April - Wilkes University

VO LU M E 1 , I SS U E 2
A P R I L 2 01 2
ARTS
THE ARTIST’S WORLD IS LIMITLESS -
WILKES
PAUL STRAND
AMADEUS HITS THE STAGE
Jamie Alderiso, left,
plays Salieri;
Luke Brady is Mozart.
Wilkes University Theatre
presented Peter Shaffer’s stage
play Amadeus in the Dorothy
Dickson Darte Center for the
Performing Arts on April 12-14 at
8 p.m. and April 15 at 2 p.m.
The fictionalized drama revolves
around 18th-century composers
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
Antonio Salieri. Bursting with
music and madness, the tale
portrays one of theatre’s most
glorious rivalries.
CONSERVATORY HOSTS EVENTS
May 6: Students of Diane Shuleski piano recital 7 p.m.
Dorothy Dickson Darte Center in Gies Hall. Admission
is free.
May 12: Indian classical dance recital by the students
of Sujata Nair-Mulloth, 6 p.m. on the main stage at the
Dorothy Dickson Darte Center. Tickets $5. Call (570)
586-3917 or (570) 408-4426.
June 1-3: Ballet Northeast Carnival of the Animals,
Paquita and The Firebird on June 1 - 2 at 7:30 p.m.
and June 3 at 2 p.m. in the Dorothy Dickson Darte
Center. Admission $15 for children, seniors and
students, and $20 for adults. Call (570) 821-8525.
Professor Makes Music Happen in NEPA
Dr. Steven Thomas, associate professor of music and coordinator of music at
Wilkes University, is one of many performing arts faculty with strong ties to the
community. Dr. Thomas will serve as chorus master for the NEPA Philharmonic’s
performance of Brahms’ Requiem on April 27. This performance features the
Wilkes University Chorus along with the Choral Society of NEPA and the
Marywood University Campus Choir.
He also directs the Robert Dale Chorale, a community choral ensemble with a
concert season that includes a fall concert, a Christmas concert, an annual
Messiah sing-along that is broadcast every year on WVIA-FM, an annual Bach
Festival, and a spring pops concert. The Wilkes Choral Ensembles have
collaborated with the chorale on numerous occasions. A number of Wilkes
alumni also sing with the chorale. Dr. Thomas’ dedication is recognized by his
receipt of the 2011 Wilkes University Alumni Mentoring Award. He shares this
honor with Susan Minsavage, an adjunct faculty member in voice.
FROM THE DEAN
The arts have been an important part of the Wilkes University
campus throughout its history and continue to be today. Please join
us for an event or visit the Sordoni Gallery.
Linda A. Winkler
Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
PERFORMING ARTS EVENTS
April 21: Annual Division Dance Concert featuring faculty and selected
student-choreographed pieces, 8 p.m. The Emerging Choreographer’s
Concert, featuring all student-choreographed work, 3 p.m. Admission
free. Tickets required for 8 p.m. show.
April 22: Wilkes University Choral Ensembles Earth Day program, 3
p.m., St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre. Admission free.
April 27: Wilkes University Chorus joins the NEPA Philharmonic, the
Choral Society of NEPA and the Marywood University Campus Choir to
perform Brahms’ German Requiem, 8 p.m. in the Scranton Cultural
Center. Tickets available at www.nepaphil.org.
April 28: Chamber Orchestra concert featuring a mixture of classical
and popular styles, including waltzes and mariachi music, 3 p.m. in the
Dorothy Dickson Darte Center Upper Lobby. Admission free.
April 29: Civic Band performance at the Wilkes-Barre Cherry Blossom
Festival, 2 p.m. in Kirby Park, features 1812 Overture. Admission free.
May 2: Flute
Ensemble, Upper
Lobby of the Dorothy
Dickson Darte Center
Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Admission free.
May 3: Jazz
Ensemble, Dorothy
Dickson Darte Center,
8:30 p.m. Admission
is free.
STUDENT RECEIVES AWARD
AT CARNEGIE HALL COMPETITION
Sienna Tabron, a 14-year-old pianist and student of Pamela Carroll of
the Wilkes University Conservatory, recently earned an honorable
mention in the American Protégé International Competition at
Carnegie Hall. Sienna competed against 300 other young musicians
from over 20 countries. This is her second performance at Carnegie
Hall in competition. Sienna also performed at the Kaufman Center
for the Performing Arts on April 1.
ARTS @ WILKES
APRIL 2012
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: WILKES UNIVERSITY
ALUMNUS JON CARSMAN ’66
Jon Carsman was a classic
example of a creative and
charismatic American
artist who, during his short
but productive career, lived
a vibrant life and died
tragically young. Carsman,
in the style of both his life
and art, was truly
immersed in the New York
art scene of the 1970s and
1980s. Represented by
established galleries like
Graham and Hammer, the
artist was well received by
critics for Art News and
Arts Magazine and was
described as one of the
New Realist or Photo
Realist painters who
re-established the importance of representational
imagery in the wake of Abstract Expressionism.
A native of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Wyoming
Valley coal fields, Carsman never lost his fascination
for the region’s lonely towns and woodland glades.
Carsman’s flat and brightly colored depictions of
Victorian houses, overgrown gardens, shadowed
waysides, and neon lightwires combined elements
of Photo Realism, Pop, and the American Scene to
address issues of cultural and technological
innovation and isolation.
Professor’s Artwork on
Display in Kazakhstan
Sharon Cosgrove, associate professor of art
was chosen to have her artwork displayed at
the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan. She
traveled to Kazakhstan in March 2012 to visit
Kostany, Astana and Alamaty. During her stay,
she presented lectures as well as offered
master classes at schools and cultural
institutions with students and local artists.
The trip was sponsored by the Art in
Embassies Program and the U.S. Embassy
in Kazakhstan.
In America’s fast-flowing current of change, the
stillness of rural pools and eddies revealed that
contemporary progress was uneven and
inherently linked with loss. The artist faced this
reality with optimism and tempered it, only
slightly, with regret.
Used with the permission of Darlene MillerLanning, Ph.D/Adjunct Faculty, Wilkes University
THEATRE PERFORMANCES
CONTINUE RECEIVING AWARDS
Wilkes University Theatre received three awards from
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival
for the November 2011 musical production of The Who’s
Tommy. The production was a complex and technical
achievement integrating projection slides and intelligent
lighting equipment into a fast paced musical
performance. The musical is by Pete Townshend and Des
McAnuff, with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend.
Teresa Fallon, director of theatre, was the director for
the production as well as scenic and lighting designer.
Co-lighting designer David Yezefski also designed the
sound. Joseph C. Dawson, chair of the division of
performing arts, designed the costumes. KCACTF
honored current Wilkes theatre major Lacey Willis for
her excellent work as stage manager. Musical direction was by Ken McGraw with choreography by
Wilkes dance program instructor Lynne Mariani. In their debut performance on the Wilkes
University stage, two brothers from the Wyoming Valley, Ian and Adam Cavalari, played the title
roles of Tommy at ages 4 and 10.
Sharon’s other achievements include the
International Biennial Exhibition of
Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy, where
she was honored with the Medici Award in
Painting. In addition, she was awarded the
Non-Traditional and Innovative Teaching
Award at Wilkes University as a result of
student nomination. Furthermore, she
received faculty development grants and
sabbaticals for her studio practice, supporting
her commitment to teaching art.
Exhibition features
“Rosalyn Richards:
Recent Works”
In conjunction with the construction of Wilkes
University’s new science building, “Rosalyn
Richards: Recent Works” will be on view at the
Sordoni Art Gallery from Aug. 27 through Oct.
14. Rosalyn Richards, a professor of art at
Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., gleans
inspiration for her drawings and prints from the
scientific world.
“The drawings are a visual narrative dealing with
microscopic views of growth processes in
nature—an investigation of unit forms and the
intricacies of their arrangements,” said Richards.
“I employ repetition, shifting scales and a variety
of tonal relationships to reference the natural
world and explore processes normally unseen by
the human eye. The passage of time, and the
mysterious spaces that imply hidden forces, are
the underlying themes of the work. In some of
the work, I use appropriated imagery from
scientific diagrams of cosmic or microscopic
events and images from biology.
For more information on Rosalyn Richards, visit
http://www.rosalynrichards.com/.