News @ the Peck School of the Arts

British pianist Margaret Fingerhut to perform on March 12th

MILWAUKEE (February 26, 2010) — The Peck School of the Arts is proud to present a recital by acclaimed pianist Margaret Fingerhut on Friday, March 12th at 7:30 p.m. at the Peck School of the Arts Recital Hall. Admission to the event is free.

Margaret Fingerhut is regarded as one of the most poetic pianists of her generation who has captivated audiences in many different countries with her imaginatively designed recital programs, “A World of Piano Themes.” In these programs she explores the highways and byways of the piano repertoire, personally introducing the music to the audience from the keyboard. As a concerto soloist Fingerhut has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. She is often heard on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and many radio stations worldwide.

DANCE ALUM - As the only man in the company, Moses keeps his dance card full

By Jim Higgins
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 25, 2010

Steve Moses remembers the moment, early in the season, when the Danceworks Performance Company group photo was taken. That's him on the edge of the cluster of female dancers, with a look on his face that a colleague called "the grimace..."

...Danceworks, a vibrant local company, has had seasons with a few men in the company, and seasons with no men in the group. But this year it has just one man in the company: Moses...

"...Steve is not your typical dancer," Luc Vanier, associate professor of dance at UWM and Moses' acknowledged mentor, wrote in an e-mail. Vanier assesses Moses' strengths as "tenacity, smarts, sensitivity and deep understanding of the mind-body connection..."

Go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to read the full article

ART & DESIGN STUDENT - Nirmal Raja exhibits work with encaustic paints in Racine Arts Council show

Scene & Heard: Burnin' Art

By Lee B. Robert
Racine Journal Times
February 25, 2010

Burn, Baby, Burn! That's what a group of area artists are calling their upcoming exhibition at the Racine Arts Council. Sure, the name is an attention-grabber. But it also speaks to the nature of the show, which will feature pieces created with encaustic paint - a hot wax method of producing art that dates back to ancient Egypt with a name derived from a Greek word meaning "to burn in."

...Each artist has his or her own way of using the wax paint...Raja's pieces have collage elements, using various papers...

Go to the Racine Journal Times to read the full article

ART & DESIGN STUDENT - Nina Mueller wins 2010 Niche Award

Nina Mueller is a 2010 Niche Award winner!

The NICHE Awards program began in 1989 to celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian fine craft. Artists are recognized in professional and student divisions.

Visit the Niche Awards online

Joseph Hanreddy joins UWM’s Peck School of the Arts to launch new Fellowship in Directing and Design

Unique partnership re-energizes the Peck School’s pivotal role in training future theatre leaders

MILWAUKEE, WI (February 22, 2010) – After 17 years at the renowned Milwaukee Repertory Theater as artistic director, Joseph Hanreddy will join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts to develop a new fellowship program to prepare theatre professionals for stage directing and design. Co-led by scenic-design veteran and Peck School Associate Professor Richard Graham, the Fellowship in Directing and Design will launch in Fall 2011 and will provide students a hands-on learning experience and rare opportunity to work with two of the theatre community’s preeminent leaders.

THEATRE FACULTY - Hanreddy to lead UWM program in directing, designing

By Mike Fischer
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 22, 2010

While California transplant Joseph Hanreddy will soon leave his position as the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's artistic director, he isn't leaving town.

This fall, he will join the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts and prepare to lead a new fellowship program there in directing and design...

Go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to read the full article

DANCE ALUM - Mary Cochran, 2005 MFA Dance grad, named 2010 "Graduate of the Decade"

Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Dance, Barnard College, Columbia

Mary is an internationally known artist with a life-long commitment to contemporary dance.  She has performed or taught on every continent except Antarctica. After traveling as a company member of the renowned Nikolais and Paul Taylor dance companies, she continues to develop as a solo performer, dancing leading and ensemble roles with experimental and new New York companies, restages the work of Paul Taylor, participates in leadership roles in the American College Dance Festival Association and the National Association of Schools of Dance roles, while chairing the  department of Dance at Barnard. In just five short years as Chair she has been acknowledged as having transformed the Dance Department into the best of the Ivy League schools.

Visit the UW-Milwaukee Alumni Association to see more award winners

MUSIC FACULTY - Sharon Hansen receives the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Achievement Award in Music

Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts gives alumni awards

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Press Release
February 19, 2010

...Hansen will receive the Alumni Achievement Award in Music. The director of choral activities and head of graduate choral studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she is widely known as a conductor and master teacher throughout the United States and in Europe...

Go to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to read the full press release

ART & DESIGN FACULTY - kathryn e. martin heads list of February exhibits

kathryn e. martin is a Peck School alum and Art and Design professor

By Peggy Sue Dunnigan
Shepherd Express
February 15, 2010

Much to their credit, Milwaukee-area museums provide opportunities to artists of all levels, from students just learning a craft to award-winning masters. Artists both established and new continue to find homes this month through intriguing shows at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MWA), Charles Allis Art Museum and Milwaukee Art Museum...

Go to the Shepherd Express to read the full article

MUSIC GUEST ARTIST - Phillips joins Chamber Music Milwaukee

By Marlyn Fink
UWM Post
February 15, 2010

The UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts’ chamber music series, Chamber Music Milwaukee continued in its sixth season with a special Songs of Love concert on Thursday, Feb. 11 at the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts.

Chamber Music Milwaukee is under the artistic direction of UWM clarinet instructor Todd Levy, who is also an active chamber musician and the lead clarinet for the Milwaukee Symphony, and Gregory Flint, acclaimed horn player and assistant professor of horn at UWM.

Go to the UWM Post to read the full article