During their time at Oakland University, music, dance, theatre and art students produce countless pieces, performances and choreographed numbers, often times critiqued by their professors and student peers.

As senior year comes to a close, each of the seniors participate in one final project or performance at OU — one they won’t likely forget any time soon.

Music

Senior music projects differ from major to major, since there are many different individual instrumental, vocal performers, orchestras and ensembles.

Alex Carter, a trumpet performance major, was involved in the North American Brass Band Association Championships this past weekend where he and the rest of the OU Brass Band participated in the Honors section. The group was established last year and this is the second year they attended the NABBA Championship. Carter said the ages in this group range from freshmen to alumni.

This marks Carter’s final performance with an ensemble, but he also had a Wind Symphony concert and a jazz band concert in March.

“Having my final performances with these ensembles was a bit emotional, but I realize that my time at Oakland is coming to an end and it is time for one of the younger students to step into the leadership roles and play parts that I have performed over the last four years,” he said.

Carter said his musical abilities were somewhat limited before his experience at OU, since he had not performed with orchestras or played literature of the caliber that professors Gregory Cunningham and Kenneth Kroesche include in the ensembles they direct.

Carter said he feels his senior years have helped him learn how to be the versatile musician that people want to hire and work with. He also said being at a smaller school like Oakland allowed him to get feedback from professors regarding his playing on a regular basis.

Carter will continue his career at the University of Michigan, where he was accepted as a Fellowship recipient. While there, he will be concentrating on fine-tuning his orchestral sound.

Carter said he would love to return to perform with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra after he finishes his master’s degree. He said if Cunningham or Kroesche needed help in their respective ensembles, he would be more than happy to assist them.

“I can never thank them enough for everything they have taught me over these last five years,” he said.

Brittney Brewster, a music education major who plays violin, has a senior recitial in May, which she said she considers her final project. She has already participated in her final performances for the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra.

She said she too has come a long way from when she first arrived at OU but has refined her music since then.

“I am pretty satisfied with what I have done this year. Of course, there are always points where I would like to go back and do something different but that is just part of the learning experience,” Brewster said. “My experiences here at OU have let me grow into the person that I am and it will lead me to hopefully some great successes in my teaching career.”

She said she plans to seek out a teaching position either in Michigan or out of state and also hopes to work and audition for community orchestras. Once in an established teaching job, she plans to return for a master’s in violin performance.

She also plans, while student teaching, to play with OSO and possibly the OUCO.

Dance

The senior performance for the dance department includes all the seniors who are receiving their bachelor of fine arts degree or those who want to participate just for fun.  Kristen Manor, a dance major, said seniors are required to choreograph a group piece and perform a solo. It is a collaborative project as the three graduating students are in charge of finding dancers, the pieces, publicity and the program.

Manor said planning for the show began in September. When the show was performed in March, she said the whole group was pleased to see how successful it was.

“It was such a relief during the show that as each piece was on stage, all our hard work was paying off in front of our eyes,” she said. “It was really rewarding after it was over.”

Manor admits her dance and choreography style has changed through her time at Oakland and finds it enlightening to look back at earlier projects to see how different everything looked.

Manor said when she started college, choreography was not her strong suit, but had a clear outlook by the time she started on her senior project. She took on choreographing for the Oakland Dance Theatre Young Choreographer’s Forum in March while simultaneously choreographing for the senior concert.  She said it was a lot of work, but is very proud of where she is at and where she is going.

“I’ve gained so much choreography experience at Oakland that I now love it and love the challenge to find something new and inspiring,” Manor said. “I don’t feel that many people in college get to have so much hands on experience, I’ve choreographed four pieces in two years at Oakland; that is so much work but it was completely worth it.”

Manor plans on auditioning for companies after graduation, and as of next fall, she will be apprenticing with the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. She hopes to eventually return to become a physical therapist to help dancers with injuries, but is happy to be done with school for now.

“I’m just letting my life unfold and will continue to audition just to see what could happen next,” Manor said.

Theatre

Theatre and musical theatre majors will have a chance to perform for casting directors, agents, producers, directors and other working professionals at this year’s Senior Showcase.

It will highlight the work of 12 musical theatre and theatre students in a 46-minute program of song, dance and scene.

The Senior Showcase of New Talent supports the building of new careers, giving graduating students the opportunity to meet agents, casting directors, producers, directors, designers, playwrights and other established working professionals.

“These encounters are not only invaluable to networking opportunities, they are learning experiences – students not only obtain jobs, but are exposed to some of the most professionals in the industry,” assistant professor of theatre, music and dance, Fred Love said.

The showcase is only held once every two years, and this year, the seniors will travel to New York City to perform their showcase at New World Stages, Stage 2 in New York.

Students will be in New York for five days, and while there, they will also have class sessions with acting coaches and other theatre professionals.

“We’re really happy that our class has gotten an opportunity to do this…I’ve never been, so I’m really excited to go. We’re going to see shows too, so that’s exciting because I’ve never been to Broadway,” senior Peter Giessl said.

The students themselves, under the director of Love, created all of the work in the showcase.

All of the student performances are different. Some of the students will be singing songs and others reading monologues or acting out a scene. All of the students in the showcase, except two, are musical theatre majors.

Giessl will be reading a monologue from the movie “Garden State,” and doing a scene from the play “Romance In D” with fellow senior, Kryssy Becker.

As a registered class, preparations for the showcase started at the beginning of the semester in January. Students have met every Tuesday and Thursday for rehearsal, which usually lasts around three hours.

While a dance instructor was responsible for choreographing the entire showcase, including a dance from the Broadway musical “Rock of Ages,” the students did have a chance to make suggestions, bring in ideas and collaborate with the choreographer.

“It’s nice to get to pick your own material…we get to pick something that shows us off, and that’s nice to not be told what you have to do. It’s nice to be able to play a part that is contemporary and not Shakespeare since we don’t get a chance to do that a lot,” Giessl said.

Giessl said it has been nice working with his fellow seniors for the showcase.

“The theatre department is kind of like a little family, we’ve all known each other and have been really good friends for the past four years. Sometimes we might argue, but for the most part we all like each other and we all have fun,” Giessl said.

The Senior Showcase of New Talent will be held on Friday, April 29th at 8p.m. in Varner Recital Hall, and again on Monday, May 2nd at New World Stages, Stage 2 in New York, New York.

Studio Art

Each year, the OU Art Gallery presents an exhibit full of pieces from the graduating studio art majors.

This year’s showcase, MOMENTUM, will highlight over 60 artworks produced by 18 students specializing in drawing, painting, photography, and new media.

Cody Vanderkaay, the faculty coordinator for the show, said students are required to create a new cohesive body of work, participating in the entire exhibition process, including planning, announcement production, labels, texts, installation, documentation and de-installation of work.

The students also write a thesis paper relating to their piece. According to Vanderkaay, the paper addresses their personal vision and conceptual intent while making relevant historic, artistic, social, theoretical and philosophical connections.

“In Senior Thesis Symposium, students discuss their personal vision and conceptual intent, while answering questions from a panel of Studio Art and Art History faculty,” Vanderkaay said. “Faculty and students alike are always excited about the Studio Art exhibition and Art History symposium.”

Kim Lambert, a studio art new media major, says she has been planning her piece, “A Place to Hide,” for the exhibit for about a year.  Working on it since the beginning of the semester, she said MOMENTUM would be her first official and largest show she has been a part of.

Kim says she uses a variety of materials and mediums for her pieces, more than the common materials that fall under the “New Media umbrella.” Her piece for the exhibit is no different.

“My piece is a video/audio installation,” Lambert said. “A 10-½ foot column with an accompanying audio piece encases the video component of the work, which involves dark and romantic representations of themes such as depression and anxiety.”

Lambert plans to begin working as a freelance artist and designer after graduation and is also considering working for an master’s in Film Studies out of state. Although content with leaving after her final piece, she said she would be more than happy to be a part of future shows at the OU Art Gallery.

“Leaving OU and the art department is bittersweet but I’m ready for whatever else life has in store,” she said. “I have developed a personal style and technique during my time here and am excited to see how it evolves in the future.”