Arts
A Spring Filled with the Arts
Muskingum University students capped the 2023-2024 academic year with a spring of vibrant arts performances and exhibitions.
The spring musical, “Chicago” by Kander and Ebb, was presented March 21-24 in Caldwell Hall’s Thompson Theatre with a cast of 19 students. It was directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Cassandra King, music directed by Artist Affiliate Sheryl Wise ’95G, and choreographed by Leanne Bader Mock. Roscoe Ramirez ’24 was the Scenic Designer, Anne Shafer ’24 the Technical Director, and Kailyn Shalosky ’24 the Production Stage Manager.
Throughout April, the culminating concerts of the year were performed. The season kicked off on April 11 with the Chamber Ensembles concert, which featured the Chamber Singers, Clarinet Ensemble, String Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Steel Drum Band, and the Conductors Ensemble with student conductors leading three instrumental works.
The next few weeks brought 2023-2024 season finale concerts by the Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, Southeastern Ohio Symphonic Orchestra (SEOSO), and the Wind Ensemble. The Wind Ensemble concert on April 28 also featured the Muskingum Valley Symphonic Winds and the inaugural performance of the Muskingum Valley Youth Wind Ensemble for talented high school students, which was launched by the University’s Music Department in January 2024. Hannah Jordan ’24, voice, and Jakob Plummer ’24, bassoon, presented their senior recitals, and Stacy Russell Welker ’16 and Mallory Fischer Wolfe ’18 performed a faculty/alumni recital.
In March, the Palmer Gallery hosted Ducks! The Art and History of the Decoy, an exhibit featuring vintage and fine art duck decoys from the Janet Brown ’54 Rothwell and William Rothwell Decoy Collection. The exhibit included research posters and presentations by students in Professor William Kerrigan’s Environmental History class. Their work explored the connections between the histories of hunting and wildlife preservation.
The 2024 Senior Art Show in April concluded the gallery exhibits for the semester. Throughout the spring, theatre and art double major Anne Shafer ’24 curated other students’ three-dimensional artworks into inventive displays in the alcoves of Cambridge Hall’s lower level.
