The American Prize
The Music Theatre and Opera Program was named the first place winner of The American Prize in Musical Theatre Performance 2024 in the college/university division for their production of “Into the Woods.” Brian DeMaris, artistic director, and Kate Leonard, stage director, were also recognized as recipients of the esteemed award. This is the program’s seventh American Prize award for musical theatre performance since 2016, with two being awarded in 2018.
Dance premiere
Keith Thompson premiered his original work “Love Alone Anthology Project” in the 20th anniversary La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival in New York City in April. Thompson, associate professor and assistant director of dance in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, has been working on the piece for nine years. “I am able to do these types of things because ASU wants us to all be contributors to our fields,” said Thompson. “It’s the fabric of who we are at ASU and what we strive to achieve. As faculty, we continue to work and take time to build and create with colleagues outside of the university. That magnifies ASU as a global presence and that connects us to the world.” Read more about the piece and the performance.
Guinness World Record double bass performance
Catalin Rotaru, professor of double bass at the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, and Wan Ting Yu, doctoral music student, participated in a new Guinness World Record event in China. The performance aimed to set a new record for the largest number of double bassists performing together. Rotaru and Yu were the invited guests of Song Yi, a double bass professor from the world-famous Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. “It was an honor to be invited to the world record attempt in China, especially since I was the only American present,” Rotaru said.
Gridiron to the big screen
School of Music, Dance and Theatre alum Ben Fritz spent his time on the football field while he was a theater student at ASU, even playing linebacker on the 1997 Rose Bowl football team. After working as a filmmaker in LA for 25 years, he returned to the desert to make appearances at Arizona film festivals.
Timbaland at MICC
Grammy award-winning producer Timbaland was the keynote speaker at the ASU Popular Music program’s music industry conference in March. Each year the conference brings together executives, talent managers and industry pioneers to Fusion on First in Downtown Phoenix for a career-changing experience. Attendees, including students in the Popular Music program, get an immersive learning and networking experience, offering access to cutting-edge industry insights, career-building opportunities and exclusive live performances.