Don Appert

Music Department Chair and Orchestra Director Don Appert has had a busy summer. The Clark College Orchestra took third place in the 2013 American Prize category of Orchestral Performance-Community Orchestra. The award was given specifically for the orchestra’s March 14, 2012, concert. “In addition I am also pleased to announce that my work Quartetto Basso was premiered and subsequently recorded by Rocco Parisi’s Bass Clarinet Quartet in June,” Appert adds in an email. “The piece was commissioned by the ensemble for the CD A tempo, a modo: Path tracking Vito Marsico. The proceeds from the CD will go to support FA-R.I.T.M.O., which is the Bone Marrow Transplant Research Foundation treating patients with acute leukemia in Genoa, Italy. It is fitting that I composed this piece of music for them, as my mother died of leukemia in 1972.”

Concert Choir performing at Union Square, directed by Pavel Kovalenko, student director.

Eighty-eight members of the Clark College Concert Band and Concert Choir represented Clark College by performing in San Francisco, California, the week after spring quarter ended. The tour and performances culminated a year of concerts presented by these two Clark College music groups.

During the trip, which occurred June 23-26, the groups performed two concerts together, followed by individual choral and band workshops taught by nationally recognized conductors. One performance was service-related: The groups gave a free concert at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Community Living Center. It was a moving experience for the students. Following the performance, student Jessica Banks called it “amazing” and “a beautiful experience.”

The second performance served a public-relations function: This free concert at Union Square promoted Clark College’s excellence and drew a large crowd that responded with enthusiasm to the students’ skill and talent.

The Band and Choir each had opportunities to be rehearsed by notable music educator/conductors. The Concert Choir worked with world-renowned conductor Elena Sharkova of the Symphony Silicon Valley; students came away from the experience edified and validated for their work and passion for singing. Choir member Isabelle Wilson said afterward, “I am leaving San Francisco amazed and coming home so inspired. Not only by our performances this week, but the heart and talent and laughter that went along with it. This was a weekend I won’t forget because of my Concert Choir family. I was inspired after working with Elena Sharkova, and I am inspired by all of you. Thank you for making my year.”

The Concert Band worked with Charles R. Barrett at San Francisco State University, taking away new skills and insights to performing that will benefit them technically and musically.

Both groups attended a professional chamber music concert at the Davies Symphony Hall, which for many of the students was a new experience. Band director Rich Inouye commented, “This tour really represents the comprehensive education we try to provide at Clark. It was the perfect balance of culture, education, and performance, and the students really had a great experience.”

Photo: courtesy of April Duvic

Shantell Martin’s digital drawing performance with Clark College jazz musicians Max Wike, David Floratos and James Powers in the Archer Gallery.

Visual artist Shantell Martin’s free-form drawings and live-animation performances have been featured in such vaunted venues as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the New York Times, the enormous screens at Shibuya and Harajuku crossings in Tokyo–and, for more than a week, at Clark College.

Martin visited Clark as part of the college’s Artist Residency program, which hosts an artist-in-residence once a year as part of the larger Clark Art Talks program. She is probably the most prominent artist yet to participate in the residency.

“We read about her in the New York Times and contacted her, even though we did’’t think she would do an artist’s residency at Clark College,” said art professor Carson Legree. “Her visit was amazing.”

During her residency from April 26 to May 7, Martin visited numerous classes including Drawing, 2-D Design, 3-D Design, Graphic Design Exploration, Watercolor, Photography, Ceramics, and Creativity and Concept. She also gave a slideshow lecture as part of the Clark Art Talks series on May 7 and provided digital animation during a performance with three Clark jazz students in Archer Gallery on May 8. She created large-scale drawings that hung in the lobby of Foster Arts Center during much of her stay.

“Her classroom visits were filled with personal autobiography and a celebration of individuality,” said art professor Senseny Stokes. “She worked with hundreds of our students, who were inspired by her work and personal history–and charmed by her approachable, laid-back manor.”

Clark College artist-in-residence Shantell Martin displays her work in the Frost Arts lobby.

Martin, who has said in interviews that much of her artistic perspective is informed by growing up as the only interracial child in her otherwise white family in London, has made a name for herself with her playful line drawings that reflect a celebration of independence. She also frequently provides live animation or light shows to accompany music in settings ranging from museums to the mega-clubs of Japan and Russia. She has been featured on CNN, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the television show Gossip Girl. Martin has collaborated with celebrity photographers and brands alike; her notable work includes a project with celebrity photographer Nigel Barker, where she created digital sets for a 10-page Tatler Asia editorial with supermodel Christina Garcia. In February 2012, she was one of four artists commissioned by Nike iD to make a piece of work and a limited-edition shoe to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Nike Cortez.

“We didn’t think there was much of a chance that an artist with this much commercial success or international acclaim would do a residency here at Clark College, but we were honored and thrilled when she accepted our invitation,” said Stokes, who called Martins’ collaboration with the jazz students “one of the coolest things that ever happened at Clark College.”

“I’ve had a really nice time coming in every day, just drawing and coming into classes, meeting students and teachers,” said Martin in a video interview. “It’s kind of nice to come in and do the drawing and the stuff that I’m comfortable with, but also have the chance to experiment alongside young students here.”

Clark Art Talks is an ASCC-sponsored program that includes an evening lecture series, classroom workshops, and the annual Artist Residency. Organized by the Art Department, it is now completing its fourth year at the college and its second year as an official ASCC program.

See photos from Shantell Martin’s stay at Clark.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley