Visual and Performing Arts News

Collin Doerr-Newton is the Student Speaker

Published May 5, 2014

The next generation
Michigan Tech holds commencement

Nearly 1,000 graduates were honored at Michigan Technological University’s Spring Commencement Saturday with 747 students receiving bachelor’s degrees, 203 master’s degrees and 38 Ph.D.s.

Student speaker Collin Doerr-Newton, a sound design major who was chosen to speak after submitting and reciting his speech to a panel, likened Michigan Tech to a piece of music. Originally from Lansing, Doerr-Newton said that he frequently encounters the idea that everyone at Michigan Tech is the same. They are, he agreed, just as much as they aren’t.

Watch the YouTube Video: Michigan Tech Spring Commencement 2014, Featuring Collin Doerr-Newton

VPA Awards 2014

Published April 28, 2014

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The Department of Visual and Performing Arts is pleased to present the results of the 2014 faculty-voted awards for students:

Art – Diana McNease

Music – Kevin Rocheleau

Sound – Tom Conran

Theatre – Paige Borel

All Arts – Kevin Gray

Women of Promise – Jamie Aneshansel and Renata Putzig

SURF Award for Kirby

Published April 24, 2014

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This summer, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program will fund 23 students from across the University with funds from the Vice President for Research and the Honors Institute. The total funding for the program this year is $80,500.

Among the recipients is Audio Production major Paul Kirby, working with Christopher Plummer on “Capturing the Soundscapes of Point Abbaye.”

From Tech Today.

Water’s Edge Exhibit During Earth Day

Published April 22, 2014

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With the sun shining and the mounds of snow disappearing, it is starting to feel like spring–just in time for Earth Day. Today is Earth Day and Michigan Tech is celebrating with activities all week long, including a Lake Superior Celebration and a rainforest reptile show.

The Lake Superior Celebration, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center, will feature hands-on activities, a new PBS video on the Great lakes Stewardship Initiative, school-community projects, local foods, “Wildflowers of the UP” by Bob Wild and the “Water’s Edge Art Exhibit.”

A new PBS video will be aired at the celebration. It features local participants in the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. The event is free and open to the public and all are welcome. The Lake Superior Celebration is sponsored by the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative and Michigan Tech’s Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

John Luther Adams at Michigan Tech

Published April 16, 2014

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A delicate balance
Pulitzer Prize winner visits Tech

Scientists, researchers and artists work daily at Michigan Technological University but do not often come together. In an effort to bridge the gap between two disciplines, faculty and staff gathered for a panel discussion Tuesday featuring composer John Luther Adams, who was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for music Monday.

“In a lot of his writing he talks about what art and science have to say to one another and I thought, since we are a school that has both, it would be an interesting topic for conversation,” said Libby Meyer, instructor of visual and performing arts at Tech.

That dialogue was facilitated by a panel including representatives from science and humanities disciplines, with John Vucetich, associate professor in the school of forest resources and environmental science; Amy Schrank, research assistant professor in the school of forest resources and environmental sciences; Chris Plummer, associate professor in visual and performing arts; M. Bartley Seigel, associate professor of creative writing and diverse literatures; and Evan McDonald, executive director of the Keweenaw Land Trust.

In the News

National Public Radio (NPR), Associated Press and Canadian Press wire services and other national and international media outlets reported that Alaska composer John Luther Adams was an artist in residency at Michigan Tech when he was notified that he had won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Music.

From Tech Today.

Alaskan Composer Wins Pulitzer For ‘Become Ocean’

By telephone Monday afternoon, I located John Luther Adams, 61, in Houghton, Mich. (in the state’s Upper Peninsula), where he is in residence at Michigan Tech. He said he was napping between classes when he got “a most welcome wakeup call” informing him he’d won the award.

Details on the 2014 Pulitzer Prize winners in journalism and arts, and reaction

MUSIC: John Luther Adams’ “Become Ocean” (Taiga Press/Theodore Front Musical Literature)

John Luther Adams knew he’d been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his composition “Become Ocean,” but he had no expectations of winning. He was so busy with classes as part of a residency at Michigan Tech University that he even forgot the day they’d be handed out.

“I was actually taking a quick power nap between classes and got a phone call. It was a quite a wake-up call,” Adams said with a chuckle. “It was pretty great.”

Though based temporarily in Michigan, Adams’ thoughts are never far from Alaska.

Alumni on Concerts and Artists

Published April 8, 2014

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The Golden Age of Concerts

Another bonus of living here is all the talent that comes through town: famous lecturers, comedians, acting troupes, and especially musicians have graced the stages at Tech. Through extensive research in the Keweenawan and elsewhere, I’ve discovered a golden age of rock, folk, and jazz concerts at Tech.

More on Homecoming ’83 and More

Thanks for the article on artist, Tony Orrico’s visit to Michigan Tech and Finlandia. I went to high school with the two professors (Anne Beffel, MTU and Carrie Flaspohler, Finlandia) who collaborated on this project.

Great Lakes Showcase 2014 Awards

Published April 2, 2014

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Awards 2014

BEST IN SHOW
MTU President’s Award
“Tori Gate with Great Eastern Sun” by Sue Stephens

FIRST PLACE 2D
MTU Provost’s Award
“Threads” by Renée L. Michaud

FIRST PLACE 3D
MTU Dean’s Award
“Five Minute Egg” by Russell Prather

COMMUNITY CHOICE AWARD
WINNER
“Pondering” by Ray Lahikainen
RUNNER UP
“Land of Opportunity, Grand Rapids” by Jessica Vitale

SECOND PLACE 2D
“Coastline” by Julie Benda

SECOND PLACE 3D
“GMO Deer Swan Box” by Lindsey Heiden

HONORABLE MENTION
“The Gap” by Donald Kilpela
“Coon Valley” by Michele Tuccini
“Dance of the Incubus #8” by Greg Green

Remember the Troupe?

Published March 25, 2014

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TechAlum Newsletter wonders if you recognize any faces in the 2006 photo of the Troupe, posted in “Fill in the Blanks” in the March 25, 2014, issue.

Email Dennis Walikainen with your Troupe experiences.

Great Lakes Showcase 2014: Vote for Community Choice Award

Published March 25, 2014

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This is the last week to see the show, purchase artwork, and cast your vote for the Community Choice Award. Please visit!

Ashley Kirklen from TV6 highlighted the Great Lakes Showcase in a live segment.

Watch the YouTube video “Ashley at Rozsa Center.”

The Great Lakes Showcase enters last week

“There’s a community choice award, so anyone who’s been into the exhibition can vote on their favorite piece. I will count all the votes at the end of the show and we’ll announce the community choice award on our website” says showcase coordinator, Sarah Scarlett.

Sarah Scarlett Interview — Ashley Kirklen Interviews Sarah Scarlett

World Water Day 2014

Published March 13, 2014

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World Water Day is observed on March 22. This year, Michigan Tech is hosting a week of events, March 20, 26-27, 2014. This year’s theme is “Water and Energy.”

Events include a film, lecture, poster session, panel discussion, and art exhibit, featuring the topic of gas from shale hydrofraccing.

March 20- April 23, 2014
Water’s Edge Art Exhibit
Great Lakes Research Center (1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors)
Featured Artists:
Amy Arntson, Joyce Koskenmaki, Bonnie Peterson

Learn more at the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society.

World Water Day Sponsors:

Center for Water and Society (CWS), Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI), Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (KUUF), Keweenaw Land Trust (KLT), Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI), Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC, Visual and Performing Arts (MTU), Finlandia University. Partial funding provided by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) through a grant from the Johnson Family Foundation for a Let’s Talk About Water event.

World Water Day Activities Focus on Fracking

World Water Day was started by the United Nations to raise awareness about the problems surrounding water on our planet. The world is more than 70 percent covered in water, yet less than 1 percent is available for people to use.

Read more at Tech Today, by Erika Vichcales.

Art Exhibit at GLRC Focuses on Water

The Water’s Edge Art Exhibition celebrates artists Amy Arntson, Joyce Koskenmaki and Bonnie Peterson now through April 23. The artists use paintings, prints and textiles.

Koskenmaki and Peterson will attend a “meet the artists” event on Wednesday, March 26, at the Great Lakes Research Center from 7:30 to 8 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Center for Water and Society, Great Lakes Research Center, Finlandia University Gallery and the Sustainable Finlandia Committee, and Visual and Performing Arts at Michigan Tech.