Welcome from the Dean

Welcome to the College of Music and Fine Arts. I would like to point out that Loyola University New Orleans is the only university in New Orleans to have a college dedicated to the fine and performing arts, and the only university in the country to combine such a college with the rich Jesuit tradition of educating the whole person in the liberal arts. Bringing together colleagues in music, visual arts, theater arts, and dance, the College allows for numerous opportunities for collaboration on performances and programs of study.

This is indeed an exciting time for our students, faculty, and alumni. While we prepare for the upcoming school year and are eager to welcome our next incoming class, I thought I would use this forum to recap some highlights from the past few months.

News of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz's move to our college has been garnering much excitement around town not only for the opportunities available for students at the institute, but also for the opportunities it provides for improving the quality of music education in New Orleans

Our dedicated faculty have been making news as well. Some recent honors include:

• Theatre Arts Professor Emeritus Don Brady received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatre at the 19th Annual Big Easy Theatre Awards on Monday, April 16, at Harrah's Theatre in New Orleans.
• Loyola Professor of Video Technology and Artist-in-Residence Jim Gabour was nominated by The Recording Academy® for a 2007 Grammy Award for his video, Flow: Living In The Stream Of Music, which he directed and produced. Gabour was up for the award for Best Long Form Music Video, which honors both the artist and video director for a video album package consisting of more than one song or track.
• Assistant Professor of Drawing Barbara Brainard was awarded the prestigious Pollack/Krasner Foundation Grant.
• Professor of Music Technology John Worthington was recently interviewed by The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) as part of their Oral History Project, which aims to document some of the music products industry’s greatest contributors

It is also a very lively time for our students and alumni.

• Loyola graduate student Anne Marie Frohnmayer was the featured soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) for the  “Klauspeter Conducts Mahler Symphony No. 4” with Principal Guest Conductor Klauspeter Seibel on May 10 and 12, at First Baptist Church New Orleans.
• The Loyola University Jazz Band received the 2007 North Texas Jazz Festival Dr. M.E. "Gene" Hall Award in recognition of the most outstanding university big band at the 2007 North Texas Jazz Festival in Addison, Texas, on March 31.
• Loyola alumna Cleona Torres is the recent winner of The 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Gulf Coast Region Finals. The competition was held on Sunday, March 4, in Loyola's Roussel Performance Hall. Torres, 22, was the youngest of the 11 participants in the auditions.
• Loyola alum Bryan Hymel, tenor, is one of six winners of the 36th annual George London Awards. Named for the fondly remembered bass-baritone, the George London Foundation has been administering the awards since 1990. Each of the six singers receive $10,000 and consideration for the foundation’s yet-to-be announced Vienna Prize, which provides two weeks of coaching in the German language and repertoire and an audition with the Vienna Staatsoper.
  

In addition, the College’s Montage Arts Series had a stellar season with rave reviews for its many offerings in the fine and performing arts. The performance by world-renowned classical guitar duo The Assad Brothers garnered attention, as well as for The Collins C. Diboll Gallery's lively exhibit “Made in Mobile,” which was reviewed in Mobile's Press Register. After a sold out performance of Girl’s Guide to Chaos in September, Loyola Theatre's second production of the season, A Christmas Carol, was equally well received. Both of these fall theater productions were recently nominated for the 2007 Big Easy Entertainment Awards. Throughout the Spring, performances by pianist Idil Biret, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and The U.S. Coast Guard band kept audiences coming back for more.

Loyola’s Music Industry Studies program was also featured in an article in The Times-Picayune. Throughout the year, guests like Ian MacKaye, Owner and Founder of Dischord Records, and Deborah Lewow, Vice President of Promotions for the Jazz Department at Warner Bros., were on campus for the weekly music forum series.

These achievements, along with many others, demonstrate the wide array of talent in our community.

The purpose of this website is to acquaint you with the programs, facilities, and faculty in the college. However, a website alone cannot provide all the information necessary to make the important decision regarding where you will receive your education in the arts. It is important to visit the campus, attend classes, take an applied lesson, see an exhibit, meet the faculty, and, most importantly, talk to the students currently in the programs. Be sure to spend the time necessary to make an informed judgment for your future education.

If you have any questions about the College of Music and Fine Arts, do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to meeting you in the near future.

—Dr. Edward J. Kvet, Dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts

 

Office of the Dean

• Administrative Staff