PVCC Study Abroad: the student experience in Havana, Cuba

This June, Professor of Art David L. Bradley, along with Professor of Art History, Tomi Johnston led a group of students on a fantastic experience to Havana, Cuba to study art history. Ready on to explore their experience in their own words and images:

The trip to Cuba reinforced my belief that people are the same around the world despite the differences in their governments. I was extremely impressed with the Cuban people's ability to improvise around their lack of resources and money. An example was the Cuban dancers who turned sticks and chairs into musical instruments and how they carved their own drums. -John Storslee

The creative repurposing of space. Houses were turned into restaurants and their walls turned into memorabilia. PC: John Storslee. 

Building walls, streets and power posts turned into pieces of art. PC: John Storslee.


From atop the stock exchange building in old Havana over the port. PC: Kimberly Harris

The architecture and color combinations in Havana. PC: Kimberly Harris

Using color to define individual space. PC: Kimberly Harris

Artwork of Havana, Cuba by PVCC Study Abroad Student Kimberly Harris. 


Tradition, innovation, amazing food, laughter, dancing, lovely people and cobblestones. CUBA, mi enamored! -Wendy Raisanen

Arriving In Style - Photo Series by Michelle Marion


This Summer at PVCC: Summer Musical, Free Concerts & Music Workshops

Join us this summer for free concerts, music workshops & our summer musical!

 

MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION CONCERT

Thursday, May 26th at 7:00pm, Free Admission
Center for the Performing Arts, Mainstage Theater

Featuring a presentation by PVCC graduate Jonathan Lucas (US Army 2004-2012), and musical performances by the Salt River Brass Quintet, PVCC music student Rachel Brown, and vocal soloists.
 
Donations will be accepted for the PVCC Veteran's Student Scholarship Fund.


LIVE AT BLACK MOUNTAIN: THE PVCC FACULTY JAZZ ENSEMBLE

hursday, June 2nd at 7:00pm, Free Admission
Aquila Hall Outdoor Stage, Black Mountain Campus
34250 N. 60th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85266

Featuring performances of small jazz ensemble music ranging from classic jazz standards to modern jazz.
Audience members are invited to bring a folding chair or blanket for seating.


NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY: FREE MUSIC WORKSHOP

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Evenings, 6:30pm-8:30pm
June 7th - 30th, Free Admission, Family Friendly

Tuesday Nights

Drum and Dance Workshops featuring Brazilian Music
KSC 1000A (located in the center of campus)

Wednesday Nights

Music Technology Workshops focusing on techniques in Studio Recording, Audio Mixing, Electronic Music and more!
Center for the Performing Arts Computer Lab (CPA 120)

Thursday Nights

Singer/Songwriter Open Mic
Center for the Performing Arts Lobby/Art Gallery
All styles of music, spoken word and poetry are encouraged.
Performers will need to sign up at 6:00pm to perform.


SUMMER MUSICAL: DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

irty Rotten Scoundrels by Jeffery Lane and David Yazbek directed by Andrea Robertson. Based on the popular 1988 MGM film, our summer musical takes us to the French Riviera for high jinx and hilarity. Lawrence Jameson makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money. Freddy Benson swindles women by waking their compassion about his grandmother's failing health. After meeting on a train, they attempt to work together only to find that this small French town isn't big enough for the two of them! Show Dates: June 17, 18, 24, 25 at 7:30pm and 19, 26 at 2:00pm.
$15 adults; $12 seniors/staff; $10 students/military; $8 children
*4 additional ticket fee at the door 1hour prior to performance.
 
Click HERE to purchase tickets online


Center for the Performing Arts
Paradise Valley Community College

18401 N. 32nd Street • Phoenix, AZ 85032 Phone: (602) 787‐7738
www.paradisevalley.edu/cpa

Theatre Department Attends Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii

Attending faculty: Andrea Robertson and Karla Frederick. Attending students:  Rachelle Dart, Delfinia Valdenegro, Megan Sutton, Gustavo Flores, Nick Claudio, Micah Thomas, Elizabeth Hogsed, Emile Trudeau and Courtney Kenyon.

Attending faculty: Andrea Robertson and Karla Frederick. Attending students:  Rachelle Dart, Delfinia Valdenegro, Megan Sutton, Gustavo Flores, Nick Claudio, Micah Thomas, Elizabeth Hogsed, Emile Trudeau and Courtney Kenyon.

In February 2016 PVCC Theatre Faculty Andrea Robertson and adjunct Karla Frederick took nine PVCC students to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.  This was the first year the PVCC theatre department participated in this Festival. The Festival for our Region was held at the University of Honolulu, Hawaii.  The acting students worked with their partners for about two months before we left on preparing two scenes and a monologue while our stage management student made sure her prompt book was incredibly detailed and full of everything on the production for which she was nominated.


Once in Hawaii we all kept busy with workshops, meetings, acting competition rounds, interviews, watching shows and rehearsals. Two of our students, Nick Claudio and Courtney Kenyon, were selected to participate in the ten minute play festival while we were there. The students also made new friends from around our region including Southern California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii and Guam. Rachelle Dart, one of our Irene Ryan acting nominees and her partner Megan Sutton made it to finals of the Acting competition. Out of about 300 pairs they were one of sixteen to show their scene in finals. Our stage manager Courtney Kenyon was alternate to nationals out of about forty forty five managers.  

The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival or KCACTF is a celebration of the creative process and a shared experience of a community of theater artists. KCACTF honors excellence of overall production and offers student artists individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, stage management, dramatic criticism, directing, and design.

In January and February of each year, regional festivals showcase the finest of each region's entered productions and offer a wide range of activities, including workshops, symposia, and regional-level scholarship and award programs. At this year's Festival PVCC students were nominated to compete at the Regional level through the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions and Stage Management after being selected via a response to our shows here at PVCC by a KCACTF Respondent who witnessed the student’s work.  Students competing at the regional festival have the opportunity to appear at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in April of 2016.




Emerging Student Artist Series

The Center for the Performing Arts Gallery at Paradise Valley Community College is pleased to announce the Emerging Student Artist Series for 2016, highlighting up and coming student artists Fallon Shell-Kenny, Gayana Babiyan, and Ping Yi-Rivera.

The artwork will be on view from February 29, to March 24, 2016. The reception is Wednesday, March 2, at 5:30pm. The reception is open to the public; light refreshments will be served. The exhibit will be closed during Spring Break, March 14 - 18. The CPA Gallery is open and free to the public, Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm. Parking is available on the NE side of the CPA.


Ping Yi-Rivera

Mixed Media

Ping’s installation is a visualization of life in her neighborhood unofficially known as “The Square”, and profiled as one of the most densely populated and poorest square miles in Arizona. Her mixed media drawings are meant to invite you to see with your eyes and to ponder life with in “The Square”.


Fallon Shell-Kenny

Ceramics

As a child, Fallon used to love playing with my food. It gave her the freedom to freely express all of the thoughts and feelings that she could not at the time express with words. Her pieces are a reflection of this want to play with food now as an adult. 


Gayana Babiyan

Photography

Gayana believes that every human being appreciates beauty. However, each of us finds it in different things. As for her, she has been fascinated by beauty since childhood. Moreover, she is happy now beauty not only in her mind, but on her photographs which she can share thebeautiful moments with others.

The Ensemble Experience at PVCC

The Music Department at Paradise Valley Community College is pleased to offer a wide variety of music performance ensembles for the Spring 2016 semester. The music ensembles are open to music students and community members of all ages and abilities. The spring offerings include Concert Band, Jazz Big Band, Latin Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Vocal Ensemble, String Ensemble, Cello Ensemble, Piano Ensemble, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble, Multimedia Ensemble, Brazilian Percussion Ensemble, Student Rock Band and much more!

Music Ensembles are listed in the course catalog under the prefix MUP and course number 160, 185, 181, 190.

Music Ensembles meet once per week in the late afternoon and evenings in the Center for the Performing Arts.

The ensemble experience at PVCC provides students with community: our ensembles are a mix of high school students, college-age students, community members and retired professionals. Students and instructors collaborate to select repertoire for public performances held in the Center for Performing Arts. Students gain practical and performance experience in instrumental, vocal, and mixed ensembles.


Spring 2016 Ensembles at PVCC:
MUP 163 Jazz Ensemble: Jazz Big Band
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Union Jazz Institute
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Jazz Combo
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Latin Jazz
MUP 190 Percussion Ensemble: World Music
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Multimedia
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Openscore
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Flute
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Cello/String
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Brass
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Band
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Recording
MUP 181 Chamber Music Ensemble: Classic Piano

Register for Spring 2016 at classes.sis.maricopa.edu

The Fall 2015 Festival of Tales | Student Review by Nicole Zimora

The Festival of Tales is a FREE storytelling festival at Paradise Community college. From 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., children from the community engage in different types of literacy-based activities: arts & crafts, storytelling and more. During registration each child is given two tickets - one for a “book walk” and the other for a free book.

Children have the opportunity to pick their favorite book at a table set up with hundreds of different types of books for different reading levels. They receive free books by doing the “book walk.” Music plays as they walk around a number placement; when the music stops numbers are drawn and the number called out receives a free book! Children play games centered on literary characters and participate in storytelling sessions in which books are read aloud.

Throughout the event live music was playing provided by the PVCC Ensembles. Two bands played: a jazz band and a Latin jazz band. They had various instruments such as a saxophone, cello, bass guitar, and tambourine as their timbre and a piano. The rhythm of the songs that were being played made you want to get up and dance! It was a fun and great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Student One Act Plays: A Night of Comedy and Tragedy

Each Fall semester in our Studio Theatre we have opportunities for our students to direct one act plays for first time directors, and full length plays for second-time directors. There is always a wonderful variety and even some original works written by the directors. 


Student One Act Plays | A Night of Comedy and Tragedy

Show dates: Nov. 13, 14, 20, 21 at 7:30pm and 15 & 22 at 2:00pm.

All Tickets $5 | Studio Theater in Building M-East

1) Suicide Notes by Nicole Thompson is a story about a student, Cameron, who finds his name has been written into people's suicide notes blaming him for their deaths. This is also a story about how Cameron and his friends try to understand and cope with the situation. 

2) The Romancers by Edmond Rostandt. A Boy and a Girl... two disapproving Parents... a Wall and a Bandit. A Comedy Romance Fantastique. Directed by Ric Alpers. 

3) Shattered by Kristin Black is a one act play about the difficulties of facing trauma head on. It is a counseling session held between a counselor named Stephanie and a college student named Sara.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Jazz Under the Stars | Student Review by Sarah Toth

The Jazz Under the Stars event held on Tuesday October 13th in the PVCC outdoor amphitheater was a night of toe tapping entertainment. Between the two “Big Band Music” groups, there was a variety of slow, to moderate, to fast tempos of music. Any age could go out and enjoy the lovely music being played. The causal environment made the whole atmosphere a family-friendly setting. The bands helped each other out on stage during the performance, and the director openly made jokes about himself and the band. The casual setting also made the performance all the more enjoyable. The entire performance was outstanding.

THE INSTRUMENTS BATTLED EACH OTHER IN DISSONANCE AND THEN RESOLVED THEMSELVES IN HARMONIES. MOST BANDS TRY TO STAY CONSTANT WITH THE OTHER SECTIONS, BUT JAZZ IS FREER THAN THAT. 

Each band kept the same tone throughout their movements. Hearing the instruments battling each other out in dissonance to resolve themselves in harmonies was a new experience. Most bands that play will try to stay constant with the other sections, but jazz is freer than that. For example, some pieces played were originally written for other instruments, such as the alto saxophone, but were manipulated for other instruments like the trombone. With each band, it was obvious that for some pieces, certain instruments were the focal point. With other pieces, adding an instrument made a huge difference. The addition of an instrument was the difference in making a classical piece modern.

Each band had soloists in every selection they performed. To highlight the soloists, they would stand and use a mic to amplify their instruments. Not only did the mic help the solo clearer, but the rest of the band would back off the notes and harmonies, just to crescendo back into the piece. In the first band, they had a key soloists perform with them. He is a professor at the University of Central Florida, Mr. Mike Wilkinson. Mike performed in several of the performances and added a new feel to the band.

The first band was bigger than the second band. They had larger sections for the instruments, as well as had more soloists. The first band is what you would think of with a stereotypical jazz band. The second band had an all around new style to the way they performed. The director was an actual band player himself and played in the performance. In this band, there was a more prominent feel to the revolutionary styles of jazz, and added more modern instruments, drum sets and a bass, to modernize the sets. Although the second band had fewer members, the power behind the instruments was well known. In the first band, the crescendos were powerful, and the sound carried throughout the amphitheater. Where the second band lacked in power, it made up for it in the difficulties of the music.

THE FIRST BAND BROUGHT A PROFESSIONAL TROMBONE PLAYER TO ASSIST THEM, WHERE THE SECOND BAND HAD A REALLY COOL ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A COMPOSER IN THEIR SET. 

Each band also brought something different to the table. The first band brought a professional trombone player to assist them, where the second band had a really cool advantage of have a composer in their set. The second band always tries to play a piece of his every show, this shows being titled Burk the Baby.

Jazz Under the Stars was a very fun experience. From learning about music in class, to really hearing it live and in person is a whole new experience. From a college band, that amount of perfection put into these pieces was amazing. You wouldn’t have been able to tell if this was a class, or if it as a group of people doing what they love. Jazz Under the Stars was a really good all around experience.  

Call for Submissions: Western Eye Student Photography Competition

The Western Eye Photography Competition is open to all Maricopa Community College students. Photos must have been taken between November 2014 – October 2015. This year's judge is nationally-acclaimed commercial photographer Rick Gayle.

Cash prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. A ribbon will be awarded for Honorable Mention.

1st place $400

2nd place $200

3rd place $100

Submissions will be accepted October 26 – 28, 2015 at the Eric Fischl Gallery or the Art Program Office in the ART Building at Phoenix College, 1202 W. Thomas Rd. in Phoenix. (602.285.7277)

The deadline for entries is Wednesday, October 28, 2015 by 6:30 p.m. Click here for full details and a downloadable submission form.

All winners will have their photography displayed in the Eric Fischl Gallery at Phoenix College from November 2 – 26, 2015. An opening reception will take place in the Eric Fischl Gallery on Monday, November 2, 2015 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. All are welcome! 

For more information, contact Jennifer Laffoon at 602.285.7280 or email jennifer.laffoon@phoenixcollege.edu


Art + Gender | Collective Art Project & Exhibition

PVCC students Katlynn McNab and Heidi Klotz pose in front of Kande Mickelsen's HERstory blog.

PVCC students Katlynn McNab and Heidi Klotz pose in front of Kande Mickelsen's HERstory blog.

When the chance to organize a collective art project and exhibit on campus to celebrate Women’s History Month presented itself, budding curators Heidi Klotz and Katlynn McNab seized the opportunity.

Psychology faculty Caron Sada discusses the psychology of gender with the group.

Psychology faculty Caron Sada discusses the psychology of gender with the group.

Klotz and McNab became acquainted with one another this term as classmates in Dr. Caron Sada’s "Psychology and Culture" and Adria Pecora’s "Drawing" courses. Dr. Sada and Ms. Pecora entered into the spring semester eager to have their students collaborate on a creative project exploring gender for an activity of Women’s History Month, an idea that was also ignited by the enthusiasm of library faculty, Kandice Mickelsen who volunteered Buxton Library as the location and exhibition venue for the art project.

Sada’s students from “Psychology of Gender” and Pecora’s students from “Drawing” volunteered to participate in this extra-curricular project rooted in performance, specifically in conversation. Pecora has previously taught a course in “Gallery Operations” in which students have curated exhibitions on campus. She introduced the curatorial team to a type of art called “social practice” and to curatorial projects incorporating “relational aesthetics” that revolve around conversation. Klotz and McNab learned about the curators Nicolas Bourriaud and Hans-Ulrich Obrist and artists such as Rirkrit Tiravanija and the late Allan Kaprow (the creator of “happenings”).

Katlynn McNab and Heidi Klotz discuss social practice and relational aesthetics with Art faculty, Adria Pecora.

Katlynn McNab and Heidi Klotz discuss social practice and relational aesthetics with Art faculty, Adria Pecora.

Pecora commented, “The idea of disrupting the regulated quietude of a library with a passionate discourse seemed suited to an artwork exploring gender.”

Moreover, the library’s new media lounge (a circular sofa with built in media station) suggested a more social role for the library, one in which exhibits might be rendered interactive by incorporating viewer feedback via messaging.

Library faculty Kande Mickelsen at blogging stations. 

Library faculty Kande Mickelsen at blogging stations. 

Mickelsen had been orchestrating a library guide entitled “HERstory” to function as an informational hub for Women’s History Month events. After meeting with Klotz and McNab, Mickelsen helped arrange for the guide to also serve as a blog site for the artwork featuring audio and video excerpts of the conversation. Sada’s students brainstormed thought-provoking questions to guide discussion. Pecora’s students brought or created images that resonated of gender and posted them on an idea board in the space.

Artistic inspiration came in the form of a lecture exploring “How gender roles affect relationships”, presented earlier in the week by Counseling faculty, Donna Mosher. The art students also drew enthusiasm from a visit by PVCC alumni curators, Collin Pressler (Exhibitions Manager, School of the Art Institute of Chicago) and Eric Heimbecker (Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility Group) from whom they learned more about curatorial practice and socially engaged work beyond the studio.

Counseling faculty Donna Mosher

Counseling faculty Donna Mosher

PVCC alumni Collin Pressler and Eric Heimbecker visit Katlynn McNab, Heidi Klotz and PVCC art students in the painting and drawing studio to discuss their work with curating and social engaged projects. 

PVCC alumni Collin Pressler and Eric Heimbecker visit Katlynn McNab, Heidi Klotz and PVCC art students in the painting and drawing studio to discuss their work with curating and social engaged projects. 

The conversation lives online and awaits your thoughts. Please tag #pvccfinearts.

HERstory library blog: paradisevalley.libguides.com/HERstory

Twitter and Instagram: #artandgenderchatroom