He can also be found playing drums in the jazz program, and working in the Rozsa Center as the Head of Living Streaming. 

Allison Lewis

Art Award: Allison Lewis

Allison Lewis is a second year Theatre and Entertainment Technology major with a minor in Art. She enjoys creating and sharing her artwork, with her favorite subject being people. She’s worked with paint, sculpture, and traditional drawing but plans to explore many more mediums. During her time at Tech, she has been a Carpenter, Lead Painter, and is a soon-to-be TA for Scenic Art and Illustration. Allison plans to one day become a scenic artist and muralist. In her spare time she enjoys listening to music, hiking, and kayaking.”

Elijah Sierra

Music Award: Eli Sierra

Eli is a Senior at Michigan Tech majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Aerospace Engineering. He loves music and has been a percussionist for almost a decade. 

He works in the Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL) completing research for NASA’s Artemis program. And in the summer of 2024 he will be a mechanical engineer intern on the Starlink program at SpaceX. 

Eli also enjoys the outdoors and partakes in sports such as: running, mountain biking and hiking. 

Cora Moyers

Sound Award: Cora Moyers

Cora is a 5th year and graduating Sound Design student. Cora has spent her time at tech growing the SoundGirls MTU Chapter, and has served multiple e-board positions, but currently serves as President. Cora has worked on multiple productions while at tech including The Haunted Smelter, A Christmas Carol and The One Act Festival. She is very honored to have received the VPA Sound Award. 

Theatre Award: Audrey Schulte

Audrey is completing her fifth and final year this spring as a Theatre and Entertainment Tech major here at MTU. Throughout her time spent here, she has gained incredible experiences and friendships within this department that have set her up for great success after graduation. She is extremely excited to take a step forward into the next chapter and owes a lot of gratitude to her classmates, professors, and colleagues for the work on all the shows and displays she has been a part of. Audrey has excitedly accepted an intern position at Walt Disney World this summer and can’t wait to put all the skills she has gained from MTU to work!

All Arts Award: Aidan Conrade

Aidan Conrade is a fourth year Sound Design student with a minor in Music Composition. They enjoy putting their knowledge of sound design together with their music to create unique and creative pieces for all types of projects. On top of this, they also play bass guitar and upright bass in a variety of groups at Michigan Tech, including the Playtesters, MTU’s video game jazz ensemble, which is a student-lead group that specializes in arranging their favorite video game tunes into various styles of jazz and adjacent genres to grow as musicians! When they are not working on a project or writing/listening to music, they are exploring the outdoors or discovering the latest indie games. Their goal after university is to join the video game and/or film industries as a sound designer and composer, where they will work to curate immersive and expressive experiences for others to enjoy!

Irish Award for Environmental Art: Connor Ford

Connor Ford is a College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) student graduating with his bachelor’s in Applied Ecology this Spring. After years of traditional STEM coursework, he had an opportunity to enroll in “Art and Nature”, a contemplative photography course taught by Professor Anne Beffel in the Visual and Performing Arts Department. Upon taking the class, he soon realized the benefits of learning skills about mindfulness and its interplay with visual analysis.

Working to apply this knowledge, Connor created two works of art that guide viewers along an immersive photographic journey across the Keweenaw Peninsula. His photos are accompanied by audio tracks rich with environmental insight, adorned by poetic titles, and analyses of the work using the language of visual principles and elements (gestalt principles of visual interaction and Getty elements of art).

In addition to communicating the science behind the beauty in nature spaces, Superior Influence is Connor’s attempt to better grasp how gestalt principles can inform our perception of ecosystem function and reveal aspects of personal emotion in relation to the land. With assistance from the University, his project was temporarily installed in Wadsworth Hall during the Spring student art show, but it can also be accessed online through a website he created for the general public. Looking ahead, he’s excited for new opportunities in ecological research and watershed management, and can’t wait to further explore and incorporate these art practices into his work. In the meantime, you might find him wading in a stream, rock hounding, staring at a bug, or simply enjoying a quiet moment at the beach.

Milt Olsson Music Award: Benji Doerr

Benji is a Biochemistry student at Michigan Tech. He loves making music and has been playing violin and singing in choirs since he was young. In the summers he is a summer camp photographer, and he loves spending time outdoors with the kids. He’s the third in a family of 8 kids who all also love music.

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Tomorrow: KSO, Michigan Tech Choirs Closing Rozsa Season with ‘Mosaic for Earth’

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by Michigan Tech Music | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Tech Choirs, conducted by Jared Anderson (Visual and Performing Arts), will close the 2023/2024 Rozsa Season tomorrow (April 20) at 7:30 p.m. with the spectacular Great Lakes premiere — and second performance ever — of Dwight Bigler’s “Mosaic for Earth.”

Over 150 local musicians will gather on the Rozsa stage for this awe-inspiring performance by the KSO and Michigan Tech Choirs. The concert will also feature the Houghton Area Children’s Chorus, prepared by Hillary Arundel, and guest soloists Soren Schmidt, Lara Neves, Kathryn Summersett and Drake Dantzler.

Throughout the 100-minute concert, audiences can expect to be swept away by breathtaking visual scenes designed to accompany the music. Together, they showcase the beauty of our planet and our responsibility to protect it.

Concert Details:

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Terri Frew Dean’s Teaching Showcase Selection Delivers Distinctive Display of Educational Excellence

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Terry Frew Dean's Potrait
Terri Frew
Assistant Teaching Professor, Visual and Performing Arts

College of Sciences and Arts Dean, Ravindra Pandey, selected Terri Frew for this week’s Dean’s Teaching Showcase. Frew, an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Visual and Performing Arts department, will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members. Frew is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Course Creativity Includes Community and Collaboration

Professor Frew demonstrates excellent teaching in a wide range of visual arts classes, including large general education courses (Art Appreciation), small studio courses (Drawing, Art + Design Studio, Ceramics, Fiber Arts), and theory courses (Color). Frew commits to nurturing creative exploration, practical hands-on skills, and critical analysis. She experiments with using community engagement to enhance student learning. For example, Frew partnered with the Hancock Community Garden for her Art + Design course. She also enjoys offering students new ways to think about what they are learning.

This semester she is piloting a new course in Fiber Arts. The course pairs creative “making and doing” with critical conversations about the role of hand-made items and craftsmanship, both historically and in today’s society. Jared Anderson, chair of the Visual and Performing Arts department, described Frew’s teaching as “ambitious, inclusive, and collaborative. Within the framework of arts education, she creates opportunities for students to explore varied topics and gain new perspectives. Her commitment to her teaching practices, students, and the university community is to be commended.”

Frew Dean’s Teaching Showcase Winner Displays Creativity and Expression

Professor Frew also serves as the Director of the Rozsa Galleries. She builds partnerships with other departments on campus related to the gallery’s exhibits. Frew fosters a gallery experience that highlights diverse perspectives and appeals to a wide audience. In 2022, she curated Arabesque, an exhibit that partnered international artist Clement Yeh with local artist Tomas Co. Created in close collaboration with the Rozsa Center’s programming, complementing the Rozsa’s fall ballet concert, Arabesque included drawings, sculptures, and video. Her recent curatorial project, Simple Machines, paired the work of Ukrainian Artist Yuliya Musakova and Michigan Tech Humanities professor M. Bartley Seigel. The multimedia exhibit included audio clips of the poets reading their work, a live printing demonstration, and a live performance from the visiting poet Musakova.

“Offering a vibrant arts curriculum that is available to all students is an important way that Michigan Tech sets itself apart as a STEM-focused institution”

“When we give students opportunities to explore creative and expressive practices, we enhance their ability to be truly innovative within their majors and in their future careers. We are fortunate to have outstanding faculty like Professor Frew encouraging Michigan Tech students to engage with the arts both now and throughout the rest of their lives.”

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Jeff Sherwood’s Professional Theatrical Sound Design of Million Dollar Quartet

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Congratulations to Jeff Sherwood, Assistant Professor of Sound, on his professional theatrical sound design for the ACT of Connecticut production of Million Dollar Quartet in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The musical was directed by Broadway actor and director Hunter Foster, who was an original cast member of the Broadway production.

The production opened on Saturday, February 24, 2024 and from the overwhelming response of the preview audiences, the show run was extended an extra week, now through March 23. The musical revolves around the historical twist of fate on December 4, 1956 that brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley.

This creative activity and research in theatrical sound design continues to elevate the reputation of Michigan Tech to audiences around the country as well as potential future employers of Michigan Tech students and alumni.

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VPA Students and Faculty attend Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

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By Visiting Assistant Professor Terry Dana Jachimiak

From January 9 to 13, several faculty and students from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts embarked on an exciting journey to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Region III. This festival, widely known as KCACTF, stands as a beacon for emerging talent in the realm of theater arts. It’s a vibrant stage where students get to shine, compete, and nurture their artistic skills on a regional platform.

Behind the scenes, two VPA faculty members, Associate Professor Kent Cyr and Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood, played integral roles in the festival’s planning and execution. Cyr, with a remarkable six-year stint as the Festival Technical Director, provided invaluable support to numerous college theater productions within the region. His expertise ensured the seamless execution of performances on the festival stages. Sherwood, in his capacity as Co-Vice Chair of Design, Technology, and Management, contributed to the festival’s success by overseeing various technical theater aspects, including the National and Regional Design competitions, Design Storm, and Stage Management Fellowship and Initiative. To add to their contributions, Sherwood, Cyr, Distinguished Professor Christopher Plummer, and Visiting Assistant Professor Terry Dana Jachimiak II led workshops for eager students hailing from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and parts of Ohio.

For the attending students, this festival was a treasure trove of experiences. They had the opportunity to participate in professional workshops, attend juried shows, network with professionals from all corners of the country, and showcase their own work in various competitions. It was a whirlwind of creativity and camaraderie.

The accolades poured in for our Michigan Tech University students, validating their exceptional talents. Evelina Cremeens earned the Regional Sound Design award for her outstanding work on *Hamlet*. Conner Pierson, collaborating with a talented team from different colleges and universities, clinched an Honorable Mention in the Design Storm category. Sommerdai Kier and Riy Dalman dazzled everyone by winning multiple awards, including the Fastest Sound setup and the coveted Gold Award in Tech Olympics. Tara Estrada’s swift knot-tying skills also earned her a first-place finish in the Fastest Knots section of Tech Olympics.

Christopher Plummer was also recognized at the festival and received the 2024 KCACTF Region III Michigan Faculty Service Award.

The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival showcased the incredible talents of our students and highlighted the dedication and expertise of our faculty members. It was a celebration of creativity, innovation, and the thriving theater community at Michigan Tech.

Tara Estrada presenting Costume Design.

Sommerdai Kier presenting Costume Design.

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