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Unleashing Artists’ Creativity

By Christine Byrd Matt Bailey, MBA ’12, remembers how hard it was to be an artist on a student budget. He constantly needed film, photo paper, canvas and paints – and all of that was expensive, especially on top of tuition and living costs. Sometimes he just couldn’t afford the supplies. “It...

Kaysie José Comes Full Circle at CTSA

By Mia Hammett A once-UCI undergraduate, alumna Kaysie José (B.A. '11) is particularly qualified — and wholly committed — to bolstering the creative career pursuits of UCI’s arts students. After working in UCI’s Student Housing department, José joined the Claire Trevor School of the Arts (...

Building Roads with Music

Musician and professor Kojiro Umezaki builds connections between communities By Christine Byrd Kojiro Umezaki plays a traditional Japanese bamboo flute called shakuhachi, which has been around for centuries. But he also uses artificial intelligence to analyze and layer recordings of himself...

Forging the Path Ahead

The ICIT Ph.D. program’s embrace of diverse forms of music hit the right notes for percussionist, sound artist and educator JoVia Armstrong By Greg Hardesty JoVia Armstrong, a 2022 graduate of the Department of Music's Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT) Ph....

Music’s Hidden Figures: Women at the Piano

Visiting scholar Joe Davies sheds new light on female musicians throughout history By Christine Byrd Clara Schumann was a 19th century piano virtuoso – a performer, composer, teacher and arranger. Yet for nearly a century after her death, she was recognized as little more than the wife of...

Arts Advocates: Joel Veenstra

INSPIRATIONAL IMPROVISOR Q&A with Joel Veenstra Professor Joel Veenstra, M.F.A. ’11, is a professional stage manager whose production credits span Los Angeles to London, and who co-leads the Department of Drama’s stage management program as a professor of teaching in the Claire Trevor...

UCI's Creative Engine

Through art, dance, music and drama, UCI artists push boundaries and fuel innovation By Christine Byrd This winter, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts will treat audiences to riveting performances and thought-provoking exhibitions, all of which are the result of a thriving creative engine...

Broadway Visions Come True

UCI Dance alumni Justin Keats and Amy Quanbeck share their skills during a masterclass homecoming By Isabella Granqvist and Mia Hammett At UCI, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) Department of Dance does one thing exceptionally well: turn talented, eager undergraduate dance majors...

Living the Dream

M.F.A. student Blake Elliott returns to UCI after following career aspirations in New York City By Christine Byrd For students dreaming of a career in theater, nothing beats working on a New York City stage. Just ask second-year M.F.A. student Blake Elliott, who returns to UCI this winter...

A Name to Remember

M.F.A. candidate Mary Hill stars as Biddy Mason – and hopes you’ll remember them both By Christine Byrd Unlike many of her peers who were on stage from the time they were little, Mary Hill didn’t find her way to the theater until college. In fact, her pursuit of the arts resulted from a happy...

A Revelation

Ariyan Johnson teaches hip hop, jazz and healing to her dance students By Christine Byrd Ariyan Johnson is used to being ahead of the curve. First as a pioneer of East Coast hip hop and as an actor and, since coming to UCI in 2020, as a scholar, too. This year, she is one of seven UCI junior...

Arts Advocates: Dr. Steven M. Sorenson

DIVERSITY CHAMPION Q&A with Dr. Steven M. Sorenson Dr. Steven M. Sorenson is a radiologist and arts advocate. He serves on the board of directors for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Dr. Sorenson is also the president of the Ibex Foundation...

Marlaina Owens Is An Operatic Force to Reckon With

The Fulbright scholar on privilege, Paris and the paired criticisms of being ‘too much’ By Mia Hammett A classical singer, actress and performer, Marlaina Owens has the pleasure of adding “2022-23 Fulbright Scholar” to an already extensive set of professional arts experiences. Owens...

Made in California

The arts and education helped new dean Tiffany Ana López reimagine her own life By Christine Byrd For Tiffany Ana López, joining the Claire Trevor School of the Arts as dean is a double homecoming. Both a return to her native California and to the public higher-education system that shaped...

UCI Drama alum scores critical praise for horror thriller

Ryan Imhoff, M.F.A. Acting ’11 and New Swan Shakespeare Festival alum,  has written and directed the award-winning horror film Fresh Hell, which has won Best Feature Film at four film festivals dedicated to the horror genre. “This film was created on a string and a prayer by a group of...

Artful Summers

Summer Academies in the Arts offer college and career preparatory programs  By Christine Byrd Mafer Reyes had been dancing at private studios and ballet academies since she was 5 years old. But when it came time to think about college, she realized she had no idea what to...

‘We Need More’ of Taylor Fagins

The UCI Drama alum shares more about his journey to become an American Idol It’s nearly 10 p.m. on the third straight day of filming, and Taylor Fagins, ’17 is the final contestant to audition for American Idol’s celebrity judges. He sits down at a grand piano — an instrument he plays but...

Arts Advocates: Mary Gilly & John Graham

BARD BOOSTERS Q&A with Mary Gilly & John Graham Mary Gilly and her husband, John Graham, professors emeriti of marketing, are passionate about theater and the dramatic arts. They have been loyal supporters of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival since its founding in 2012. They became...