
The School of Filmmaking's "Symposium" series opens a door into the world behind the screen, offering audiences a chance to engage with filmmakers, artists and creative thinkers from myriad disciplines who are shaping contemporary storytelling. Through screenings, conversations and engaging dialogue, each event becomes a unique space to come together and explore how art is made, why it matters and what it reveals about the world we live in.

Step into a luminous soundscape as soprano Alisa Jordheim (Gilda in "Rigoletto," Soeur Constance in "Dialogues des Carmélites," Violetta in "La Traviata") brings the dramatic beauty of the Nordic landscape to life through music. Featuring works by Edvard Grieg, Eyvind Alnæs, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Hugo Alfvén, Jean Sibelius, Lars-Erik Larsson, Albert Schnelzer and Carl Nielsen, the program draws on a rich tradition of song shaped by mountains, fjords, forests and shifting light. Performed in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish, these works reflect a deep connection to nature, from quiet introspection to moments of striking intensity. With clarity, warmth and expressive depth, Jordheim invites audiences into a world where the natural and musical realms are inseparable. Alisa Jordheim performs at UNCSA as part of a year-long operatic celebration of the 25th anniversary of the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute.

Experience a powerful arc of contrast and transformation as Sergei Prokofiev's music moves concertgoers from shadow into light. Faculty members Ida Bieler, violin; Dmitri Vorobiev, piano; and Tadeu Coelho, flute, trace a compelling emotional journey through two of the famed composer's most expressive chamber works. The program features the Violin Sonata in F minor, Op. 80, and the Flute Sonata in D major, Op. 94. Opening in the shadowed, unsettled world of the Violin Sonata, tension and fragility intertwine in music Prokofiev described as "wind over the graves." The Flute Sonata offers a striking contrast: bright, transparent and serene. Together, the works reveal a composer navigating war, fear and upheaval while still reaching toward beauty and light. The result is a deeply human portrait of resilience expressed through sound.

Discover the dazzling power of the viola in a program that reveals the instrument's full range: restless, lyrical, bold and radiant. New faculty artist Brett Deubner leads an evening that moves from high-contrast modernism to intimate chamber dialogue, including a special commissioned work. The viola shifts constantly -- exposed and unaccompanied, in close conversation with its musical counterparts and expanded by unexpected color and texture. The result is a portrait of an instrument that embraces many identities. Joined by faculty members Ida Bieler, violin; Allison Gagnon, piano; and Ksenija Komljenović, chimes, Deubner highlights both the viola's tradition and its evolving voice on the contemporary stage.

The Piano Department at the UNCSA School of Music opens its fourth season of Piano Fridays with Peruvian-born artist Priscilla Navarro. Navarro's career has included performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and her playing has been featured on BBC Radio and Medici TV. Her UNCSA program features works by Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Albéniz and Gershwin.
The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts is proud to announce 2021-2022 Creative Catalyst Fellowships at eight cultural organizations across North Carolina and the East Coast. Applications are currently open for four of the Fellowships.
Creative Catalyst Fellowships are highly competitive, paid positions that advance artist leadership through skill-building, mentoring, and community of practice; strengthen creative community networks to better address regional gaps; foster systemic approaches to increase access, inclusion and equity; and embrace participation and exchange across the creative sector. Creative Catalyst Fellows will also gain access to educational and community-building opportunities.
The Institute's Fellowship partners reflect the Institute's aim to engage artists and communities in addressing issues such as equity, diversity and inclusion, urban and economic development and civic engagement.
Creative Catalyst Fellows will be placed with the following partners:
"The Creative Catalyst Fellowships continue the Kenan Institute's long legacy of supporting the next generation of artist leaders," said Lynda S. Lotich, Kenan Institute Interim Executive Director. "We are excited to partner with such an extraordinary, diverse group of partners for the 2021-2022 year."
For more information about the Creative Catalyst Fellowship program, contact Sunny Townes Stewart, Fellowship Program Manager.
June 15, 2021