Megan Kline Crockett Named Head of the Carpenter Center at Long Beach State University
Long Beach State University and its College of the Arts announced the appointment of Megan Kline Crockett as executive director at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Kline Crockett was selected after a national search for the best candidate to expand the success of the campus’ largest performing arts venue. She has been serving as interim executive director at the Carpenter Center since September 2016. Kline Crockett “has the qualities of great leadership,” said Cyrus Parker-Jeannette, dean of the College of the Arts. “She is courageous while remaining humble, cares deeply about individuals while also understanding an organization as a whole, and she is highly committed to engaging the community and the campus through the power of the arts,” Parker-Jeannette said.
Her lifelong appreciation and involvement in the arts has given her a broad yet discerning approach to programming and managing the Carpenter Center. Under her leadership, the Carpenter Center has expanded its partnerships with university departments and programs, including a new Arts for Life series focused on lectures by leading area visual artists presented in cooperation with the School of Art. Next season will include an expanded presence and support for the Cole Conservatory Symphony Orchestra on the Carpenter Center stage. She is also emphasizing inclusion in the programming by expanding the multicultural and global offerings as a part of the upcoming seasons. Before taking over the leadership role at the Carpenter Center, Ms. Crockett served for two years as the managing director for CSULB’s California Repertory Company in the department of theatre arts. She began her professional career in New York City, where she worked at International Creative Management and as the administrative director of a high-profile art gallery. In 2007, she returned to her native California with her husband, Bryan, who was recruited to head the sculpture program at Long Beach State University.
For Her It's Personal
Design’s Debra Satterfield examines the quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by designing products, services and environments for them. Her commitment is more than academic. Satterfield’s teenage son, John, has epilepsy and an autism spectrum disorder. He enjoys painting and saw one of his paintings win a prize at the Iowa State Fair. “And none of the judges knew he was disabled,” she recalled. “It was eye-opening to me. I had never even thought to give him a chance. It made me wonder how many others like he is could benefit from having a creative outlet.”
For the complete story by Richard Manly, visit the CSULB Newsroom.
Two Times Choral World Champions
Last summer, the Bob Cole Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Talberg, won the 2016 Choir of the World and Pavarotti Trophy at the 70th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. The six-day event drew entries from as far away as Trinidad and Tobago, Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines. This year, the Chamber Choir once again swept the awards and walked away with the top choral award in the 54th Annual Internationaler Chorwettbewerb Spittal an der Drau in Spittal, Austria. The Bob Cole Chamber Choir was the only American choir invited to compete, and faced off - musically - against 9 other of the world's best amateur/university choirs. In tallying the final score, it was announced that the Chamber Choir won with the second-highest aggregate point total in the history of this revered and prestigious competition. Congrats to our Choir! (More on this story)
For more information on the Bob Cole Conservatory or our award-winning choral and vocal programs, visit the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music website.
School of Art Creates Studio/Arts Exchange Space in Italy
In the heart of the medieval Tuscan hill town of Chiusdino, Italy a vibrant new art center is emerging. For the last two years, students and faculty from CSULB’s ceramic arts program have been building a wood-fire kiln and ceramics studio at the Tirisondola/Tuscan Art Center property of Mr. Thomas Liepsner. This project holds special opportunities for expanding study-abroad programming for the School of Art and other departments in the College of the Arts, and perhaps other programs at CSULB and across the CSU system. Students and faculty are spending their summer there again this year, pulling and curing clay from the hills around the property, firing ceramic works in the temperamental kiln – resulting in unique and spectacularly colored ceramic pieces. This year – donors and CSULB administrators have joined the students as they work to formalize our arrangement with this wonderful property.
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