Cassandra Good, associate editor of the Papers of James Monroe, spoke at the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. She presented on her book, Founding Friendships.
Larus Participates in Roundtable on Taiwan’s Military
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Waple Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, exchanged ideas on Taiwan’s military modernization and national security with retired and former Taiwan military officers at Wenzhao Ursuline University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in May 2016.
Kraus Releases New Singles on Tunecore Label
Andrew Kraus, Adjunct Professor of Piano, releases two new “singles” this month on the Tunecore label.
Deep River is played in an arrangement by Calvin Taylor, a noted African American pianist, arranger and pedagogue, from his collection Spirituals for Worship, and is available from iTunes, Amazon.com and other outlets as a digital download starting June 10.
January, from Stone Rose, a collection of pieces by Ola Gjeilo, was originally written for cello and piano. Kraus’ performance is scheduled for digital release from iTunes, Amazon.com and other outlets starting June 17.
Kraus is grateful to two of his students for introducing him to Taylor and Gjeilo, and he believes the stories of how these composers and their works came to him through his students is evidence of the value in being a member of the vibrant community of scholars and artists at the University of Mary Washington.
It was Benjamin Jones, a commuter student, who introduced Kraus to Calvin Taylor and his arrangement of Deep River. Jones had heard Taylor play at the church he and his family regularly attend in Stafford, loved what he heard, got fired up to the point where he parted with some hard-earned and all too scarce cash to purchase Taylor’s Spirituals for Worship, showed up with it at his next lesson and asked as he sat down at the piano, “Would it be OK if I learned this piece?” Kraus played through the piece, loved it, and said, “Absolutely, and, do you mind if I learn it too?”
Similarly, Lucas Chandler, another of Kraus’ students who recently graduated, brought Stone Rose, a set of piano pieces by Ola Gjeilo, to one of his lessons earlier this spring, and asked what Kraus thought of them. Reading through a few of them with him, Kraus was again smitten. When he asked Chandler how he had discovered Gjeilo, Chandler told him that he had been introduced to Gjeilo’s oeuvre through his choral music by yet another member of the UMW community, Jane Tavernier, who had programmed some of Gjeilo’s music in a concert by the UMW Chorus. Kraus asked Lukas if he would mind if he learned several and recorded them. The answer was, “yes,” and January is the first of several in Stone Rose to be recorded and released by Kraus.
Vasey Co-Writes Journal Article
Craig Vasey and Linda Carroll wrote an article titled “How Do We Evaluate Teaching?” in the May-June issue of Academe, a publication of the American Association of University Professors.
Vasey is professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion. He is a former member of the AAUP’s national council and current chair of the Committee on Teaching, Research and Publication. Linda Carroll is professor of Italian at Tulane University and a member of the AAUP’s Executive Committee.
https://www.aaup.org/article/how-do-we-evaluate-teaching#.V1hIkrerRD8
Buster-Williams Nominated for Leadership Position
Kimberley Buster-Williams, associate provost for enrollment management, was recently nominated for an AACRAO Leadership position. Kimberley will begin her service on the Nominations & Elections Committee this year.
AACRAO is a professional association of more than 11,000 higher education professionals who represent approximately 2,600 institutions in more than 40 countries. Its mission is to provide professional development, guidelines and voluntary standards to be used by higher education officials regarding the best practices in records management, admissions, enrollment management, administrative information technology and student services. AACRAO represents institutions in every part of the higher education community, from large public institutions to small, private liberal arts colleges. http://www.aacrao.org/home/about
Larus Presents National Security Lecture
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Waple Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, offered a National Security Lecture, “China Assesses the U.S. Rebalance to Asia: Implications for U.S.-China Relations,” to Joint Warfare Command Personnel, Dahlgren Naval Surface War Command, May 6, 2016.
Snyder Performs at Classical Revolution
Assistant Professor of Music Mark Snyder performed his original composition Qwee for processed harp, accordion and video at the Classical Revolution’s Night of the Living Composer at Balliceaux in Richmond, Va., on May 15. Accompanying him was UMW alum harpist Becky Brown ’15, who performed her original composition, Hold Still, a multimedia self-portrait for pencil, copper, Arduino on paper, poetry and video in Max.
Classical Revolution is a Richmond-based collective of passionate musicians whose goal is to integrate classical music with Richmond’s vibrant music scene by taking this universal art form out of its glass case and into local bars, restaurants, cafes, and galleries. Classical Revolution was founded in 2006 at Revolution Cafe in the Mission District of San Francisco. In October of 2012, Classical Revolution RVA became one of more than 30 chapters worldwide.
The program:
Night of the Living Composer- May 15
Scott Frankel – Around the World; Will You, Gabrielle Maes, soprano; Daniel Stipe, piano
Walter Augustus Braxton – Soliloquy from the Dance Suite Opus 4, No.7 for Flute and Piano, Walter Braxton, piano; Jeremy McEntire, flute
Jake Heggie – I Never Saw a Moor, Nichole Savage, soprano
Improvisation by Niccolo Seligmann, viola da gamba/medieval fiddle
Tonia Ko – Glass Echoes, Kristen Fowler, horn
Joseph Taylor – Harp Etude No. 1 & No. 2, Laura Seabourne, harp
Robert Andrew Scott – Meditations, Brandon Simmons, alto flute; Stephanie Barrett, cello; Laura Seabourne, harp; Caleb Paxton, viola
–Intermission–
Mark Snyder – Qwee, Becky Brown, harp; Mark Snyder, harp, accordion, electronics
Becky Brown – Hold Still, Becky Brown, live art & electronics
Steve Van Dam – Oro Aleatorio, 3-8 musicians
Lee Presents at International Conference
Janie Lee, Assistant Professor of Linguistics in the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication, presented the paper titled “Ideologies of Korean Competence and Gendered Citizenship in South Korean Television” at the 9th International Gender and Language Association Conference, which was held in the City University of Hong Kong on May 19-21.
Schiffrin and Students Present Studies at Psychology Convention
Holly Schiffrin, UMW associate professor of psychology, and a group of students presented research at the Association for Psychological Science Convention in Chicago.
Schiffrin and students Kathryn Tsagronis, Rebecca Cain, Analuisa Martinez and Rebekah Selbrede presented “Can the way we think lead to more success? The role of positive and negative monitoring on cognitive task performance.”
Schiffrin and Rebekah Selbrede presented “Musings on inspiration: Inducing inspiration and increasing donations to charity.”
Farnsworth Presents Research Paper on Virginia Politics
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently delivered a research paper titled “Reporting from Richmond: How Two Newspapers Covered the 2013 Virginia Governor’s Race.” The paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Virginia Association of Communication Arts and Sciences in Fairfax, Va.