Faculty News

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Through January 5, Mark Armijo McKnight‘s Decreation, a show of new and recent black-and-white photos of bodies and landscapes, is on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The exhibit is in the museum’s Lobby gallery, accessible to the public and free of charge. At 6:30 p.m. October 24, attend McKnight’s conversation with Garth Greenwell, online or in person. ART & DESIGN
On October 23 & 24 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, department chair Gerald Casel will perform with singer-songwriter and author Patti Smith in Woolgathering, an evening-length spoken-word opera directed and composed by Oliver Tompkins Ray, based on Smith’s book by the same name. Casel will also perform Woolgathering on October 21 as part of Baryshnikov Arts’ gala honoring Yvonne Rainier. DANCE
On June 22, Pam Tanowitz received the 2024 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award at a ceremony in the Berkshires. Jacob’s Pillow leadership describe her as “an influential collaborative and creative force, admired for her abstract treatment of classical and contemporary movement ideas, informed by rigorous research.” DANCE
Composition faculty Scott Ordway has been awarded the two-year Fireline Fellowship from the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts at Oregon State University. From 2024 to 2026, he joins a multidisciplinary cohort of artists, writers, and journalists whose work addresses themes of landscape, ecology, and culture in the American West. MUSIC
Anthony Branker is a recipient of a 2024 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, funded through the Doris Duke Foundation. In addition, the Senate of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater has elected Branker an honorary member of their academy for his contributions to their jazz department and, more broadly, to Estonian jazz. Branker says his relationship with the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater began in 2005 when he was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor who helped nurture their newly created jazz studies program. Branker has returned to Estonia on several occasions as a visiting composer/conductor and as a faculty member at their summer Socrates Erasmus Crossing Borders Program. MUSIC
Melissa Dunphy’s BBC commission, “Totality,” had its world premiere at the BBC Proms on July 21. VOCES8 and The King’s Singers performed the work, which is inspired by 2024’s total solar eclipse. The performance took place at Royal Albert Hall and was broadcast live on BBC 3 Radio. MUSIC
Christopher Cartmill was a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome in March and April 2024. He was there to work on his translation of Carlo Gozzi’s play The Little Green Birdie, which was first performed at Mason Gross in 2022, to prepare the work for publication. THEATER
David P. Gordon is among the nominees for Outstanding Scenic Design at this year’s Barrymore Awards. Gordon is nominated for his work on Arden Theater Company’s production of Once on This Island. The Barrymore Awards, which will be distributed on October 28 this year, recognize professional theater in the greater Philadelphia region. THEATER

FACULTY VOICES IN THE MEDIA

Mitchell D. Weiss provides financial tips in WalletHub’s article “Cities with the Highest & Lowest Credit Scores.” RUTGERS ARTS ONLINE
Christopher Cartmill is quoted in this Los Angeles Times article about the meaning of banter and its place in dating and on dating apps. THEATER
Min Kwon was interviewed by former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley for his Sirius XM radio show, American Voices, about her “America/Beautiful” project, which includes 70 composers and their take on “America the Beautiful.” Kwon has begun recording all 70-plus new works written for the project, which received media coverage from The Financial Times, NBC Nightly News, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and International Piano, among others. She is collaborating with the Grammy-winning producer Adam Abeshouse for this recording (five volumes), which will be released later this year. MUSIC
Jeff Friedman spoke with NorthJersey.com about the Disability Studies minor, a collaboration between MGSA, SMLR, Bloustein, and SAS, as part of the website’s feature “Rutgers launches disability studies minor to explore world of oft-ignored community.” DANCE
Composer and multimedia artist Scott Ordway speaks about the relationship between art, landscape, and emotion on the Climate Change and Happiness podcast (Helsinki, Finland). MUSIC
Patrick Stettner weighed in about the benefits and limitations of using a smartphone to shoot a movie in a WIRED article, “You Can Shoot a Movie on a Phone. Just Don’t Expect It to Be Easy.” FILM