Photos We Love – SMU Meadows School of the Arts

These 30 Graduation Day Photos Will Make You Smile

Dance major Takia Hopson walks the stage. All photos by Kim Leeson.

On a stormy May 19, SMU Meadows moved commencement indoors. Keynote speaker Ian Derrer, general director of the Dallas Opera, reviewed his notes backstage. Students hugged their professors. Willie Baronet, Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising, took group selfies. There is nothing like the happiness and joy of graduation day. Photographer Kim Leeson was on hand to capture the scene.

Students Lauren Steele and Roderick Woodruff

Grads wait backstage before commencement

Meadows Scholar Stejara Dinulescu kills time in line before commencement

Prof. Steve Edwards (left) […]

Nick Rallo 2019-06-05T08:48:53-06:00 May 20, 2019|Photos We Love|

“The Arts are for Everybody”: 10 Quotes That Inspired Us from Jane Chu, Former NEA Chair and Recipient of SMU’s Distinguished Alumni Award

The NEA thrived under Jane Chu’s leadership. (All photos by Kim Leeson)

Jane Chu earned a Master of Music degree from SMU and has spent her career in arts administration and philanthropy. During her four-year term (2014–18) as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Chu traveled to all 50 states, visiting more than 400 arts organizations in 200 communities.

It was a bustling Homecoming weekend at SMU. The Division of Art hosted a conference that brought in experts in the field from around the world. Opera soared from the lobby. That morning, Jane Chu sat with the students of the joint M.A./M.B.A. (with Cox Business School) in Arts Management and M.M. in International Arts Management to chat about […]

Nick Rallo 2019-03-04T15:17:50-06:00 November 5, 2018|Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship, Photos We Love|

16 Photos from the 2018 SMU Meadows Graduation Ceremonies Guaranteed to Make You Smile

All photos by Kim Leeson

As faculty and staff at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, it’s one of the most joyous days of the year: The Meadows Spring Commencement ceremonies. It’s a feeling of unbridled accomplishment, unmatched by events that have unfolded before it. On a warm day, no matter how warm, we sit in the grass of the Boulevard, and hear the passionate words from our friends and classmates–like “arts and communication inform, uplift and challenge”–and our friends and family cheer as we walk the stage. […]

Nick Rallo 2018-05-25T10:58:16-06:00 May 25, 2018|Photos We Love|

The SMU Meadows 2017-2018 Academic Year in Photos

Costume Shop Manager Melissa Panzarello readies her work for SMU student Alissa Roca–one of the stars of the Opera Theatre’s production of Alcina.

There were awards, electric blue lights, and tears of nostalgia. In the final hours of the 2017-2018 academic year at SMU Meadows, as Dean Sam Holland delivers his commencement speech, we will reflect on the events of a challenging and rewarding year. Jazz dance artist retires in May after 13 years of teaching at SMU. Ignite/Arts Dallas, our community engagement movement, celebrated its third year. There was swing dance. We talked the future of the word “entrepreneurship” at an event called MPower. We saw Frankenstein’s monster. This was the year in photos. All photos by Kim […]

Nick Rallo 2018-05-15T09:06:47-06:00 May 14, 2018|Photos We Love, Student Work|

Read More

10 Photos That’ll Make You Nostalgic for SMU Homecoming

SMU Meadows students walk the boulevard during the Homecoming parade.

2017’s Homecoming began with the Distinguished Alumni Awards, a prelude to a weekend packed with activities. SMU Mustangs chose from among a range of concerts and performances, as well as special exhibitions at SMU’s museums and libraries. We also celebrated 100 years of Mustang spirit and Mustang jazz with the Mustang Band at the Pigskin Revue. The Meadows parade began a couple of hours before kickoff, where Dean Sam Holland led the parade down Boulevard–and we eat copious barbecued meats from Sonny Bryan’s–all leading up to the Mustang football team’s game against the UCF Knights.

Photographer Kim Leeson was on the scene to capture photos. […]

Nick Rallo 2018-01-08T08:14:03-06:00 October 6, 2017|Photos We Love|

Read More