Conductor E. Michael Richards, professor of music, and the UMBC Symphony have been awarded honorable mention in the college/university division of The American Prize’s Ernst Bacon Memorial Award in the Performance of American Music for their 2016 performance and recording of William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony.” Alan Wonneberger, lecturer and director of recording for the department of music, mastered the recording of the live performance.

Among the many contests hosted by The American Prize, the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music focuses exclusively on works by American composers from any period and in any style.

The American Prize notes, “the award is named in honor of American composer Ernst Bacon (1898 – 1990) who was among the pioneering generation of composers who, along with Thomson, Copland, Harris, and others, found a voice for American music. Ernst Bacon set out to create compositions that expressed the vitality and affirmative spirit of our country.”

“Afro-American Symphony” was a milestone in Still’s career and in American musical history as it was the first symphony by a black composer to be performed by a major orchestra, premiered in 1931 by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The symphony for full orchestra was remarkable for blending not only jazz but also blues and spirituals into a classical form, groundbreaking at the time.

“I am grateful that the Symphony’s diverse program has received this recognition,” Richards says. “One of our goals is to not only study and perform the masterworks of the common practice period, but also the lesser known, high-quality, and relevant music of twentieth and twentieth-first century composers – music of our time.”

Founded in 1973 by conductor/violinist Robert Gerle, the UMBC Symphony is an ensemble of 90 students and community members that performs music from the 17th to 21st centuries. E. Michael Richards assumed leadership of the UMBC Symphony in the fall of 2007. Richards previously served as conductor of the Hamilton College Orchestra for 17 years, the Bowdoin College Orchestra, and as assistant conductor with the La Jolla Civic Orchestra (San Diego). He has also guest-conducted the Syracuse Society for New Music. Fanfare Magazine heralded a recording on the Opus One label of Masataka Matsuo’s Hirai V that Richards led with the Hamilton College Orchestra as “a staggering achievement.”

Images: UMBC Symphony and E. Michael Richards; photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Conductor E. Michael Richards, professor of music, and the UMBC Symphony have been awarded honorable mention in the college/university division of The American Prize’s Ernst Bacon Memorial Award in the Performance of American Music for their 2016 performance and recording of William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony.” Alan Wonneberger, lecturer and director of recording for the department of music, mastered the recording of the live performance.

Among the many contests hosted by The American Prize, the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music focuses exclusively on works by American composers from any period and in any style.

Congratulations to the UMBC Symphony and Dr. Richards!  

To read the full story, visit UMBC News. 

 Updated January 18 with more positions and some more detail on existing ads. . .

Several state delegates and senators have recently contacted me to advertise internships for this current legislative session, which runs until mid-April. Most offices need the intern to start immediately and to work for 2 days per week. Typical state legislative intern duties include substantial legislative research work, constituent correspondence, some clerical work, and attendance at various meetings, events, and legislative proceedings with or on behalf of the legislator. UMBC students have consistently reported positive experiences with this program, and for several of them, the experience later led to a legislative staff job.

Most of the legislators who have contacted me pay their interns a modest stipend, which is set this session at $850 for 16 hours per week and $1250 for 24 hours per week. Free parking is also included.

Interns receiving the stipend are considered participants in the Maryland General Assembly’s official internship program and thus are required to be sponsored by a professor and to receive academic credit for the experience – although, as noted below, some legislators hire outside this program and may still pay. The Department of Political Science offers qualifying students 7 graded credits for a combination of the internship and required supplemental academic work. These come from POLI 448, a writing-intensive hybrid class required of all interns, and POLI 401. On those weeks when POLI 448 meets face-to-face, alternative arrangements are available for students whose internship schedules conflict with class time. Traditionally, eligibility has been limited to juniors and seniors with GPAs of 3.0 and higher, but exceptions for high-GPA sophomores or for upperclassmen with GPAs below 3.0 may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

As of Wednesday, January 18, the following legislators have contacted me about internships in their Annapolis offices. Party affiliation and county are provided for your information, but interns are not necessarily required to share these with the legislator. If you are interested, please send your resume to the contact person while contacting me to apply for academic credit. ~Dr. Hussey (lhussey@umbc.edu)

·         Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D – Howard County) (see details in earlier post)

·         Del. Ric Metzgar (R – Baltimore County) (Contact: Diamond J. Aranda, Chief of Staff, 410-841-3332)

·         Del. Edith Patterson (D – Charles County) (Tu/Th availability needed. Contact: Melinda M. Hamilton, Chief of Staff, Edith.Patterson@house.state.md.us or 410-841-3247.)

·         Del. Marc Korman (D – Montgomery County) (MWF availability preferred, but TuTh OK. Contact: Sean Emerson, Legislative Aide, Marc.Korman@house.state.md.us or 410-841-3649)

·         Sen. Victor Ramirez (D – Prince George’s County) (Spanish speakers especially desired. Needs TuWeTh availability. May still hire and pay stipend even if not meeting 3.0 GPA or requirement for professor sponsorship and academic credit. Contact: Wanika Fisher, Esq., Policy and Constituent Director, WFisher@senate.state.md.us or 410-841-3745)

·         Del. Karen Lewis Young (D – Frederick County) (Contact: Manley Paul Calhoun III, Legislative Director, Karen.Young@house.state.md.us or 410-841-3436)

·         Speaker Pro Tem Del. Adrienne Jones (D – Baltimore County). (Position is unpaid, but promises extensive exposure to the delegate’s meetings and legislative work. Does not involve clerical work. Contact Dr. Hussey for details.)

·         Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D – Prince George’s County) (TuTh availability preferred, W okay. Contact: Keontae Wells, Executive Assistant: KKells@senate.state.md.us)

·         Delegate-elect (just appointed to fill a vacancy) Jheanelle Wilkins (D – Montgomery County) (Send email of interest and resume to Dr. Hussey to forward directly to Del.-Elect Wilkins)

Dear SWEethearts,

Are you looking to embellish your Spring semester schedule and/or your resume? Volunteer to help students overcome engineering challenges for the Science Olympiad! Please read the information below:

I writing to you on behalf of the Green Street Science club at Green Street Academy where I am the coach of our school's Science Olympiad team where we will be competing in a city-wide and hopefully a state competition in a number of science and engineering events. I am reaching out to your organization because I am looking for volunteers to help me with different events for the science Olympiad and I thought your organization might have individuals who would be willing to help my students in one of three engineering design challenges:

·         Tower Building Challenge- Students have to build towers out of wood that can support different weights. Towers must meet specific parameters and will be scored based upon their mass and how much they hold.

·         Wright Stuff Challenge- Students have to design, construct, and test free flight rubber-powered monoplanes to achieve maximum time aloft.

·         Scrambler- competitors must design, build, and test one mechanical device, which uses the energy from a falling mass to transport an egg along a track as quickly as possible and stop as  close to the center of a Terminal Barrier (TB) without breaking the egg.

I either have most of the materials needed already and I can get additional materials needed for each of the different events.  There are only two students assigned to each challenge so a volunteer would not have to manage or work with a ton of students just one or two students.

Our science club meets Mondays and Wednesdays directly after school from 3:15 to 4:15 every week, however if there are individuals within your organization who have other days they are available that would be great. The Baltimore Regional Tournament of the Maryland Science Olympiad is March 4^th so the sooner I could get some help the better. If you could forward this information and request out to your networks that would be great. Also, if you would like more information please feel free to contact me via email.

Thanks,

Deon Jackson

7th Grade Science Teacher 

Green Street Academy

djacksonterp@gmail.com

If you have any questions and/or concerns, please email umbcswe@gmail.com