LATEST IN School of Fine and Performing Arts
Eye on UMSL: ‘The Marriage of Figaro’

UMSL students rehearse a selection from Mozart’s comic opera masterpiece as Opera Theatre Interim Director Karen Kanakis leads them from the front row.

MORE IN School of Fine and Performing Arts
Ambassadors of Harmony to sing sounds of season at Touhill

Ambassadors of Harmony to sing sounds of season at Touhill

The Ambassadors of Harmony fills the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center each December with the joy and magic of the holidays in a way only achieved by a 160-voice chorus. The choral group will perform it’s annual “Sounds of the Season” concert at 8 p.m. Dec. 7, 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 8 and 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Touhill at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Eye on UMSL: UMSL Day

Eye on UMSL: UMSL Day

More than 900 people visited the University of Missouri–St. Louis on Nov. 17 for UMSL Day. The biannual event gives...

Art, education, media to converge in Public Media Commons

Art, education, media to converge in Public Media Commons

Ground was broken Tuesday for a one-of-a-kind space where art, culture and public dialogue come together in an open environment using interactive technology, large screen projections, performance spaces and a lot more.

Soprano to perform concert of timeless works

Soprano to perform concert of timeless works

Soprano Stella Markou, director of vocal studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, will perform the timeless works of classical composers such as Mozart, Purcell and Debussy at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Arianna String Quartet, member to perform in November

Arianna String Quartet, member to perform in November

Julia Sakharova, the newest member of the Arianna String Quartet, will give a special solo performance with ticket sales benefiting scholarship students in the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Express Scripts wants to showcase your artwork

Express Scripts wants to showcase your artwork

Calling all artists at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Express Scripts wants your work on its walls.The Fortune 150 company is soliciting artwork to showcase at its world headquarters, located on UMSL’s North Campus. This is a great opportunity to have your work displayed, and possibly sold to Express Scripts employees, clients, and the community.

Intellectual property lawyer to discuss copyright, other issues

Intellectual property lawyer to discuss copyright, other issues

During the 2008 presidential election, a poster image of Barack Obama by artist Shepard Fairey gained iconic status. The problem? The poster was based on a photograph taken by an Associated Press reporter and therefore was copyrighted by the AP. Both sides eventually worked out a financial agreement.

Jazz Orchestra to pay tribute to Ellington, Basie

Jazz Orchestra to pay tribute to Ellington, Basie

When speaking of jazz visionaries and musical trailblazers, Duke Ellington and Count Basie are typically mentioned in the same sentence. And while their music falls clearly into the same category, their styles were drastically different.

Halloween Jazz Combos concert at Touhill

Halloween Jazz Combos concert at Touhill

Looking for an alternative to handing candy out to ghouls and goblins this Halloween night? Join the University of Missouri–St. Louis Jazz Combos at 7:30 p.m. Oct 31 in the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL. The night of unforgettable jazz will take the audience from Miles Davis and John Coltrane to Weather Report.

Remastered version of ‘Tom Benton’s Missouri’ to screen at UMSL

Remastered version of ‘Tom Benton’s Missouri’ to screen at UMSL

If you’ve ever visited Missouri’s capitol in Jefferson City, you’ve most likely encountered the work of artist Thomas Hart Benton. His vivid portrayal of the state’s history is encapsulated in the mural “A Social History of the State of Missouri,” which covers the walls of the House Lounge.

Conference to explore art’s role in building community

Conference to explore art’s role in building community

The majority of artists live in cities. Their work often addresses urban concerns of health, happiness, diversity, security, freedom of expression and a sustainable environment. Speakers from across the Midwest and St. Louis will explore the power of art to effect changes in urban neighborhoods and communities during the 18th annual “What Is a City?” Conference at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Students to stage Pulitzer winner’s ‘In the Blood’

Students to stage Pulitzer winner’s ‘In the Blood’

A new production at the University of Missouri–St. Louis will take a raw, unfiltered look into the world of poverty in the United States. “In the Blood,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, follows the story of Hester as she struggles to provide for her five fatherless children. Students with UMSL’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Studies will perform the play. Jacqueline Thompson, visiting assistant professor of theater at UMSL, will direct the production, which is described as a modern-day reinterpretation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”

Civil War symphony to be staged at Missouri History Museum, Touhill

Civil War symphony to be staged at Missouri History Museum, Touhill

Missouri was the site of more than 1,000 battles during the Civil War, trailing only Virginia and Tennessee. That staggering fact often surprises many people not familiar with the state’s pivotal role in the conflict. The 150th anniversary of Missouri’s involvement in the Civil War was the inspiration for a new composition by Barbara Harbach, professor of music at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Wind Ensemble to start season with Touhill performance

Wind Ensemble to start season with Touhill performance

The University Wind Ensemble will perform its first concert of the season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Gateway for Greatness Campaign boosts access, excellence at UMSL

Gateway for Greatness Campaign boosts access, excellence at UMSL

The Gateway for Greatness Campaign at the University of Missouri–St. Louis concluded this summer after surpassing an initial $100 million fundraising goal and a subsequent $150 million goal. The university raised more than $154 million through gifts by 57,900 donors. Of those contributors to the campaign, 257 gave more than $100,000, and 31 gave more than $1 million.

Pianist to bring tango sound to Touhill stage

Pianist to bring tango sound to Touhill stage

Pianist Polly Ferman has performed Latin American music on some of the most prestigious stages in the world, including New York’s Carnegie Hall. At 8 p.m. Oct. 6 she will bring her international repertoire to the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Doors will open at 7:10 p.m. for a pre-show discussion. Tickets are $10-$20.

Eye on UMSL: Vocal Point practice

Eye on UMSL: Vocal Point practice

Jim Henry (far right), associate professor of music and director of choral studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, leads his students through a choral practice on Sept. 17 in the Provincial House on the university’s South Campus. The students are (from left) Adam Wirth, Minerva Keller, Annie Graham, Charlie Kinnison, Rachel Becknell, Tommy Edler, Andrea Lair, Chaz McPeek, Anthony Eck and Mason Scott.

Professor gets up close and personal with iconic newsman Dan Rather

Professor gets up close and personal with iconic newsman Dan Rather

For more than four decades Dan Rather was a fixture at CBS. For 24 of those years he helmed the “CBS Evening News” anchor desk before retiring in 2005. But that didn’t spell the end of his broadcasting career. Seven years later, he’s still as busy as ever. He’s the managing editor and anchor of the news magazine program “Dan Rather Reports” which airs on the cable channel AXS TV.

Music students to make Russia trip

Music students to make Russia trip

In October, a group of University of Missouri–St. Louis piano students will embark on a whirlwind trip to Russia that will include performances, lectures and of course sightseeing.

Nazi resistance exhibit to make US debut at UMSL

Nazi resistance exhibit to make US debut at UMSL

Walter Klingenbeck was 19 years old when he was executed by the Nazis. His crime was painting the V for Victory sign of the Allies on street signs and mailboxes. Gertrud Liebig was 17 when she was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp for two years for reading newspapers and pamphlets forbidden by the Nazis.

MADCO dancers get personal in ‘Outburst’

MADCO dancers get personal in ‘Outburst’

MADCO’s 36th season opener is being heralded as a “choreographic coming out” of the amazing artists behind the dance company in residence at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

UMSL at Grand Center will open its doors to public Sept. 15

UMSL at Grand Center will open its doors to public Sept. 15

Stand on the patio of the new UMSL at Grand Center building and home to St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 KWMU and see if you can identify its neighbors. There’s the Fabulous Fox, Sheldon Concert Hall, Grandel Theater, Powell Hall, Contemporary Art Museum and Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Next door is Nine Network of Public Media, HEC-TV and the St. Louis Beacon.

Center injects culture into mundane Mondays

Center injects culture into mundane Mondays

Got a case of the Mondays? Suffer no more. Violin and piano duets, narratives of Mound Bayou, Miss., and chess discourse are some of the many cultural events that make Monday Noon Series a cure for the blues.

Eye on UMSL: Paint by numbers

Eye on UMSL: Paint by numbers

Students participate at the opening reception of “Workbook” in the Visio Gallery by filling in a paint by numbers mural of Georges Seurat’s “Bathers at Asnieres.” The exhibit is an interactive live art show with the walls of the gallery covered with workbook activities. Gallery Visio is a student-run gallery at UMSL. It’s located in 170 Millennium Student Center at UMSL’s North Campus. Regular hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

UMSL delegation brings art, music to Balkans

UMSL delegation brings art, music to Balkans

Art and music are the great equalizers to language barriers. The two played an important role when an official delegation from the University of Missouri–St. Louis recently visited Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Behind every good app, there’s a good programmer

Behind every good app, there’s a good programmer

Nathan Halley is a computer guy. It’s in the University of Missouri–St. Louis staffer’s blood, something passed down to him from his grandfather Hardy Fuchs, who founded the Information Services & Technology department at Washington University in St. Louis.

Arianna String Quartet, member to perform in November

New member joins Arianna String Quartet for 2012-13 concert season

Audiences taking in the Arianna String Quartet this fall will notice a new face among the group. There’s a new member. Internationally acclaimed performer Julia Sakharova has joined the quartet as a second violinist, replacing violinist David Gillham.

St. Louis artists gain exposure in Gallery 210 exhibition

St. Louis artists gain exposure in Gallery 210 exhibition

An exhibition that’s become one of Gallery 210’s most anticipated shows is back. “Exposure 15” is the latest in a series of group exhibitions designed to feature artists who live and work in the St. Louis metropolitan area. This year, Gallery 210 at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, will present the work of Heather Corley, Deborah Douglas and Gina Alvarez, who was named Best Local Artist by the Riverfront Times in 2009.

Gallery 210 season to include 10 new exhibits

Gallery 210 season to include 10 new exhibits

You know those dust bunnies that meander through your house? They get the star treatment in a new short film to be screened at the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ Gallery 210.