VPA Breaking News!

May 3 and May 4, 7 pm, ARTS 111.

Check out the trailer!

...And don't miss WMST-DNCE 323 Final Project showing

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CSUSM STUDENT MEDIA FESTIVAL
A juried student media festival showcasing the video and film work of CSUSM students.

May 11th

7:00 pm

7th Annual CSUSM Student Media Festival

Click the link below to enter!

www.csusm.edu/vpa/mediafest

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SPRING AWAKENING

First performed under heavy censorship in Germany in 1906, Frank Wedekind's play closed after one night in New York in 1917 amid public outrage and charges of obscenity. The play's content was radical indeed: teenage sex, suicide, abortion, masturbation, sadomasochism. But even more radical was the unsentimental and brutally authentic comedy with which Wedekind treated it. The story traces the dawning sexual awareness of four teenagers, Melchior, Moritz, Wendla, and Hansy, who, in their painfully funny contradictions-they are at once too innocent and not remotely innocent at all-remain fresh and unsettling even in our own sex-saturated culture.

April 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th

7:00 pm
 
Arts 111

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Cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan (Tchaikovsky International Competition First Place Winner)

In this Performance Demo, cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan will perform some of the repertoire from his upcoming concert with the La Jolla Music Society and will speak about his recent first place win at the Tchaikovsky International Competition. He will be joined by pianist Noreen Polera. Don‘t miss the opportunity to hear this celebrated young musician!

Thursday, March 15, Noon, ARTS 111, Free and open to the public

For more information: http://www.yca.org/hakhnazaryan.html

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Judy Bauerlein in "Car Plays"

Judy Bauerlein, Theater faculty, shines in her role as "Scout" in Car Plays at the La Jolla Playhouse.  

See Pam Kragen's theater review here.

See the UT review here.

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Three VPA faculty shine at the 2011 Craig Noel Awards for Theater Excellence!

Congratulations Karin Filijan: Outstanding Lighting Design for “Angels in America” Ion Theater

Congratulations Robert Foxworth: Outstanding Lead performance in a Play, Male

And Pam Kragen, president of the San Diego Theater Critic’s Circle and host for the evening.

http://sdcriticscircle.org

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Faculty member Ching-Ming Cheng celebrates with President Haynes

following a remarkably wonderful debut concert at CSUSM.

Check out the video of Ching-Ming Cheng's Piano Concert.

1a. "Miroirs" (Part 1 of 2) Maurice Ravel

1b. "Miroirs" (Part 2 of 2)

2. "Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23" Frederic Chopin 

3. "Piano Sonata in C major, No. 60 Hob.XVI:50" Joseph Haydn 

4. "Chaconne in D minor" Ferruccio Busoni

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CSUSM Sets Press Conference for Feb. 9

President Haynes to Share Innovative Program which Improved Standardized Reading Test Scores by Nearly 90 Points.

San Marcos, CA.  California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), in collaboration with the North County Professional Development Federation, the San Diego County Office of Education and ten North San Diego County school districts, will hold a press conference on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. to discuss the groundbreaking results from DREAM (Developing Reading Education with Arts Methods), a four-year arts integration program funded with a nearly $1 million grant through the United States Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement.   

President Haynes, CSUSM president, will announce that elementary student test scores in reading improved an astonishing 87 points as a result of DREAM's initiatives. The program¿s goal was to train 3rd and 4th grade teachers to use visual arts and theater activities to improve students' reading and language arts skills.

Begun in June 2009, the program offered one week Summer Institutes coupled with coaching by professional artists throughout the year. Ten school districts have had teachers participate in the project, including Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, Fallbrook, Julian, Oceanside, Ramona, San Marcos, Valley Center Pauma and Vista, representing 141 teachers and approximately 3,000 students. During the press conference, elementary students from the Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts will perform one of the theatrical lesson plans to demonstrate how using theater to teach literacy is an effective instructional tool.  

Students in classes where teachers integrated theater to teach reading scored much higher on the reading comprehension and inference standardized tests. 

The press conference will be held at the North County Regional Education Center at 255 Pico Avenue, San Marcos.

It will be streamed at http://webcast.sdcoe.net/dream020912. This link will not be active until approximately 9 a.m. on Feb. 9.  

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Student Piano Recital

This recital is a final presentation of Beginning Piano Class.  The program ranges from easy melodies like Ode to Joy to virtuosic repertoire like Rachmaninov Prelude. Come support and cheer our piano students at the very first student piano recital on campus!!!!

Wednesday, December 14th
1:30pm, Arts 111 

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VPA's own Judit Hersko

was awarded the 2011-2012 President's Outstanding Faculty Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity.

Please join us on Thursday, January 19, at 11:00 a.m. in the Dome as we recognize Judit and all other award recipients at the Annual Faculty and Staff Awards Reception.

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CSUSM New Play Festival presents

Telling Stories: Giving Voice to Foster Youth

CSUSM Theatre, ACE Scholars and Playwrights Project of San Diego join together to bring you an evening of short plays based on the lives of CSUSM students who grew up in the San Diego foster care system. Join us as we share the powerful stories of four of the university¿s most courageous and resilient students.

December 1st-7th 2011 Arts 101

Click Here for more info!

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Professor Bill Bradbury SCORES!

Bill Bradbury, professor of music, composes music for  New Village Arts production: Of Mice and Men.  Here is an excerpt from a review:  "In a production that's exquisite overall, particular magic comes from Bill Bradbury's original score, recorded by his duo, MandoBasso; Bradbury on mandolin and Gunnar Biggs on bass carry on a musical conversation like the back-and-forth sharing of ordinary thoughts and lifetime dreams between Lennie and George."

See the full review here:

"Mice and Men" an utterly enthralling experience

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Meet the Chair!

Merryl Goldberg is the Chair of Visual and Performing Arts at California State San Marcos, a professional saxophonist and mom. She's also an avid boxer.

Thanks to LA Boxing for this video!

Click for more info about Merryl Goldberg

New Public Service Videos

Arts and Technology students Lauren Radel, Jermaine Jackson, Jeff Warlick create public service videos for CSUSM parking services!  
Check them out:

Carpooling

Sprinter

Biking

Walking

Earth Day Celebration
VPA students rock earth day celebration with recycled art fashion show, dance, music, sculptures, and interactive art projects!!!

Check out the North County Times Article!

VPA Dance Studies professor Karen Schaffman teams with High Tech High North County for a semester long collaborative learning class with  college and high school students as they focus on the theme of Earth Day!  

Check out the pictures, blogging and videos here!

Theater students in Misanthrope "Make the most of Moliere's words and wit".

Read the review here!

Students Present Original Puppet Plays!
As a part of their learning, VPA 321 "Learning Through the Arts" students present original puppet plays to 3d graders from San Marcos!  And, the reviews are in: the kids LOVED the performances as they learned about nature, literature, and science.

Mural Class Update!
Check out this video of students in VPA 181 painting the mural, and stop by to stop by and see them in action. They will be painting every Friday from 9am-12pm through the end of the semester at University Village.

Check out the video!

VPA Chair Publishes New Book
Merryl Goldberg, Chair of the Department, has published new book: Arts Integration: Teaching Through the Arts in Multicultural Settings published by Allyn and Bacon (available through any bookseller). 

6th Annual CSUSM Student Media Festival
Friday, May 13, 7pm, Arts 111
If you would like to submit your work, please click the link below: 
Student Media Festival Official Entry Form

• Educating Kids in the "Race to Somewhere"
• You're the Arts Department Chair and You Box?!
• In the Principal's Office: The Art of the "Absolute Basics" of Schooling