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CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

Showcase faculty, staff award winners announced

Eight members of CAS faculty were among faculty and staff selected for University-wide, Showcase 2020 awards, which recognize their scholarly achievements and professional acumen. They are:

Katie Cooper.Association for Faculty Women Samuel H. Smith Leadership Award
Catherine “Katie” Marguerite Cooper
School of the Environment

 

Donald Matteson.Emeritus Society Legacy of Excellence Award
Don Matteson
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry

 

Kimberly Christen.Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award
Kim Christen
Digital Technology and Culture Program/Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation

 

Janet Peters.
Peters
Chris Dickey.
Dickey

President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Instructors and Clinical Faculty
Janet M. Peters
Department of Psychology
Chris Dickey
School of Music

Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award – Leadership
Stephen Bollens
School of Biological Sciences and School of the Environment/Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station

 

Cheryl Schulz.Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award – Outreach & Engagement
Cheryl B. Schultz
School of Biological Sciences

 

Greg Yasinitsky.Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award – Research, Scholarship & Arts
Gregory W. Yasinitsky
School of Music

 

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WSU Insider

 

Music faculty receive international acclaim for 2019 album “Feng”

feng cover.The Pan Pacific Ensemble’s debut album “Feng” has been listed as one of the top 10 classical recordings of 2019 by The Daffodil Perspective.

Washington State University School of Music faculty members Martin King (horn), Keri E. McCarthy (oboe), Shannon Scott (clarinet), and Sophia Tegart (flute) make up the Pan Pacific Ensemble along with bassoonist Michael Garza (Principal Bassoon, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra).

“Feng” was initially funded by a WSU New Faculty Seed Grant and was recorded in the WSU Recording Studio.

The album contains works by Asian and Asian-American composers, several of which were newly commissioned for the Pan Pacific Ensemble.

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A new take on the WSU Fight Song

From Devo’s quirky take on the Rolling Stones’ “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” to Daughtry’s acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” musicians often reimagine popular tunes in their own style. In honor of the WSU Fight Song’s 100th anniversary, the Cougar Marching Band will perform four different arrangements of the beloved tune during the WSU football halftime show on Saturday, Nov. 16, in Martin Stadium.

Troy Bennefield.
Bennefield

Written by two music students in Pullman, the WSU Fight Song was first published in February 1919 and had its home football debut on Nov. 1, 1919, at the WSC game against the University of Idaho, “so this year’s first home game in November is the perfect opportunity to showcase the song along with the arranging skills of our talented music faculty,” said Troy Bennefield, assistant professor of music and director of athletic bands.

The four versions to be performed on Saturday include the original vocal score, a Dixieland jazz arrangement, a Big Band swing version, and an updated 2019 arrangement for the full band.

Horace Alexander Young.
Young

Horace Alexander Young, an accomplished international recording artist and associate professor of saxophone and jazz studies at WSU, arranged the Dixieland score for the Cougar Marching Band. Saturday will be the first time it has been performed live for an audience.

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Center for Arts and Humanities celebrates launch, hosts NEH chairman

Washington State University will celebrate the public launch of the Center for Arts and Humanities (CAH) with two workshops and a reception on Oct. 24. Joining the festivities will be Jon Parrish Peede, chairman for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“The center will serve as a ‘front door’ to the arts and humanities at WSU. Our goal is to nurture curiosity and encourage innovation that crosses traditional scholarly boundaries and supports the public good,” said Todd Butler, associate professor of English and CAH director.

The center will award its first two undergraduate scholarships at the reception and celebrate the work of the current cohort of eight CAH Faculty Fellows, who are pursuing projects ranging from an examination of the links between Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frank Lloyd Wright to collaborations with Native American singers to preserve recordings of traditional Nez Perce songs.

Formally approved by the Board of Regents in May 2019, the center is supported by a University-wide consortium that includes the Office of Research, College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School, WSU Libraries, and the Office of the President.

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WSU tuba professor releases third solo album

WSU tuba professor Chris Dickey recently released his third solo album, titled “Inventions” under the Emeritus Recordings label. The album was recorded in the WSU Recording Studio by recording engineer David Bjur. Three fellow faculty in the School of Music, Karen Savage, Sarah Miller, and Martin King, joined Dickey for the project.

Chris Dickey holding a shiny brass tuba in front of a colorful tree.
Chris Dickey

“Inventions” represents Dickey’s ongoing commitment to inclusive programming in art music. The album demonstrates how composers with marginalized identities can be regularly incorporated into recital programs. The album is available on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby, and is streamed on Apple Music and Spotify. Samples of each track are available online.

In the spring, Dickey will embark on a Midwestern recital tour during which he will perform music from the album written by women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals. His tour is funded by a WSU Arts and Humanities Fellowship.

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