Current and former theatre faculty recognized at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre reception
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 Ruth Schudson Leading Lady Award.
They attended the reception to honor N’Jameh Camara, the 2025 recipient of the award. This Milwaukee Chamber Award is given yearly to an exemplary individual who has made significant contributions to Milwaukee’s theater community.
Film alum featured in Milwaukee Magazine
Ty Williams (BFA 2020, Film) was recently featured in a Milwaukee Magazine article highlighting his work curating the 2025 Milwaukee Film Black Lens series.
Williams has worked with Oriental Theatre and Milwaukee Film since 2019, stepping into the role as a curator for the ongoing Black History Month run of screenings.
“I’ve been thinking mostly about films that would accompany a wide range of audiences and provide an experience where nobody would feel like they’d look at the list and not find at least one film to attend,” Williams said in a Milwaukee Magazine article. “I wanted this to be for somebody and also for everybody, so that way our community can come together and celebrate Black History Month and not feel they’re excluded in any way.”
Guest choreographer Jackie Lopez brings Hip Hop history and women’s empowerment to Winterdances 2025
Winterdances: Perfectly Wild opens on Thursday, January 30, and features the work of PSOA Dance faculty members with a special piece from Los Angeles-based guest choreographer Jackie Lopez.
Lopez has been a practitioner of Street Dance and Hip Hop for the last 25 years and is currently a lecturer at UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, where she is building and teaching Street Dance and Hip Hop curriculum. During the fall semester, Lopez visited UWM to work with PSOA dance students and choreograph her Winterdances piece, “Her-Story Her-Spirit.”
“All of them really spoke to me”
Lopez choreographed a Street Dance-style piece while engaging with PSOA students during a week of intensive masterclasses. Despite Street Dance’s popularity on social media and in the mainstream, there are still many who do not understand the genre in-depth, something that Lopez tries to work on with her students.
“[Street Dance] is still very new,” said Lopez. “As popular as it is, people do not get the sense of foundation and technique and the historical context that comes with it.”
In collaborating with Milwaukee students, Lopez found that a House Dance piece was the one that “captivated [students] the most.”
Throughout her time at PSOA, Lopez was able to form lasting bonds and connections with students.
Dance students worked with Lopez (not pictured) in Fall 2024 when she visited UWM to choreograph her Winterdances piece, “Her-Story Her-Spirit.”
“I think I was able to gain really genuine relationships and connections during the week,” said Lopez. “The hardest part is that it’s just a week… This cast in particular is really special to me. All of them really spoke to me.”
On the final day of Lopez’s week at PSOA, Daniel Burkholder (Chair, Department of Dance), alongside faculty and community members, watched the final rehearsal. The opportunity to perform the material for a live audience proved powerful and essential to the success of Lopez and her dancers, according to Lopez.
“I knew whatever we put together worked with the reaction of the audience,” said Lopez. “Something clicks when there’s an audience watching you and the girls really went into character with intention… I remember getting chills. I was so proud of them.”
“We were able to grow together”
Lopez credited her work with students as being an important and emotionally charged experience. This same sentiment was reciprocated by her students.
Phairra Jones
Phairra Jones (Dance BA, Junior) is a Hip Hop-based dancer who responded well to Lopez’s style of choreography. Jones described how Hip Hop can be represented poorly in modern times, feeling that Lopez was instrumental in bringing the communal foundation of the style to PSOA students.
“Since the early 1970s, Hip Hop has been an outlet for a lot of oppressed people to release their emotions,” said Jones. “[Lopez] really brought the historical type of Hip Hop to UWM. It focuses on the community part of Hip Hop, which is my favorite part.”
According to Jones, Lopez was honest about her life as a Latina mother, using her life experience to teach the meaning of Hip Hop.
“She teaches through her story of being oppressed,” said Jones. “She tells her story as she teaches Hip Hop… It’s such an inspiring way to teach. Jackie makes you want to work harder because she worked so hard to get to where she is now, and she still loves it.”
Abigail Knueppel
Many other students, such as Abigail Knueppel (Dance BFA, Junior), did not come from a Hip Hop background but found Lopez’s history, work, and motivating attitude instrumental in pushing themselves further as dancers.
“It really brought us all closer with that extra motivation to be a unifying group of women,” said Knueppel. “Not a lot of us had traditional Hip Hop backgrounds… We were able to grow together.”
Like most of Lopez’s all-female cast, Knueppel responded to the themes of women empowerment that are apparent in her choreography. Knueppel noted how the effort students put into Lopez’s piece serves as a parallel to what the dance is conveying.
“I’m really proud of how all of us have worked together,” said Knueppel. “It’s truly a testament to women’s empowerment and the power in working together to get to a specific objective.”
For some students, working with Lopez was their final chance to interact with a guest choreographer while at UWM, including Charlotte Reynolds (Dance BFA, Senior).
Charlotte Reynolds
Reynolds described how working with Lopez was fulfilling, serving as a reminder that dancers, like all artists, should strive to be multifaceted in their work.
“This was my first experience with a Hip Hop choreographer who choreographed a piece meant for the stage,” said Reynolds. “It was really great and a big reminder to everyone in the program that to be professional you need to be versatile… She was so knowledgeable and so inspiring throughout the whole process.”
As Reynolds and other senior dancers finish their undergraduate education and head into the professional world or graduate studies, Lopez offered to be a resource and contact to keep in mind for the years ahead.
“Working with guest artists is great networking and experience working in a different style,” said Reynolds. “I’ve been blessed to be in lots of guest artist pieces and every time it just opens up a new opportunity.”
Winterdances: Perfectly Wild opens January 30 and runs through Feb 2 on the Mainstage Theatre. Tickets and more information can be found on the PSOA Events Calendar.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Accomplished professor’s PSOA exhibit featured on PBS
Raoul Deal’s (Teaching Faculty Emeritus, Community Arts) recent exhibition “Continuum 24: Where Everything Begins” was featured on an episode of the Milwaukee PBS program, Adelante. “Continuum” ran throughout September 2024 and was a career retrospective featuring artwork from Deal’s time spent in Mexico and South America to the culture shock of moving his family to Milwaukee, and everywhere in between.
To watch Deal’s feature on Adelante, visit Milwaukee PBS.
Janelle VanderKelen (MA 2014, MFA 2016) recently received a Creative Capital Award in the 2025 Film/Moving Image category. Former FVANG faculty member Lori Felker also received an award in the same category.
The Creative Capital Awards recognized 49 projects from 55 artists nationwide focused on a wide variety of art disciplines.
Laura Lofton (BFA 2000, Art Education) was recently awarded the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) Outstanding Educators Award for her work at MPS’s Escuela Vieau, a bilingual school for K3 – 8th grade.
In a Milwaukee Public Schools article, Lofton describes how she became an art teacher because of how important art was to her as a child.
“I looked forward to art class every week. It’s easy, if you feel like you’re good at something,” Lofton said. “I try to make my kids all feel like they’re good at it.”
In addition to teaching art, Lofton leads Escuela Vieau’s Girls on the Run chapter and coaches robotics.
Film alum receives Creative Capital Award for experimental documentary
Janelle VanderKelen (MA 2014, MFA 2016) recently received a Creative Capital Award in the 2025 Film/Moving Image category. VanderKelen received the award for her project “The Golden Thread,” a 16mm feature that highlights how unseen fungi help mitigate climate change, according to ArtsKnoxville.
The Creative Capital Award gives VanderKelen a grant to help her continue working on this experimental documentary. The Creative Capital announcement noted that this piece, which will be filmed in Germany, will discuss plant collaboration and human agriculture, among other environmental topics.
The Creative Capital Awards recognized 49 projects from 55 artists nationwide focused on a wide variety of art disciplines.
To read more about VanderKelen’s work, visit ArtsKnoxville.
Team of alumni and students launch online job networking app for artists
Recent PSOA graduates, one current student, and other colleagues in the Milwaukee area are making it easier for artists to find opportunities with their startup called ArtsConnect.
This project began in December 2022 on the UWM campus, when then-student Lilith Lenz (BA 2023, Music) noticed that her fellow music students wanted another resource to help find work in the arts.
Lenz, who is now ArtsConnect CEO, noticed that there are a variety of job opportunities available for arts students; what was lacking was a way to find them tailored to creatives.
“I know the struggles to find a job and feel confused about what to do,” said Lenz. “Often times Wisconsin students may think ‘Do I have to move to New York or LA to find work?’ But there are options out there. Knowing the options is really our core value.”
Lenz approached current UWM student Noah Welsh during a Community of Creative Arts meeting with the idea for a site that provided mentorship and connections for young artists. Welsh would become ArtsConnect’s Chief Creative Officer.
A mockup of the ArtsConnect app | Submitted graphic
Now, ArtsConnect is a resource for students that strives to inspire and empower creative minds by helping them build a network and find work opportunities in the arts. Lenz and Welsh now work alongside marketing director Richard Minten (BFA 2024, Film), Chief Financial Officer Alex Cox, and Chief Technology Officer Mitchell Allen.
“Our mission is really to give young creative talent the opportunity to grow and network,” said Lenz. “We want to give artists the opportunity to find jobs but also to showcase their talents.”
As a new startup, Lenz and the company are still seeking ways to expand ArtsConnect. Their most recent creative endeavor is the launch of their Pilot Program, which gives users first access to ArtsConnect functionality, including job opportunities, internships, and creative projects.
The mission of ArtsConnect is not currently driven by profiting off students eager to find jobs.
“The future of ArtsConnect is not just to make a lot of money,” said Lenz. “The future is to create a thriving environment for creative minds. We want students to not be scared of finding a job.”
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Art & Design seniors reflect on their work in end of semester exhibitions
In December, Art & Design students took one last chance in the Fall semester to showcase their work to the campus community. Senior students got to display said work at the DVC Showcase and BA/BFA Exhibition, with both events offering a wide array of work born out of thoughtful and diverse creative research.
DVC Showcase
On Dec. 6, the Design & Visual Communications program presented “hereafter.” This showcase celebrated the hard work of DVC seniors who spent the last three months engaging with complex research projects about what our futures may look like.
Each student developed a “what if” statement that guided their research and artistic vision.
Alondra Arteaga focused her project on catastrophic and unpredictable weather and how it could foster a culture of intertwined connectivity. Arteaga and other students were encouraged to write lore for their projects, which led Arteaga to write about characters living through this extreme climate.
As an avid writer, Arteaga turned much of her writing and research into journal entries that were used as tactile in her project.
“I thought ‘What would I want the user to experience while they’re reading these things?’” said Arteaga. “It took a lot of trial and error and a lot of sketches.”
The work is centered on Arteaga’s desire to discuss climate justice in an empathetic way that felt immersive, something she feels is often lacking when discussing climate issues. She also had a strong desire to include aspects of her heritage in the piece, leading to lots of Spanish text being used in the final product.
“I have always had a very deep respect for the Earth,” said Arteaga. “Especially being Latina, I feel like whenever I go back home, it always feels like I’m connected to the Earth.”
Grace Zimmermann also centered her work on climate issues, creating a dystopian community in which seed manufacturers had to design a crop that could survive severe weather due to humans losing access to food and water.
“It was more so a warning that this is not a good future,” said Zimmermann. “I wanted the design to be unsettling and make the point that we can never replace nature.”
Zimmermann was inspired by her work on a farm that has involved interacting with customers who do not always understand why and how plants die. She sought to explore that theme with her work, describing this future as one of regression.
“Having [climate change] visually represented is one way that people can start to realize it,” said Zimmermann. “The main issue is that people just aren’t seeing it.”
Attendees at DVC Showcase | Photo by Cameron Wise (BFA Film)
BA/BFA Showcase
Art & Design’s BA/BFA Exhibition happens twice a year and allows that semester’s graduating class to display art they worked on in their lead-up to graduation.
This group of seniors graduating this December explored a wide array of topics that covered students’ passions and interests outside of their artistic practice.
Madeline Prodoehl’s work documented her journey as a rock climber with a book full of stories, photos, and jewelry with prints from her climbing community.
One of the most important aspects of this piece for Prodoehl was the ability to showcase her love of the sport and community in a public setting.
“I feel like you don’t usually get to have people look at your work outside of class,” said Prodoehl. “Most of the people here make work very meaningful and personal to them. So being able to show the public that work and have it in the public’s eyes is really important and special.”
Kaleb Wendler focused on a similarly physical activity for his piece, documenting biking through Milwaukee on 35mm color film.
Attendees at BA/BFA Exhibition | Photo by Cameron Wise (BFA Film)
Wendler has been a bike messenger for his last two years of living in Milwaukee while also relying on biking as a go-to mode of transportation. He described it as a “huge part” of his life, prompting him to pursue a project that shows Milwaukee through his perspective.
“The project is to immerse the viewer in this experience to acknowledge their surroundings,” said Wendler. “Whether it’s people, buildings, shadows… Just all the things that make Milwaukee unique and the perspective that being on a bicycle gives that person.”
Pavonis Giron took a different approach, pursuing a series of sculptural and two-dimensional pieces that focus on “the vessel form as though they were artifacts found by a far-future civilization.”
Giron describes how the vessels changed without human influence, becoming their own species in a project that is aimed at scrutinizing gender and societal roles.
“Going into my senior semesters, I had become interested in material exploration and knew I wanted to pursue research into work that could degrade or be reconstituted after the life of the piece had passed,” said Giron. “It questions the stories we tell about ourselves, both on an individual level as well as a larger, societal one.”
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Film alum’s life and work featured in Shepherd Express
Gabriella Cisneros (BFA 2018, Film) was recently featured in a Shepherd Express article discussing her work and career, including her latest film, 2024’s “Impermanence.”
The piece documents Cisneros’ origins in rural Wisconsin, which profoundly impacted her and her love of photography, describing to Shepherd Express how she would make documentaries of family vacations.
“I would film and take photos of stuff on family vacations, and then I would edit it in Windows Movie Maker into a documentary of our trip,” Cisneros said. “It was very thematic, I would pick out specific songs that would make sense with where we were.”
Since 2019, Cisneros has worked at Porchlight Book Company as a creative director. “Impermanence” is currently being submitted to film festivals.
To read more about Cisneros and her work, visit Shepherd Express.
Students reflect on exhibition and experience to use jewelry as a messaging device
During the fall semester, the Jewelry & Metalsmithing program hosted “Jewelry Speaks: The Voice of the Jill Wine-Banks Pin Collection,” an exhibition centered on the elaborate pin collection of distinguished attorney, former Watergate prosecutor, and MSNBC Legal Analyst Jill Wine-Banks.
For nearly six weeks, this exhibition and archiving project featured works from Wine-Banks’ personal collection that she accumulated over a lifetime of work in the American political and legal landscape. In the weeks following the showcase, students and alums shared their reflections on what they took away from the exhibition.
Wine-Banks’ collection
Whether or not students were familiar with Wine-Banks’ multi-disciplinary work before “Jewelry Speaks,” many walked away from the exhibition with an appreciation of her collection.
“It was really fascinating to see her huge collection,” said senior Pavonis Giron. “She’s got vintage, highly collectible pieces… What is most meaningful for her is the meaning of these pieces. She’s really focused on what a piece says.”
Giron felt that Wine-Banks’ collection was distinctive in being primarily concerned with each piece as a symbol, often separating its meaning from its jewelry context.
Wine-Banks’ wide ranging collection is full of symbolic-pins that were worn on-air by Wine-Banks herself. These symbolic pins became a staple aspect of her on-air presentation.
Student and alum work
Having been involved in other exhibitions in the past, Giron noted “Jewelry Speaks” as a “unique group show,” given that it was primarily centered around the multitude of works Wine-Banks displayed. This deep and complex interaction with another individual’s work was gratifying for Giron, who felt it reinforced innovation in art.
“It allows you to feel a bit more comfortable in playing with unusual materials to see something that’s cherished,” said Giron. “It provides a renewed sense of creative freedom to use materials that are not archival and to be encouraged to play around with color and texture.”
A cross-functional exhibition, “Jewelry Speaks” also featured several student works, including one from Giron.
“It was kind of my opportunity to make something that was fun and had meaning,” said Giron.
Giron’s piece was a brooch made from a forged piece of non-polished silver with curves around it, which resulted in something they described as more offbeat.
Recent alums also got involved with “Jewelry Speaks,” including Lilly Luft and Gideon Herman who collaborated long-distance to create a book arts project.
“While at Peck, Gideon went through really intense fabrication work which came into play on this piece,” said Luft. “The piece is a solid silver object… we brought it up to 1400 degrees sixty times without remelting anything.”
When creating the piece, Luft described being encouraged to work with a variety of materials thanks to her PSOA education.
“Jewelry as a practice as taught at Peck is very cross-disciplinary,” said Luft. “It encourages dipping in and out of fine metalwork to get to know other materials.”
Luft and Herman were contacted directly by exhibition organizer and curator Erica Meier (Teaching Faculty II, Jewelry & Metalsmithing, Digital Fabrication & Design), whom they have stayed in touch with post-graduation. Luft said that the continued support from PSOA faculty as a recent graduate is “pretty incredible.”
“The program is pretty tight-knit,” said Luft. “The ability to keep in touch with someone… Knowing that the mentors I had in school are still available to give mentorship but are also just colleagues now. It makes a big difference.”
Meier worked alongside Special Collections director Max Yela to put this event together.
Students at Jewelry Speaks | Submitted photo
Current students’ first exhibition
In addition to the alums and upperclassmen who got to show work for “Jewelry Speaks,” several students who were enrolled in Introduction to Jewelry and Metalsmithing got to showcase their semester projects.
Despite not initially expecting to get involved, Sophomore Marlena Weghorn displayed her penny badge in the exhibition.
“It is really exciting to know I can actually present my work,” said Weghorn. “It was really great to see my work integrated with so many other student and professional pieces.”
Weghorn’s piece represented feminine sin as shown in various religious literature which fit perfectly into a portion of Wine-Banks’ collection.
“I knew I wanted to do something focused on femineity,” said Weghorn. “In the exhibition, there is a section of snakes and dragons. It just so happened that my piece fit perfectly in that category.”
Sophomore Sophie Rickert displayed her piece from the fall semester’s intro class, which was a penny badge with a silhouette of a woman enclosed.
One of Rickert’s main takeaways from the exhibition was learning more about Wine-Banks’ collection through Meier, who maintains a positive relationship with Wine-Banks.
“It was interesting to hear Erica’s relationship and how that developed with [Banks] knowing that Erica is who we’re directly associated with,” said Rickert. “We got to know her pin collection in-depth through Erica.”
Jill Wine-Banks attended the event’s opening reception in October, giving a public talk for students and attendees.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Fall 2024 Film Faculty Festival recap
Throughout the second half of 2024, several faculty members took their films across the country and abroad for a variety of film festivals and screenings.
Ballard had a busy Fall of screenings that took her from San Diego to Orlando and everywhere in between, as well as international screenings at Antimatter in Victoria, British Columbia, and Ribalta Experimental Film Festival in Vignola, Italy.
Notably, Ballard screened her work Heat Spells at CROSSROADS Film Festival in San Francisco. Her work was then featured in an article from 48hills, an independent San Francisco news outlet.
Ballard also screened work at the following film festivals: Otherwise Film Festival (San Diego, California), Peripheries Experimental Film and Video Festival (Chicago, Illinois), Engauge Experimental Film Festival (Seattle, Washington), TILT Movement on Film (Salt Lake City, Utah), Florida Film Festival (Orlando, Florida), Wide Open Experimental Film Festival (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), and Experiments in Cinema v19.8 (Albuquerque, New Mexico).
Malmed had the following performances and solo exhibitions: My Incinerated Oracle Tune at Watershed Arts & Ecology (Chicago), My Arcane Dereliction Tune at The Lawn (Chicago), Togather To Gether at the National Museum of Mexican Art / Presented by the Chicago Humanities Festival (Chicago), Youou Arere Aa Lighght at Fox Den (Warren, ME).
Additionally, Malmed took part in the following group exhibitions: Yawn Sigh at Mayfield (Forest Park, IL), Chicago Underground Film Festival, Recognize That Your Name Is Already on Every Place You Place Your Feet at Patient Info (Chicago), Shades of at World of Variety (Chicago), Auto Spectacular at the National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), 69 for 69 at Side Street (Elgin, IL), Karaoke Night! at Troost Gardens with stop-gap projects (Kansas City).
McGuire’s short film Away 1973 was an official selection to screen in the highly prestigious Florence International Film Festival in Italy.
Grace Mitchell
Mitchell’s latest short film, The Year (Super 8, 2024) has recently begun screening nationally and abroad. Most recently, the film was screened at Light Matter Film Festival in Alfred, New York.
Mitchell also collaborated with filmmaker Sofia Theodore-Pierce for a film that will screen at the Wexner Center in March 2025. The filmmaking duo also attended a film residency at the Wexner Center in June and September 2024.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This list is as accurate and comprehensive as possible at the time of publication. If we missed a PSOA faculty member, please accept our apologies. Contact us and we’ll gladly update the article.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
Mourning the loss of teaching professor Carl Bogner
We are deeply saddened by the passing of teaching professor and dear friend Carl Bogner, whose tenacious fight against cancer came to an end on Sunday.
In recent days, countless former students, colleagues, and friends have assembled in his honor at informal gatherings across Milwaukee, Chicago, and beyond—a testament to the vast influence and profound impact Carl had on individual lives and entire communities.
We share in mourning this loss, and we join, in spirit, each celebration of his incredible life.
Carl’s legacy at the UWM Peck School of the Arts and Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres is immeasurable. His contributions have shaped our lives, the lives of our students, and the broader world.
With unwavering passion, Carl directed the LGBT+ Film/Video Festival for over 20 years, curating an array of films to audiences and providing a platform for dialogue relating to understanding, making room for difference, acceptance, and inclusion. The festival ran for nearly 35 years on UWM’s campus and was revered as an institution in the community.
Although the festival celebrated its final run in 2020, Bogner continued to make a positive impact through the Queer Curatorial Fund, supporting student scholarships, screenings, travel to festivals and conferences, and curatorial activities in recognition of artistic excellence by LGBTQ+ artists and allies.
We are proud that Carl was honored last year by the Universities of Wisconsin with the Dr. P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People, and we are grateful that he continued to engage with our campus as recently as this month. Just weeks ago, Carl curated a special From the Archives screening for Experimental Tuesdays, a confluence of two series he founded at UWM.
Carl’s distinctive laugh, intellectual brilliance, deep empathy, incredible wit, and delight at all things creative will be missed tremendously and held onto dearly.
UWM Peck School of the Arts & Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres
Music Education student Bridget Koser recognized with Richard G. Gaarder Award
Music Education student, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Bridget Koser was awarded the Richard G. Gaarder Award at the 2024 Wisconsin Music Educators Association conference in Madison. The achievement recognizes excellence in leadership, musicianship, and service to the music education community.
The award honors the legacy of the former executive director of the Wisconsin School Music Association, Richard G. Gaarder, who is credited with laying the groundwork for music programs and education throughout Wisconsin.
“He did a lot of really great stuff,” said Koser. “Receiving that award is recognition of my goal to be a teacher and help inspire kids through music. The award is a reminder that I can do that.”
Koser received the award at a uniquely profound time in her education as Koser is finishing the first round of dual certification for music educators in Wisconsin.
In years past, aspiring music education students in Wisconsin would receive certification in either choral or instrumental. However, Koser is a self-described “guinea pig,” graduating in the first class of students who are certified in choral, instrumental, and general music instruction.
“Usually if I were just choral music ed, I would be doing practicum teachings in a choral setting,” said Koser. “Instead, I am learning all the instrument pedagogies.”
Upon graduation, Koser will be able to conduct band, choir, orchestra, and general music courses from grades K through 12.
While a diverse array of musical experiences allows Koser to be a multi-instrumentalist, her primary instrument is voice. She believes this will be beneficial to her future students, whether they are interested in becoming vocalists or not.
“As a vocalist, I rely so much on my ear and the ability to hear something and reproduce it,” said Koser. “That’s a side of music education that I think a lot of instrumentalists may overlook… When kids are able to hear or sing what they want to play, it adds a whole other level of cognition into what they’re doing.”
When reflecting on receiving the Gaarder award, Koser discussed her upbringing in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where she attended a school with low-funded arts. This experience has driven her to enter the field of music education in hopes of helping children find inspiration through music.
“It makes me really sad because we have a lot of kids who are doing some pretty cool things in our community and they’re really great,” said Koser. “Growing up in a district that didn’t value the arts showed me that music ed is supposed to be encouraging and welcoming… We need more of that.”
Community is a highly important aspect of Koser’s life, heavily influencing her decision to attend the Peck School.
“That’s why I came here,” said Koser. “I saw that the music area is pretty tight knit… I really appreciate that faculty meets you where you’re at and work to help you grow and get better by giving you field experience.”
Koser enters her final stretch of education at Peck, planning to graduate in the Fall of 2025 upon completing her student teaching.
“I’m so grateful for everything, all the recognition that I’ve received both from the award and elsewhere; just all the opportunities that I’ve received at UWM… It’s incredible.”
Story by Jason McCullum ’25
New showcase celebrates interactive electronic music
Students enrolled in Interactive Electronic Music classes will perform their final projects live at the third UW-MESS Interactive Electronic Music Showcase. In its early stages at PSOA, the UW-MESS program helps students fulfill an education focused on their passion for electronic music.
What is UW-MESS?
UW-MESS stands for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Electroacoustic Sound Studios and is the electronic portion of PSOA’s Music Composition and Technology BFA and Music Composition and Theory MM. The sequence of four courses is centered on electronic music creation, composition, and production.
Students work with the computer program Max MSP, which junior Calvin Smith-Skwierawski describes as “coding for musicians.” Smith-Skwierawski notes that these classes give students a wide vocabulary of how to create electronic music.
“Take a synthesizer… there are many components to it,” he said. “Within this program, you can recreate those components and create a synthesizer in an electronic program… It’s so unique and these classes break down the different components and ideas.”
What many may not understand about the discipline of electronic music is how an artist can still perform their work in a live setting. When students perform their electronic work, there is a strong element of improvisation and spontaneity that one may commonly expect with physical instruments.
“We have these ideas, but we’re improvising on the set,” said Smith-Skwierawski. “A lot of UW-MESS students do not use sheet music… we judge our pieces by time because it helps us understand what we want and lets us work without any restrictions.”
A student performs at a past UW-MESS Showcase. | Submitted photo
Mixing electronics with physical instruments
A lot of UW-MESS students possess expertise in a physical instrument family, which helps them with their electronic music creation.
Graduate student Colton Townsend, a long-time percussionist, describes the willingness of percussionists to experiment with sound as a driving force for his interest in electronic music.
“Percussionists are accustomed to trying new things and exploring new possibilities,” Townsend said. “That had a direct correlation into composing for me… I think about the physical act of music a lot when I compose, which goes well with electronics.”
At last year’s UW-MESS concert, Townsend performed a piece that resulted in breaking open a drum to pull a set of bells out of it. This led to experimentation in how to play the drum, the way the speakers surrounded the audience, and what electronic elements to include.
“If you can imagine a series of sounds, then you can make it in this program,” added senior Brodie Miller. “There are virtually no limitations to what you can create… You are not following a predetermined set of classical standards. There are endless possibilities.”
Why UW-MESS?
The electronic music program is an example of how PSOA’s Music Department offers students a modern approach to music education, whether they have physical instrument experience or not.
“I’ve always gravitated more towards creating a unique sound and mangling audio into something new,” said Miller. “I’ve always had a love and affinity for electronic music, so UW-MESS has been right up my alley.”
Miller was initially a computer science major which led well into his UW-MESS involvement. Electronic music became a way to explore the “scientific aspect” of music.
“There are a lot of academic papers and researchers by people like [Pierre] Schaeffer who kind of pioneered electronic music,” said Miller. “Teaching it also runs parallel to music because a lot of it is embedded in programming, but it still uses a lot of the basic knowledge of music theory.”
A student performs at a past UW-MESS Showcase. | Submitted photo
The performance aspect of UW-MESS
The inclusion of electronics in a student’s performance can help create sounds that may not be accessible through a physical instrument. For some, this helps set a scene and tell a story.
“This program has helped me enjoy electronic music more because you get to do more storytelling with electronics,” said Kyrstyna Jones, a junior.
Jones’ next piece, which she hopes to premiere next year, is meant to create the feeling of driving from Wisconsin to Minnesota using electronics to create sensations such as the time of day, the tiredness of the driver, and the excitement of of getting to visit a close friend.
“It’s going to be a vibraphone with electronics,” said Jones. “Electronics can help set the scene of what that long drive looks like.”
If you would like to see UW-MESS in concert, visit the PSOA Events Calendar for information on their December 12 showcase.
