Culture

CU Opera Songbirds Hit the High Notes

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:47:05 +0000

CU Opera Songbirds Hit the High Notes Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:47

Helen Olsson

In June, two renowned opera singers from CU were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Cynthia Lawrence (Mus’83; MM’87) studied music at CU and went on to share the stage with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti more than 70 times. Keith Miller (Art’97), on the other hand, was a star football player who pivoted to opera after graduation. They have both performed stints as principal artists at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Soprano, equestrian, stunt woman

“When I heard about [the Hall of Fame induction], I couldn’t believe it,” Lawrence said. “To be recognized is beyond an honor.” But the honor is no surprise to those in the singer’s orbit. Lawrence has performed with virtually every opera company in Colorado and worldwide, from Paris to Prague, with legendary performers like Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni.

"Cynthia has a world-class voice. People say she was kissed in the throat,” said acclaimed tenor Mark Calkins (MMus’87), who met Lawrence at CU. (They married in 1985.) “She won the Metropolitan Opera contest in 1984 at age 23 — a stunning achievement.”

Lawrence credits her success, in part, to her time at CU. “It’s a great school with great facilities. Barbara Doscher was one of the best voice teachers in the world,” said Lawrence. She also points to her background as a competitive equestrian. “If you’re nervous on horseback, that horse may dump you in the dirt,” she said. “In opera, you also have to keep your nerves underneath you. That discipline, concentration and preparation made me a better performer on stage.”

In addition to jumping horses, Lawrence credits childhood time on the trampoline with her ability to perform dramatic free-flying leaps in Puccini’s “Tosca.” Lawrence, who insisted on doing her own stunts, perfected numerous daring feats on stage. She frequently plummeted backward (into a hidden foam pit), and her most notable stunt was a 26-foot forward jump at Royal Albert Hall.

Bass-baritone, athlete, thespian

Keith Miller grew up on a beet farm in Ovid, Colorado, a town so small that its high school football team consisted of six players and there was no school choir. A football scholarship recipient and three-year starter as a fullback, Miller played opera music in the locker room and sang in the shower.

He was inspired by varsity players singing the CU fight song on the sidelines. “These guys, my idols, were singing like they were warrior poets,” he said. Not long after the 1994 Michigan game, when CU made one of the greatest comebacks in Buff history, Miller took his then-girlfriend to see “Phantom of the Opera” in Denver. “I felt the same emotion at the opera that I had during the Michigan game,” he said.

In 2001, while working out with the Denver Broncos at North Dakota State University, Miller took refuge from a snowstorm in a music practice room. “I started singing along to “Don Giovanni” — and someone knocked on the door.” He was offered a scholarship on the spot. He declined, but decided it was time to start following the music. On the way out, he saw a flier for the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Minneapolis and decided to audition. Suddenly, Miller had a dozen job offers to sing and decided to pursue singing full-time.

The next fall, Miller enrolled at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and, after graduation in 2006, auditioned for the Met in New York. He made his debut at the opera’s opening-night gala. At the reception, he bumped into someone who remarked, “Wonderful performance,” in a familiar Scottish accent. It was Sean Connery.

Beyond the Hall of Fame

Today, the inductees are still showing off their versatility. Miller serves as founder and CEO of CedoHealth and has recently moved back to Colorado to re-engage with the Crested Butte Music Festival (CBMF). (For six years, he served as director of opera and oversaw the CBMF’s Opera Young Artists Program.) He also has his sights set on film acting. “There are things out there creatively I want to do,” he said. “My journey’s not done.”

Meanwhile, Lawrence works as the endowed chair professor for voice and opera at the University of Kentucky, where she’s teaching the next generation of opera singers. “I love teaching. When students have that ’Aha’ moment, when they finally get it — that’s the prize.”

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Illustration by Chris Buzelli

This year, CU songbirds Cynthia Lawrence (Mus’83; MM’87) and Keith Miller (Art’97) made the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

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Impacting CU’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network.

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Impacting CU’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

For a decade, Sima Bhowmik (PhDJour’24) worked as a journalist in her home country of Bangladesh. But she felt called to education in the U.S., despite not speaking fluent English.

After a journalism fellowship from the State Department and the completion of the U.S. English testing requirement in only four months, she obtained a scholarship to attend the University of Mississippi for her master’s in journalism. She started the doctoral program in journalism at CU Boulder in 2020.

But the pandemic made the move to Boulder difficult for her and her husband.

“We couldn’t meet anyone. Everything was on Zoom,” Bhowmik said.

Bhowmik volunteered on campus in 2021. She welcomed students to campus with the New Student and Family Programs office and worked with the Graduate and Professional Student Government to advocate for graduate students and help build community. She also became a Forever Buff s Network ambassador through the Alumni Association.

“Many people asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” she said. “But these things were important to me.”

Through her online role with the Alumni Association, Bhowmik spoke with alumni who joined the Forever Buffs Network, a free platform that functions like a CU-only LinkedIn, about their college experiences.

Soon she met Jim Stanczak (Fin’93), who became her mentor. The two talk often about job prospects, interviewing techniques and general career advice.

“Sima is incredibly talented and impressive, and she and her work are doing a lot to raise the status of CU,” said Stanczak, who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. “Her perspectives and experience offer a wildly diff erent viewpoint and help me better understand how I might contribute to a stronger Buff s alumni network.”

Bhowmik, who also teaches media law and ethics at CU, plans to graduate two years from now with her doctorate and hopes to someday land a permanent job in academia.

“Connections are really important,” she said. “I want to have some impact on the CU Boulder culture.”

Become a Forever Buff s Network ambassador. Applications for the three-month program open this spring. Visit foreverbuffsnetwork.com to join and apply.

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Photo courtesy Sima Bhowmik

Sima Bhowmik found connections at CU Boulder as an ambassador for the Forever Buffs Network.

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Embracing Culture with After-School Mentoring Program

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Embracing Culture with After-School Mentoring Program Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

For three years, an after-school cultural mentoring program in CU Boulder’s School of Education has paired two dozen predominately Latinx fifth graders from University Hill, a diverse bilingual elementary school across the street from the CU Boulder campus, with underrepresented university student mentors.

Together, mentors and mentees explore family and community histories that are often suppressed in mainstream U.S. curricula, including ties to loved ones across borders.

“We have been holding a rare space for reflecting on cultural identity, migration and belonging, and what it means to be Latinx or transnational in Boulder,” said Andrea Dyrness, Costa Rican-born associate professor of educational foundations, policy and practice who developed the partnership when her daughter was attending the school.

Activities are designed by CU Boulder mentors, mostly education and ethnic studies students, to build community and provoke reflection and dialogue around cultural identity.

“The resulting interactions reveal a wealth of cultural knowledge, skills and abilities that are often not visible to the public or in daily life in U.S. schools,” Dyrness said.

Deb Palmer, CU professor of equity, bilingualism and biliteracy and Dyrness’ research partner, led professional development with teachers to inspire continuous inquiry into students’ lived experiences and to counter deficit views of Latinx communities.

The team continues to learn about the knowledge that transnational students bring to schools, and they hope others can learn from linguistically and culturally diverse families. “I think parents should be proud of the cultural wealth that they are providing for their children — bilingualism, biculturalism, economic understandings and transnational understandings,” said Jackquelin Bristol (PhDEdu’25), who helped publish a report on the partnership called “Bilingual in Boulder.”

Daniel Garzón (PhDEdu’23), who grew up in the U.S. with ties to Colombia, was a mentor and research assistant in the program.

“I wish I had this opportunity growing up,” he said. “I could have learned to appreciate my home language and culture much sooner.”

Story condensed and edited. Parts of this story appeared in Anthropology News, “Finding Home in the Borderlands,” by Andrea Dyrness on July 29, 2022, and in Voices magazine by Hannah Fletcher at colorado.edu/education.

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Photo by Hannah Fletcher

CU Boulder student mentors and University Hill fifth graders embrace their family and community histories.

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CU's Austin C. Okigbo Studies Music from Past Pandemics

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

CU's Austin C. Okigbo Studies Music from Past Pandemics Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/02/2021 - 00:00

Kelsey Yandura

Austin C. Okigbo, associate professor College of Music, affiliate faculty Ethnic Studies and Global Health

Austin C. Okigbo, associate professor in the College of Music and affiliate faculty in Ethnic Studies and Global Health, studies the intersection of music and public health. He traces the way people express themselves musically during times of widespread illness — a highly relevant topic given COVID-19. Here he discusses his research on past health crises and how music has played a role in the current pandemic.

Your areas of interest are really diverse (music, African studies, global health). How do they intersect?

Ethnomusicology is by definition a very interdisciplinary field. I study African music and, within those studies, my subject area is global health. I did my PhD research working with HIV/AIDS choirs based in South Africa. I seek to understand how people use music to articulate their experiences of disease in a global health context.

Why study the music of pandemics?

When I was doing research in South Africa, I started doing archival studies on past public health crises and epidemics in the area to give my research a broader historical context, like the 1713 outbreak of smallpox and the influenza of 1918. I began to identify where and what the musical responses were and compare them to what we were seeing with HIV/AIDS. The research just kept going.

What themes did you see carrying through in your research of this music?

“People are expressing their feelings about economics, politics and religion with music.”

There is plenty of research about how music is used as an educational tool during public health crises — for example, promoting protective measures. However, my research seeks to understand how people articulate their personal experiences of a disease. Music is a means by which people express what is on their minds... And what are people expressing? Feelings about economics, politics and religion.

Do you see people making similar creative works and music today?

Absolutely. For two semesters during the coronavirus pandemic, I taught classes around disease and music. I asked students to use the current artistic responses they’re seeing today to launch a broader conversation. It’s been fascinating. Students have been able to identify some of the political extremities that have characterized our nation’s response to the pandemic.

You found that social and cultural events surrounding pandemics fueled the responses and behaviors toward them. What would you say were the major events at play in 2020?

Disease epidemics reveal the fault lines already present in a society. The social and cultural difficulties that this country faces as a nation are real. The pandemic highlighted inequalities at the level of race, social class and economic class.

Diseases tell us who we are at an individual and a broader societal level. The disease is a sickness itself, but it does reveal other forms of sickness. It’s social, political and economic maladies that we suffer from as well.

Did your findings surprise you?

“Conspiracy theories about vaccines now echo those that followed the invention of the smallpox vaccine in the 1790s.”

Initially, yes. I was juxtaposing historical epidemics that spanned over 300 years. And yet there was consistency — for example, conspiracy theories about vaccines now echo those that followed the invention of the smallpox vaccine in the 1790s. New York and London experienced violent resistance to quarantine measures in 1918. You would think that culture has changed a lot or that people’s mindsets would have changed a lot...but it didn't matter. The precedents in history are there; we often just aren’t aware of it.

What about physical sickness leads us to express ourselves musically?

Music is an expressive form, and the arts are a part of how people bring out what they have on their minds and articulate their life experiences.

Have you been listening to any favorite music over the course of the pandemic?

I have been listening to Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. He was the inventor of Afrobeat music and was very political and radical in his thought. Even though he died in 1997, his music still feels like it’s speaking to the present. The things he criticized in his music (like government corruption, wasteful spending and economic disparities) are relevant to how many countries are responding to the current pandemic, especially in Nigeria and Africa.

What’s next for your research?

I’m working on a book project now. It’s a comparative study of African concepts of justice, which interestingly will include issues of justice in the context of epidemics. I’m also thinking about a book project that will look at music and the global history of pandemics. It will allow us to explore the ways humans have responded musically to global outbreaks of diseases across centuries, going back to the Renaissance and up to this moment.

Condensed and edited for clarity.

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Photo Courtesy Austin C. Okigbo

Austin C. Okigbo, associate professor in the College of Music and affiliate faculty in Ethnic Studies and Global Health, studies the intersection of music and public health.

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Fill in the Black

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 17:16:01 +0000

Fill in the Black Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/04/2021 - 10:16

Christie Sounart

Travel entrepreneur Funmi Oyatogun (EnvSt, Geog’12) lives in Lagos, Nigeria. When COVID-19 put her travel business on hold in early 2020, she created “Fill in the Black,” a card game that focuses on Black histories, places, inventions, stories and cultures to help people stay connected in a casual and insightful way. “The game is relevant for everyone, no matter your race or background, who wants to celebrate Blackness,” she said.

Where did you get all of the information for the game?

Funmi Oyatogun

I collated a bunch of words that I thought would be relevant using my experience living in Nigeria, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. These words were added to by a contributor, and then we worked with a team of 20-plus people from around the world to flesh out these words and collate the most common terms associated with the words. These common terms became the bases for our ‘forbidden’ or ‘buzz’ words. It was important that our collection was wide enough to celebrate a diversity of Black cultures and deep enough to enable learning.

How does the game work?

The game works very much like our favorite guessing or pantomime games. Divide your group into two parts (any size works) and set a digital timer. One person in each group has to describe the bold word on the card without using any of the forbidden words listed on the same card. It gets very exciting and informative when you're running out of time and trying to describe a word without using any of the first words that typically come to mind.

Can you give an example of what could be on a card?

One of the words that fascinates me is a simple word: visa. Depending on where you come from, your first thought about this word could be a stamp required to travel, or it could be a credit card company. Everyone knows both words, but under the heat and pressure of the game, we start to see how people interact with the world and how our experiences shape the way we tell our stories.

When did the game become available to the public?

The game was launched in Nigeria in August of 2020 and became available in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in September 2020. It took us four months from conception to the launch in August.

Tell us about your career as a travel entrepreneur.

I started a travel company in 2016 to simplify travel to and across Africa. We wanted to create a service that made travel easy, hassle-free and memorable without costing a fortune. That's how TVP Adventures started and since then, we've become one of the leading companies designing experiences that make African travel a breeze. In many ways, Fill in the Black was an extension of the experiences we design every day. When the pandemic hit, we wanted something that could still keep people engaged and connected with the world.

What else should we know about you?

I'm very keen on helping connect people with the world; it is the geographer in me. When I am not designing travel experiences and games, I curate a micro-documentary series called Show Me One Thing, a weekly newsletter series where curiosity meets learning. You may have wondered what the nationality of a baby born on a plane is, the difference between a copyright and trademark or the difference between the Army and Air Force, for instance. We answer very curious questions about the world.

Buy the game at fillintheblack.myshopify.com.

Interview condensed and edited.

Photos courtesy Funmi Oyatogun

Travel entrepreneur Funmi Oyatogun lives in Lagos, Nigeria. When COVID-19 put her travel business on hold in early 2020, she created “Fill in the Black,” a card game that focuses on Black histories, places, inventions, stories and cultures.

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Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:07:25 +0000

Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/26/2020 - 13:07

by Karen Elting Brock (Engl'86), Linda Ligon, Jun Wang
(Thrumus Books, 2020; 160 pages)

Buy the Book

The book introduces more than a dozen contemporary artists from four ethnic groups working in the techniques of their ancestors, including indigo dyers, embroiderers of varying techniques, weavers, a metalsmith, and a paper maker whose family has been making paper from mulberry trees for a thousand years. Meet Yang Wen Xiu living high on a mountain pass, working in the centuries-old Miao technique of laran (batik) to create stunning depictions of spiritual beliefs on cloth. Learn how embroidery artist Tai Lao Xing splits her silk thread ten times to embroider folklore symbols in meticulous detail onto her festival jackets, and how Dong artist Shi Hong Yan folds hundreds of pleats into her indigo-dyed skirt. Every Thread a Story concludes with a wide-ranging look to the future through the lens of a curator, a collector, and an educator, who ponder the effects of tourism and modern development on the craft and culture of southeast Guizhou Province.

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Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:07:22 +0000

Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/26/2020 - 13:07

by Karen Elting Brock (Engl'86), Linda Ligon, Jun Wang
(Thrumus Books, 2020; 160 pages)

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Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:07:18 +0000

Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/26/2020 - 13:07

by Karen Elting Brock (Engl'86), Linda Ligon, Jun Wang
(Thrumus Books, 2020; 160 pages)

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Life as a Chalk Artist

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Life as a Chalk Artist Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/01/2019 - 00:00

Sarah Kuta

People love to stand, sit, stomp and jump all over Chris Carlson’s work.

He encourages it.

Watch a time-lapse video of Chris drawing Ralphie for the Coloradan cover.

A full-time professional artist based in Denver, Carlson (Bus’08) travels the world painting and drawing directly on sidewalks, plazas and pavement. His artworks are pelted by rain and hail, walked all over and, eventually, washed or rubbed away.

You won’t find them in climatecontrolled museums and galleries (“Don’t touch the art!”) — but they’ll stop you in your tracks as long as they last.

Carlson specializes in 3D, or anamorphic, chalk art, a genre that makes you feel as if you’re falling into a pit or staring face-to-face with, say, a larger-than-life cartoon character. Now six years into his career, he’s emerged as a premier practitioner of the form, creating original pieces at art festivals and conventions as far away as the Netherlands and Paris and working with the likes of Nintendo, Nickelodeon, Hershey and Disney.

It’s a line of work that traces its roots to the 16th century, when itinerant artists called “Madonnari” traveled Italy painting on the ground, primarily religious figures.

Today, the subject matter is broader. Carlson draws heavily on pop culture, including video games and cartoons, to great effect.

“Chris is an artist who really understands how to bring joy to people,” said fellow chalk artist Nate Baranowski, who calls Carlson’s work “whimsical and playful.”

Chalk art combines elements of fine art and performance art: Spectators watch the creative process unfold and chat with the artists as they work. Anamorphic chalk art is specifically designed for people to jump into the scene and pose for photos.

It’s not how Carlson, now 33, expected to make a living. For most of his childhood in Lakewood, Colo., he wanted to be a stockbroker; he bought his first stock shares in fifth grade. That’s what led him to CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.

Supply list for a professional chalk artist:

Tempura paint, to make a base layer on the pavement that can be washed away later, or acrylic paint, for permanent installations.
Soft pastel chalks.
Photoshop.
A tablet and pen for digital drawing.
Sunscreen — lots of it.
Knee pads, elbow pads, padded gloves and a gardening pad (to sit or lean on).
Water, for drinking during blazing hot days.
Inspiration, wherever you can find it.

But as he got deeper into his finance courses, Carlson realized he didn’t have the stomach for playing with other people’s money. After graduation, he and his sister opened a hookah bar in Lakewood.

That’s when, out of necessity, he discovered his artistic spirit and aptitude: They couldn’t afford decorations.

During long, late nights checking IDs, Carlson worked through instructional drawing books and tried to sketch photos he saw in Time magazine. Eventually, he painted a backroom floor black and began experimenting with 3D art.

Carlson can thank his CU marketing professors for what happened next: He made a time-lapse video of himself drawing the video-game character Mario. It went viral on YouTube, and before long, he was getting chalk art gigs from companies, festivals, trade shows and conventions.

Carlson had never considered that chalk art might become his career. He didn’t imagine there was a market for the work, and he doubted his abilities as an artist. He still gets nervous before he starts drawing in public.

It’s a long performance: Each project takes between 18 and 55 hours, depending on size and complexity. On average, he completes about 20 large drawings per year. Some of his favorite projects depict a mash-up of a dog (inspired by his English bulldog, Banksy, who’s named after the world-famous street artist) and a purple dinosaur. Another combines Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” with a Darth Vader mask.

“His style is very fine-tuned,” said Naomi Haverland, a professional chalk artist in Seattle who met Carlson at the Denver Chalk Art Festival. “He’s a perfectionist. He makes sure the blending is perfect and the colors are just right. He doesn’t rush anything. But, then, his concepts are super creative, too. He’s got a well-rounded artist’s arsenal.”

A Marie Kondo-esque attitude has also served Carlson well, in work and in life. He describes it this way: “Just be open to what really brings you pleasure and joy or contentment and satisfaction."

In the Fall 2019 print edition, this story appears under the title "The Everywhere Canvas." Comment? Email editor@colorado.edu.

Photos courtesy Chris Carlson

Chris Carlson's art will rise up and grab you. Chalk it up to an open mind.

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In Those Dazzling Days of Elvis

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 16:35:09 +0000

In Those Dazzling Days of Elvis Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/29/2017 - 10:35

By Josephine Rascoe Keenan (MSpchDr'64)
(Pen-L Publishing, 243 pages; 2017)

Buy the Book

In the days when Elvis Presley dazzled the nation, his "good luck charm," Julie Morgan, a small-town girl bound by the social code of the 1950s, makes a serious mistake in a bungled attempt to cope with her broken home and bolster her self-esteem. A seemingly innocent decision to attend a concert proves to be a misstep which leads to another, and another, and yet another, ultimately catapulting her into a horrible dilemma with no apparent way out.

In desperation, Julie agrees to a scheme that Carmen, her lookalike, insists will be Julie's salvation. Their plan is risky, and Julie's resolve wavers, but Elvis's long-distance friendship and support give her strength. Renewed, she moves on, until fate intervenes in this "perfect plan to turn back time and restore her innocence, leaving Julie alone in the heap of rubble that was once her life. How will she be able to escape the tragic consequences of her choices?

The book tells a story of human anguish and betrayal, love and loss, recrimination and regret and shows how choices, once made, can change one’s life forever.

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Culture

CU Opera Songbirds Hit the High Notes

Soprano, equestrian, stunt woman

Bass-baritone, athlete, thespian

Beyond the Hall of Fame

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Impacting CU’s Culture Through the Forever Buffs Network.

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Embracing Culture with After-School Mentoring Program

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CU's Austin C. Okigbo Studies Music from Past Pandemics

Your areas of interest are really diverse (music, African studies, global health). How do they intersect?

Why study the music of pandemics?

What themes did you see carrying through in your research of this music?

Do you see people making similar creative works and music today?

Did your findings surprise you?

What about physical sickness leads us to express ourselves musically?

Have you been listening to any favorite music over the course of the pandemic?

What’s next for your research?

Related Articles

Fill in the Black

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Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province

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Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province

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Every Thread a Story: Traditional Chinese Artisans of Guizhou Province

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Life as a Chalk Artist

Supply list for a professional chalk artist:

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In Those Dazzling Days of Elvis

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