Visual and Performing Arts News

TUBACHRISTMAS — Sunday, December 11

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This annual December event occurs around the world in honor of the first truly great tuba virtuoso, William “Bill” Bell, who was born on Christmas Day. Tubists gather yearly in mass numbers around the globe to play songs of the season in performances free to the public. TUBACHRISTMAS concerts are presented with permission from the Harvey Phillips Foundation.

TUBACHRISTMAS — Sunday, December 11 at 7pm
Rozsa Lobby
Presented in collaboration with Michigan Tech Music

There are no tickets for this free event, and all are welcome to join the fun!

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Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Saturday, December 10

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The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra performs an eclectic array of British symphonic music, Black Sabbath metal arranged by KSO Director Joel Neves, and the world premiere of a piece by Jazz Professor Emeritus Mike Irish. Featuring Adam Meckler on trumpet and flugelhorn. Headlined by history’s most romantic piano concerto: Rachmaninoff’s Second with Lindsay Garritson as soloist.

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 — Saturday, December 10 at 7:30pm
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
Presented by Michigan Tech Music
Performed by the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra

Get your tickets online, at 906-487-1906 or at the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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‘Thick as Thieves’ Student Artist Reception Tonight!

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Join Michigan Tech Art tonight (Dec. 2) in the Rozsa Art Galleries from 5-7 p.m. for a student artist reception for “Thick as Thieves.” This end-of-semester showcase features works of art by students in sculpture and design classes. The showcase features the artwork of students from diverse majors including mechanical engineering, applied ecology, biomedical engineering, theatre entertainment and technology, cybersecurity and physics!

Featured artists include:

Gibryn Arney | Lily Atton-Doornbos | Mykaela Cayemberg | Jack Colwell | Nikki Donley | Tara Estrada | Ferran Delgado Garcia | Faith D. Gaertner | Abby Jurewicz | Cas Mankowski | John Mazur | Riley Nelson | Seth M. Olson | Audrey Schulte | Casey Smith | Josie M. Stalmack | Madalyn R. Tudor-Duncan | Frida A. Visser

The event is coordinated by Rozsa Art Gallery Director Terry Frew and Associate Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts Lisa Gordillo.

What to Expect:

Enjoy refreshments. Meet the student artists in a relaxed environment. See fantastic, student-made art.

Details:

Who: The studio talk is free and open to the public, faculty, staff and students.
When: Friday, Dec. 2, from 5-7 p.m.
Where: Rozsa Art Galleries (located on the lower level of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts)
Can’t make it tonight? Come see the exhibit today (Dec. 2) through Tuesday (Dec. 6) in the Rozsa Art Galleries.

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Concert: ‘Hygge – Music of Scandinavian Composers’

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After your wood-stacking and sauna, please join the Superior Wind Symphony under the baton of Mike Christianson, director of bands at Michigan Tech, for an evening of music from the most upper of peninsula: Scandinavia! Rest in warm assurance that the composers will be Scandinavian, and at least some of the music will represent events/feelings that happen in winter.

The lineup for “Hygge – Music of Scandinavian Composers” will include a sneak peek into the Michigan Tech Theatre’s spring musical — “Chess,” written by two members of the Swedish supergroup ABBA — and pieces by Finnish, Danish and Norwegian composers. Christianson also snuck in a cozy holiday song or two to fill out that hygge feeling!

The Superior Wind Symphony is an auditioned ensemble of winds and percussion that performs the music of composers spanning five centuries, living and not, from all genders, ethnicities and genres. Members come from disciplines across campus, with this concert’s performers representing the College of Engineering, College of Sciences and Arts, and College of Computing.

Get Tickets
Get tickets online, by calling 906-487-1906, at the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, or for one hour before shows in the McArdle Box Office. Michigan Tech students can reserve free Experience Tech tickets online and Student Rush will be available at the door.

Details:

What: “Hygge – Music of Scandinavian Composers” performed by the Superior Wind Symphony
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: McArdle Theatre (located on the second floor of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center)
Cost: $15 Adults | $5 Youth Under 18 | Free Student Rush

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See ‘A Christmas Carol’ This Weekend at the Rozsa

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After a heartwarming opening night, you have three more chances to see “A Christmas Carol,” written by Charles Dickens, adapted to the stage by Romulus Linney and presented by Michigan Tech Theatre this weekend.

The beloved holiday classic, directed by Trish Helsel, boasts a Tech Theatre Company cast of nearly 40 local youth, Keweenaw community members, and Michigan Tech faculty, staff and students. “A Christmas Carol” will lift holiday spirits at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Dec. 2) and tomorrow (Dec. 3), with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday (Dec. 4).

From the first “Bah, Humbug!” to the final, “God bless us, everyone,” this performance will delight audiences of all ages as they join Ebenezer Scrooge on his journey of transformation and redemption.

“The Charles Dickens classic has long been a Christmas favorite; the story is much more universal in its message,” says Helsel, professor of theatre at Michigan Tech. “I chose this stage adaptation because it does not paint Ebenezer Scrooge as a villain, but rather someone broken by a series of devastating life events. Our production focuses on Scrooge’s ability to accept his past and embrace the present.”

The strength of the Keweenaw community, its overwhelming artistic talent and phenomenal young people were at the forefront of Helsel’s mind as she chose this year’s holiday show. “The show was chosen as a community-centered production with a cast of Michigan Tech students, faculty and community members,” says Helsel. “It has been a pleasure to work with this lot of youngsters, who range in age from 4 to 17 years. It is exciting to be a part of their induction into a professional theatre setting. Children are such fast learners! They have picked up the British dialects with ease, and they memorize quickly. Most importantly, they bring a sense of joy to the process.”

Get Tickets
Get tickets online, by calling 906-487-1906, at the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, or for one hour before shows. Michigan Tech students can reserve free Experience Tech tickets online, and Student Rush will be available at the door.

Details:

What: “A Christmas Carol,” written by Charles Dickens, adapted to the stage by Romulus Linney
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3, and 2 p.m. Dec. 4
Where: Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
Cost: $20 Adults | $5 Youth Under 18 | Free Student Rush

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Michigan Tech Theatre: Haunted Mine This Weekend

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Join us this Halloween season at the Quincy Mine for a haunted experience that you won’t forget! Tram will run about every 20 minutes from 6-10 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at www.quincymine.com, and it is HIGHLY recommended to do so, as the tours sell out quickly! Youth under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult.

Content Considerations //  jumpscares, flickering and strobing lights, loud sounds, and fog, appropriate clothing and comfortable footwear that can handle some dirt is strongly suggested.

ABOUT

Michigan Tech Theatre creates entertainment events for the Keweenaw, sharing the creative and scholarly work of students and faculty from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

Kent A. Cyr, Associate Professor, is the Technical Director at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. He teaches courses in Technical Construction, Stagecraft, Rigging, Stage Mechanics, and Properties Artisanship.  He is the director of the B.S. in Theatre and Entertainment Technology program.  He is a member of the USITT Tech Expo committee and active in the Technical Production commission, Education commission, and the Emerging Creatives Showcase. In KCACTF region III, he is the Festival Technical Director, and a respondent to the technical load-in process. He has worked at Spoleto Festival USA, Bard Summerscape, The La Jolla Playhouse, Cyco Scenic, and continues to work professionally with Technical Theatre Solutions.

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Mike Christianson and Students to Share Band Experiences

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What are you doing this Monday night 10/24 at 6 ET? Grab a bite with Mike Christianson, Associate Professor, Visual and Performing Arts and Director of Bands at Michigan Tech. Joining in will be two members of the Huskies Pep Band and Superior Wind Symphony, Matt Bettwy (mechanical engineering) and Laura Bufanda (theatre and entertainment technology), both who will be graduating with their bachelor’s degrees in December. They are the featured guests on Husky Bites, Tech’s free, interactive webinar series. Learn something new in just 30 minutes or so, with time after for Q&A! Get the full scoop and register at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Read more about Mike, Laura, Matt and Husky Bites on the College of Engineering blog.

Image of Mike Christianson with his trombone
Image of Matt Bettwy conducting the Michigan Tech Huskies Pep Band
Image of Laura Bufanda, Superior Wind Symphony Performer
Image of Superior Wind Symphony performing outdoors on the Walker Lawn
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‘Arabesque: The Art of Clement Yeh and Tomas Co’ Opens Friday

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The Rozsa Galleries open their fall exhibit, “Arabesque: The Art of Clement Yeh and Tomas Co,” this Friday, September 23. Focused on dance and movement, “Arabesque” brings the works of Canadian artist Clement Yeh and local artist and Michigan Tech Professor Emeritus Tomas Co.

Yeh’s piece, “Movement in Time and Space,” is an immersive drawing environment stretching 56 feet long and six feet tall. A member of the Visual Arts faculty at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada, Yeh’s practice focuses on drawing, sculpture and drafting. He is a passionate advocate for the supporting the role that art plays in personal growth, confronting social issues and uplifting the quality of life in society.

Co is a contemporary local artist whose work began as watercolor and sumi-e ink paintings and later expanded into sculptural and digital art. Although his primary career was as a chemical engineering professor at Michigan Tech, Co has kept an active parallel artistic endeavor. His work has appeared in local solo exhibits and a few juried shows nationally. His artistic motivation is to satisfy a need for personal expression and a need to make sense of the confusing, exciting, yet sometimes depressing current events and human conditions. His metal sculptures, featured in “Arabesque,” are symbolic representations of the fluidity of dance.

Inspired by ballet and dance, you can meet Yeh and Co during an artist reception that will precede the October 28 performance of American Ballet Theatre at the Rozsa Center. Plan to enjoy refreshments, meet the artists in a relaxed environment and learn about how they go from inspiration to the final pieces you see.

Details:

  • Exhibit: “Arabesque: The Art of Clement Yeh and Tomas Co”
  • Dates: Friday, Sept. 23, through Friday, Nov. 4
  • Location: Rozsa Galleries A-Space, lower level of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
  • Artist Reception: 5-7 p.m. Friday, Oct 28, in the Rozsa Galleries

This program/lecture is partially funded/sponsored by the Visiting Professor Program, which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the state of Michigan’s King-Chávez-Parks Initiative.

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A Christmas Carol Auditions!

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Audition announcement for Tech Theatre’s, A Christmas Carol.

Audition details:
Students and Adult Community Members:
Monday or Tuesday, September 26-27, 6:30-8:00 or 8:00-9:30 pm
Walker 207 (McArdle Theatre)

Please do the following before you audition:
Sign up for a 90-minute slot on Monday or Tuesday
Fill out an audition form

You will be notified by email which audition time slot you are confirmed for by Sunday evening.

We will do introductions and a short warm-up, then we will have everyone read scenes from the play. A copy of the script can be found here: A Christmas Carol Script

Children:
Wednesday, September 28
Walker 210
4-6 years old – 5:00-5:45 pm
7-12 years old – 5:45-6:45 pm
13-17 years old – 7:00-8:00 pm
Parents – Please fill out an Audition Form and Release Form before your child auditions.

Production Details:
Production dates/times:
December 1-3, 7:30 pm, Rozsa Center
December 4, 2:00 pm, Rozsa Center

Rehearsals:
Rehearsal may begin as soon as Thursday, September 29

Rehearsals will generally be Sunday – Thursday evenings, 6:30-9:30, but that is subject to change depending on the responses to this audition form, and we may accommodate an earlier rehearsal for scenes with children.

We expect to release children as early as possible, except for the final dress rehearsals.

Once the production goes into technical rehearsal (beginning November 14th) rehearsals will take place every day beginning as early as 5:00pm and ending as late as 11:00pm. There may be rehearsals on the 18th and 27th of November (Friday, of the beginning of Thanksgiving Break and Sunday, the end of Break).

Following the final performance on December 4th, actors are expected to remain to help with striking the set, putting away costumes, cleaning the dressing rooms, and other tasks.

Roles:
A Christmas Carol has a seemingly large cast with “named” roles. However, we plan to have some actors play more than one role, and all will be part of the ensemble. Some roles may be cast against the assumed gender in the script.

Roles for Adults:
Ebenezer Scrooge
Bob Cratchit
Fred (Scrooge’s nephew)
Marley (Ghost of . . . )
Julia (Fred’s wife)
Lucy (Julia’s sister)
“Gentleman”
Caroline
Caroline’s Husband
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Fan
Mr. Fezziwig
Mrs. Fezziwig
Belle
Fezziwig Daughters
Suitors
Mrs. Cratchet
Peter (Cratchet’s son)
Belinda (Cratchet’s daughter)
Old man and woman in Park
Mr. Topper
Ignorance
Want
“Businessmen”
Old Joe
Charwoman
Undertaker’s Woman
Laundress

Roles expected to be filled by children (although youthful adults may be considered!):
Young Scrooge (12-14)
Boy Scrooge (8-10)
Boys at the Crossroads (8-12)
Fezziwig Daughters
Cratchet Children
Gillian
Miranda
Martha
Tiny Tim

For questions regarding the audition schedule and times, please contact the stage manager, Laurel Schmidt laurels@mtu.edu

For questions regarding the play, please contact the director, Trish Helsel helsel@mtu.edu

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VPA Welcomes Terri Frew as Art Faculty

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Visual and Performing Arts welcomes Terri Jo Frew as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Art.

Terri is a practicing contemporary artist and professor. Originally from Canada, she holds a Master of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Fiber Arts from Concordia University (Montréal), and exhibits her art internationally. Always working conceptually, her favorite methods of expression include (but aren’t limited to) embroidery and drawing.

Assistant Teaching Professor
Terri Frew

Through her art, Terri is interested in contributing to the contemporary dialogue concerned with breaking down boundaries between art and craft. By utilizing materials and processes from Fiber Arts (textiles) and Illustration- media commonly considered to be from the realm of craft- in concert with conceptual content, she hopes to confront and challenge antiquated notions of art media hierarchy.

We are thrilled to welcome Terri Frew as full-time art faculty and our new gallery director. Terri is an exceptional teacher and a dedicated artist. Her drawings, paintings, and embroideries are dynamic and thought-provoking. She brings a fresh new perspective to our program.

Lisa Gordillo, VPA Associate Professor

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