UWM Slovenian Arts Program News

_____________________Newsletter of the UWM Slovenian Arts Council_____________________

Fall Edition                                                                                                                       September 2009

 


Farewell Dr. Zvone Žigon

On Sunday, July 19 at Triglav Park, the UWM Slovenian Arts Council expressed their deepest appreciation to Dr. Žigon for his lifetime commitment and vast contribution to preserve and promote Slovenian Arts and Culture in the United States and Slovenia.  The day began with Mass held in the outdoor Chapel of Triglav Park, and celebrated by Rev. Don Quartano, with Rev. Dr. Joze Gole in attendance.  Dr. Žigon and his wife, lrena, attended the Mass.  The music for the Mass was provided by the USPEH Slovenian Chorus, directed by Mici Bregant, and accompanied by Dolores lvanchich.  After a delicious lunch, the UWM Slovenian Arts Council presented Dr. Žigon with the 2009 Slovenian Arts Program Service Award.  President MaryCay Freiberg said, “We, here in Wisconsin, especially appreciated Dr. Žigon’s enthusiastic support in person or in “Slovenian Spirit” for the past four years.  We thank God and Dr. Žigon for sharing himself in our lives.  We will never forget him.  May Dr. Žigon and Irena’s life continue to be joy-filled with love, fun, and friendship.”  Then, with all the Council members in attendance, SAC Vice-President Judy Price had the distinct pleasure to present Dr. Žigon with the Slovenian Arts Program Service award in the form of a beautifully inscribed crystal plaque.  The USPEH Slovenian Chorus concluded the program by singing a few favorite Slovenian songs in tribute to Dr. Žigon.  All in attendance expressed Best Wishes to Dr. Žigon and lrena as they return to Slovenia after four successful years, covering ten U.S. States.  Special thanks to Kathy Kaye and Helen Frohna who coordinated the Mission Picnic activities.  Their mother, Mici Coffelt, is surely smiling from above, proud and pleased with their outstanding efforts.

President’s Message

 

Greetings to all and to your families as we approach the autumn season, “a second spring,” when every leaf is a flower.  I extend my sincere appreciation for all the time and spirited effort the Slovenian Arts Council members continued to contribute to plan and implement events and activities that promote Slovenian literature, music, dance, drama, and art.  Since the Spring Newsletter, the Council presented or approved several successful events.  On May 18, June 17, and July 15, the “Slovenian Sing-Along” sessions were held at the West Allis Library.  On May 2, a welcome reception was held for Wade Hobgood, the new Dean of the UWM Peck School of the Arts.  The Council approved two Slovenian Arts Program Grant requests of $500 each, which were used for partial expenses.  The grant requests were awarded to the U.S.P.E.H. Organization for the program, “KONCERT IN THE PARK”, which was presented by the ansambel ERAZEM at Triglav Park on August 29, and to the Theatre Gigante for the creation and presentation of “Man in a Magic Square”, based on the avant-garde poetry of Slovenian writer Srecko Kosovel.  Co-artistic directors Isabelle Kralj and her husband, Mark Anderson presented “Man in a Magic Square” at the Off-Broadway Theatre on May 8 & 9.  The 2009 Slovenian Arts Program “Award of Service” was presented to Dr. Zvone Žigon on July 19 at Triglav Park during the Mission Picnic.  Please take time to read more about the details of these events in this newsletter.  The Slovenian Arts Council is busy finalizing the details of the upcoming Fall program.  On October 24, 2009, the Council will present Fontje na Vasi, an outstanding Slovenian male choral group from Cleveland, Ohio.  Read in this newsletter for further details.  On behalf of the Slovenian Arts Council, I want to thank all the people who faithfully attend and support the Slovenian Arts programs and activities.  I urge you to continue to share your suggestions for future literary, music, dance, drama, or art programs with any of the SAC members.  We truly welcome your ideas and will review them at our Council meeting.  In closing, may you always have love to share, health to spare, and friends that care.

 

S spoštovanjen (With Best Regards),

                                                                                              

MaryCay Freiberg, President

UWM Slovenian Arts Council

 

 

Slovenian Arts Council Welcomes Dean Hobgood

 

On Saturday, May 2, 2009, the Slovenian Arts Council hosted a reception for Dr. Wade Hobgood, the new dean of the UW-Milwaukee, Peck School of the Arts.  Dean Hobgood assumed his duties at UWM on July 1, 2008; however, because of his busy schedule at UWM and in his private life, SAC had to reschedule the reception several times.  Via a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Christina Carroll and narrated by MaryCay Freiberg, we acquainted Dean Hobgood with Slovenia, its geography and history, as well as its role in the scope of Europe.  Dean Hobgood was very interested in all information and expressed his thanks in writing to the SAC President, Mary Cay Freiberg.  Prior to joining the UWM Peck School of the Arts, Dean Hobgood was professor of mass communications at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

 

Performance Event - Fantje na Vasi - October 24
 

 Join us as “the young men gather in the village” on Saturday, October 24, 2009, when the UWM Slovenian Arts Program will be presenting “Fantje na Vasi,” a men’s a cappella singing group from Cleveland, Ohio.  Make plans to join us for an enjoyable evening listening to a variety of songs, Slovenian, Latin, and English, sung by a renowned chorus of singers.  The concert will take place at 7:00 PM in the Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus.  A social reception will follow, and who knows, perhaps some outbursts of spontaneous singing as well.  There will be bus service (fee of $5.00) available to the Zelazo Center from the parking lot of St. John the Evangelist, 8400 W Cold Spring Road.  Contact MaryCay Freiberg at (414) 778-1464 for details.  There is a parking lot directly south of the Center as well, and is handicap accessible.  Parking there is free only after 8:00 PM, so be prepared to pay $0.80/hour before 8:00 PM.  To drive to the Zelazo Center, take I-43 or I-94 to Downtown Milwaukee, and then take I-794 EAST to the Lakefront Exit.  Go north on Lincoln Memorial Drive to the top of the hill (three miles) where Lincoln Memorial Drive becomes East Kenwood Boulevard, and intersects with North Lake Drive.  Continue straight (west) on Kenwood Boulevard for five blocks to the campus.  Turn left at the first street (North Stowell) after the traffic lights on Downer.  The Zelazo Center is on the corner, and then turn right, into the parking lot.  General admission tickets are $15; however, for Friends of the Slovenian Arts Program, Senior Citizens, and students, the cost is only $10.  Tickets can be purchased from any member of the Slovenian Arts Council, by calling MaryCay Freiberg, or may be purchased the evening of the performance at the Box Office in the Zelazo Center.  Elevator service is available.

Local Slovenian visual artist, Meta Zobec Novak, will be exhibiting artwork from her current collection at this event as well.  Ms. Zobec Novak is a graduate of the Academy of Pedagogics in Art and History, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and resides in Whitefish Bay with her family.  We hope you will join us for a most enjoyable, entertaining, and interesting evening.

 

 

It was a Grand Night for Singing!

 

Hvala lepa!  Thanks to the many participants who attended the Slovenian “Sing-Along” at the West Allis Library, conducted by Dolores Ivanchich, and sponsored by the Slovenian Arts Council.  It was encouraging to see the enthusiastic response of those who attended the three sessions.  It gave us an opportunity to sing some old Slovenian tunes and brought back memories of singing together in the past.  One way to keep this tradition alive is to include this singing at our Slovenian gatherings including, meetings, sports events, conventions, picnics, concerts, and other events wherever Slovenians gather.  You will find it helpful if you have a song sheet, which includes the words we will sing.  Our next “Sing-Along” will be on site at the U.S.P.E.H. Organization Balina Tournament to be held at Triglav Park on Sunday, September 20.  The Park opens at 12:00 PM.  We will provide a song sheet, so come to enjoy the Balina games as a participant or spectator.  Tasty sandwiches will be sold and a cash bar will be available.  Entrance to the grounds is free.  You can contact Mike Maren at (414) 762-6695 for tournament information.  We will sing mid-afternoon as the spirit moves us.  Remember: Keep on singing!

 

 

 

Slovenian Music at UW-Milwaukee

 

The UW-Milwaukee Music Library (http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/Music) has an extensive collection of printed music and sound recordings of Slovenian music.  Integrated into the Music Library, as any other music would be, it is not a browse-able collection per se, but rather a substantial number of materials spread throughout the Library's shelves.  Included are diverse selections of repertoire ranging from music written and performed by living composers and performers to books in which Slovenia's long tradition of folk songs are collected.  We recently contracted with an outside company to catalog materials that required special attention and we will soon be making them available as well.  You can search the UWM Libraries' online catalog, PantherCat, at this URL https://millib.wisconsin.edu.

 

Here are a couple of ideas for how to locate materials

 

·         If you know the composer's name that you are looking for, you can just search them as though they are an author.  Anything that we have by them, either as printed score or recorded performance, should come up in your list.

·         If you just want to browse through and get an idea of what we have, the best search is the Keyword and, or, not  search with the following phrase "slovenian music collection"  (be sure to include the quote marks around the phrase!) and then you can browse through the list to see what sorts of things we have.

 

Members of the greater Milwaukee community, and beyond, are welcome in the Music Library any time that we are open.  The printed materials from the Slovenian Music Collection circulate to anyone who has a Friends of the UWM Golda Meir Library borrower's card (see http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/Friends/  for details).  Anyone is welcome to listen to the audio materials in our listening facilities, you just need to bring a photo ID along with you.  Please feel free to contact the UWM Music Librarian, Rebecca Littman, at (414) 229-5529 or visit http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/Music/askmusic.html if you have any questions.

  

Kralj’s Choreography in Slovenia

 

Isabelle Kralj created her fourth piece in Slovenia in the fall of 2008 for DBUS’s “8th Gala Evening of New Choreography.”  Titled, “pet krat ena” (five times one), it was presented in Cankerjev Dom in Linhartove dvorana, and subsequently in Maribor; several other Slovenian towns; and was broadcast on Slovenian Television.  Kralj’s participation was sponsored by the US Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  At the performance, Kralj was honored to be seated next to the US Embassy’s Cultural Attaché, Susan Schultz; Ambassador Yousif Ghafari; the Director of Cankerjev, Dom Mitja Rotovnik; and the wife of Slovenian President, Barbara Miklič Türk.  Attending the performance as Kralj’s guests, were Joe Valenčič, Slovenian visual artist; Bogdan Grom and his spouse; and Kralj’s sister-in-law Barbara Anderson, who made a special trip from England to attend the evening of new Choreography.  The piece was well received and Kralj has been asked to return and create a new work for the “9th Gala Evening of New Choreography,” which will premiere in Ljubljana October 23, 2009.

 

Slovenian Arts Program Awards a Scholarship

 

Ms. Marianne Yvette Kordas, a full time UWM Student enrolled in the coordinated degree program in Music History and Library & Information Sciences, was recently awarded the $1000 UWM Slovenian Arts Program Scholarship for the 2009/2010 School Year.  As Rebecca Littman, Head of UWM Music Library said, "Marianne has worked for me since her arrival on campus in 2007 and has distinguished herself not only as an outstanding future Music Librarian, but also as a dedicated scholar of music ranging from international folk music, to standard western art music.”  Professor Brauner, PhD, UWM Area Head of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, stated, "Marianne has been one of our finest students in recent years, in that we have awarded her the honor of an assistantship in the Department of Music.”  He also said “Ms. Kordas is very proud of her Slovenian heritage (her maternal Grandmother is Slovenian) and professes a research interest in Slovenian music.”  Dr. Martin Jack Rosenblum, Professor of UWM Music Literature and History, stated, “From her work as Performance Assistant, to her works as a graduate student, she follows the rules with precision and then makes ideal leaps into originality and therefore, elegant action.”  Needless to say that the Council, after reviewing her completed Scholarship application and three letters of recommendation, unanimously  granted Marianne Kordas the UWM Slovenian Arts Program Scholarship.  The Council wishes to congratulate Marianne, and sends its best wishes to her for her continued strong strides to advance professionally to become a scholar and a Music Librarian.

  

Two Slovenian Arts Program Grants Approved

 

The U.S.P.E.H. Organization received a grant for $500 to be used for partial expenses incurred for the program, "KONCERT IN THE PARK," which was presented by the ansambel ERAZEM at Triglav Park on August 29.  The ansambel consisted of four people, three musicians, and a singer.  They were dressed in regional costumes of the Postojna area, Primorska.  Their program consisted of cultural anecdotes, and an entertaining combination of songs and sharing of Slovenian history and customs.  The ansambel took the name of the Knight Erazem, known as the Slovenian Robin Hood, whom was a brave and good-hearted person.  All in attendance really enjoyed the program.

 

Isabelle Kralj and Mark Anderson, Artistic Directors of Theatre Gigante, received a grant for $500 to be used for partial expenses incurred by their production company, Theatre Gigante, for the creation and presentation of “Man in a Magic Square,” which was presented at the Off-Broadway Theater May 8 & 9.  “Man in a Magic Square” received high critical acclaim in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and was a successful merging of artists from different genres and styles, all thematically focused on the poetry of Slovenian Srecko Kosovel, and the prose of Mark Anderson.  Because of the success of the performance, the Association of Ballet Artists of Slovenia, DBUS, is currently discussing with Isabelle and Mark the possibility of bringing the production to Slovenia in the year 2010.  Congratulations Isabelle and Mark for your wonderful theatrical production.

  

Web Sites You May Wish to Visit

 

www.slovenianartsprogram.org                                                       www.arts.uwm.edu   

www.uwm.edu/Libraries                                                                   www.uspehslovenianchorus.org

vwa@gov.si                                                                                       www.clevelandslovenian.com

 

 

Contributing Authors

 

The following authors have contributed to this newsletter: MaryCay Freiberg, Rebecca Littman, Milly Mursec, Mary Bregant, Dolores Ivanchich, Isabelle Kralj, and Christina Carroll

 

 

Slovenian Arts Council Executive Officers and Council Members

 

 

Executive Officers                                                                                         Council Members

 

President:                               MaryCay Freiberg                                        Patricia Gorence

Vice President:                      Judy Price                                                      Tony Gorenc

Treasurer:                              Denise Bartlett                                              Dolores Ivanchich

Recording Secretary:            Christina Carroll                                            Barbara Martinka

Corresponding Secretary:     Mary Bregant                                                Milly Mursec

                                                                                                                        Virginia Strukel

 

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