Office for Arts announces spring grant recipients

Sponsored in part by Harvard’s Office for the Arts (OfA) grant program, more than 1,000 students will participate in 38 projects in dance, music, theater, and multidisciplinary genres at the University this spring. Grants are designed to foster creative and innovative artistic initiatives among Harvard undergraduates.

Selected by the Council on the Arts at Harvard, the projects include music concerts by the Bach Society Orchestra; literary publications including Tuesday Magazine; cultural events such as the Korean Association’s annual show; visual arts initiatives to promote student involvement in the arts; and dance concerts.

Funded projects combine artistic merit, artistic experimentation, and educational benefit to undergraduates. They must also provoke a ripple effect within the University, involving the undergraduate population and providing visibility for undergraduate artistic efforts.

Council on the Arts members at the time of selection were Julie Buckler (chair), professor of Slavic languages and literatures and director of graduate studies; Elizabeth Bergmann, director, OfA dance program; S. Allen Counter, director, Harvard Foundation; Deborah Foster, assistant dean for undergraduate education; Jorie Graham, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory; Annette Lemieux, professor of the practice of visual and environmental studies; Cathleen McCormick, program director, OfA; Jack Megan, director, OfA; Robb Moss, Rudolf Arnheim Lecturer on Filmmaking and director of undergraduate studies; Carol Oja, William Powell Mason Professor of Music; Robert J. Orchard, managing director, Loeb Drama Center and the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.); Marcus Stern, associate director, A.R.T. and the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training; and John Stewart, senior preceptor in music.

The OfA, which administers the grants, also offers grants for projects taking place during Arts First 2007 – Harvard’s annual celebration of the arts. For further information, visit http://www.fas.harvard.edu/ofa.

Grants for dance

Crimson Dance Team in Concert, Kristen Calandrelli ’10: OfA Grant for a concert featuring a wide range of dance styles, from ballet to tap, lyrical, cultural, and modern, as well as student-choreographed pieces.

Expressions Dance Company spring show, Pamela Santoyo ’08: Esther Kahn Grant for a performance showcasing various genres of dance, including hip-hop, jazz, and modern.

Harvard Ballet Company spring concert, Jordan Roberts ’09: OfA Grant for performances featuring a new student-choreographed piece as well as two newly commissioned works by professional choreographers.

Mainly Jazz Dance Company, off Broadway, Christine Fitzgerald ’07: Esther Kahn Grant for a concert showcasing student choreography to classic Broadway and other musical theater hits, with guest performers TAPS and the Crimson Dance Team.

Harvard-Radcliffe Dance Company spring concert, Julia Lindpaintner ’09: Felicia Eckstein Lipson Grant for the annual spring show of pieces ranging from traditional modern to improvisation, and featuring multimedia collaborative work with live music, poetry reading, and video.

Grants for literature

Cinematic: The Harvard Annual Film Review, Lindsay Maizel ’09: OfA Grant for an issue that provides a review of trends and innovations in remarkable movies, including independent and international works, for the year.

Harvard Book Review, spring 2007 issue, Sara Heukerott ’08: OfA Grant for the publication of a wide-ranging collection of student literary reviews.

Swadharma, Dharma (Hindu Student Association), Lekha Rani Tummalapalli ’09: OfA Grant for the second issue of Harvard’s only journal that focuses on topics in Hinduism.

Tuesday Magazine, spring edition, Russell Krupen ’07: OfA Grant for a general interest publication providing a forum for student essays, fiction, and poetry, as well as opinion pieces and artwork.

Diversity & Distinction Magazine, Appreciation or Appropriation? (Winter 2006 issue), Jessica Harmon ’07: OfA Grant for an issue examining how elements from minority cultural groups are integrated into mainstream society, and how American art (e.g., fashion and visual representation) is shaped by the sensibilities of minority cultures.

Grants for multidisciplinary arts

Black Arts Festival, the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, Michael Vinson ’07: OfA Grant for a festival featuring a performance showcase, theater production, and jazz brunch, all focusing on the New Black Aesthetic, comprising art that pushes the envelope of what black identity is and means.

Artists’ Collaborative Web site, David Rice: Richard Solomon Grant for the production of a Web site to connect musical, visual, performance, and other artists at Harvard.

Grants for music

“Der Rosenkavalier,” Lowell House Opera, Sarah Eggleston ’07: OfA Grant for the Lowell House Opera’s 69th annual production, an ambitious and large-scale opera involving Harvard students and professionals.

RecKlez, Harvard Klezmer Band, Jessica Bloom ’07: OfA Grant for on-campus performances and workshops.

Mozart Society Orchestra spring concert, Ching Yeh ’09: Richard Solomon Grant for a concert including works by Ravel, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn, and featuring the winner of the Freshman Concerto Competition.

Sangeet, music education program, Ramya Parthasarathy ’09: OfA Grant for a music program for undergraduates to pursue their interest in the various genres and styles of South Asian music.

Fallen Angels spring concert, Leslie Lee ’09: Richard Solomon Grant for a concert that aims to raise awareness of the expanding opportunities for women at Harvard to use their vocal talent.

Holden Chamber Ensembles spring concert, Michael Barrett ’97: OfA Grant for a performance of German sacred music for vocal soloists, chamber choir, and instrumental ensemble.

Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum Chamber Singers’ spring concert 2007, Shai Bronshtein ’09: OfA Grant for a concert of early Renaissance and Medieval music.

Bach Society Orchestra spring concerts, Megan Galbreth ’08: OfA Grant for the orchestra’s spring season performances, including works of Schumann, Rossini, and Beethoven.

Radcliffe Choral Society (RCS), “‘Cliffe Notes Senior Sing,” Bianca Calderon ’09: OfA Grant for an a cappella jam organized by the ‘Cliffe Notes featuring senior members of the RSC as soloists.

Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, 37th annual Dean Archie C. Epps spring concert, Alberta Hsueh-Min Yen ’07: OfA Grant for the annual spring concert.

The Harvard Pops Orchestra 10th anniversary concert, David Daniels ’09: OfA Grant for a performance celebrating a decade of the Pops.

The Harvard Undergraduate Drummers (THUD) spring 2007 concert, Paul Mumma ’09: OfA Grant for a concert featuring a variety of ensemble pieces, including both traditional and nontraditional percussion instruments.

Dunster House Opera Society (DHO), “The Marriage of Figaro,” Matthew Spellberg ’09: Herbert T. Cobey Grant for the 15th annual production of DHO.

Harvard Wind Ensemble, “Time and the Winds,” Grace Schroer ’09: OfA Grant for a concert representing the musical timeline of wind literature.

Grants for theater

“Bright Lights, Big City,” Barry Adam Shafrin ’09: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a stage adaptation of the Jay McInerney novel chronicling the madness of one man’s descent into the drug culture of the 1980s.

Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, “Company,” Kara Kaufman ’08: Herbert T. Cobey Grant for a production of the Stephen Sondheim musical comedy.

Harvard Story-Time Players’ spring show, Larissa Koch ’08: Herbert T. Cobey Grant for a student-written, -directed, and -produced show dedicated to bringing interactive theater to children in hospitals and other venues.

Harvard STAGE, “The Fantasticks,” Rory Sullivan ’09: Herbert T. Cobey Grant for a production that will involve inner-city Boston children from schools with little or no arts funding.

Grants for traditional cultural arts

Korean Association annual culture show, Grace Kim ’09: OfA Grant for an annual culture show featuring musical performances, skits, and traditional dances.

Harvard-Radcliffe Chinese Students Association Chinese New Year Banquet, Angela Yue Ying ’09: OfA Grant for a cultural arts performance celebrating the Chinese New Year.

“Presencia Latina,” Maria Herrera, ’07: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a cultural show featuring music, dance, poetry, and visual art.

Harvard Pan-African Dance and Music Ensemble, “Roots of Rhythm: A Celebration of African Music and Dance,” Oluwatobi Ogbechie ’09: Timothy S. Mayer Grant for a show that will trace African music and dance from its inception in Africa through the Caribbean and the Americas.

Grants for visual arts

Adams ARTspace student board, “Get Inside the ARTspace!,” Edmund Levin ’08: Richard Solomon Grant to support programming of studio and gallery space in Adams House available to all undergraduates.

Harvard College Art Society, “Imagining Spaces,” Jenny Wanger ’09: Richard Solomon Grant for the student art exhibition and art-centered undergraduate newsletter.

The Sackler Museum Access Project, Alexandra Hays ’09: Richard Solomon Grant for the use of podcast technology as a platform for making the museum a more inviting and accessible place.

“Squares: A Performance of Buoyancy, Concentration and Dispersion,” Eden McDowell ’08: Richard Solomon Grant for an installation/performance featuring helium-filled balloons.