James Morris, a sophomore majoring in audio engineering technology, celebrated the release of the third book, “Surface,” in the “Three Kingdoms Trilogy” with a reading and book signing April 8 at Parnassus Books in Green Hills. Morris authored the series while attending Belmont and pursuing musical aspirations.
Click here to read an article about his success and here to visit Morris’s website.
On Saturday, March 21 and Saturday, March 28, Biology Professor and Entomologist Dr. Steve Murphree hosted “Friendly Bugs and Big, Bad Pests” at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art’s Cheekwood in Bloom.
Cheekwood is a privately funded 55-acre estate on the western edge of Nashville.
Belmont Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Gail Bursch recently received the 2015 Carol Likens Award (CLA) presented by the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) at their annual meeting. The award is given annually to a TPTA member who has provided exceptional service to the profession of physical therapy.
Bursch served as Chair of the Nashville District of TPTA for 11 years, was vice president of the Tennessee Chapter for 5 years and most recently chaired the TPTA nominating committee for 4 years. The Likens award is named for its first recipient who served the chapter as president from 1985 to 1995 and whose vision, leadership and commitment to the profession brought the TPTA through one of its greatest periods of growth and service to members.
The TPTA meeting also provided Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy with the opportunity to present student research projects. One group, mentored by Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Cathy Hinton, presented a poster entitled “A Comparison of the Effects of Superficial Heat and Thermal Ultrasound on Hamstring Extensibility.” The group consisted of students Danielle Wisse, Jennifer Braswell, Morgan McBride, Chelsea Taylor and Katie Wood.
Another group, mentored by Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Renee Brown and Adjunct Professor Penny Powers, presented on “Effects of Educational Intervention on use of Tilt-in-Space, Functional Mobility, and Pain in Full-time Wheelchair Users.” Student researchers included Ashley Barrett, Leigha Cuellar, Meagan Heney and Martha Schumpert.
A third student research group, also mentored by Dr. Brown, received a TPTA grant for their study, “Exploring the Effects of Kinesiotaping on the Gait and Level of Pain in Individuals with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.” This team included Kelly Weaver, Casie House and Lisa Farrar.
Professor of Biblical Studies Dr. Mark McEntire recently published an entry entitled “Theology of Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles” in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Bible and Theology.
The Encyclopedia includes nearly 170 entries by more than 150 individual contributors, including Dr. McEntire, and overviews key traditional and modern biblical and theological topics.
The semester may be winding down, but campus life continues to grow as Belmont recently added eight newly-recognized student organizations.
“Student organizations, whether new or already existing, are vital to the campus community as they reflect the culture and environment of the ever-fluctuating life that is on a college campus and with college students,” said Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Leadership (SELD) Sara Stacy. “We don’t look for anything specific as we don’t have a set criteria; however they must have at least eight members beyond the four required positions of leadership, must not be similar to an already existing organization and be congruent with Belmont’s mission, vision and values.”
Students interested in starting a new organization must attend one of the Intent to Organize information sessions at the beginning or end of each semester where the formal application process is detailed. Applications are then reviewed by SELD staff and a sub-committee called the Student Life Council. Recommendations are then made to the Director of SELD for approval.
Affiliated organizations are created by a department or a group of students to assist a department or program in achieving their institutional objectives. The five new affiliated organizations are:
BAMTAS President Alex Plasket explained the importance of getting to know one’s future professional colleagues. “I wanted to help start this group modeled after the American Music Therapy Association so that all of the music therapy majors could build a professional and social community together,” he said. “This gives us a chance to get to know everyone, as we will be colleagues in the professional field of music therapy.”
Registered organizations are initiated by a community of students who share a common interest. Registered organizations are student-created and student-led and are not legally tied to the university. The three new registered organizations are:
The founders and members of these clubs are passionate students who have big hopes for their organizations, whether it be growing professionally, physically or socially.
“We plan to attend as many competitions as we can find that are conveniently scheduled and located. Part of what makes longboarding so fun is skating with people that are better than you and pushing yourself to get better. This makes competitions crucial to the growth of longboarding,” said club founder Nick Jones. “Our biggest goal for this club is to connect longboarders of all skill levels, while developing meaningful relationships and providing longboarding opportunities to Belmont students. We plan to go out and longboard whenever we get the opportunity, whether it be a couple of us just cruising around town, or a whole group of us attending races and other competitions. Whatever it may be, I can’t wait to see what potential this group holds.”
Similarly, hiking club founder and student Kara Reed said, “Ben Oliver and I decided to create the hiking club because we love getting outside and hiking. Unfortunately, our closest friends don’t have the same enthusiasm for hiking as we do. That said, we decided that creating the hiking club would be an awesome opportunity to share our passion with other people who love doing the same thing. I would say our biggest goal right now is getting the correct certifications, equipment and an excited group of hikers to go on a multi-day backpacking trip.”
More information about each organization’s mission and membership process can be found through BruinLink.
Kelly Tillotson, a Belmont songwriting alumni and Washington, D.C. native, was recently featured in the Washinton D.C. publication, “The Washingtonian,” in an article entitled “Take Me Home, River Road.” The article is a dialog piece between Tillotson and another musician, Maggie Rose, about their journey from their hometown of Potomac to their careers as country singers.
After gradutating from Belmont in 2012, Tilltotson went on to form the trio MamaDear with her husband, Parker Bradway, and her friend Daniel Wilson. Last year, ”Rolling Stone” named the group Best Up-and-Comer at the Country Music Assotiation’s CMA Fest.
In the interview, Tillotson discusses her realization that Belmont was the place she had to be. “In high school, I was always banging at the piano, singing my songs, but I didn’t know you could be a singer. When I visited Belmont, it was for neuroscience. But after I heard about their music program, Belmont was the only school I… even applied to” (correction from Tillotson).
Tillotson talks about the importance of a hometown support system and how one’s home is a big part of his or her success. She is quoted in the article saying, “You need that support. After I graduated from Belmont, I put out my EP, I finally had a solo album, and at the same time, MamaDear was happening. I had a little identity crisis.” But thanks to her roots in Potomac, she understands why music is so important.
To learn more about Tillotson and her band, MamaDear, click here.
Assistant Professor of Audio Engineering Technology Dr. Eric Tarr co-authored an article recently accepted for publication in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. The article is titled “Measuring the Effects of Spectral Smearing and Enhancement on Speech Recognition in Noise for Adults and Children.”
Tarr’s research investigated and sought to explain speech perception deficits by listeners with hearing loss. As part of the research, Tarr developed a novel digital signal processing algorithm to simulate hearing loss for listeners with normal hearing.
Director of Bands Barry Kraus and the Belmont Wind Ensemble were recently featured in a research presentation at the national conference of the College Band Directors National Association, held Friday, March 27, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
The Wind Ensemble collaborated with Director of the Musicianship Program at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music Marianne Plogger Hill in a session titled, “Concepts of Tuning: Wagner’s Trauersinfonie.” The presentation highlighted challenges and solutions for wind instrument intonation in performance. In addition to playing several excerpts, the ensemble performed Richard Wagner’s “Trauersinfonie” for a national audience of college band directors.
The group will perform Friday, April 10 at 2 p.m. as part of the Tennessee Music Education Association (TMEA) Annual Convention at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The Wind Ensemble was selected for this honor by blind peer review among several collegiate ensemble recorded applications.
The Convention features performances, clinics and exhibitions representing all levels of music instruction in the state. This performance marks Wind Ensemble’s second Convention appearance since 2011.
Students plan, produce, star in concert for 1,500+ guests
On Saturday, April 11, at 7 p.m. Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business (CEMB) will present its annual Best of the Best Showcase. The free show, which is open to the public and offers a variety of musical performances from rock to urban/pop to Christian to country, will honor longtime music executive Gary Overton with the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence. This award is given annually to an individual who has achieved a level of excellence in the music business and entertainment industries with notable service to Belmont University and the Nashville community.
Gary Overton has been a leading force in the Nashville music community for decades, most recently as the chairman and CEO of Sony Music Nashville, home of country superstars Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. Prior to his five-year tenure at Sony, Overton served for 15 years as executive vice president and general manager of EMI Music Publishing’s Nashville division, where he was responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, including the exploitation of copyrights, acquisition of catalogs, signing of writers and artists, and securing record deals. During his tenure, the company earned Publisher of the Year honors from ASCAP, BMI and/or SESAC a total of 12 times. Prior to joining EMI, Overton was personal manager for country artist Alan Jackson and served tenures as head of A&R for BNA Entertainment and vice president of Warner/Chappell Music. Overton currently serves on the Belmont University/Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business Advisory Board, in addition to other volunteer efforts.
“The Best of the Best showcase continues in the tradition of providing a professional performance opportunity for our student artists and hands on experience for our live audio, lighting and production student teams,” said Curb College Dean Doug Howard. “The impact of these experiences plays a key part of a Curb College education and can be seen in the creative and expert talents of our alumni all over Music City and the entertainment world at large. I’m also incredibly grateful for Gary Overton’s years of service both as an advisory board member and as a generous benefactor for our programs, and I’m delighted that ‘Best of the Best’ will honor him Saturday night.”
As always, Best of the Best 2015 will highlight some of Belmont’s remarkable student talent with performances from the winners of the CEMB Showcase series: CVM (Urban/Pop), Taylor Agan (Christian), Baylor Wilson (Country) and Staying for the Weekend (Rock). Winners from the ASCAP Writers’ Night series will also perform, including Nate Evans, Katie Pruitt, Brad Blackburn and Andrew Tullos.
“Producing Best of the Best stretched me in more ways than I can count,” said Dani DePoy, about her experience to date with the 2015 show. “I broke out of the box creatively, was introduced into different parts of the industry, and have gotten to work with some truly talented people that inspired me to push this show to the limit. It has been a long year of planning, but I know that it will be worth it in the end when everything comes together.”
Country showcase winner Baylor Wilson added, “Being a part of Best of the Best has brought upon more impact and meaning in my career than I ever expected. I feel like I’ve gotten a peek at what life on tour and playing big shows is like, and it makes me want to reach toward that even more.”
A unique and innovative aspect of Curb College offerings, the Showcase Series allows Belmont students to produce five full-scale arena concerts each year in the Curb Event Center along with an outdoor festival-style event, each with an average of 1,500 audience members per show. By partnering with industry professionals, the Belmont Showcase Series seeks to highlight student talent onstage and backstage. The series helps further the college’s goals of providing a career-oriented and practical education while also equipping students with the tools needed to prosper in diverse work environments.
Best of the Best is free and open to the public. This year’s event is sponsored by ASCAP, BMI, Bandit Lites, Clair Global, Media Visions, Rabbit Hole Creative, Sertoma, Nashville Scene, Marathon Music Works, Amplify Entertainment and Infill Nashville.
‘It’s Bruin Time in the Community’ takes ‘Nashville’s University’ off campus to support hometown efforts
Proving that many hands do indeed make light–and fun–work, more than 150 Belmont faculty and staff teamed together Thursday to volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, a nonprofit founded in 1978 that works to feed hungry people and solve hunger issues in Middle and West Tennessee. Last year alone, Second Harvest’s fleet of 19 trucks covered 533,374 miles rescuing and delivering food to a network of more than 450 partner agencies and directly to hungry children, families and seniors throughout a 46-county service area.
Belmont’s annual faculty/staff service project, which the University dubbed “It’s Bruin Time in the Community,” began last year with employees spending a morning painting at Hunters Lane High School.
This year, with Vision 2020 ideals in mind, Belmont employees registered to serve during one of two three-hour shifts as part of the University’s ongoing commitment to be “‘Nashville’s University’, aligning Belmont’s vision and resources with the ever-changing needs of the people in our community.” Divided into two teams upon arrival at Second Harvest’s Martin Distribution Center, one group was tasked with sorting enormous cartons of sweet potatoes into 5 lb bags, which would be weighed for accuracy and packed for shipping to food pantries and churches.
Social Work Department Secretary Patsy Peach said, “I love to volunteer. It’s my nature, and it’s fun to do with a group. It’s awesome that Belmont emphasizes giving back to the community and that faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in that as well as our students.”
“During April’s Volunteer Appreciation Month, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is celebrating the thousands of volunteers who dedicate their time to help feed hungry people in our community,” added Heidi Tieslau, community relations manager at Second Harvest. “We could not do what we do every day without the support from the community, and we are grateful for Belmont’s service to Second Harvest.”
Tanya Owen, a housekeeping employee who celebrated her 5-year anniversary with the University last week, agreed. “I love it. I love helping people through community service. It’s wonderful that Belmont gives us the time to do things like this.”
A second group of faculty and staff members donned jackets and gloves and entered into a 40 degree refrigeration room to sort frozen meat and other products for packing and shipping. Social Media and Digital Marketing Specialist Lougan Bishop serves as chair of the University Staff Advisory Council, the group that helped pull together all of the logistics for the day-long community service project. “As part of our goal to be ‘Nashville’s University,’ it’s 
important that we help our city and work to make it an even better place to live,” Bishop said. “We all love Nashville and want to help out however we can. ‘It’s Bruin Time in the Community’ affords us time to step out of our offices and really make a difference locally.”
Between the morning and afternoon shifts, Belmont employees sorted more than 15,000 lbs. of frozen foods and 30,000 lbs. of sweet potatoes for packing and delivery. Click here to see additional photos of the event.
