Thank a Teacher Week

FSU’s Department of Music Presents Percussion Ensemble RecitalFrostburg State University’s Department of Music will present its Percussion Ensemble, directed by Dr. Mackenzie Jacob LaMont, in its spring performance on Friday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center.Percussion Ensemble students include Benjamin Alvey, Gavin Baker, Leah Boggs, Bryce Campbell, Jacob Deaver, Grace Giles, Jacob Hunt, Jacob Hutzell, Joseph Louie, Eileen Martin, Bella McConnell, Joe Rubens and Julia Seddon. They will be joined by guest performers Dr. Joseph Yungen, Peter Lewis and Riess Mikula.The concert will include “Crown of Thorns” by David Maslanka, “Living Room Music” by John Cage, “Percussion Music” by Michael Colgrass and much more.The title “Crown of Thorns” is an obvious reference to Christ’s crown of thorns, but the name first came to Maslanka as a possible title for a piece after seeing a plant called the Crown of Thorns at the New York Botanical Gardens. Crown of Thorns is a thorny desert plant from the Middle East. The rambling, interweaving, vine-like stems suggested music to him. As he meditated on the words crown of thorns and the plant, and on the idea of a work for keyboard percussion ensemble, one image that arose was a seven-starred halo. The seven-starred halo is a transcended image of the crown of thorns, the crown of highest spiritual power arrived at through the greatest depth of suffering. The imagery is Christian, but the experience transcends religion, and is universal. The music is at times sober and reflective, but more often filled with a liberated energy and joy.One of the most influential 20th century composers, Cage pioneered a body of music that he described as “the contemporary transition from keyboard-influenced music to the all-sound music of the future.” “Living Room Music” is a piece Cage composed in 1940. It is a quartet for unspecified instruments, all of which may be found in a living room of a typical house, hence the title. “Living Room Music” is dedicated to Cage's then-wife Xenia. The work consists of four movements: “To Begin,” “Story,” “Melody” and “End.” Cage instructs the performers to use any household objects or architectural elements as instruments and gives examples: magazines, cardboard, “largish books,” floor, the wooden frame of a window, etc. The first and last movements are percussion music for said instruments. In the second movement, the performers transform into a speech quartet; the music consists entirely of pieces of Gertrude Stein’s short poem “The World Is Round” (1938) spoken or sung. The third movement is optional. It includes a melody played by one of the performers on “any suitable instrument.”“Percussion Music” (1952) was written while Colgrass was a sophomore at the University of Illinois. After using up all his jazz drum solo ideas in “Three Brothers,” he knew he needed to look outside of jazz for inspiration and decided to experiment with a Bach-like counterpoint on drums without specific pitches. He created a “keyboard” of 16 sounds from low drums to high temple blocks that were divided among four players. Since Bach’s music was non-percussive, Colgrass intended the work to be a gentle and melodic form of drumming, providing percussionists with a feeling of musical equality and respectability with classical musicians. The toy drum part was written for cardboard-shelled toy drums. These toy drums or “timp-toms” had a very clear pitch and a long decay and inspired Colgrass to write other works for drums with specific pitches. The part is often played on roto-toms.Admission is $10 for adults; $5 for seniors, members of the military and FSU faculty and staff; and free for students and children. Tickets are available at the University box office in the Lane Center Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., by phone at 301-687-3137 or online at https://frostburgtix.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=2043. Tickets will also be available at the door on the evening of the concert.For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.

The SafeRide Program, an initiative of the Student Government Association, offers safe transportation to the students at Frostburg State University. SafeRide, a student-operated program, is free to all students. SafeRide runs almost anywhere in the city of Frostburg, including 7-Eleven, Weis, McDonalds, Burger King, Urgent Care, etc.SafeRide is just a tap away! Download the TransLoc app today! Use the app to request your ride and to receive notifications when your driver arrives! Sign in using your FSU credentials and request a ride during SafeRide hours!

FSU’s Department of Visual Arts Presents Its Senior Show, “Artistry in Bloom”Frostburg State University’s Department of Visual Arts will host its Spring 2024 Senior Exhibition, “Artistry in Bloom,” which will open with a reception on Saturday, May 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery in FSU’s Fine Arts Building. This exhibition, which is free and open to the public, will be on display through Friday, May 17.The student artists are as follows:Gage Adam will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, with a focus in painting. He expresses his emotions in visual form every time he creates, and his goal in art is to create a realm of being of emotional reactions strung together. He also hopes to pursue a career in tattooing.Danielle Bosley will graduate with a bachelor’s in illustration and a minor in business administration. Her goal is to freelance, writing comics, and eventually open her own restaurant.Kayla Donaldson will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, with a concentration in painting, a minor in art history and a minor in critical gender studies. After graduation, she hopes to continue to share her feminism and African diaspora with the public through her work and to inspire Black female artists to follow their dreams.Skylar Ellsworth will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, with a focus in graphic design and illustration. After graduation, she plans to work as a junior graphic designer for an advertising agency.Esther Foland will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, with focus areas in illustration and photography. After graduation, she plans to work in illustration while still doing photography on the side.Donya McFail Jr. will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, a dual concentration in graphic design and photography and a minor in graphic design. After graduation, McFail plans to pursue his master’ in teaching at FSU and continue pursuing freelance graphic design and photography work.Clayton McKenzie will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, with a focus in Illustration and a minor in graphic design and art history. After graduation, he plans to work on comics and webtoons.Gabrielle Oakes is graduating with a bachelor’s in art and design and concentrations in illustration and painting. After graduation, she plans to have her own studio and find a job as a courtroom sketch artist.Tyler Wetzel will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design and a minor in graphic design. Following graduation, he plans to utilize his skills within Adobe Suite to join a company's design team. Eventually, he would like to work independently on a contractual basis.Amelia Zou will graduate with a bachelor’s in art and design, with a focus in Illustration. Her plan after graduation is to continue working on her shop MilaPinDesigns on Etsy and sell her creations at anime conventions.For this show, the Roper Gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.For more information, contact Jackie Brown at jbrown@frostburg.edu.

Frostburg State University’s Department of Music Presents Spring Choral ConcertFrostburg State University’s Department of Music will present its Spring Choral Concert, titled “Peace, Love and Happiness,” on Saturday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center.Conducted by Dr. Scott Rieker, the FSU Chorale and Troubadours Tenor-Bass Choir will be joined by singers from Allegany College of Maryland and Mountain Ridge, Allegany and Fort Hill high schools for a springtime celebration of choral singing, featuring works by Pharrell Williams, The Beatles, Samuel Barber, Ivo Antognini, René Clausen and more.Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for members of the military, seniors, and FSU faculty and staff; and free for students and children. Tickets are available at the University box office in the Lane Center Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., by phone at 301-687-3137 or online at https://frostburgtix.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=2044. Tickets will also be available at the door on the evening of the concert.For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.

The SafeRide Program, an initiative of the Student Government Association, offers safe transportation to the students at Frostburg State University. SafeRide, a student-operated program, is free to all students. SafeRide runs almost anywhere in the city of Frostburg, including 7-Eleven, Weis, McDonalds, Burger King, Urgent Care, etc.SafeRide is just a tap away! Download the TransLoc app today! Use the app to request your ride and to receive notifications when your driver arrives! Sign in using your FSU credentials and request a ride during SafeRide hours!

Join the Catholic Campus Ministry for Sunday Noon Mass at Divine Mercy Parish at St. Michael Church, 44 E. Main Street, Frostburg. Transportation available by texting 410-300-4790