Friday, Feb 21, 2020
Dear Rider Community,
Over the past several months, we have regularly communicated with you to keep you informed about the work taking place to ensure a strong and sustainable future for Westminster Choir College.
While that work has been moving forward, the students, faculty and staff of the Westminster College of the Arts have continued to pursue their academic and professional goals with persistence and purpose. The results of those efforts have been simply extraordinary.
I'd like to highlight some of their recent accomplishments:
- The Westminster Choir recently returned from its successful "Appear and Inspire" tour of the western United States. Students spent two weeks performing for audiences, interacting with local high school and college students, and engaging with alumni.
- The Westminster Symphonic Choir performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra from Feb. 13-15 at Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center. In April, they will perform again with The Philadelphia Orchestra, both at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall.
- Associate Professor of Musical Theatre Robin Lewis recently returned from the Chicago Unified auditions, where 55 students registered for auditions.
- Selections from Hide & Seek, a musical written by Danny Feldman, a first-year musical theatre student, will be performed at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York City on Feb. 21. The performance features Danny alongside a cast of Broadway actors. A full performance will take place at Rider on March 28.
- Students participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in January. Two students, Taylor Ruffo and Kristen Wisneski, advanced as finalists for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Seven of the 20 finalists for the Musical Theatre International Intensive Scholarship Competition were Rider students: Lucy Bobbin, Dylan Erdelyi, Mackenzie Germain, Emily Goulazian, Taylor Ruffo, Elise Shangold and Kristen Wisneski. Alejandro Navarro was selected to be one of 10 students in the musical cabaret performance. Dylan Erdelyi won Outstanding Student Director of a 10 Minute Play. Nicole Marie Nilsson received the Stage Management Excellence Award.
- Second-year graduate student Harrison Heard and senior Bryan McClary have been accepted into the prestigious SongFest program in Malibu, California, for this summer.
We recognize that change, even a simple change, can be unsettling. The transition from Princeton to Lawrenceville represents an enormous change. The fact that our students have continued to pursue their academic and professional goals so successfully against the backdrop of such an enormous change fills me with pride and gives me great hope for the future.
Keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
DonnaJean Fredeen, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs