A VIBRANT ARTS LANDSCAPE

The 2022-23 performance season embraced the transformative power of collaboration. UNCSA’s five highly ranked arts schools united talented students, renowned faculty, celebrated guest artists and esteemed institutions to push creative boundaries and showcase diverse perspectives. This tapestry of artistic voices, spanning traditional to contemporary, enriched our worldview and fostered a vibrant arts landscape.

1. The schools of Dance and Design & Production revived Merce Cunningham’s “Travelogue,” set to John Cage’s “Telephones and Birds,” with design by Robert Rauschenberg. Through the partnership between UNCSA, the Merce Cunningham Trust, John Cage Trust and Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, a new generation of artists paid tribute to the collaborative nature of the original production.

2. The schools of Drama, Design & Production and Music collaborated to bring Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” to life. Helmed by Drama faculty member Quin Gordon and conducted by Music faculty member Mark Norman, who worked alongside students to develop the score from 67 excerpts of Mozart’s work, the production featured student musicians performing in period costumes onstage.

3. In a groundbreaking collaboration, the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute and the School of Design & Production reimagined Joseph Haydn’s opera “Orlando Paladino” in outer space. Taking cues from “Thor: Ragnarok,” Stage Director Steven LaCosse and Design & Production students crafted a one-of-a-kind universe filled with heroism and comedic brilliance.

4. Winston-Salem State University School of Health Sciences and the UNCSA School of Filmmaking partnered to integrate virtual reality (VR) into the training curriculum for nursing students. This collaboration demonstrated the impact of arts in education by providing students with immersive technologies that strengthened clinical judgment and increased knowledge retention.

5. “The Nutcracker” remains a cherished holiday tradition, uniting hundreds of students from the schools of Dance, Design & Production and Music. The 2022 production featured a record number of dancers performing with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra under acclaimed Guest Conductor Jiannan Cheng. The performance was further elevated by the ingenuity of talented student artisans, who brought the magic to life with sets, props and lighting.

Every day, UNCSA students, alumni, faculty and staff make their mark on the world. In the following Short Takes, we present stories from across disciplines of how our talented artists and leadership are shaping the future of the arts. Step into the world of an alumnus who found his home in opera, of students channeling their experiences with war into filmmaking, of high school graduates combining their love of music and math, and of new leadership bringing inclusivity to the forefront of creativity. Read more stories like these throughout the year at uncsa.edu/news.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | ULIANA KLIMCHUK SOUND BITE | JOSHUA CONYERS

It was February 2022, and Uliana “Ulia” Klimchuk anxiously awaited a decision from the School of Drama. The Ukrainian native auditioned virtually for the program at the suggestion of a teacher. On Feb. 24, Director of Recruitment Quin Gordon pressed “send” on an acceptance email that would remain unopened for weeks.

Fatefully, on that same day, Russia invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine. Klimchuk’s attention turned to the immediate impact of war. She spent long days volunteering in a refugee center in Varna, Bulgaria, where she was staying with her mother and brothers. They checked in often with her father, who remained home in Kyiv.

“I cried so much when I saw the email (from Gordon),” Klimchuk recalled. “I hadn’t cried that much since the start of the war.” It was an emotional decision to move 5,000 miles away during wartime. Still, Klimchuk’s father encouraged her to continue pursuing her dreams. At the end of the summer, she arrived in the States for the first time and traveled to Winston-Salem to begin her training.

Like many new college students, Klimchuk has balanced school, social life and maintaining a connection to her home. And she’s surprised by how easy it has felt most of the time. “It’s easy to study because love it so much and feel so passionate,” she said, adding that keeping up with family and friends can be difficult, however. The tensions of war create uncertainty in every communication. “I never know when I get a call if it’s going to be bad or good,” she explained, sharing that she once hurriedly stepped out of class to answer a call from a family member, assuming the worst. It turned out they had simply been confused by the time difference.

The trip from the Bronx to the Metropolitan Opera House is about 10 miles – an hour by train. Still, That trip has been even longer for alumnus Joshua Conyers (B.M. ’10, Fletcher Opera P.A.C. ’15). Reached by phone in London, where he was about to perform with the English National Opera, the rising-star baritone described his early life as “years of moving from shelter to shelter in the Bronx.” was a sports kid, but I always knew I wanted to sing. started a boy band, Boys in Harmony, in middle school. We planned to be the next Boyz II Men. In high school, a good friend started doing a program where he’d go to regular school for half a day and the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts for the other half. He taught me a song in Italian, and got accepted to the Governor’s School. I took music theory, music history, theater training and voice lessons every week. I thought that if I had to do all this to be an opera singer, just forget it!

When he was 12, he went to live with his grandmother in Virginia and began to experience a degree of stability and security.

Since then, Conyers has achieved personal, academic and professional success as an opera singer. He makes his Metropolitan Opera debut in October and New York Philharmonic debut in December. This fall, Conyers joins the Eastman School of Music faculty in Rochester, New York, as a full-time assistant professor of voice. But UNCSA has a special place in his story and heart.

When did you know that you wanted to be an opera singer?

But then we took a field trip to New York and went to the New York City Opera and the Met. had never been to anything like that and just fell in love. As started giving it a chance, I fell more in love.

Who have been your greatest influences and inspirations?

During my junior year, I met Drs. Marilyn Taylor and Steven LaCosse. They came and heard me audition for the college voice program because couldn’t afford to go to Winston-Salem. received the Kenan Excellence Award and a full scholarship to UNCSA. When there were school breaks and I needed shelter, Drs. LaCosse or Taylor would let me stay at their homes. They are more than mentors. They are family. They support me to this day.

What’s a day in the life of a working opera singer?

I’ve only been home four days since Jan. 1. I’ve gone from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and from Washington to London. I do a lot of protecting myself to make sure I will be able to perform. watch what eat and drink, especially when coming up on a performance. always ensure my voice is nice and clear and ready to go.

What’s on your bucket list?

My dream places to sing are La Scala in Milan, Italy; the Met, where I’ll be this fall; the New York Philharmonic, where I’ll be in December; and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

How have you grown as an artist?

Life experience really matters for an artist – from being a homeless teen to having a lot of support in college, from thinking I wasn’t good enough to getting married and finding my footing as a professional singer – it all informs me as an artist. I believe that journey will never end.

As told to Lynn Felder

Klimchuk described the war as a constant distraction but acknowledged that much of the world has moved on as Ukraine has faded from the news cycle. “It’s terrifying that people will forget,” she said.

The war has provided inspiration for Klimchuk’s own storytelling and for multicultural artistic collaborations with UNCSA peers. During the fall, she connected with Bella Howard (B.F.A. Filmmaking ’26). They, along with their all-female crew, created a short film, called “ ” (“Happy Independence Day”). Spoken in Ukrainian with English subtitles, the film offers a firsthand account of the war from a Ukrainian native living abroad. The film stars Klimchuk and a friend of hers who was visiting from Ukraine during the production. This past summer, Klimchuk and Israeli directing student Ron Weiss (B.F.A. Drama ’25, H.S. Drama ’21) have been working in Tel Aviv. Supported by a grant from the Semans Art Fund, a private foundation that provides funding to current UNCSA students for summer study, special projects, research and performances, Weiss is directing a series of plays written by Klimchuk that explore their experiences with war. This fall she returns to campus to continue her training and create new art inspired by her experiences. Though the last year and a half has been different from what she once imagined, Klimchuk feels abundant pride and admiration for her resilient homeland.

“People continue to follow their dreams, but it’s all in the hands of war. Life stopped for a moment, but then it goes on. This is what human beings do. We can’t stop existing. I’m grateful for the opportunities I have. admire Ukraine’s bravery. And I am so proud to be Ukrainian.”

By Hannah Callaway