School of Fine Arts

BAND SPECTACULAR! Visiting artists play at Lied Center

KU’s Music and Dance Department in the School of Fine Arts present BAND SPECTACULAR! on Sunday, November 20, 2005, at 3:00 p.m. at the Lied Center.

This first-ever event will benefit KU Bands while in turn providing an opportunity for the community to hear all aspects of the KU Band Program. KU Band Director John Lynch, who created the event with the help of fellow faculty, says, if successful, he plans to present the event every other year and possibly add a second venue in Johnson County.

Featured in the concert is Steve Houghton, an internationally renowned jazz drummer, percussionist, band leader, author and educator. Houghton is currently Associate Professor of Percussion at Indiana University-Bloomington and faculty member at the Henry Mancini Institute. He is also a successful soloist, performing with orchestras and wind ensembles worldwide. As a classical percussionist, Houghton has performed with the Boston and Philadelphia Pops Orchestras and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He is the Chairman of the Resource Team of the International Association of Jazz Educators and a board member of the Percussive Arts Society. During BAND SPECTACULAR!, Houghton will perform solos with the Wind Ensemble, the Jazz Ensemble I and the KU Athletic Bands.

Additional performances include Men’s Basketball Band, the KU Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble I and will feature solo performances by music professors Vince Gnojek (alto saxophone) and Steve Leisring (trumpet). The show will conclude with a rousing performance by the Marching Jayhawks.

“The KU Band is excited to present the first ever BAND SPECTACULAR!,” says Lynch. “It's going to be a terrific event, and I hope the entire community will come enjoy an afternoon of great music."

Tickets, available at the Lied Center Box Office at 785-864-2787, are $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens.

For more information about BAND SPECTACULAR!, please contact the Department of Music and Dance at 785-864-3436.

Master printmaker comes to campus

The KU Department of Art in the School of Fine Arts welcomes printmaker Teresa Mucha James to KU as part of their Visiting Artist Series. James will give a public lecture on her creative work on Tuesday, November 15, 2005, at 4:00 p.m. at the Spencer Museum of Art Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

The renowned artist is founder and owner of Chicago-based White Wings Press. Before owning her own press, James worked as a master printer at Big Cat Press. Her work, which includes intimate-scale drawings, large-scale drawings and color intaglio prints, is showcased in collections across the United States including Northwestern University’s Block Gallery and the Portland Museum of Art. Her work has also appeared in numerous publications and galleries such as Blab magazine, New York City’s Bridgewater/Lustberg Gallery and the Vedanta Gallery in Madrid, Spain.James is currently represented by the Aron Packer Gallery in Chicago.

Along with her speech, James will also meet with and critique graduate student work in the Department of Art as well as create an original, limited-edition, color intaglio print.

“Teresa Mucha James is an artist whose work draws from several traditions, including folk art and European Surrealism,” said Judith McCrea, art department chair. “She will be very informative as she has the perspective of an artist, master printer and as an independent entrepreneur.”

Since 1970, the Department of Art Visiting Artist Program has been bringing artists with international, national and regional reputations to KU on a regular basis. Approximately six to ten artists, educators and scholars come each academic year to lecture, critique student work, and/or conduct short-term workshops. Additional artists are often co-sponsored with other departments on campus as well as other campuses in adjacent cities.

For more information about the Visiting Artists Series Program or visiting artist Teresa Mucha James, please contact the Department of Art at 785-864-4401.

Visit the School of Fine Arts website for more information.