Music

  • Music students performed for the First Thursday Downtown Concert at the First Presbyterian Church in Saint Joseph: Kelsei Peppars, Grant Poage, and Duncan Ottinger (violins); Minjung Jang and Jordan Booth (violas); Yeseul Hwang and Jain Jang (cellos); and JiSu Kim and Aung Moe Kyaw (pianos). They performed music by Vivaldi, Mozart, Fauré, and Brahms.
  • The Department of Music, in collaboration with the St. Joseph Symphony and the St. Joseph School District, presented the eighth annual Instrument Infusion program for area fifth-grade students. The purpose of this program is to introduce students to flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, cello, and percussion – the instruments they will choose from in the fall of their sixth grade year, if they choose to play in either band or orchestra. This year the program served over 450 students. Music faculty Rico McNeela, Jeff Hinton, and Bob Long were actively involved in the planning, organization, and teaching for the project. Additionally, 16 Missouri Western students majoring in music education served as teachers during the project.
  • Steve Molloy, instructor of trumpet, and Bob Long, director of jazz studies, performed with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra at the Gatsby Swing Dance at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.

Theatre, Cinema and Dance

  • Robert Hanson, assistant professor of cinema, was the festival director for the University’s 2017 48-Hour Film Festival. Over 60 students participated, and five teams submitted films under the deadline. Nearly 150 people attended the screening where 16 awards were handed out.
  • Cinema student Russell Gummelt and the short film he produced for his Production II class was selected for screening at the Faultline Film Festival hosted by Southeast Missouri State University.
  • The Department of Theatre, Cinema and Dance hosted the Noyes Home for Children in St. Joseph for their production of “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” They also performed it for over 300 elementary students in a special performance, and performed selections from it for Coleman Elementary Schools’ annual Reading Night.

Art

  • Matt Hepworth, instructor of art, presented an Arts 501 collaborative student project for the Arts Society Council in January. Having recently taken over the Illustration program this past fall, Dr. Hepworth showcased a student-led mural illustration design project for the City of St. Joseph. The opportunity was provided as a juried competition, initiated by Dr. Hepworth in partnership with Tim Doyle at The Restoration Project.
  • Teresa Harris, professor of art, was awarded the Gale Willcox Award for her mixed media work “Storyteller I,” at the Northern National Exhibition held at Nicolet College Art Gallery in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
  • Kathy Liao, assistant professor of art, had her “Lingering Presence” solo exhibition at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ilinois. She is also exhibiting at the Studios Inc: 2018 Group Exhibition at Studios.Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri.