CAS in the Media | Washington State University

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Nov. 19, 25: Tri-Cities art exhibit, reception showcase women

November 19, 2014

Ursa Major with Stars by artist Mary Dryburgh

“Women artists from the Columbia Valley,” a month-long exhibit, will open Nov. 19 at the Art Center in the WSU Tri-Cities Consolidated Information Center, 2710 Crimson Way, Richland. A free, public reception will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25.

Featuring 64 contemporary female artists, the exhibit is a broad survey of the robust talent and creativity of women working in a variety of media across the Columbia Valley area and state of Washington, said Peter Christenson, assistant professor of fine arts.

“Historically ‘women in art’ have been unfairly marginalized,” he said. “This is an opportunity to proudly support and celebrate some of the underrepresented artists in our region.”

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Company town celebrates 100 years

November 10, 2014

Wishram, Wash., is just one example of the communities along the Columbia River, from Coulee Dam to Astoria, Ore., that originated as company towns in the past two centuries. Wishram’s shifting fortunes as a railroad town is a familiar story for Laurie Mercier, a history professor at WSU Vancouver. She has written extensively about towns built around one company or one industry.

A lot of small company towns have struggled with reinventing themselves: logging towns, mining towns, fishing towns and even agricultural towns.

“One advantage the Pacific Northwest has over places like Pennsylvania or Ohio—the ‘Rust Belt’—is the landscape,” Mercier said. “Leavenworth (a former mining town) re-creates itself as a Bavarian village. White Salmon takes advantage of wind surfing.” In Idaho’s Silver Valley, “Kellogg is trying to become a tourist mecca through skiing.”

Learn more about company towns along the Columbia River

Jazz fest draws high school students

November 6, 2014

Area schools, musicians hold day of music, learning

Rich golden notes and glints of similarly colored instruments lit up Bryan Hall Theatre at WSU Pullman on Wednesday during the School of Music’s Jazz Festival Gala Concert.

The day-long music festival has taken place each autumn for at least the past 22 years, according to Greg Yasinitsky, director of both the WSU school of Music and WSU Jazz Big Band.

Yasinitsky, who founded the festival and has been with WSU for nearly 35 years, said it has changed a lot since its inception.

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Ford Police Cruisers Now Tattle When Cops Drive Like Jerks

November 5, 2014

Ford Motors has created a way for law enforcement bosses to see where their subordinates go and track how they’re driving. Fifty Los Angeles Police Department cruisers have been outfitted with transmitters that send officers’ driving information to their supervisors, and can even tell if the boys in blue are wearing seat belts. The idea is that accountability will lead to better and safer driving behavior. » More …

Nov. 5: Guest drummer, trumpeter highlight jazz festival

November 3, 2014

A visiting drummer and WSU trumpeter will perform with the WSU Jazz Big Band during a free, public concert at noon Wednesday, Nov. 5, in Bryan Hall on the Pullman campus. The concert is part of the daylong WSU Jazz Festival for area high school groups.

Drummer and composer Tom Morgan of Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., performs and records with numerous groups, including the Trilogy Big Band, a 17-piece jazz ensemble with two recently released CDs on the Sea Breeze Jazz recording label.

Trumpeter Brian Ploeger, a graduate teaching assistant in the WSU School of Music, toured internationally as a featured soloist with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He has recorded with Michael Feinstein and Maynard Ferguson and has served on the music faculties at Spokane Falls Community College and Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.

The performance by the WSU Jazz Big Band, under the direction of Regents Professor Greg Yasinitsky, will feature faculty members Dave Hagelganz, saxophone; Brian Ward, piano; Brad Ard, guitar; F. David Snider, bass; and David Jarvis, drums.