Calendar of Events

September 1—October 7

Spelling the Wind by

Craig Dongoski,

Perkinson Art Gallery

Friday, September 2

After 5 Live!,

5:00-7:30 pm at Blue

Connection Art Gallery,

117 N. Water St.

Monday, September 5

MDSO Labor Day

Lakefront Pops,

6:00 pm at Nelson Park

Friday, September 16

Choral Concertino,

6:00 pm at Central

Christian Church,

650 W. William St.

September 16, 17, 23, 24

Cock, 7:30 pm in Pipe

Dreams Studio Theatre

Saturday, September 17

Jazz at LSB featuring

Billy Rogers & the Hip

Replacements,

3:30-5:30 pm

Collage Concert,

7:30 pm in Kirkland

Fine Arts Center

September 17 & 24

Cock, 11:59 pm in Pipe

Dreams Studio Theatre

Welcome From the Dean

So much going on, so little space!

As the school year begins, the College of Fine Arts is

already in high gear welcoming new students and

faculty, launching a new degree program, rehearsing

ensembles, preparing for exhibitions, and reaching

out to the community. Here are some updates since

last spring:

▪ The School of Music is pleased to welcome Dr.

Mark Tonelli to the guitar area and Dr. Sergey Bogza

as the new Music Director/Conductor of the

Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra.

▪ Theatre and Dance is no longer a “department,”

but a School, and former Technical Director Mary

Black has been appointed as the first Director of the new School of Theatre and

Dance, with new performance faculty members Kevin Hoffmann and Allison

Moody and technical staff members Marc Black and Eric Mercer rounding out our

degree programs and production season staffing.

▪ The Art Department, along with the rest of the College of Fine Arts welcomes

Jessa Wilcoxen as a new faculty member in graphic design and in the newly

created, interdisciplinary major, Arts Technology.

A wide variety of innovative performances, events, and opportunities are

highlighted in this first Arts@Millikin of the season, so please take a look and treat

yourself to some of what the CFA has to offer in September. These events will

feature the best of what our students, faculty, alumni, and guest artists have to

offer.

The Arts @ Millikin are thriving!

See you soon,

Laura Ledford

Dean, College of Fine Arts

After 5 Live!

Emma Morrison Friday, September 2, 5:00-7:30 pm

Blue Connection Art Gallery, 1117 N. Water St.

Robert Harrison Crowder Endowment Artist-in-Residence,

Emma Morrison, will show her final exhibit, Humans of

Decatur. Morrison, a senior Studio Art major, creates

large-scale paintings of senior citizens in the community.

Refreshments provided.

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Calendar of Events

Continued

September 18 & 25

Cock, 2:00 pm in Pipe

Dreams Studio Theatre

Sunday, September 18

Vocal Festival Opening

Concert, 7:00 pm in

Kirkland Fine Arts

Monday, September 19

Vocal Festival Finale

Concert, 4:30 pm in

Kirkland Fine Arts

Center

Thursday, September 22

Spelling the Wind live

performance, 4:00 pm in

Perkinson Art Gallery

Friday, September 23

Guest Recital with

Professor Shawn Roy,

bass-baritone & Dr.

Chan-Kiat Lim piano,

7:30 pm in Kaeuper Hall

Saturday, September 24

Jazz at LSB with Craig

Russo Latin Jazz Project,

3:30-5:30 pm

MDSO Masterworks I,

7:30 pm in Kirkland Fine

Arts Center

September 29 & 30

Headshot, 7:30 pm in

Albert Taylor Theatre

Friday, September 30

Cock, 10:30 pm in Pipe

Dreams Studio Theatre

Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra

Labor Day

Lakefront Pops Monday, September 5, 6:00 pm

Nelson Park

Free and open to the public

Now in its 20th year, the tradition

of a Labor Day concert continues!

Celebrate the end of summer with

one of Decatur’s favorite family

traditions. Join the MDSO as it

performs upbeat marches, highlights from opera, Viennese waltzes, and very happy

Russian music!

School of Music

On September 10, Millikin's Cello Professor,

Amy Catron, with guest artist Ruth Marshall

will present the inaugural Millikin Cello Day in

Kaeuper Hall. The event is open to all

intermediate to advanced cellists and will

include student performances, cello choir

performances, and a cello duo recital with

Catron and Marshall. All are welcome to attend

these free concerts.

The following web link provides more

information about this special event.

https://www.millikin.edu/academics/cas/

music/special-events/cello-day

College of Fine Arts Patrons Society

The Millikin University College of Fine Arts

Patrons Society was created to benefit the over 600

Millikin student-artists participating in nearly 20 degree

programs. The Patrons Society provides budget support

and helps create special projects which might otherwise go

unfunded. The society’s mission is to bring together the

university and individuals who believe in the promotion

and support of the fine and performing arts and the

student-artist at Millikin University. If you would like

more information about the Patrons Society, you can visit the web at:

www.millikin.edu/patrons-society, or you may also contact us by phone at the

College of Fine Arts 217-362-6499.

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Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra

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Millikin Preparatory Department

The Millikin Children’s Choir welcomes new

members in all of its choir levels for the Fall 2016

semester. The Millikin Children’s Choir has three

levels, for students ages 5-18. The choirs rehearse on

Tuesdays at 4:15 p.m. in the Perkinson Music Center

and perform several concerts each semester. Placement

interviews will be held on Saturday, September 10 from

9:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. To schedule a placement

interview or to register, please call the Millikin

Preparatory Department at 425-4698. The fall semester

begins Tuesday, September 13. Cost of the program is

$100 per semester for Dolce Choir (grades K -2), who

have a rehearsal time from 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. and $150

per semester for Cantabile Choir (grades 3-5) and

Concert Youth Chorale (grades 6-12), who have a

rehearsal time from 4:15 – 5:45 p.m. All voices are welcome – no prior experience is necessary.

Our directors include Mrs. Christine Smith

(Dolce Choir), Mrs. Cora Herek (Cantabile

Choir), and Mr. Andrew Gallegos (Concert

Youth Chorale). The MCC welcomes Mrs. Cora

Herek as a new director this year. Mrs. Herek

teaches vocal music in the Argenta-Oreana

School District and is a Millikin University

graduate. While at Millikin, Mrs. Herek was a

Millikin student intern with the Millikin

Children’s Choir Program. It gives us at MCC a

great deal of pleasure to have her on board as a

director!

Choir members generally sing in 2-3 concerts throughout the course of each semester. In the past several

years, the Concert Youth Chorale has had the opportunity to perform in Bloomington, Washington D.C., and

Nashville, TN.

It is the goal of the Millikin Children’s Choir Program to

provide an exceptional choral experience for students,

guiding our choirs through appropriate vocal development,

while fostering the ideals of independent music literacy,

grounded in a Kodàly inspired approach. Moreover, our

goal is to provide experiences which boost confidence and

inspire a love of singing!

The Millikin Children’s Choir Program is a part of the

Millikin University Preparatory Program. For more

information about the Millikin Children’s Choir Program,

please contact Christine Smith (217.413.7811 or

cksmith@millikin.edu) or the Millikin Preparatory

Department (217.425.4698).

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Millikin University Art Department

Classic rock music posters of the 60s and 70s

helped promote some of the most legendary artists

of the psychedelic music era and captured people's

attention through iconic imagery. As part of a

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship

(SURF) project, Millikin University student Sydney

Doherty, a junior graphic design major from Lake

Saint Louis, Mo., and Ed Walker, Millikin associate

professor of art, have teamed up to research how

vintage rock posters developed into a creative art

form that symbolized a social movement.

Walker reached out to Marc Willis of Decatur, Il,

who owns an extensive vintage music poster

collection, to use samples of his collection for the

research project. Doherty and Walker are using Birks Museum and Perkinson Art Gallery on Millikin's campus as work

areas to do photography and organize the collection. The results of the research will be featured during an exhibit of the

vintage rock posters in Perkinson Art Gallery on January 26, 2017

In addition to preparing the exhibit, Walker and Doherty will produce a book that will serve as a catalog for the exhibit in

January. The book will be published through Bronze Man Books, Millikin's student-run publishing company. Walker

and Doherty will design the framework of the book this summer and turn it over to the Bronze Man Books editors in the

fall.

Throughout their research, Doherty and Walker will pick out certain things in the posters that will be relevant to the

cultural period of the 60s and 70s, such as the Vietnam War. The posters at the exhibit and in the book will be set in

chronological order, and other items such as ticket stubs and postcards will be included.

Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre

Cock by Mike Bartlett Rated R

September 16, 17, 23 & 24, 7:30 pm

September 17, 24 & October 1, 11:59 pm

September 18 & 25, 2:00 pm

September 30, 10:30 pm

October 5, 5:00 pm

Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre

Tickets$12

Mike Bartlett’s stimulating play, Cock, tells the story of John who has been in a long-term relationship with

his boyfriend. As things start to crumble between the two, they take a break, leaving John with a rather large

dilemma. He has fallen in love with a woman. As the play intertwines itself with overlapping stories, vivid

language and countless emotions, John is forced to choose between the two while struggling with his own

identity. Both are willing to wait. Both are ready to fight for his love. The seemingly trapped John weighs his

options at a rather awkward dinner party between them, ultimately bringing up the questions everyone is

dying to know the answers to. Who is John? And most importantly, who will he choose?

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School of Music

Collage Concert Saturday, September 17, 7:30 pm

Kirkland Fine Arts Center Tickets: $9

The annual Collage Concert showcases Millikin University's leading performing ensembles in a delightful

evening of musical variety that includes the University Choir under the direction of Brad Holmes, Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of Gary Shaw, Millikin Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Sergey

Bogza, OneVoice under the direction of Stephen Widenhofer, Jazz Band I under the direction of Randy Reyman, Guitar Ensemble I under the direction of Mark Tonelli, and Percussion Ensembles under the direction of Brian Justison. These energetic performances are sure to entertain the entire family.

School of Music Alumni Spotlight

Jake Widenhofer, (’12) (above), Sean McDonald (’12) (top

right) and Adam Cunningham (’13) (bottom right) are

playing professionally and touring nationally with high

level artists following their move to Nashville. Widenhofer

(guitar) and McDonald (drums) both play with singer/

songwriter Matthew West (‘99) while Cunningham is the

bassist for country artist Cole Swindell. While at Millikin,

all three were outstanding rhythm section players for

many ensembles, including OneVoice and Jazz Band I.

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MU Art Department

Spelling the Wind is a multimedia art project created by 1988 Millikin Alum and

Georgia State Professor, Craig Dongoski that explores the relationships between the

aural and the visual, including wind harps, biofeedback, sculpture, drawing, and

percussion.

Dongoski’s project includes two major phases. The first phase was in his visit in

March 2016 where the main focus was gathering and producing material from the

offsite location i.e. the field. Here, the artists and collaborators served dual roles as both performer/participants and

audience. The second phase will be processing the output from the first phase e.g. drawings, graphic scores, video, photography, and recordings that will result in a multimedia performance and gallery exhibition at

Kirkland Fine Arts Center which will showcase the multi-disciplinary efforts and outputs from Dongoski’s collaboration with artists, musicians and poets to the Decatur community

The exhibition will run from August 29-September 30, 2016 in Perkinson Gallery There will be a live

performance on Thursday September 22 at 4:00 pm. Check out this video clip, https://vimeo.com/172915479

This project was made possible by a grnat form the Amherst Hardy Foundation.

School of Music Guest Rectial

Shawn Roy, Bass-Baritone &

Chan-Kiat Lim, pianist Friday, September 23, 7:30 pm

Kaeuper Hall

Free and open to the public

Millikin University's School of Music will host two guest artists, Shawn Roy

(Bass-Baritone) and Chan-Kiat Lim (Pianist) who will present a recital of

American Song Cycles. They will also be conducting a masterclass on

September 24 from 10:00 am-12:00 pm. The duo has toured extensively

throughout the United States, concertizing and giving masterclasses in

various venues from a concert series in New York City to the National CMS

Conference in Portland, OR. Their CD "American Kaleidoscope", released

under the Centaur Records Label, includes two world-premiere recordings

by William Bolcom and Ned Rorem and will be available for purchase after their recital. For more

information, please visit https://music.louisiana.edu/faculty/roy and www.cklim.net.

This event was made possible by a grant form the Amherst Hardy Foundation.

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Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Sergey Bogza, has been named Music Director and Conductor of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra

(MDSO). Dr. Bogza will assume leadership of the MDSO at the beginning of the fall 2016 semester following the

retirement of Dr. Michael Luxner, who has served as conductor since 1996.

An active composer and pianist, Dr. Bogza also served as

music director and conductor of the Willmar Area Symphonic Orchestra in Willmar, Minn. A native of

Taganrog, Russia, he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Minnesota, Master of Music in

Orchestral Conducting from Central Washington University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Portland State University.

During his time at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Bogza served as assistant conductor for the University Symphony Orchestra, University Opera Theatre and led the Campus Orchestra program. In 2014, Dr. Bogza premiered two American operas, Sister Carrie and Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern by Grammy

Award-winning composers Robert Aldridge and Hershel Garfein. He also led productions of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Smetana's The Bartered Bride.

Prior to the University of Minnesota, Dr. Bogza was music director of the Heartland Symphony Orchestra,

Hyperion Singers, and was an assistant conductor and graduate instructor at Central Washington University. Dr. Bogza has been invited to conduct the Berlin Sinfonietta and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music

Orchestras, and has conducted the Discovery Series at the Oregon Bach Festival for three consecutive years.

Masterworks I

Season Opener: Pictures at an Exhibition September 24, 7:30 pm

Kirkland Fine Arts Center

Tickets: $13-$16.50

An exhibition of virtuosity and evocative storytelling are on display at

MDSO’s season opening concert. Enjoy hearing internationally

acclaimed pianist Mikhail Yanovitsky and masterful orchestration of

Debussy's and Mussorgsky's enduring masterpieces.

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Millikin Preparatory Department

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MU School of Theatre and Dance

HEADSHOT! An original production created by MB ADAPTORS

and Millikin University

Directed by guest artist Kari Margolis

Original Music and Multimedia by Tony Brown

September 29, 30 & October 1, 7:30

October 1 & 2, 2:00 pm

Albert Taylor Theatre

Tickets: $12-$14

A surrealistic audition has a group of actors wondering what the invisible yet omnipotent directors might be

seeking and what may be required of them. The fierce competition among them, however, makes the goal of

winning take precedence over all else. HEADSHOT! takes a sideways look at our need for acceptance and our

desperate search for individuality. This is one theatrical journey you won’t want to miss. HEADSHOT! started

as a workshop at Millikin during the January Immersion in 2015. Since then it has had further developmental

productions at Viterbo University, Institut del Teatre in Barcelona, Spain, and most recently professionally

presented by Kari’s MB ADAPTORS company. Check out this YouTube clip that introduces Kari’s and Tony’s

work, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfnVWX7xkHY.

School of Music Residency

On September 29-30 Alejandro Carvajal

Guerra will provide a two-day residency for

percussion students at Millikin. He is a

renowned, babalawo, batalero (omó aña),

abakuá, and rumbero whose musical and

family roots go back to the Yorubas of

Africa. Trained in the tradition as a child by

his father, Mr. Carvajal is now recognized

as one of the leading bataleros in Cuba. He

has taught at the Instituto Superior de Arte

and the Centro Nacional de Escuelas de

Arte, and is currently a faculty member at

the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana.

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MU School of Theatre and Dance Alumni News

Alex Stevens ('14 ) has qualified to return to Live Design International in Las

Vegas in October 2016 to defend his 1st place in High End Systems' Hog Factor 4

National Collegiate Concert Lighting Design Competition. He will be competing

for a $20,000 scholarship, a Hog 4 for his school, and a Hedge Hog 4 for him-

self. Alex was also 1 of 5 students chosen to be sponsored by ETC, receiving 1 on 1

mentorship, entry to an exclusive student networking event, and a backstage pass

to the entire event.

School of Theatre and Dance alum, Joel Booster (’10) made his

light night comedy debut on the Conan O’Brien Show in July.

Joel’s set focused on growing up an adopted gay, Asian, evangelical.

To nobody's surprise, he really brought the funny!

View his set at:

http://thecomicscomic.com/…/joel-kim-boosters-debut-on-con…/

Anthony Norman (‘15) is currently appearing in the

National Tour of Newsies. While playing Chicago’s Cadillac

Palace Theatre Anthony received a nice write-up on the

Chicago based website, Splash. Anthony has also been

seen in the Porchlight Theatre Concert production of Mack

and Mabel and the Drury Lane production of Bye Bye

Birdie.

http://www.chicagosplash.com/2016/07/13/arts-preview-

newsies

Drew Nellessen (‘07) will appear in the St. Louis Rep production of

Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, Starring Emily Skinner this fall. Drew was

most recently seen in the Barrington Stage Company production of

Pirates of Penzance starring Will Swensen, Scarlett Strallen, and Kyle

Dean Massey. Drew has also been seen in National Tour of Chicago, the

European tour of West Side Story and at numerous regional theatres

including Goodspeed Opera House, Stages St. Louis and The MUNY.

http://www.repstl.org/season/show/follies/