Prior Research + Creative Activity
The Why Here: 1877 Railroad Strike
J. Dana Sperry, Associate Professor of Digital Media, says that he is “not a historian, but [likes] to think about how history dovetails into technology and how it affects us at different intersections of life—in other words, what technology is doing to us.” This audio walk explores the historical events of 1877 in Pittsburgh as much as it is a reflection on the human consequences of swift technological and economic shifts. The walk examines the physical and intellectual connections between the largely forgotten uprising of 1877 and the technology advancements currently taking place just blocks away involving Big Tech corporations such as Uber. When a society greatly alters its technology and economic models, it must also address the human consequences of such changes. As history has shown, not doing so can prove disastrous.
A COLLISION AT THE MCDONOUGH
YSU’s John J. McDonough Museum of Art continues to find new ways to open its doors to the campus and community. “The definition of an art museum has changed so much over the last decade. Our new initiatives - Muse, the Emerging Artist Series, and the Scribe Literary Collaborative - are designed to create inclusive programming and increase community engagement and outreach.”—Claudia Berlinski, Museum Director
Tango
The Cleveland Orchestra’s social media outreach featured two performances by Professor James Umble with Carolyn Warner (piano) and Steve Warner (violin), including their interpretation of Tango,by Professor David Morgan
Portal
Portal,a collage by McDonough Museum Director Claudia Berlinski, was selected as a winner in the fine art category of the journal Creative Quarterly. Berlinski also recently had work exhibited in the Akron Soul Train Gallery and Niza Knoll Gallery in Denver, CO.
Neoliberal Contradictions, Music Education, and the Knowledge Economy
Associate Professor Paul Louth published a new article, “Emphasis and Suggestion versus Musical Taxidermy: Neoliberal Contradictions, Music Education and the Knowledge Economy,” in Philosophy of Music Education Review.
National Conference Recital
Professor James Umble played an invited recital at the North American Saxophone Alliance 2020 Biennial Conference at Arizona State University.
Wind Ensemble at OMEA
Professor Stephen Gage and Associate Professor Brandt Payne conducted the Wind Ensemble in a concert at the 2020 OMEA Professional Development Conference that featured Assistant Professor Andrew Mitchell on trombone.
Blue Is More Than a Color
Professor Dave Morgan released Blue Is More Than a Color.The recording features seven tracks performed by 30 musicians, including several faculty, alumni and current students from YSU. “It’s one of the few recordings I hear that makes me want to listen again and again!” – Rick Lawn, author of Jazz Scores and Analysis.
Designing Costumes
Associate Professor Katherine Garlick designed and built costumes for It Had to Be You,directed by Helga Terry, at Pittsburgh’s South Park Theatre. Katherine also presented a clinic on costume rendering techniques at the 2020 United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference.
Super Bowl LIII
Professor Stephen Gage and more than two dozen alumni, faculty, staff, and students recorded Derek Dixie’s arrangement of American the Beautiful,which was sung by Chloe and Halle during Super Bowl LIII pregame ceremonies.
Akron Art Museum Exhibition
Professor Dragana Crnjak’s work was featured in a curated exhibition entitled “Frameworks” at the Akron Art Museum.
Tadd Dameron
Professor Kent Engelhardt transcribed, notated, and edited scores and parts from Dameron’s final album as a bandleader, which was recorded in 1962. Engelhardt and Stephen Enos organized a 15-member band that performed and recorded the music on Tadd Dameron: The Magic Continues.
Film Music
Associate Professor Daniel J. Keown gave two peer-reviewed presentations and co-presented a lecture at the 2018 OMEA Professional Development Conference, including Discovering the Lost Ark of Possibilities: Bringing Visibility to the Invisible Art Form of Film Music in Your Music Classroom.
Concert at OMEA
Professors Stephen Gage and Glenn Schaft led the YSU Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble, respectively, in performances at the 2018 OMEA Professional Development Conference. The Wind Ensemble programmed Reactions,composed by Professor David Morgan, with Schaft as featured soloist.
National Art Educator’s Association Conference Presentation
Professor Michelle Nelson and two other art faculty members presented at the 2018 National Art Educator’s Association Conference in Seattle. Their presentation, titled "Transforming Teaching Toward Transforming Community,” discussed their work on a grant they were awarded by the Puffin Foundation.
Markers
Joy Christiansen Erb, Professor and Chair of the Department of Art, was a featured artist at the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Exchange Exhibition, titled “Markers,” which was on display at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia.
Art in Sweden
Associate Professor Joseph D’Uva work was included in an exhibit, titled “Intuitive Repetition,” that was displayed at the 7th International Lithographic Symposium in Valkenswaard, Sweden, and is now part of the permanent collection at the Dutch Museum of Lithography.