Events:
Beethoven Center: Beethoven and His Pupils
Janine Johnson will be playing works by Beethoven, Carl Czerny, and Ferdinand Ries on the Beethoven Center’s Historical Keyboard Collection, including: an 1823 John Broadwood & Sons English fortepiano, an 1825 Mathias Jakesch fortepiano made in Vienna, and a replica built by Janine and her former partner Paul Poletti of a 1795 fortepiano made by Jean-Louis Dulcken. Come join us on Saturday, April 8, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm in the Beethoven Center, MLK Library 5th floor, room 580. The event is free, but seating is limited.
Beethoven Center: Ronald Brautigam Fortepiano Recital
In 2012, Ronald Brautigam performed an All-Beethoven concert on the Center’s 1823 Broadwood fortepiano that was greeted with enthusiastic acclaim from both audience and press. We are thrilled he has accepted our invitation to return to the Bay Area for his only solo performance in the United States this Spring. The performance is on Saturday, May 6 at 2:pm at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. A Masterclass will also be given on Sunday, May 7, from 2:30-4:30pm, presented by The American Beethoven Society, The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, and San José State University.
English & Comparative Literature: Ending Modern Day Slavery: A Conference on Human Trafficking
The SJSU Spartans against Human Trafficking, under the supervision of Dr. Linda Landau, are partnering with the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking to offer a campus-wide half-day conference, Out of the Shadows – Ending Modern Day Slavery. The conference will take place on April 11, from 12:45pm to 6:00pm, in Student Union Room 1. The purpose of the conference is to raise awareness of the signs of human trafficking in Silicon Valley, help the South Bay Coalition assist rescued victims to transform their lives, and provide opportunities for SJSU students to collaborate with community leaders to solve a serious local problem. The conference features short films, panel discussions, and interactive workshops led by law enforcement representatives, legal experts, social services specialists, and community leaders of the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking and the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force.
12:45 – 1:15 Walking Merchandise, a film on global human trafficking
1:30 – 1:45 Greetings
1:45 – 2:00 Human Trafficking 101
2:00 – 2:50 Panel 1: The Labor Trafficking Continuum – Wage Theft, Health & Safety Issues, Labor Trafficking
3:00 – 4:15 Panel 2: Law Enforcement and Victim Services
4:30 – 5:45 Panel 3: Vulnerable Populations
Sponsored by SJSU College of Humanities and the Arts Signature Event Grant, the conference is open to the SJSU community and the general public. Refreshments served.
English & Comparative Literature: Reed Magazine Celebrates Its 150th Anniversary
Reed Magazine will celebrate its 150th anniversary on September 22 in the San José City Hall Rotunda. Reed began on the SJSU campus in 1867, making it the oldest literary journal west of the Mississippi. It was originally a publication produced by the English Department to produce student work, and was titled The Acorn. Appropriately The Acorn has grown through 15 decades to become a 200+ page journal publishing work from authors and artists around the globe. Though the name has gone through several iterations, the journal is still based in the English Department and is produced each year by students under the direction of faculty advisor Cathleen Miller. Reed is named for James Reed, who donated the 154 acres upon which San José State was built.
Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre: Sisters Matsumoto at Center Repertory Theatre in Walnut Creek
Andrea Bechert’s scenic design for Sisters Matsumoto with Center Repertory Theatre can be seen at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek from March 31 to April 29, 2017. Stockton, California, 1946: the war is over and American optimism is returning. Also returning are the three Matsumoto sisters – Rose, Grace, and Chiz – to their family home to begin their lives again after internment in Arkansas. Successful, prosperous, and part of the community before the war, taking up life where they left off proves more complicated than they thought. Balancing comedy, romance, and suspense, this tender and truly heartwarming plays tells an important story of what it means to be American. For more information, click here.
Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre: Beauty and the Beast at The Mountain Play, at Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mt. Tamalpais, in Marin
Andrea Bechert’s scenic design for Beauty and the Beast with The Mountain Play can be seen at Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mt. Tamalpais, in Marin every Sunday from May 21 – June 18. Join the Mountain Play in the enchanted world of Broadway’s modern classic, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version combines the beloved story with all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman and new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
This beloved tale comes to life through the charming story of Belle, a young woman from a small village, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love another and earn their love in return, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity. For more information, click here.
Alumni News:
Art & Art History: Sarah Fullerton joins Arts + Design Initiative at UC Berkeley
After 5 years with the San José Institute of Contemporary Art, Sarah Dragovich (née Fullerton) has been appointed as the Communications Director of the newly established Arts + Design Initiative at UC Berkeley. Sarah received her MFA in Art History from San José State University. Her thesis “Marking the Condottiere’s Dynasty: The Saletta Delle Dame of the Martinengo-Padernello,” published in Summer 2015, focuses on Early Modern Domestic Interiors, specifically northern Italian court culture. For more information, click here.
Art & Art History: Crystal Morey featured in Hi-Fructose Art Magazine
Oakland-based ceramic sculptor Crystal Morey was recently featured in Hi-Fructose Art Magazine, Volume 41. Morey takes inspirations from her alternative upbringing where she closely connected with the natural landscape around her. Her work aims to show our relationship to the world around us through the fragile medium of porcelain. Morey received her BFA in Ceramic Sculpture from the California College of the Arts, and her MFA in Spatial Art from San José State University. Her work has been included in many other publications and online periodicals including: 500 Figures in Clay, Juxtapoz, Beautiful Surface, Beautiful Decay, and Sculpture Review. She is represented by Modern Eden in San Francisco, Abmeyer + Wood in Seattle, WA, and Antler and Visions West Contemporary in Denver, CO. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums regionally, nationally, and internationally. Morey will have an upcoming solo exhibition of her work at Abmeyer + Wood in Seattle in March 2017.
Art & Art History: Marianne Lettieri Receives SVLaureates Award
SVCreates has selected Marianne Lettieri (MFA 2013) to receive the 2017 SVLaureates Award for exceptional achievement in the arts and contribution to the cultural life of Silicon Valley. Marianne’s award is in the Off the Wall category for sculpture and spatial arts. She creates art from discarded everyday objects and historical artifacts to explore shifts in cultural values, identity, and memory. Her solo art exhibitions in the Silicon Valley area include San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, Monterey Peninsula College, Peninsula Museum of Art, Doug Adams Gallery, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, and Community School of Music and Arts. Her art is in the collections of San José Museum of Quilts and Textiles and Oracle Corporation. She is an artist-in-residence at the Cubberley Artists Studio Program, sponsored by the City of Palo Alto. Marianne is on the leadership team of Doing Good Well, a national initiative to empower next generation female arts and culture leaders. She is on the board of directors of Council for the Arts, Palo Alto and Mid-Peninsula Area (CAPA). Each Laureate receives an unrestricted cash award to celebrate and encourage the continuing development of their artistic work. Other artists receiving awards and their categories are Yvonne Escalante – Emerging Artist; Cathleen Miller – Off Stage; Jimmy Biala – On Stage; Joe Miller – On the Wall; and Richard Orland – Legacy.
Faculty News:
English & Comparative Literature: Cathleen Miller Named Silicon Valley Artist Laureate
Cathleen Miller has been named a 2017 Silicon Valley Artist Laureate for her creative talents and influence on the arts in the community. Miller is a bestselling author of four nonfiction books, the director of the Center for Literary Arts, the editor-in-chief of Reed Magazine, and an Associate Professor of Creative Writing in the Department of English and Comparative Literature.
English & Comparative Literature: Center for Literary Arts Hosted Its First Writers’ Conference
The Center for Literary Arts hosted its first-ever writers’ conference from March 21-23, with panel discussions on the art of travel writing. The event’s keynote was given by New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief. Panels included editors from Sunset Magazine, BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveler, AFAR, and the San Francisco Chronicle. CLA director Cathleen Miller emceed the conference and moderated a panel on adventure travel.
Music & Dance: Music compositions performed
Dr. Brian Belet’s composition Summer Phantoms: Nocturne (piano and electronics) was performed by Keith Kirchoff (“The Electroacoustic Piano” concert) at San José State University on February 14, 2017. Belet’s composition System of Shadows (trumpet and Kyma processing) is included on Stephen Ruppenthal’s new CD Flamethrower (Ravello Records 7954, March 2017). Another of Belet’s compositions, Name Droppings, was performed during the Kaleidoscope concert at the Hammer Theatre on October 22, 2016.
Music & Dance: SMD Faculty perform in Davies
Current and former faculty from the School of Music and Dance performed Ravel’s ravishing Piano Trio to a sold out crowd at Davies Symphony Hall on Sunday, February 19 at 2 pm. A special guest came back stage after the performance to congratulate the trio — it was non other than Michael Tilson Thomas, director of the SF Symphony! This was a moment of Spartan Pride for former faculty members Diane Nicholeris (violin) and David Goldblatt (cello), who are both members of the SF Symphony, as well as for current professor of piano, Gwendolyn Mok.
Music & Dance: New Aaron Lington Album Projects
Aaron Lington is featured on three recent releases by Bay Area Artists: a new release by Pacific Mambo Orchestra – Live from Stern Grove (Lington as saxophonist and arranger); a new release by Bay Area-based Polish vocalist Beata Pater – Firedance (Lington as saxophonist); and a new release by longtime Iggy and the Stooges guitarist James Williamson – Acoustic K.O. (Lington as saxophonist and arranger).
World Languages & Literatures: Anne Fountain C-SPAN Interview
For March 4-5, C-SPAN featured Cities Tour interviews in San José. Professor Emerita Anne Fountain was interviewed about her book, José Martí, the United States, and Race. To read the interview, click here.
Student News:
Design: SJSU Interior Design Students Sweep NCIIDA Honor Awards
On a Thursday night at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, five SJSU Interior Design students were presented with Honor Awards by the Northern California Chapter of the International Interior Design Association. The awards each come with a $2000 cash prize. Asenath Young won an Honor Award for her design of Silkhar, a mens boutique. Her proposal was to recreate a 1920’s Speakeasy vibe by using reclaimed materials and haberdashery items. Michelle Rumawas and Manpreet Jandir won an Honor Award for their proposal to design a food lab in Accra, Ghana. Their winning design included vibrantly colored walls and tabletops made of an innovative and custom material they developed in class. Their custom material included cement, polymers, and local agricultural by products such as pulverized cocoa husks, turmeric, and spinach. Maryam Batouli received an Honor Award for her hypothetical design of Pintrest’s new Headquarters. She developed a custom light fixture, in the form of a pushpin, for the project. Katie Han received an Honor Award for her Hypertext Book Factory design proposal. As part of her winning design she developed a concept for an Espresso Book Machine that prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book in a few minutes. The Espresso Book Machine fits in 25 square feet of floor space over 3 floors. With the book machine it is possible to print rare, personal, and multi-language publications. Congratulations to the SJSU interior design students!
