C U LT U R E
By Matthew Bey
The music program hits a high note Recently, the St. Edward’s Music program collaborated with the Theater Arts program to create a Musical Theater emphasis for students. That’s just one of the ways the Music program and its director, Associate Professor of Music Michael McKelvey, are striking a chord on campus and around Austin.
Popular Campus Music Groups
Recent Additions
Fostering Careers
University Chorale Omni Singers Vocal Jazz Ensemble Madrigal Chamber Choir
All-Diocesan Choir Chamber Music Ensemble Guitar Ensemble Mariachi Alas de Oro Two jazz bands: Steady and another band will launch this spring.
Throughout his St. Edward’s career, David Gallagher ’08 worked with McKelvey and Summer Stock. After graduation, Gallagher continued the working relationship when he played the lead in McKelvey’s The Last Five Years (winner of Austin Critics’ Table Best Musical 2009) and his critically acclaimed Evil Dead musical. “The Music program definitely opened up the door for me and a lot of others,” says Gallagher.
Expert Instruction For students, the prominence of St. Edward’s in the local arts scene and the instructors it pulls in from Austin’s professional music community mean more opportunities after graduation. Here’s a sampling of the staff members who bring experience and valuable contacts to students. Michael McKelvey Résumé: music director of Summer Stock Austin and Austin Playhouse, Zilker Summer Musicals, The State Theatre; original music and sound design for Scottish Rite Children’s Theater and Austin Shakespeare Company; director/producer/music director of Penfold Theatre Company and Salvage Vanguard Theater.
Michael McKelvey (far right) teaching class.
6 St. Edward’s University
Joey Colarusso Résumé: performer with Kenny Rogers, Dick Dale, Olivia Newton John, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Manhattan Transfer, Frank Sinatra Jr., Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Asleep at the Wheel, Dale Watson, Charlie Sexton. Cindy Sadler Résumé: performer with Austin Lyric Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, New Orleans Opera, Minnesota Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Opera Pacific, the Hollywood Bowl, Arizona Opera, El Paso Opera, Fort Worth Opera.
David Gallagher ’08 in Evil Dead.
Shakespeare with Celebrities: Performing Arts Summer Camps Last summer, the high school and middle school performers in the Music program’s Shakespeare on the Hill theater camp rehearsed at the mansion of famed Austin game developer Richard Garriott. The program offers a range of youth arts camps spanning different ages, from “Fractured Fairy Tales Creative Drama Camp” to “Spotlight on Opera.”