Emory & Henry Trumpet Ensemble Earns Elite Spots

Trumpet Ensemble Earns Spots in Elite National, International Events

The Emory & Henry College Trumpet Ensemble has been selected to compete and perform this spring at two of the world's most prestigious trumpet events.

The ensemble will compete March 12-15 at the National Trumpet Competition at George Mason University, joining musicians from such elite trumpet programs as the Julliard School, Northwestern University, Boston University and The University of Texas.

On May 26-30, the E&H ensemble will travel to Harrisburg, Pa., to perform at the annual conference of the International Trumpet Guild. This year, only 15 ensembles from around the world were invited to participate in the concert.

"These are the equivalent of going to the Super Bowl and the Olympics, both in the same year," said Dr. Matthew Frederick, the director of the ensemble. "It is a very high honor for any trumpet soloist or ensemble to be selected for either of these events. The fact that the E&H ensemble has landed invitations to both events is an extremely great honor."

It is very unusual for small colleges to be included in the competitions, Frederick said. In the case of the national competition, Emory & Henry is the only school represented with a student population of less than 10,000.

The selection for both events was based on recordings submitted to selection committees. Once a school wins an invitation to the competitions, it competes against all schools in the competition, regardless of size.

Frederick said the E&H ensemble, which is in its sixth year of existence, stands out both because of its execution of the music and its ability to play with excitement. "We strive to play more than the notes; we seek to perform powerfully with passion."

He said another important aspect of the ensemble is that the members are all "very smart." They come from a variety of education disciplines (four of the seven members are non-music majors). "Most of the other groups represented at both events are made up solely of music majors, and the fact that ours is made up of students from across many different disciplines really makes the group stand out even more," Frederick said.

Members of the ensemble include Jonathan Todd, senior music performance major, Independence, Va.; Joe Hamil, senior psychology major, Johnson City, Tenn.; Jared Drapkin, senior geography major, Cincinnati, Ohio; Rachel Enigk, junior biology and pre-med major, Bluefield, W.Va.; LeeAnne Reese, sophomore music education major, Damascus, Va.; Thomas Smith, sophomore music education major, Concord, Calif.; Patrick Smith, first-year undecided, Hillsville, Va.

"This is a really big honor for the instrumental program at Emory & Henry," Frederick said. "And for a program that is only in its sixth year to achieve both national and international recognition … that is just very special."

E&H Professor Releases Third Chapbook Collection of Poems

A keen observer of the landscape of the natural world and its corollary terrain of the heart, poet and E&H English professor Felicia Mitchell has just had her third chapbook collection, The Cleft of the Rock, published by award-winning Finishing Line Press.

This small collection of poems follows “There is No Map,” published in 2008 by Dead Mule School of Southern Literature and “Earthenware Fertility Figure,” published in 1999 as a first-prize winner of the Talent House Chapbook Competition.

Poet Marilyn Kallet says that Felicia Mitchell’s poems are “packed with wonders, like succulent fig preserves or red cherries—savor and devour them.” Kallet comments, “Each poem is a song with hints of the folkloric and mythic laced through. Erotic energy plumps the verbal fruits as well. The reader feels refreshed by the poet's generous and tender attention to details of the natural world, as well as to the reader's thirst for beauty. This is the magic world, where everything is sentient, everything breathes and sings.”

Listed in Poets & Writers Directory, Virginia Commission for the Arts Directory of Writers, and Contemporary Authors, Felicia Mitchell has received fellowships and scholarships in the past from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Salzburg Seminar. Since 2003, she has written a weekly column for The Washington County News. For over 20 years, her poems have been published widely in literary magazines and anthologies. In addition to her poems, she has published scholarly articles on poetry and writing and edited books, including Her Words. Diverse Voices in Contemporary Appalachian Women’s Poetry from the University of Tennessee Press.

The cover art for Mitchell’s new book features a reproduction of a monotype by award-winning artist Charles Goolsby, department chair and Professor of Art at Emory & Henry College.

Finishing Line Press is a poetry publisher based in Georgetown, Kentucky. In addition to the Chapbook Series, it publishes the New Women’s Voices Series and sponsors the Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition. Finishing Line Press and editor Leah Maines were featured in both the 2001 and 2002 Poet’s Markets.

To order online, go to www.finishinglinepress.

E&H Art Professor Featured in Reputable Arts Journal

An Emory & Henry professor was recently featured in a question-and-answer section of a popular Midwest regional arts and educational electronic and print journal.

ChweeKim Koek was quoted in the “Potter Asks” portion of the online Art-to-Art Palette Journal, a publication centrally focused on art and education. The publication includes reports on schools, teachers and other partners in arts education.

Koek’s featured artwork, an installation entitled “Dreamland,” is from her “Paint My Paradise” series and includes a group of individual pieces resting near or linked to each other. Another featured piece is a single s-shaped with smaller pieces nestled inside entitled “Ecstasy.” Both pieces were low-fired, hand-built stoneware with underglaze.

Managing Editor of The Potter’s Shed Ralph Stuckman asks Koek, “What has been your extraordinary journey?”

"My wealth of experience has accumulated over the years. I earned a Diploma in Applied Arts from the Baharuddin Vocational Institute in Singapore. My practice then began as a senior graphic designer in Singapore for 8 years,” said Koek. “As primary interests in ceramics grew, it became my primary medium of expression. I then ventured to Louisiana State University for a BFA and then a MFA at Syracuse University earned in 2006. I have been an Assistant Professor at Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia since 2006. My challenge has been to further develop the three dimensional aspect of our art program."

Koek’s most recent accomplishments include an upcoming exhibition at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History in Danville, Va.; exhibitions at The 1912 Gallery in Emory, Va.; Collins Art Gallery in Grand Rapids, Mich.; the Bluefield Area Arts and Science Center in Bluefield, W.Va.; and the FOST Gallery in Singapore. She was also recently published at www.CeramicArtsDaily.org.

E&H Presents Bittersweet Comedy, ‘Vanities,’ Feb. 26-28, March 1

The Emory & Henry College Theatre Department will present a bittersweet comedy that chronicles the lives of three women Feb. 26-28 and March 1.

Written by Jack Heifner, “Vanities” is an astute, snapshot-sharp chronicle of the lives of three girls. In 1963, Joanne, Kathy and Mary are aggressively vivacious cheerleaders. Five years later in their college sorority house, they are confronting their futures with nervous jauntiness. In 1974 as mature women, they reunite briefly in New York to see if their strong relationships, shown in the beginning scene of the play, still remain.

The play is directed by Christianne Rolls with design and technical supervision by Richard Wolf-Spencer.

Advanced reservations are recommended. Students, faculty and staff of Emory & Henry are admitted free of charge. Tickets for adults are $8 in advance for $10 at the door. Students from other institutions are admitted for $3. Call 276-944-6846 or write atcoulth@ehc.edu for reservations.