Spring 2005
Awards & Accolades
Alumni
José D. Uriarte (D.M.A. ’02) won the Marian Davidson Music Award in the 2004 Mu Phi Epsilon International Fraternity’s Musicological and Research Contest for his doctoral thesis.
Wonny Song (D.M.A. ’04), a former student of Lydia Artymiw, won First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Competition in New York. He will perform solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center) in New York, and at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.). He also won the Prix d’Europe.
Composer/bandleader Maria Schneider (B.M. ’83) won a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, for her album “Concert in the Garden.”
Alex Lemon (M.F.A. ’04, creative writing) was one of 10 national finalists for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, a $15,000 award from Poetry Magazine, one of the world’s most influential literary journals.
The CLA Alumni Society received the U of M Alumni Association’s Spirit Award for its success in building pride and spirit in the University community—specifically, for its role in helping to launch the West Bank Arts Quarter.
Laura Brady (Ph.D. ’88, English), associate professor of English and director of the Center for Writing Excellence at West Virginia University, was named a 2004 State Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Learning and the Council for the Support and Advancement of Education.
The Southwest Florida Chapter of UMAA won the annual competition for the top chapter in the nation. Their $1,500 prize will fund three Marching Band scholarships. Scholarship recipients are Aimee Barmore, the band’s twirler and a student in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication; James Baxter, tuba player, 2004–05 director of the fanfare band, and music education major; and John Thompson, flute player, drum major, and music education major.
Brian Klopotek (Ph.D. ’04, American studies) received the Gabriel Prize for the outstanding dissertation in American studies from the American Studies Association.
Timothy Sweet (B.A. ’82, Ph.D. ’88, English) received the 2004 Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award at the University of West Virginia.
Conceptual artist Erin Cosgrove (B.F.A. ’96) received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for her ongoing project Seven Romance Novels.
Steve Estenson (M.F.A. ’84, theatre) received the Speech-Debate-Theatre Citation Award from the National Federation of State High School Associations. He is the first Minnesota educator to receive the honor.