April 2008

Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music

The School of Music is to be named for Ernest and Sarah Butler following their $55 million gift. The gift is the largest ever given to a public university music school and the second largest single gift to The University of Texas at Austin.

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Dance Repertory Theatre

For the third time since 2004, UT’s award-winning student dance company Dance Repertory Theatre, has been invited back to Young! Tanzsommer, the “Stars of Tomorrow” for six exciting performances, in Innsbruck, Lienz, Axams and St. Johann, Austria, under the direction of Professors Lyn C. Wiltshire and Andrea Beckham. The aspiring dancers will experience personal growth, discipline and professional development as they rehearse and perform in some of Europe’s largest venues for audiences with as many as 3,000 members.

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Columbian Choreographer, Álvaro Restrepo

World-renowned Columbian choreographer Álvaro Restrepo was in residence at The University for a week in February. Sponsored by the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS), Álvaro’s residency was co-hosted by the UT Performing Arts Center’s ArtesAméricas program and the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice.

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Bricks & Mortar: The Visual Arts Center Announces Renovation Funding

The Department of Art and Art History is pleased to announce that The University of Texas at Austin has approved $7 million in institutional funding for the adaptive re-use and renovation of the Visual Arts Center (VAC).

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The Blanton Poetry Project

The Blanton Poetry Project is an ongoing venture made possible by the Blanton Museum of Art and the Creative Writing Program of the Department of English in The University of Texas at Austin.

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Future Arts Administrators Travel to New York

Fine Arts graduates utilize their degrees in a number of ways. Over two days during Spring Break, 15 undergraduates from art and art history, music, and theatre and dance visited seven organizations to learn more about career opportunities in arts administration. Students left the seminar with essential career information as well as a new understanding of arts organizations. Whether planning on a career as a visual or performing artist or administrator, students gained new insight that will be useful to them.

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College Hires New Development Officer

Andrea’s primary responsibilities involve securing gifts for all departments within the College; her initial focus will be on the Department of Art and Art History.

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Join Houston Area Alumni at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

On Sunday, May 18, Fine Arts alumni are invited to a reception, lecture and tour of Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Department of Art and Art History faculty Nayla Kabazi Muntasser and Ph.D. candidate Lea Cline will speak about the exhibition prior to the tour of the exhibit. Tickets are available through the Texas Exes for $25.

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In Memoriam: Dr. Francis Hodge, Professor Emeritus

Dr. Francis R. Hodge passed away on April 6, 2008 in Austin, Texas, at the age of 92. Hodge was a professor emeritus in The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance and served as professor of directing from 1949-79.

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