Summer is Here. Time for Recharging and Rethinking

Lehigh's campus has a few days left of finals. It's been a long and hard semester. Many projects, additional outreach initiatives, and more than a full plate of regular day-to-day tasks required some highly skilled juggling.

One of the tasks is to scan social media for what's happening in the arts on campus and in South Bethlehem. Of course, scanning requires a fair amount of self discipline. I set a timer to redirect the rabbit holes I inevitably go down. But every rabbit hole offers insight and knowledge that comes in handy when I work with incredibly focused people. I'm often bringing community relationships into conversation with campus programs. Those relationships are institutional as well as personal. I love to learn about faculty research. The social and cultural organizations in the Lehigh Valley are also full of intelligent, curious, and passionate thinkers who love sharing what they do with others. Helping to make connections between folks on campus and folks in the community is what I was born to do. But it takes an extraordinary amount of time to learn about the community through making and sustaining relationships. Sometimes, I'll even do a deep dive into an experience or institution to really get to the know the people inside it. I research and experience as many programs off campus as possible; especially in the summer.

You see, you can't connect the dots in community engagement if you don't know what's happening in the community.

But that is also where I get into trouble. I see some pretty awesome things happening, and get to meet some pretty awesome people. I want to be a part of all the awesome stuff. The reality is, just because I could do anything, doesn't mean I can actually do everything. Try as I might to ignore the limitations of physical endurance and the finite resources of time, there comes a point when I must limit the monkeys.

The what?

Throughout the semester, I've been referring to a well known Polish proverb:

I took on some pretty substantial monkeys this semester. One included a deep dive into high school musical theater programs, another was to co-chair a local festival. These two projects were piled on top of teaching a course that had a higher enrollment than it should have had (that will require lots of rethinking this summer), and taking a course on program evaluation that makes me want to rethink nearly everything I do..... And then there's is the local history research project I started in 2010 - and continue to peck at it as national issues bring me back to finding lessons from our past.

And what about the Mountaintop Research project this summer? This is the project I've been wanting to do since before I got to Lehigh.

I hope to write about each one of these topics and more through the next couple of months. All of this stuff made the semester a pretty fantastic circus.

In the next couple of days, I will be plotting out the reading/writing schedule and figuring out a routine that should keep me on track to finishing a few items while also taking required recharge and respite time.  That usually means staring at a large body of water (lake or ocean) until I'm ready to come back to the drawing board for another go at the circus.

2014 Arts@Lehigh Year in Review

A friend in Lehigh's Communications Office asked me for the top three arts stories of 2014. Three.

Three? That's like asking me which of my children I like best. But I complied - kind of.

Instead of answering his email directly, I picked the top three stories in categories that are how I think about the arts when I look around campus: guest artists, news, student production, faculty research and campus arts integration. Arts news in Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania or the nation... Maybe I'll write those. Maybe.

I posted a shorter version on the Arts@Lehigh wordpress blog. For this post, I added a little more commentary. I love what I do, and I do what I love.

Guest Artists:

3. Smokey Robinson at the 2014 Zoellner Arts Center Gala. Mr. Robinson was generous, and in great voice. I only wish he would have taken me up on bringing a bassoon on stage for Tears of a Clown. I was ready. [smiley face emoticon]

2. Nas and Angela Davis for the MLK keynote. Yeah, that was kinda huge, even if they weren't "Zoellner" guest artists in the sense that they were on the season. Thanks to Dr. James Peterson for bringing him to Lehigh. There's nothing like celebrity status to start social justice discussions. Behind the scenes, witnessing Nas get nervous about meeting his idol Angela Davis was a very special moment.

1. Darlene Love - Zoellner's Artistic Director Deborah Sacarakis really nailed the timing of Darlene Love's show in Bethlehem the day after her final Late Night with David Letterman performance. Deb saw her perform live two years ago at 54 Below in New York City; before 20 Feet from Stardom, before her induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. She booked her then. Yes, that's how far in advance Deb works. Heck, after 40 years at Lehigh, Ms. Sacarakis knows a thing or two about booking shows. Ms. Love's first song of the show was, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The line, "...with angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem," the crowd went nuts. She even said, "singing in Bethlehem at Christmas is just unreal." 

Top three News Stories:

3. Zoellner Administrative Director Andy Cassano led the PA Presenters conference in May 2014. We are fortunate to have a visionary leader not only for our campus arts center, but for Pennsylvania.

2. Deborah Sacarakis was honored by the Lehigh Valley Dance Consortium with the Distinguished Service Award. (April 6, 2014) See? Even arts consortium's know how amazing she is.

1. Andy responds to Bethlehem City Council/Mayor proposal to raise the Amusement Tax in an op-ed piece to the Morning Call. This is an important issue for our community. We understand the importance of finding revenue to pay for the things that make our city great. We also understand that this speaks of the value of the arts in our community. Personally, I hope to see an increase of visible support from our city's leaders by merely attending more arts events by the organizations and artists affected by this tax. Dear reader, think about the last time you saw a member of city council or the Mayor at a ticketed arts event. Just saying.

Student Production

3. Mustard & Cheese Reefer Madness. The writer, Dan Studney came to the show on Dec 6th ! 

2. Marching 97 at Yankee Stadium (they were the stars of the Rivalry 150, IMHO)

1. Lisa Glover - Kit Rex

Faculty Research (these items picked with performance dates in mind)

3. Erica Hoelsher - Costumes and mask design for the Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium's production of Eugéne Ionesco's Rhinoceros

2. Bill Warfield's CD Release Party at Iridium

1. Steven Sametz with LU Choral Arts at Carnegie Hall

Campus Arts Integration

3. Increasing community school outreach. McKinley Elementary School second graders tour the campus after lunch in Rathbone Dining Hall and seeing Lightwire Theater at Zoellner. That campus engagement led to a week long residency in July with local artist, Doug Royston. In October, the entire Broughal Middle School saw Cirque Alfonse.  The PBS39 story on Broughal attending Cirque Alfonse starts at 6:30:

Both of these opportunities were the results of campus support; financial support from College of Education and College of Arts & Sciences, staff volunteer campus tour guides, and generous expertise from local artist, Doug Royston.

2. TIE Mercy Killers & Shostakovich 7th. Mercy Killers is a heart wrenching look at the consequences of America's health care system. The one-man play was written and performed by Michael Milligan. Experts from Lehigh faculty and administration were on hand to provide reflection and discussion after each show. Story by student Madison Gouveia in Lehigh's Brown and White. 

The Lehigh University Philharmonic took an extensive semester long study of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 which was written during the 1943-1944 siege of Leningrad. The members of the orchestra read an historic fictional novel based on events of the composer's and others involved in the premier performance, as well as describing the harrowing conditions the people of Leningrad endured. Professor Mary Nicholas of Lehigh's Russian Language and Literature also presented a cultural perspective on what the history of the siege continues to mean to Russians today. 

1. Hammerschlag Design series. Envisioned by two faculty, Anthony Viscardi and Nick Nikolov, these experience fully embraced the creative potential of the Mountaintop Learning Environment. 

1. Steven Sametz with LU Choral Arts at Carnegie Hall (I'm sure you've got enough on that)

Where I started.

I've been working in the field of Arts Integration and Audience Development since 1997. That's the official start I will claim; marked by a position with the former Performing Arts Council of Toledo. I was hired to direct The Muse Machine program for a 22 county-wide area of northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

Before then, I had touch points in Arts Integration as a performer with Young Audiences of America while a doctoral student of bassoon performance at the Eastman School of Music. Through the experience of performing in a woodwind quintet for elementary students, I came to understand that my training wasn't really preparing me for the work that needed to happen "off" the bassoon. The degree program was rigorous and glorious. So much repertoire, so many memorable moments on stage with fabulous conductors and other musicians.... The culture wars of the mid-1990s was heating up in congress. Audiences were graying. The 1983 report, A Nation at Risk was being interpreted to mean more focus on math and science in school or the Japanese will be taking over our economy. Education reform was challenging the arts in schools. Young Audiences intended to provide quality arts experiences in schools and build new audiences. It was rewarding work, but something was missing for me as an artist. I realized that performing for these special audiences meant I needed a better methods to connect with them; not just in the music, but in how I talked about it.

My career aspiration was to find an orchestra position paired with a studio in a university. I was two semesters away from finishing a doctorate. I had one recital left and the doctoral comprehensive exams. I was preparing for a rehearsal with the RPO when all around me I was hearing concerns from my fellow musicians about how the public just doesn't get us. Were they crazy? Did they not see the beautiful theatre we were in? Did they not know the mecca stage we were sharing with a history of legends before us? How could they not be in awe of the opportunity we had to make magic? Guilting the audience into liking orchestral music might not be the best course of audience development action. I immediately knew I had to do something to bridge the new audiences to the music I adored.

I was lucky enough to have an academic advisor who saw administrative chops in my questions; and my resistance to prescribed curriculum. I didn't see the value in an entire semester spent on studying Bach's music during his Leipzig period when I needed to understand why our community wasn't supporting the local orchestra. Through his design, I was able to be a guinea pig for what is now the Filene Arts Management program at Eastman. I took his seminars on organizations structure, when to a few symposiums in New York city presented by the American Symphony Orchestra League, pushed and got the first student internship at the Rochester Philharmonic. Then I hit my first professional crossroads.

I didn't want to be a studio musician, or a tenure track professor with an orchestral gig. I wanted to put my energy into building the audience.

...

As a musician, I was trained in breaking down the musical challenges of a score; critically analyzing the performance to find problem spots and discover ways to smooth fingering technique, take the right amount of cane off a reed, and how to interpret phrasing based on theories of performance practice. Fixing musical challenges came down to intonation, tempo, balance and style. The performance was only as good as the weakest player. We learned to identify weak spots and figure out how to improve them. Improvement was addressed in a small closet with a metronome and a tuner. I had to solve my own problems.

This sensibility informs my work now, but working out solutions doesn't happen in a practice room. It comes through observation, finding models of excellence that inspire action. A breadth of different educational settings, meeting educators of all levels and degree, a complex society with ever- changing policies, traditions and practice - and a new field of work: audience development.

In the past 20 or so years, I've been working in both arts integration and audience development. I'm now at a university that is not a conservatory or music, or a drama school, or a noted for a fine arts school. It has incredibly fabulous faculty in all of the arts disciplines and I'm darned lucky to support their teaching and research. Most students who major in the arts combine the arts based major with a second major (engineering, business or other humanities). Other students who participate in the arts are involved in performance opportunities through university supported ensembles, or through co-curricular activities. The "arts" are not a particularly strong signature in the institutional brand. Yet.

I was hired by the university to direct and arts integration program. While the program was discontinued after seven years, I'm still at the university. Still working on raising the visibility of the arts on our campus. Still celebrating the artistic achievements of students and faculty. Still supporting the arts in the community that shares the university zip code. Still practicing what I preach: art is a way of learning and life.

I hope to focus more of these thoughts and wonderings on the blog in 2015. I hope it sparks discussion, but not about me. Let's explore the work that supports creative development in each student, faculty and staff member on campus, as well as our neighbors in the community.

It's time to retool...

Protest Music - the Concept radio show

A friend connected me to a wonderful thinking/community organizer over email. Alan Jennings and I met last week in which he wanted to tease out an idea for an episode of his talk show on local public radio, "Lehigh Valley Discourse." This is a weekly news/talk program that airs on WDIY 88.1 FM. Alan shared this show with three other hosts. Before I get into the show, here's a little bit about this host.

Alan has been with the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley since 1980, becoming its executive director in 1990.  During that time, CACLV created a wide range of anti-poverty initiatives, including the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Sixth Street Shelter, weatherization and other energy assistance programs, entrepreneurial training and microlending, homeownership counseling and foreclosure mitigation and neighborhood revitalization.  Alan has been outspoken in its effort to promote economic justice, affecting extensive public policy changes and building the region's capacity to address its problems.  The agency has received numerous national, state and local awards for its work, as has Alan, including being named by The Morning Call as one of the six most influential activists of the 20th century.  Alan is also on the adjunct faculty at Lehigh University, teaching social entrepreneurship.

We are both adjunct professors at Lehigh, teaching entrepreneurship courses through the Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation. But when we met for the first time last week over a cup of coffee - we connected on a whole different level. We explored the impact of music on social change. My music history muscle was flexing and my brain was whizzing through so much repertoire and history... I could barely keep my thoughts straight.

This is music that matters to people. By learning what connects people to music (so hard) that people will spend hundreds of dollars to see the artists perform these songs live. To scream along to every song in the crowd, in the car or in the shower. To relate a personal history or a cultural event that inspired the artist - THAT is the part of art that wakes me up.

I applaud Alan for taking on a subject that's interesting and fun while getting the listening audience to listen more deeply to music they may have been singing; but don't quite get the impact. Here's the list of music we are thinking about playing parts of and discussing on the radio show scheduled for June 12th at 6pm. Tune in to hear online. To listen live, look for the button at the top of the page.

Lyrics to the final song list will be posted before the show. It's an effort to "do the homework ahead of class" so that the listener can get more out of it. Here's the possible artist list:

The Beatles
Pete Seeger
Gil Scot-Heron
Marvin Gaye
Style Council
Buffalo Springfield
John Lennon
Sex Pistols
U2
Public Enemy
Tracy Chapman
Bob Marley
Macklemore
Bruce Springsteen


The final segment focuses on Bruce Springsteen:

#DigOutLehigh - first report

We started with one goal: to help at least one car owner extract their vehicle from mounds of snow and ice. Yesterday, a small group of people (Four; and one of us with the right equipment) decided to form a small team to grab a shovel and just start digging. Three of us work at Lehigh, and we all live in NOT South Bethlehem. One of the team members has no relationship to Lehigh (doesn't work there, didn't graduate from there), but is one of the most respected volunteers in Bethlehem, he's my neighbor and a really good friend. Yep, he's the one with the right equipment, too.

Kathy Frederick, Stacey Kimmel, Todd Dietrich and myself. What do we have in common?
We are all older than 30 years old; one just slightly.
We all had some flexibility in our schedule.
We all love to burn calories (Shoveling snow burns 500 calories per hour!)
We all appreciate our garages, car parks and spacious driveways.
We all have seen the road conditions in South Bethlehem.
We all needed to do something about it.

I started recruiting with a hashtag on Monday, after posting a picture of me helping one student dig her car out of a Lehigh parking lot. Through a few comments in social media, it became clear that many residents understand the conflict: students don't have the equipment needed to dig out their cars. And guess what? The stores are not stocked with shovels either. I was so happy to see a few friends join me in not just complaining, but in their willingness to pick up a shovel.

Just moments before our scheduled rendezvous, someone posted a link to this article about the same motivation, validating our actions.

When we got to our selected meeting point, we discovered the city was going to remove the snow that night, and alerted everyone to move their cars. There was no email, no posting on a website, no press release, no warning. Just signs planted in the snow mounds. These signs were planted at some point during the day. When the students are in classes. By the time most of them returned to their homes, panic hit. They called their landlords wondering where they were going to be able to move their cars. Luckily, a few administrators at Lehigh worked out a temporary situation, but it definitely took a network of knowing who on campus can actually get things done - thanks, Dale Kochard!

We started at 3:30 to take the most advantage of late afternoon sun to melt the ice a bit. We started with the first person digging out, a nice young man named Alex. By 4:15 traffic started to increase, school busses were playing chicken with cars fighting for right of way. We were trying to put snow anywhere we could that would get cars out. Realizing we would just have to move snow twice, we just started throwing it anywhere.

Neighbors helped. Students called their friends to help. Landlords (Louis, you are awesome) came out to work with their tenants. Yes, there are actually landlords who step up in these situations. Not all are absentee. We took turns digging and pushing while dodging cars that didn't have patience for us. We were getting worried about what might happen after dark. I called Campus Police to help traffic flow. Dispatch told me to call the city. I called the city - no guarantees for help in a growing safety concern.

After 2 hours and 15 minutes, we got three cars out; Alex, Cheri and another Alex. I also met two fine neighbors Carlos and his wife, who offered us coffee. Other people were working on other cars and had equipment. We left feeling good about our efforts, but worried that the city would actually come through and clear the snow.

I'm happy to end this post on a positive note:

#LehighDigOut; just an idea

It's been a while since I posted on this particular blog. But since I had a thought that could impact some folks on campus, let's see what might happen if I use this one to share an idea.

There are a significant number of student cars buried under snow. Because:
1. In a short period of time, there has been a significant amount of snow accumulated in Bethlehem.
2. even in dry weather, campus and South Bethlehem is challenged with too many cars, and not enough parking spaces.
3. snow removal on city streets has been complicated by parked cars snowed in and plows unable to get around them, so each time a new snow fall happens the same cars get more snow piled on them.

For a number of students who live off campus, there's also a challenge of where to put the snow - even if they had proper equipment to sign themselves out. Sure, they could walk to the hardware store on 4th street (Cantelmi's) and buy a shovel - if there were some in stock.

But what if the community rallied and helped out the poor folks, students and "townies" alike, who have their cars hopelessly buried?

We have a wonderful tradition on campus called "MOOV-in" where faculty, staff and orientation student leaders help move in the first year students into the dorms. It's a great welcoming experience for the students, and the nice bonding ritual for the staff who regularly participate. Why not take this same positive energy and help out the many students and folks who live in South Bethlehem to get cars moved in order to rediscover our curbs and parking lots?

I was working on a student's car this afternoon. With just the two of us and one hour, we were able to clear her tail pipe so she could at least make sure the engine turned over. I hope to help her finish the job so she can move her car to clear the entire parking space. She literally had snow and ice mounded from the plows.

I felt bad that I had to leave, but I only had an hour to spare today.

The best time to dig out cars is in the early afternoon, after the sun has warmed up the snow a bit. At night, all that warning turns into another layer of ice. Unless you have an ice breaker, the standard shovels aren't going to cut through it.

I wonder - how many people can dedicate some exercise time to helping others dig out their cars? We've got a few programs (Like the "Be Well") for staff, and a few smart people to help organize. It's not a "super storm" where folks are without power. But this really is a challenge for many folks.

So let's start on Wednesday, February 19th from 2-5pm on Webster street. We'll start at the corner of Webster and 5th street, and just move snow away from cars so that they might have a chance to move them. Bring a shovel, wear layers and be ready to lift and walk the snow across the street to a safe place. One shovel at a time. That's how this will go. The more people, the better the effort. I just hope the folks who own the cars won't freak out. I'll be leaving notes on them tonight.

It would be awesome if this effort could be coordinated with the City Snow Removal schedule. I called the streets department - and they are working on a schedule, but as we wait for that to be worked out, we have a lot of cars to dig out.

Seriously asking. Who wants to pitch in and help? Two weeks until Spring Break.

What is Beauty - part 1. Barbie's multiple careers

This week and next, Lehigh University campus will have an incredible opportunity to have a wide conversation about the topic of Beauty, book ended by the lens of performing arts, and with a NYTime author. Tonight at 7pm, Jane Comfort and Company will present their work, "Beauty"

   

From the company's website:

Beauty is a provocative dance theater work exploring the American notion of female beauty. It frames the dialogue of the cultural pressures surrounding women’s physique, attire, and appearance around the quintessential image of American beauty: Barbie.
Movement vocabulary is derived from an investigation of Barbie’s limited, robotic abilities contrasted with a fully expressive dance vocabulary. Beauty includes a Barbie beauty contest and an intimate encounter between Barbie and Ken. During the course of the evening, we become acquainted with the performers as Barbie dolls, as contestants, as characters with beauty aspirations, and as the dancers behind all these personas.

Of course, this bit of information led me to some important research.

I came across a website for all of the career options that Mattel has given our fair haired creature.

Arctic Rescue Barbie

President Barbie (comes in different hair)

Swim Champion Barbie - who needs a puppy. Note the tiny pink trophy

Chef & Waitress Barbie (Apparently, she runs the entire restaurant at the same time)

Pancake Chef Barbie - specific culinary skills? or repurposed "domestic bliss" set?

This is but a sampling. Gymnast, Babysitter, Baby Doctor (with different hair styles; i.e., blonde or brunette), Nurse, Nursery School Teacher (with play set), Pet Vet (redundant?), Actress, Track Champion (these sports themed dolls must have been inspired by the Olympics), Tennis Player, Skier, Splash and Spin Dolphin Trainer (not kidding), Magician...

What was most interesting to me on see these cataloged on their merchant web site was the text below the images:

• 21 items

Barbie “I Can Be…” Boutique Welcome to the Barbie I Can Be Family page! Our I Can Be Barbie line is designed to inspire your daughter to discover her dreams through a variety of empowering career-themed roles, from the nurturing Pet Vet Barbie doll to the geek-chic Computer Engineer Barbie doll. Choose from a fabulous variety of Barbie I Can Be dolls that allow your daughter to play the part of a young girls role model! If your little girl wants to be a big screen star, she’ll love the Barbie I Can Be Movie Star doll. You’ll find exquisite examples of the many directions your girls career can take, from a talented chef to a stylish news anchor. Your daughter is sure to be inspired by the Barbie doctor, Barbie ballroom dancer, Barbie Ballerina, and other beautiful Barbie I Can Be professions. Shop Barbie. And think pink!

 "GEEK-CHIC" gave me an idea. Don't worry Barbie, all of those careers you have tried that have left you feeling wanting for more aren't your only options. Here's the one that will fulfill all of your earthly desires and give your life direction. You're welcome.