Categories
Music

SMU Opera Behind the Scenes: A New Way of Rendering Costume Designs

When creating costume designs for the upcoming opera comedy “The Elixir of Love,” designer Mari Taylor (M.F.A. Stage Design ’17) drew her designs on actual images of each actor instead of using traditional sketches.

Costume shop staff Genie Stallings, Cayla Tally and Allie Elsey say the hybrid renderings help them capture the physicality of each actor as they cut and sew the costumes. “The Elixir of Love” will be presented by SMU Meadows Opera Theatre Feb. 9-12, 2017 in the Bob Hope Theatre.

Buy Tickets | Call 214-768-2787

Categories
Music

10 Photos We Love from the Second Annual Swing Dance Concert

30122303794_38ff151fcd_zThe SMU Meadows Jazz Orchestra presented its second annual swing dance concert onOctober 29. Students, and faculty re-lived the classic era of the famous big bands and spend an evening dancing to the music of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and other legendary artists of the 1930s and ’40s.

An introductory/brush-up swing dance lesson was held led by local swing dance expert Emily Spraggins, and it was a kick-the-shoes-off good time. Photographer Kim Leeson was on hand to capture our favorite photos. Check them out, and follow @smumeadows for more.

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Categories
Music

Watch the Student-Made Teaser for Emerging Sounds, a Concert from SMU Student Composers

A scene from SMU's Meadows at the Meyerson event in 2015
A scene from SMU’s Meadows at the Meyerson event in 2015

There is a special excitement in a concert of contemporary music written by living composers.

In this concert from SMU’s Division of Music, audiences can depend on variety and energy as student composers taught by professors Robert Frank, Kevin Hanlon, Lane Harder and Xi Wang share what will be milestones in these emerging composers’ careers.

The concert is free, and it will be held on November 4, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Our Emerging Sounds Concerts are student-organized events that help give students’ real-life experience in promoting and organizing concert events. Check out the ad created by Gillian Perry (BM Music Composition & BFA Film Double Major, Meadows, 2017).

[youtube width=”853″ height=”480″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXJRpUxsz1U[/youtube]

Categories
Dance Music

Countdown to the Winspear

6_Tympani-and-standup-bassWith the May 11 performance date looming for the Meadows at the Winspear annual benefit concert, The Meadows Symphony Orchestra and the Meadows Dance Ensemble moved their rehearsal space out of Owen Arts Center and into an unusual location: a practice basketball court in the SMU Crum Basketball Center.

On Wednesday, May 4, a team from SMU Facilities, along with Assistant Director for Music Operations David Brown, transported two full-size dance floors, 90 chairs, four tables, 60 music stands, sets, costumes, props, and a grand piano and set it all up under the basketball pennants and hoops.

The Meadows at the Winspear concert will feature the critically acclaimed Meadows Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Paul Phillips, and the Meadows Dance Ensemble, composed of top students from the Meadows School’s nationally respected dance program, in two works. The first is the premiere of a newly envisioned choreography of Stravinsky’s Firebird, created by Claudia Lavista and Victor Manuel Ruiz, noted artistic directors of the acclaimed Delfos Danza Contemporanea in Mazatlán, Mexico. The second is Martha Graham’s ballet masterpiece Appalachian Spring, featuring the world premiere of the newly completed, full orchestra version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning music by Aaron Copland. For the first time, audiences will be able to enjoy Graham’s iconic choreography accompanied by music played by a full symphony.

The orchestra and dancers will rehearse on the basketball court through Friday, May 6; on Saturday morning, May 7, everything gets packed up and transported to the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District.

The annual spring concert benefits the Meadows Scholars Program at Meadows School of the Arts, and honors community leader and noted arts and civic patron Donna Wilhelm. The 2016 event chair is Heather Esping and the honorary chair is Melissa Fetter.

Tickets to the “Meadows at the Winspear” concert are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $17 for students and SMU faculty and staff. They are available through the AT&T Center for the Performing Arts box office; call 214-880-0202.

For SMU alumni, a concert ticket that includes a post-concert dessert and champagne reception is available for $50; $25 of the ticket price supports the Meadows Scholars Program. Call the Meadows Development Office at 214-768-4189 for alumni ticket information.

Buy TicketsDonate to Meadows Scholars

Below are some of the photos:

Categories
Art Dance Film Music Theatre

Why SMU Meadows? Six Questions for Students

Sasha Davis, B.F.A. Theatre/ Theatre Studies ’16
Sasha Davis, B.F.A. Theatre/ Theatre Studies ’16

Hear five students talk about their choices, majors, internships and more

“… Totally got my world flipped … We think you can do great things … Ability to double major …” are just some of the comments shared by five performing and visual arts majors on why they picked SMU Meadows as their college of choice. They were also accepted to such schools as Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, UCLA, University of Rochester, Indiana University, University of Minnesota, University of Texas-Austin, Florida State University, Marymount Manhattan, The Hartt School, Santa Clara University, Pomona College, University of Nevada/Las Vegas, Texas Christian University and more. Find out why they chose SMU:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrW907QKBOI[/youtube]