January 28, 2003 News Releases
Released 1/24/03
UTAH
STATE UNIVERSITY MUSIC FACULTY AND GUEST IN CONCERT FEB. 7
LOGAN — Lynn Jemison-Keisker, the musicians of AirFare,
Leslie Timmons and Nicholas Morrison, and guest soprano Carolyn
Talboys-Klassen are featured in concert Friday, Feb. 7, at 7:30
p.m. in the Eccles Conference Center on the Utah State University
campus. The free concert is offered by Utah State’s department
of music.
The concert program includes works for flute, clarinet and piano
by Genin, Ibert and Bizet. “Sonatina for Flute and Piano”
by Eldin Burton and “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano”
by Bernstein are also scheduled. Schubert’s “Shepherd
on the Rock” for soprano, clarinet and piano is also planned,
as well as a number of works for flute and clarinet.
The performance takes place on the heels of a recent concert
tour to Guatemala that included much of the same repertoire.
That tour, a result of work by Jemison-Keisker’s husband,
Richard Keisker, took place Jan. 21–27. Guest soprano
Talboys-Klassen did not participate in the tour. Timmons, Morrison,
Jemison-Keisker and her husband, Richard, completed the tour.
The evening’s concert introduces Jemison-Keisker as a
performer to Cache Valley. She is as associate professor in
the department of music and is director of opera theatre for
Utah State University. She holds a unique dual appointment with
the Logan-based Utah Festival Opera Company where she is music
administrator and principal coach. During fall semester at Utah
State she also taught Italian diction.
Jemison-Keisker earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in piano performance and accompanying from the University of
Cincinnati and her doctorate in accompanying from the University
of Southern California.
The evening’s guest vocalist, Talboys-Klassen, has been
heard throughout the Rocky Mountain states, including appearances
with the Utah Symphony in Vivaldi’s “Gloria,”
the OPUS Chamber Orchestra in Bach’s “Coffee Cantata”
and in excerpts from “A Little Night Music.” She
has been featured with the Utah Valley Choral Society in Handel’s
“Messiah” and Haydn’s “Creation.”
Additionally, Talboys-Klassen has a long affiliation with the
Utah Opera Company. Her mainstage roles include Mary in “The
Ballad of Baby Dow” and Sister Angelica in “The
Three Hermits.” She had the distinction to be chosen to
participate in Utah Opera’s first Young Artist Program
in 1992. As a finalist at the Rocky Mountain Regional Metropolitan
Opera Auditions in Denver, she has twice won the Sylvia Learner
Wollman Award.
Rounding out the concert program is AirFare, Utah State’s
faculty woodwind duo featuring Timmons on flute and Morrison
on clarinet. AirFare has performed since 1992 and is known for
its innovative programming and comprehensive approach to music
education. It was one of only three classical music ensembles
funded in 1999 by the United States Information Agency’s
American Artists Abroad Program. It completed its first international
tour in 1999 with performances and masterclasses in Port-au-Prince,
Haiti, and returned in 2000 under the State Department’s
American Cultural Specialists program.
Timmons is associate professor of woodwinds and music education
at Utah State. She is a founding member of Logan Canyon Winds,
Utah State’s faculty wind quintet. She is a clinician
for certification courses in Orff Schulwerk and a member of
the national board of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association.
She was honored as Utah’s Outstanding Music Educator for
1998 by the Utah Music Educators Association. Timmons is an
active solo and chamber recitalist. She is a member of Musica
Reservata and has performed with a number of symphony orchestras.
Morrison is clarinet teacher, associate director of bands and
associate dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social
Sciences at Utah State. He holds degrees from the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Notre Dame
and Florida State University. He has appeared as soloist with
the Orchestre Philharmonique Ste. Trinite in Haiti, with the
Notre Dame, New World and Arcata String quartets and with the
Utah Festival Opera Company orchestra. Morrison is a founding
member of Logan Canyon Winds.
January 24, 2003
Contact: Nick Morrison (435) 797-3506
Writer: Patrick Williams (435) 797-1354
LOGAN’S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN READ-IN
ORGANIZED AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY TO HONOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH
LOGAN — For the first time, Utah State University will
participate in the annual African American Read-In Monday, Feb.
3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Utah State Taggart Student Center
Sunburst Lounge. Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers
of English, the event is organized locally by Utah State Department
of English associate professor Patricia Gantt, along with the
office for Multicultural Student Services, headed by Everardo
Martinez-Inzunza. Gantt and Inzunza were recently honored by
Utah State President Kermit Hall with Diversity Awards for 2002-03.
The all day Read-In, part of Utah State’s observance of
Black History Month, features administration, faculty and students,
both grad and undergrad, reading selections by African American
authors. Each reading will be from five to 15- minutes long.
President Kermit Hall and his wife, Phyllis, will be featured
readers. Partnerships with area schools, churches, libraries
and public radio stations are also being coordinated by Department
of English professors Lynn Meeks and Sonia Manuel-Dupont.
Undergraduates who would like to participate in the Read-In
are asked to contact Christine Christensen in Multicultural
Student Services at chrismss@cc.usu.edu. All interested others
who would like to participate should contact professor Gantt
at pgantt@english.usu.edu.
“The African American read-in is a wonderful opportunity
for our community to celebrate the legacy of genius we all share,”
Gantt said.
In 1990, the first African American Read-In Chain was sponsored
by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English.
In 1991, the National Council of Teachers of English joined
in the sponsorship. The Read-In has been endorsed by the International
Reading Association. More than one million readers of all ethnic
groups, from 49 states, the West Indies and African countries
have participated. The goal is to make the celebration of African
American literacy a traditional part of Black History Month.
For more information on the African American Read-In or the
Department of English, contact Marina Hall at (435) 797-3858.
Date: January 24, 2003
Writer: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858
Contact: Christine Christensen [chrismss@cc.usu.edu]
Pat Gantt [pgantt@english.usu.edu]
UTAH STATE BLUE LIGHT HONORS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS
LOGAN — To demonstrate pride in the many accomplishments
of Utah State University faculty, staff and students, the Aggie
Blue Pride Light will be turned on Monday, January 27. Every
four months the university designates a Blue Pride Light Night
to recognize individuals for their outstanding achievements.
Honorees this quarter are Utah State student Lara Anderson,
Utah State Extension Agent Kristine Saunders, Utah State Extension
Agent Joan Sellers and Utah State researcher Vijendra K. Singh.
Anderson, a physics and mathematics senior, received first place
in the Dirac Centenary Conference poster contest held at Baylor
University last fall. Her poster explained the possibility of
putting gravity into a super-symetric context.
Saunders received the Distinguished Service Award at the 2002
National Awards Program of the National Extension Association
of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is director of the food
stamp/nutrition education program at Utah State.
Sellers, Millard County Extension agent, also took home honors
at the 2002 National Awards Program of the National Extension
Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. She received the
the Continued Excellence Award.
Singh was one of 12 recipients of the O. Spurgeon English Humanitarian
Award winners from the National Foundation for Alternative Medicine
and Temple University for 2002. He was recognized for his distinguished
autism research.
The Aggie Blue Pride Light sitting atop Old Main lights the
Cache Valley night sky as a symbol of Aggie tradition, heritage
and pride. The outstanding professors, staff and students honored
are a part of this heritage and contribute to the high quality
of Utah State.
January 24, 2003
Contact: John DeVilbiss (435) 797-1358
Writer: Maren Cartwright (435) 797-1355
MUSICAL COUPLE IN RECITAL
LOGAN — Todd and Liz Fallis will be joined by a myriad
of musicians for a recital Feb. 5 at the Dansante Recital Hall
(59 South 100 West, Logan) at 7:30 p.m. The recital is free
and open to the public.
Todd, originally from New York, came to Utah State University
in 1991 to teach trombone and music education. He went to graduate
school at University of Southern California, meeting his wife,
Liz, while they both worked on master’s degrees in performance.
Todd went on to finish his doctorate degree and taught junior
high and high school band while remaining active as a player
in the greater Los Angeles area.
Upon coming to Utah, Todd performed substitute bass trombone
with the Utah Symphony and Opera and Ballet West. He has recorded
numerous soundtracks for television commercials and big screen
feature films including “Jumanji” and “Sandlot,”
in addition to recording for Discovery Channel, CNN, ESPN, “Walker,
Texas Ranger” and “Touched by an Angel.”
The Fallis’s have performed in recital twice before —
in 1999 and 2000. This recital features pieces for flute and
trombone separately, but will include several additional musicians,
both faculty and students, from Utah State University.
Members of the Fry Street Quartet and pianist Moragh Morrison
will perform with Liz in the CPE Bach “Quartet in A minor”
while Todd will perform Eric Ewazen’s “Rhapsody
for Bass Trombone” with the entire Fry Street Quartet.
Pianist Morrison will also accompany Liz in the “Fantasie”
by Gaubert and the Poulenc “Sonata for Flute.” Gary
Amano, head of the piano program at Utah State, will perform
with Todd on the novelty piece “Variations on Barnacle
Bill the Sailor,” and the Utah State Trombone Choir will
perform “Concertino for Bass Trombone” by Eric Ewazen.
Todd and Liz have performed together with Lex DAzevedo in Ogden,
Logan, Salt Lake City and Rexburg, and both have spent numerous
years in the Utah Festival Opera orchestra. Both teach privately
on their respective instruments in addition to Liz’s budding
catering business. The Fallis’s have two children, 9 and
11, and reside in North Logan.
January 24, 2003
Contact: Todd Fallis (435) 797-3005
THE “CATS” ARE BACK AS UTAH STATE
THEATRE'S FAMILY SHOW TAKES ANOTHER TURN
LOGAN — Utah State Theatre’s family show of fall
semester makes a return visit to the Morgan Theatre stage in
preparation for competition. Round two for “The Boy Who
Drew Cats” is set for Thursday, Feb. 6, and Friday, Feb.
7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Morgan at the Chase Fine Arts Center
on the Utah State University campus.
After a successful initial run in October, where upwards of
5,000 elementary school children saw the creative piece, the
play became a finalist in the 2003 Kennedy Center American College
Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF). The KC/ACTF regional convention
is hosted this year in Logan at Utah State University. The production’s
finalist status for KC/ACTF has prompted the revival of “Cats,”
while showcasing the production’s accomplishments. The
two performances also serve as a tune-up and a fundraiser for
the festival, which takes place February 11-16, said theatre
arts department head Colin Johnson.
Some may remember “The Boy Who Drew Cats” as a cutting-edge
original piece developed from a collaboration of faculty directors
and students at Utah State, Johnson said. Others may look back
at the play as an artistic combination of design, movement,
and flowing effects, he continued.
According to Lynda Linford, the Utah State theatre faculty member
who led the
collaboration, the story was adapted into a play by the entire
cast, providing the story with different points of view. “The
students end up with a sense of empowerment that the play is
really theirs,” she said. “The play is in a constant
state of transformation, which mirrors a huge part of the Japanese
culture.
“The play provides a strong message of following your
dreams at all costs, as well as incorporating the idea that
the arts can ultimately save mankind,” said Linford.
According to director Linford, theatre for children should present
character building choices, morals, ethics and an avenue for
developing strength of character.
“Parents are plugged into any way to teach good living
through an entertaining environment,” said Linford. “It
is about encouragement, obedience, endurance, faith, confidence
and self worth, and this play does that.”
The director stresses that the play is a cinematic adventure
of imagery, movement and poetic motion of turns and formations.
The cast for “The Boy Who Drew Cats” is an ensemble
of Utah State theatre students, including Adee Reed, Melissa
Thoreson, Brandon Stauffer, Tyson Smith, Marie Monson, Mary
Ann Kimball, Nick Hutchinson, Jed Broberg and Lindsay Boucher.
According to Linford, all the actors play intricate and varied
parts in the play, and convey the messages of the play exceptionally
well.
Tickets for the production are sold at the door as general admission.
Prices are $8 for a family (up to and including four members)
with $2 for additional members. Utah State students are admitted
free with a valid ID. Children of Utah State students are admitted
for $2. Ticket information is available by calling (435) 797-1500
or email at gordonj@hass.usu.edu.
Also, watch for more information regarding KC/ACTF. Information
is also available on the Utah State Theatre Web site at www.usu.edu/theatre.
January 24, 2003
Contact: Jeremy Gordon (435) 797-1354
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