March 30, 2004 News Releases
Released 3/26/04, 3/29/04 and 3/30/04
UTAH STATE NEWS RELEASES FOR 3-29-04
READING AND RECEPTION
FOR UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY 2004 “SCRIBENDI” CREATIVE
WRITING CONTEST
LOGAN — A reception and reading of first-place entries
of the Utah State University 2004 Creative Writing Contest is
Wednesday, April 7, at 12:30 p.m. in the Utah State Haight Alumni
Center, said contest director Marina Hall. Refreshments will
be served at this free event, and all are invited.
The annual publication of winning entries, “Sribendi,”
produced by Melanie Abshire and contest intern Chelsi Lasater,
will be available at the reading. Winning submissions will also
be posted on http://websites.usu.edu/english/.
For more information, contact Hall at (435) 797-3858 or mhall@english.usu.edu.
March 29, 2004
Contact: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858, mhall@english.usu.edu
Writer: Marina Hall
ACCLAIMED
JAZZ TROMBONIST WYCLIFF GORDON TO APPEAR WITH UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
JAZZ ENSEMBLES IN STATE TOUR
LOGAN — World-renowned trombonist Wycliffe Gordon appears
with Utah State University’s Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble
and Trombone Ensemble for a number of concerts and clinics in
Salt Lake City, Kamas, Brigham City and Logan, announced Jon
Gudmundson, head of the jazz program in the department of music
at Utah State.
“We are so excited to have the opportunity to spend several
days with this amazing musician,” Gudmundson said. “This
man plays with such swing, and there is a wonderful feeling
of joy in his playing. There are a number of fine musicians
today who have great technique and are very satisfying in concert
cerebrally. Wycliff Gordon has those qualities in spades but
he hasn’t forgotten that music should be a joyful activity
for performers and listeners alike. Everybody loves him —
whether they be jazz fans or not. He’s also a very fine
composer, arranger and teacher. He’s the whole package.”
A veteran of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis’s
acclaimed septet, Gordon went on to become one of the busiest
trombonists in the world, both as a leader and as a side man
in countless setting and roles.
Gordon’s appearance in Utah is made possible through a
grant from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation. He will perform
at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City, at South Summit High
School in Kamas, Box Elder High School in Brigham City and in
Logan. He is backed on the tour by the Utah State University
Jazz Orchestra and the Trombone Ensemble, led by Gudmundson
and Todd Fallis, respectively. Gordon will conduct an improvisation
clinic at Utah State and perform in concert at Kent Concert
Hall in the Chase Fine Arts Center. Admission is $5 and free,
for Utah State students with current ID. Admission to all improvisation
clinics is free as are all the high school performances.
The complete schedule of activities includes: Monday, April
5, Skyline High School (3251 E. 3760 South, Salt Lake City),
improvisation clinic 3:30-5 p.m., concert 7 p.m., for information
contact band director Curt McKendrick, (801) 685-5420; Tuesday,
April 6, South Summit High School (45 South Wildcat Drive, Kamas),
improvisation clinic and mini-concert at 10 a.m., for information
contact band director Dave Barton, (435) 783-4313; Tuesday,
April 6, Box Elder High School (380 South 600 West, Brigham
City), improvisation clinic 3:30 p.m., concert 7 p.m., for information
contact band director Mike Reeder, (435) 734-4840; Wednesday,
April 7, Utah State University, performance at the jazz improvisation
class, 10:30-11:20 a.m., FAC 104, improvisation clinic 12:30-1:20
p.m., Kent Concert Hall, concert 7:30 p.m., for information
contact Gudmundson at (435) 797-3003.
During the tour, the Utah State Trombone Ensemble will perform
Dick McQuarry’s “Ho Hum,” Gershwin’s
“Someone to Watch Over Me” and “I Don’t
Know How to Love Him,” along with Gordon’s arrangements
of “My God,” “Frantic Flight” and “Danny
Boy.”
The Jazz Orchestra features vocalist Kate Skinner on Duke Ellington’s
novelty number “Bli-Blip,” and flugel hornist Bryon
Roope is featured on Bob Brokmeyer’s arrangement of “Willow
Weep for Me.” Trombonist Andrew Watkins and pianist Matt
Thompson are featured on JJ Johnson’s brisk “Swing
Spring.”
In Logan Gordon joins Fallis’s Jazz Ensemble for his original
“The Woogie,” Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen
Moments” and Count Basie’s arrangement of “A
Time for Love.” Fallis’s group rounds out the set
with “Trav’lin Light,” sung by Skinner, Cole
Porter’s “Just One of those Things” and Bob
Mintzer’s “One Man Band.”
Guest artist Gordon joins the Jazz Orchestra in a number of
his swinging arrangements of his own compositions, Gudmundson
said, as well as fresh takes on George Gershwin’s “Fascinating
Rhythm” and “Sweet and Low Down,” and W.C.
Handy’s “St. Louis Blues.”
Gordon enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor,
composer, arranger and educator, receiving high praise from
audiences and critics alike. He tours the world performing hard-swinging,
straight-ahead jazz for audiences ranging from heads of state
to elementary school students. His trombone playing, which mixes
powerful, intricate runs with sweet notes extended over clean
melodies, has been universally hailed by jazz critics. Gordon
received the Jazz Journalists Association 2002 and 2001 Award
for Trombonist of the Year, the Jazz Journalists Association
2000 Critics’ Choice Award for Best Trombone and has been
nominated for the 2003 Jazzpar Award.
Born in 1967 in Waynesboro, Georgia, Gordon was first introduced
to music by his late father, Lucius Gordon, a classical pianist
and teacher. His interest in the trombone was sparked at age
12 by his older brother who played the instrument in his junior
high school band. Egged on by sibling rivalry, Gordon’s
relentless pleading to his parents led to his first trombone.
A year later, an aunt bequeathed Gordon her jazz record collection,
and so began his love of acoustic music.
For information on the performances or clinics, contact Gudmundson
at (435) 797-3003.
March 29, 2004
Contact: Jon Gudmundson (435) 797-3003
POET,
NOVELIST AND MEMOIRIST KIM BARNES TO VISIT LOGAN FOR THREE PUBLIC
EVENTS
LOGAN — Award-winning author Kim Barnes, whose most recent
work, the novel “Finding Caruso,” debuted to national
acclaim in 2003, will be in Logan April 6-8 for three public
events.
Barnes, perhaps most widely known as a memoirist for her first
two books, “In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in an Unknown
Country” and “Hungry for the World,” will
conduct a master class Tuesday, April 6, at 4:30 p.m. at the
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum on the Utah State University campus.
The event is free but seating is limited. To reserve a place,
call Linda Pierson at (435) 797-1414.
On Wednesday, April 7, Barnes will participate in a public roundtable
discussion with members of the department of English creative
writing faculty. The event is free and takes place in the Utah
State Haight Alumni Center at 4:30 p.m.
On Thursday, April 8, Barnes will read from her work at 7 p.m.
at Borders Books, 1050 North Main, Logan. This event is also
free and all are invited.
Barnes received the PEN/Jerard Fund Award for an emerging woman
writer of nonfiction for “In the Wilderness.” The
book has also been honored with a Pacific Northwest Booksellers
Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award and
the 1997 Pulitzer Prize. “Hungry for the World,”
her second memoir, was published by Villard in 2000. She and
Mary Clearman Blew edited “Circle of Women: An Anthology
of Contemporary Western Women Writers.”
Barnes’ personal essay, “The Ashes of August,”
appeared in The Georgia Review and was selected for inclusion
in the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Her first novel, “Finding
Caruso,” was published by Marian Wood Books/Putnam in
2003. She teaches creative writing at the University of Idaho
and lives with her husband, the poet Robert Wrigley, and their
children on Moscow Mountain.
Barnes’ visit to Logan is supported by the Marie Eccles
Caine Foundation and the department of English at Utah State.
For more information, call (435) 797-3858.
March 29, 2004
Contact: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858
Writer: Marina Hall (435) 797-3858
CARYN
BECK-DUDLEY RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF “30 WOMEN TO WATCH”
IN UTAH BUSINESS MAGAZINE.
LOGAN — Caryn Beck-Dudley, the first female dean of
the College of Business at Utah State University, was recognized
by Utah Business magazine this month as one of this year’s
“30 Women to Watch.”
The honor recognizes outstanding “visionaries,”
women who have seen new ways of getting things done and brought
new insights into their fields. According to the magazine, each
of these 30 women stands out as a person with vision for a better,
brighter future. From her earliest days as dean, it was obvious
that Beck-Dudley had a vision for the College of Business at
Utah State.
“Caryn Beck-Dudley serves as a role model for students,
faculty and administrators as someone who has attained success
while maintaining balance between her personal and professional
life,” Utah State President Kermit L. Hall said. “There
are very few models of female leadership at business colleges
in this nation, and Dr. Beck-Dudley is an extraordinary example
of visionary leadership and accomplishment — of any gender.
According to a nomination letter written by Hall, since she
became the dean less than two years ago, Beck-Dudley has engaged
in an aggressive enrollment management plan that reduces the
student-faculty ratio, admits the best students earlier in their
academic career and provides more one-on-one faculty/student
time. She has also strengthened the overall academic standards
for the graduate program, with the goal of raising the value
of a master’s degree from the College of Business, Hall
said.
“Her commitment to quality and education is evident in
everything she does,” said professor Glenn McEvoy of the
human resources department. “It’s compelling and
visionary.”
Some of Beck-Dudley’s other accomplishments include the
creation of the Executive Leadership Seminar, which draws prominent
business leaders who share key lessons learned with top graduate
and undergraduate students. She also directed an aggressive
reworking of the college’s Web site and revived the college
newsletter to apprise alums and the business community of college
successes. Because Beck-Dudley has raised the visibility of
the internship program, the number of students completing internships
is up 15 percent. Beck-Dudley expanded the scope of the nationally
renowned Shingo Prize business awards operations.
Also of significant note, she initiated change in the college
to recruit, retain and promote women and minorities. A $3 million
National Science Foundation Grant that includes College of Business
personnel will develop a model for changing Utah State’s
campus climate to be more hospitable to women. The model can
be applied throughout the United States.
“Beck-Dudley has pointed the college in a very positive
direction,” said David Luthy, former dean of the College
of Business graduate studies program. “She is providing
positive leadership for other members of the administration,
and instilling new energy in the faculty, staff and students.”
Beck-Dudley graduated magna cum laude from Utah State and received
her juris doctorate at the University of Idaho’s College
of Law. Her research encompasses natural law jurisprudence,
employment law and organizational ethics. Beck-Dudley was an
editor for the American Business Law Journal and a past president
of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
March 29, 2004
Writers: Matt Cardis, cardis1@earthlink.net, (818) 398-0457
Callie Taggart, ctaggart@cc.usu.edu, (435) 881-4515
Contacts: Caryn Beck-Dudley, caryn.beckdudley@usu.edu, (435)
797-2376
Sharon Atwater, slatwater@aol.com, (435) 797-2386
UTAH STATE NEWS RELEASES FOR 3-26-04
SPRING BLOOMS
AS “A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC” COMES TO THE STAGE
LOGAN — As Logan blooms into spring, Utah State Theatre
(UST) is alive with the sound of Stephen Sondheim (music and
lyrics) and words by Hugh Wheeler (book) in “A Little
Night Music.”
UST’s production of the Sondheim piece is staged for a
week-long run, April 12 through April 17 in the Morgan Theatre
of the Chase Fine Arts Center on the Utah State University campus.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. with the theatre box office opening
at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are available through the Smith Spectrum
Ticket Office by calling (435) 797-0305 or on the Web at www.usu.edu/theatre.
General inquiries are welcomed by calling (435) 797-1500 or
by email at gordonj@hass.usu.edu. Tickets range from $7 to $10.
Utah State Students are admitted free with a valid I.D. and
ticket. Children under the age of 6 are not admitted.
“A Little Night Music,” a romantic musical journey,
is set in Sweden during the early 20th century. Here are found
a trio of mismatched couples finding their way to the right
mates in a waltz-like rhythm. The production director is Jim
Christian, who joins UST as a guest artist from Weber State
University.
Christian said it is a great opportunity to direct the musical.
“I was initially contacted by Kevin Doyle who indicated
that a guest director was needed for the spring musical this
year, and I was being invited to fill the role,” Christian
said. “Not only was this an honor for me but a wonderful
opportunity to work on a piece that I have never directed. Over
the years, I have gradually been working my way through Sondheim’s
repertoire and ‘A Little Night Music’ was one of
the few titles still on my ‘to do’ list. All elements
of scheduling came together and, well ... here I am.”
According to Christian the play is somewhat of a fairy tale.
“The air is heavy with romance and while the characters
are often motivated by their appetites, it is their hearts which
eventually lead them home,” he said. “Sondheim composed
the entire score in three-quarter time: the meter of the waltz.
This rhythm, which reflects the escalated human heartbeat, carries
us through a tale of lost loves, newfound passions and the glaring
realities that lead us to our truest selves ... and, like the
waltz, the story keeps spinning in circle after circle, leaving
the audience to wonder exactly where things will finally land.
The plot? Too deliciously convoluted to explain in a few sentences.
Let’s just put it this way — imagine ‘All
My Children’ set in early 20th century Sweden.
“The audience should expect an evening filled with glorious
music, lavish sets and costumes, and a touching and comical
story that will remind them that true love is sometimes found
where we least expect it,” the director added.
“A Little Night Music” is based on the film “Smiles
of a Summer Night” by Swedish cinematographer Ingmar Bergman.
In 1972 Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim completed the libretto,
casting and design. Rehearsals began in early December, 1972.
The play drew complete capacity audiences for more than 14 months,
and continued to slightly less attendance for more than 600
performances, to August 1974. From there, a national touring
company took the play through the United States, followed by
a London revival in 1975. The first major revival in New York
was presented by the New York City Opera in August 1990. In
August 2002, “A Little Night Music” was one of the
three productions (“Merrily We Roll Along,” “Passion,”
“A Little Night Music”) at the Sondheim Celebration
at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Utah State Theatre’s production, said Christian, will
be stunning.
“There is some terrific talent in this production and
the work is moving ahead very nicely,” he said.
That talent includes Jan Hines, who portrays Madame Armfeldt
and Lacey Jackson, playing the part of Fredrika Armfeldt, Madame
Armfeldt’s grand daughter. Holly Campbell takes on the
character of Anne Egerman, the teenage wife of Frederik. Jon
McBride portrays Frederik Egerman the prosperous lawyer drawn
to Desiree Armfeldt, the fabled actress. Desiree is played by
Monique Poyfair. The musical’s cast is rounded out by
Richie Call, Elizabeth Herlitz, Marjorie Cramer, Lee Anderson,
Kristina Harkness, Udit Dave, Tami Eastman, Meagan Birch, Mark
Wayne, Harry Heap, Cassandra Dunn and Brigette Cramer.
“A Little Night Music” contains themes that may
not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.”
March 26, 2004
Contact: Jeremy Gordon (435) 797-1500
Writer: Jeremy Gordon
NANCY PAREZO GIVES
PRESENTATION ON NAVAJO SANDPAINTING AT UTAH STATE'S ANTHROPOLOGY
SERIES
LOGAN — Nancy J. Parezo, professor of American Indian
Studies and anthropology at the University of Arizona, is the
next featured guest in the Anthropology and the Arts series
at Utah State University. Parezo presents “Navajo Sandpainting:
Spreading Beauty through Symbolic Expression” Thursday,
April 8, at 4:30 p.m. in Old Main 115. A short reception follows
in the Museum of Anthropology, Old Main 252. The lecture and
reception are free and all are invited.
Parezo’s presentation is the fourth in the Anthropology
and Arts lecture series, supported by a grant from the Marie
Eccles Caine Foundation. The series is designed to feature various
visual arts from around the world, showing how these visual
arts relate to anthropology and the study of human cultures.
Parezo said Navajo healers have used the art of sandpainting
for centuries to help cure illness and reestablish balance in
patients. In the late 20th century, Navajo artists began making
reproductions of these pictures, causing tensions in the Navajo
society.
In her presentation, Parezo will discuss how artists have circumvented
prohibitions against making sandpaintings outside of their ritual
context, as well as how artists have focused on core symbols
in order to produce a new form of art. Her talk stems from more
than 25 years work with Navajo healers and artists.
Parezo has published the book “Navajo Sandpainting: From
Religious Act to Commercial Art,” as well as numerous
articles on the subject. She has also made videos for National
Geographic on the topic, and helped organize a display on ephemeral
art in Paris.
Parezo has recently finished a study of the anthropology exhibits
and Native demonstrators and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
which will be published by the University of Nebraska Press.
Her other research interests include the Native American southwest,
art and economics, how anthropologists have affected Indian
cultures through collecting art, displaying native cultures
in museums and at world fairs, and issues of cultural preservation
and representation. She is also currently the curator of ethnology
at the Arizona State Museum.
For more information on this lecture or the Anthropology and
the Arts lecture series, contact Melanie Dixon at (435) 512-1605.
March 26, 2004
Contact: Melanie Dixon (435) 512-1605
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