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(05/04/16 6:00pm)
In North Carolina, one in four children do not know where their next meal will come from. Once school lets out for the summer, these children may hungry, as school may be their only reliable food source. In Alamance County alone, 26 percent of children will go hungry over the summer.
(04/19/16 5:55pm)
Upon arriving on campus in August, freshman Kenneth Brown Jr. immediately got involved in the Elon University community as a class president and volunteer. His service efforts did not go unnoticed, as he was recently named a 2016 Newman Civic Fellow.
(04/13/16 12:00pm)
With both contemporary and classical music coming from the strings, the Elon University Orchestra will perform its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19 in McCrary Theatre.
(04/06/16 12:01pm)
Prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, human rights violations in the host city were exposed by international media organizations. Inspired by the media coverage, senior Michelle Alfini develped an interest with the Olympics and its relationship in human rights issues.
(02/29/16 6:53pm)
When junior Jonny Deaton’s short film “Joining the Conversation” won the Nukebusters Short Film Contest, he thought his fame would end shortly after.
(02/24/16 6:00pm)
For college students, it can be very intimidating to think about entering the “real world.” Most Elon University students will agree that they are perfectly comfortable in the “Elon Bubble.” It’s daunting to think that one day friends won’t be a short walk across campus, that unlimited swipes to the dining halls will cease to exist.
(02/18/16 7:28pm)
While most students at Elon University spend their first semester getting involved on campus and socializing, freshman Kate Ulveling’s fall semester was strictly business.
(02/10/16 1:00pm)
After re-watching the original Broadway production of “Light in the Piazza,” Linda Sabo, associate professor of performing arts, was inspired to recreate an overall sense of the theme. Elon University performing arts students put their own twist on the characters but maintain the elements from the original show.
(01/20/16 1:40pm)
The Department of Performing Arts’ Dance Program presented its Final Choreography Salon 6 p.m. Dec. 1 in Studio A in the Center for the Arts.
(11/18/15 10:00pm)
Elon University’s Elon Electric Ensemble will present its Fall Songwriter Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 in McCrary Theatre. Students will perform original music, including indie, pop, rock and folk songs.
(11/12/15 1:00pm)
Elon University’s Jazz Ensemble will perform its fall concert, “American Standardization,” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in McCrary Theatre. Audiences will travel back to the 1900s and listen to America’s historical musical art form — jazz — as the ensemble performs pieces from the Great American Songbook, which consists of popular American songs from the 1920s through the 1960s.
(11/01/15 1:02am)
Speak Out for Syria (SOS) was founded at Elon University this fall to educate the community and fundraise for the millions of refugees in need to help the approximately 9 million Syrians fleeing their home country after a civil war outbreak in March 2011.
(10/30/15 4:00pm)
Senior Caitlyn Balkcum will take the audience through a range of cultures during her classical voice recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Whitley Auditorium.
(10/21/15 9:00pm)
At Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, California, an Elon University student took the stage.
(10/02/15 6:13pm)
Dropping everything, Harper Regan heads out on a mission to see her father before he dies. This road trip becomes a journey of self discovery as she finds the truth behind her relationship and explores the moralities of sex and death.
(09/18/15 1:56pm)
Eating healthy in a college setting can be a challenge. With late-night McEwen, Smitty’s and Cookout, Elon University students have many temptations to snack late and eat junk food. For others, making an extra effort to eat healthy is an important part of their lifestyle, especially for those that are vegan.
(09/05/15 6:45pm)
Yeager Recital Hall was filled with energy and excitement as 14 of Elon University’s music theater students practiced riffing with Broadway actress and YouTube star Natalie Weiss.
(09/01/15 5:36pm)
For many Elon University students, heading to the underdeveloped “downtown Elon” is a monotonous experience with weekly dinners to The Root Trackside or picking up a planner from “All That Jas,” thinking there isn’t much else to do.
(05/06/15 10:24pm)
The mysteries of space have inspired Elon University’s Elon Music Ambassadors’ (EMA) spring concert “Beyond the Sky,” which will be performed 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Yeager Recital Hall.
Virginia Novine-Whittaker, saxophone instructor and the group’s director, said she was fascinated by the unknowns of the universe and thought it was a great theme that encompasses several genres and eras of music.
“When people are fascinated by or don’t quite understand something, they write music about it,” Novine-Whittaker said.
EMA was initially inspired by Novine-Whittaker’s previous musical group, a saxophone quartet that toured high schools to recruit potential Elon students.
Four years later, that’s still the main goal. The group has grown to include a broader representation of music, from vocals to instruments such as trombone, flute and guitar.
To become a member of EMA, students must be music majors and be recommended by professors in the music department. Novine-Whittaker said students should not only be strong performers, but they must also have leadership qualities and the ability to work as a team.
This semester, the ensemble has 12 students, the largest it has been since it began in 2011.
Senior Nicole Payne got involved with EMA after Novine-Whittaker invited her to join. She said it’s a hands-on learning experience because students arrange all of their own music.
“We split up into groups for arranging and write all of the parts,” Payne said. “We also write introductions for our concerts, which we make very interactive and educational.”
Students spend the first half of the semester collaborating on and researching pieces and the latter half rehearsing.
“Beyond the Sky” has 13 pieces with selections pertaining to outer space, flight and the possibilities of what lies beyond the horizon.
“I love arriving at the moment where everything clicks into place,” said senior Lianna Mills. “The music and lyrics suddenly hold a newfound meaning, and we all begin to get pumped for the show and tour.”
In contrast to previous concerts, “Beyond the Sky” focuses more on song lyrics and portraying the theme of the mysteries of space than the music itself. The set list ranges from “Fly Me to the Moon” to “Dancing in the Moonlight.”
Starting May 17, EMA will go on tour to Maryland schools to recruit high school students for Elon’s music program. The group has toured 32 high schools in five states over the past two years, performing for about 4,000 high school students.
Each tour features different genres of music, such as classical jazz, rock and Latin. Novine-Whittaker said it is important to showcase various genres because it can appeal to every member of the audience, inspiring them to pursue music at Elon.
As director, Novine-Whittaker is involved with every aspect of EMA. She watches her students throughout the creative process and gains inspiration from them.
“My students’ creativity knows no bounds,” Whittaker said. “When you allow a student to create a climate, their creativity soars.”
By working closely together on arrangements during rehearsals throughout the semester, Mills has forged a close bond with the students in EMA.
“I love exploring the group dynamics and getting to know members on a more personal level,” Mills said. “That’s what music does best — uniting individuals and forming a community.”
(04/29/15 10:12pm)
Darkness.
A crippled mind. A dysfunctional family. “Next to Normal” brought the struggles of mental illness to life at Elon University April 23 – 26.
The musical deals with themes such as suicide, drug abuse and grieving. The storyline centers on matriarch Diana Goodman, who is suffering from bipolar disorder after the loss of her child.
Linda Sabo, director and associate professor of performing arts, watched the original cast perform a song from the Pulitzer Prize-winning show at the Tony Awards and was immediately intrigued.
“The music is beautifully written, and I thought it would be a challenge for our students because of the contemporary rock sound,” Sabo said.
Elon musical theater majors are primarily classically trained, but with the help of faculty trained in contemporary and rock singing, Sabo said the vocally demanding show was a challenge students were willing and able to take on.
Over the course of two days, 150 students auditioned for the show, singing various pieces from the show and, later in the audition process, songs for specific characters. The show was double cast, with each cast performing three times.
Senior Zach Teague, assistant director, said actors are belting taxing rock ballads for almost the entirety of the show. The decision to double cast the production not only gave students more opportunities to perform but also prevented vocal straining.
“Next To Normal” was performed in Roberts Studio Theatre, one of the newest art facilities on campus. Teague said Roberts Studio Theatre — a black box theater — catered perfectly to “Next to Normal” because of its ability to allow audiences to connect with the characters on a deeper level.
“It is such an intimate space, so the audience is able to catch things that they wouldn’t normally catch in a big theater,” Teague said. “It’s cool because it feels like you’re in it with them and really feeling the strong emotions of the characters.”
The black box is constructed with black sheets hanging on stage and around the theater, which was intended to represent Diana Goodman’s psychological problems by giving audience members the impression they were looking into the “walls” of her mind.
Sabo wanted the show to be as abstract as possible while playing with the black box theater setting. The actors move cinematically through each scene with psychological-based choreography.
“Next to Normal” highlights mental illness, a topic people often avoid for fear of facing stigmas and ignorance from others. Junior Lizzie Markson, who played Natalie Goodman, said she expected the dark themes of the show to be hard to handle but considered working with them an enjoyable and educational process.
“Most of the characters are in such a dark place, but I’ve found that you just have to lose yourself and immerse yourself in the role,” Markson said. “It is definitely emotionally exhausting because it’s so intense, but we try to keep each other laughing to keep us sane.”
As assistant director, Teague helped actors develop their characters and find motivation in their scenes. Watching rehearsals continuously led him and the cast to become more comfortable with the depressing topics in the show.
“We did so much research on electro-shock therapy, grief and mental illness medications,” Teague said. “We wanted to steer the actors in the right direction of handling such an emotionally driven show, but they were already so mentally prepared from day one.”
Markson said playing Natalie gave her the opportunity to explore and express deeper emotions.
“[Teague] has said to me, ‘I wish I could show you a video of yourself from the beginning of rehearsals to now,’” Markson said. “I’m constantly being pushed to take risks.”
Sabo said she was amazed how the cast could understand and perform the material so well, especially the two actors who played Diana, a 40-year-old bipolar woman.
“Each generation gets smarter and more sophisticated at a much earlier age,” Sabo said. “This maturity translates into their acting, and you immediately suspend disbelief, convinced that they are truly going through what the characters are dealing with.”
Although the characters are part of what seems like a normal suburban family, what lies beneath the surface is the overarching theme of the show: the challenges of mental illness.
Sabo hopes this focus will make the audience more educated and aware of mental illness.
“The finale is called ‘Light,’ and I think that encompasses the overall theme of the show,” Sabo said. “You may have to search long and hard, but there is hope at the end of the tunnel.”