Music Vocal Students performed at National Association of Teachers of Singing

The Schwob School of Music's Vocal Arts Area showed an outstanding performance at State level NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) student auditions at Clayton State University in Morrow, GA (10, 11, Feb, 2012).

Our students were expertly accompanied by Janie Lee Bullock, Tzu-Yi Chen, Yoo-Jung Kim, Aesook Lim, Tatiana Muzanova, Rachel Olsen and Mary Walker. In addition to the names of the pianists listed above and the applied teachers listed below, please note that the growth of these vocal students is positively influenced on a daily basis by Professors Constantina Tsolainou, Joseph Golden and Dr. Elizabeth Parker.


1st Place Overall in Third Year College Women: Kristen Meyers, student of Earl Coleman
1st Place Overall in Musical Theater Upper Level College Women: Lindsay Grant, student of Earl Coleman
1st Place Overall in Musical Theater Upper Level College Men: Justin Stevens, student of Michelle DeBruyn
1st Place (5A) First Year College Women: Lauren Urbina, student of Michelle DeBruyn
1st Place (7A) Second Year College Women: Randi Short, student of Dian Lawler-Johnson
1st Place (23A) Musical Theater Upper Level College Women: Lindsay Grant, student of Earl Coleman
2nd Place (8A) Second Year College Men: Sean Meara, student of Michelle DeBruyn
2nd Place (9A) Third Year College Women: Kristen Meyers, student of Earl Coleman
2nd Place (22) Musical Theater Lower Level College Men: Michael Marshall, student of Kimberly Cone
2nd Place (23A) Musical Theater Upper Level College Women: Hannah Goolsby, student of Earl Coleman
2nd Place (26) Musical Theater Advanced College Men: Phillip McIntyre, student of Earl Coleman
3rd Place (6A) First Year College Men: Dakota Kuykendall, student of Earl Coleman
3rd Place (7A) Second Year College Women: Ashley Seldon, student of Michelle DeBruyn
3rd Place (7B) Second Year College Women: Jeanette Luna, student of Dian Lawler-Johnson
3rd Place (9B) Third Year College Women: Gudbjorg Hilmarsdottir, student of Dian Lawler-Johnson
3rd Place (22) Musical Theater Lower Level College Men: Sean Meara, student of Michelle DeBruyn
3rd Place (23A) Musical Theater Upper Level College Women: Victoria Leggett, student of Kimberly Cone

Also congratulations to both Dian Lawler-Johnson and Earl Coleman on their exemplary high school students who also placed in the competition:
1st Place Overall Beginning High School Boys: Phillip Botica, student of Earl Coleman
3rd Place Beginning High School Girls: McKenzie Curtis, student of Dian Lawler-Johnson
3rd Place Beginning High School Boys: Alex Perez, student of Earl Coleman

Theater Professor published in theater journals

Becker, Becky. " Nollywood: Film and Home Video, or The Death of Nigerian Theatre." Theatre Symposium. 19 (2011): 69-80.

Becker, Becky. "Moving Wor(l)ds: An Interview with Tess Onwueme." West African Theatre and Performing Arts Journal. Inaugural issue. 1:1 (June 2011) 98-124.

Art Professor Selected for Tallahassee International Exhibition

Assistant Professor of Art, Elizabeth Roberts McFalls, was one of fifty
artists selected out of a total 400 artists who applied for the The 25th
Annual Tallahassee International Exhibition. Her work will be on display
through the end of September at The FSU Museum of fine Arts in Tallahassee
FL. For more information:
http://www.mofa.fsu.edu/pages/participate/tallahasseeinternational.shtml

Violinist advances in international competition

CSU senior violin student Suliman Tekalli (from Florida) advanced to the finals of the Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition in Gorizia, Italy, after competing in three rounds (qualification, elimination and semifinals) against violinists from the US, Korea, Japan, Russia, China, Romania, Spain, Estonia, Slovenia, Armenia, and Italy.

Suliman will perform in the finals as soloist with orchestra violin concertos by Brahms and Bartok. As one of the six finalists, he is already guaranteed one of the prizes in the competition. Meanwhile, he has already been awarded three special prizes: € 400,00 for the best performance of Variations by R. Lipizer; € 400,00 for the best sonata performed in the semifinals; and € 400,00 for the best virtuoso piece performance by a semifinalist.

Parker panelist at Live Design Institute

Scott Parker, Technical Director of the Department of Theatre, will moderate the third annual LDI Portfolio Review at Live Design Institute 2010, held at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas. Young professionals will receive critiques and career advice from lighting, sound, and projection professionals.

Vocal student finalist in Atlanta Symphony Competition

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Turner Classic Movies today announced that CSU student Joseph Brewer is one of three finalists for the “Atlanta Symphony Songster 2010” amateur vocal competition. Their YouTube.com video-entries are currently available at http://atlantasymphony.org/songsterfinalists. Finalists will sing “Over the Rainbow” with the Orchestra prior to the start of the The Wizard of Oz concert on Saturday, August 14, 2010 — the competition will also be streamed live on UStream.com. Audience members will select the winner by text message or by online voting. Winners will be announced at intermission of the concert by Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies.

Joseph has studied voice with Kimberly Cone for five years. He performs with theatre companies around the region, including such roles including Jack in Into the Woods, Papageno in The Magic Flute, and Rusty Charlie in Guys and Dolls. Other shows include The Music Man, Oklahoma, Bye Bye Birdie, and Once Upon a Mattress. When not on stage, Mr. Brewer works at St Luke United Methodist Church in Columbus as a staff singer and accompanist, playing piano and organ, and the Springer Opera House, where he recently finished teaching Musical Theatre at the Springer Summer Academy. Mr. Brewer has said he is thankful to have the opportunity to be reunited with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra – many years ago he performed with the Orchestra as a boy soprano.

Theatre student wins Phi Kappa Phi scholarship

BATON ROUGE, LA— Melora Slotnick of Jonesboro was awarded a Study Abroad Grant worth $1,000 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. The daughter of Melina and Michael Slotnick, she is a theatre student at Columbus State University. Slotnick will travel to the United Kingdom to continue her studies and broaden her horizons.
This honor counts Slotnick among fifty students nationwide to receive the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant. This program is designed to help support undergraduates as they seek knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad.

Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually more than 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.