Shaping OurSpace: CSU gets Youth Involved in and Downtown Columbus Redevelopment

In a collaboration across three CSU colleges (Arts, Letters and Sciences, and College of Education and Health Professionals) Drs Becky Becker, Amanda Rees, Andrea Frazier and Camille Bryant have recently received a Knight Foundation grant of $10,000 to develop a program that worked to develop spatial reasoning of low-income children.  The population the team is working with are subject to a large-scale community upheaval due to planned changes to the Booker T Washington/Liberty Theatre District in downtown Columbus and we look to support children's ability to both understand, take part in the public planning process.  The project, called Shaping OurSpace, was piloted over the summer (2012) and we will now be delivering the program in CSU's after school project, directed by Anne Thibault called Empowered Youth of Columbus this spring..

MTNA Collegiate Competitio​n: Schwob students win three categories in Southern Division

The national conference of the Music Teachers National Association will see three CSU students competing at the national level of the Collegiate Artist Competition. Congratulations to these students who won the nine-state Southern Region auditions by presenting a full recital:

Anna Vertypolokh, piano student of Professor Alexander Kobrin

Mark Spradley, trombone student of Dr. Brad Palmer

Branson Yeast, cello student of Professor Wendy Warner

Congratulations also to Likai He and Sophie Wang, violin students of Professor Sergiu Schwartz, who won the MTNA Georgia competition in their age brackets and were recognized for their performances at MTNA Southern Region as Alternate and Honorable Mention, respectively.

Private giving made possible the underwriting of travel expense to Greensboro, NC for these five contestants and their collaborative pianists, Yien Wang, Ksenia Kurenysheva, and Alina Sarkisyan. The national finalists will compete at Disneyland in Southern California in March.

Graduate Student recognized by Georgia Arts Council

Steven Tette, a Columbus State University Graduate student was recently recognized by the Georgia Arts Council. In a call to all Georgia Artists, his painting "self concept (family affair)" was chosen to be displayed at the Georgia Capitol Executive Offices.

Tette will hand deliver his painting to the Governor, after which the painting will be put on rotation. A digital guide for this exhibition will be provided in the near future. To see more of Tette's work visit his website: steventette.com

A music alumni won the 1st prize in International Guitar Festival

A CSU alumnist Joseph Palmer was awarded 1st prize in the biannual Texas International Guitar Festival held in College Station at Texas A&M. This is the 3rd first prize Joseph has won this year.  Another CSU alum, Chad Ibison, won this prize in 2010. 

A Theater student had one-act play produced at the Arts Center in N.C.

Congratulations to Libba Beaucham, a senior Theatre BA student, who had her one-act play produced at the ArtsCenter in North Carolina earlier in July. There were more than 500 submissions to the "10 by 10" international playwriting competition, and Libba's play, After You, was one of only 10 selected for production. The festival paid her expenses to attend the performances.

A theater graduate worked on 2011 Pulitzer and Tony Award winning drama

Kimberly Faith Hickman, a 2004 graduate of the CSU Department of Theatre, is Assistant Director for "Clybourne Park," which is currently running on Broadway. "Clybourne Park" won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for drama, was nominated for 4 Tony awards, and recently won the Tony for Best New Play. Hickman also worked on "The Scottsboro Boys," a musical that garnered 12 Tony nominations.

Ashburn Native Michael Johnson Advances at Classical Singer Convention

COLUMBUS, GA (06/06/2012)(readMedia)-- Junior voice major Michael Johnson, of Ashburn, Ga., competed in the Classical Singer Convention 2012 – Young Artist Series – held in Chicago May 24-27. With a program of songs in three languages, Johnson was selected from over 1,000 singers as one of 38 to advance to the semifinal round.

Johnson, a student of Earl Coleman, the William and Isabelle Curry Eminent Scholar Chair in Voice at Columbus State University's Schwob School of Music, has also been a first place winner in the Georgia and Southeastern National Association of Teachers of Singing Competitions Student Auditions. He will be lead tenor in the CSU productions of Donizetti's opera, The Elixir of Love in January 2013.

CSU's Schwob School of Music is located in the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, part of CSU's RiverPark campus on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in downtown Columbus, anchored by incomparable performing arts facilities. The school attracts students from around the world to a college experience that is deeply personal and relevant. A unique partnership between the public and private sectors provides generous scholarship support for talented and deserving students.

For more information, go to www.ColumbusState.edu.

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