Glenn Korff School of Music Blog

Donna Harler Smith

Donna just finished a sold out run of The Addams Family at TADA in the Haymarket.  She was Grandma Addams.  "We got rave reviews and the experience, though time-consuming - was tremendous fun," she said. "It is so wonderful to allow people to laugh!"

Alisa Belflower

In mid-October UNL's Coordinator of Musical Theatre Studies Alisa Belflower attended the 27th Annual Festival of New Musicals in New York City. The National Alliance for Musical Theatre produces the Festival of New Musicals to create a nurturing environment for discovery, development and advancement of the musical theatre art form. Since the Festival began 432 composers, lyricists and bookwriters creating new musical theatre works have been introduced musical theatre producers. More than 85% of the new musicals featured in the festival have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions and tours, been licensed, and/or recorded on cast albums as a direct result of the Festival! The Festival produces staged readings and cabaret concerts to introduce new musicals in development and their creators to an industry-only audience with the experience and resources to move the work forward. Professor Belflower is honored to have been among the first college professors in the nation to be invited to this event, after which she provided written feedback to each of the writers. UNL's Lied Center for Performing Arts, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film and the Glenn Korff School of Music have worked together to produce development projects for over 16 new musicals under Prof. Belflower's direction in the last decade or so. All of the new musicals developed at UNL have received further professional development and/or professional productions by some of the nation's most respected professional theatre's including Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, York Theatre Company and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, among others.

The Lied Center for Performing Arts was pleased in early September 2015 to host the ASCAP New Musical Theatre Workshop. This event is hosted in New York City, Los Angeles and in Lincoln on UNL's city campus. Prof. Alisa Belflower was honored to produce and direct one of the two winning submissions, a new musical based on the Greek myth describing Hades' abduction of Persephone. Persephone Unplugged featured a cast of UNL students, alums performing with professional actors under the musical direction of Kurt Knecht. As a part of the festival weekend, Prof. Belflower was honored to create, produce and direct Broadway at the Lied: The Music of Steven Lutvak, a two-act revue hosted by Mr. Lutvak, the composer and co-lyricist of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, winner of 16 awards including the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical. The revue feature performances by guest artist and Broadway veteran Karen Morrow, Steven Lutvak and a company of Glenn Korff School of Music vocal students and alums.

In early November, Belflower was honored to present, give master classes and coach aspiring vocalists and actors as a guest artist in residence at Northern Iowa University. She presented her recent research relating innovating vocal and acting techniques to the performance of opera, art song and musical theatre repertoire.

John Bailey

Dr. John Bailey, Richard H. Larson Distinguished Professor of Music (Flute), recently presented at the College Music Society’s annual national conference in Indianapolis, on his system of “buddy lessons” where one flutist is the note-taker for the other, something he developed long ago, and his students all seem to really like.  Built in second flute for orchestral rep, a complete record of assignments and tips for solving problems, and the buddy learns all the music the lesson student is learning.

Mark Clinton

Mark Clinton was the featured artist for the prestigious Christopher Durant Ballew Memorial Concert held on October 13, 2015 in the Cecil B. Day Chapel on the grounds of the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia in Athens.  He performed a solo recital featuring the works of Schubert, Schoenberg, and Brahms.  The concert was jointly sponsored by the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia.

He also served as chairman of the jury for the Sixth Seattle International Piano Festival and Competition, which was held at Benaroya Hall in Seattle from October 16-19, 2015.  The distinguished panel of jurors heard more than thirty promising young pianists from around the world competing for significant cash prizes and performance awards.  As chair of the jury, he also was invited to present a masterclass for talented young students performing works by Chopin and Beethoven.