Over 200 University of Maine Singers alumni, families and friends from across the U.S., Europe and Canada joined current University of Maine Singers in their spring 2023 concert celebrating longtime director emeritus Dennis Cox at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine. Hosted by the University of Maine School of Performing Arts,…
As far as art goes, ceramics are exceptionally bulky. Ceramics classes need space for clay, drying shelves, kilns and a variety of glazes. For university art programs, the equipment-heavy ceramics can often fall by the wayside, even if interest is high. Thanks to a generous donation from Sam and Sarah Goos, whose daughter Ariel studied…
When rural Montana native Ryan Stovall ’18 was 13 years old, his curiosity about different types of poetry was piqued and the poems didn’t all come from school assignments. You could find Stovall reading Dante’s Inferno, a 14th-century poem. Stovall has written poetry for years and his first book, Black Snowflakes: Smothering A Torch, was…
Alumnus Merritt David Janes ’04, Broadway actor, is returning to UMaine and gathering some of his friends and colleagues to perform on the CCA stage. Each will sing their favorite songs from the shows and roles they’ve performed on Broadway. Even more special is knowing Janes and several of his classmates originated Broadway Rocks while students at…
By Ashley Forbes THE FIRST TIME Brian Harris ’11 met his future business partner, Owen McCarthy ’10, Harris was not dressed to impress. It was the summer before Harris’ first year at the University of Maine and he was at home in West Enfield, Maine, waiting for a few brothers from Sigma Phi Epsilon…
As Stephen King fans know, horror stories can be a great escape from the stress of everyday life. But what happens when life starts imitating art? Watch UMaine professor Caroline Bicks, holder of the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, as she discussed what scares us and why, and what she learned with the students…
Steve Orlofsky ’74, the music instructor at George Stevens Academy, retired in June after a 43-year teaching career. He taught for nine years in Fort Fairfield and 34 in Blue Hill. “Mr. O” conducted band, jazz band, and jazz combos, and his students won many jazz performance awards at state and regional jazz festivals. In…
UMaine Music Professor Jack Burt addressed the pandemic by giving himself a new challenge. With no opportunity to gather with others to play music or perform for an audience, he played pieces of music on his trumpet and posted them online. “An etude a day keeps the COVID away,” he joked to a local television…
UMaine music education majors have partnered with middle school students in Old Town to provide free private music lessons online. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the middle school students have been unable to play their instruments together in person. Philip Edelman, assistant professor of music education at UMaine, and Shianne Wheeler Priest ’96, ’08G, director of…
Kyle Rankin ’94, along with members of the cast and producers, recently qualified for an exception to the current travel ban in order to fly to Italy for the September 10 premiere of his latest feature film “Run Hide Fight.” Rankin’s action thriller was shown as part of this year’s socially distant version of the…
Jill Pelto’s ’15, ’18G watercolor and colored pencil creation “Current” is Time magazine’s cover for its special July issue that focuses on climate change. Her cover is an artistic rendering of information about climate change. Pelto earned degrees in both studio art and earth and climate sciences. “I hope that my art encourages audiences to…
The University of Maine Museum of Art has received a naming gift which will allow it to expand. The $1.3 million gift from Linda and Donald Zillman will fund the construction of five new galleries to showcase the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art. < Back to Summer 2020 MAINE Alumni Magazine