Jonathan Laabs (MM 2017, Music) was announced as the new director for the Sheboygan Symphony Chorus. “We are thrilled to welcome Jonathan Laabs as Director of the Sheboygan Symphony Chorus,” said Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra’s music director Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi. “Jonathan …
Guitarist, composer, and UWM alum Ben Dameron (MM 2017, Music) is co-leading the emerging jazz ensemble Heirloom as they prepare to release their debut album Familiar Beginnings this September. Rooted in the classical foundations of jazz, the record offers a …
UWM alum Jane Michalski (BFA 1978) is exhibiting her new collection of hot wax art titled “Enduring Process” at Door County’s Idea Gallery. Inspired by her love of the natural world, Michalski takes inspiration from the rock formations and forest …
Tate Bunker (Teaching Faculty I, Film) was featured on Civic Media’s “Nite Lite” with Pete Schwaba to talk about the process of making his 2019 feature film “The Field.” “The Field,” based in Manitowoc, is a thriller that follows a …
Peck School of the Arts alum and film producer Kurt Sensenbrenner (BFA 2011, Film) is set to screen his new film series “The Low-Phe Life” at Green Lake’s Thrasher Opera House on Thursday, May 29. “The Low-Phe Life’ is a …
Kathryn Henry (BA 2016, Music), a soprano, was named one of 10 finalists in 2025’s Paris Opera Competition, a biennial competition devoted to discovering and helping promote early-career opera singers. Henry began auditioning for the competition in late 2024. …
Outside The Bachs, a music studio development company owned by UWM PSOA alum Kelly Riordan (BA, 2017, Music: Clarinet Performance) and business partner, Isak Peterson (BA, 2015, Economics), announced that their business has surpassed $10 million in client revenue. Riordan …
Guitar performance and music education student Annika Nelson is the recipient of multiple scholarships, which allow her to attend the Volterra Project Guitar Festival in Italy and the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute in North Carolina over the summer. Nelson’s …
Randall “Randy” Caspersen (BA 1995, Film) was the 2025 recipient of Northern Illinois University’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. As an associate professor of Media Studies in NIU’s Communication’s Department, Caspersen was honored for his community filmmaking efforts and work …
Jesse Malmed (Assistant Professor, Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres) has been in the midst of a busy spring presenting a variety of works. Malmed premiered two new archival photo projects as part of The Chicago Cluster exhibition “Don’t Make Photographs, …
On March 9, alum Kurt Ravenwood (BFA, Film, 2011) spoke on a panel at media festival SXSW in Austin, Texas. Ravenwood discussed pursuing film production outside of New York and Los Angeles. Ravenwood was one of the minds behind 2024’s …
Master of Music student Alberto Daniel Quintanilla recently won First Prize at the prestigious Columbus Guitar Symposium. Quintanilla’s victory helps cement PSOA’s reputation as a leader in classical guitar education, as the Columbus Guitar Symposium is considered a “proving ground …
Scott Cary (BFA 2014, Film) composed the music and lyrics for ‘Tales of the Ten,’ an adaptation of Boccaccio’s The Decameron. The play premiered on Feb. 11 as part of the New Works Festival at the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago. …
Alvaro Saar Rios (Associate Professor, Playwriting; Area Head, Theatre Practices) is premiering his latest play “Quetzali and the Comic Book Queen vs. the Alebrije of Darkness: Live in the School Cafeteria” at Kentucky’s Lexington Children’s Theatre. American Theatre magazine profiled the work. …
Raeleen McMillion (Teaching Faculty II, Voice, Speech and Dialects), former theatre faculty Jenny Wanasek, and former voice faculty Michelle Lopez-Rios were recognized at a recent Milwaukee Chamber Theatre reception. The trio are previous recipients of the the Ruth Schudson Leading Lady …
