September 28, 2001

Contact: Vickie Hamilton-Smith, School of Fine Arts, (785) 864-9742.

Collage concert showcases performing, visual arts; raises funds for school

LAWRENCE -- Question: what do the Marching Jayhawks, artist Roger Shimomura and the 500,000th Steinway piano have in common?

Answer: the second annual Collage Concert, sponsored by the University of Kansas School of Fine Arts and the Fine Arts Advisory Board, at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 11 in the Lied Center of Kansas. Admission is $7 general, $5 for students and seniors.

The collage concert is a fund-raising event that showcases KU fine arts visual and performing arts students and faculty in a fast-paced, non-stop format. Musicians pop up on stage and throughout the Lied Center to perform. The works of art and design students and faculty are exhibited in multi-media formats, sometimes simultaneously.

Proceeds will provide scholarships for student travel. In addition to ticket revenue, the School of Fine Arts Educational Enhancement Fund will benefit from a pre-concert auction sponsored by the advisory board.

"It is important for fine arts students to be able to participate in exhibitions, conferences and performances and compete in competitions," said Fine Arts Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery. "These opportunities are fundamental. They compliment the education students receive in classrooms and studios. At this time, the school cannot provide its students with this type of financial assistance."

In addition to 24 different performances, involving more than 250 students and faculty, this year's concert features the 500,000th piano made by Steinway and Sons. In 1988, to mark the milestone of the half-millionth piano crafted by the company, Steinway and Sons commissioned fine arts alumnus Wendell Castle to design the piano.

The personalities behind the scollage concert represent the spirit of the school's use of the word "collage." They bring together the four units of the school - the departments of art, design, music and dance, and the Lied Center - creating a sense of community.

Other highlights of the Collage Concert include:
 • The debut of a New Genre performance by Roger Shimomura, university distinguished professor of art. Entitled "La Carta," the piece celebrates the last letter Shimomura's immigrant grandmother wrote to her relatives in Japan.
 • The public debut of an excerpt from a new dance piece by Karole Armitage, who during a recent residency with the dance division, choreographed the work for KU dance students. The piece is set to "Mishima Quartet" by Philip Glass.
 • A PowerPoint presentation of works by art and design students set to an audio by Kip Haaheim, assistant professor of music theory.
 • The Instrumental Collegium Musicum will perform period music on reproductions of instruments from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque. The two selections are from the "Harmonice musices odhecaton A," the first collection of music printed with movable type, published by Ottaviano Petrucci (1466-1539) in Venice in 1501.
 • KU Jazz Combo I teams with Nick Dante Vaccaro, professor emeritus of art, for "A Tribute to Nick." The combo performs improvisational jazz while images of Vaccaro's creative works, of which the collage has been central to his practice, are projected.

Also featured are:
 • The KU Symphonic Band, opening the Collage Concert with "A Jayhawk Fantasy" by Warren Baker.
 • Videos of two faculty artists (painters Tanya Hartman and Robert Brawley) and two faculty designers (metalsmith Lin Stanionis and industrial designer Lance Rake).
 • The KU Men's Glee Club, singing "Onward, Kansas!" by Jack Laffer, "I'm a Jayhawk" by George Bowels and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by William Steffe.
 • The Kansas Woodwind Quintet performing "Suite for Woodwind Quintet" by Robert Washburn.
 • The University Dance Company, with excerpts from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" and "Sleeping Beauty" and Minkus' "Paquita."
 • The electro-acoustic MadTech Quartet performing a piece by Haaheim entitled "Tenebraglus."
 • The KU Saxophone Quartet performing "Improvisation" by Phil Woods.
 • Dance faculty and choreographer Patrick Suzeau sharing a contemporary East Indian piece, "Govinda's Realm."
 • The KU Concert Choir singing the traditional "Marianne," arranged by Philip Wilby and "Miniwanka" by R. Murray Schafer.  • The Kansas Brass Quintet performing the overture to the "Magic Flute" by Mozart.
 • The KU Percussion Ensemble performing "Factions" by Lynn Glassock.

Tickets are available at all KU Box Offices: the Lied Center Box Office (785-864-2787), the Murphy Hall Box Office (785-864-3982), and the SUA Box Office in the Kansas Union (785-864-SHOW). For more information, call 785-864-3421.