Excellence @ Work: Grants, Awards, Performances/Exhibits

GRANTS

Ewelina Boczkowska, associate professor of Music, was awarded a $4,000 New York Public Library Short-Term Research Fellowship for an archival project on composer Jerzy Fitelberg. Boczkowska is one of only three Music Fellows out of approximately 33 recipients in all fields of the Arts and Humanities. In addition, she was a co-organizer of the Music and Media International Conference, hosted by Cleveland State University and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

FEATURED

Stan Sweeney, director of YSU’s Kilcawley Center, was the coordinator of the three-day Association of College Unions International Super Regional Conference for Regions III and VI in November. The event included college student union professionals and student leaders from 13 states and Ontario, Canada. Sweeney took over the reins of Kilcawley this past summer after serving as director of the Student Union and Student Activities at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where he oversaw the recent $13 million renovation and expansion of the student union. He  holds a master’s in Education from Eastern Illinois University and a bachelor’s in Public Relations from Central Missouri State University. 

AWARDS

Daniel Keown, associate professor of Music Education, along with Charles Robinson of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, received the Steven Demorest Research Award at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference. They received the award for their research on “The Effect of Differentiated Video Presentations of Choral Performances on Aesthetic Responses.” Keown also had two research studies selected by a peer-reviewed panel for presentation at this year’s National Association for Music Education - Music Research and Teacher Education Conference, which included a study supported by a YSU Office of Assessment Mini-Assessment Grant titled “Examination of Identified Frequency and Location of Music Characteristics within Motion Picture Soundtracks.”

PERFORMANCES/EXHIBITS

The exhibit "Vezovi" by Dragana Crnjak, professor of Art, was installed at The Cultural Center of Trebinje in Trebinje, Bosnia. The artwork was a site-specific wall drawing inspired by Zminjanje embroidery. “This is a contemporary approach to the Zmijanje embroidery,” Crnjak said. “I was attracted to the strict rule of its construction and the impeccable dark blue geometry it is based on. The meticulous and structured approach to that geometry is very modern but, at the same time, it also has incredible creative breadth and flexibility." In addition, Crnjak's work was part of the exhibit “Randomly Today” at the Rosefsky Gallery at Binghamton University in New York.

Matthew Mazuroski, associate professor, directed the play 20th Century Blues, at The Hopewell Theatre in Youngstown, formerly known as The Victorian Players. He also served as scenic and sound designer.

J. Dana Sperry, professor of Art, had two video works screened at the ALC Video Art Festival at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante in Spain. The works are: Daily Changes to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, March 1 – April 1, 2018; former Kentucky Fried Chicken, Youngstown, OH, USA; NASDAQ, Average Price of Fuel; S&P 500, Average Price of Bread; 09/2012 - 09/2017; Bus Stop at Highland and Penn, Pittsburgh, USA.

Caroline Oltmanns, professor of Music, performed five solo concerts in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, this past Fall.

Misook Yun, professor of Music, presented a virtual masterclass and lecture as one of only 17 faculty at the ArsDocta International Music Festival this past summer. In addition, she  performed Mozart's Alleluja and Glitter and Be Gay (Bernstein) as a featured soloist with the Butler County (Pa.) Symphony Orchestra. 

Joseph D'Uva, professor of Art, was selected to participate in the Call to Action Print Portfolio Exchange at the Mid America Print Council Conference. D’Uva  and recent alumna Ashley Vaughn (2019 BFA Studio Art, Interdisciplinary Studio Art track), will create an edition of prints that will be exhibited at the conference.