A Conference on Music 'That Nurtures Whole Human Persons'
More than 100 musicians gathered last week on the campus of the University of Notre Dame for its inaugural Sacred Music Conference.
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Ted Mandell: From Classroom to Stadium to Third World
As a documentary filmmaker, a faculty member in College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT), and a producer for Fighting Irish Digital Media, Ted Mandell ’86 quite literally sheds light on the University of Notre Dame’s traditions of social justice and student athletics. What unites his approach to these roles, says Mandell, is a commitment to show the human side of every story—and help his students learn to do the same.
Senior Film Student Wins Princess Grace Award
When Kathleen Bracke got the call, she dropped the phone out of shock, then picked it up and asked the caller to repeat the news. On the other end was a representative of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA announcing that Bracke had won a 2012 Princess Grace Award. Bracke, a senior in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT) is one of only two winners of this year’s Princess Grace Undergraduate Film Scholarship.
Actors From The London Stage to Perform 'The Merchant of Venice'
Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS), a self-directed ensemble of five professional British actors, will present William Shakespeare’s comedy The Merchant of Venice in historic Washington Hall on the University of Notre Dame’s campus at 7:30 p.m., September 12-14 (Wednesday-Friday).
Sacred Music at Notre Dame Hosts Inaugural Conference
The University of Notre Dame’s inaugural Sacred Music Conference will be held Thursday through Saturday (September 13 through 15). The conference will feature sacred music from the Renaissance to the present day and will bring together composers, scholars, and conductors of sacred music to discuss, share, and perform their work. Several concert events are open to the public and free of charge.
Alumna Honored for Redesign of Breast Cancer Procedure
With her graduate thesis project, University of Notre Dame alumna Charlotte Lux, M.F.A. ’11, set out to redesign a stressful diagnostic procedure women who might have breast cancer undergo in the hopes of making it less traumatic. The resulting design has earned Lux recognition in the 2012 Core77 Design Awards, where she was named student winner in the strategy and research category.
Industrial Design Student Among Top Five in Nation
Notre Dame’s Ryan Geraghty ’12 has been named one of the top five graduating industrial design students in the nation, and his work will be featured at the Industrial Designers Society of America’s (IDSA) International conference in Boston August 15-18. Geraghty earned this opportunity by winning first place at the IDSA’s Midwest District competition in April. “For students, this is the highest honor they can receive within our profession and within our professional society,” says Assistant Professor Ann-Marie Conrado, “so that’s something that goes down in the record books.” Another record for the books: Geraghty was the fifth Notre Dame student in six years to take the title.
García-Romero Invited to National Playwrights Conference
Anne García-Romero, an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, has been accepted to the prestigious Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference this summer. One of just eight playwrights selected out of nearly 1,000 applicants, García-Romero will spend the month of July at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut, working with acclaimed theatre professionals to workshop her play Provenance. Also among the honorees is Notre Dame English alumna Theresa Rebeck ’80, an award-winning playwright and creator of the television show Smash.
Alumnus Advances Career Making Movie Trailers
Moneyball. True Grit. The Social Network. Black Swan. If you watched a trailer for any of these movies, then you’ve seen the work of Notre Dame alumnus Scott Mitsui ’92. A communications and theatre major, Mitsui has spent the past 12 years as producer and vice president of operations at Mark Woollen & Associates in Santa Monica, Calif., a company responsible for some of the most noteworthy and award-winning film trailers in Hollywood.
English Major Invited to Study at Globe Theatre
Ariel Clark-Semyck, a rising sophomore English major at the University of Notre Dame, will spend three weeks at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre this June as part of the Fulbright Summer Institute program. She is one of three U.S. students invited to attend the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) Summer Institute at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre—a demanding academic and cultural immersion program that focuses on acting and the study of Shakespearean texts, including workshops on combat play, set design, movement, and dance.
Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival to Present 'Hamlet,' 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
The 2012 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival (NDSF) will run July 14 through August 26, highlighted by the Professional Company’s production of Hamlet, directed by David H. Bell. Other performances include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented by the Young Company at outdoor spaces throughout the Michiana region; Beyond the Stage, a performance-based lecture series, which will be presented at select venues in July and August; and ShakeScenes, which will open the festival with performances at historic Washington Hall on July 14 and 15.
Senior Mary Atwood Illuminates Andean Legends
As a linguist, artist, semiotician, and interdisciplinary scholar committed to social action, graduating senior Mary Atwood is a Notre Dame original. Drawing on seven weeks of research in Peru, the theology major recently completed a senior thesis that included original oil paintings and English translations of three Inca legends gleaned from interviews with Quechua speakers in Cusco’s central market.
New Artistic Director of Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival Named
Grant Mudge has been named the Ryan Producing Artistic Director of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. Mudge succeeds Jay Paul Skelton, who departs after the conclusion of 2012 season of the Festival to pursue a research degree in England. “We chose Grant after an extensive national search,” says Peter Holland, associate dean for the arts in the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame. “His success in building the Richmond Shakespeare Festival shows that he has the track-record and the talent to help us take the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival forward to an ever more exciting future.
Notre Dame Design Students Bring South Africa together+ to Fight Xenophobia
In the spirit of ubuntu, or “togetherness,” University of Notre Dame faculty, students, and alumni, Kgosi Neighbourhood Foundation, and Pellegrino Collaborative have joined forces to develop together+, a multifaceted campaign designed to unite a South African community divided by xenophobia, and to inform, inspire, and empower its most marginalized citizens.
English Professor Develops Shakespeare App for iPad
A signature work of the Bard just became more accessible thanks to a new iPad app developed by University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of English Elliott Visconsi and Bryn Mawr College colleague Professor Katherine Rowe.
FTT Students Make Wetlands Research Documentary
Collin Erker and Erin Moffitt, both juniors in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, spent four weeks wading through the Great Lakes’ coastal wetlands to create a documentary called Waterlogged.
Olivier Morel’s Film Wins Accolades, Inspires Action
Olivier Morel’s film On the Bridge, about veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has been selected for more than a dozen festivals, won multiple awards, and has been the subject of countless media interviews since its fall 2011 release. But all of that recognition pales in comparison with a chain of events that occurred earlier this year, the director and Notre Dame faculty member says.
'Light Up The Sky' to be Performed at Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT) presents Light Up The Sky by Moss Hart. Directed by FTT faculty member Jay Paul Skelton, the play runs in the Decio Mainstage Theatre of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. April 17 through 21 (Tuesday through Saturday), with a matinee performance at 2:30 p.m. April 22 (Sunday).
Senior Art History Major to Present at National Research Conference
Anna O’Meara, a senior art history major at the University of Notre Dame, has been invited to present her paper, “Cinema against Cinema: Imagery in the Films of Guy Debord,” at the 2012 National Conference on Undergraduate Research later this month. Her paper was selected from among more than 3,500 submissions.
Shakespeare at Notre Dame Presents SonnetFest 2012
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with the third annual “SonnetFest.” All 154 of William Shakespeare’s sonnets will be read sequentially from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14 in the Great Hall of O’Shaughnessy at the University of Notre Dame. The event, sponsored by Shakespeare at Notre Dame and the College of Arts and Letters, is free and open to the public.
Department of Film, Television, and Theatre Presents 'Antígona Furiosa'
The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre will present Antígona Furiosa by Griselda Gambaro in 10 performances beginning Thursday, February 23.
Film Festival Showcases Students' Projects
One weekend last month, members of the Notre Dame community sat down to watch 16 films, ranging from comedies to dramas and documentaries, in one evening. But these movies weren’t made in Hollywood. That’s because the 23rd annual Student Film Festival showcased the work of many students in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre.
Short Film by Arts and Letters Alumnus Wins Sundance Prize
A movie produced and co-written by University of Notre Dame alumnus John Hibey ’05 was awarded the jury prize for short filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The winning film, Fishing Without Nets, tells a tale of a poor, young Somali fisherman who ends up joining a group of pirates.
Department of Music to Celebrate Works of Franz Schubert
The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Music will celebrate Franz Schubert’s 215th birthday on Friday, February 3, with an afternoon of music by the famed Austrian composer. The event, called Schubertiade, will take place from 12:30 to 5 p.m. in the O’Shaughnessy Great Hall and features performances from faculty and students, as well as readings chosen by J.W. Van Gorkom Professor of Music Susan Youens, an expert on Schubert’s work.
23rd Annual Notre Dame Student Film Festival to Screen Jan. 19 to 21
The Notre Dame Student Film Festival returns to campus January 19 to 21 (Thursday to Saturday) at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. in the Browning Cinema at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office, 574-631-2800 or online at performingarts.nd.edu.
PLS Alumnus Acting His Own Part
Dan O’Brien ’99 has always considered himself an actor and now he is a successful professional. As a lead on the NBC sitcom Whitney, he can share his passion for performance with all of America. O’Brien says he did not major in theater at Notre Dame because he knew already that his passion was for acting and he was not particularly interested in the technical and behind-the-scenes work which the major entailed. Instead, he participated in the College of Arts and Letters’ Program of Liberal Studies and took as many acting classes as he could.
Rare Organ Adds a New Dimension to Music Studies
The anonymous loan of a rare 17th-century Northern Italian chamber organ—installed in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Reyes Organ and Choral Hall in 2011—is transforming students’ understanding of early Italian music, says Craig Cramer, professor of music.
ScreenPeace Film Festival Begins February 2
The University of Notre Dame’s annual ScreenPeace Film Festival will kick off with a powerful film about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. On the Bridge, directed by College of Arts and Letters faculty member Olivier Morel, explores the impact of PTSD on former soldiers as they adapt to life outside of combat.
Cataloging of Ambrosiana Drawings Nears Completion
The Ambrosiana Collection, housed in the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters, was created through an agreement between His Eminence Giovanni Battista Montini, then the cardinal–archbishop of Milan (later Pope Paul VI) and President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. The collection includes microfilms and photographic copies of nearly all of the drawings in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy’s historic library founded in 1609.
Music Historian and Liturgical Scholar Margot Fassler Wins International Book Prize
Margot Fassler, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Music History and Liturgy and co-director of the Master of Sacred Music program at the University of Notre Dame, has won the biennial ACE/Mercers’ International Book Award. The award from Art and Christianity Enquiry (ACE) recognizes Fassler’s 2010 book The Virgin of Chartres: Making History Through Liturgy and the Arts as “an outstanding contribution to the dialogue between religious faith and the visual arts.”