Community Voices, March 2017

Spring is in the air and this week marks the beginning of our 11th Annual Fine Arts Celebration at Southwest Minnesota State University. It will be an event-filled month featuring vocal and instrumental concerts, theatre productions, readings, and art exhibits to name just a few.  The Celebration is a collaborative effort between the Department of Fine Arts and Communication, the SMSU Creative Writing Program, and the SMSU English Program.

The month-long celebration kicks off on Tuesday, March 28 at noon with a Forensics Showcase featuring the talented students who are members of this year’s collegiate Forensics team.  This outstanding group of students has had success at the state and national levels and this will be an opportunity for the public to see their presentations.  Tuesday night will feature performances by the SMSU Jazz Ensemble with guest saxophonist Rob Dixon and the Marshall High School Jazz Band.

The William Whipple Gallery will be home to many of the events throughout the month and one of the first events is a Faculty and Staff Art Show from April 6-14.  The work of our graduating seniors in art and graphic design will be featured in the Gallery at the end of the month. One of our outstanding art alums, Micah Bloom, will have a presentation in the gallery on April 7th, where he will share his Southwest Story and the career path he has followed in the arts.

Partnership and outreach are very important within many of our programs across campus and the SMSU Chorale supports this theme.  The Chorale will host a guest ensemble from the Tracy Area High School Choir for a performance on April 27th at First Lutheran Church in Marshall.  The SMSU Chorale has just returned from a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City this past week and their performance this spring is sure to be one you will not want to miss.

Spring theatre performances are always community favorites and this year’s will be no exception.  The SMSU and Marshall High School theatre programs are collaborating to present, “Into the Woods.”  This partnership has really developed over the last few years as students of all ages and backgrounds come together to share their talents and perform high quality theatre performances for the community during the last weekend in April.

One of the biggest highlights of this year’s Fine Arts Celebration will be a tribute reading honoring two very distinguished SMSU faculty members who passed away this last year.  Phil Dacy and Leo Dangel were remarkable writers and teachers whose works touched the lives of many.  The reading on April 29th at 7pm will celebrate their lives and share some of their writings with the community.

These are just few of the more than thirty events over the next month.  Please check out the entire schedule online at smsu.edu and come experience the incredible fine arts we have to share at SMSU!

Published in the Marshall Independent, Saturday, March 25, 2017