This year’s recipient of the Great Lakes Showcase Community Choice Award goes to Ray Lahikainen for his painting “Destiny.” Ray Lahikainen has won the Community Choice Award for at least the last five years.
The runner up is Daniel Bennett for “Lighthouse at Sunset.”
Visit the Great Lakes Showcase for more Awards 2015.
Visiting Jazz vocalist Kathy Kosins will be giving a jazz vocal master class on Friday, March 27, from 4-5PM on the Rozsa Stage. She will work with three local vocalists, and demonstrate a variety of helpful information. This event is free and open to the public. She will be accompanied by members of the Michigan Tech Jazz Lab Band.
Ms. Kosins will perform in concert the following evening. Michigan Technological University’s Jazz Studies program presents the Don Keranen Jazz Memorial Jazz Concert with Special Guest Kathy Kosins at the Rozsa Center on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at 6:00 PM. Please note this time changed due to a possible Portage Lift Bridge Closure.
Kathy Kosins is an American singer specializing in jazz and R&B; she has shared the stage with many jazz greats, and most recently she performed with contemporary jazz legend Herbie Hancock. She is also an ASCAP award winning songwriter and modern abstractionist painter. Kosins has recorded several CDs under her own name and was first known as a singer of soul, rock, and pop singer having worked extensively with the bands Was (Not Was), Slingshot and recording artist Michael Henderson. In more recent years she has become an internationally known jazz singer; as a multi-media artist she also incorporates her painting into those live presentations. For more details: http://www.kathykosins.com/bio.php
Tickets are $13.00 for adults, $5 for youth (17 and under), and free for Michigan Tech Students with the Experience Tech fee. To purchase tickets, call (906) 487-2073, go online at rozsa.mtu.edu , or visit Ticketing Operations at Michigan Tech’s Student Development Complex (SDC), 600 MacInnes Drive, in Houghton. SDC box office hours are 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM, Monday-Friday, and 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM Saturday and 12:00 noon – 8:00 PM on Sunday. Please note the Rozsa Box Office is closed during regular business hours, and will only open two hours prior to show times.
For more details, please contact Michael Christianson, 906-487-2825, mchristi@mtu.edu.
Biological Sciences Seminar Friday
by Department of Biological Sciences
Lisa Johnson, assistant professor in Visual and Performing Arts, will present “Art in the Field: Reimagining environmental experiences as art, science and community” on Friday, March 27, 2015, at 4 p.m. in Dow 642.
Johnson will present selections of her work, the work of artists from the Lakeside Laboratory and hold a conversation about open collaboration in this talk.
For more information, visit the biological sciences website.
Undergraduate Research Expo at the Rosza Lobby
by Michigan Tech Honors Institute
The Undergraduate Research Expo was held Friday, March 20, 2015, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Rozsa Lobby. Thirty undergraduates from twelve different departments and schools were represented this year. Their presentations and posters were evaluated by Tech faculty and staff, and everyone was invited to attend. The posters were displayed in the lobby until noon on Saturday, to coincide with Preview Day.
The Undergraduate Research Expo is sponsored by the Vice President of Research Office, and prizes are sponsored by the Provost’s Office.
Paul Kirby, Capturing the Soundscapes of Abbaye Peninsula
Michigan Tech Celebrates World Water Day
Water is a natural resource none of us can live without. Every year, in recognition of this vital resource and the challenges it presents to people all over the world, Michigan Tech celebrates World Water Day. This year a week of activities are scheduled from March 19-24, in observance of World Water Day on March 22.
The World Water Day events at Michigan Tech are sponsored by the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, the Great Lakes Research Center, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust and Michigan Tech Department of Visual and Performing Arts.
Read more at Tech Today, by Monica Lester.
World Water Day will include the Art Exhibition:
Jamie Allen (painting), Tom Rudd (sculpture), Paul Rose (photography)
Introduction to the Art Exhibit
Monday, March 23 in GLRC 201 at 3:30 pm
Exhibit will run March 20 – April 24, 2015
Building Hours: 8 am – 8 pm, M-F
Awards for Best in Show, 2D, 3D, and Honorable Mention were revealed during the reception of the Great Lakes Showcase (GLS) on February 26, 2015, in the Rozsa Gallery. Award results are posted on the GLS website.
The showcase coordinator Sarah Fayen Scarlett was interviewed by Ashley Kirklen of TV6 and FOX UP.
The showcase continues until March 31, 2015, in the Rozsa Gallery. The gallery is open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on weekdays. The public is welcome to vote on the final award, that of Community Choice.
HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts are pleased to present the 2015 
Great Lakes Showcase (GLS), an annual month-long, juried exhibition of fine arts and crafts.
Opening on Thursday, Feb. 26, and continuing through March 31 in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, the Great Lakes Showcase is a celebration art that brings together both local artists and others from the around the upper Midwest region. The Showcase features paintings, photography, drawings, collage, ceramics, textiles, and works in wood by local and regional artists, juried by a group of professional artists. The show will feature 92 artworks in a range of media, including woven textiles, ceramic, paintings, drawings, photography, mixed media, wood-turning, bronze sculpture, and installation pieces.
Free and open to the public, the exhibit is located in the Rozsa Art Gallery, in the lower level of the Rozsa Center. Visitor parking is available at meters adjacent to the Rozsa Center. (NOTE: The gallery is closed on weekends.)
The opening will feature the announcement of awards for outstanding work in several categories. This year the reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015. In addition to beautiful artwork and a chance to meet the artists, the reception will feature appetizers and a cash bar, as well as live music provided by local folk band “What the Folk,” performing from 5:30 p.m.- 6:15 p.m.
Artworks are available for purchase; visitors are encouraged to support their favorite artist by making a Great Lakes Showcase artwork part of their home or office. Most of the pieces are for sale and can be purchased in person at the show or at the Central Ticketing Operations office in the Student Development Complex. 100 percent of proceeds go to the artists. A Ticket Office representative will be in the gallery on Opening Night to assist with sales, and purchases can be made through March 31. Artworks purchased will be available for pick up after March 31 at the conclusion of the exhibition.
According to show coordinator Sarah Fayen Scarlett, “This year, we received almost 190 entries from 65 artists — a 15 percent increase over 2014. Artists hail from throughout the UP as well as downstate and neighboring regions. Visitors will see returning artists as well as newcomers.”
The judge for the awards this year is Beth A. Zinsli. Dr. Zinsli is Curator and Director of the Galleries at the Wriston Art Center at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Best in Show carries a cash prize of $1000, supported by the MTU President’s Office. The Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts and the University Provost support the first place prizes in the 3D and 2D categories. 2nd place prizes and Honorable Mentions are also awarded. During the course of the show, visitors can vote for the Community Choice Award. The winner will be announced on the GLS website at the close of the show on March 31.
For more details, please contact Sarah Fayen-Scarlett, 906-487-2420, sfscarle@mtu.edu.
The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning seeks input for its annual Distinguished Teaching Awards, which recognize outstanding contribution to the instructional mission of the University.
Based on more than 50,000 student rating of instruction responses, ten finalists have been identified for the 2015 awards. The selection committee is soliciting comments from students, staff, faculty and alumni to aid in its deliberation process.
Professor Mary Carol Friedrich is one of the finalists in the Associate Professor/Professor category.
Comments on the nominees are due by Friday, April 3, and can be completed online.
The process for determining the Distinguished Teaching Award recipients from this list of finalists also involves the additional surveying of their classes. The selection committee makes the final determination of the award recipients. The recipients of the 2015 Distinguished Teaching Award will be formally announced in May 2015.
Mu Beta Psi in conjunction with the Michigan Tech Jazz Association presents Jazz Night on the Town, on Thursday Feb. 5, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Orpheum in Hancock. There will be a $5 minimum donation at the door.
The night will be opened by one of Michigan Tech’s Jazz Groups, AstroSax, consisting of some of the best student jazz musicians at Tech. Closing/headlining the night will be Northern Standard Time, consisting of Michael Christianson on trombone and tuba and Michael Irish on guitar. Mike and Mike are both professors in the Department of Visual Performing Arts. Michael Irish is a well-known guitarist and Michael Christianson has traveled around the world, been on Broadway and played with many famous bands.
This concert supports the John MacInnes Memorial Scholarship, an award presented by Mu Beta Psi to Tech students involved in music programs.
Sarah Fayen Scarlett (VPA) joined former colleagues from the Chipstone Foundation to receive the Wunsch Award for Excellence in American Arts.
Scarlett worked as a curator for Chipstone for seven years before joining Tech’s faculty in Visual and Performing Arts. Chipstone promotes original research and innovative education programs in material culture studies within universities and museums. The Wunsch Award is honoring Chipstone’s exhibition program at the Milwaukee Art Museum, scholarly publications, online initiatives with ArtBabble and immersive programming for college students interested in publicly-engaged scholarship about art and design.
AMERICANA WEEK 2015
MASTERPIECES OF RARITY AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE TO BE OFFERED ACROSS THE SALES OF IMPORTANT AMERICAN FURNITURE, OUTSIDER AND FOLK ART, SILVER AND CHINESE EXPORT ART
New York – Christie’s is pleased to announce that Americana Week 2015, a series of auctions, viewings and events, will be held from January 16-26. In all, Americana Week 2015 will offer over 520 lots and is expected to realize upwards of $6 million. In conjunction with the sales, Christie’s will also host the third annual Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts on January 21, honoring Arnold Lehman and The Chipstone Foundation.