Aspire 2020

ERNESTINE M. RACLIN SCHOOL OF THE ARTS // 2020

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Aspire is published annually by the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts, Indiana University South Bend, for our alumni, students, friends, faculty, and staff.

Dedicated to Founding Editor Michele Morgan-Dufour DEAN Marvin V. Curtis, Ed.D. EDITOR Cory Iwaszewski Tamea Rector ASSISTANT EDITOR Kate Luce

// MISSION STATEMENT The IUSB Arts Foundation supports the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend by sponsoring or providing funds for special events and community outreach programs, with particular emphasis on educating, entertaining, and involving young people.

// IUSB ARTS FOUNDATION, INC. David Kibbe, president Juan Carlos Alarcon Cheryl Barker Robert Demaree* David Dufour Marian Emery Robert Frank Grayling Hawkins Rose Kopec

Joe Mancini Alice Martin* Carmi Murphy* Ned North Ernestine Raclin* Stephanie Steele Janet Thompson* Quinn Thurin

*Emeritus Member The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts thanks the IUSB Arts Foundation for their long-standing service and support to the school. Their efforts make it possible for us to present special programs including the Summer Student Travel Scholarship, Anniversary Celebrations, and Summer Arts Camp, among many other projects.

If you are interested in working with the IUSB Arts Foundation on future projects, please contact the school of the arts office at 574.520.4134 for more information.

COPY EDITOR Kathy Borlik DESIGNER Katrina Wilborn WRITERS Kylie Campbell Eddie Castle Camden Chaffee Arin Ciulla Marvin V. Curtis Diona Eskew Katie Feehan Katelyn Firestein Ashley Foor Cory Iwaszewski Dositha Rosine Kamugisha Brianna Liras Kate Luce Cassidy Martenson Parker Norris Tamea Rector Madison Ward Tori Wilson PRINCIPLE PHOTOGRAPHERS Tally Diaz Brianna Edgerly SECONDARY PHOTOGRAPHERS Sarah Brubaker Marvin V. Curtis Demarée Dufour-Noneman Brandon Galvan IU South Bend Archives Cory Iwaszewski Michele Morgan-Dufour Teresa Sheppard // PRODUCTION NOTES PAPER Cover pages printed on 80 lb. Endurance Gloss Cover. Body pages printed on 70 lb. Endurance Gloss Text.

NOTE: Endurance is a Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) mixed-credit certified paper.

Copyright © 2020 Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts, IU South Bend 2

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PRINTING Four color process with spot gloss aqueous coating on cover.

Top // Saxaphone, 2020

by Bethany Jankowsky

Bottom Left // Untitled lithograph print, 15"x16"

by Charlie Myers // student

Bottom Right // Tarkus acrylic on canvas, 16"x20"

by Liva Jastrzebski // student 1

The second was 1969, the second semester of my freshman year in college, when I saw the movie Goodbye Mr. Chips with Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark. The words of the school song have stuck in my mind ever since.

In the morning of my life I will look to the sunrise At a moment in my life when the world is new And the blessing I shall ask only God can grant me To be brave and strong and true And to fill the world with love my whole life through

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here are three pivotal years in my life where art made me realize that I was going to be an educator. The first was in 1967, as high school junior, I saw the movie To Sir with Love. I just wanted to be like Sidney Poitier at the end of the film and tear up that contract.

The time has come for closing books And long last looks must end And as I leave I know That I am laving my best friend A friend who taught me right from wrong And weak from strong That's a lot to learn, what What can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start But I, would rather you let me give my heart To Sir, with love

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The third year was 1970 when I heard Diana Ross sing Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand. I was firmly hooked that being an educator was my destiny.

If you see an old man on the street Remember your shoes could fit his feet Try a little kindness and suddenly it seems naturally We can change things if we start giving Why don't you reach out and touch somebody's hand Make this world a better place if you can In 2008, I stepped into the doorway of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts. Many changes have occurred these past twelve years. Many of you have followed our journey starting with Aspire magazine growing from 28 pages to 88 pages in three years and still the only magazine published at IU South Bend to win a CASE Circle of Excellence award. It succeeded because of the leadership of Michele Morgan-DuFour and assistance from Tiffany Goehring, Katie Wilborn, and Ken Baierl.

Our students have so many accomplishments, and that is due to the dedicated faculty and staff that care about them and their success.

One last word from Dean Curtis

By Marvin Curtis

The beautiful Louise E. Addicott and Yatish J. Joshi Performance Hall came to be because of the vision Lousie E. Addicott had for her community, the philanthropy of her husband Yatish Joshi, and the help of Vice President Morrison of IU, Chancellor Terry Allison of IU South Bend, The St Joseph Community Foundation, and so many others.

I am grateful to the IU South Bend Foundation Board for their support of the Summer Travel Grant program that has allowed many students to extend their educational endeavors to places around the world. I am also thankful for hosting the Governor's Arts Awards, the development of art education and the master's in communication studies programs, producing Swan Lake, becoming an All-Steinway School, taking students to Carnegie Hall, the large graduating classes, and the list continues.

My 12 years as dean have been aided by one of the greatest staffs a dean could ever have. Tamea Rector and Phyllis Mason were present when I began and continue to be the backbone of the school. I want to thank Blanqui Martini, Moira Dyczko, Trisha Miller, Jeremy Williams, Neil King, and Susanna Schroeder for starting with me.

Now I come to the end of my 12 years of leading a School of the Arts. It is also a time of one of the great challenges we are facing. Covid-19 has changed the landscape that we have known. Now we must develop even more creative skills to bring art to a world that has been hit by this pandemic. We will have to develop different criteria as we go forward as to how we travel, concertize, display our art, produce theater, and produce our art. The challenge is before us, but we are creative thinkers and creative problem solvers and we can help find the solutions.

Music has been and continues to be my life. The songs I reference helped to start my career. Music opened the doors for me and provided me with opportunities that I would have never thought possible. As a composer, conductor, and educator music has remained my constant source of comfort and strength. I look forward to the new challenges ahead of me and thank all of you for your good wishes. I end my letter with a musical quote from the movie The Sound of Music

I am indebted to Pam Mendenhall, whose constant support was most welcomed and provided the staff with loving advice. My continued appreciation to Alex Blatt, Sarah Brubaker, Demaree DuFour Noneman, Cory Iwaszewski, Brianna Liras, Ryan Schisler, and our incomparable assistant dean Tami Martinez for their leadership and passion for the arts and the students.

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INSIDE // COMMUNICATION STUDIES

// NEW MEDIA

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Finally home

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A long road

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Communicating the benefits of an IU South Bend education

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Leather Phase: when music and visuals combine

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From a temporary option to a proud alumna

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Integrated New Media student pushed the start of the Investment Club

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Once a Titan, always a Titan: Featuring faculty member Ryan Lohman

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A poet and a professor

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Wishing Kevin Gillen the best

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Inaugural Arts Video Intern Brandon Galvan

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Heath Hicks: MA project gets the green light

// FINE ARTS

// THEATRE & DANCE 26

A journey to find success

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Breaking a world record for a great cause

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The Many Faces of Patrick Watterson

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Kolton Sizer, painting a successful life after graduation

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Tap and Kick Line graduates dance their way to the top!

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Long-term body on display for a limited time

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Theatre & Dance graduates take the center stage

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Spring BFA Exhibition goes online.

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A cult classic musical makes it in time for Halloween

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The Agony & Ecstasy: (Mis)Adventures in Arts-Based Research

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Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre

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Printmaking: an impactful medium

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Lion King: Behind the seams

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Fictional Space has a place of its own

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Tim Hanson creates model of Drottningholm Slottsteaterl

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Thank you Brianna & Tally

// MUSIC

// SCHOOL OF THE ARTS 2

Dean's Welcome

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Bringing classical music to unexpected places

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Jorge Muñiz named interim dean

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Never stop dreaming: the journey of Juan-Carlos Alarcon

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Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts officially becomes a Steinway School

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Creative Restless Spirit

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Congratulations to our recent graduates

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Music alumna ready for first album

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Piano series provides world-class performances and education

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A life changing performance

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Building unity & community through jazz

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Two centuries of Beethoven, two decades of the Euclid Quartet

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A holiday celebration of the arts

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Ryan Olivier’s Electronic Labyrinth

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A holiday tradition comes to IU South Bend

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Honor roll of donors

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Kick starting the new school year off on the right foot

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Remembering Robert W. Demaree, Jr.

Jorge Muñiz named interim dean

By Cory Iwaszewski

Dr. Jorge Muñiz, department chair of music and professor of composition and theory, has been named interim dean of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts for the upcoming academic year 2020-21. He will begin July 1, 2020. Current Dean Marvin Curtis will be stepping away in preparation for retirement after 12 years at IU South Bend.

“As chair of the Department of Music, I have enjoyed very much working with students and faculty in developing and growing our music program,” Muñiz reflects. “I am very fortunate to have a wonderful and talented group of friends and colleagues within the music faculty. In my new role as interim dean of the Raclin School of the Arts, I look forward to serving the faculty, staff, and students and helping the School in these times of transition. It is also important to me to further our strong connections with our community.”

Muñiz will step in to lead a staff and faculty that has been doing wonderful things over the years and continuing their mission on connecting with the local community. Muñiz is a perfect match to help the Arts remain strong in their presence in the community.

Tami Martinez, assistant dean and senior lecturer in communication studies, has had the privilege of working with Muñiz as colleagues for years, and is excited to see the transition.

“I’m very happy that Dr. Muñiz was selected to serve as the interim dean of the Arts to guide us through this transitory year. Jorge is well-known and respected campus-wide, he understands the inner workings of the Arts and our diverse programs, and he is genuinely supportive of our faculty and staff. I look forward to working with him,” Martinez says.

Muñiz has a very impressive musical background, and has performed and conducted music all across the world including Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia and the United States with such ensembles as the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Seville Symphony Orchestra, Malaga Symphony Orchestra, Asturias Symphony Orchestra, Oviedo Filarmonía, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, the Das Scardanelli Quartett, Euclid Quartet, Avalon Quartet, Cámara XXI, Duo Ahlert &

Schwab, Cuarteto Quiroga, Cuarteto Quattro, Duo Saxperience, the Vesper Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, and Duo Sonidos.

Muñiz’s music was most recently released on Crossings, New Music for Cello (Furious Artisans, 2015) by cellist Kate Dillingham and La Noche: 21st Century Music for Flute & Harp (CD Baby, 2011) by Roberto Alvarez, flute, and Katarina Tan, harp.

Muñiz received his master’s in music composition from Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied with Leonardo Balada and received his doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music with Richard Danielpour.

“I have had the pleasure to work with Dr. Jorge Muñiz during his time as chair of the Music Department in the School of the Arts for the past 7 years,” said Pam Mendenhall, office manager for the School of the Arts. “He is a very considerate, organized and devoted faculty member, who wants to see our students succeed and our faculty be successful. He is very engaging with our students. I look forward to working with him as he serves the Raclin School of the Arts as interim dean. We will continue to strive to continue the great work that former dean, Marvin Curtis, has accomplished in his 12 years as the dean.”

Even though there will be a new dean in the office come July, the same mission will be in place, and that is to serve the students and the South Bend area the best the School of the Arts can.

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Breaking a world record for a great cause

By Kate Luce

Throughout the course of summer 2019, The IU South Bend Fine Arts Club built what they hope will be the world’s largest freestanding paper mache sculpture, which they hope will break the Guinness World Record. The club celebrated its completion by showing off the sculpture with a food drive directly benefiting the Food Bank of Northern Indiana and Titans Feeding Titans on September 19.

“When I was approached with the opportunity [to make the world’s largest paper mache sculpture], there wasn’t a choice to make. When I first arrived at IU South Bend, I asked myself, ‘why make art’ Why spend hours practicing, studying, and exploring works from the past? There is no guarantee of a career, of appreciation, or even having your work seen by the public. So why did I choose to devote my life to the uncertain? Art had inspired me, and I wished to do the same by creating art that could make a difference.

So, when an opportunity came along to use art to make a huge difference in our community, I was all in,” Kolt Sizer, club president, says.

The giving tree sculpture, as it was named, stood outside of Wiekamp Hall patio during the duration of the food drive, shocking and intriguing students and faculty who walked by.

“Both the sculpture unveiling and the food drive not only helped promote the Fine Arts Club and IU South Bend but 6

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was a way to positively impact the city of South Bend,” Julia Kanestrom, vice president of the Fine Arts Club, says.

It all started with a partnership through Martin’s Supermarkets, who reached out to IU South Bend. They had seven pallets of misprinted customer comment cards.

Martin’s asked the Fine Arts Club to create the world’s largest paper mache sculpture. In return, Martin’s would donate $25,000 to the Northern Indiana Food Bank.

The club agreed to this challenge and began working on the project starting in spring 2019. At first, they worked in the Campus Auditorium for a span of a month. They mostly built the raw materials during this time. By August, the club had finished the trunk, most of the roots, the branches, and the leaves.

“Our process was slow at first, but we became more efficient because we knew what we were doing. The longer we worked on it, the more we knew what worked and what did not. It was all trial and error. If something didn’t work, we found a different way to do it,” Morgan Koenig, club member, explains.

“The process was a lot of hard work. Our art community on campus worked all summer and into the fall semester.

The tree had several “blueprints”, we had multiple plans,

but in the end the finished product was a collection of everyone’s ideas. Looking back on the endeavor I’m proud of everyone who took part and am amazed at what we accomplished,” Sizer says.

When completed, the tree did not contain any inner structure that was not paper mache, since that would have gone against the Guinness Book of World Records rules.

Thick layers of paper and wheat paste glue held everything together. With five months of work behind the club, it surely paid off.

“I think this project showcased our creative ability and willingness to establish ourselves both on and off campus,” Kanestrom says.

“We were able to draw together a variety of community players. Martin’s as the starting catalyst to make it happen, and then the club was able to bring in Titans Feeding Titans, all of the club’s work with PR, and the Food Bank of Northern Indiana came in as players. Largely, I think the success was due to the fact that we were able to generate a large donation for hunger” Bill Tourtillotte, club advisor and lecturer in fine arts, says.

went to Titans Feeding Titans. A set of 15 silkscreen prints also sold, and all those proceeds went to Titans Feeding Titans as well.

The sculpture surpassed the previous record holder of the largest freestanding paper mache sculpture by two feet in some areas. When measured, it stood at 13.5’ x 16’ x 18’.

Since the event, the Fine Arts Club has submitted their application, and sent their measurements to the Guinness Book of World Records, in hopes of becoming the new record holder.

The display garnered talk all around town, all the way to previous Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s desk, who contacted the club recognizing their accomplishment and kind gesture for the community.

The Fine Arts Club hopes to continue to host a food drive every year in September in honor of this event. While they do not plan to continue breaking world records, they hope to spread hunger awareness throughout the campus.

At first, the club was just going to display the paper mache tree, but instead, Sizer decided it would only be fitting to host a food drive as well. All non-perishable donations 7

“The recognition of becoming a

Steinway School is something that should make all of us at IU South Bend very proud. It is a standard that shows the level of quality of our music department…

”

Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts officially becomes a Steinway School

By Kate Luce

Steinway & Sons is widely regarded as creating the finest pianos in the world. With the recent addition of two Steinway & Sons pianos thanks to the generosity of the Arts Foundation Board and administration, the Raclin School of the Arts has been deemed an All-Steinway School.

Becoming a Steinway School requires meeting rigorous standards. First, 90 percent of the pianos in the school’s inventory must be Steinway & Sons products. Some of the pianos the Raclin School of the Arts owns are Boston pianos, which are mid-range instruments designed by Steinway & Sons. The Boston’s have the same qualities as the Steinway line.

Secondly, according to the Steinway & Sons website, the institution must be “committed to excellence” and host an “unparalleled educational experience.”

“When students see that we are a Steinway School, it says something about the quality of education, here at IU South Bend. We say we have a great piano studio, and we do. We should have great pianos. To be an All-Steinway School says quality," Marvin Curtis, Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts dean states.

Artists choose Steinway due to the company’s high standards for these pianos. No corners are cut, and all pianos are handcrafted with the artist in mind. These pianos can last a long time with proper maintenance and handling.

There are other high-end manufacturers [of pianos], but because of the superiority of the Steinway design, artists choose Steinway overwhelmingly. “About 98 percent of concerts played on stages are played on Steinway pianos.

Artists, the pianists themselves, choose Steinway because it’s

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the best way to express their music as an artist,” says Craig Gigax, owner and president of Meridian Music Company.

This level of commitment not only helps recruit students, but faculty as well. Most music faculty have experience on a Steinway piano, and know how these instruments function and handle. Offering the students, the same access provides them with a great learning opportunity. They can enhance their skills and gain experience on top-of-the-line pianos.

Thirdly, the school must have a Steinway technician who maintains the pianos regularly. The Raclin School of the Arts has employed a Steinway technician for the past six years.

In total, there are about 170 universities in the world that meet this qualification. Indiana University South Bend is the second school in Indiana that meets the requirements for an All-Steinway School. The other Steinway school is Ball State University.

“We have joined the elite music schools,” Curtis says. I’m thrilled for our hard-working students and faculty.”

Becoming a Steinway School has been a goal for Curtis since becoming the dean of the Arts 12 years ago. Because of this goal, Curtis reached out to Meridian Music Company of Carmel, Ind. the supplier of Steinway pianos to universities in Indiana.

Just 12 years later, Curtis has made his goal a reality.

Currently the Raclin School of the Arts own 25 of the Steinway & Sons pianos.

“I am very proud of the fact that we have made it this far.

One of the things I wanted to do before I left IU South Bend

was to make sure we received the Steinway label. We needed two more pianos, and we received two pianos.”

The designation helps push IU South Bend to the center stage of piano education in the region. A world-class education does not mean students have to travel far.

“The recognition of becoming a Steinway School is something that should make all of us at IU South Bend very proud. It is a standard that shows the level of quality of our music department and it brings IU South Bend into a group of distinguished music programs in the world that features some of the best instruments on the market.

Studying music, performing, and attending concerts at IU South Bend now includes the experience of enjoying these very fine instruments. The music community looks forward to many years of wonderful performances,” Jorge Muñiz, chair of music at IU South Bend, says.

Be sure to check out the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts calendar for upcoming events and hear the newest All-Steinway School in action.

born to be

HEARD Immerse yourself in communication studies at IU South Bend. We keep up with the latest media trends and incorporate new ways of learning in our classes to better prepare you for an ever-changing, fast-paced work world. We are passionate about teaching and your success. Choose from concentrations in interpersonal and organizational communications, public relations, and mass media, or return to college to earn a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. While you’re earning your degree, get the real world experience you need in our popular internship program.

For degree offerings and more info about communication studies at IU South Bend, visit us on the web at communication.iusb.edu..

Finally home By: Cory Iwaszewski

Each day, Cecelia Roeder, BA ’15 Communication Studies, drives by the Papago buttes and skyscrapers on her way to work, and reflects on how she loves where her career has taken her. Roeder lives in Arizona, and in the fall of 2019, she started her new role as marketing manager for The Phoenix Symphony. After college at IU South Bend, Roeder felt drawn to the marketing field, and thanks to the skills she learned in the Communication and Fine Arts departments, she was ready for the job.

Roeder came to IU South Bend in the fall of 2011 as a first-generation college student. She chose to study mass communication with a concentration in journalism, and a minor in graphic design. She also spent three years working for the Preface, the campus newspaper. Roeder started as a design editor and ended as editor-in-chief her senior year. Writing has always interested her, but it was later in her academic career she realized she loved to tell stories, just not in a journalistic way. However, the skills learned from the Communication department, matched with the Graphic Design minor helped prepare her for the next step in her journey.

Once the school books were closed and commencement ended, Roeder began looking for jobs. “After graduation, I really felt a call to spread my wings and move away from Indiana. I started applying for out-of-state jobs in a serious way in the fall of 2016” Roeder recalls. This is when she realized the field of marketing is where her heart was taking her. She eventually landed

an interview with Arizona Opera, and her skills in writing, design, photography and basic HMTL, landed her the job. Two days later, she was in Phoenix, Arizona. This was just the beginning of her story. “Working at an opera company was an experience I will always treasure” Roeder says.

to integrate music concepts in STEM classes” Roeder states.

This past fall, Roeder took another big step forward in accepting the position at The Phoenix Symphony as the marketing manager. At the symphony, her job entails driving the creative process for collateral and various marketing needs from creative meetings, to coordinating with designers, writing copy, and sourcing images. One of the areas Roeder really enjoys in her new role is enhancing the social media content to become more personal, professional, and accessible for the community. “Providing creative direction is something I really enjoy, and I hope as my career grows, this continues to be an area in my wheelhouse” Roeder explained.

“First, I would recommend taking your general education classes first.

Also, save your electives until the end.

I was able to take some really exciting electives, from scriptwriting to theater design, to the history of Islam. Go out of your comfort zone and try something different. I also highly recommend getting involved with some kind of group on campus. If there isn’t one that fits you, create your own! Keep in mind that there’s a life after IU South Bend. If you’re not sure exactly where you want to go with your career, that’s okay! Neither did I. Finally, be aware that there could be a career for you in arts administration. If you are an artist or musician who is passionate about the art form, but perhaps unsure about a career, I would strongly urge you to consider learning more about arts administration” Roeder explained.

She has helped create more personable connections between the artists and the community. By focusing more heavily on the social media aspect, Roeder now focuses on using high-resolution photographs, writing blog posts about musicians’ accomplishments, and videos that feature highlights for the event. This also includes sharing the work the symphony does in their current education and health and wellness initiatives. “Our Mind Over Music program, written about in publications like Forbes Magazine, pairs local teachers with orchestra musicians to create custom lesson plans

For incoming freshmen to IU South Bend, or current students who may be struggling to discover who they are or what they want to do with their careers, Roeder wants to offer some advice.

Roeder believes that the connections you make in college are extremely beneficial factors in your academic success. A campus the size of IU South Bend allows students to have a lot more personal interaction with professors, staff and other students. This allows the students to branch out and find themselves, and can open the door to big opportunities, like Cecelia Roeder has shown.

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unexpected places

Bringing classical

music to

By Kate Luce

Oftentimes, classical music is reserved for concert halls, but for two IU South Bend piano graduates, they are bringing classical music to a wider audience in unexpected places. Anton Zotov and Dimitri Zhgenti launched their own classical concert series, Musica Lanterna, in Southwest Washington.

Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and was granted a Music Talent Award scholarship. IU South Bend was my next step in achieving my goal of higher education in the United States. I have been following a musical path since the young age and continued doing so in the following year,” Zotov says.

Zotov was born and raised in Ukraine. At just the age of six, Zotov’s piano education began. Piano performance became a lifelong passion under the direction of Maryna Matveyeva, Zotov regarded her as one of his first mentors.

While at IU South Bend, Zotov trained under Alexander Toradze and his assistant at the time, Ketevan Badridze.

Badridze is now the interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano at IU South Bend. In 2011, he received his master’s degree in piano performance, but continued to take lessons from Badridze for a year before he applied for his doctorate degree.

During his time in Ukraine, he was actively involved in performing in Nikolaev. At eight, he had his first solo recital with complete “Children’s Album” by P. I. Tchaikovsky and at the age of 12, debuted as a soloist with Grieg Piano concerto in A minor, in special orchestral arrangement by conductor Vladimir Luuk for the Nikolaev State Orchestra of Folk Instruments.

“After completion of my studies at Nikolaev State College of Music, I was awarded a Junior Specialist Diploma with distinction and successfully entered the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music. In 2005, I was invited to join the studio of concert pianist Maxim Mogilevsky at

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The extra lessons and performances paid off for Zotov.

In 2012, he received his Certificate in Performance under George Vatchnadze, also an IU South Bend graduate and former student of Toradze. From there, he continued his studies at Florida State University, where he received his doctorate degree in Piano Performance.

During his time as a doctoral student, he worked as an assistant at Florida State University and was involved in many aspects of the music department.

“My primary responsibilities consisted of collaborative piano work with master and Doctoral students of various instruments, assisting in preparation for lessons, juries, master classes, dress rehearsals and recitals. Among my other duties has been participating in small and large ensembles, such as regular rehearsals and concerts of Women’s Glee Choir, University Symphony Orchestra, and chamber ensembles for students’ degree recitals,” Zotov explains.

In 2019, Zotov joined the music faculty of George Fox University in Newburg, OR. Zotov is an adjunct professor of piano and a staff accompanist to both instrumentalists and choirs. He also worked as a teacher and lecturer at Clark County Music Teachers Association, a substitute collaborative pianist at Clark Community College, and music director at the Washougal United Methodist Church.

However, recently Zotov has moved his career in a slightly different direction from teaching and performance. “In recent years, I have continued my career as a solo and collaborative pianist, teacher, and gained extensive administrative experience as a co-owner and manager of the Musica Lanterna Classical Concert Series Project in Vancouver, WA. This is a new and exciting project that I launched together with my friend, colleague, pianist and IU South Bend alumni Dimitri Zhgenti,” Zotov says.

Zhgenti was born and raised in the Tbilisi Republic of Georgia. Much like Zotov, Zhgenti started playing the piano at a very early age and he knew that was his career path.

At the age of nine, he began studying with Medea Javahia and Rusudan Hodjava. In 2002, he moved from Georgia to the United States, where he furthered his education with the piano with Joanna Hodges in Vancouver, WA. He then was accepted to IU South Bend, to study under Toradze and Badridze. While at IU South Bend, Zhgenti received his undergraduate and master’s degree in piano performance.

“I did not really choose piano performance,” Zhgenti recalls. “I started playing the piano as a child and was exposed to music early in my life. It was not a matter of choosing but rather where and with whom would I study was the decision I had to make. For me it was quite easy to choose since I knew who I wanted to study with, and in 2008, I was accepted at the Alexander Toradze Piano Studio at IU South Bend.”

Musica Lanterna is a project unlike anything else, according to the pianists. The goal of this concert series is to bring classical music out of where one might traditionally hear it. Rather, by bringing classical music to neighborhoods where people socialize, relax, and play, this will bring connections to each other and through music.

“We present world-class musicians and partner with local artists, fusing both performance and visual arts into unique and exciting experiences in an intimate setting,” Zotov says.

Musica Lanterna’s concerts are presented in downtown Vancouver, in a contemporary space that can hold up to 250 people. In addition to professional pianists and musicians, Zotov and Zhgenti also invite local, young musicians to participate in the concerts, creating an opportunity to share the stage with professional musicians.

“My former teacher and IU South Bend professor and pianist, Ketevan Badridze, together with her husband, cellist, David Machavariani, took part in our project as guest artists. We are so grateful to be able to hear their outstanding performance and share their artistry with the local southwest Washington community. This project gives me a lot of new opportunities to meet with new people, expand experience in arts administration and share my love of music with greater audiences,” Zoltov says.

There were six concerts planned for the 2019-20 season, with guest artists from across the United States and abroad.

“We were able to run four highly successful concerts before the Washington State stay at home order took place and had to cancel our April and May concerts due to a public events ban,” Zoltov explains.

Although the pandemic did affect their concert series, Musica Lanterna will continue challenging where classical music is performed once it is safe to do so.

For more information, tickets, and updates on Musica Lanterna, head on over to their website https://www. musicalanterna.com/.

Since graduating in 2015, Zhgenti continued his studies with Mark Westcott, an award-winning pianist, and performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 2015 and 2017.

Currently, Zhgenti maintains a full-time private studio, serves on the board of directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and with Zotov, stared the classical concert series Musica Lanterna.

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A long road

By Katie Feehan

Mark Sniadecki, BFA ’15 Integrated New Media Studies, has had a long and winding journey while living his passion for art and media. From achieving a BA in English from IU Bloomington ’01, to seeing a need for drastic change in his corporate career and finding his way to the Integrated New Media Studies (INMS) program, graduating with a BFA degree followed by his MFA from Bloomington ’18.

Sniadecki has now landed a full-time instructor position teaching digital art at the University of Alabama.

After graduating high school in 1997, Sniadecki considered art school, but didn’t feel confident in his abilities at the time. Instead of pursuing a fine arts degree, he completed a BA in English at IU Bloomington, with the intentions of becoming a writer in fiction.

“When I received my degree in May 2001, I still had no clear plan, and moved back to South Bend with my then partner, now spouse, Laura Borlik,” Sniadecki recalls. “The economy was a mess and there weren’t many jobs available, so I took what I could get.”

From that point he found himself working in an office job that offered no outlet for his passion of artistic development or creativity.

“For about seven years my day job was a nightmare of cubicle walls, spreadsheets, and increasing stress from a fast-growing corporate machine,” Sniadecki said. “I became a Senior Billing Analyst. Meanwhile I was making my first experimental forays into digital art in evenings and on weekends, and realized that I needed to drastically change my life or be miserable for the rest of it.”

Faced with the choice of continuing in a career that made him miserable or starting over in a new direction towards what he was passionate about—art—the decision to go back to school became clear for him.

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“Laura and I talked, and I finally quit the office job, took on a couple of parttime retail positions, and went back to school. IU South Bend was located literally right up the street from our house, so it was incredibly convenient to take classes, and a few credits carried over from my Bloomington days, which meant I could focus on art courses. However, everything changed when I took my first summer session course, which was also my first digital media course, taught by Professor Eric Souther. That class changed my entire trajectory,” Sniadecki explains.

During his time at IUSB, Sniadecki cofounded a digital arts student club with fellow-student Sky Santiago, called Arts Codec. The club put on several day shows in the hallways of Northside Hall, setting up projections and television monitors and filling them with student artwork. Along with that, Sniadecki worked part-time in IU South Bend’s Media Services department, which gave him valuable experience producing and editing media.

He also became a counselor during the first residential summer arts camp at IU South Bend for high school students. While working in the summer arts camp he assisted Eric Souther in the classroom and credits this experience as being another stepping-stone on his path to becoming a teacher.

Searching for a grad school program seemed daunting, but the process worked out for Sniadecki. “My family is deeply important to me, so it also kept me in the region, which was another plus. Laura and I relocated to Bloomington.” Sniadecki explained.

After completing his MFA degree, Sniadecki became very fortunate in his job search when a former professor (Rachel Lin Weaver, now at Virginia Tech) alerted him to a teaching position opening up at the University of Alabama, and wrote him a letter of recommendation.

In May 2018, Sniadecki graduated from IU with his MFA, and by August 2018 he and Laura had relocated to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “It was (and still is) difficult to be so far away from family and northern Indiana in general, but the experience I’ve had here is invaluable. My student teaching at IU was a fine starting point but handling four class sections each semester at UA has challenged me in every way, and I’m a better instructor for it.”

Although Sniadecki’s involvement as a teacher slowed his personal art practice, he still tries to make art regularly. Soon he will be developing a more ambitious new piece based on biomorphic 3-D models. As a teacher, former BFA student, and fellow artist, Sniadecki has a few words of advice to incoming freshman as they begin their own paths and artistic endeavors.

“My advice to incoming freshmen is to connect with your professors when you can. I think when we are younger, just out of high school, we tend to see professors as these distant, incomprehensible people or intimidating authority figures,” Sniadecki reflects on his experience at IU South Bend. “Certainly, some compose themselves that way in the classroom, but I think many really long for that genuine connection and discussion with their students.

Universities, especially, are places for us to exchange ideas and learn from each other, and that should go both ways.”

Never stop dreaming: the journey of Juan-Carlos Alarcon

By Cassidy Martenson

Juan-Carlos Alarcon, BME ’19 Music Education, grew up in Elkhart, Indiana when he moved there at eight years old.

Alarcon attended Bristol Elementary, where he came across Mrs. Peterson, his fourth grade teacher, who inspired him to one day follow in her footsteps as an educator.

Dreamers: Voices of Hope Music of Freedom from fellow IU South Bend student Salvador Perez Lopez. The album went on to win three Grammys in 2019. They received great praise for the awareness it raised for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Alarcon has always had a passion for both teaching and performing music.

Now, only a year after graduating from IU South Bend with a degree in music education, Alarcon has been featured on a three-time Grammy Award-Winning album and is currently pursuing his dream of teaching.

Walking onto the stage at the Grammy Awards felt like his greatest accomplishment to date, but Alarcon had to ask himself, “Now, what’s the next level?”

When Alarcon moved to the United States he learned quickly that everything was new, and some things were not easy to adapt to. His fourthgrade teacher did everything in her power to help Alarcon adjust to his new community. She spent time after class helping him learn English and feel more at home in America. Her kindness inspired Alarcon to become a teacher.

He wanted to impact others the way that she impacted him.

While pursuing his degree in Music Education, Alarcon received an offer to participate in the project American

He continued to pursue his dream of becoming an educator and was offered and accepted a position at Roosevelt Elementary in Elkhart, Indiana. For Alarcon, the classroom is his Grammy stage.

“Every single time I walk into the classroom and see my students learning a new scale or whistling the song we learned last week, I feel the same excitement as when I stood on that stage,” Alarcon explains.

Alarcon has achieved his dream of becoming an educator, and inspiring others, but he will not stop there. He wants to continue to grow, dream, and reach more milestones.

“Never stop dreaming. Dream big, dream often and work hard,” Alarcon says.

Alarcon leaves IU South Bend with an impact that will not soon be forgotten.

Michael Harley, director of student teaching and clinical practice and licensing advisor at IU South Bend, oversaw Alarcon in his final steps before becoming an educator. “JuanCarlos is one of the humblest students I have ever met. In every in-person meeting, or by phone call or email, he is always respectful, attentive and proactive. All his evaluations from his university supervisor and cooperating teachers were above the charts. It was my pleasure to have known and worked with Juan-Carlos. I know without a doubt he will have a positive impact on the students he teaches, the teachers he collaborates with and the community he lives in” Harley says.

IU South Bend is hoping that next step of the journey is in the backyard of South Bend, and the community gets to keep a great educator for a bit longer.

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Kolt Sizer, ’19 BFA Fine Arts, has not stopped pushing towards success after graduation. Sizer is currently teaching drawing and painting classes at the South Bend Museum of Art and was accepted into graduate school with a full scholarship from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Sizer recently finished up his undergrade degree at IU South Bend, and his presence will be missed by the Fine Arts department, as well as the School of the Arts.

“I was one of the co-founders and the president of the Fine Arts Club at IU South Bend, and we raised $25,000 for the Northern Indiana Food Bank as one of our biggest accomplishments together. Now, I am working at the South Bend Museum of Art teaching classes. It’s a non-profit organization, providing art lessons to the community, something I really want to do” Sizer explains.

Before IU South Bend, Sizer received his associate degree at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) and then began working at a tattoo parlor in Mishawaka shortly after.

“I decided that I didn’t want to continue to be a tattoo artist.

I was not that great at what I was doing, and the passion was missing from my work. I had only done a couple dozen tattoos, and mostly working on fake skin or grapefruit. I didn’t feel confident in my art skills as a tattoo artist” Sizer recalls.

This led Sizer to look into the Fine Arts department at IU South Bend. He first took fundamental 2-D drawing to see what the program was like. The Fine Arts department welcomed Sizer to the program, and that passion that was missing was reborn. Sizer’s passion has led him to teaching others the joy of art.

Sizer has been working at the South Bend Museum of Art since 2016. Because of his commitment and work ethic, the museum is allowing him to oversee and teach some classes.

This also includes a pop-up drawing class that he mentors.

As his graduation from IU South Bend drew near, Sizer began looking at graduate school, and applied to five universities.

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“I have received a full-ride scholarship offer from Bowling Green State University, which is still blowing my mind. I visited the campus, met the professors and everything just clicked for me. I am extremely excited to start this chapter of my life. That wouldn’t have been possible without IU South Bend and the amazing support from the faculty and staff of the School of the Arts” Sizer says.

Sizer will begin the next step in his academic journey this fall, as he works towards his MFA in painting and drawing.

Sizer is determined to teach and help the community once he graduates from Bowling Green.

“I would love to have a studio practice. Part of the graduate program I applied to, I get teaching experience through and, I am sure, some collegiate level teaching or nonprofit work.

I would love to start a nonprofit someday. In the South Bend area, we only have one or two” Sizer recalls.

South Bend Museum of Art is the biggest art nonprofit in the area, and next would be in St. Joseph, Michigan at the Box Factory of Arts.

“If I were to start my career in this area of Indiana, I would like to eventually try starting another nonprofit where more people can exhibit works. I’d like to try and expand that.

Honestly, just try to connect the community more. There are so many great artists in the South Bend area” Sizer explains.

At IU South Bend, fine arts students are required to take art classes outside of their concentration, making them well-rounded in more than one area of art. Sizer used this to his own advantage, becoming established in painting and drawing, sculpture and printmaking.

“One of my favorite things about the program at IU South Bend is you have to work interdisciplinary. So, I am a painting and drawing major. However, I still was able to minor in

Kolton Sizer, painting a successful life after graduation By: Madison Ward

sculpture because I fell in love with that area too. I also did printmaking classes. I feel like I am pretty well-rounded in a few fields, which is something that has helped build my confidence for what’s next in my journey” Sizer says.

IU South Bend excels in creating opportunities for their students. The fine arts program has art shows, solo exhibitions, and provides resources for residencies. While attending the University, Sizer was able to have one art show a year. With the help of the faculty, he did two residencies, one at the South Bend Museum of Art and another at Paul Artspace in St. Louis, MO. In offering so many opportunities, this also allows the student to build rapport with the faculty. The smaller class sizes at IU South Bend provides much more interaction than you would get at a bigger college. Sizer used this to his advantage and built a strong relationship with professors such as Ron Monsma, associate professor of fine arts, and William Tourtillotte, lecturer in fine arts.

“Working with Ron Monsma was great. He is the type of professor who pushes you, so hard, that he is a pain in your butt. He pushes you really hard and sometimes you just feel like you are not getting it, but he does a really good job at allowing you to learn from your mistakes and guiding you towards your goals. He really helps you grow as a person and an artist” Sizer recalls.

Tourtillotte also played a pivotal role in the process of getting Sizer where he wanted to be as an artist. “Bill has given me so much contact information. He really has gone out of the way to help students, especially me. He is always introducing us to different artists as connections in the community. Because with art, a lot of it is who you know and putting yourself out there to talk to new people. That’s how you learn a lot from art” Sizer says.

All the help from the staff and faculty at IU South Bend, and the strong work ethic and talents of Sizer have helped him make those connections within the art community. IU South Bend helped Sizer understand how much the art community can do for one another.

Sizer is very grateful to all that he has accomplished with the help of IU South Bend and their faculty. He has left his mark on the program, the school and the community. It’s no surprise to say that the entire community of South Bend will be rooting for him while he is attending Bowling Green, with the hope he will bring his many talents and expertise back to this community when he finishes graduate school. Sizer could be beneficial to the community and to young aspiring artists.

Overall, Sizer just wants art students to do what they do best–make art.

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Katie Madonna Lee

By Katie Feehan

Collaborating, composing, and creating are just a few ways you can find Katie Madonna Lee, Master of Music in composition ’19, spending both her professional and spare time. Lee is currently focusing much of her creative energy on producing and recording her musical, Irish Catholic which is in the pre-production stage. The musical has been both an exciting endeavor and one of many great musical accomplishments Lee has worked on recently.

Lee was drawn to IU South Bend after working with professors such as, Dr. Jorge Muñiz, interim dean Raclin School of the Arts, music professor of composition and theory, and Ryan Olivier, assistant professor of music. Lee feels that, “with music programs it is more about the teacher than the overall program.”

After having met with several music schools and professors of composition, Muñiz stood out to her as a composition professor who really cared about her artistic development; “He encouraged all of his students to develop their own voice.

With composition, that can be rare. All his music students sound different from one another – a sign of an effective teacher. After being a student in his composition studio, I applied to the Music program as a full-time composition student. Dr. Jorge Muñiz and Dr. Jennifer Muñiz, assistant professor of music, were so wonderful to work with, a real power team,” Lee explains.

Although her passion for music was clear, Lee also recounts that there were many challenges during her time as a graduate student, including exhaustion and financial stress.

She looks back on those times as challenging, pointing out that, “most of the challenges were money related. Music school is very demanding timewise and it is hard to find a part-time job that can work with your schedule. There were times when I did not have food to eat and ate potato chips every day or hoped someone would feed me. My part-time job did not pay well and added more stress on to my life at the time. Money problems were a huge conflict for me and other students,” Lee recalls.

As a student being financially stretched and pressed for time, Lee does wish her time as a graduate student could have included more classes that didn’t focus on actual composition, but having overcome such challenges has benefited her in the end.

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“The best experiences, the experiences in which I took life lessons from and gained the most skills were from Dr. Muñiz studio lessons, composer’s forum, Dr. Olivier’s electronic music classes and the IUSB Audio/Visual Collective (AVC). I highly recommend getting into the AVC ensemble that Dr. Olivier directs. Supportive creative people – it is truly a forwardthinking ensemble. Any class that Dr. Olivier teaches will be a worthwhile challenge both creatively and academically.

I discovered I am very passionate about social issues and electronic music. That was a major turning point for me; working with EC/21 on my piece “The Immigrants” and the IUSB Philharmonic on “Disco Demolition” which were both major milestones for me, musically. Along with that, studying voice with Dr. Caraman, visiting professor in music, and working with Dr. Boucher, collaborative pianist, during my recital were nourishing moments. Dr. Jennifer Muñiz’s music theory classes are outstanding as well,” Lee explains. Lee was also able to study piano with Ketevan Badridze, interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano – that is a cherished moment for Lee. Lee describes herself as a creative restless spirit who is always moving and doing, and since graduating in 2019, she has been busy working on many different projects in addition to recording for her musical, Irish Catholic.

One accomplishment Lee has achieved is collaborating and working with Grammy Award winning Conductor David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony. Her own musical works have also been performed by musicians both nationally and internationally. The new music duo, Transient Canvas, performed her piece “Tiny” at the Charlotte New Music Festival, and another musical piece of Lee’s, “Rising Water” was performed at HighSCORE festival in Pavia, Italy.

“I have been doing a lot of traveling! Recently, I returned from a composer’s residency in Austin, Texas, ‘Keep Composers Weird’, which was so exciting. Austin is an amazing city and so supportive of live music. The Texas Music Office made me an Honorary Texan while I was there, for writing a piece at the Blanton Museum of Art entitled, ‘Knuckles ’97’. The only thing that could have topped that experience was if Willy Nelson and Matthew McConaughey showed up to my officiation,” Lee says.

In her most recent musical accomplishment, Lee has been selected for the Fresh Ink Festival this June, where she will work alongside major international composer, Jennifer Higdon. The festival offers artists a great opportunity to hone their skills and create with other talented people.

Communicating the benefits of an IU South Bend education

By Cassidy Martenson

The Communication Studies Department at IU South Bend hosted its first Communication Studies Day for potential students on March 6. This event allowed students to gain a better understanding of how the department functions within the university, familiarize themselves with professors in the department, and have a taste of key educational concepts in each major.

This day of outreach was created by Cory Iwaszewski, media and community outreach manager for the Raclin School of the Arts, and it was inspired by the Fine Arts Department’s Fine Arts Day, which also allows local high school students to have one-on-one interaction with the department and professors.

The day brought in juniors and seniors who take part in Riley High School’s audio/video production class taught

by Tim Richardson. The students in the RHS class create and produce their own newscast titled, “Buzz in the Bend.” The students learn to write scripts, film newscasts, edit footage, produce shows, and more. The class is also open to students across SBCSC including Adams, Washington, and Clay high schools. Students from all schools that are enrolled in Richardson’s class attended Communication Studies Day. The goal of the event for the Raclin School of the Arts was to connect the Communication Studies Department with interested high school students from the surrounding community. The School of the Arts takes great pride in being able to act as a resource for any student that needs them in the area.

By studying communication at IU South Bend, the students are taught how to

further develop their skills that are in high demand in the job market today.

However, most importantly the day was created to let the students know there is a department at IU South Bend that can help them reach that next level and help them prepare for a career in this field.

The event began with faculty and student introductions before leading into breakout sessions that focused on each concentration of a Communication Studies degree. The groups were broken up into journalism, media and society, public relations and organizational communication. These breakout sessions allowed the students to get the core feel of the individual concentrations. They participated in games, case studies, and interactive discussions with the Communication Studies Department faculty to further their knowledge of the department, and what life in college is like. For that presentation, the faculty called on the Admissions department to aid the discussion.

“It felt like, overall, it went really well.

The students had a lot of energy and it felt like it kind of resonated really well with us, faculty, to be more energetic to match their energy. It was a really great experience overall to interact with them in a different way than we do with our traditional students,” Diona Eskew, Visiting Lecture in Communication Studies, says.

One student asked the panel, “What is the most stressful part of college?” To which the panel got into a discussion regarding the stressors of a college education and ways to navigate it.

“I had a pretty good discussion with one [student]. He said he was definitely coming here, and he had a good amount of questions,” says Eric Goodzey, Communication Studies student.

The Communication Studies Department at IU South Bend is dedicated to helping students navigate the twists and turns of a college education. As the panel discussed, college can be very stressful for students. However, the faculty in the department is always there to assist students. Students have access to one on one advising, office hours, and classes led by experienced faculty.

“We are living in a very special era where everything is changing,” says Brett Labbe, assistant professor in the Communication Studies Department.

The community at IU South Bend excitedly awaits the changes that the next generation of young scholars will bring to the field of communication.

Students then learned more about the admissions process at IU South Bend and asked current students questions.

While questions about the department were common, students also asked questions about college life in general.

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Music alumna ready for first album

By Kate Luce

Natasha Stojanovska, Master of Music ’11, is producing her first album, putting a spotlight on female composers from Eastern Europe. Composers that Stojanovska will present include: Grazyna Bacewicz and Maria Szymanowska from Poland, Zara Levina from Russia, Dora Pejačević from Croatia, and Bojana Petrovich Aleksova from Macedonia. The album will also feature Stojanovska’s original compositions.

“I am originally from Macedonia, and this is where I started my dedicated musical education with renowned European teachers Nade Stojkova, Margarita Tatarchevska, and Todor Svetiev, at the Music Conservatories of Prilep, Bitola and Skopje. During my bachelor’s studies I moved and continued my education in the States,” Stojanovska explains.

Stojanovska has always had an interest in music. She received her undergraduate degree in Piano Performance at Lynn University, Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Fla. Subsequently, Stojanovska graduated from IU South Bend in 2011 with a Master of Music in Piano Performance and stayed to receive her Artist Diploma in 2013.

“I learned Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto when I was 20 years old while working with Dr. Roberta Rust at Lynn University. In addition, a CD recording that I continuously listened to, admired, tried to learn from, and even imitate to the same level, was the album of Alexander Toradze and Valery Gergiev with the Kirov Orchestra. This is what inspired me to visit IU South Bend when I was looking to start my master’s degree. In a way, it was like a dream come true,” Stojanovska remembers.

During her time on campus she was a member of the prestigious IU South Bend Piano Studio. She studied with the celebrated Toradze and his assistant, senior lecturer, Ketevan Badridze. Badridze is now the interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano at IU South Bend. Stojanovska felt musically nurtured, inspired, and motivated by both of the professors, and she proudly represented Toradze’s Piano Studio in a number of performances, competitions, and festivals around the United States, Europe, and Asia.

“I loved being here in South Bend, I was able to practice a lot and focus on my work without much distraction. It was the perfect place for me to grow musically with the great education I was receiving. I loved being able to perform on the Toradze Studio Recitals almost on a monthly basis.

This was just a very motivational experience. In South Bend, I also met my host parents, Dan and Lois Holm, who have become my American family ever since, and I feel blessed to be a part of such a loving and caring environment of South Bend,” Stojanovska shares.

While pursuing her Artist Diploma at IU South Bend, she worked as an assistant in a Music Theory course and as a Collaborative Artist at the University of Notre Dame’s Sacred Music Program. These opportunities gave her the chance to work with two more incredible musicians and mentors, Jorge Muñiz, department chair & professor of music at IU South Bend, and Carmen Helena Téllez, professor of conducting at Notre Dame. Both have influenced her musicianship outside of piano performance; collaboration with Helena Tellez and compositional skills with Muñiz.

It was Helena Téllez, who suggested that Stojanovska take on this album project. From there, Stojanovska researched and discovered all of these female composers from Eastern Europe. In addition, it was Muñiz, who motivated and inspired her musical writing, as she does include two of her own original works.

“Often, these composers were suppressed and overshadowed by prominent male composers at the time.

The reason I have chosen this topic is that these composers lack recognition and they deserve to be acknowledged, appreciated and performed,” Stojanovska explains.

Some of these composers have never been recorded before, and their scores are only found in a few libraries around the world, thus making Stojanovska the first person to record these pieces.

Funding for the album came almost unexpectedly for Stojanovska. She has recently started her “SSS Stojanovska Salon Series” which are intimate and more personal performances for smaller audiences, where people are able to enjoy the music up close. SSS events are usually held in people’s homes who own a performance piano.

After performing a recital at the home of Joan and Yatish Joshi, the couple became the primary sponsors for Stojanovska’ s album. Thus, Stojanovska will be dedicating her album to the memory of Georgina Joshi, who was herself very interested in the works of women composers.

Stojanovska recorded her album at IU South Bends Louise E. Addicott and Yatish J. Joshi Performance Hall in January of 2020 and the album is currently in post-production. The CD’s producer is Helena Téllez and Grammy award winning recording engineer, Dan Nichols.

Stojanovska is currently working towards completion of her Doctorate in Piano Performance and is a member of the Piano Studio of James Giles at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

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Leather Phase:

when music and visuals combine

By Kate Luce

Leather Phase, a local band comprised of college students, are bringing weirdness to the center stage with distorted visuals, scattered noises, and an ever-changing musical genre. The trio takes visuals closely related to their work in Integrated New Media Studies and chaotic sounds to a place unlike anything South Bend, Indiana has seen so far.

is able to contort whatever weird video collage I send him, and it looks fantastic,” Herron says.

The trio includes Jared Herron, BFA ’19 Fine Arts, Jeremy Tittle, BFA ’20 Integrated New Media Studies, and Johnathan Watson, Communication Studies at the University of Phoenix.

Herron covers lead guitar and vocals. Tittle plays the drums and does vocals, and Watson plays bass and vocals.

“I make a lot of the visuals with my old Hi-8 camera and edit them in [Adobe] Premier. It’s a lot of distorted footage of trees, security cameras, and the camcorder just glitching out,” Herron said.

The trio are close friends and have a passion for playing music. Becoming a band seemed like a natural progression to their friendship and interests.

“I think jamming with friends in high school really made me want to play live,” Tittle says.

The trio wanted to bring music to the South Bend community that is unlike anything that has been done before. They wanted to bring something weird to the table, which they have accomplished.

“I feel like the local scene was missing that bit of weirdness that we just attract at times,” Herron recalls.

Leather Phase describes themselves as something along the lines of psychedelic-Punk, punk rock, and acid rock, but they don’t always stick to those genres. Leather Phase is diverse with the sound, and they create music for people who have the same passion for music they have.

“We all like a wide range of sounds and we try to incorporate them in our sound in some sort of distorted way. With the new media elements, I always wanted to incorporate visuals with chaotic sounds. Jeremy is a wiz with programming and

Herron and Tittle work closely together to create the visual components of the performances, leading to a chaotic visual experience that ties directly with their multi-genre theme.

The addition of Integrated New Media components to their music, has pushed both the bands sound design and the visual design of their live sets.

“New media has helped a lot indirectly through learning about sound and performance art. It is definitely the source of the visual elements that are sometimes included in our live sets,” Tittle explains.

One common thread that ties all three Leather Phase musicians together is their enjoyment in creating interesting music together.

“I think it’s just fun getting to play really cool music with some awesome dudes. Getting to meet new people and play at places I’ve never been to is just an awesome feeling,” Watson says.

Leather Phase is currently working on new material and has been setting up a compilation of local bands and artists through Herron’s own label: Leather Phase. To stay up to date with the band, stream them on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, YouTube, and follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @leatherphase. You can also like their Facebook page: Leather Phase.

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born to be

INNOVATIVE Integrated New Media Studies combines art, design, and communication with contemporary digital and computer technologies.

The core curriculum is built on a solid grounding in video and motion media, interactive multimedia and web design, and music/sound production. New media skills prepare you for careers in website design, digital filmmaking and animation, interactive and distance education, and new media art, as well as business applications in product development and training, marketing, sales, and advertising.

For degree offerings and more info about IU South Bend new media programs, visit us on the web at newmedia.iusb.edu.

Integrated New Media student pushed the start of the Investment Club

By Kate Luce

Integrated New Media Studies students are working with business students, to invest real money in ever-changing stocks through the newly formed campus Investment Club.

Students with an interest in investing, learning about stock dividends, and 401K benefits are welcome to join the club. No money is necessary.

Hanah Gerencer, BFA ’20 Integrated New Media Studies, is serving as club president, and started the Investment Club. Gerencer and some business students developed an interest in starting the club after a class with retired business professor, Mark Bradford.

Gerencer has ties to the world of business, as she originally was a business major before she switched to an Integrated New Media Studies degree. She decided that the club was needed on campus.

Bradford, the club’s advisor divided the members into groups. He then gave real

money to each group. The groups then invested the money into many different businesses. It was up to the students to make investment decisions. Currently, students have put their money in a variety of companies from Walt Disney to Tesla to Chipotle.

The Investment Club wants students to learn how to invest in the stock market. The club invests Bradford’s money to help understand the market, and to help students gain the necessary skills to pursue their personal investment goals.

“At a typical meeting, the club will break up into our respective groups and discuss the stocks we are currently holding in our portfolios. For example, many teams hold around five different stocks at a time in which they can buy or sell at our weekly meetings. After learning the best practices of performing stock research, students can successfully research and choose the stock they are interested in,” Gerencer says.

“There is not another club like this on campus that gives students the ability to invest real money in real time. Risktaking is part of the fun of this club as it allows students to experience real-life investing before trying it out [with their own money],” Gerencer says.

At the end of the Spring 2020 semester, the club expected to examine the portfolios and donate the money to a campus charity. In early spring, the team had a gain of $1,013 but the stocks are ever-changing.

The Investment Club typically has meetings in EA 1015 every Wednesday, starting at 5:30 p.m. Most meetings last less than an hour. You can check out Titan Atlas for more information on the club once school resumes this fall.

Although the club started in Fall 2019, they are open to collaborating with other clubs and having guest speakers.

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A journey to find success

By Madison Ward

“I figured I’ll go back to school when I need and/or want to, and now, it’s that time,” says Mark Albin, theater student at IU South Bend, who owns his own nonprofit theatre company called Art 4, with his husband, Aaron Albin. It is one of the few professional regional companies that is able to pay musical theatre artists in the area.

Albin is a nontraditional student at IU South Bend, coming back to school after ten years of acting full-time in Chicago and working as an elementary teacher.

For Albin, his experiences at IU South Bend are directly helping him with running his company Art 4.

“My husband and I are co-founders. He is the Executive Director, and I am the Artistic Director. For each of our shows, we are both active in the process. I handle the stage direction and choreography, and his background is on the music side of things. He has his doctorate in orchestral conducting, so he does the vocal coaching and he handles the pit orchestra for all our shows. We also both share a background in arts administration and nonprofit management,” Albin explains.

Art 4 hosts performances regularly throughout the local community. In November, Art 4 showcased Ghost Quartet, written by Tony Nominated Composer, Dave Malloy, in an event that included a whiskey tasting and folk music mixed with jazz.

Art 4’s staff is comprised of Albin, his husband, and “a handful of really amazing volunteers.”

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“It is really just my husband and I who run things. So, we are the custodians, we are the business managers, we are the fundraising team. And for a non-profit, that’s where a lot of our focus goes, raising the funds. Anytime that someone donates, it makes a huge impact on the way that we operate, because the primary mission for Art 4 is to pay local artists,” Albin says.

This year, the company was able to hire lighting and costume designers. All of the actors, stage managers, and instrumentalists are key components to the show, and some of them are even IU South Bend alumni. Stage manager/ costume coordinator, Emily Chidalek, lighting designer, Nicholas Sikorski, and actor Mimi Bell have all attended IU South Bend and participated in showcases of Art 4.

“I am proud of a lot of what we are doing. I think it is really cool to be working with my best friend every day. I am really proud of the community that we are making. We are able to provide opportunities to people who have not had opportunities to work in a professional setting before and be paid for their work. And I think when you are valued in that way, it is a very empowering thing that could inspire you to take larger actions within your life, so you advance your dreams and the direction you want to go.

“We had two artists who worked with us, in our first season, who, after working with us for our first two shows, they had this awakening within themselves and realized that they are good enough to go out there and give their dreams a shot. They both moved to Chicago, and both booked gigs almost instantaneously. I think that is the

magic behind giving somebody an opportunity like this, is that they are able to see inside of them—what others see about them,” Albin explains.

Albin and Art 4 enjoy the opportunity to be a careercatalyst for the actors that come through the doors of their company. With this amazing opportunity, local actors no longer have to leave the area to begin a successful career.

In addition to his company, Albin also helps choreograph at Clay High School about twice a year for their musicals, and Aaron served as music director for Evil Dead: The Musical which was performed at IU South Bend. His involvement within the community has been nothing but a great experience.

“It is just a cool dynamic that we are able to be saturated in the community from all angles and that the people around us have embraced that aspect of who we are and what we are able to bring to the table,” Albin says.

“I think I just discovered things that I was passionate about and continued to say yes to them. I am a pretty lucky person, and I realize that I’m lucky to have found success in the things that I really love to do. It definitely took hard work, and it wasn’t a cake-walk or anything like that, but I just listened to my gut, and I think everybody has a gut instinct, an internal compass, that, when you are able to tap into it, it leads you into really fascinating directions,” Albin asserted.

Now, Albin is continuing to learn and grow, from his classes at IU South Bend to the ins and outs of Art 4. Any obstacle that he faces is an opportunity to learn, and learning is always a constant thing for Albin. However, he’s learning about the things he enjoys the most.

Albin concluded with some advice, “If we just spend more of our time and focus on the things that give us joy, then I think that you can’t go wrong in your journey to find success.” For more information about Art 4, please visit art4sb.org.

Albin has been lucky enough to have touched so many lives through theatre, and he does not take that lightly.

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The Many Faces of Patrick Watterson

By Parker Norris

Actor. Composer. Dancer. Musician.

Pianist. Set Designer. Peer Mentor.

Office worker. Student. Individually, these titles would be significant on their own in explaining aspects of a person’s identity. When viewed together, they paint a complete portrait of a talented student whose experiences at Indiana University South Bend have shaped him into who he is today. The student is Patrick Watterson, BFA ’20 Musical Theatre, whose time in college has expanded his ability and talent in the performing arts.

However, such an avenue seemed like a long shot to Watterson several years ago. He was home-schooled for almost all his primary and secondary education.

As a result of his home education, he turned to other approaches of trying to develop a social identity. The most significant of these undertakings was his discipline of learning how to play multiple instruments, such as guitar, organ, and piano.

“I remember that my church’s band already had a keyboardist when I became interested, so instead I learned how to play the guitar, as that spot was open, 28

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and I just wanted to feel like I had a place where I belonged,” Watterson says.

This yearning to belong is one of the core values that has led Watterson through his many artistic endeavors beyond music, including his prolific work in theater both as an actor and a musician.

“Theater came into my life when I really had not much else outside of homeschool and I learned not only about acting or set building, but I also learned how to interact with others. This helped me socially become aware of how to be a better person and react in life, as I did not experience many of the typical emotional moments that occur in school,” he recalled.

Watterson’s abundant work in theater throughout his adolescent years and his passion for music ultimately led to him applying to and being accepted into the Theatre and Dance program in the Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend. This not only gave him a place to hone his many artistic and creative skills, but also allowed him to have many opportunities in various clubs and organizations on campus.

“Although initially daunting to me, I found that college was a place where I could be in control of my selfeducation. I have had experiences at IU South Bend, specifically in the School of the Arts, which have given me a greater understanding of art. Whether it be through music, acting, or anything else; I want to touch people’s emotions and allow them to truly feel through performing arts,” Patrick says.

This included joining the campus Tap and Kick Line, where Watterson was introduced to Karen Pajor, Dance Instructor at IU South Bend. The Kick Line performs all over campus and at numerous local community events.

“Patrick is one of the kindest students I have ever met. He is talented in so many areas and is always willing to share his talents when asked. He is very hardworking and a great role model to other students. I feel very fortunate to have had him as a member of the IU South Bend Tap and Kick Line” Pajor, explained.

While Watterson is known for his many stage talents, he has also worked as a Peer Mentor during the

summer months. Peer Mentors are very important to any University campus, as they help welcome new incoming students at New Student Orientations. Rick Dennie, Director of Student Support, is in charge of these orientations. “I have had the privilege of working with Patrick as an Orientation Leader and seeing him on stage in various performances.

The same joy and enthusiasm he exudes on stage also carries over in his interactions with students during Orientation, making them feel welcome and proud to be a part of the incoming class” Dennie recalled.

The School of the Arts knew they had a very special person on their hands and made sure to offer Watterson another job working in the Arts office during the semester. This job entailed being one of the first faces of contact anyone sees when they arrive to the office.

Watterson began the job in the office immediately after a summer of peer mentoring, and instantly fit in with the Arts staff and faculty.

“Patrick has worked in the Arts office for the past three years. He has been

one of our best student workers. He always has a positive attitude and willingness to help with any projects or duties that were assigned to him. He is so patient with other students who are lost or don’t quite understand all the details of being a college student.

He is respectful and happy to share information with others. His smile and positive attitude set him apart from many his age. He has left his mark on the Raclin School of the Arts” says Pam Mendenhall, office manager.

Arts Student Services Coordinator Tamea Rector, who hired Watterson as a Peer Mentor and has gotten to know him well during his time in the School of the Arts, holds him in high esteem. “One of the perks of my job is that I become acquainted with some truly memorable and remarkable students. Patrick Watterson is one of those. Patrick has worked hard to get himself to this point in his personal development and academic career; and it hasn’t all come easily. I admire his tenacity and determination as well as his abundant talent and work ethic. I look forward to the mark he will make on the world when he leaves IU South

Bend. It’s been a joy to have shared in a small part of his journey.”

While Watterson’s time at IU South Bend is close to reaching the final curtain, his impact both as a student and an artist will continue to be felt by those who have known him through this journey. He has grown beyond his own limitations and has realized that the performing arts is not only a field that he enjoys, but it is also something that he can make a living in, thanks to his education.

The world, which once seemed intimidating to Watterson, has grown to become the stage where his next act of life will play out. He may someday be known as a prominent character actor or an accomplished musician. However, for those at IU South Bend, he will be remembered as a truly remarkable student who not only brought down the house after every performance, but also brought up the spirits of everyone around him.

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Long-term body on display for a limited time

By Kate Luce

Much like the cells that come together to form every part of our bodies, a simple line can create something larger, all interconnecting to create a body of work.

Biff Vigil, BFA Fine Arts, hosted her solo art exhibit titled, long-term body, at LangLab back in December 2019.

The show featured more than 50 works featuring a variety of mediums including printmaking, ink wash drawings, sculptures, and writing. For Vigil, these pieces demonstrate a celebration of the heart, mind, and body.

“I have had this thought on my mind for a year or so that I wanted to have another solo show. I was really struggling to have some of the relief prints work, so I couldn’t schedule a show until I had a way to print all of those prints. As soon as I figured out how to get all of those printed and get them done before the end of the year, I started driving around town and looking for different places,” Vigil says.

She looked mostly at renting places that were buildings and offices.

Unfortunately, she could not find a logical place, but Vigil was able to get into contact with LangLab. This was her second show at LangLab; her first one was in May of 2018, titled How to Let Go and Love the Void.

Vigil has been working on this current collection of pieces since the winter of 2018 but didn’t officially start rolling out the prints until February 2019.

Since then, there have been a number of themes in this collection that have been a part of these collections.

However, all the work falls into the theme of long-term body.

“The title, long-term body, is a distillation of this idea that I have been working with: If the earth is our shared physical body, the culture in a broad sense could be considered our shared emotional body or a collection of our

shared mental health. I just think that when you put that in perspective for people, it changes how they act. If you are really able to feel the Earth as your larger body that you have to share with all living things, then that’s going to change your behavior,” Vigil describes.

This idea may seem simple, but Vigil explains that it could be a difficult concept to grasp. She says that art can help connect people to the core of the emotion she is trying to portray.

“I think we have come a long way.

People are more concerned with the health of our earth body. People don’t have the same reverence with what they put out in the world as far as images and ideas that you share with people.

People do not have the same sense of responsibility when it comes to creating culture. That, to me, undermines everything,” Vigil explains.

Although the show could have been pushed to later 2020, Vigil believes that life is unpredictable and it would be best if the show was out to view as soon as possible.

“Death has been a big part of this past year. As I become more in the participation of life, I am more acutely aware that I am going to die. Life is poignant, and I want to do as much and participate in as many great experiences as I can. It’s like oh, I could have the show next year. That would be a more reasonable pace, but I was like ‘no, I can do this,’” Vigil says.

To her, long-term body feels more or less like her BFA exhibition. The show brings closure for a year’s worth of work. Vigil had planned the BFA exhibition this past spring, but it was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

broader way, hold together a theme, and how to frame work, prepare a statement, just like that whole process.

I think I definitely learned a lot about the process in my first solo show, but I didn’t have the resources. I didn’t know how to frame, and I didn’t know what I wanted my signature to look like. So, this is kind of like my BFA Show,” Vigil says.

Three of Vigil’s CryptoArt video pieces that depicted her take on the artist’s landscape, still life, and self-portrait were on display at the Zhu Bing Ren Copper Gallery in Shanghai, China.

She took the opportunity to make gifs that depicted these traditions but used different programs to give different effects to the work.

“For the Cryptoart show in Shanghai I created 3 gifs using personal video footage that I altered using LamdaVue’s Eulerian algorithms to magnify subtle motion, allowing us to visualize minutia such as breath and even the pulse. For each piece of art submitted, the curator minted a non-fungible token (ERC-721 NFT) on the Ethereum blockchain network so the art can be collected, and its authenticity can be cryptographically verified. The data for each piece of art is replicated in every node across the Ethereum blockchain, which is unenclosable, meaning it can’t be tampered with to obscure the data. Only in recent years did it become possible for us to share global consensus on the state and authenticity of data in a fully peer-to-peer fashion.

Just a little experiment on the bleeding edge of decentralized technology in art!” Vigil explained.

To view Vigil’s work, check out her website, www.biffvigil.com.

“Emotionally, long-term body is kind of like my coming of age. I think a big point of the BFA show is to think about how to present your work in a 31

A life changing performance

for IU South Bend’s Choir

By Tori Wilson

Back in September 2019, the director of the choir, Jeshua Franklin, received a phone call from the director of The Lion King Broadway production. Some of the cast would be in town on September 30, to promote the anticipated spring 2020 performance of The Lion King, which will be performed at the Morris Performing Arts Center. The cast needed a small group of singers for back up to perform on stage with them during the promotion. Of course, Franklin agreed without hesitation because it would be a great opportunity for his choir to gain valuable experience with a Broadway production and create an everlasting memory for his students.

When asked how it felt to receive such a phone call, Franklin said, “It was a chance for the students to interact with Broadway performers. Although it did not hit the choir students at 32

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first that they would be performing alongside Broadway performers, as the preparation began, the students were eager for their cameo alongside the very popular Broadway production.”

The performance took place at the Morris, in front of an audience of 200–300 people. The choir formed a semi-circle around the performers and showed the audience what they have been working on for this special night.

Franklin prepared the choir for the performance in about 10 days with three rehearsals. Fortunately, the music was not difficult to learn. On the night of performance, Franklin had the joy of watching it all unfold.

Franklin said this experience was one he will never forget. He was proud of his choir for putting in all the

preparation for the show and seeing their involvement in a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Sometimes, you think about how huge Broadway productions are, and it’s neat to realize that they do what we do but at a different level,” Franklin states.

He mentioned that this performance was a great way to get out into the South Bend community and to represent IU South Bend. “Opportunities like this help bring the group together, and I hope there will be more opportunities for them to do things like this in the future,” Franklin says.

It was an opportunity that the students and Franklin will not soon forget.

born to INSPIRE Our students were born for greatness. They aspire to perfect their crafts, excel in their disciplines, and share their passions with the world.

At the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts we believe in preparing our students for success and in providing them with opportunities to make a difference. We believe in celebrating the beauty that can be found in the arts and applauding the differences that unite us.

Ultimately, we believe gifts like yours help support and inspire our students, whether it be through scholarships, program funding, or by helping us provide the best learning environment possible.

We are thankful for the generous benefactors who appreciate the arts at IU South Bend and have given in the past, and for those who will help support our educational and programing goals in the future.

Please consider showing your support by giving to one of the of the funds below or learn more about giving at IU South Bend by visiting iusb.edu/development IU South Bend Raclin School of the Arts String Scholarship I320013228 IU South Bend Raclin School of the Arts Steinway Fund I320012898 IUSB Arts I320003727 Robert W. Demaree, Jr. Scholarship I320003807 Upstage Theater and Recital Hall Renovations I320003871 Raclin School of the Arts Performance Fund I320012088 IU South Bend Piano Studio I380010554 Harold and Doreen Zisla Art Scholarship I380010559 Langland Fine Arts Scholarship Endowment P370007893 Virginia Morrow Voice Scholarship Endowment P370007945 Barton Music Technology Endowment P370007946 Bradley A. Thornburg Memorial Scholarship for the Visual Arts Endowment P370007960 IU South Bend Bartok Quartets Fund I320003854

The Indiana University Foundation solicits tax-deductible private contributions for the benefit of Indiana University and is registered to solicit charitable contributions in all states requiring registration. For our full disclosure statement, see go.iu.edu/89n

From a temporary option to a PROUD ALUMNA

By Kylie Campbell

It was never the plan to stay, but Katelyn Firestein, BA ’20 Communication Studies, took her time at IU South Bend to become a leader. She had the opportunity to achieve success.

While attending IU South Bend had never been in Firestein’s plans, she had applied at universities across the country, which is quite the opposite of attending a regional campus right here in town. However, after graduating high school, she realized she was not quite ready to leave home, so she decided to take a gap year and work in town before leaving for school. Firestein was not sure exactly what she wanted to do with her college career and that scared her.

She was so inspired by the introduction to Women's and Genders Studies class, taught by Christina Gerken, that she decided she needed to make this a bigger part of her college career. Firestein was unwavering in her determination to declare Women’s and Gender Studies as either a second major or a minor. Along with her major in Communication Studies with a concentration in Health Communication, Firestein declared a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, to keep her on track for her set graduation date of May 2020.

Firestein insists she loves her minor and major equally.

Firestein discovered The Preface, IU South Bend’s official student newspaper, shortly into her time at the university.

She joined The Preface as a staff writer in the spring semester of her sophomore year as well.

That gap year never happened, thanks to the encouragement and a little bit of persuasion from family, particularly According to Firestein, “What her sister, who was in the really altered my experience Communication Studies What really altered my at IU South Bend, is when Program at Saint Mary’s I started working for The College. Firestein’s experience at IU South Bend, Preface as a staff writer. That family, a steady support is when I first realized I was system, convinced her is when I started working for capable of doing more than to enroll part-time The Preface as a staff writer. just taking classes.” at IU South Bend to avoid falling behind “IU South Bend was enough and pushing back her of a commuter campus that graduation date. people went about their own business, but enough of a typical university that there were student organizations, Firestein explains, “At first, I wasn’t thrilled, and I thought I coffee shops, and things to get involved with on campus. I would eventually transfer. Going to high school in the area, didn’t take full advantage of all of this right away, but once I IU South Bend is always stigmatized as just another regional did, I began to realize how much I would thrive at this place.” campus.”

“

”

To Firestein’s surprise, IU South Bend had other plans for her. Firestein grew to love IU South Bend, more than she had ever expected. The university dazzled her with this beautiful landscape and convenient location, but what really blew her away was the welcoming atmosphere in the Communication Studies Department.

Firestein loved her professors and classmates, and she built many meaningful relationships and friendships. She truly found her niche in Communication Studies.

While taking classes that fulfilled her Gen Ed curriculum requirements in the fall of her sophomore year, Firestein stumbled into and fell deeply in love with Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS).

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Firestein had been inspired by her time at The Preface and Gerken’s teachings of her intro class to WGS, but she had no idea that April Lidinsky, director of the Master of Liberal Studies and associate professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, was right around the corner, just waiting to add fuel to her spark of inspiration. Lidinsky lives and breathes activism.

Lidinsky had approached Firestein and disclosed that the Queer Straight Alliance needed new leadership to continue as an active club on campus. Firestein, ready to take on any challenge given to her, agreed to become the president of QSA. Firestein truly acted as a leader of this sanctuary, initiating thoughtful weekly themes such as Coming Out Stories,

Bisexual Visibility Week, and Trans Awareness Week. Every meeting began with Firestein going around the room and asking everyone to share one good thing and one bad thing about their week. These meetings meant a lot to many.

Firestein understood what was in front of her, an opportunity to truly make a difference both on campus and in the local LGBTQ+ community. Firestein coordinated a Queer Speaker Series with LGBTQ+ professionals in the area. This series was a platform for successful LGBTQ+ professionals to speak and answer questions from students.

The club opened the speaker series to the entire campus, advertising through Titan Atlas.

Up until this point, the QSA averaged about five members attending the weekly meetings. The speaker series, however, brought in closer to 20 attendees per panel.

Firestein describes the impact the QSA had on her, stating, “running the QSA not only gave me more confidence as a leader, but inspired me to be more educated and involved with the LGBTQ+ community. I identify as pansexual but until the QSA, I really had not connected with a lot of other LGBTQ+ individuals. It helped me to be more confident in my identity and to realize the struggles other queer people face.”

Under Firestein’s leadership, the Queer Straight Alliance, well-deservingly, won the Student Organization of the Year award in the 2019 Student Leadership Awards.

Firestein was quickly offered the opportunity to lead the school’s newspaper as the editor-in-chief. Firestein felt the experience was too good to pass up and jumped at it.

Firestein points out, “I have always loved writing. So, when the opportunity became available, it was a no-brainer. That helped me develop more of my communication skills and helped me find my voice as a writer.”

and Kentucky, took me under her wing. I worked as a recruitment intern and started the first steps for creating a Generation Action Chapter on IU South Bend’s campus, which is an opportunity for college students to get involved in reproductive rights advocacy.

“I always thought it was cheesy when people would talk about how they ‘found themselves’ in college- but I really did. I found my voice. I found me. I discovered new passions and gained confidence. I met incredible people. The faculty and staff are wonderful and provide so many resources to succeed. The students I met at IU South Bend are incredibly serious about their education; driven leaders,” she adds.

Firestein will move from being a student leader to a community leader, and her presence at IU South Bend will be missed, but not forgotten.

Firestein was later awarded the Arts Excellence Award in Writing from the Raclin School of the Arts in April of 2019.

Her passion for activism never left. After becoming the editor-in-chief, Firestein interned with Planned Parenthood the spring semester of her senior year.

Firestein explains, “Madeline Higgins, Regional Field Organizer with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana

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Tap and Kick Line graduates dance their way to the top!

By Kate Luce

For eight years, the IU South Bend Tap and Kick Line has been dazzling the community with their tap performances. The dancers are all IU South Bend students, representing a variety of majors, but with one thing in common—the love of dance.

Karen Pajor, Tap and Kick Line instructor at IU South Bend, has been teaching these students for many years. Participating in the Kick Line has given these students the opportunity to rehearse and perform together and has offered a special bonding experience that they all agree has contributed to their success in both academics and in the world beyond the Kick Line.

The Kick Line has proven to be a vital piece of each of their success stories.

Many former members reflect on what it meant to them and the effect it has had on their lives since college.

Jillian Rucker, BA ’14 General Studies, is currently a dance instructor for the YMCA in upstate New York. As a dance instructor, she is using her experiences to enrich her profession.

Originally, she joined the Kick Line because her parents encouraged her to.

“My biggest cheerleaders in my life are my mom and my dad. I was interested in the Kick Line, but they really cheered me on. I auditioned the day after my father died because I knew that’s what he would want me to do,” Rucker says.

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“Kick Line gave me an outlet outside of my degree requirements and motivated me to do well in classes, so I could stay with the group,” Angelina says.

As of now, Angelina is a full-time graduate student at Ohio University pursuing a master’s degree in Costume Design and Technology.

Nicholas Sikorski, BFA ’19 Theatre Design with a concentration in Lighting Design, did not have to go too far to find a profession that he thoroughly enjoys. Currently, Sikorski is working as the Performing Arts Director at Penn-Harris High School.

Before joining the Kick Line, Sikorski was in the IUSB Dance Company and was performing in West Side Story at the Morris Performing Arts Center.

Pajor wanted to expand the group into a co-ed group, so he and two others joined the Kick Line.

“At the time, I was exploring different types of dance styles and tap was one that really spoke to me, so I enrolled in Tap 1 and have been tapping ever since. What made me join the group was my friends; they also were recruited to the Kick Line,” Sikorski says.

While in Kick Line, she gained many friends that supported her through it all.

His time with the group resulted in much more than just dancing.

With Kick Line, Sikorski became a more disciplined student, showing up to class on time and completing his work. In all, it helped Sikorski graduate. It was because of the group’s positive attitude, and the view that nothing is impossible, that carried on past college life.

Samantha Angelina, BFA ’19 Musical Theatre Performance, originally joined because she enjoyed tap dancing and wanted to continue working on those skills. However, as she continued to stay in the group, it was much more than extra practice.

“If it weren’t for how close we all become from being in the group along with Karen’s guidance and care for her students, I probably would not have finished school. Before Kick Line, I was not the best student in terms of completing work or coming to classes

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regularly. It wasn’t until I joined the Kick Line that I became more disciplined, and I have Karen to thank for that,” Sikorski reveals.

In addition to graduating, Sikorski also met his soon-to-be wife, Rebecca Kenna. Kenna joined in 2014 and met Sikorski.

“There was just something about her that stood out from any woman on the planet, she was and still is absolutely stunning. If it wasn’t for Kick Line I would have never met the woman of my dreams,” Sikorski shares.

Rebecca Kenna, BFA ’17 Integrated New Media Studies, is currently the lead graphic designer for Coach Guard in Elkhart.

The decision to join the IU South Bend Kick Line came easy for Kenna.

At seven years old, she began tap dancing. As it came time for college, Kick Line was a way to keep up with her tap skills.

However, Kick Line brought Kenna much more than new dance routines and tap skills. It provided her with much needed positivity that made college enjoyable.

“Joining the Kick Line helped me as a student because I was surrounded by such positive people, Karen Pajor especially. She’s such a great role model and genuinely wants each one of us to succeed. Starting off the day, three days a week, with an instructor so full of energy and positivity really helped me to enjoy my college experience.”

Kenna was a shy person, but with the positive energy of Pajor and her fellow students, it was easier for her to open up and create lasting friendships.

One of these friendships happened to be with Sikorski, who now is Kenna’s future husband.

“I think it’s safe to say that Kick Line changed my life for the better, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t joined and met the best friends that I have now. I love the path of life I’m on right now, and I have to give a lot of credit to Kick Line. I found the love of my life, my soon-to-be husband by joining. Nicholas and I may not have been that close in the beginning, but I’m thankful that Kick Line brought us together and closer as the years went by,” Kenna says.

Leeah Killingbeck, BS ’15 Education, is now a second-grade teacher at the Success Academy South Bend.

Killingbeck was introduced to dance in high school and fell in love with the art. When it came time for college, she was involved with dance classes at IU South Bend.

“In my first couple classes, I was introduced to Karen and her tap classes were amazing! Her energy is electric! She brought up an opportunity to audition for the IU South Bend Tap Kick Line. I didn’t know if I would be good enough then, but I’m so glad I took a chance and went to the audition anyway,” Killingbeck enthuses.

She got into the Kick Line, which soon became a major highlight of her entire college experience.

“I felt like I belonged there. It offered camaraderie, and dance was great stress relief when school got tough. We were truly a team,” Killingbeck says.

During her time with the Kick Line, she learned that joy is infectious, stress management is important, and doing something for yourself is never a selfish thing to do. She now brings to her classroom a “let’s try again attitude” that she learned while involved in the group.

Jane Farrand, BS ’17 Business with a concentration in entrepreneurship and small business, had always wanted to join the Kick Line because of her love of tap dancing, but due to her schedule, she had to wait until

her senior year to become involved with the group. Although she wishes she could have joined sooner, her involvement with the Kick Line was memorable and positive. Currently, she is a costume coordinator and dance teacher at Premier Arts in Elkhart.

During auditions she was nervous, but with group’s encouragement and help, Farrand was able to feel at ease with her abilities.

“I remember being super nervous about being able to pick up choreography quickly enough. When I joined Kick Line, I was currently in my first tap class with Karen. I had taken tap before, but not with her. Her style was different, and I wasn’t confident in many of her favorite moves. Everyone was very encouraging and helpful and in no time, I felt like I’d been dancing with them forever,” Dancing allowed Farrand to have something to look forward to while attending college. It helped her have an outlet that did not have the stress of a class.

“When I was in rehearsal, I was able to just have fun and not worry about anything else. I also was a commuter and it helped me feel like a part of the school more than I had before,” Farrand said.

The Tap and Kick Line teaches students much more than the complex routines that awe the community during their many performances throughout the year. The IU South Bend Kick Line builds bonds among the performers, allows a way for them to express themselves, stay involved on campus, and have a support system for more than just school.

Many students who have joined IU South Bend’s Kick Line have left with a sense of purpose, enhanced creativity, and a new-found artistic expression. These students have made life-long friends, learned a way to escape from the stress of college life, and have incorporated the things they learned in Kick Line to their current careers.

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born to be

DRAMATIC Prepare for the performance of a lifetime with hands-on creative experience guided by a faculty of practicing theatre and dance professionals. The theatre and dance programs at IU South Bend combine academic learning with practical experience so you learn the art of theatre from every angle. Our theatre degrees serve as a pre-professional foundation for careers in acting, directing, playwriting, design, crafts, technology, theatre management, marketing, and audience development.

For degree offerings and more info about theatre & dance at IU South Bend, visit us on the web at arts.iusb.edu.

By Kate Luce

Five theatre and dance students are currently taking their degrees to the next level. While some are in graduate school, others are finding careers that tie directly to their degrees. The following Raclin School of the Arts graduates are doing big things both near and far.

“I wanted the chance to hone my acting every single day while on tour so that when I made the eventual move to LA, I would have the endurance and authenticity that I needed to make it there. I also value the work that MerryGo-Round does as the largest theatre for young audiences in New York State. I’m able to perform for over 100,000 kids in 100+ performances of my tour alone. Moreover, I am able to portray a Brazilian indigenous character and be that steppingstone for representation that I aim to be. MerryGo-Round is also considered the ‘Broadway of the Finger Lakes’ due to the quality of work that is produced there. It is on its way to becoming a developmental site for shows that eventually go to New York, and I have seen lots of new works being put on by equity actors because of that,” Leão says.

She performs two shows a day, five days a week. It’s a lot of work, but for Leão, it’s worth it.

DAYANDRA LEÃO, BFA '19 THEATRE PERFORMANCE is residing in upstate New York.

After graduation, she has been crisscrossing the country for auditions and extra acting classes. She attended the prestigious Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. “There’s no right way to act, and everyone gets to their emotional toolbox in a different way, be it from Meisner to Chekhov to Strasberg to Stanislavski himself. For me, after reading Stella Adler’s book, her technique seemed like it would resonate with the kind of actor I am. She never believed in turning oneself inside out and harming yourself by trudging up past trauma. She was an advocate of living a full life, having a vivid imagination to fill in the blanks between you and your character, educating yourself because knowledge will strengthen that imagination, and using physical actions to pinpoint specific choices while acting.

Before I even studied her technique intensely, I was doing much of what I just described, and I knew that I had to go and study it more after finding that out,” Leão says.

After Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre, Leão has also been working on Emilia and the Heart of the Rainforest, throughout New York, working for the MerryGo-Round Youth Theatre.

“To be able to draw up the energy I need and be there 100% honestly takes a toll on you. But in that same token, I’ve realized how I can always get myself to a place of realness from this job, and how to keep that illusion of the first time alive even when I’m dozens of shows in. I also love this show because it is shaping the minds of the next generation and showing them the beauty that is theatre,” Leão says.

Recently, Leão, has been auditioning throughout New York for short films and student films. She has had auditions in Syracuse, Ithaca, and even Toronto.

However, her stay in New York is not permanent. Her goal is to move to Los Angeles after her contracts end in New York.

She wants to get into film, television, and the bustling theatre scene in Los Angeles.

“I don’t want to limit myself by never trying to move to the heart of film and T.V. I owe it to all the people who supported me along the way, and to myself, to give it my all. I hope to be able to break barriers and have good representation for Latinx actors, as well as all people of color. I want to be an ally within my work and show the world that anything is possible if you believe and work hard enough to achieve it,” Leão says.

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SAMANTHA ANGELINA, BFA '19 MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE, is attending Ohio

University to pursue an MFA in Costume Design and Technology. Although Angelina received her undergraduate degree in Theatre Performance, her time working in the costume studio was memorable enough to change the course of her graduate studies.

“I knew I wanted to go into design around my sophomore and junior year of undergrad, but at that point, it was too late to switch my focus without adding more time onto my undergraduate degree. So, I decided to work on my

portfolio and try to get into my desired field for graduate school,” Angelina says.

She had an interest in Ohio University after meeting with the head of the costume design program, Helene Siebrits, at University Resident Theatre Association (URTA) in Chicago.

After clicking right away with Siebrits and learning that Ohio University offers a wig design program, Angelina’s interest for attending grew.

Last summer, Angelina was contacted once again by Siebrits and was offered a spot in the MFA program as a costume designer and wig technologist.

Although Angelina has only been in the graduate program for a short while, she has been busy designing costumes and wigs, as well as acting and building life-long bonds with her peers.

“I just finished assistant costume designing Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson.” She also worked as assistant designing Rhinoceros by Ionesco which opened November 2019. I’m also gearing up to be the assistant designer for Objects in the Mirror and designing for the film department.”

“Friday nights, I participate in Midnight Madness, which is a short play festival put on by the playwriting MFA students every Friday night. The way Midnight Madness works is the playwrights choose a different writer to produce every week.

The producer chooses a theme on Monday, and everyone has until Friday tech rehearsal to write, cast, rehearse, and tech their play. I am friends with many of the playwriting MFAs and have been cast five times now,” Angelina says.

IAN LA FOUNTAIN, BFA '19 TECHNICAL THEATRE

“IU South Bend gave me a lot of freedom when it came to my art. The professors in the theatre and dance department are fantastic. Not only did they help make me a better artist, but they gave me the confidence to advocate for myself,”

“Graduate school was an opportunity that presented itself late in my senior year. It wasn’t really planned. UNLV came in with a strong offer. Graduate school is a lot of politics, you have to quickly learn how to navigate the university structure to get what you want from the education,” La Fountain says.

Once La Fountain graduates with his MFA, the plan is to shift his focus from theatre lighting to concert lighting.

with a concentration in Lighting Design, is attending the University of Nevada Las Vegas and pursing an MFA in Lighting and Design.

Currently, La Fountain is opening The Flick at the Nevada Conservatory at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

While at IU South Bend, La Fountain was involved with more than just lighting. However, after discovering his passion for lighting, La Fountain won an award at the United States Institute for Theatre Technology for his lighting design work in Dead Man’s Cell Phone in 2017. His award-winning work was then featured in Theatre Design and Technology Journal, alongside other students who also won the award.

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NICH SIKORSKI, BFA '19 THEATRE DESIGN with a concentration in Lighting Design, has remained in the South Bend area. He has taken the position of Technical Director at Penn High School, teaching high school students the same passion for theatre he has.

“At the time, I was also looking at Goshen College’s position for their Technical Director. I took the position at Penn because this was a great way to expose future generations to theatre and help to prepare them for college for those that want to pursue theatre as a career. When I went in for my interview with Penn, I was blown away by their theatre spaces and how technologically advanced they are, and I thought that this was a great place to be. It’s funny, in high school I wanted to go to Penn for school, and in my college years, I became their DJ for prom,” Sikorski marvels.

Sikorski’s position at Penn High School is very complex.

He works with scheduling the school’s theatre productions, setting the stage for these productions as well as the band, orchestra, and choir concerts. He works very closely with the students to teach set, lighting, and sound design of theatre productions, as well as teaching his students proper stage and house management.

“I enjoy how hands on the job is. There really is not a dull or boring day at the office, but mostly, I enjoy exposing the students to new technical ideas, teaching them new and exciting ways to light design and sound design. It truly is rewarding when a student who has never played with lights or designed for a show before gets some experience in that field and is truly blown away by what they accomplished,” Sikorski says.

Last fall, Sikorski has just closed Penn High School’s production of Shakespeare in Love: High School Addition. The next event was the Madrigal Dinner Theatre performance and Viva Voce Choir. The spring event was scheduled to be the stage design for Fiddler on the Roof.

Sikorski plans to stay at Penn High School for a while, but graduate school is his next step. Nonetheless, his experience with Penn has been rewarding and very fulfilling.

“My experience was amazing. I worked with Broadway professionals such as Angelique Ilo, a performer from the original Chorus Line on Broadway, as well as Bob Cline, who is a casting director for the regional circuit. We saw four Broadway shows and had workshops every hour of the day,” Marcotte says.

With the busy schedule of the Open Jar Institute, Marcotte found confidence in her passion for theatre. With hard work, comes great rewards.

TYLER MARCOTTE, BFA '19 MUSICAL THEATRE,

attended the Open Jar Institute in New York this past summer.

The Open Jar Institute is an intensive week-long program that provides students with one-on-one training with Broadway performers, directors, choreographers, and agents.

Marcotte auditioned for the Open Jar Institute the last day of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival this past year. She took a chance after several other IU South Bend students decided to audition for the school.

“The greatest thing I took away from my experience is that I can do this. With enough hard work and effort, going to auditions, honing my skills and non-stop work, I can make my dreams a reality. My experience in New York was not only eye opening but encouraging as well,” she says.

As of now, Marcotte is back to doing the same hard work that the Open Jar Institute inspired her to do. She has been busy with auditioning, preparing her website, and recording videos.

“The work never ends, but I would not want to have it any other way!” Marcotte exclaims.

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Spring BFA Exhibition goes online.

Traditionally, the BFA Exhibitions serve as a capstone presentation to showcase the best work of our Fine Arts and Integrated New Media Studies students. As we were unable to host the Spring 2020 BFA Exhibition in person this year, we took it digital and curated an online experience. The following is a sampling of work from the exhibition, the entire exhibition can be viewed at blogs.iu.edu/raclinartgallery.

CHELSEA RAY-DYE | BFA in Graphic Design, Printmaking minor Renegade Fest billboard ad (2020) digital mockup

Renegade Music Festival is a proposed annual touring music event in The United States created by artist and designer, Chelsea Ray-Dye. The festival’s brand values include key terms such as: fun, passion, courage, diversity/ inclusivity, community-building, truth-seeking, and change-implementing.

JACQUELYN STUTSMAN | BFA with a Concentration in Photography Regrowth

With use of natural light and shadows, Stutsman was inspired by the aesthetic of the small town life that the youth lives in.The suburban feel sets up the series and brings a sense of nostalgia to the viewers.

NOEL GARCIA | BFA with a Concentration in Graphic Design Illustrated spread from Spike the Shark and His Adventure. by Noel Garcia

Inspired by a childlike imagination, Garcia makes art that depicts emotion through narrative. Color and contrast are part of the visual impact of his work. The work is accessible to all audiences. Garcia’s creative work influences his graphic design work.

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STEPHEN METZGER | BFA with a Concentration in Graphic Design "For my BFA my goal was to create a design package for a company in the field of trading card game accessories. I chose to pursue this model because I am interested in packaging design and hoping to make that my long-term career. I feel that this project displays both my problem-solving skills and my attention to detail."

PHILIPP MISCHKE | BFA in Integrated New Media Studies with a Concentration in Video and Motion Media Naturesthetic, 3D Print

"Through my conceptual 3D Print, video and photography work I explore social behavior, raising questions about gender, belonging, vulnerability and self-representation within a social entity. Having lived in two different societies for a long period of time, I am aware that those variables may vary vastly from one society to another. Rather than exploring who an individual is, I am trying to comprehend where each individual is positioned in a society, how they contribute, and their interaction with other human and non-human entities."

BRANDON GALVAN | BFA in Integrated New Media Studies with a Concentration in Video and Motion Media Still from Winter Fashion Lookbook 2019

"My work consists of marketing and narrative videos that are modern with a unique style of editing that is eye catching. My interest for product marketing and technology, influenced me to develop my creative work. What all my videos have in common is the variety of different angles that I am able to capture to pull the attention from the audience."

KYRA DELOACH | BFA with a Concentration in Graphic Design / Minor in Art History "Soap Sage" Fictional Organic Products Line

"Specializing in layout design, my work is organized and informative. With a curiosity to understand how things work, I create visual concepts to communicate ideas that are interesting, unusual and capitative."

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BRADI REARDON | BFA with Concentration in Drawing and Painting How do you know when you are okay?

"My artwork emulates emotional concepts of self-reflection, self-sabotage, body positivity, vulnerability, and forgiveness."

SHALIN GRAY | BFA with a Concentration in Graphic Design By taking her original research and breaking it down into its component parts, Gray pieces together an overall image that both conveys its original intent and pleases the eye. Very versatile in her work, Gray’s overall style consists of delicateness, neatness, calming colors, and in particular an illustrative way of expressing linework that makes her designs different than the next.

BRIANNA EDGERLY | BFA with a Concentration in Photography/Minor in Printmaking TOUCH HER

Why does it make you uncomfortable? Why is she hard to look at? Is she being too revealing? Is she being too honest? How is she supposed to act? She is just a person, but in your eyes, she is an object. She’s a toy. Do these images make you feel differently? Do you have sympathy for her now? You’ve pulled her strings too many times.

This is her time to speak out. This is how we speak out.

JULIA KANESTROM | BFA with a Concentration in Drawing and Painting with Minors in Art History, History, and Printmaking.

Decision and Action 2020, 12" x 12", Pen and Relief Ink on Gessoed Panel 44

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"...an action and an emotion presented through linework and ink. The intricate lace patterning and even more delicate cross contour and crosshatching of the figures entices the viewer to find symmetry and geometry as a man-made manifestation of order. The ominous gloom surrounding the figures made with relief ink loosely applied with a brayer, represents our own fears encroaching upon us, self-doubts and nervous speculation of an unforeseen future."

HALEY NEMETH | BFA with a Concentration in Photography Looking Above, Photograph, 11×17 2020

"I seek the unknown and uncomfortable. I look for the shadows within the light, the stories that do not present themselves obvious, and the mystery in the uncommon that tries to falsify my own truth. My goal is to explore the non-movement of life and attempt to speak for abstract illustrations."

BIFF VIGIL | BFA with a Concentration in Printmaking / Minor in Psychology Biff Vigil is a rust belt printmaker/experimental navigator/painter/sculptor/run-on sentence enthusiast/big fan of all dimensions of being embodied & making conceptual/essayistic work (each line is an extrapolation of her handwriting) exploring non-conceptual knowing in the spirit of celebrating/ offering departure from the Cartesian self.

RYAN SOLANO | BFA with a Concentration in Photography / Minor in Printmaking "My photography fuels the fire of advertisement.

In our consumer driven society, we are inescapably bombarded by advertisements. It is quite frankly everywhere we look and embedded in every form of media we consume. I find this quite beautiful. When done right, advertising is a constantly evolving and alluring art gallery that is always within eyes reach.

My goal as an artist is to create product pictures that will in turn be used to feed the advertising machine."

CORAL DORSCH | BFA with a Concentration in Graphic Design Coral for Corals capstone project documentary and promotional materials

"I did not realize how passionate I was about coral reefs. I didn’t really know anything about them other than we shared a name. Finding my ‘why’ changed everything, which inspired Coral for Corals."

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SEAMUS BRADFORD STAHL | BFA IN INTEGRATED NEW MEDIA STUDIES with a Concentration in Video and Motion Media "To me, making art is about expressing thoughts and ideas which in turn provoke thoughts and ideas; to encourage the audience to pursue their own dreams."

PAVEL S. ESHANOV | BFA IN INTEGRATED NEW MEDIA STUDIES with a Concentration in Graphic Design/Minor in Sculpture 3D character design

TRACY GALICIA | BFA IN INTEGRATED NEW MEDIA STUDIES with a Concentration in Video and Motion Media / Minor in Film Studies Still from Vendredi sur Mer | Les filles désir (Music Video)

"I wanted to display the complexities of one’s anxieties of the world and inner self. It is an outlet for me to deal with my own struggles that I have suppressed. Using this medium allowed me to easily display anger, frustration, sadness, and fear through its use of colors and movement. I believe with video; it will allow others to become visually attracted to the piece from its constant movement."

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Congratulations

to all our recent graduates!

Congratulations to our recent graduates and especially the class of 2020. We can never express how proud we are of you, and for the way you handled the adversity in the spring '20 semester.

We know you will all do great things, and we can’t wait to hear about them.

Art Education Mary Hershberger Jennifer Murray Hayley Preston Nathan Welling Communication Studies Christine Brooks Kelli Brown Yelizaveta Domricheva Katelyn Firestein Ashley Foor Jenson Frye Garrett Gutermuth Mckinzie Hahn Heath Hicks Catherine Holdread Amanda Jones Joy Kigen Christian Long Sebastian Martinez Sarah Norton Dulari Patel Therese Pingel Elivet Quijada-Navarro Lyric Schmitt Melissa Swanson

Fine Arts Kyra Serenna DeLoach Xitlali Diaz Ashli Drewes Brianna Edgerly Noel Garcia Shalin Gray Julia Kanestrom Robert Lake Stephen Metzger Haley Nemeth Christina Nguyen Chelsea Ray-Dye Bradi Reardon Kolton Sizer Ryan Solano Integrated New Media Studies Pavel Eshanov Jonathon Fitzgerald Tracy Galicia Hanah Gerencer Rosa Hernandez Jared Herron Matthew Lewis Yvette Leyva Amara Mendoza April Powell Seamus Stahl Skyy Walker Joseph Watts

Music Juan Alarcon Jessica Carter Cesar Vicente Dos Santos Silva Anna Garcia Joo Hee Jeong Trevor McDonald Mathew Miller Ashley Potts Victoria Schemenauer Michael Tapia Quin Wezeman Theatre & Dance Mateo Beserra Jazmyne Creviston Taylor Jump Tyler Marcotte Jack Saunders Samantha Turner

Discovery Middle School Piano Lab Students

Piano series provides world-class performances and education

By Ashley Foor

Internationally recognized pianists visited IU South Bend throughout the 2019-20 academic year to provide a new perspective to musical performance.

The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts was thrilled to welcome an exciting, new addition for the event calendar, the IU South Bend Piano Series. The series featured five world known artists, who brought their talents to the IU South Bend campus in the Louise E. Addicott and Yatish J. Joshi Performance Hall, at different stretches throughout the academic year.

Each artist performed for IU South Bend and the local community and presented a master class and seminar to students as part of the series. The IU South Bend Piano Series was underwritten by a generous grant from the South Bend area Music Teachers Association Stickley Scholarship Fund.

In addition to master classes with IU South Bend students, the guest artists also performed an outreach concert for local area schools. For many of these students, it was their first time hearing a classical concert, let alone a world-class pianist. The goal was not to create world-class pianists, but to create a new audience with an appreciation for classical music.

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“Training young students is so important. I started training in piano when I was four years old,“ Marvin Curtis, dean of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts says. “I wasn't trying to be a master class pianist; my mom did this to give us culture and make us stay out of trouble. A lot of students have not been exposed to classical music. For our school, younger students and our students, it’s a way to have a new perspective.”

Christopher O’Riley kicked off the series on Sept. 20, 2019. Acclaimed for his engaging and deeply committed performances, the pianist is known to millions as the former host of NPR’s From the Top. O’Riley performs around the world and has garnered widespread praise for his untiring efforts to reach new audiences.

O’Riley was a huge success both during his performance and his outreach concert. O’Riley visited Discovery Middle School’s Piano Lab, that consisted of 150 students. The outreach performance led the students of the Piano Lab to make a visit to IU South Bend campus later that December, as IU hosted their winter recitals.

The next concert in the series was on Nov. 8, 2019, and displayed IU South Bend’s brilliant Ketevan Badridze, interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano. The talented Euclid Quartet also joined her on stage.

Badridze is the prizewinner of numerous international competitions, such as Newport International Piano Competition (UK), The World International Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, New Orleans International Piano Competition, and the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition.

She shared that she was very excited about the series because of the education and knowledge the community will gain from these performers. To her, education and hands-on experience allowed her to become the educator she is today.

She moved to the United States in 2000 from the country of Georgia and began her academic career at IU South Bend as a student of Alexander Toradze, who is now retired. She finished her education at IU South Bend earning her master’s degree and artist’s diploma.

Badridze said that her time with Toradze was great as it allowed her to travel and perform all over the world. She worked as his assistant while she was a student, and shortly after she began teaching her own classes at IU South Bend.

“The goal of this project is not only being able to perform recitals; were going to have master classes for students around the area too,” Badridze explains. “We’re even accepting applications for these master classes from different colleges in the area like Notre Dame, Andrews University, Goshen College etc. Also, high school students from the community may participate. This is a great opportunity for them to have master classes with some very high caliber artists.”

The third show in the series brought the outstanding duo out of Lawrence University, Anthony Padilla and Michael Mizrahi. Their concert took place Jan. 21, 2020.

The pair have known each other for almost a decade and have performed piano duets and piano four hand pieces together throughout the years.

They performed various styles of dance music from different countries during their time on campus.

“Again, this follows the theme of dance music, which is sort of the primary element of our programs,” Padilla explains.

“We thought it would make a good program because of the music and then it kind of emerged that we were picking all dances. There is an element of dance that’s inherent to people playing together,” Mizrahi adds The day before their performances at IU South Bend, they taught a master class to a few students. Mizrahi and Padilla said that the best part about touring around the country and teaching these master classes is that they get to share their love of music with others who feel the same way about music.

Both had a very early start playing the piano, and in fact, Mizrahi’s mother was a piano instructor, which only helped fuel his passion. Playing music at such a young age allowed them to develop the knowledge and talent to become accomplished performers and teachers.

To them, those passionate about music are a community, although sometimes small, and when they are able to share their passion with these students, it brings the community closer together.

Unfortunately, the final concert in the series was not able to take place on March 13, 2020, due to COVID-19. The wonderful Ursula Oppens was set to play on campus. Oppens is a prolific and critically acclaimed recording artist with five Grammy nominations. She is widely admired not only for her original perspective readings of music, but also for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire.

IU South Bend is proud to have been able to bring such an enriching musical experience to all of the students and staff on campus and around our community.

l a c i s u m c i s s a l c t l u c A n e e w o l l a H r n time fo

By Kate Luce

makes it i

Halloween is a time for all things horror related to make their appearance. To kick the 2019-2020 theatre season off in that same spirit, the theatre and dance department brought to life Evil Dead: The Musical.

This performance also carried an R-rating, due to the blood and adult themes of this musical. Audiences were advised not to bring children to this performance. This was a first for the School of the Arts.

“This was the first time our production schedule was going to allow us to perform right on and near Halloween.

As a department, we had spoken for a while about choosing a show to celebrate this time of the year with our audiences. Evil Dead is the show

“We looked forward to celebrating Halloween in this fun, raunchy, spoofy, bloody and musically hilarious way. It is definitely an adult-themed show, with many features for a more interactive audience experience. It is an up close and personal show, produced in an

we picked as it is a hilarious spoof of the beloved cult movies with rocking songs, dancing zombies, and a level of heightened camp,” Justin Amellio, director and associate professor of theatre, explains.

intimate setting. You feel like you are in the woods with all the demons, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate Halloween,” Amellio says.

Evil Dead: The Musical is based on the Evil Dead film franchise that preceded it. The story begins with five college students that end up alone in the woods. They run into a force that turns them into demons. What happens next? Bad jokes, bloody messes, and a demon slaying the cast members. This musical combines elements of horror and comedy, to create a performance that will leave the audience dying–of laughter.

One of the most infamous scenes of this production involves the use of blood cannons, which splattered the first few rows of the audience. Have no worries, ponchos were provided to the audience members sitting in the splash zone.

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As the show’s debut edged closer, students performing in this production continued to rehearse and looked forward to giving other students and surrounding community members something different to enjoy during the spooky time of the year.

“So far, this was one of the most challenging shows I have ever done.

This show is so technically heavy, and I was so excited to tackle that. Another reason that I’m really excited about the performance is the cast. I feel like a lot of our voices blend well within the music,” Eddie Castle, who plays Scott, says. “The amount of combat, blood, and cursing that this show calls for is absolute insanity. Getting beat to smithereens is something that I have wanted to happen to me in theatre for

so long. I also have never gotten to play a character like Scott, and I am ecstatic about the challenge.”

This performance surely made the audience feel the spirit of Halloween.

Evil Dead is lighthearted but still provides all the elements of all things of a classic horror film.

“From those who love old horror movies to those who love theatre, this is one for the books. This musical is one to remember. It’s one of the most

fun shows I have been a part of,” Taylor Jump, who plays Cheryl, says.

Evil Dead: The Musical made its debut on Oct. 16 and had a special Halloween night performance. The show saw many sold-out crowds, lots of blood and guts, and a very happy (terrified) audience once the curtains closed.

By Camden Chaffee

The first annual IU South Bend Jazz Fest made its debut this past September 2019. The concert provided IU South Bend with a sense of unity and an afternoon full of jazz music.

Featuring trumpeter, Rodney Marsalis’s Philadelphia Big Brass, and various local student jazz ensembles, the outdoor concert attracted IU South Bend faculty, staff, students and the community. It was the first outdoor concert in IU South Bend history.

The idea for the event stemmed from students looking for a positive way to bring unity to the entire student body after an incident of hate speech occurred on campus. “The festival was motivated by an incident in which degrading comments were made directed towards African Americans,” Dr. Curtis, dean of the Raclin School of the Arts explains. “The IU South Bend Student Government Association (SGA), along with the music department, collaborated to put on a jazz concert to unify our campus.”

When an open forum was held on campus after the incident took place in early 2019, students looked for a way to show solidarity with those targeted by the hate speech. Dominick Rodriguez, SGA senator, approached Curtis and suggested holding a Jazz Festival on campus.

“I thought that a jazz festival was a good thing to bring people together because music expresses what words cannot,” Rodriguez reflected. “Jazz was created by people of color and evolved into so much more. Jazz is a genre of music

that will always find its way into people’s hearts because it’s not just one specific kind of tune. It is multiple tunes, and it continues to branch into different categories of jazz. For example, did you know that samba music is under the category of jazz? This is one of the major pillars of music, and music brings people together just like food.”

event. “It was a real pleasure to be able to be a part of the show and it was an honor for myself and my high school students to be asked to perform.”

In a letter written by Kevin Schascheck, former SGA president, he stated that the IU South Bend campus “needed something which would speak to every person that walked the halls of IU South Bend.” Their answer was jazz music.

“This is a really cool event here,” Marsalis explained when reflecting on the performance. “It’s a free event for the South Bend community, so there are no financial barriers and its just a great way for the community to come together. I really believe that music can heal the world.”

“I’ve always been about trying to get people together, and music does just that,” Curtis says. “Jazz is one of the things that is so universal in black music. People tend to gravitate towards that. For me, the fact that the SGA thought of this and came to us, the School of the Arts, shows me that they know what the school is all about.”

Curtis was key in providing contacts for the evening’s performance. The funding for this event was provided by local sponsorships and grants, including from First Source Bank, Indiana Trust, and Indiana Arts Commission. The SGA also played a major role in funding for the event, by tapping into a surplus of money from the previous year.

Dennis Gamble, director of both the IU South Bend Jazz Band and the Mishawaka High School Jazz Band, was one of the local performers and able to share the stage for this very important

Rodney Marsalis shared the same enthusiasm when asked about playing in support of such an important purpose on the IU campus.

Juan-Carlos Alarcon, BME ’19 Music Education, was one of the IU South Bend students who attended the event.

Alarcon has a major presence on the campus, as he is one of the two School of the Arts students who took home three Grammy awards in 2018.

“One of the greatest aspects of the music department and the university is the way they can bring people together through the healing power of art,” Alarcon says.

As Rodney Marsalis’s Philadelphia Big Brass opened their performance with the hymn, Just a closer walk with thee, the smiles and enthusiasm of the crowd showed that music can bring people together and help alleviate the pain of racism and hateful remarks.

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The Arts Lecture Series made its round once more this year, pushing the conversation forward with developments in art education.

Jeff Horwat, assistant professor of art education, took the stage during the 2019 academic year to talk about the exciting, new topic of arts-based research, as well as wordless novels, also known as graphic novels.

Most of his lecture focused on artsbased research and its impact on art, particularly, his own work.

Arts-based research draws from qualities of art to explore different personal, social, and emotional issues.

Inspired by This American Life (from Chicago Public Media), “I organized my personal story and mapped out the narrative into six different chapters, each addressing a major episode in the development of my work.” Horwat explained the basis behind his area of research. “I thought of the presentation as a kind of artful storytelling project, going through old photos and arranging things to present a visual experience of my work.”

“Being mindful of my audience, time constraints, and the goals of the presentation, I did a lot of editing so that I wasn’t presenting anything that 54

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was too personal or irrelevant to my audience. I wanted to find a delicate balance of being approachable, casual, and engaging but still scholarly and substantive; the intent after all was to teach people about not only my work but the ideas, theories, and methods that inspired my work— something I felt could be applicable to others,” Horwat explained.

In addition, Horwat presented some of his past and current works of art.

He spoke about how he ran across wordless novels and their connection to arts-based research.

As a graduate student, Horwart was in the middle of an art education conference in Texas. He skipped presentations to go to the art museum in Fort Worth. At the museum, there was an exhibition of prints done by Lynd Ward and Frans Masereel, both illustrators in the early part of the 20th century considered to be the developers of the graphic novel.

“At the time, I was in the middle of writing my dissertation and was really burned out on writing,” Horwat reminisces on his past. “I missed drawing and painting, so his work resonated with me, while also reminding me of the potential of the visual image to communicate complex ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

I got a book at the bookstore by David Barona which was a compendium of contemporary wordless book artists. Inspired by Lynd Ward and Frans Masereel, I decided to create a wordless book as an alternative way to think through some of the ideas I’d been writing through in my dissertation, a side project to feed my inner artist while I wrote a conventional dissertation.”

This side project has led him to think about how research and wordless storytelling could be connected to one another, inspiring him to a new direction with his work.

Fine arts students took a lot from Horwat’s lecture. Art-based research is an alternative way of art making, it can help students further their work conceptually and help broaden the relationship between creating and understanding.

All in all, Horwat feels the lecture series was a success.

“It was an honor to present my work to faculty and students. Over the past five years, I talked about my work and taught through my ideas only in the context of the curriculum that I've taught—using myself as a model for the kind of ideas I want students to understand.”

born to be

CREATIVE Take your place in a community of artists to explore the theory and practice of fine art. From the fundamentals of 2D and 3D art to in-depth study of a single medium, IU South Bend students develop their creative and critical skills. Enjoy personal attention from an inspired faculty of recognized painters, printmakers, graphic designers, photographers, and sculptors. Expand your experience by traveling with the faculty to study art in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, while immersed in the history of art and architecture.

For degree offerings and more info about IU South Bend fine arts programs, visit us on the web at finearts.iusb.edu.

A holiday celebration of the Raclin School of the Arts

By Kate Luce

It has been ten years since Amahl and the Night Visitors has been performed at IU South Bend. This past holiday season, the Teddy Bear Concert shared the stage with an encore performance of Amahl which celebrated the Raclin School of the Arts and the surrounding community.

In addition to the collaboration within the school, Willis Patterson, who played King Balthazar from 1961-1964 in the TV broadcast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, made an appearance at IU South Bend before the festivities to speak about his experience with the TV production.

However, the Teddy Bear Concert’s familiar acts continued to dazzle. The Kick Line lit up the stage during their performance, and teddy bears were accepted in place of purchasing a ticket, and the holiday spirit was felt throughout the auditorium.

This past year, the bears were donated to both the Center for the Homeless and the YWCA, which provides support for women in domestic abuse, substance abuse, and sexual assault situations.

Dean of the Raclin School of the Arts, Marvin Curtis, looks forward to this event every year. Being a part of the community is one of the many things he loves about this performance.

“It’s our way of giving back to the community. Every year we try to get a different non-profit along with the Center for the Homeless. We have donated to several organizations throughout the years,” Curtis says.

This year, after Curtis saw all of the domestic violence awareness events happening on campus, he knew which organization to choose for distribution of some of the expected 300 teddy bears.

“This is an issue that is close to my heart because we have students who experience domestic violence. Teddy bears are wonderful things. They bring a smile to anybody, and half the fun is watching the children bring them in and put them on the table,” Curtis says.

The Teddy Bear Concert is one of Curtis’s many legacies since becoming

Dean of the Raclin School of the Arts. It means a lot to Curtis to be able to bring Amahl and the Night Visitors back to IU South Bend as well.

However, instead of Curtis conducting the performance, Emanuel-Cristian Caraman, visiting assistant professor in music, conducted the show.

In 2010 the Raclin School of the Arts first performed this short opera about three kings who witness a miracle when they meet a disabled boy while on their way to bring gifts to the Holy Child in Bethlehem.

The actors taking part in Amahl are both from the community and the theatre and music departments at IU South Bend. Amahl was played by Ethan Hampel, a sixth grader from Northwood Middle School. Hampel is a member of the Children’s Choir of Michiana.

“I was so excited and ready to perform because it is my first time being in an opera as a Musical Theatre student.

Operas and musicals can be so drastically different, and there is a very different technique when it comes to preparing for an opera. I am just so grateful that I was able to learn from an expert like Dr. Caraman,” says Maddy Hall, BFA Musical Theatre student, and one of the shepherds in Amahl.

Curtis feels the legacy of the first IU South Bend performance of Amahl. In 2010, the performance was not an IU South Bend exclusive. The moveable stage set was transferred to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend and Krohn’s Center in Chicago, where students performed the show for brand new audiences in two entirely different spaces.

“We actually took Amahl on tour to Chicago. We took the show to the Krohn’s Center, which worked with adults in different developmental stages. The center provides the opportunity for adults to work in manufacturing or packaging things.

Audience members encompassed different levels of development, but they all enjoyed the music. We then did it at the Center for the Homeless here in South Bend, and it was a unique experience.” Curtis shared.

The IU South Bend Tap and Kick Line also made their signature appearance at the Teddy Bear Concert. According to Karen Pajor, Tap and Kick Line instructor, the dancers spent a lot of time in preparing for their big performance.

“We were practicing three days a week.

We are incorporating the bears into the routine. You have to keep in mind, especially for our youngest audience members, they think the bears are real.

So you have to make sure that you are handling them as if they are a real teddy bear. We had to make sure that the teddy bears were kicking on the right foot and being able to wave and smile at the same time,” Pajor explained.

The students in the Kick Line always look forward to the celebration of the Teddy Bear Concert. For them, the concert is much more than just a performance; it’s giving back to those in need.

Gabby Elick, AS Pre-Radiography, and Kick Line member says, “The Teddy Bear Concert is less than two weeks away from Christmas. While we are making plans to see our families, buying gifts for our loved ones, and decorating our homes for the holidays, there are people in our community that are not as fortunate as us and are not able to do the things that we take for granted. Knowing that you made someone’s Christmas a little better is such a great feeling!”

“This performance is definitely different than most because of the festive and happy atmosphere. You can feel the excitement in the room while performing on stage, and it’s so fun getting to dance with a live choir behind us,” Gabrielle Lovisa, BA Psychology, and another long time Kick Line student, adds.

The dancing did not stop with the Kick Line. The UZIMA Drum and Dance troupe also participated in the show. It was truly a celebration of the season.

As Dr. Curtis celebrated his last Teddy Bear concert as dean of the School of the Arts, he was presented with a full auditorium on one of his favorite nights: a night when faculty, staff, students and the community come together, and celebrate the wonderful time of the year.

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By Kate Luce

A holiday tradition for Discovery Middle School’s Piano Lab will continue at a new and welcoming venue: IU South Bend.

Discovery Middle School students performed their holiday recital at IU South Bend in December 2019. In total, 150 Piano Lab students traveled to IU South Bend to perform.

Christopher O’Riley was the fall’s first artist in the IU South Bend Piano Series.

Before the IU South Bend concert, he visited Discovery School with Cory Iwaszewski, Media and Community Outreach Manager, and Ketavan Badridze, interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano. O’Riley performed nearly an hour and had a Q & A session with the students. The budding students were thrilled. From that short visit, the relationship was forged.

“Christopher O’Riley was our first pianist for the piano series. The kids absolutely adored him. They even wrote him thank you notes, 150 thank you notes,” Dean Marvin Curtis shared.

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After the cancellation of the Discovery School’s engagement with University Park Mall, Tammi Bilotta, Piano Lab teacher at Discovery, got into contact with the Arts to propose the idea.

Iwaszewski immediately agreed to have the piano lab students perform on the campus during the holiday season.

“We had a wonderful experience with him [Christopher O’Riley], and I was hopeful that we could partner with IU South Bend again for my students’ December performances. Cory took my request for the performances to other key people at IU South Bend, and to my delight, they all loved the idea and worked with me to create a plan for how we would hold the event. I feel like IU South Bend and the Raclin School of the Arts rolled out the red carpet for us, and I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity that my students will again have to perform at the University Grill this coming December,” Bilotta says.

Piano students worked together in duets and performed holiday and winter classics such as Jingle Bell

Rock, Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, Sleigh Ride, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Carol of the Bells, Deck the Halls, The Little Drummer Boy, and many more.

For the sixth-grade piano studio students, this will be one of their first times performing. These students worked hard in practicing the songs in sections both independently and with their partners. They practiced for their songs right up until the date of their performance.

“This duet project is an annual event for my students, and they love it! Getting to work on a song with a partner is a treat for them as most of what they do is very individualized. They are highly motivated to learn their songs independently because they love getting to work at the same piano with their partner and put their parts together,” Bilotta says.

The Piano Lab students were excited to come to IU South Bend to perform.

The School of the Arts, students and

family members turned out to support the middle school pupils. After the performances, Discovery students lunched in the Grill with their families, which was a bonus feature.

“The students are going to play at a college campus, which is their request.

Mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa can sit for the performance. IU South Bend offers an opportunity for the entire family to come out and support the children. The students will also be able to eat lunch in the cafeteria,” Curtis explains.

The School of the Arts made this a free performance, however, they did ask that attendees donate a non-perishable food item in exchange for coming to watch the students perform. All proceeds went directly to Titans Feeding Titans, IU South Bend’s food pantry.

“We were there to receive the food and talk to people about food insecurity not only in the city, but on campuses. I am excited to be involved in it,” Anne Drake, Disability Support Services, shared.

This concert had several benefits. It was a way for students to perform in a space more accommodating to guests. The talented students performed for family, friends and fellow students as the new relationship between Discovery and the School of the Arts took the center stage.

or a performance, it almost seems like every night actually, and we are always inviting people to come to these events and support us and our students.

This is kind of a way for us to give back to the campus and the students,” Iwaszewski explained.

With these concerts happening during finals week, IU South Bend students were encouraged to stop by for a break; donate a non-perishable food item and get into the holiday spirit.

Discovery Middle School will return for the 2020 holiday season on December 14,15 and 16. They will once again partner with the Raclin School of the Arts in giving back to the community, as well as providing holiday entertainment for the University.

“Our goal is to showcase the students and give them an opportunity to show off what they have learned throughout the semester, as well as bring our campus together. Dr. Curtis described our mission this semester as collaboration. This was a great opportunity to collaborate with talented students of our community.

We were also fortunate to give back to the students of IU South Bend while hosting these wonderful middle school students. We labeled this event the Arts Give Back because we are saying thank you. Every week, we have events

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As February approaches, elementary school students from all over the region plan their trips to IU South Bend’s Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre. This year the production was Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.

Five years ago, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse made its first appearance at Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre. Now, with a new generation of IU South Bend students who will perform the play and a new generation of students excited to watch the performance, it seems like the right time to have this performance come to the main stage once again.

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse tells the story of a little mouse named Lilly. One day she brings her purple plastic purse to school for show and tell, but her teacher takes her purse away from her. Lilly is furious, but then feels remorse about her anger.

“This story tells the tale of a young girl growing up and learning how to gain a better handle on her emotions and on how her actions affect those around her. It teaches children that they are able to feel what they feel but that those feelings shouldn’t be an excuse to hurt others. It also shows a loving adult figure (her teacher) who helps her find herself,” Taylor Jump, BFA Theatre, who plays Lilly, explains.

Each year, an average of 5,000-8,000 local elementary students attend the Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre performances throughout the weeks the show is in production. For many of these students, this is the first live theatre performance they have ever attended. Some students travel more than an hour, and even stay after the show to eat lunch on campus.

For Demarée Dufour-Noneman, Arts Production Manager, Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre is more than just one of the 60

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biggest productions of the year for the Raclin School of the Arts. Her mother, Michele Morgan-Dufour, developed the Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre program into what it is today.

“We all feel so great to see that first or second grader just in awe of seeing live theatre on stage. The way that it has grown is wonderful too. Obviously, my mom was pretty involved with that as the Outreach Director here. She really grew it into the program that it is today, which is why it’s named after her. For me, it is particularly special and a great time every year to think of my mom and what she has done for the outreach community, what she gave, and how we are able to continue that,” Dufour-Noneman says.

With passion for community arts, her mother crafted a program that promotes an amazing experience with live theatre for elementary students. In return, the children’s theatre production was named: Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre.

“It’s incredibly special to me that this program is named after my mom. We came to that decision after my mom passed away. At the time, I was not part of the university. The staff of the Raclin School of the Arts came to my family and asked if this idea was something we would approve. It was hugely moving because of my mom’s dedication to the arts and children throughout her entire career. She was a kindhearted cheerleader for students and learners and artists in every aspect of her life. Speaking as her child and now a professional and an artist myself, I can tell you she was tireless in that dedication,” Dufour-Noneman says.

For anyone who loves the arts, there was usually a moment during childhood when the arts drew them in. Whether that moment was at an art museum or at an orchestra concert, it was the moment of magic that sparked their imagination.

Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre strives to provide that spark.

“For so many kids, exposure to the arts is something they may not have in a very real way as part of their day-to-day lives. As artists, creators, and people who work in the School of the Arts, we all have so much exposure to the Arts that it’s hard to think about the fact that there are people for whom this is not the case. For those people, their children don’t get that experience either,” Dufour-Noneman explains.

ideas, and I loved being able to see them on the stage with the team,” Castle reiterates.

Not only does Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre help provide this experience for elementary school students, but all proceeds go directly towards scholarships for Theatre and Dance students at IU South Bend.

“I stand on the balcony and look at these kids, and get a tear in my eye because there are so many people who are ready to continue this great tradition every year, with the School of the Arts. To look and see that continuing year after year, it fills me up with joy for the year. If I ever have a moment of saying, ‘What am I doing in community arts?’ That’s the moment where I can say, ‘I’m good,'” Dufour-Noneman reflects.

In addition, this production offers two performances a day throughout a two-week period, thus giving the theatre students a taste of what a production cycle is like. It takes hard work to perform each show with the same energy as the previous performance.

For more than 59 years, Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre has been a gold standard performance for the Raclin School of the Arts. The love and dedication of many people throughout the years has helped the event grow into what it is today.

“It is always so much fun to do children’s shows. It shows us how to sustain doing multiple performances a day and gives us an opportunity to perform in front of over 500 young students, which is an exhilarating feeling,” Jump says.

Another experience that Michele’s Little Hearts Theatre helps to provide is the opportunity for theatre students to direct. This performance is traditionally directed by theatre students, giving them the chance to branch out to different forms of Theatre.

For Lilly’s Plastic Purple Purse, Eddy Castle, BFA Theatre Performance, was in the director’s chair.

“This was the first show I have directed! There does seem to be a bit of a learning curve, but it has been such an amazing experience.. We have been brainstorming some amazing 61

By Kate Luce

In printmaking, repetition comes with the craft, but for Bill Tourtillotte, lecturer in fine arts, his lecture did not need to repeat how powerful the world of printmaking can be.

Tourtillotte kicked off the Arts Lecture Series of the 2019-20 academic year.

After a few years of hiatus, the series was back with fine arts professors delving deep into their work and the historical and social influence of their medium.

“It’s a chance to share the work with everyone. Whether we are working together in the classroom or whether you are one of my colleagues, it’s an opportunity to talk to a larger group of people. It’s just a different way of teaching, I think,” Tourtillotte explains.

When the audience arrived, Tourtillotte presented them with books of images that he created throughout the years. In the back of the books, a small piece of a risograph is tucked away. Risograph is a brand of digital duplicators designed mainly for high-volume photocopying and printing. This was given to the audience as an example of work.

To start the lecture off, Tourtillotte spoke broadly on printmaking, trying to define printmaking and what it is used for. The spread of ideas and information, human consciousness, communication that transcends cultures are what help support the validity of printmaking as an art form.

These were a few of the examples that directed his lecture.

Tourtillotte then spoke about the importance of botanical and scientific lithographs. He explained how this helps to identify which plants to eat and use for medicine. Other prints included how light works, the stars, planets, and dissected pathogens. During times when photography was limited, these illustrations helped provide a visual aid for complex theories and organisms.

Activism is directly tied into printmaking using images and posters.

From its origins, printmaking has spread ideas from the creator to the viewer. For good or for bad, the interpretation is up to the viewer.

Tourtillotte illustrated the good and bad of printmaking with a personal story. One day he stumbled upon a piece of trash at the end of his driveway. What he found were a few pamphlets folded up in a baggy. The pamphlets contained Ku Klux Klan propaganda, urging people to join.

“I felt like I had to talk about racism.

Just as I think that prints are the miracle workers of the world, the universe slaps me in the back of the head and tells me I’m a fool because it can also be used for as much bad as it can be good. It’s a two-sided coin, yin yang as you will,” Tourtillotte says, “The way I talked about combating racism [during the lecture] are the teachers I have had that have helped me understand the world. I think that education and literacy are the way you combat [racism].”

Pushing the lecture forward, he tied in his printmaking work with the role of presenting information and ideas. Over the course of the years, Tourtillotte’s work has pushed more towards activism.

With issues facing human rights, speaking the truth, and opposition to war, Tourtillotte took the time to explain the three relief prints that he exhibited in the faculty show. The work depicts the three main rights we can all agree on: clean air, clean water, and a clean earth. The prints depict a hand moving in air, a hand cupping water, and a hand digging through dirt. The work is printed on muslin and sewn onto a bigger piece of fabric. It is almost like a flag or banner.

Lastly, Tourtillotte spoke about what the future of print media might hold.

The risograph duplicator, although popular in the 1980s for a time, has made its way into the world of printmaking. This machine is much like a copy machine, but enables a user to make thousands of prints with low amounts of ink and minimal environmental impact. Tourtillotte bought one of these machines recently and has been using it in his work.

Printmaking is a powerful art form, with a deeply rooted history in radical ideas.

The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts’ students, faculty and staff offer our heartfelt thanks to the hundreds of donors who have supported our programs over the years. Under the leadership of our dean, Marvin Curtis, we have been particularly fortunate to benefit from generous gifts, both large and small, which directly impact the quality of education our students receive. We are profoundly grateful for your generosity.

HONOR ROLL

This list acknowledges donations received from July 1, 2019 thru June 30, 2020.

$10,000 - $24,999 1st Source Bank

$1,000 - $2,499 Robert and Pamela B. Beam Robert W. Clausen, M.D. Stephanie E. Clipper Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, Inc. Lucille E. Gering Ellen L. Maher, Ph.D. South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras, Inc David and Debra L. Thornburg Mary T. Treanor Doreen Zisla

$250 - $999

Elisabeth S. and Mark B. Hamilton Sandra L. and Robert J. Hanis Charlene A. Harris-Allen Henry Crown and Company Eugene W. and Alice W. Henry Helen L. Hibbs Dora Hubbard Rosalyn A. and Eldridge Keith Gregory W. and Mary C. Klimczak Nanette A. Krieger Lester C. and Sarah E. Lamon, Ph.D. Gregory E. and Mary J. Lawson James M. and Greta R. Lewis Sally T. Lowey Hendricks John W. Trauband Pamela Martinov Donald O. Maylath Nancy L. Menk

Thomas H. Corson

Anthony N. and Leone L. Michel

Stephen Karakashian

Katherine E. Overmyer

Thecla M. Nowicki

Joseph B. and Theresa C. Parker

Lynn A. and Claude R. Robertson

James F. and Sharon L. Piechorowski

$1 - 249

Robert L. Polk

Susan Allesee Nagel

Ilene G. Sheffer, Ed.D. and Richard D. Sheffer

Irene W. and Frank Bland

Larry G. and Janet E. Thompson, M.D.

Henry A. and Mabel A. Blunk, M.D.

Meagan K. and Matthew D. Thornburg

Matthew J. Daniel

Bill and Julie Tourtillotte

Roseann S. and Robert T. Eddy

Loretta K. Vinson

Sharon Fiorella-Teves

Brent R. and Jully A. Waldron

Linda A. Freel

Michael J. and Dena L. Wargo, Sr.

Roger P. and Sally Hamburg, Ph.D.

Susan W. Youdovin

Catherine W. and William P. Reidy

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Two centuries of Beethoven, two decades of the Euclid Quartet

By Kate Luce

Two centuries ago, Beethoven was well on his way to gaining notoriety with his compositions. This past school year, the Euclid Quartet dedicated their concert series to Beethoven and presented his music on and off campus.

Around the world, many Beethoven concerts are popping up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth. This past year, in addition to Beethoven’s anniversary, 2019 also marked the 20th anniversary of the Euclid Quartet. The quartet has been at IU South Bend since 2007, coming from Ohio.

The Euclid Quartet is comprised of IU South Bend faculty Jacqueline Choi, lecturer in music; Jameson Cooper, senior lecturer in music; Brendan Shea, lecturer in music; and Luis Vargas, senior lecturer in music.

“This past season represented the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, so we wanted to commemorate this by offering all his quartets. Music lovers and students from South Bend had the opportunity to hear this amazing collection of works which trace his style from a young bold new composer on the scene to a mature master dealing with deafness and mortality,” Cooper says.

“The Beethoven Quartets are what many consider the bible of string quartets in all aspects, in terms of their scope, treatment of forms and conventions, range and depth of expressions, experimental instrumental techniques, programmatic inspirations, and historical impact on the future of string-quartet writing. Having established our identity and distinct group sound as a professional quartet through numerous concerts, tours, and recording projects throughout the past years, we found ourselves at the right place to challenge ourselves with a substantial project of preparing and presenting these monumental works by Beethoven in their entirety in a single season,” Choi explains.

The Euclid Quartet ran the concert series from the fall of 2019 through the spring semester. With the unfortunate 64

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events of the Covid-19 pandemic, the final performances were cancelled due to the closure of the campus. However, the community and students enjoyed the shows they were able to see in the fall and were grateful the Quartet decided to take on such a daunting concert series.

“We wanted to bring these amazing works to our community of South Bend which might not otherwise have a chance to hear the entire Beethoven String Quartet Cycle.

That is the beauty of having a professional string quartet in residence at IU South Bend, we get to share the amazing works written for string quartet with our immediate community,” Vargas says.

This is not the first time the Euclid Quartet has focused on Beethoven for their concert series. In 2009, they performed Beethoven all year long as well. However, this type of concert series is relatively rare for the Quartet.

In the past years, the Euclid Quartet mixed styles of music and added contemporary pieces to their performances.

Last year during their concert season, they performed three pieces that were exclusively written for them and other works that were performed for the first time.

In addition, the quartet was able to collaborate with other artists during their concert series throughout the fall semester. In November 2019, they performed with Ketevan Badridze, interim Martin Endowed Chair of Piano, during the IU South Bend Piano Series.

The Quartet and Badridze performed an outreach concert for John Adams High School in November as well. This was the first time many students heard live classical music, and the performance even brought one student to tears.

Students from the outreach performance later attended the full Piano Series performances on IU South Bend campus.

Beethoven’s work has been split up into his early period, middle period, and late period for this past year’s concert

cycle. In addition, the Quartet performed in different locations, bringing a different vibe to each concert.

“We tried as much as possible to put together some of each period into every concert, however, it worked for some of the concerts but not for all because there are six quartets in the early period, five in his middle and five in his late. One of the most amazing things about all of these quartets is that, even though they were written by the same composer, they are completely different from one another with some obvious recognizable trends on each,” Vargas explains.

The Quartet put on several concerts throughout the school year, both at IU South Bend and throughout the community.

“Doing the Beethoven Quartet cycle is an incredible landmark in my life, and I’ve been very excited to be a part of bringing such important music to South Bend. The Euclid Quartet is committed to engaging and expanding interest in classical music locally, and I thought it was wonderful that we were able to get so many local organizations and people involved. In my opinion there is no equal to the Beethoven quartets in any medium, and it’s rare to hear them all in one season. We hope to continue to do fun projects that encourage people to come out and hear great works next season,” Shea recalls.

“We want our students to be exposed to these works while they are in school. They are all incredibly difficult, none of them ever feel comfortable to play but they are also amazingly gratifying to perform. I have fond memories of being brought to tears listening to parts of these works as a student. They bring a perfect balance of high energy, intensity and passion full of tender moments but also enraged with moments of frustration and anger (such as the Op. 133 “Grosse Fuge”) given his complete deafness, illness and isolation. Playing them all is like an emotional biographical walk-through of his life,” Vargas says.

“This is arguably the greatest body of work for string quartet by any composer in history. The sheer range of emotion encompassed is breathtaking. This is music that never gets old, and some of it still sounds modern even though it’s two hundred years old,” Cooper says.

For more information on upcoming performances by the Euclid Quartet, please look at the events page online at arts.iusb.edu/events-and-community

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born to be

DYNAMIC Study music at IU South Bend for personal attention from a faculty of professional musicians, innovative educators, cutting-edge scholars and active composers. Whether you hope to play in a major symphony orchestra, tour the world as a jazz musician, run a high school music program, or compose your own magnum opus, IU South Bend has a program for you. Four bachelor's and master's degrees along with more than a dozen major ensembles provide the education you need for a career in music.

For degree offerings and more info about IU South Bend music programs, e-mail musicsb@iusb.edu or visit us on the web at music.iusb.edu/.

Ryan Olivier’s Electronic Labyrinth

By Parker Norris

The music technology curriculum encourages students to expand their horizons and think artistically about using technology within the field of music.

In today’s world, technology is an essential component of life. Technology is changing the way in which people interact with the world. The constant stream of technological transformation affects a variety of institutions within society, particularly education.

Recently, Ryan Olivier, assistant professor of music, has been adopting new technology for use in a variety of classroom environments.

creativity and, most recently, have used it to develop the modern-day equivalent of a self-playing piano, also known as a player piano.

Olivier’s extensive knowledge of both electronic music and music technology is integral to the structure of every course that he teaches.

“What I find most satisfying about developing the player piano is witnessing how my students use their creativity to bring their ideas to life and problem-solve,” Olivier explains.

That type of learning environment is cultivated through hands-on, small group instruction, promotes students to explore their abilities, and allows them to use inventiveness in their work.

These efforts have resulted in students being able to express themselves and bring about a new meaning to making music.

The music technology program at IU South Bend is one that is unique within the construct of a college setting. The creative freedom given to students and the passion exhibited by Olivier is an example of a new type of education that is gaining traction on college campuses. This innovation of education anticipates the future and prepares students for a world that is far more complex and expressive than has ever been seen before. The music that comes out of Olivier’s classes hits the right note with students and is an indication of a new style of program at IU South Bend.

“I view technology as a tool that is always involved in and important to any creative process. I want to pass that perspective onto my students and encourage them to explore their creativity through newfound technological means,” Olivier says.

One technological outlet that Oliver uses in the classroom is the program, Max, a software that is designed specifically for creating musical compositions through the language of visual programming. The program, through complex connections that users can create, is able to play a wide variety of commands on instruments and can be accessed easily on many mobile devices. Olivier and his students can use the Max program with much

The self-playing piano, an oldfashioned piece of entertaining instrumentation that is a trope in classic movies, has been brought into the technologically rich time of today through Oliver’s teaching.

These advanced methods allow for students to have greater access to tools that can fulfill their artistry in music.

This innovation in creativity reflects Oliver’s own personal experiences, as he has an extensive background in combining the fields of music and multimedia to create unique, boundary-pushing pieces of artwork.

This same opportunity is being given to students at IU South Bend, as the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts recently introduced a Music Technology program for students.

“I want students to explore their options, try different things, and find what works best for them. I hope for them to find a creative outlet that is meaningful for them,” Olivier says.

Kick starting the new school year off on the right foot

By Kate Luce

Incoming freshmen and transfer students share common fears about starting college: class workload, time management, making connections, and getting familiar with campus. Because of these fears, Raclin School of the Arts created the event KickStart Raclin Arts to help these students become more familiar with classes and the school, receive guidance from students and faculty, and start the school year off as ready as they can be.

KickStart was implemented in the fall of 2018. The idea is to give a specialized approach to help students get familiar to the Raclin School of the Arts facilities as well as their faculty and staff. Due to the success of the first installment of KickStart, bringing the event back for a second year was a no brainer. Students feel as though this event has helped them in ways the typical orientation has not.

The morning begins with special presentations from the departments within the School of of the Arts, as well

as guest speakers from the School of the Arts staff. This is more of an ice breaker, to get the students comfortable and see the many things the school has to offer. The morning presentation consists of a theatre and dance segment from the previous musical, a music performance, and other information on the many things going on in the School of the Arts.

Later on, current students and faculty serve as tour guides around campus.

After the guided tour, the students speak individually to KickStart attendees, answering their questions, and providing new students with advice on classes and the school itself while having lunch together.

“KickStart was a new and exciting experience for me. I loved getting to know the new art students, making them feel welcome on campus, and helping them feel welcome in the art community of South Bend,” Brianna Edgerly, BFA ’20 Photography and student guide, says.

Lastly, students come back to Northside to mingle with one another, ask any other questions, enjoy snacks, and receive their KickStart Raclin Arts t-shirt.

“I feel a lot more comfortable knowing more. I got a chance to have some questions answered that I had about starting college. It helped to have students around, and I could ask them where to go for my classes,” Lillyiana Colt, incoming graphic design student, says.

“I feel really good and well prepared to get to my classes. I feel like this year is going to be a great year,” Reagan Cagle, incoming 3-D modeling and animation student, says.

As these students begin their first year at IU South Bend, one thing is for sure, they are off on the right foot with the help of KickStart. This program will continue to help pave the way and help guide Raclin students in the future.

Lion King:

behind the seams

By Brianna Liras

Lion King: The Musical came to the South Bend community at the Morris Performing Arts Center in March 2020. This news sparked excitement in the hearts of Broadway and Disney lovers within the Michiana area. The musical retelling of the Disney classic: The Lion King, brings in new elements with realistic, detailed puppetry, and audience interaction.

For every show she has worked during the past 18 years, Cole has taken away a new skill that she incorporates into her work at IU South Bend. If students in her costume class shop have questions, Cole can give them real-world examples from her professional experience, providing an exceptional resource for students at IU South Bend.

Aimee Cole, senior lecturer in Theatre at IU South Bend, has been working with the Morris as part of the wardrobe crew for 18 years. Cole is also very passionate about Disney and puppetry. Cole once aspired to work with Jim Henson, the mastermind behind the Muppets. Disney is a very big part of her life, as she takes multiple trips a year with her family to the most magical place on earth.

For the Lion King, Cole was able to take a portion of theatre students to see the magic that the Disney spectacle had to offer as the students piled in the Morris on opening weekend to see the show. People have asked Cole if working behind the scenes of a production takes away part of the magic that appears in the final product.

When Lion King announced it was coming to the Morris, she was excited for the opportunity to work behind the scenes, and combine all her passions of Disney, puppetry, and theatre into one job.

Cole’s main responsibility on Lion King was repairing beadwork on the costumes. Part of what makes the costumes so spectacular to the audience is the amount of detail that is put into them up close. For example, a single corset’s intricate pattern has multiple rows of extremely small beads.

Cole was responsible for repairing the beadwork on the corsets and collars, which would be under repair up until 30 minutes before the show started each night. This was a requirement before every show.

On top of this responsibility, she oversaw dressing a small section of the cast. As detailed and fragile as each of the costumers were, to prevent damage most of them were hung from above on harnesses instead of the traditional practice of laying them out on a table. Cole dressed cast members by lowering the costumes onto the actors and fastening them before removing them from the harness.

“Every show is a collaboration of artists, those that work behind the scenes, such as costume designers, make up artists, choreographers and cast members, that contribute to the magic of the final show. Seeing it all come together, there is nothing like it,” Cole explained.

“Everyone has the same goal, to give the audience the best show possible,” Cole says. With the Lion King, this was no different. Even as big of a Broadway musical the show has become, Cole explained that cast members still were very humble. “The cast member who played Simba would go out of his way to make sure to greet everyone he saw, cast member or crew, and they would help ease the tension before the show,” Cole recalls.

One of the reasons Cole has stayed working in wardrobe for 18 years is because the atmosphere is extremely welcoming, encouraging, and satisfying. Due to government regulations from the Covid-19, the show was unfortunately shut down early.

Even though the show was cut short, the Lion King was still a magical experience Cole will add to her long list of amazing accomplishments.

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Remembering Robert W. Demaree, Jr. The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts lost its founding dean and original music faculty member on March 24, 2020 when Robert W. Demaree, Jr. passed away at age 82.

Conductor, composer, author, lecturer, educator, scholar, and university administrator, Demaree built the music program at IUSB from the ground up, as well as shaping the School of the Arts that was formed during his tenure.

He played a key role in the artistic life of Michiana from 1965 until his retirement in 2001. Many of the programs he put in place are still vital and functioning today.

Demaree came to IU South Bend from Indiana University at Bloomington where he earned three music degrees; BM ’62, MM ’63, and PhD ’73, and was a member of the Singing Hoosiers. He interrupted his education for a time while he served his country for three years in The United States Army Chorus.

In an article for the Indiana Alumni Magazine May/ June 1997, Walton R. Collins writes, “When Demaree arrived at IUSB in 1965, the campus had yet to graduate a single student ... At IUSB, there was no music faculty until Demaree showed up, and for the first two years, he was it.”

He began as director of the Music Department, then was named chairman of the Division of Music in 1969, and eventually became dean of the newly formed Division of the Arts in 1991, which gave him responsibility not only for music, but also for theatre, fine arts, and communication.

Even as his administrative duties increased, Demaree continued to teach the capstone musical theory course Form and Analysis. He enjoyed teaching the class as a way to stay connected to the students.

The School of the Arts today is very much what Bob Demaree put in place at its inception, with the addition of one new department – Integrated New Media Studies.

However, even the seed for that department – an Electronic Media track in the Mass Communication degree – got its start under Bob Demaree. “Bob’s understanding of what might actually be possible in an environment like IUSB and the IU system has helped the Raclin School of the Arts endure through the years,” observed Michael Lasater, chair of new media.

He created the Arts Foundation Board, still an active group, made up of community members who supported the Arts, to be specifically involved with Arts students and events.

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He brought the first string quartet “in residence” to IU South Bend, and the campus still supports a string quartet – currently The Euclid. He worked to establish the Martin Endowed Chair of Piano, the first piano professorship on any of IU’s eight campuses. Alexander Toradze was appointed the first to hold the chair and establish the IUSB Piano Studio with the purpose of bringing brilliant pianists from around the world to study at IU South Bend.

Many of his contributions to the Michiana community continue on, including the South Bend Symphonic Choir that he helped to form and conducted for more than 20 years. He often said that his involvement with the South Bend Symphonic Choir kept him “alive as a conductor” as his administrative duties focused his attention elsewhere.

He helped found the South Bend Youth Symphony and the Michiana Boys Choir. He was also a co-founder of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Firefly Festival. In addition he created the IUSB Piano Festival which ran in 1998 and 2000, bringing musicians, critics, and ensembles together from around the world for a week of workshops, lectures, masterclasses, and performances.

A prolific writer, Demaree authored or co-authored several books including The Complete Conductor, Face to Face with an Orchestra, and The Masses of Joseph Haydn (with Don V. Moses). His final book (with Robert Hamilton) will be published in 2021.

Demaree is survived by his wife, Lynn, his son Robert K. Demaree and daughter Victoria Shively, along with their spouses, and five grandchildren.

Making a point of sharing credit for his success with his friends and colleagues, Demaree ended his 1998 letter to staff and faculty that announced his retirement by saying: “Warm thanks to each one of you for your dedication, talent, and friendship. It is an honor to serve IUSB at your side.”

Now it’s our turn. Thank you, Dr. Demaree. Thank you for your vision and leadership that set the school on its journey, bringing it to where it is today. May our parting words come from a short hymn that was your favorite way to end a Symphonic Choir concert, “God be with you till we meet again.”

What a difficult task, to honor Robert W. Demaree in a few short sentences! I have been in the unique position of knowing him in many diverse ways for perhaps longer than anyone I know, starting in Bloomington when he was my music adviser before he even came to South Bend.

Little did we know then that I would be his first music graduate at IU South Bend, a babysitter/housesitter/ dogsitter for many years, a part of their family at holidays when my own family lived in Florida, accompanist for Bob’s Symphonic Choir and Renaissance Singers, and piano teacher for his daughter Victoria. Later I served as a music faculty member and finally the Division’s Academic Coordinator. In every scenario I found him to be a brilliant scholar and thinker, an inspired teacher (I continue to be influenced in my own teaching to this day by his example), an inveterate punster, and a hugely caring person who was always available for me when I had need of his advice or support. At the risk of not being able to say enough, let me borrow from an old cliche when I say that the world has been a hugely better place for his having lived, and is significantly lesser in his absence.

Christine Larson Seitz Former music faculty, academic coordinator Department of Music, Division of the Arts Indiana University South Bend

I was recruited by Bob Demaree in 1994 to help establish the mass communication area in what was at that time the Division of the Arts. We immediately hit it off, establishing a very positive working relationship that lasted up to his retirement. I have a substantial background in music, and we would always end up talking about composers and performers with whom we had worked … but we also talked about the entire scope of the arts as they were then being pursued at IUSB. Bob was very well read and was an accomplished writer. He understood the interconnection between all the arts, and put that understanding to work across the Division’s curriculum, mixing faculty members from different departments in performance juries, search committees, and review boards.

I most deeply appreciated his personal interest in my creative agenda. In 2007, not long after he retired, I had a solo exhibition in the then new Warner Gallery. Bob and his wife came back to town for some appointments, and he called me to see if the gallery could be opened after hours – when he could be available – so that he might see my show. We did just that, and enjoyed a very fine evening together talking, as always, about everything. That was Bob Demaree. There wasn’t anything connected with art that he couldn’t talk about.

As someone who both sang for Dr. Demaree in the Symphonic Choir, and worked for him in the School of the Arts, I admired and respected him as a musician, conductor, and administrator. He always set the bar high.

He kept the students at the center of his focus, along with his goal of enriching the entire community through the arts.

Two things stand out in particular when I think of Bob. One, he was a perfectionist with the choir. “Breathe here, accent this syllable, count! And while you’re at it, go ahead and read the dynamic marks!” He never let up and we were all better for it! I have him to thank for the best musical experiences of my life. The second thing was how he loved to tell a story. He was an old-school storyteller and you could tell that he relished offering up a good one.

He would lean back in his chair. You’d see a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, and off he’d go! The story usually ended with a big belly laugh that compelled you to join in.

Tamea Rector Coordinator of student services Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts Indiana University South Bend

Bob Demaree was extremely caring, kind, thoughtful and generous. He had a great sense of humor and when he laughed (which he often did) it was a deep jolly laugh that made you feel happy just to hear it.

He was extremely intelligent and possessed a brilliant mind yet somehow made you feel pretty intelligent yourself. If you were lucky enough to work for him you were extremely lucky. He made you feel important and never belittled you no matter what mistake you would occasionally make. He was firm but fair. One of his favorite phrases which he said often was “that’s fine.” I heard that phrase regularly and the way he said it always made me feel better about the situation even if it was a slippery slope we were dealing with.

I simply adored this man and my life is better because of him. He was one in a million. If we had more people like him in this world it would be a much better and kinder place.

Kathy Manders Former administrative assistant to Dean Demaree Division of the Arts Indiana University South Bend

Michael Lasater, PhD. Professor of mass communication Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts Indiana University South Bend

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Michael Lasater, department chair of integrated new media studies and professor of mass communications, has had his poem, Obit, selected as a finalist in the 2020 Joy Bale Boone Prize and will be published in The Heartland Review.

Lasater has many interests, but poetry has been something he has been interested in since high school.

By Kate Luce

“I’ve had a strong interest in poetry since high school, where I was a member of a writing club. When I was a music student at the Oberlin Conservatory, I included poetry classes in my electives – modern poetry was my favorite. In my performance career I was constantly involved with opera, oratorios, lieder – I studied German and Italian – poetry was everywhere.

I’ve produced broadcast documentaries on poets and poetry.

Several of my friends have been poets and writers. So, poetry has been a thread running through my work and career from the beginning,” Lasater says.

About six years ago, Lasater wrote Now for a gallery display with a video composition, One, Two. About the same time, he saw a call for poetry in the publication Kansas Time + Place.

Since Lasater is originally from Kansas and Now was about his childhood there, he submitted the poem. Eventually it was published both online and in print. This encouraging start has allowed Lasater to continue putting his work out for publication, and for the community to enjoy.

As of the past few years, Lasater has had several of his poems published. Last year, he won the Joy Bale Boone Prize for his poem Documentary. His poem, West of Wichita, was the runner-up for the same competition. Both poems were published in The Heartland Review.

He has ties with Joy Bale Boone, as she was a coworker and mutual friend of his former colleagues at Western Kentucky University, Jim Wayne Miller and Mary Ellen Miller.

“In memory of the three of them I very much wanted to see my work published in a competition named in Joy Boone’s honor,” Lasater says.

“Documentary derives from my 1985 video documentary on Jim Wayne Miller and his poetry, and is largely situated in Jim’s homeplace, the mountain South. West of Wichita is entirely different, situated in my homeplace, Kansas. The jury process was blind. The Heartland Review did not know that I had any connection with Joy Bale Boone or the Millers. I was simply hoping to have one of the poems named finalist, which would result in publication. Documentary won first place, and West of Wichita won honorable mention. That was just astonishing.”

This year’s published poem, Obit, is an obituary to the late Mary Ellen Miller. In 2011, Miller won a poetry prize for her work, The Poet’s Wife Speaks. Lasater writes about her poems and the years they spent working together in Obit.

“I entered the poem in the 2020 Joy Bale Boone Prize again because of the connection between Mary Ellen, Joy, and

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myself. But I had just won the 2019 prize and thought that getting published twice in two years in the same competition might be quite a stretch. So–different juror, again a blind process. Obit was named a finalist and will be published in April. This is as gratifying as it gets,” Lasater says.

While poetry does come naturally, Lasater has a process when it comes to writing. He reads poetry almost every day, often returning to Frank Bidart, W.S. Merwin, Mary Karr, Frank O’Hara, Brenda Hillman, John Ashbery, and Ocean Vuong. He then writes two to three days out of the week.

In addition to this creative process, Lasater also spends time working with video, creating prints, sketching, and collaging.

The creative process allows for unexpected things to happen.

“My first lines in West of Wichita '…as much the certainty of unknowing as/the relentless subtraction of growing old…' were just a riff on the opening strategy of another poet’s work I had recently read and admired. For a long time I went one direction, then another, trying to make the poem work.

Then by chance a friend wrote something quite unexpected to me. I quoted her in the second stanza, and things started to develop. As it turned out, the poem went to a place I could not have predicted or planned. This always happens.

You start a poem – any work of art – with something that interests you. Then you push it in some direction. If it works (or not) you push it again. And again. At some point, you don’t need to push anymore. The piece takes over, does its own pushing, and you become an enabler, helping it get home,” Lasater says.

For Lasater, poetry has its connections with his New Media work. His video pieces are meant to be hung on the wall and derive from the aesthetics of painting, music, and poetry.

When he sees a poem, he sees a visual composition within the layout of lines, indentation, and spacings.

“My video And Then is strophic, each strophe ending ritually with a spoken line that in a poem might end a stanza. The visual composition of Birthday resonates with the poet John Ciardi’s use of the mobile to illustrate poetic structure. In Stilts, I surround a boy, who is me, standing on stilts in a checkerboard desert amidst swirling panels of words from poems by Mark Strand. Recently, I’ve extracted prints from some of my video pieces, inching even closer to painting,” Lasater explains.

The plan for Lasater is simple: working on new media pieces and creating poems for future publication.

“I’m 73, so for me the future is now. I’m currently composing an abstract video piece, a diptych, that I think will probably spin off a series of prints. I’m working on a couple of poems, and have submitted a number of pieces for possible publication. You never know. The poet Jim Wayne Miller once told me that when he finished a poem, he never knew if he would ever write another. I understand that. All of this might stop tomorrow. But probably not. I’m all in,” Lasater says.

West of Wichita ... as much the certainty of unknowing as the relentless subtraction of growing old.

My friend writes: I will pray for you even though I know you do not believe.

Yes. And yet even those who cannot believe may also pray – pray out of sheer unbelief perhaps – pray to no one, to a fable, an empty room – or pray to the wind, one of the old gods, the messenger of prayer – a god with breath and body, a god you can touch and hear.

Unbelief has its rituals, its priests.

Blinds half shut against the late afternoon sun, we sing to ourselves as we prepare a dinner we’ve enjoyed a thousand evenings before.

There will be wine – that much endures, at least – and later music – Schumann – circling – turning – color swirling – vanishing – Listen.

This morning I dreamt we had another child – a boy.

First desire, then form, face and flesh – then a voice, laughing as children always laugh – running to me – father – a mirage like him.

– Published in The Heartland Review, Mick Kennedy, ed. A Honorable Mention, Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, 2019.

Tim Hanson creates model of Drottningholm Slottsteater

By Eddie Castle

Tim Hanson, chair and associate professor of theatre, took on an interesting project during his sabbatical during the fall 2019 semester. He created a scale model of a legendary 1766 gothic theatre in Sweden; a project that has been attempted before, but never the way Hanson intends his to function.

For his sabbatical, Hanson and his wife, Salle, visited Sweden this past summer, staying a few miles away from the Drottningholm Palace, home to the theatre. Hanson received a faculty research grant that helped fund his travel abroad and study during this time.

Hanson decided that his sabbatical project would follow his passion for theatre, construction, and design by creating a functioning model of the Drottningholm Slottsteater, which is inside the Drottningholm Palace. The palace was originally built as a summer home for Swedish royalty. This theatre was constructed in 1766 and is still in use today.

When Hanson originally spoke about the project before he started to build and bring it to life, he was very excited. It was obvious the large project was something he was passionate about creating. The staff at Drottningholm Slottsteater were just as excited, and made Hanson promise to share photos of the finished model.

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“I knew it was a big project going into this. I have only seen photos or drawings/sketches of existing theatres like this. I have made mechanisms like this in life size but never scale model size. There was a lot of ‘uncharted’ territory for me, so I knew there was going to be a great deal of improvising to make this function as I wanted to,” Hanson recalls.

It was an enormous task to create a scale model of this theatre, but he was up to the challenge. He worked tirelessly on this model for weeks having to make several tweaks along the way.

Hanson has held his position on campus for more than 15 years. Because of his time as faculty and experience, Hanson has become a well-known face on campus and has always been known for his humor and support of the IU South Bend students. He is a multi-faceted faculty member, functioning expertly as lighting design professor, advisor, and scene shop supervisor.

However, Hanson is not new to improvising. Since he is a shop supervisor, he often must deal with improvising when it comes to building certain sets for productions. Construction for the shows can be hectic and things can change direction quickly. It is necessary to be flexible with taking chances while considering what is best for everyone. Hanson quoted words of Louis Pasteur, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

With this scale model, there were some challenges that arose, but Hanson was prepared.

“Whenever you build a scale model there are always things that do not translate well to scale such as joinery with the wood or the way fabric moves. Other challenges included, “finding tiny pulleys that function, finding string that is in proportional scale to rope, getting my hands into small places to tie tiny knots and to glue hard to reach joints.” Many obstacles were overcome for this project” Hanson explains.

Hanson had difficulty with the size of some of the objects, but he was able to make devices in the smaller scale that replicated the function of the original devices he saw in Drottningholm. He also added scenery onto his moving panels that were like actual scenery used in Sweden.

He was able to acquire materials at the Palace that were a tremendous help to his project. “While I was there in Drottningholm, I also purchased isometric drawings of the theatre that I had never seen before. This was a great help in the construction of the model. I referred to them every day,” Hanson says.

Another obstacle he ran into was the conditions he was working in. His home workshop is heated by a wood stove.

The heat caused the wood in his model to swell. This created problems when he had to create very specific joints or movable pieces that fit on a track.

Hanson worked endlessly on the model during his fall sabbatical, and through the long hours and aches and pains, he found success in his work. This project and trip to Sweden have been life changing for him, allowing him to learn a few things about himself as well.

“I think something I have learned about myself is that I enjoy when I put my mind to something. ‘When there is a will there’s a way’ is something my dad used to say, and is something I have written in my workshop,” Hanson explains.

Hanson hopes that his model will service the Theatre students of IU South Bend as a unique teaching tool for both History of Theatre classes and design/tech students to enhance their studies. At some point, the South Bend Community might also enjoy being able to see this important historical theatre without traveling to Sweden, as Hanson hopes to have the project on display at some point on the IU South Bend campus.

Once a Titan, always a Titan: Featuring lecturer Ryan Lohman

By Katelyn Firestein

Visiting Lecturer in Communication Studies Ryan Lohman might be new to teaching classes on campus, but do not let that fool you, he is quite experienced in the Titan life.

Lohman was born and raised on the west side of South Bend. Upon his graduation from Washington High School, he decided to attend IU South Bend, merely out of convenience. Working full-time while attending college was part of Lohman’s plan, so IU South Bend made this goal more attainable. He began taking classes in the fall of 2006. He took a break and returned to campus in 2010.

When he returned to campus, Lohman realized something was different, and felt more connected to the campus.

Lohman “quickly fell in love” with IU South Bend and completed both an undergraduate B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism, and his M.A. in Communication studies.

“Like many local commuting students, I took advantage of campus work opportunities throughout my entire undergrad and graduate careers,” Lohman reflects. “I worked as a tutor in our wonderful Writer’s Room, which offered me so many chances to not only help students with their writing, but to improve my own writing as well.”

Lohman also spent time as the editorin-chief for the campus newspaper, the Preface, and worked as the student editor for Aspire magazine.

“Writing for the Preface was an amazing experience because the students are really in charge of the entire operation, which is a huge responsibility, but it’s the only way to learn news writing. I worked with some amazing editors who took me under their wings and taught me the basics,” Lohman explains.

Lohman ended up leaving his job at Aspire early to pursue an internship

with The South Bend Tribune.

However, he is still grateful for his experience and learnings from the magazine and paper.

With Lohman’s extensive experience in journalism, his undergraduate minor seemed to be a perfect fit, both to help him in future careers and help diversify his skillset.

“As an undergrad, I minored in Integrated New Media Studies, which I would recommend any journalism or public relations student to do. Most journalism work requires knowledge of publishing software, page layout and design, and these are the kinds of things you learn in new media classes” Lohman says.

“Like many communication students, I started my degree in pursuit of one area of communication scholarshipjournalism- but ended up branching out to embrace quite a bit more from the discipline, which is vast,” said Lohman.

After finishing his bachelor’s, Lohman immediately went on to complete his master’s degree at IU South Bend. He explained that this timeline worked well because he “was working with professors and advisors who already knew [his] academic and research interests.”

Lohman added,“professors Yuri Obata and Brett Labbé, were able to recommend graduate-level readings for me while I was still an undergrad in anticipation of me joining the program, so it was a really smooth process.”

“Part of the graduate degree in communication studies involves a class in pedagogy. That class and my time as a tutor prepared me to teach, and so when a job became available in my own department, I was ready to accept the challenge immediately,” Lohman says.

He added, “working as a tutor felt like a transition between being a student and being a teacher so jumping into

a teaching role full-time felt pretty natural.”

Lohman has had a long journey at IU South Bend, but the journey has helped him find his passion in teaching others.

Now, Lohman is a visiting lecturer in Communication Studies. His journey at IU South Bend has come full circle.

So far, he has taught public speaking courses, but is looking forward to teaching additional Communication Studies courses in the future.

Aside from his dedication to IU, Lohman enjoys spending time with his wife and his dogs. He loves to read and has been playing guitar for more than 20 years, primarily acoustic folk and American primitive guitar music.

Given his wisdom and experience, Lohman shared the following advice with IU South Bend students: “The thing many students don’t realize soon enough about IU South Bend is that it is a goldmine for ambitious students.

You have such amazing opportunities here that you may not have had going to other universities. In my context, that meant all of the writing and editing opportunities.”

“For other students, it is the leadership opportunities, such as Student Government or Titan Productions.”

He continued, “I was able to work as a staff writer, copy editor, and editorin-chief at my university paper, which were all very valuable experiences.

I was able to work for Aspire and interview world-renowned musicians.

As a graduate student, I was able to design and edit the Graduate Research Journal. I do not think I would have been able to have such robust real-world experiences anywhere else. You should take advantage of those experiences and appreciate them while you can.”

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Fictional Space has a place of its own

By Kate Luce

Susan Moore, fine arts department chair, had her photo series, Fictional Space, debut at Texas Tech University’s photo gallery in mid-November 2019.

Moore was one of the three selected solo artists featured throughout the fall semester. Her work in this show depicted miniature places that look quite large. These settings feel dreamlike yet can still seem rooted in reality.

“As a professor, an academic scholar, and a photographer, I make photographs and research conceptual ideas regarding aesthetics and images. For the most part, I make landscape images. Recently, I have shifted my creative process from large color landscapes to black and white images made in the studio,” Moore says.

Each body (or new series) of her work takes about three to five years to turn it from a concept into a full-blown exhibition and publication. Most of this time is delegated to researching and working on how the photograph will look. The work has become much more complex with each body of work. Fictional Space featured 16 photographs, all dedicated to her theme of making an image with as little information as possible.

“In all my photographic projects, I am inspired by the veracity of the photographic image to represent and reproduce a subject. In these recent images, I began by making a photograph of empty space, images with as little information or content as possible. I was thinking about how much information is necessary to create a photograph. I decided to create small sculptural maquettes and photograph these objects, as this process would allow me to best explore these concepts in photography,” Moore says.

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This exhibition was just one of the many that she has had throughout the past few years. In January of 2019, Moore hosted a smaller exhibition of this work in Michigan. In September 2019, she went to Manchester in the United Kingdom to exhibit and discuss her work at the Tenth International Conference on the Image.

Prior to this exhibition, she attended the International Curatorial Program in Brooklyn, NY. For this program, Moore received a grant from IU South Bend as well as being awarded a studio in a large warehouse building with about 60 other artists from around the world.

“During this time, I made this new series entitled Fictional Space. In addition, I was able to meet the other artists at the studio, and meet with art critics, invited to meet the artists in the program. It was an excellent experience for me to develop these new ideas in my work,” Moore says.

After her residency, she continued to make her work at home.

She applied for other exhibitions and conferences to meet other scholars and discuss her work, and in March after a conference at Texas Tech University, Moore applied for the exhibit at the school. She was one of the three artists to receive a solo exhibition for her work.

“For me, photography is not just about capturing a moment or a person, photography is one way to understand the world and to communicate information and ideas,” Moore says.

Fictional Space opened on Nov. 14 and stayed on display until Dec. 15 at Texas Tech University’s SRO Photo Gallery.

Wishing Kevin Gillen the best

By Diona Eskew

It’s a new semester this fall, new classes, new faces, and new routines. However, someone will be missing from the Communication Studies department in the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts. Senior Lecturer, Kevin Gillen retired over the summer.

While he is leaving as a full-time faculty member, his legacy remains on campus. “In a recent faculty meeting, I looked around at eight of my colleagues,” Gillen said as he reflected on that day. “Perhaps it was coincidence that day, all lined up together, but across the conference table, I realized that the people in my view were all former students and advisees.

Almost half of everyone at the meeting. I think I have never felt prouder.”

Sitting at that conference table were Tami Martinez, assistant dean in the School of the Arts, senior lecturer in communication arts; Cory Iwaszewski, media and community outreach manager for the School of the Arts; Ryan Lohman and Diona Eskew, visiting lecturers for communication studies.

“He hired me!” Tami expressed her gratitude for Kevin’s role in her being at IU South Bend. “It’s because of him that I’m at IUSB. I’ll always be thankful for that.”

Public Speaking has been the main course Gillen has taught over the years and his ability to put students at ease has made the course not just tolerable but enjoyable.

“When I was first hired, I taught Public Speaking 100% of the time,” Gillen said. The first semester he taught 200 students.

“I have since calculated and realized that I have watched and graded over 15,000 speeches.”

Amazingly, Kevin has taught more than 4,000 students since beginning at IU South Bend, according to his math calculations. He has taught not only Public Speaking but also Interpersonal Communication, Business and Professional Communication, Introduction to Speech Communication, and has facilitated Internships. However, Kevin’s favorite course to teach has been Cross-Cultural Communication.

“About two years into teaching, the assistant dean at the time made the decision to give me a chance to teach it, since it desperately needed a ‘reboot’ at the time,” Kevin explained. “I had long made my identity known as a minority rights advocate, but I also always had great interest in other cultures and how every aspect of communication is affected by it. So, it happened, and so it was meant to be. I taught the course continuously from that moment, until retirement.”

“He inspired me to find my path, which led me to teaching,” Eskew said. “From my undergrad studies to side-by-side offices I’ve always enjoyed learning and working with Kevin.”

Kevin’s teaching has touched the lives of many students over the years both professionally and personally. His charisma puts students at ease in public speaking classes, his unique teaching style inspires and motivates students.

“Kevin has always been student-focused,” said Tamea Rector, Coordinator of Student Services for the Arts. “He has put many a nervous freshman at ease about the prospect of public speaking and set them up for success in their academic careers as well as for future employment.”

Ashley Cox, senior communication studies student, said, “Having him in class was a blast. I have never enjoyed a Public Speaking class as much as I did in his class. He always knew how to have a good time and to make you feel comfortable when it came to speaking in front of people.”

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For the future…

Wishing Kevin the best I loved your enthusiastic approach to teaching. Your presentation of what could be rather dry material made it interesting and applicable. As an academic advisor you were tops. Your affability made it where I could just sit and talk with you in your office for long periods of time and it would just be like talking to a friend. Definitely one of my favorite professors, I’m very lucky to have met you.

- Eric Brubaker, former student I am so sad to see Professor Gillen leave. He has been my advisor throughout college and anytime I would go in his office he always made me feel welcome and helped me out with anything I needed.

He will be greatly missed in the communication department, but I know his life outside of class will not be boring.

- Ashley Cox, senior communication studies I am so grateful that I have met you. Over the years your guidance has grown into friendship and while I’ll miss seeing you on campus, I look forward to seeing your adventures in retirement. You’ve earned this, enjoy every minute of it!

- Diona Eskew, visiting lecturer Always loved your classes. They were not the traditional head in the book kind of exchange, but more of an open air, free flowing class. You don’t find that too often. The graveyard assignment was really interesting. And a class exercise where you said a phrase and then we had to write down a word to describe it was really insightful. I still have what I wrote. I always respected you and still do.

- Maria Majerek, former student I’ve only had Gillen for an online class that I took in the Spring of 2019, but even from our virtual interactions, I was excited and inspired by his energy. It’s a shame that I never had the chance to have an in-person class with him, but I know from some of my classmates that he was never boring and always entertaining—a joy to have a class with.

- Taylor Waldron, senior communication studies major

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“Well, life BCE (Before Covid Era), I was planning on travelling the world,” Gillen commented regarding retirement plans. “For now, I will save money for some not-too-distant future when I hope to experience places I have never been, such as New Zealand and Japan. But perhaps on my bucket list is spending time in the parts of the world where I have the most ancestors; eastern and southern Europe and the UK. I want to see a sunrise and a sunset in exactly the place my 4-5x grandparents did. This is my spirituality.”

You may still see Kevin in the halls and classrooms on campus. Even though he’s retiring, his love of working with students and passion for education will keep him around part-time, as an adjunct lecturer. “I hope to be an adjunct for many years to come,” Gillen said. “I also hope to continue as the site visitor for the Advance College Project based out of IU Bloomington. These visits keep me learning curriculum design, technology changes, and I get to have fun with other teachers. What’s not to like?”

Kevin is looking forward to retirement but admits there are a few things he will miss, colleagues, students, and service.

“This milestone comes with mixed feelings because everyone I work with has become much more than a colleague, they have become my family,” Gillen said. He attributes working with students to keeping him feeling young. “Not only have I taught them, they have taught me with their fresh, bright, and positive energy.”

From the garden to the classroom It began in the late 1990s when life circumstances brought Kevin Gillen from 25 years working in horticulture in Boston, Massachusetts and southern California to Michiana.

“I had to re-invent myself,” Gillen said. “It was an important lesson to learn that an associate degree was no longer going to be enough.” Soon he began taking courses at IU South Bend. “I made the decision to ‘see if I can do it’ and – begrudgingly – went back for more education. I was certainly ‘too old’. I never thought it would work. But to my surprise, I was accepted into the Business program at IU South Bend.”

The start in Business seemed like a great fit for Kevin. “I knew business, as I had many years’ experience in it, so this seemed perfect. But then the math ball dropped.” That’s when Kevin knew that wasn’t the right path for him and ultimately led to the Ernestine Raclin School of the Arts and Communication Studies.

“I promised myself to give it a try for one semester. If it didn’t work, I’ve lost nothing,” Kevin explained. “Instead, I finished with a 3.98 GPA in that semester and said, ‘hmm, okay!’ I was off and running.”

While working on his Bachelor of Arts in public relations Kevin experienced an epiphany. “It hit me when I learned so much new content about the world and all at once I thought, ‘Other people need to know this!’”

“I began by sharing my desire and passion to extend this knowledge in my undergrad presentations and was chosen by my instructors as student of the year, and I was recognized for my leadership in creating a Communication Club on campus, as well as being initiated into the Who’s Who of American Students.”

“Then 9/11 happened. Instead of wanting to ‘get back out there and get a job,’ the uncertainty of those times, gave us all pause,” Kevin said. “I chose instead to continue my education and three months after I graduated from IU, I was enrolled in a master’s program at Ball State.”

All the friendships and connections that Kevin made while at IU South Bend made the transition from student to teacher nearly perfect after completing the MA program in 12 months. “I was on a roll,” Kevin said. “I maintained my connections with IU South Bend, so it was a natural match when 15 months after graduating with my BA, I was hired as a visiting lecturer and never looked back. I had landed exactly where I was supposed to be.

“I remember pinning Kevin’s honors cords for High Distinction on his robe at Commencement in 2002 when he completed his undergraduate degree in Speech Communication at IUSB,” said Tamea Rector. “And I was thrilled to see him return to the Arts in 2003 when he began teaching Public Speaking and Cross-Cultural Communication a few years later.”

Kevin’s final thoughts and advice “From the very first day on the job until today, I was and continue to be super proud of being an 'IU' faculty member.

To all the people who were instrumental in hiring me, all the way up to everyone on campus today, I extend my deepest gratitude for giving me this amazing and outrageously perfect opportunity.”

To students: “You have more answers than you know.”

Gillen believes in his role to support and guide students to help them grow. Through his courses he would use blunders as examples that not being perfect is okay and everyone makes mistakes. “I always told my students that I had a speech impediment when I was very young. If that gives you inspiration, good. But you are your own best inspiration already.”

To his colleagues: “You can’t possibly know how proud I am to have been a colleague of yours and been incorporated into the family that is Communication Studies. I have grown and learned and benefited from this relationship in myriad ways and I am so thankful for this honor and this privilege. I’m a lucky guy.”

I have enjoyed working with him for the past 17-years and wish him the best in his new journey.

- Tamea Rector, coordinator of student services You were one of my favorite professors ever.

Your class has changed how I value non-verbal communication to this day. I believe I took your class 10 years ago. You had the greatest energy, stories, and experience. I was shy and you had a way to make me feel comfortable to contribute to the class. I wish I had more classes with you and more professors like you as well.

- Allysa Winston, former student You were seriously one of my favorite professors. I remember when you became my academic advisor when I switched majors and I met with you after my dad passed away so we could go over how to make sure I got all my credits in. You were so kind and so extremely helpful. You got me through a crazy transition. I also loved all the funny stories you would share in class and chatting with you when I saw you in the halls.

- Alyssa Utter, former student I have had Kevin for two classes in my college career at IUSB. The first class was for my spring internship the other class is an interpersonal communication class.

Kevin and I connected on our shared passion for the Titanic, it came up when I mentioned the bumper sticker he had pinned up in his office. Later on, as he announced his retirement, I was extremely saddened because I enjoyed every conversation about the Titanic we had.

During a meeting on an honors assignment for his class Kevin gifted me the original bumper sticker that made us have that first conversation on the Titanic. For the rest of the spring semester till COVID–19 hit Kevin gave me several books and a calendar from his collection. Not only did he want me to have these, but he stated how awesome it was to have a fellow student interested in a part of history and he was happy to have someone continue their knowledge in the Titanic.

These items I will hang on to forever and will always bring me back to IUSB and one of the great professors I had the pleasure of having.

- Melissa Swanson, senior communication studies major

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Inaugural Arts Video Intern Brandon Galvan

By Dositha Rosine Kamugisha

Last fall the Raclin School of the Arts was looking for a student with a specialized skill set to serve as the school’s first videography intern. The school found everything it hoped for and more when Brandon Galvan, BFA ’20 Integrated New Media Studies, applied for the job.

The position was designed to help the staff create promotional videos for the many exciting events sponsored by the Raclin School of the Arts such as music and theatre performances, lectures, concerts, and recitals.

Galvan was born and raised in South Bend and is wrapping up his undergraduate career at IU South Bend.

As a student, Galvan has perfected his project-based work ethic that utilizes his education in video and motion media. His instructors taught him to be creative and cooperative with his colleagues in the School of the Arts.

“What I find interesting within my major is being able to create anything that comes to mind and collaborating with other students and bringing different ideas to the mix to be able to create something amazing at the end of the project,” Galvan explains.

The field of Integrated New Media Studies (INMS) requires students to work hard to create projects that are different when it comes to video, photography, animations, or 3D printing. Towards the end of students’ academic careers, they should have a grasp of the creative/collaborative process and possess solid skills to support that process. In addition, like Galvan, they will have developed confidence in their ability to craft a product that delivers what the customer is looking for.

Department chair of INMS Dr. Michael Lasater, professor of Mass Communication, was one of Galvan’s professors since his start at IU South Bend. “Brandon has a strong sense of photographic composition – he’s a very intuitive visual storyteller, especially in video. He is also careful with all the details – video color matching, audio control,

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camera control and shot selection. The combination of creative intuition plus discipline in the production process – Brandon has that, and it will stand him in good stead in his career,” Lasater explains.

With what Galvan learned while studying INMS at IU South Bend, he knows he is equipped with the skills necessary to deliver promotional videos that make him proud of his work.

Although the School of the Arts had Galvan for only one year, due to his spring graduation, he has left his mark on how the intern position should be handled. Cory Iwaszewski, Media and Community Outreach Manager for the School of the Arts says, “Brandon came in and did everything we asked for and more. He is an extremely talented student, who has big things coming in his future. I wish we could keep him here, but there is a company that is going to be very happy when they hire him. HIs talent mixed with his work ethic will make him a great asset to any organization.

We are very thankful we had him for this past year.”

Galvan chose IU South Bend for its affordability and close commute to his home. Now he is putting together the skills he has gained here, along with field experiences such as his internship in the Arts, to craft a career that he can take anywhere. As the school year winds down, he is already looking at what’s next on his journey. His plans after graduation include some freelance work around the area, but ultimately Galvan hopes to move south and join a big corporation in Miami. “Moving to Miami is my biggest dream because I really enjoy the culture and the atmosphere. There is so much to do, and I love the warm weather,” Galvan says.

Galvan’s expertise in video editing will start making its debut this upcoming semester, however, if you would like to check out some of Galvan’s work, please see https:// brandongalvan305.wixsite.com/brandongalvan.

Heath Hicks: MA project gets the green light

By Kate Luce

Heath Hicks, Master of Communication ’19, is utilizing the skills he learned in the program and implementing them in his job at Dometic as an IT specialist. Dometic is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and Elkhart, Indiana. The company is involved in the production of products for every aspect of mobile living.

During his time at IU South Bend, Communication Studies always caught his interest. Hicks also graduated with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication ’06.

His concentrations were in audio and video production and public relations.

In 2014, Hicks came back to IU South Bend, intending to work on his MBA, but he found out from a former professor that Communication Studies would soon be offering a graduate program. So, he left the world of economics and accounting for communication studies and returned to his roots at IU South Bend.

“Initially I wanted to focus more on the Political Communication aspect so I focused a lot of my early research proposals and study on how politicians used social media as a catalyst for direct one way communication with their audience as a means of political influence. I really wanted to focus on the power of Donald Trump’s tweets and the effects it has mainly among the alt right and their opinion about political issues and the 'mainstream media.'

Unfortunately, that was too large of a project, so my faculty advisor and I decided that my second strong suit was in the Organizational Communication area. So, my capstone project is based in that area of Communication Studies,” Hicks explained.

His capstone project was first thought of in his pedagogy class that had an option for building a training program as a final for the class. Hicks was interested in building a training program for his company, and to his surprise, discovered that the talent

acquisition and development manager was already working on a training program.

“I wanted to take a more holistic approach to leadership, especially in the corporate setting. It has been my experience that managers from the top down really fall into either the autocratic, laissez faire, or transactional management styles. So, they are either intense and in your face about working, or they are laid back and don’t offer much input or development until you don’t meet expectations,” Hicks said.

Hicks built a training program that focuses on producing Transformational Leaders. He wants to teach current managers about how to build relationships with employees to increase productivity, build a strong team, and create a positive environment.

“This style of leadership is dependent on a leader’s ability to be not only personable but charismatic enough to build a trusting relationship with their followers as well as serve as an inspiration to their teams to encourage each member to go beyond what is expected of them.

Transformational leadership also takes the follower/subordinate's wellbeing into consideration. There’s an emphasis on building up your followers' morale (especially in times of crisis and change), as well as leaders being able to provide intellectually stimulating environments while giving individualized consideration to their employees,” Hicks adds.

Hicks’ program includes five training modules that focus on transformative leadership, motivation, active listening, negotiating, and problem solving. His program is split up in two, four-hour training days that feature lectures, discussions, and interactive activities.

“So, after we outlined what transformational leadership was, we went into the active listening

module, which for my work, is an important fundamental. Being a good active listener, as a leader, builds a relationship with your employees.

It shows them that you are not just “hearing” what they have to say, you are invested in their thoughts and ideas.

From there we went into a negotiation module, which requires the person facilitating the negotiations to use active listening.” Hicks explained.

Hicks uses real-world situations for the activities in his training exercises.

Once his training program was implemented into his workplace, it was immediately a success. In fact, the company wants to do a second program with more managers and customized training components.

“Things move a little slow at the corporate level. My Swedish manager also used my research as a guide to help him motivate some of our European staff members who were struggling to meet the expectations of our global IT organization. Overall, the managers who took part in the seminar found it valuable and there was a lot of positive feedback,” Hicks explained proudly.

Hicks is working towards becoming a global SCCM manager for Dometic, but he has plans to start his own business that would focus on leadership and development consulting. He is thankful he made that decision to enter the graduate communication studies program, as it has taught him a lot that he can put to practical use in his career.

If you are interested in pursuing a degree in the Masters of Communication program, please visit the program at: arts.iusb.edu/academic-departments/ communication-studies/graduteprogram.html.

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For the past two years, the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts has been fortunate to employ Brianna Edgerly, BFA ’20 Photography, and Xitlali Diaz, BFA ’19 Photography to capture photos of the best moments of the many events that take place in the school throughout the academic year. From performances by students and faculty, to theatre productions, outreach events, guests artists, BFA shows, gallery exhibits, and many more, they have documented the events and honed their professional photography skills in the process.

Edgerly and Diaz receive assignments and split up the events between them, unless the event is big enough to require two photographers, such as the holiday Teddy Bear concert. The job of a photographer for the Raclin School is no easy task and can take up a lot of time with the busy events calendar in the arts. It can be especially challenging when you are a full-time student, as well as working other part-time jobs.

That is exactly what both students did during their time as photographers and provided the school with nothing short of exceptional shots capturing special moments over the years.

“Both students have made my transition into the Media and Community Outreach position a lot easier,” Cory

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Iwaszewski said as he reflected on the time he has worked with both photographers. “They are extremely reliable and extremely talented students. They are both going to succeed in their careers.”

Susan Moore, department chair of fine arts and professor of fine arts, has witnessed the growth of both students over the years.

“They are both excellent photographers!” Moore expressed with pride. She has watched both students blossom into the photographers they are today. “Their images document the events and experiences of students throughout the School of the Arts. Their student legacy, a visual archive of performances and undertakings is a treasure.”

Both Edgerly and Diaz have set the bar high for the next Raclin School of the Arts photographers. The students exceeded the expectation of everything they were tasked to do, and will be missed.

From the School of the Arts, Thank you Brianna and Tally.

Top Left // Untitled

by Wesley Pickard //

Bottom Left/ Akeso: Goddess of healing Stone Lithograh, 11”x14”

by Tally Diaz // alumni

Bottom Right // Wavey Davey, 2020 Silkscreen

by Kate Luce// student 3

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