Alumni in the News

Barbara Zabel (M.A., Art, 1971) continues to teach courses at museums in Connecticut, despite retiring 10 years ago. She also curates exhibitions, most recently "Art of the Anthropocene" at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum and the exhibition "Fire and Ice," co-curated with artist Timothy McDowell for the Art Department at Connecticut College. 

Michael Benson (D.M.A., Piano, 2008, M.M., Piano, 1995) began his tenth year serving as an Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Malone University in Canton, Ohio and his sixth year serving as chair for the Department of Music. Benson continues to serve as the Ohio Music Teachers Association's state chair for the Buckeye Auditions and was recently elected to serve on the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE) Board of Directors.

Miguel Aragon (M.F.A., Studio Art, 2012) has been awarded the 2020 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in the category of Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts by The New York Foundation for the Arts. In addition, Aragon has also been named a New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Fellow. Photo by Xavier Minguella

Luis Rodriguez (B.M., Voice and Opera, 2010) was recently appointed operations manager for the Plano Symphony Orchestra in Plano, Texas. He continues to work as librarian and cover conductor for the Plano Symphony, as well as librarian for Irving Symphony Orchestra. Photo by Michal Dembinski

Audrey Bounds (B.A., Music, 2015) has joined Austin FC, The 27th Club in Major League Soccer, as the Director of Event Booking. Photo by Anne Claire Patterson

Midori Samson (M.M., Bassoon Performance, 2016) is participating in the Peace Studio's 100 Offerings of Peace campaign with a musical arts piece entitled "Crystals (On Peace)."

Joni Zavitsanos (B.F.A., Studio Art, 1986) is creating an art memorial for the City of Houston, depicting more than 160 lives lost due to COVID-19. Photo by Diamantis Zavitsanos

Writer Andrew Hinderaker’s (M.F.A., Playwriting, 2013) new series, Away, is now streaming on Netflix. The space drama follows a woman on the first human-led mission to Mars after leaving behind her husband and daughter. Photo courtesy of Netflix

In January 2021, Dallas Contemporary will open a newly created video by Ariel René Jackson (M.F.A., Studio Art, 2019.  Ariel René Jackson: Doubt & Imagination was commissioned by the show's curator, Emily Edwards (B.A., Art History, 2015). The video debuts a lyrical film essay, combining poetry, memoir and research overlaid with in-camera effects.  Film still courtesy of Ariel René Jackson

A group of alumni from the Department of Theatre and Dance collaborated recently on a new radio play. The creative team for Passage, a radio play by The Heartland Theatre Collective, includes Nicole Oglesby (B.A., Theatre, 2016), playwright and producer, directors Marian Kansas (B.A., Theatre, 2016) and Rosalind Faires (B.A., Theatre, 2015) and writer/performer Will Douglas.