IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Belmont Sophomore Competes on The Voice

Paul Chenoweth
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Jessie Pitts - The VoiceBelmont student Jessie Pitts has been selected to compete on season seven of NBC’s The Voice which premiered on Monday after she auditioned for the show in Nashville earlier this year.

Pitts competed in the “blind auditions” which aired on Wednesday. Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell all gave her the opportunity to compete on their individual teams. In the end, Pitts chose Team Blake for the competition.  Pitts is a sophomore in Belmont’s College of Entertainment and Music Business.

View her blind audition here.

Belmont BSA Members Featured in ‘The Huffington Post’

Paul Chenoweth
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image001
Left to right: Hart, Robinson and Bryant.

Belmont University’s Black Student Association members Keayana Robinson, Cameron Bryant and Kristoff Hart have been featured in The Huffington Post for their song and video “I Dig the Skin I’m In,” an empowering testament to their refusal to be anything less than comfortable in their own skin despite the things that have been said to them.

The article entitled “MC Shakes Off Being Told She’s ‘Too Dark’ With Funk and Grace” discusses the message behind the song that addresses modern racism and bullying.

Robinson told The Huffington Post that it took time for her to become confident enough to speak out about her experiences. Part of the journey, she said, was simply “being able to sit down and say those words aloud.”

“I’m not hearing your lies. I look great in my eyes. This may be a surprise, but I’m cool with me,” she sings in part of the song’s chorus.

The song and its message came about pretty organically, according to Robinson.

“We were sitting around and we just stumbled upon a beat and we started listening and Kristoff and I started singing and we decided to write to it,” she told The Huffington Post. “Once we got the message that we wanted, we just took off from there.”

The trio’s collaboration has been met with what Robinson describes as a “nice, welcoming response” from the Belmont community.

“We’re all about embracing differences. … I think that it’s definitely extremely important for members of the African-American community to embrace their differences and their skin and their flaws, because they’re beautiful,” Robinson said.

Read the full article here. View the “I Dig the Skin I’m In” music video here.

Belmont Junior Competes on Reality Game Show

Paul Chenoweth
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Baylor WilsonBelmont junior Baylor Wilson competed on this season of CBS’s Survivor: Blood vs. Water which took place in San Juan Del Sur. Wilson made it to the top five contestants in this season’s competition.

Wilson was once a cheerleader for Belmont and is currently enrolled in the Entertainment Industry Studies program. She is competing on the reality game show alongside her mother.

“I wanted to get involved to be with my mom first and foremost, but also to share an experience with her that not many other mother and daughters get to share.  It has been the best and worst experience of my life,” Wilson said.

An interview with Wilson and her mom can be seen here.

Former Men’s Basketball Standout Kerron Johnson Signs Deal in Germany

Paul Chenoweth
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image004Former Belmont University men’s basketball star Kerron Johnson has signed a professional contract with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Bundesliga for the 2014-15 season.

Johnson took the Belmont program to new heights, leading the Bruins to 102 victories, four regular season conference championships, three conference tournament championships and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Moreover, Johnson helped Belmont earn national Top 25 poll votes three straight seasons and the program’s best NCAA Tournament seed – No. 11 – in 2013.

Among Johnson’s many career accomplishments was being named all-conference four straight years, 2012 NABC All-District and back-to-back conference tournament Most Valuable Player honors in 2012 and 2013. Johnson also ranks among the program leaders in assists, steals and free throws made and attempted.

He played for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL in 2013-14.

Billboard Recognizes Curb College a Top Music Business Education School

Paul Chenoweth
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recording studio-110-LBelmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business continues to be recognized as one of the world’s top colleges and universities to learn about the music industry according to a recent survey on music business education conducted by Billboard Magazine.

The survey highlights universities and other educational institutions giving students the opportunity to learn about the music business with hands-on experience and classes taught by teachers from the industry.  Those schools are increasingly responding to the changes shaping both education and the music business, according to the survey.

Established with guidance from the Recording Academy and local industry executives, including its namesake, record company executive Mike Curb, owner of Curb Records and former president of MGM Records, “the Curb College takes full advantage of its strategic location in Music City to build world-wide opportunities for our students,” says dean and professor of audio engineering, Dr. Wesley Bulla.

According to Lecturer of Music Business, Dr. David Schreiber, the college readily embraces the changing demands of the music and entertainment industry but recognizes that things such as critical thinking and problem solving remain constant.  “A lot of the faculty, including myself, do our best to incorporate experiential learning, getting students to replicate what happens out in the field, while still in a safe [academic] environment,” Schreiber says.

 

Law Presents ‘Champion for Justice’ Award to Bryan Stevenson

Paul Chenoweth
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Bryan StevensonDuring Monday’s Chapel, the Belmont College of Law presented the 2014 Champions for Justice Award to Bryan A. Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. His work, and that of the team of lawyers he leads, furthers prison and sentencing reform, with a focus on the death penalty and the mass incarceration of people of color.

Stevenson said, “Faith is connected to struggle; that is…we are called to build the Kingdom of God. We can’t celebrate it and then protect our own comfortable environment.”

The Belmont University College of Law Champions for Justice Award is presented to a person whose life’s work exemplifies Belmont’s mission to uphold Jesus as the Christ and the measure for all things, and has lived this out by engaging and transforming the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith. Stevenson graduated from Eastern University (where he led the gospel choir), Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government.

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Oct. 2 Event Marks Official Launch of Campus Theme for 2014-15

Paul Chenoweth
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Campus Theme WordmarkAre you prepared for “Living in a Global Community?”

That may be a common question in classrooms across campus this semester as Belmont embraces its new theme for 2014-15. And it will certainly be a topic of conversation on Oct. 2, at the official theme kick-off event, when the Curb Event Center hosts Dr. Pang Rhodes (assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at Argosy University-Twin Cities, Minnesota) and Wayne Yang (‎CEO/President at Hmong Village). These special guests will discuss this year’s common book, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,” with Belmont’s own Assistant Professor/ Ministry Program Advisor Dr. Martha Minardi and Associate Professor of Philosophy/Director of First Year Seminar Dr. Noel Boyle.

Associate Provost Dr. Beverly Schneller, who oversees the campus theme, said, “Though an emotionally and intellectually challenging book to read, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down provides an insightful introduction to the concept of ‘Living in a Global Community.’ Goals of the campus theme include evaluating ethical and social choices and raising complex questions about global systems. The Oct. 2 conversation about the common book will offer students and other attendees an opportunity to thoughtfully examine those issues.”

This marks the seventh year in a row that the entire Belmont community is being invited to participate in conversations focused on a campus theme, a single subject examined throughout the academic year via common readings in First Year Seminar courses, lectures, arts performances and other events.

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Keen Published in ‘Nashville Arts and Entertainment’

Paul Chenoweth
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NAE Dan KeenBelmont Instructor of Music Business Dan Keen recently had two articles published in the new issue of Nashville Arts and Entertainment, an annual publication highlighting the arts and entertainment opportunities in the region. Asked to write a feature on music royalties and given the challenge to make it “fun,” Keen responded with “The Freakonomics of Making Money on Music Row.” The magazine hit newsstands this month and also included Keen’s interview with trombonist/songwriter Jimmy Pankow, co-founding member of the rock band Chicago who has moved from L.A. to Music City.

Alumna Secures Belmont Orchestra Donation, Performance Opportunity

Paul Chenoweth
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Bob Black, Jaimee Paul and Belmont Professor of Music Dr. Robert Gregg celebrate the orchestra donation.
Bob Black, Jaimee Paul and Belmont Professor of Music Dr. Robert Gregg celebrate the orchestra donation.

Bob Black, the owner of the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon Tennessee, recently donated $1,000 to the Belmont Orchestra, in conjunction with an upcoming show the orchestra will be playing with a Belmont alumna. Jaimee (Paulich) Paul, a 1999 Belmont graduate, and her jazz band are putting on a James Bond show at the Capitol Theatre on Nov. 7 with legendary producer/composer Michael Omartian conducting the Belmont Orchestra on stage. The concert will feature songs from Paul’s Bonded album, a tribute to more than 50 years in the James Bond film series. The project, which was also produced by Omartian, was released in January of 2013 on Green Hill Music and reached No. 6 on the iTunes Jazz Albums chart.

Paul said, “We decided to enlist the Belmont Orchestra to help us out with this concert so the audience could have an exceptional experience. Bob Black, owner of the Capitol Theatre, is graciously donating $1,000 to the Orchestra program at Belmont because he realizes that musicians are very valuable and should be recognized for their talent. He values the education that students receive throughout their lives, and especially if they continue their musical education through college.”

Tickets for the Nov. 7 show are $20, but the Capitol Theatre is offering Belmont students and alumni a discount with proper identification. For more information on Paul’s career, visit www.jaimeepaul.com.

Alumnus Greg Walter Receives Encore Award

Paul Chenoweth
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CVPA Dean Dr. Cynthia Curtis (l) and Marjorie Halbert (r) present the Encore Award to alumnus Greg Walter.
CVPA Dean Dr. Cynthia Curtis (l) and Marjorie Halbert (r) present the Encore Award to alumnus Greg Walter.

The Belmont University School of Music presented the 2014 Encore Award Thursday evening to actor/singer/songwriter Greg Walter during a concert in his honor. The Encore Award was created in 2008 to honor a Belmont University School of Music alumnus for achievement in the field of classical music.  Walter graduated from the Belmont School of Music in 1987 as a Presser Scholar. While at Belmont, he studied classical voice under Associate Professor of Voice Marjorie Halbert.

Walter was an original cast member of Chicago’s company of “Forever Plaid” for which he received a Joseph Jefferson award in the best ensemble category. He was also nominated for a Jeff award, which celebrates excellence in Chicago theatre, for best actor in Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way, for which he also music directed. His voice can also be heard in commercial jingles for Michelob and Trac Auto. His songs have been recorded by various cabaret singers in Chicago, and his vocal arrangement of “Down in the River to Pray,” performed by the Chicago Chamber Choir, can be found on the disc recording At the River.

Walter is currently a professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he teaches voice and serves as musical director.

Previous Encore Award honorees include Clifton Forbis (2008), Daniel Weeks (2009), Drs. Daniel and Sharon Lawhon (2010), Maestra Teresa Cheung (2011), Dr. Alfredo Colman (2012) and Travis Cottrell (2013).

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