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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Alumni Williamson and Walter Host Art Exhibit in Naples, Italy

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Alumni Todd Williamson and Greg Walter are preparing for an art exhibition at the Villa di Donato in Naples Italy scheduled for November 2. The exhibition, “Surveillance: the art of being observed or observing,” is a collaboration of art and music, set to show the connections that exist between the two. Williamson’s art will be on display with specially composed music by Walter. A preview of the exhibit can be found on youtube.

Williamson graduated from Belmont in 1988 with a Bachelor of Music. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, serving as arts commissioner for West Hollywood. His work can be seen all around the world with exhibits in Japan, China, Italy, Germany, France, Korea, Spain and the United States.

Walter graduated from Belmont’s School of Music in 1987 as a Presser Scholar and was honored in 2014 with the University’s Encore Award, an award created to honor a Belmont University School of Music alumnus for achievement in the field of classical music. While at Belmont, he studied classical voice under Associate Professor of Voice Marjorie Halbert. Walter is currently a professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he teaches voice and serves as musical director.

 

 

Stepnick Speaks on ‘Cultures of Silence’ at American Sociological Association Annual Chairs Conference

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Andi StepnickSociology professor Dr. Andi Stepnick and Dr. Kris De Welde of Florida Gulf Coast University were invited to give the closing plenary at the 2015 American Sociological Association Annual Chairs Conference held in Chicago, Illinois on August 21.  The conference was designed to “help new and continuing department chairs gain insights and knowledge that will help them respond to the day-to-day responsibilities of their position, as well as the broader challenges of the changing higher education landscape.”

Their talk, “Disrupting the Culture of Silence and Fostering an Inclusive Departmental Community,” was based on their research with women academics across the country in varying ranks and fields.  They found that a “culture of silence” exists on many campuses regarding issues of discrimination and inequality. This silence creates a sense of isolation for marginalized faculty who often internalize stigma about their workplace experiences. Dealing with these challenges steals time and energy from faculty and could result in depression, anxiety and other health-related problems. Some seek employment elsewhere, costing universities valuable faculty.

Addressing workplace inequalities and hostilities effectively will allow colleges and universities to instead pursue excellence in teaching, research and service. Stepnick and De Welde offered concrete suggestions to conference participants about how to foster inclusive departmental communities.

To learn more about their book Disrupting The Culture of Silence: Confronting gender Inequality and Making Change in Higher Education, see Amazon or their website.

 

Country Music’s Kathy Mattea to Host Nationally Broadcast ‘Christmas at Belmont’

Hope Buckner
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Country Music’s Kathy Mattea to Host Nationally Broadcast ‘Christmas at Belmont’

Special performance to honor Belmont’s 125th anniversary

Hosted by Grammy Award-winning country recording artist Kathy Mattea and taped at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, nearly 700 student musicians will join Belmont School of Music faculty and the Nashville Children’s Choir later this fall for the taping of  a special 125th anniversary edition of “Christmas at Belmont.” The annual production of traditional carols, classical masterworks, world music and light-hearted seasonal favorites, produced by Nashville Public Television (NPT),  will offer its world premiere on NPT in late December followed by a PBS broadcast for a national audience. This is the 13thconsecutive year “Christmas at Belmont” has been seen on PBS, and this year’s performance will also honor the University’s 125th anniversary, a year-long celebration of its 1890 founding.

This year’s edition of “Christmas at Belmont” features the University Symphony Orchestra, Belmont Chorale, Percussion Ensemble, Musical Theatre, Jazz Ensemble and Bluegrass Ensemble, as well as mass choir. The performance includes both classic holiday music such as “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Little Drummer Boy,” as well as festive seasonal songs like “Carol of the Bells” and “White Christmas,” to name a few.

Mattea said, “I’m thrilled to be hosting ‘Christmas at Belmont’ from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center this year. It’s a great honor to be asked to join the ranks of the wonderful artists who have taken part in this respected tradition over the years, and I’m pleased to be able to represent Belmont University, which has been a big part of my life since I came to Nashville.”

Twice named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association, Kathy Mattea carved out a role for herself in the late 1980s and ‘90s as an artist at ease both with country tradition and free-ranging innovation. Drawing from the Grammy-winning collection Good News and the critically acclaimed follow up, Joy for Christmas Day, her Christmas presentations highlight the joyous message of the holiday with a thoughtful blend of new songs and old favorites, stretching stylistic boundaries to engage with a variety of her favorite musical influences.

“‘Christmas at Belmont’ is an amazing opportunity to showcase the tremendous talent of our faculty and students,” said Belmont University President Bob Fisher. “We’re incredibly grateful for our partnership with NPT that brings that talent to a broader audience, and we’re delighted to have an artist of Kathy Mattea’s caliber at the helm this year.”

The performance and taping of “Christmas at Belmont” returns for the fifth time to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, one of the few venues in the world featuring natural lighting and state-of-the-art acoustics, including motorized acoustic drapes and an acoustical isolation joint that encircles the entire concert hall and prevents sound waves traveling into or out of the hall.

“NPT is excited to once again partner with Belmont University to bring one of Nashville’s great holiday traditions to the entire nation on PBS,” said Beth Curley, president and CEO of NPT, which has won 46 Midsouth Emmy Awards since 2001. “I am always amazed at the depth and range of talent Belmont’s School of Music is nurturing—truly making a mark on Nashville’s music and performance scenes. With 2015’s all-new production of ‘Christmas at Belmont,’ we continue a vital part of NPT’s mission, which is to share these unique talents with a national audience.”

Dr. Cynthia R. Curtis, dean of Belmont’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, added, “We are delighted that through the efforts of NPT and our generous sponsors, we can share the talents of Belmont students with a national audience. Having two-time Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea as host adds to our excitement about Christmas at Belmont 2015! Kathy brings not only her outstanding skills as performer and songwriter, but also serves as an exceptional role model for our students who seek careers as performing artists.”

“Christmas at Belmont” is underwritten by The Beaman Family Foundation and The Jack C. Massey Foundation. Due to the large demand for tickets among performers’ families and friends, there are no public seats available for this event, but viewers will be able to see the concert on PBS in December. Dates and times for the broadcast will be announced later this fall.

*Above image provided by David McClister

Ricky Skaggs and Gordon Kennedy Perform and Speak on Music and Faith

Staff Writer
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Ricky Skaggs and Gordon Kennedy Perform and Speak on Music and Faith

At a Chapel event co-sponsored by the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, Ricky Skaggs, who has garnered 14 GRAMMY® Awards, 12 No. 1 hits, eight CMAs, eight ACMs and Belmont’s Applause Award, and Belmont alumnus and world-renowned guitarist Gordon Kennedy, Songwriting Program teacher and multiple GRAMMY® Award-winner, performed Wednesday morning, September 2. The two sang three songs and talked about their journey through the music industry and their Christian faith.

Opening with a song from the 2010 album, “Mosaic,” Skaggs emphasized the importance of diving into God’s word to hear his voice. “He is living in us, and that blows my mind. I don’t understand everything about God, but I trust him,” he said. “I don’t believe He has ever lost a battle. If we get on His side, we will always win.”

Next, the pair played “Can’t Shake Jesus,” another “Mosaic” song. Skaggs said that another way to hear God is through prayer. “We were meant to pray. We were born to pray. We were saved to pray. We pray not to change His mind, but to change our heart,” he said.

Skaggs and Kennedy 2Kennedy added that he understands the frustration college students face with not having everything planned out in their life. “God doesn’t want us to know each step. The ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ prayer never mentions tuition or starting a 401k. Ask God simply, ‘What is the next step?’ And ask for His help with that,” he said.

Concluding with the album’s last song, “Return to Sender,” the duo emphasized the importance of a relationship with Christ, rather than simply following a religion. “A relationship is His desire to get to us. He wants us to wake up, to talk to Him, love Him, praise Him, share with Him and tell others about Him. Loving Him and loving others should be our default setting,” said Skaggs.

Belmont Co-Sponsors Metro Council Forum

Hope Buckner
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Belmont Co-Sponsors Metro Council Forum

Belmont University, with Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors, Hillsboro-West End Neighbors and Vanderbilt University, sponsored a public forum on August 20 for nine of the ten candidates currently in the run-off for Metro Council’s five open at-large seats.

Held in the Community Room of the Belmont United Methodist Church, Host and WPLN Assistant News Director Blake Farmer served as the forum’s moderator.

After the event, the forum aired on iQtv, Nashville Education, Community and Arts Television’s public education channel. To watch the forum in its entirety, click here.

Watts Published in Huffington Post

Hope Buckner
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Andy WattsAssociate Professor of Religion Dr. Andy Watts recently published a blog in the Huffington Post Education titled “Entering Prison With a Syllabus” on his experience working with the Tennessee Higher Education Initiative (THEInitiative) and teaching higher education courses in the prison system.

Watts said he wrote the piece because of his recent research and teaching on social activism, criminal justice and mass incarceration. In 2009, Watts started teaching a course in prison, thanks to colleague Dr. Andi Stepnick’s involvement with the Inside-Out education program, and was able to take 10 Belmont students inside the Charles Bass Correctional Complex annex.

Through Inside-Out, Watts met Dr. Julie Doochin who championed the cause to bring for-credit higher education to prisons among Nashville. Three years ago, Doochin launched THEInitiative to provide these opportunities inside the walls of Bass Complex and Hickman County’s Turney Center Industrial Complex. Nashville State Community College provides the curriculum and college credits while THEInitiative funds and administers the program.

Watts began teaching with the organization in the spring of 2014 and is continuing on to teach a philosophical ethics course this fall. With three cohorts of 25 men serving sentences of varying lengths enrolled in the program, Watts said he continues to be impressed with his students. “These men are some of the most dedicated and engaged students I have had. The education they are receiving is a form of resistance to a cluster of powers that have and control not only their lives, but larger social attitudes and practices as well.  Research shows that education affects recidivism rates, chips away at the cradle to prison pipeline, restores dignity to inmates and their families and leads to positive reforms in mass incarceration,” Watts said.

In November, Belmont will host the 2016 National Conference on Higher Education in Prison to bring together researchers, educators, prison administrators, social justice advocates and nonprofit directors for the purpose of transforming a culture of mass incarceration.

Belmont Announces Plans for 125th Anniversary Celebration Year

April Hefner
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Belmont Announces Plans for 125th Anniversary Celebration Year

Highlights include 125 consecutive hours of service, new history book release

Bell Tower with 125 BannerBelmont kicked off the celebration of its 125th Anniversary in perfect Belmont style, with a packed out chapel service Friday followed Saturday by an on campus music festival attracting more than 3,000 campus and community members over the course of the day. But, the University is just getting started on what will be a year-long birthday party to mark its 1890 founding. Honoring Belmont’s mission to educate and empower students from diverse backgrounds to engage and transform the world, significant anniversary events will include a book release, a week focused on diversity, 125 consecutive hours of community service in Nashville and a special “Christmas at Belmont” performance, among other activities. In addition, members of the Belmont community past and present participated recently in three days of recording with oral history nonprofit StoryCorps, and those audio segments will be shared widely throughout the celebration year.

Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “The theme for our 125th anniversary celebration sums it up beautifully: At Belmont, we possess a ‘Belief in Something Greater.’ It’s a belief in the promise tomorrow holds, belief in the transformative power of education, belief in a God who gives our lives hope and purpose… it’s belief in something greater than ourselves. I’m excited for us to remember, share and be inspired by those beliefs this coming year.”

The newly commissioned book, From Here to Anywhere: A History of Belmont University 1890-2015, will be available for pre-orders on Friday on the Belmont125.com website and can be purchased in the campus bookstore beginning in late September. The book’s author, Joy Jordan-Lake, said, “Like so many American institutions of higher learning, Belmont’s story has been a patchwork-quilt heritage of ideas and philosophies. Consistently, though, Belmont has retained the best of each era and forged its own way, regardless of what others insisted could not be done… It is a story worth hearing. “

BU125 picAdditional celebration highlights include:

Tuesdays at 1:25 PM: Professor of Music and University Carillonneur Dr. Richard Shadinger, who has taught at Belmont since 1974, will play a well-known Belmont song (the alma mater, University hymn or fight song) on the Bell Tower’s 43 carillon bells weekly on Tuesdays at 1:25 p.m. as part of the celebration festivities.

October 26-30: Belmont’s Welcome Home team will host several events that reflect on the University’s past while also emphasizing goals to reflect the broader community. The University’s first African-American graduate, now a retired University president, is scheduled to speak, and the week will include a student-led spoken word event, a film showing, interactive art project and lectures.

November 9-13: A hallmark of a Belmont education is the commitment to serve, so in celebration of the anniversary, Belmont students, faculty and staff will join together in an epic undertaking to serve the University’s hometown of Nashville for 125 consecutive hours. Additional details—including dates, time and sites—will be announced later this fall.

December 2015: The annual “Christmas at Belmont” performance takes on extra significance during the 125th Anniversary year and will air nationally on PBS in late December. An announcement of this year’s host will be made later this week.

To view a brief video overview of the University’s history, click here, and to keep up with additional news and events regarding the 125th celebration, visit the Belmont125 website, which will be updated frequently with additional event details and stories of the University’s past and present. Visit the Belmont Photo Gallery on SmugMug to view photos from the Aug. 29 Battle of the Belmont Bands: 125th Anniversary Edition music festival.

Shane Claiborne Speaks on Community at Kickoff Chapel

Staff Writer
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Shane Claiborne Speaks on Community at Kickoff Chapel

Belmont’s first 2015-2016 chapel, held on Friday, August 28, kicked-off the University’s 125th anniversary celebration, a year of believing in something greater. Author, activist and founder of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world, Shane Claiborne spoke on the importance of building community in one’s life.

Claiborne opened with a description of meaningful relationships, which he said is the central message of the gospel. “Before we get to the issues, we must ground ourselves in community. The more diverse our friendships are, the richer, wiser, better people we are,” he said. “God is a reflection of community and oneness. We are made to love and be loved, and Christ modeled that.”

He told stories of times in his life that shaped his belief in being around people that challenge him. He also shared a few pieces of advice. First, he instructed students to talk directly to one another, not around or about one another. “Murmuring is poison to a community,” he said. Next, he encouraged willingness to confession, the ability to say sorry and allowing one another to make mistakes. “We can carry each other’s burdens in a society that greatly emphasizes independence,” he said.

Claiborne told of a time when a homeless community moved into an old cathedral in Philadelphia. The city issued a law prohibiting people to feed the homeless. One night, more than 100 college students went into the cathedral and prayed over the community. They fought the law on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and succeeded. “We won that victory because there was a community willing to rise up, rooted in our love for Jesus!” he said.

Claiborne’s hope is that students will remember the message of the gospel this year, a true belief in something greater than oneself. “Community allows us to walk in hope. On the days it doesn’t feel like the light is winning, we give each other hope,” he said.

 

 

 

Alumna Amanfu Featured in The Tennessean

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Alumna Ruby Amanfu was recently featured in an article in The Tennessean titled, “Ruby Amanfu finds her story in others’ songs.”

Amanfu was born in Ghana, but moved to Nashville at an early age. Her career in Music City has been marked with performances with many successful acts including Jack White and Hozier as she formed the duo, Sam and Ruby.

Her latest album, “Standing Still,” is an album full of covers like Bob Dylan’s “Not Dark Yet,” Kanye West’s “Streetlights” and Irma Thomas’s “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand).”

Belmont Listed on 10 Most Underrated Theater Colleges in Mid West

Staff Writer
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Belmont Listed on 10 Most Underrated Theater Colleges in Mid West

A column on Onstage, a theater blog, recently rated Belmont as the 10th most underrated theater college in the mid-west. Others on the list include Western Kentucky University and the University of Memphis.

The column goes on to say, “There is a lot to like about Belmont University’s theatre programs. First is the program itself: Belmont has four BFA degrees to choose from, ranging from Acting and Production design to directing and education, the last of which always scores major points with us. They also have a BA degree with theatre, as well as minors in theatre and dance.

“Belmont is also home to the gorgeous Troutt Theatre, which is a wonderful facility for both the theatre and dance programs to use. They also have a black box theatre, a 150 seat experimental performance and classroom venue for the Department of Theatre and Dance. The Black Box is a flexible performance space with move-able seating risers and is equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and audio equipment. The Black Box is the home for The Actors Bridge Ensemble.

“…Its costs are comparable with other private universities. Notable Alumni include Tony Vincent, DJ Qualls, Tony Winner Levi Kreis and stage legend Mary Martin.”

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