Arts and Culture

New singers for Faust announced

New singers for Faust announced

Due to other commitments, famed opera singer and DU alumnus Hao Jiang Tian (MA ’87) has bowed out of the Lamont School of Music’s inaugural fall opera production of Charles Gounod’s Faust. DU professor and opera director Kenneth Cox, who was scheduled to alternate the role of Mephistopheles with Tian, […]

Ballet Hispanico opens Newman Center’s ‘Convergences’ season Oct. 1

Ballet Hispanico opens Newman Center’s ‘Convergences’ season Oct. 1

Those who associate ballet with the stylized moves in Swan Lake or Don Quixote are in for a surprise when they see the fiery performances staged by New York-based Ballet Hispanico. While the 41-year-old company has its share of graceful dances set to classical music, it also has pieces like […]

DU’s Playground Ensemble releases debut album of modern chamber music

DU’s Playground Ensemble releases debut album of modern chamber music

The Playground Ensemble is an anomaly in the world of classical music: Rather than performing works by Beethoven, Bach and the other usual suspects, the group takes the bold step of performing pieces by composers who are still alive — or were alive in the 20th century. “Modern music has […]

Classical guitarist Masakazu Ito to hold benefit concert for Japan

Classical guitarist Masakazu Ito to hold benefit concert for Japan

On March 11, 2011, the world watched as an 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a tsunami on the northeastern coast of the country. Masakazu Ito watched in disbelief. “The devastation, the overpowering force of the water … I just knew I wanted to do my part to […]

DU student film wins top honors at Estes Park film fest

Right Click > Find Date, a short film about online dating made by graduate students in a  Department of Media, Film and Journalism studies documentary class, took home the prize for best student film at the Estes Park Film Festival on Sept. 18. “We really enjoyed this one; it really […]

Vocal music major part of ‘Sing-Off’ contestant Urban Method

Vocal music major part of ‘Sing-Off’ contestant Urban Method

Being a member of DU a cappella group the Idiosingcrasies was sophomore Katie Turley’s ticket to appearing on season three of NBC’s “The Sing-Off,” but not in the way she expected. While the DU ensemble was recording its debut CD with local music producer Tony Huerta, Huerta asked Turley if […]

Hood, Hanson release big band album

You’re It!, the latest musical collaboration between Lamont School of Music faculty members Al Hood and Dave Hanson, is a DU project through and through. The 11-track big-band-jazz CD also features the talents of Lamont instructors Ken Walker (bass) and Tom Ball (trombone); it was funded by a grant from DU’s […]

Music student uses pageant crown to advocate for disabled performers

Music student uses pageant crown to advocate for disabled performers

Jenna Bainbridge auditioned at schools across the country and found the best fit practically in her backyard. Bainbridge — a sophomore from Castle Rock, Colo., majoring in voice performance with an emphasis in musical theater — received a DU Provost Scholarship, a music scholarship from DU’s Lamont School and a […]

Student documentary to screen at film festival

Student documentary to screen at film festival

Jesus Sierra loves documentaries so much that he tries to watch a new one every day. And his passion for what he calls “horrible movies” is such that two summers ago he watched every National Lampoon movie ever made. Not just the ones you’ve heard of, like Vacation and Animal […]

Penrose Library showcases ballet treasures

Penrose Library showcases ballet treasures

Penrose Library put some of the treasures from its Carson-Brierly Dance Library on display in spring 2011 with “Ballet Struck: Lillian Covillo and Colorado Ballet,” a special exhibit of vintage dance memorabilia. The programs, photographs and scrapbook pictured here were donated by Colorado Ballet co-founder Covillo, who died in November […]

Sculptor captures the art of sports (and other things)

Sculptor captures the art of sports (and other things)

This year, sculptor Gail Folwell spent six months in France — looking at art, sketching and thinking — along with her architect husband and 12- and 14-year old children. It’s a trip she’s always dreamed about taking with her family, and Bill Rey of the Claggett/Ray Gallery in Vail, Colo., […]

Performance and teaching a perfect duet for viola teacher

Performance and teaching a perfect duet for viola teacher

Viola instructor Basil Vendryes of DU’s Lamont School of Music remembers an aunt reading him the riot act over his plans to pursue a career in music. “You’ll be playing outside Carnegie Hall, not inside it,” she warned the fledgling musician. When Vendryes played the historic New York City venue […]

Lamont adds a second production and an international star to upcoming opera season

Lamont adds a second production and an international star to upcoming opera season

Update: Singers for Faust have changed. To find out more, visit the DU Today story. The Lamont School of Music kicks off its inaugural fall opera not with a bang, but with a low rumble as famed bass Hao Jiang Tian (MA ’87) returns to DU to perform in select […]

Nagel Art Studios provide function and inspiration

Nagel Art Studios provide function and inspiration

One work of Austin Zucchini-Fowler is striking both in size and in artistry, and it would not have been possible in DU’s former facilities. Zucchini-Fowler, a senior art major from Phoenix, is painting a massive mural on one of the walls of the new painting studio. He’s employing techniques he […]

Lamont grads redefine classical music form

Lamont grads redefine classical music form

For singer Nathan Bird, becoming part of the Massif Trio — and performing with two guitars instead of a piano — took some getting used to. “A lot of singers don’t get this kind of ensemble experience. When you’re performing with a piano, it’s just you and this envelope of […]