January 2016 Issue
Upcoming Events
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Successes
The IPFW Women's Basketball team invited Assistant Professor of Music Therapy Linda Wright-Bower to serve as an honorary coach on Thursday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m. for their game against Omaha. Wright-Bower has taught many of the female athletes in her classes and they recommended her for this honor. "Experiencing this opportunity was like being in a foreign country," explained Wright-Bower. "I sat in on the locker room pep talk, saw the game from the bench and tried to ascertain the athletic lingo that is so much a part of their culture. I came away with a new appreciation for how hard our student athletes and coaches work. It was a really positive experience."
 Visual Communication and Design alumnus Andrew Meredith (B.F.A. '11, graphic design) was featured in a 2015 National Football League season commercial. Meredith earned a theatre minor while at IPFW and moved to California soon after graduation where he lives, works, and collaborates. Read more about Andrew.
Members of the IPFW Choral Union, conducted by assistant professor Vaughn Roste, had the thrilling opportunity to perform with Jim Brickman during his holiday concert in Auer Performance Hall at IPFW on December 5, 2015. Brickman's holiday tour, Comfort & Joy, featured Anne Cochran, Tracy Silverman, and the IPFW Choral Union Choir, which is comprised of students and community members as well as select members of IPFW's University Singers.
Tony Gerardot (B.F.A. '13, computer art) is currently working at Master Spas Inc. as a web designer and developer. Master Spas manufactures hot tubs and swim spas in Fort Wayne that are sold all over the world. They worked alongside Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps to create a swim spa where the current is strong enough that Olympic swimmers are able to train. Phelps visited Fort Wayne on January 27, to help celebrate Master Spas' 20th anniversary as well as a spring expansion. Phelps, who is currently training for the 2016 Olympics, began working with Master Spas in 2010 and employment has doubled since then.
Artwork by professors and faculty from the IPFW Department of Fine Arts is currently on display at Crestwoods Gallery on Roanoke. Owner and curator Ann Shive invited several artists affiliate with IPFW to exhibit their work in "A Winter Wonderland of Art" through February 10, 2016. Gallery artists include associate faculty member Robert Schroeder, Norman Bradley, fine arts professor emeritus; Louise Haynes (M.L.S.'12); Julie Wall Toles (B.F.A.'09, printmaking); Barbara Nohinek (B.F.A.'14, printmaking) and Patricia Weiss (B.F.A.'03, painting).
Scott Workman (B.M.E.'12, music education instrumental) finished his Master of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from IU/South Bend. IU/South Bend is home to the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts, comprised of students and faculty representing more than a dozen countries around the world.
Lutheran Children's Hospital officials on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, celebrated the completion of a $4 million project that remade 36 pediatric patient rooms and clustered them in one area on Lutheran Hospital's third floor.  The gathering also allowed the hospital to spotlight its expanded music therapy effort, which has grown from a volunteer arrangement with IPFW's Department of Music into a program with a full-time, board-certified music therapist. Music therapy graduate Kim Floyd (B.S.M.T.'02) is currently serving in that capacity.
Assistant Professor of Music Education John Egger and his colleague Jennifer Shank, Ph.D., dean of the College of Education at Tennessee Tech University, presented an award-winning paper at the 2016 International Education Conference in Orlando, from Jan. 3-7, 2016. Their paper, entitled "Technology and Fine Arts Education: Participants and Patrons in the 21st Century," was awarded Best Paper out of 197 papers accepted for the conference. A total of 803 papers were submitted.
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Expressions Staff
Susan Domer, Editor, Writer
Melinda Haines, Copy Editor
Contact Us
260-481-6025
artsvpa@ipfw.edu
 Click Here to Access Archives
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Passionate About Jazz
Donors contributing to our success are equally as passionate about our creative endeavors as we are. Take Clark and Rose Aimee Butler, owners of the LaSalle Fort Wayne Downtown Inn, for example. Their small independent boutique hotel offers the finest in downtown luxury in the 1842 home of Civil War hero Sion Bass, and is the home Fort Wayne Jazz Cabaret Nonprofit. They recently reached out to the Department of Music with contributions to create a long-term relationship to help support their love of jazz.
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One of the guest rooms at the LaSalle Fort Wayne Downtown Inn
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The intimate performance venue in the LaSalle Inn at 517 W. Washington Blvd., offers live jazz entertainment for guests and jazz lovers throughout the community and surrounding area. Fort Wayne Jazz Cabaret Nonprofit, now in association with the IPFW Department of Music, features standout jazz solo vocalists of national and international reputation performing with true jazz piano accompaniment, along with solo instrumentalists.
"This gift will help us build our program by supporting our talented faculty and students with guest artists who are specialists in the area of jazz performance. It will also offer scholarship help for our students who are studying jazz as part of their musical education," explained Gregory Jones. "The creation of a mutually supportive relationship not only gives our students an additional venue in which to perform, but also provides Fort Wayne Jazz Cabaret Nonprofit the talent they need to help move this exciting program forward into the future."
Vist the LaSalle Fort Wayne Downtown Inn web site here.
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Music Celebration in Manhattan
Student musicians from IPFW will be experiencing the event of a lifetime during spring break. On Tuesday, March 8, 2016, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble will be representing IPFW (for the first time) with a performance at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the 2016 New York Wind Band Festival.
Everyone is invited to celebrate with the students while they are in Manhattan and there are several opportunities to do so. A special luncheon with the IPFW Wind Ensemble students will be held at
Sardi's restaurant, beginning at noon, Tuesday, March 8. The cost of the lunch is $45 per person. For details or to reserve a spot, email Melinda Haines.
There will be a pre-concert reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for New York City area IPFW alumni, parents, friends and supporters at the Red Eye Grill, across from Carnegie Hall. Supporters who have donated $110 to the Carnegie Hall fundraiser are invited to this reception and it includes a ticket to the concert. For details, click here.
Tickets are available to attend only the concert that evening Tuesday, March 8, at 8:00 p.m. in Carnegie Hall. Tickets are $30 each; reach the box office here to purchase a ticket (be sure to choose the 8:00 p.m. concert and not the 1:00 p.m. concert).
"This is an exciting time for our student and faculty musicians," said John O'Connell, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. "We are looking forward to traveling and spending time with parents, donors, and our accomplished alumni living in an around New York City. It truly is a chance of a lifetime for many of us."
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Uncovering Potential Students
Dr. Bev Redman, chair of the Department of Theatre, participated in the Indiana Thespians State Conference at Vincennes University from January 22-24, 2016. The theme for the weekend was "The Scene of the Crime" and provided a wealth of theatrical experiences for high school theatre teachers and students from across the state. Redman taught four sessions of workshops entitled "Introduction to Fitzmaurice Voice Work," and "Using Viola Spolin's Games in Actor Training."
Redman also participated in adjudicating scholarship auditions for potential incoming freshmen. Fifteen students were encouraged to attend the IPFW Department of Theatre with scholarship offers. "One-on-one opportunities offered through the state-wide convention are the perfect time and place to connect with very talented actors and technicians." said Redman. "All of them are eager to find the right place to study and we offer a wealth of experience at IPFW."
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Natural Organic Imagery
"Julie Wall Toles: Printmaking" is currently on display at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory through Feb. 28, 2016. Toles uses natural organic imagery paired with simplified geometric shapes to create pieces that depict a balance between two worlds. Her recent work uses two printmaking techniques: relief printing and intaglio printing, one being an additive way to create an image and the other subtractive. She also is the owner of Hedgehog Press, a print shop located at 1136 Columbia Ave. See more of her work here.
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Burning Bright by Julie Wall Toles
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REV Recreation Group Hires the Best
Don Gephart (B.F.A.'15, graphic design) who is currently serving as marketing manager for REV Recreation Group, recently reported to the Dean's office that his entire department is currently comprised of highly-skilled graduates from the Department of Visual Communications and Design. The other members of the team include marketing specialist Jill (Bresler) Damron ('02, B.F.A. graphic design); graphic designer Ashley Schaeffer ('15, B.F.A. graphic design) and graphic designer Holly (Walburn) Steffen ('16, B.F.A. graphic design and photography.) REV Recreation Group, located in Decatur, Ind., is a collection of some of the world's most recognized and admired RV brands, including American Coach, Fleetwood, Holiday Rambler, and Monaco. "The training and education that we all received is invaluable here at REV," explained Gebhart. "We are all proud VPA alumni."
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