Alumni in the News

Elliott Forrest (BA, Drama, 1979) is a familiar voice for fans of classical music in New York City. He can be heard regularly on WQXR, Classical 105.9. Each year he produces an annual radio reading of A Christmas Carol and this year directed Brian Cox as Ebenezer Scrooge. Last summer, he produced an extremely successful large scale concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a new production will be created for summer 2013. Forrest has also signed a contract to create a production for the Houston Symphony in 2014. Additionally, he recently signed a deal with Simon and Schuster to write a book about classical music with Alec Baldwin.

Mary Dave Blackman (Ph.D., Music Education, 1989) has published a textbook for music appreciation courses. An Introduction to Art Music is an eBook that uses listening materials from the Classical Music Library, an online resource with more than 500 university subscribers. The text is published by Kendall Hunt and approaches material from the point of view of a music educator, not a musicologist.

Alumna Teal Triggs (BFA, Studio Art, 1979 and MA, Art History, 1983), was recently appointed as Associate Dean of the College of Communication at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, UK. She is also on faculty at the RCA as a professor of graphic design. 

This year's Annual Juried Printmaking Show takes place at Gallery Black Lagoon from January 18 to February 10, 2013. Fifteen students from the UT Department of Art and Art History will feature more than 30 of their printmaking works in the annual show. The opening reception will be held January 18 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Gallery Black Lagoon, 4301 Guadalupe Street in Austin, TX.

Music Performance alum David Cloyd (BM, 1998) will officially launch Hook & Ladder Records, an imprint on ECR Music Group, on January 22, 2013.

Besides being the owner of Hook & Ladder Records, Cloyd has released two albums (Unhand Me, You Fiend! in 2009 and I Could Disappear in 2010) and is currently ECR Music Group's executive vice president of creative operations.

The label's first release, Caroline Fenn's debut album Fragile Chances, is currently slated for a worldwide release in January.

Maxine Price (MFA, Art, 1959) is featured in three upcoming gallery shows around Texas.

From December 1 through December 22, Price's works will be showcased at  Femme in Austin, TX at The Russell Collection. Featuring eleven of the women artists represented by The Russell Collection, Price will be present at the artist reception on December 1 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

In Houston, Thornwood Gallery's end of the year group show will run December 1 through January 2. The opening reception will be held December 1 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Finally, the Kirchman Gallery's Holiday Extravaganza event in Johnson City, TX will also feature works by Price. Stop by on Sunday, December 9 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm for light finger food, wine and champagne.

This November, Maxine Price (BFA, 1959) is featured in the Kirchman Gallery Holiday Show. The show opened on November 11th with live music from Homer Whisenant. The Kirchman Gallery is located at 213 North Nugent Street in Johnson City, TX.

Tiny Park Gallery, co-run by Thao Votang (BA, Art History, 2008) and Brian Willey, will present "Divergent Space", a one-person exhibition of new paintings by Leah Haney (BFA, Studio Art, 2010). The opening will be on Friday, December 7, 2012 from 7pm to 11pm and the exhibition will be available for viewing through January 5 on Saturdays from 12 pm-5 pm. 

Tiny Park Gallery is located at 1101 Navasota Street in Austin, TX.

Running from November 8 to November 18, the East Austin Studio Tour (EAST) features artists, studios, exhibition spaces, pop-up shows, and tons of art-centered events that highlight the Austin arts scene.

Many COFA alumni will also be participating in EAST. Thao Votang (BA, Art History, 2008), along with her partner Brian Willey, will be participating through their gallery Tiny Park while Art Therapy Austin, owned by Deanna Miesch (BFA, Studio Art, 2006), will exhibit new work for one day only on November 11th from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Arts organization Recession Art is hosting a group show called Prolonged Exposure, hosted at the Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, NY. The show will feature alumna Megan Liu Kincheloe (BFA, Studio Art, 2009) and is on view through November 10th.