USM Arts Faculty Receive Mississippi Arts Commission Grants
Wed, 08/09/2023 - 09:21am | By: Ivonne Kawas
Arts faculty at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) have been awarded grants
from the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) for individual projects or performing artist
fellowships. The faculty members include Nicholas Ciraldo, William McIlwain, and Hsiaopei
Lee in the School of Music and Julie Hammond in the School of Performing and Visual
Arts.
These distinguished and highly competitive grants are a portion of more than $1.75 million in grants MAC awarded in Fiscal Year 2024.
Award-winning trombonist Ben McIlwain and international guitarist Nicholas Ciraldo will combine to form duo Seven19. The mission of Seven19 is to champion music - new and old - for trombone and guitar. Genres from pop/rock/metal to classical/modern, Seven19 endeavors to expand the musical horizon of this duo combination.
Acoustic and electric guitar plus acoustic and electric trombone equal a new and exciting instrumental combination that up until now has been largely ignored if not avoided. This grant will provide support needed to commission the new work for trombone and guitar by world-class composer David Biedenbender and for the gear needed to expand the repertoire.
“We are becoming increasingly focused on collaboration, innovation, and modernity,” remarked duo McIlwain and Ciraldo. “This is a great opportunity to perform as colleagues, create new music for a unique ensemble combining trombone and guitar, and work with a living composer whose music is incredibly exciting.”
One of the very few professional violists in Mississippi, Hsiaopei Lee, will pursue
solo performances of viola music. Through these performances, Lee hopes to introduce
viola in its solo capacity to the public, busting the myth that this instrument is
only for accompanists. Her interest in advocating for the works of living female composers,
which steered her to a CD album titled, Odyssey: New Music for Viola by American Women Composers, released by Centaur Records in 2014, will continue with a new release.
“Thanks to the raving reviews my CD received by viola music listeners and composers, I was inspired to broaden my research to record my next album including all 21st century compositions by female composers from around the world,” said Lee. “In the next two years, my goal is to complete this recording project. I hope my meticulous study and carefully thought-out interpretation will allow me to connect future music lovers to these modern classics of the viola literature.”
For over a decade, Julie Hammond has been playing a role in dance education through
her work with MAC and the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education. In this work, she
has seen how dance can be essential in fostering creativity in students.
This inspired her to create Wiggle Genius, a website geared towards training teachers to integrate dance into their curriculum. Wiggle Genius also aims to produce outreach concerts for K-3rd grade students. As part of this effort, Hammond will choreograph the many dance experiences included in a show titled “Why Not Me? A Story About Being Free,” presented by the Hattiesburg Arts Council as part of their artistic and educational programming this upcoming year. The show will involve USM senior dance education majors in the rehearsal process and will feature Repertory Dance Company members and USM Theatre graduate students as performers.
“The K-3rd grade students who will attend the two performances at the Saengar Theatre in January will experience what dance is and can be, but also the importance of claiming and celebrating diversity — in one’s own and larger life — which is the theme of the show,” said Hammond. “Dance can be entertaining, but it can also inform, inspire, and potentially transform, which I aspire to do in this special collaborative project.”
MAC’s annual grant funds come from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi State Legislature. Awards were made in 104 Mississippi House of Representatives districts and 60 state Senate districts.
“With the additional funds provided to MAC this fiscal year, we are able to fund 37 more grants that are providing an economic impact for Mississippi communities, the arts, and education throughout the state,” said David Lewis, executive director for the Mississippi Arts Commission. “We are grateful for the support from the Mississippi Legislature and elected officials who helped prioritize the arts in Mississippi.”
Visit Southern Miss Arts to learn more.
About the MAC
The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency serving more than two million people through grants and special initiatives that enhance communities, assist artists and arts organizations, promote arts education, and celebrate Mississippi’s cultural heritage. MAC ismfunded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation for Mississippi, and other private sources.