News Vol. 21

EVENTS

School of Music and Dance: Aaron Lington Jazz Orchestra at SF Jazz

The Aaron Lington Jazz Orchestra will be backing up German vocalist Marc Secara at the SF Jazz Center in a concert to raise money for the victims of the Butte County fires. Performing on December 12, 2018, 7:30 pm

https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/berlin-jazz-trio-aaron-lington-jazz-orchestra/

English and Comparative Literature: Poetry Readings at Willow Glen Library

A Winter Reading with Featured Poet: Sally Ashton
Open Mic follows: For December, we suggest reading either poems by Nils Peterson or holiday-themed poems.
Free and open to the public.

Willow Glen Library
1157 Minnesota Avenue, San José, CA, 95125
(408) 808-3045 or (408) 266-1361

English and Comparative Literature: Theodore Sturgeon Centenary at the Museum of Science Fiction

Hi, I’m a regular reviewer/essayist for the Los Angeles Times, and wrote a piece in August 2018 about the late great SF novelist and short story writer, Theodore Sturgeon. Inspired by the piece, The Museum of Science Fiction in Washington D.C. decided to schedule a series of events celebrating Sturgeon’s 100th birthday. Here’s a link to my piece: https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-theodore-sturgeon-20180802-story.html

And here’s a link to the Museum’s website: http://www.museumofsciencefiction.org/sturgeon/

Best, Scott Bradfield

FACULTY NEWS

English and Comparative Literature: New Book and Forthcoming Publications

Rochelle Spencer’s review of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky (Riverhead Books, 2017) and Meet Behind Mars by Renee Simms (Wayne State University, 2017) for the Los Angeles Review was cited in the National Book Critics Circle’s Critical Notes. Rochelle recently published a review of Love War Stories by Ivelisse Rodriguez (Feminist Press, 2018) and Training School for Negro Girls by Camille Acker (Feminist Press, 2018) in the Women=Books blog, and has forthcoming publications in ARTS.BLACK (an interview with urban geographer Teju Adisa-Farrar) and The Millions (a story examining Oakland’s “Harlem Renaissance”). Rochelle’s book AfroSurrealism: The African Diaspora’s Surrealist Fiction (Routledge, 2019) will be published in August.

School of Music and Dance: Charity concerts for refugees and literacy

Coordinator of Keyboard Studies, Dr. Gwendolyn Mok performed two concerts for charities. On October 20, she organized a private house concert at the home of Don Lieberman and Pat Long to benefit the San José refugee relocation office of the International Rescue Committee. Two more events are scheduled in 2019 for the IRC. On November 15, Dr Mok performed at the Royal Overseas League in London to benefit the United Way Reading Oasis program, raising over 60,000 pounds to install libraries in elementary schools. While in London, Mok also performed a noontime recital on the prestigious series at Saint Martin-in-the-Fields representing the Beethoven Society of Europe. Dr Erica Buurman, the incoming Director of the Beethoven Center was in attendance. Before returning home, Dr Mok presented a recital and master class at the Academy of Music in Oslo. She wraps up this fall’s concerts with two performances of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for piano, violin, and cello with the Ukiah Symphony. She was joined by violinist Diane Nicholeris and cellist David Goldblatt, who were former faculty at the School of Music.

English and Comparative Literature: Forthcoming Publications from Sally Ashton

Two poems are forthcoming in Berkeley’s longtime ‘zine, Poetry Flash. My fourth book of poems, The Behaviour of Clocks is set for a March 2019 release. An essay, Who’s Colluding: The Case for Collaborative Writing is forthcoming in The Writer’s Chronicle, 2019. A poem and essay will also appear in 2019 in the anthology, A Cast-Iron Aeroplane That Actually Flies: Commentaries from 80 American Poets on their Prose Poems.

English and Comparative Literature: New Book from Editor Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite

New Book: Promoting Language and STEAM as Human Rights in Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. This book argues that integrating artistic contributions—with an emphasis on culture and language—can make Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects more accessible, and therefore promote creativity and innovation in teaching and learning at all levels of education. It provides tools and strategies for managing interdisciplinary learning and teaching based on successful collaborations between researchers, practitioners, and artists in the fields of the Arts and STEM subjects. Based on contributions by educators, scientists, scholars, linguists, and artists from around the globe, the book highlights how we can demonstrate teamwork and collaboration for innovation and creativity in STEAM subjects in the classroom and beyond.

ALUMNI NEWS

Department of Design: A Radish Tale wins first place at Warner Bros.

Animation/Illustration class of 2017 graduate, Olivia Asis won first place for her animated short, A Radish Tale at the first-ever Warner Bros. Employee Film Showcase on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 in Burbank, CA. A Radish Tale, the story of a young radish, who being swept away from his family, is forced to confront his greatest fears, was voted upon by studio employees and creative executives from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures for a chance to win exclusive prizes and mentorship opportunities. Photos from the awards ceremony are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1niCjKOrxCoNrB_Z3TEnDkSzO2AcQLWMH?usp=sharing

STUDENT NEWS 

School of Music and Dance: Concerto Competition Winners

Sean Martin, bassoonist in senior year, and Samuel Troxell, bassoonist in junior year, together won Music School Double Concerto Competition on November 9th, 2018.

Martin also won the Music Study Club Competition on November 4th, 2018 with a prize of $1,000.