SVPA Faculty Spotlight – Spring, 2023
The WCSU SVPA Faculty Spotlight is a recognition of the outstanding work being done by our esteemed faculty in the School of Visual and Performing Arts. We hope you take a moment to read about the accomplishments of the faculty members featured in this semester’s spotlight. We are extremely fortunate to have many faculty members with remarkable achievements in their field. We look forward to highlighting many more of these achievements in future editions of the WCSU SVPA Faculty Spotlight.
This semester’s SVPA Faculty Spotlight for the Department of Art is on Colleen McGuire. McGuire has served as an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Art since 2016. Courses taught by McGuire include Studio Art and Art History. McGuire received her BFA from SUNY Purchase and her MFA from Western Connecticut State University. She has taught at the Hotchkiss School and Southern Connecticut State University.
McGuire has participated in seventeen solo and group exhibitions in Connecticut and New York since 2004. Her work focuses on domestic interiors and scenes from ordinary life, featuring careful observation and attention to composition and light in a style reminiscent of early modernist painters such as Edward Hopper and Edouard Vuillard. Her work has been on display in venues such as the Blue Mountain Gallery, The Gallery at the Visual and Performing Arts Center at WCSU, The Re Institute, Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, Gilded Moon Framing Gallery and the Eliza Peet Gallery.
“Colleen continues to provide our painting students excellent instruction with her skillful approach to teaching,” says Sabrina Marques, Associate Professor of Painting. “She manages to consistently create impressive still life setups, and her knowledge of art history allows her the ability to switch from discussions about the masters to contemporary artists. “
To learn more about Colleen McGuire and to view her work, visit www.cmcguireart.com.
This semester’s SVPA Faculty Spotlight for the Department of Music is on Javier Oviedo. Oviedo is an Adjunct Instructor of Music. Courses taught by Oviedo include Applied Saxophone and Saxophone Quartet. Oviedo has been a faculty member at WCSU since 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Certificate of Professional Studies from Mannes College, where he is also on saxophone faculty in the Preparatory Division. Additionally, Oviedo is a woodwind instrument instructor at Turtle Bay Music School and the saxophone instructor at the Village Community School in New York City.
Javier Oviedo is an accomplished saxophonist, having performed in numerous highly esteemed venues around the world. Performance credits as a saxophonist include Carnegie Hall (New York City), Lincoln Center for Performing Arts (New York City), L’Orchestre Lamoureux (Paris, France) and State Orchestra of Oryol (Oryol, Russia). He has also played with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and the New Jersey Symphony. He has worked with conductors such as Mitch Miller, Akira Endo and Zdenek Macal. Oviedo is also active as a chamber musician, performing in venues such as the New York Society for Ethical Culture, the Harvard Club, the Queen Sophia Spanish Institute, the Art Under Construction Studios, and the Maverick Festival Hall with sequitur Chamber Ensemble in Woodstock, NY. He is the managing director of F.R.E.D. Chamber Players, a new chamber music group in New York City specializing in rarely or under-performed music. Oviedo is also founding member and Executive Director of The Classical Saxophone Project.
Oviedo’s debut recording, The Classical Saxophone: A French Love Story received public and critical acclaim. Additional recordings include And So It Begins and Lazy Afternoon: Salon Music for Classical Saxophone of Byron Bellows. Oviedo is a founding member of the Elision Saxophone Quartet whose debut recording, LIVE Through the Years, is available on Equilibrium Records.
“I have never seen more improvement in my saxophone playing ability until I started taking lessons with Javier,” says Desiree Velez, BS Music Education Class of 2024. “Javier always knows how to meet me where I’m at and take me farther on my instrument then I’ve ever believed I could go. Javier takes the time to create connections with his students that then result in an even more productive and efficient lesson. He pushes us to try new things and not be afraid to make mistakes. Because of this, Javier will always have a special place in my heart and be a huge part of the kind of musician I am today.”
This semester’s SVPA Faculty Spotlight for the Department of Theatre Arts is on Mary Ann Lamb. Lamb joined the Department of Theatre Arts as an Adjunct Professor in 2017. Courses she teaches include Dance Combination and Dance for Musical Theatre. In addition to her work in the classroom, she also served as the choreographer of Violet and Evita, a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival – Best Production of a Musical winner. Lamb and production director Tim Howard were also named the recipients of the Distinguished Choreography award. Lamb has taught at NYU, Penn State and Juilliard. She also teaches and choreographs for FineLine Theatre Arts with fellow WCSU Adjunct Professors Elizabeth Parkinson and Scott Wise.
Lamb has performed in eleven Broadway shows. Most recently, she appeared in John Kander and Fred Ebb’s The Visit, starring Chita Rivera. Other Broadway credits include Curtains, Contact, Seussical, Fosse, Chicago, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Song and Dance, Goodbye Girl, Starlight Express and Carrie. Select film and television performance credits include Chicago, Rock of Ages and the 2019 Video Music Awards, where she danced with Taylor Swift in the opening number. Her extensive dance career is showcased in the PBS documentary Working Dancers II.
Lamb served as the assistant choreographer for Susan Misner and Andy Blankenbuehler on the hit television series Fosse/Verdon on FX. She coached dance for Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams, stars of the series. Lamb is part of the Fosse/Verdon Legacy and teaches masterclasses for Steps, Peridance and Broadway Dance Center in New York City. She has worked with esteemed directors and choreographers including Jerome Robbins, Graciella Daniel, Gwen Verdon, Ann Reinking, Kathleen Marshal, Susan Stroman and Rob Marshal.
Dr. Justin P. Cowan, Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, commented, “I am regularly amazed at the level of talent we’re able to attract when seeking Adjunct Professors at WCSU. Mary Ann Lamb is not only a gift to the Broadway stage, but she’s also a gift to our department. Students regularly comment on how Mary Ann makes them feel seen, understood, and valued in her classroom. She is a consummate professional with an obvious passion for sharing her wealth of professional experience with the next generation of Musical Theatre talent. The Department of Theatre Arts at WCSU is fortunate every single day to call Mary Ann Lamb one of our own.”