MARCH 2016 NEWSLETTER
Director’s Notes Finding your path Table of Contents “Instead of carrying on the ancient project of philosophy—attempting to discover the truth of things—we direct our energies to managing information…. If something cannot be written in code and transmitted, it cannot be important.” Sven Birkerts – The Gutenberg Elegies
W
e’re fortunate here. I don’t mean that Fine Arts Center students spend their days sitting at the feet of bearded and toga-wearing philosophers wrestling with the great problems that have troubled mankind since we looked at the night sky and wondered why we all are here. I do mean that while our students may be seen regularly texting on their cell phones while crammed in the “Fish Bowl” eating their lunches, or gathered round the Acorn sculpture in the main lobby after school, each day they wrestle with the practical application of one of the main branches of philosophy: Aesthetics. It’s a branch with many offshoots, lots of questions, perspectives and, as with all of philosophy, little that is definitive. One of my favorite definitions comes from the philosopher, Suzanne Langer, who, in her book, Feeling and Form, offered her definition—“forms expressive of human feeling.” She discusses the fine arts, dance, theatre, music and film but, for us, at the level of what happens here every day, forms expressive of human feeling works very nicely on two levels: the creative act itself, and the viewing of the product of that creative act. I’m fortunate here because I get to experience both.
Each day, as I make my rounds visiting our studios, I often have the privilege of being there at the moment of creation, when the student is sketching out an idea, molding the clay, working through a monologue, or a choreographic pattern, a measure of music, or a poem, or a shot—photography or film, I get to see the “Eureaka” moment—that moment when a student breaks through all of the confusion surrounding the idea and is able to create what they envisioned. I am present at the very moment when a student understands not only something about the creative process—its struggles, its tearing down, building up and tearing down again—and, through that process, understands something even greater about themselves. In that discovery we have what education is about—education from the Latin, educere, to draw out: to draw out what is within to help us understand the out there and, by so doing, to know more about ourselves so that the obstacles before us are not thought to be insurmountable, but problems to solve, problems we have solved before in the crucible of creativity, creativity nurtured here at The Fine Arts Center. Students all around me are creating forms expressive of feeling. We see, hear, touch (when allowed) what has been created and, for some of us, a particular piece or moment, will resonate and that form has given us a wider understanding not only of ourselves but of our world. Art does that if we put ourselves in front of it, seek it out, spend the time looking, thinking about it, integrating it into our understanding. The truth of this search, this conversation between that created and that perceived lies in the continuing growth of understanding and appreciation of our world and its peoples.
Dr. Roy S. Fluhrer, Director
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Gallery News
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Alumni News
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Faculty News
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Digital Filmmaking
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Theatre
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Architecture
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Visual Arts
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Dance
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Music
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Creative Writing
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ARMES
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The School District of Greenville County, W. Burke Royster, Superintendent
Fine Arts Center Dr. Roy S. Fluhrer, Director 102 Pine Knoll Drive Greenville, SC 29609 864.355.2572 www.fineartscenter.net
The School District of Greenville County does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, color, handicap, religion or national origin in its dealings with employees, students, the general public, applicants for employment, educational programs, activities, or access to its facilities.
Gallery News
The Sheffield Wood Gallery News Shifting Plates II through February 19, 2016 Shifting Plates II, the second print exhibition organized by Steven Chapp of Black Dog Press and Studio, is a two-part print exhibition consisting of 32 original prints by 16 South Carolina printmakers. Included in the exhibition is the FAC’s former faculty member Jim Campbell. The exhibit is in part funded by a matching grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council in Greenville. It is Chapp’s intention not only to assemble an engaging body of work, but to help inform the general public to gain some insight into the complexities of the printed image. Chapp invited each artist to produced two works for this traveling exhibit. Shifting Plates II consists of a range of printmaking media and techniques including wood cut, engraving, dry point, stone lithography, reduction linocut, screenprinting, intaglio from photopolymer & metal plates and monotypes. The artists in the group are: Kent Ambler, Jim Campbell, Marty Epp-Carter, Kevin Clinton, David Garhard, Catherine Labbé, Mark Mulfinger, Chris Koelle from Greenville; Jim Creal, Andrew Blanchard from Spartanburg, Steven Chapp from Easley, Katya Cohen and Robert Spencer from Clemson, Barbara Mickelsen from Belton, J.P. Tousignant from Central and Mary Gilkerson
from Columbia. A reception for the artists was held on February 4, 2016. Several of the artists included in the exhibition spoke about their work at the event.
Bottom: "Shifting Plates II" reception, February 4, 2016. Top: Artist Robert Spencer discussing his work. Bottom: Former FAC faculty member Jim Campbell discussing his work.
2016 National Juried High School Metals Exhibition: February 24 – April 1, 2016 The biennial juried exhibition highlights the accomplishments of students at the high school level in the mediums of metal, jewelry, and enamel. The goal is to showcase how these media can be used to achieve artistic expression, and to generate interest in and excitement about the fields of metals and enameling. This year’s juror is Kathleen Brown. Ms. Brown headed the Jewelry/Metals/Enameling department at Kent State University from 1992 to 2015. This year, fourteen schools submitted work and 38 of 84 total entries were accepted. Awards have been generously donated by Bennetts’ Frame and Art (Greenville), Llyn Strong Fine Art Jewelry (Greenville), Rio Grande, Graphic Cow, the Guild for Emerging Metalsmiths.
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School News
Alumni News Digital Filmmaking Joe Worthen, a 2004 graduate, recently received a $25,000 South Carolina Indie Grant from the S.C. Film Commission to produce a short film called “Isle of Palms.” The film is now in postproduction. Joe is also one of the writer/producers of the web series, “Girl out of Carolina.” Mark Hayes, Michael Realmuto and Brittany Brock recently worked as
crewmembers on the film “Chronology” starring Billy Baldwin, which was shot in Greenville. Coincidentally, the film was directed by Kipp Tribble. Film instructor, Eric Rogers, shot some of the scenes from Tribble’s first film over 20 years ago. Julia Vickerman is now storyboard artist and the lead animator for the television series “Yo Gabba Gabba!” Her Fine Arts Center classmate, Max Rivera, recently wrote a fantastic article about her career that can be found here:
http://maxriverafilm.com/2015/09/24/once-a-shy-kid-now-a-cartoonist/ Nathan Willis currently produces documentaries for MSNBC but has
also pitched over 30 ideas on Storyhunter.com, which is a platform that allows independent filmmakers to find funding. Six of his projects got commissioned by places like Fusion, TakePart, and The New York Post. One of his more recent projects was produced for the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It focuses on how the city of New Orleans is hiring veteran medics to apply their military training in the city. Read more about it here: https://storyhunter.tv/blog/qa-nathan-willis-30-pitches-and6-stories/ Weston Catron, who studied film for three years at the FAC, is now living
in Charleston. In addition to doing film production work he started his own software development company and has recently launched an app that is for sale on the iTunes store called, “Colors the Game.” He’s also been working as a stand-up comedian and recently appeared on the CBS TV show “Hidden Heroes.”
Music Kelly Hall-Tompkins will be the violin soloist and concertmaster of the new Broadway Musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” The New York Times featured an article about her important contribution to show. Kelly said, “No, you won’t see me in this production, but you will hear me in numerous violin solo features in the telling of this timeless story. As an
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2015 FAC Digital Filmmaking graduate, James Wiley, is getting many opportunities as a freshman at UNCSA’s film school. artist, I love drawing upon all of the influential sounds in my experience. This show gives me the creative opportunity to draw from a rich array indeed! From my Russian/Jewish classical repertoire to the great American songbook, from Bartok to Kelly Hall-Tompkins Jazz ballad, from John Williams to is the Fiddler on Broadway! Strauss Ein Heldenleben and yes, of course, a bit of Hollywood too! I was very inspired by Isaac Stern’s Fiddler performances in the film and am honored to have the opportunity to bring my voice to the role. I am excited to work with the Tony winning team, Conductor and Orchestrator Ted Sperling and Director Bartlett Sher, arranger Oran Eldor as well as an amazing cast starring Danny Burstein and Jessica Hecht.”
School News
Faculty News Fine Arts Center Visual Arts Faculty member Ryan Roth presented “I Quit, You’re Fired” in the Lipscomb Gallery for the second exhibition of Fall 2015. The Lipscomb Gallery is a non-profit exhibition space at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Roth’s pieces incorporate original paintings along with hand-made sculptural work that explore social roles and behaviors in the corporate structure. Roth also gave an artist talk about the work in the gallery on Thursday, October 22, 2015. The exhibition ran from Monday, October 5 through Friday, October 30.
Fossil, by Katy Bergman Cassell, enamel on copper, silver Metals Instructor Katy Bergman Cassell went to the Metals Symposium at East Carolina University January 15-16, 2016 at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She had three artworks exhibited during the symposium, including her piece, “Fossil,” which was in the the Obsession Exhibition at the Greenville Art Museum (NC).
Fine Arts Center dance faculty recently participated in a professional development workshop to learn more about injury prevention for dancers. The course instructor was Anna Jordan Bax. Ms. Bax earned her BFA from New
position as a Senior Fiction Reader for Cherry Tree, the inaugural literary magazine of her alma mater Washington College.
Sarah’s novel, Hex, has been accepted for publication by FC2, the author-run, not-for-profit publisher of artistically-adventurous, not-for-profit, non-traditional fiction which published her story collection, Mother Box, in 2013. The novel is set in the foothills and mountains of Western North Carolina and is set to be released in April, 2016.
Clockwise from top: Roth shares his thoughts about his art to SCGAH students; Roth’s show card; Roth’s piece: Painting in a Bottle (Head Under Water) York University and is a physical therapy assistant. On February 19th, Jan Woodward and Elizabeth Wright will also attend a workshop on dance lighting. Dirk Holleman, Fine Arts Center Technical Theatre Instructor, will be leading this course.
Sarah Blackman has served as an International Examiner for a Master’s Thesis committee at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa since last spring and has signed on as a reoccurring committee member in this role. She continues to edit for DIAGRAM as the Co-Fiction Editor, and has recently accepted a
Teri Parker Lewis with Delvin Choice Theatre instructor, Teri Parker Lewis, has recently been nominated for the Reba R. Robertson Award for Excellence in Theatre Education by the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America. By the next newsletter, hopefully we can let you know that she’s won!
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Film 3 student, Whitaker White, works on the film “Sub Rosa” starring Michael Forest.
Digital Filmmaking Student News Film 3 student, Jake Wiklacz, recently won Best Student Feature Screenplay at the 2015 Eerie Horror Fest, for his feature length script, Where The Children Go. The Digital Filmmaking class was fortunate to have several guests artist throughout the first semester, which included the following: • Writer/Director/Producer Stewart Bennett screened his latest film “St. Nicholas: The Real Story” for the advanced class, just before it aired on the BBC. • Graphic Designer and Anderson University professor Tim Speaker spoke to the students about title design. • Screenwriter and Western Carolina professor Jayme McGhan worked
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with the students on learning to write efficiently. • Producer Daniel Sollinger, whose film “Ktown Cowboys” premiered last year at the South by Southwest Film Festival, spoke to the students about his latest project, “Immortality or Bust,” which follows presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan. • Recent University of North Carolina School of the Arts graduate, Ashley Sfeir, spoke about scriptwriting. • Writer/Director/Producers Chris White, Geoffrey Gunn and Micah Taylor all took the time to screen their individual short films, all of which recently screened at the Reedy Reels Film Festival held in Greenville. The advanced film students are currently working in conjunction with Chris White and his wife, Emily, on a behind-the-scenes documentary about their work as independent filmmakers.
Theatre News We will be presenting Caryl Churchill’s Love & Information on March 4, 5, 11 & 12. Shows begin at 7pm, tickets are $10/ $5 for students. Guest director and FAC alum, Adam Knight, was with us for the entire month of February, directing our Advanced Theater Ensemble. We want to thank the Metropolitan Arts Council for their support.
Combining the Arts At the end of the semester, the Architecture and Dance students combined classes so that they could share ideas and concepts of their art forms and how they related to each other. It may not be obvious to some, but the design principles and elements that are used in the visual arts and architecture classes inherently relate to the elements of dance. To make this clear, first the students met in the dance studio to move under direction using the elements of dance (BEST: Body, Energy, Space, Time.) Then they all converged in the architecture studio to have a quick look at some famous museums by noted architects and see how architecture principles were evident in those structures. Finally, these afternoon classes followed the in class experience with a field trip to the Greenville County Museum of Art. There they were able to see the principles and elements in action and learned about entry sequence, thresholds, movement in space, and how the scale of building elements impacts movement. The group also heard from Ellen Westkaemper, head of the education department at the Greenville County Museum of Art, about current works on display.
Architecture Program receives generous donation The American Institute of Architects Greenville Chapter (http://www.aiagreenville.org/ ) made a very generous contribution to the Architecture Program at their end of year gathering. This donation will assist in the purchase of large format scanning equipment that will offer our students the chance to transfer their hand drawings into digital renderings. We could not be more pleased with the continued support of the local architecture community!
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Visual Arts
Visiting Artist in Metals Department Nationally known metal artist Kathleen Browne taught a two-day workshop “Collage with Ceramic Decals on Enamel” with Fine Arts Center metals students January 13-14, 2016. During her breaks, she also juried the biennial National Juried High School Metals Exhibition, which will be on display in the Sheffield Wood Gallery from February 24 to April 1. In addition, she presented a free evening public artist lecture on the evening of January 13 in the Sutherlin Recital Hall. She said, “ I am at heart a storyteller. My work reflects a careful observation of human interaction, and often uses photography and its manipulation to provide commentary, sometimes with humor, about the human condition.” Her artwork has been exhibited widely both in the U.S. and abroad and has been published and/or reviewed in numerous publications such as Metalsmith, American Craft, New Art Examiner, The New York Times, Dialogue, The Plain Dealer, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Her artwork has been published in thirteen books and she has written a number of reviews, articles and catalogue essays for various publications. She is the recipient five Artist Fellowship Grants from the Ohio Arts Council. She has taught numerous workshops and headed the Jewelry/Metals/ Enameling department at Kent State University from 1992 to 2015. She received her BA from San Diego State University in 1983 and her MFA from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1986. See more of her work at http://kathleenbrowne.net/
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Top: Reversible Brooches by visiting artist Kathleen Browne Bottom: Kathleen Browne instructing metals students
Visual Arts
Photography Conference On November the 6th – 8th, Mr. Fincannon and the Fine Arts Center photography program hosted the Society for Photographic Education Southeast (SPESE) Regional Conference in downtown Greenville, in collaboration with the photography programs of Greenville Technical College, Furman University, Clemson University, SC Governor’s School, and North Greenville University. This is the first time in the organizations history that a high school teacher has served as the conference chair. Events were held at both the Fine Arts Center and at the Clemson One Building in downtown Greenville. With over 200 participants from all over the southeast and over 30 guest speakers, the event was a huge success. On the Friday evening of the conference a reception was held to recognize the former FAC photography teacher, Debbie Cooke, as the 2015 SPESE Honored Educator. At the same event the photography studio was dedicated in her honor.
FAC students and faculty help non-profit gallery in Tryon, NC Fine Arts Center faculty member Ryan Roth and twenty of his students participated in a very unique fundraiser for Upstairs Artspace in Tryon, N.C Each year, Upstairs Artspace asks 100 artists to donate one piece of art, which the Upstairs will then sell for $100. This fundraiser is different, because Upstairs Artspace asks each artist to sign the canvas on the back, so that on the opening night of the sale, the artist’s identity is secret. The purchaser only finds out the artist’s identity at the closing reception, about a week later. Last year, for the first time, Upstairs Artspace included high school students in the fundraiser, “50 x 50,” selling each donated student work for $50. Each student is given a 10” x 10” canvas and the same rules as the professional artists - stay within the 10” x 10’ boundary, and sign his or her name and school on the back. The student art gained attention from artists and art collectors. Each participating school received approximately 25% of their sales back for use by their art departments. The show ran from December 12, 2015 to December 18, 2015
Four student 10x10 paintings in the show
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BRIAN MCGINNIS – FAC Guest Artist in November 2015 The Fine Arts Center welcomed back Brian McGinnis last fall. Brian choreographed two new pieces and restaged another work on the Fine Arts Center Dancers. It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to work with someone like Brian. He has danced with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Elisa Monte Dance, Parsons Dance Company and Buglisi Dance Theatre. He holds his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School under the directorship of Benjamin Harkarvy and in 2012 Lar Lubovitch won the Prix De Benois Award for “Crisis Variation,” which he set on Brian McGinnis and Kate Skarpetowska. Kate was also a guest artist at the Fine Arts Center last year and was recently named one of the “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine. All three of Brian’s dances Run, The Things We Carry and Wake-Up Call will be performed in the Fine Arts Center Dance Concert April 14 and 15 along with Love Is For the Poets choreographed by Kate Skarpetowska last year and Sonic Creature choreographed by guest artist Nathan Makolandra this past September. Each of these residencies with our guest choreographers was funded in part by the Metropolitan Arts Council.
Brian McGinnis sets choreography on the AM Dancers
Fine Arts Center Dancers Visit Woodmont Middle School Our AM Dancers visited Woodmont Middle School to share a class with the middle school dance students taught by Rebecca Lee. Rebecca is the dance instructor for our ARMES Dance Program.The FAC Dancers also shared their student dance compositions and performed The Things We Carry choreographed by Brian McGinnis.
FAC Dance Class Demonstrations Elizabeth Wright’s 8AM Dance Class presented their demonstration for parents on
December 11th. This was a wonderful opportunity to show what the class has been working on during the first semester. In addition to technical exercises in ballet and modern dance, students performed the Bach Gavotte, with original choreography by Isadora Duncan, and Run, choreographed by Brian McGinnis. These students will perform Run and a new piece by Elizabeth Wright in the FAC Dance Concert on April 14 and 15. Jan Woodward and Rebecca Lee—Field Trip to Woodmont Middle School
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Jan Woodward’s AM Dancers presented an informal demonstration for their parents on Monday, February 8th in the Fine Arts Center Dance Studio. The parents saw a shortened ballet and modern technique class, student compositions, a run-through of The Things We Carry choreographed by Brian McGinnis and their newest piece of choreography by Tyler Gilstrap, titled Great Day! The students will perform The Things We Carry and Great Day! in the FAC Dance Concert on April 14th and 15th.
TYLER GILSTRAP – FAC Guest Artist in February 2016 We were honored to once again have Tyler Gilstrap choreograph two pieces during her one-week residency in February. These works will be performed in the Fine Arts Center Dance Concert on April 14th and 15th. Tyler has a well-earned reputation for her physically challenging choreography, and this year she has challenged our dancers with an incredible piece. Tyler was a founding member of Battleworks Dance Company (2001-2010), under the direction of Robert Battle and was the associate choreographer for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Her credentials include her work as the Assistant Choreographer for the film; ‘Love And Other Drugs’ and for the Italian San Remo TV Award show for three years. She has choreographed music videos for the artist Son Lux, Skyes, FireHorse and SENIT. In 2012, Tyler started her own performance group called TunanuT. They have created events for the band Big Data, (Un)Scene art show, Ballroom Marfa, The Feast and The Windmill Factory. She has also been a featured dancer in such films as ‘Across the Universe’, ‘The Wackness,’ and the Italian TV show ‘Amici.’
Above: Tyler Gilstrap, Guest Artist with the AM Dancers, Bottom right: Dancers rehearsing choreography set by Tyler Gilstrap; Left: Dr. Fluhrer and Tyler Gilstrap with the PM Dancers
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Music
GUEST ARTISTS NEWS In February, the Parrini Trio gave chamber music master classes and several performances in their two-day residency at the Fine Arts Center. The members of the elite piano trio are siblings. In addition to their work together, each pursues an independent career with a variety of performing and teaching experiences. Violinist Chiarra Parrini tours worldwide as a member of the celebrated Italian chamber orchestra I Solisti Veneti. She has also collaborated as principal violin and arranger for “Dire Straits Over Gold”. She has taught at the Conservatories of Cuneo and Reggio Calabria (Italy). Cellist Alberto Parrini has been a member of the St. Lawrence Quartet and the American Chamber Players. He appears regularly as an orchestral member with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He also teaches at Princeton University. Pianist Fabio Parrini, a Steinway Artist, has released albums as a soloist and chamber musician, given master classes throughout the United States and Italy, and coached at the Philadelphia International Music Festival. He is chair of the Keyboard Department at North Greenville University.
Music Theory News Dr. Ben Sutherland, Professor
of Audio Arts & Acoustics at Columbia College Chicago and 1989 graduate of the FAC, was a guest artist in the Music Theory classes of Dr. Jon Grier on February 10th. Dr. Sutherland spoke about his journey from the Fine Arts Center to CCC and his work in composition, audio preservation and archiving, and interactive computer music systems.
Dr. Ben Sutherland
STUDENT NEWS -Strings In November, Katherine Woo appeared as concertmaster of the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra for a concert in Alice Tully Hall. Later in the month she performed with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra as soloist in the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D minor by Jean Sibelius. In December, she returned to the New York String Orchestra Seminar led by Jamie Laredo for two performances in Carnegie Hall. Katherine is also a winner of the 2016 YoungArts Foundation awards. As a result she attended the select master classes in Miami sponsored by the YoungArts Foundation. Katherine was also a finalist and Merit Award winner in the 2016 Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition. The highly regarded competition sponsored by the Montgomery (Alabama) Symphony Orchestra features an international panel of jurors. Rachel Yi performed as violin soloist in two concerts with the
Clemson University Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the 2015 Young Artist Concerto/Aria Competition. She performed the first movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. 12 The Fine Arts Center Newsletter
Monarch in Charleston, October 2015 On Sunday, February 21st, at 3PM in recital Hall, the Fine Arts Center hosted Message of the Migrant, a concert to benefit environmental preservation organization Upstate Forever. Newly composed music and dance will focus on the life and current peril of the Monarch butterfly, including premieres of new works by FAC Composer in Residence Jon Jeffrey Grier and ARMES dance instructor Rebecca Lee; Strings Chamber Music instructor John Ravnan also performed. Light refreshments and a silent auction of visual art by FAC faculty and students followed the performance.
Music
FINE ARTS CENTER WOODWIND, BRASS, AND PERCUSSION STUDENTS PLACE COMPETITIVELY IN BAND FESTIVAL AUDITIONS
Fine Arts Center woodwind, brass, and percussion students scored well in recent auditions for the Region I Band Festival, the SC-All Band Festival, and the Greenville All-County Band Festival: Region I Festival Band: Morgan McCauley, and Sarah Overstreet, flute; Leigha Turner, bassoon; Chandler Hyatt, trumpet; Oneall Agosto and Matthew Watson, trombone; Gage Banks, timpani (Oneall Ogosto earned first chair trombone) All-State Festival Band: Dana Crytser, flute; Thomas Palmer, clarinet; Will Harris, percussion (Dana earned first chair flute) Greenville County All-County Band (Wind Ensemble): Dana Crytser, Morgan McCauley, flute; Thomas Palmer, clarinet; Leigha Turner, alto
saxophone; Chandler Hyatt, trumpet; Oneall Agosto and Matthew Watson, trombone; Will harris, percussion; Gage Banks, timpani (Dana, Thomas, Leigha, Oneall, Will, and Gage all earned “first chair” status in their auditions) Greenville County All-County Band (Senior Symphonic Band): Rececca Yaggie, flute; Alex Dobrenen, trombone The Region I Band Festival will be held at Converse College in Spartanburg February 19-20, SC All-State Band at Furman University March 11-13, and the Greenville All-County Band Festival at Riverside HS on February 25-25. Congratulations, students!
ORCHESTRA NEWS: HAYDN: THE MASTER SHOWMAN The Young Artist Orchestra (Dr. Gary A. Robinson, Artistic Director) and The Philharmonic – the two top-tier ensembles representing the school district’s Greenville County Youth Orchestras – gave their second concert of the 2015-2016 season on Friday, January 29 at the Peace Center’s Dorothy Gunter Theater. The Young Artist Orchestra is the Orchestra-in-Residence at the Fine Arts Center. Entitled “Haydn: The Master Showman,” the concert featured the second movement from Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”), his Trumpet Concerto in E flat (YAO Principal Trumpet, Ben Jones, soloist, joined by Guest Conductor John Concklin) and Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (“London”). Guest Conductor Emily Schaad lead selections by The Philharmonic, which included the first movement from Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D minor (YAO Principal Oboe Elaina Reck, soloist) as well as the concert closer that combined both orchestras in a performance of Saint-Saëns’ Bacchanale from “Samson and Delilah.” The YAO has begun rehearsals for their final concert of the year, which will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E (YAO Concert Master Rachel Yi, soloist) as well as a celebratory work entitled “Canonic Fanfares” by Fine Arts Center Composer-in-Residence Jon Jeffrey Grier. This concert will be given at the Dorothy Gunter Theater on Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 PM. (Tickets are available to the Peace Center box office.)
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News from Fall 2015 The Fine Arts Center Creative Writing program is very happy to unveil the new and improved version of the online magazine for high-school age writers and artists, Crashtest. With generous support from Jay Spivey and Dave Holloway at fete greenville, FAC student designers Sophomores Aidan Forster and Alyssa Mazzoli (with creative consulting from Junior Ben Mims) put together a sleek and interactive new issue that includes work from high-school age authors and artists from Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, India and beyond. Crashtest’s new platform also allows us to integrate sound and video performances, including a original choreography and performance by Jack Beaule (FAC, Dance), dramatic readings by Mattie Harris-Lowe, Bradley Schneider, Eryn Woo, and Virginia Britt (FAC, Theatre) and sound engineering by Ben Finkelstein (FAC, Sound Engineering). Check out our newest issue and look for our June issue which will start Crashtest’s sixth year in existence with work from 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award winning poet, Yona Harvey. (www.crashtestmag.com) In publishing news, first year FAC student, Freshman Rowan Brown’s poem, “I Was Told Never To Start A Performance With An Apology, So I Started With A Pomegranate,” was published in 1over8, an online magazine of international writing, this fall Junior Meredith Jones, Senior Alex Parish and Sophomore Aidan Forster all have poems forthcoming in the next issue of Polyphony H.S., a print journal for high-school age writers digitally edited by high-school age writers from around the world. This summer, Aidan Forster also took part in the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship program, where experienced members of Adroit’s editorial staff are paired with current high-school students with the goal of maintaining and extending the journal’s commitment to emerging writers, and providing those high-school writers with the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the drafting, editing and revising process. Adroit was founded by Peter LaBerge, currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania, who, while still a high-school student, was a frequent contributor to Crashtest. Check out the Adroit blog to hear what Aidan had to say about his own process at the start of the summer. Through this mentorship opportunity and the connections he forged there, Aidan has been offered the position of Assistant Blog Editor for Adroit and also has a poem, “Cistern,” forthcoming in the journal. Additionally this summer, Aidan traveled to New York to attend the Scholastic Art and Writing Program National Medal Award ceremony and receive his gold medal in Poetry. The ceremony, intended as a recognition for the outstanding achievement of the top 2% of high-school age writers and artists in the country, was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and Matthew Morrison. Aidan’s medal winning poem, “Bird Throated,” which he wrote as an assignment at the FAC, was further acknowledged by the Scholastic organi-
Creative Writing 14 The Fine Arts Center Newsletter
Aiden Forster (left), Alyssa Mazzoli (center), Yona Harvey zation by being included in the Best New Teen Writing, 2015 anthology and by being chosen as a representative writing piece in Scholastic’s annual Art. Write.Now event to be held this October in Washington, D.C. Not content to rest on his laurels, Aidan also published two poems, “House” and “Poem for An Uncertain Season,” in Verse, poet Brian Henry and Andrew Zawacki’s long running international journal of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. He also has poems either recently published or forthcoming in the online anthology HIV Here & Now, Souvenir Lit Journal, Alexandria Quarterly, Dialogist, Hermeneutic and Assaracus. In addition to editing Crashtest, designing the website, and being a full time high-school student, Alyssa Mazzoli has found time to become a prize winning author. Alyssa’s poem “Death Uses a Lot of Laundry Detergent,” will be featured in the November/December 2016 issue of The Kenyon Review, one of the country’s most respected publishers of poetry and prose. In addition, Alyssa received a full scholarship to the selection Kenyon Young Writers Workshop, where she will spend an intensive two weeks this summer. And finally in college news, early acceptances are already starting to coming in for FAC seniors. Lindsey Hudson, who has been with the Creative Writing program for all four years of high school, has been accepted to both the University of South Carolina, Honors College and Ursinus College in Pennsylvania with an offer of a $28,000 four year renewable scholarship. She is waiting to hear back from the other colleges on her list before making her decision. Meanwhile, FAC first year student, Senior Becky Dansereau will attend prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland with a double major in Creative Writing and Biomolecular/Chemical Engineering or Neuroscience. To help facilitate her education there, Hopkins is offering Becky a $67,000 a year scholarship, renewable for all four years of her undergraduate education.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth, and provided opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated. Each year, increasing numbers of teens participate in the program, and become a part of our community—young artists and writers, filmmakers and photographers, poets and sculptors, video game artists and science fiction writers, along with countless educators who support and encourage the creative process. Through the Scholastic Awards, teens in grades 7 through 12 from public, private, or home schools can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited and published. Beyond the Awards, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers produces a number of programs to support creative students and their educators, including the Art.Write.Now.Tour, the National Student Poets Program, the Scholastic Awards Summer Series, the Alliance Summer Arts Program, the Golden Educators Residency, and much more. Since its founding, the Awards have established an amazing track record for identifying the early promise of our nation’s most accomplished and prolific creative leaders. Alumni include artists Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, Cy Twombly, Robert Indiana, Kay WalkingStick, and John Baldessari; writers Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Bernard Malamud, Myla Goldberg, and Joyce Carol Oates; photographer Richard Avedon; actors Frances Farmer, Robert Redford, Alan Arkin, Lena Dunham, and John Lithgow; fashion designer Zac Posen; and filmmakers Stan Brakhage, Ken Burns, and Richard Linklater. Outside the arts, Awards alumni employ their creativity to become successful in any number of ways—leaders in fields including journalism, medicine, finance, government and public service, the law, science, design, and more. In 2015, our inaugural Alumni Council was formed. Students’ submissions are blindly adjudicated by some of the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts. Many Scholastic Awards Alumni have lent their expertise as jurors, including Michael Bierut, Phillip Pearlstein, Edward Sorel, Red Grooms, and Gary Panter. Other luminaries who have served as judges include Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Judy Blume, Billy Collins, Paul Giamatti, Francine Prose, Edwidge Danticat, David Sedaris, Lesley Stahl, Nikki Giovanni, Roz Chast, Wangechi Mutu, Andres Serrano, Kiki Smith, Jill Kraus, Shinique Smith, Rashid Johnson, and Waris Ahluwalia. Jurors look for works that exemplify the Awards’ core values: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal voice or vision. Last year, students submitted 300,000 works of art and writing to the Awards; more than 68,000 were recognized at the regional level and celebrated in local exhibitions and ceremonies. The top 2,000 works in the country earned National Medals and were celebrated at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall. (from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards website) This year, with a comparable or higher number of young artists and writers applying to the Scholastic Competition, the Fine Arts Center has placed impressively in the regional award. In total, our student artists, writers and film makers received 187 regional awards from the Southeast Region-At-Large, an expansive and diverse area which includes representative schools from Virginia to Florida. Of these regional awards, forty-seven individual works of art, poetry and prose were awarded Gold Keys and will be advanced to New York City to be adjudicated at the national level. The categories in which FAC students are competing at the national level (sometimes with multiple entries) are: Drawing and Illustration, Ceramics and Glass, Jewelry, Sculpture, Printmaking, Mixed Media, Poetry, Writing Portfolio, Personal Essay/Memoir, Flash Fiction and Critical Essay.
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ARMES
Nominations Open in February for the ARMES Program
News from the ARMES Program
Nominations for our Arts Reaching Middle and Elementary Schools Program (ARMES) will be open from February 16th - April 18th. The ARMES program is a tuition-free arts program designed to meet the needs of students in grades 3 through 8 who have demonstrated an outstanding talent and a deep interest in dance, music, theatre or visual arts. The purpose of the program is to allow students to explore their chosen art form in depth while promoting individual creativity. This after-school program provides arts education taught by professional artists in dance, drama, strings music and visual arts to approximately 400 students who live in Greenville County. Any rising 3rd through 8th grade student can be nominated for the program by a parent, teacher or another adult. All ARMES classes are offered at no cost to the student. However, Strings students will be asked to provide their own instruments. These programs are offered at the Fine Arts Center with the exception of Drama, which is housed at the Sterling School. For more information about the ARMES program and how to nominate a student, please visit the ARMES website at http://www.armesprogram.com
16 The Fine Arts Center Newsletter
ARMES Drama - Anne Tromsness, Instructor Our Drama students are currently engaged in the process of producing plays for performance. Beyond engaging as actors, they are learning - through hands-on experience - about the invaluable roles of designers and other production staff in the making of a play. Middle School students are learning about story structure and encountering and confounding traditional genres through comedy, and in the production class, Shakespearean language is the main focus. At all levels, the goal is not to create a polished production, but to break apart the process of creating theatre, to empower students with a working knowledge of how all the moving parts function separately and build toward a unified story. For more in-depth information on both class content and performances, http://bit.ly/armesdramanews
ARMES
ARMES Strings Music – Eleonore Shults, Instructor We send our support and best wishes to Eleonore Shults, and deepest appreciation to Katy Martin who will be working with the ARMES Strings classes through the rest of year. Katy is currently the Strings Instructor at the Sterling School. She received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and a Masters in Education (M.Ed.) from Converse College. In addition to teaching, she plays professionally in the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra and is viola coach with the Greenville County Youth Orchestra (GCYO). She has four children who are talented musicians and attended Fine Arts Center.
ARMES Visual Arts – Rebecca Stockham & Greg Flint, Instructors The Visual Art Program is focused on identifying and using value in art throughout this year. Value is one way an artist can make an object appear three-dimensional on a two-dimensional surface. Our students are learning and practicing in variety of techniques and media. Their exploration of drawing materials includes pencil, Conte crayon, pen, Prismacolors, oil pastels and watercolor. In our instructional exercises, the students are working with their understanding of composition and how to incorporate value as an element of design in their work.
ARMES Dance – Rebecca Lee, Instructor ARMES Dance has been focusing on building technique in both ballet and modern. These students are strengthening the body, both mentally and physically through proper technique. Our dancers are currently working on choreography for the Spring performance in April and have had the opportunity to work with Jackie O’Toole and April Schaeffer this year.
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