Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts

Monday, March 2, 2009

Graf guides team through game of basketball, game of life

by KELLI FONTENOT
Published Feb. 11, 2009 in The Current Sauce

Jennifer Graf, Lady Demons basketball head coach, said she could only think of one thing she dislikes about coaching basketball.

"It's absolutely beautiful outside in July, and we have to sit in a gym that's about 40 degrees," she said. "I swear, it's freezing cold in there."

Whether she's relaxing on Sibley Lake or attempting to wakeboard, Graf definitely prefers being outside on sunny days.

Seeking refuge from Tuesday's rain in her office in Prather Coliseum, Graf said most of her outdoor adventures take place during the summer because she spends most of her time during the rest of the year focusing on work.

Graf, 30, is now in her fifth season as head coach for the Lady Demons.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Teachers team up for new film theory concentration

by KELLI FONTENOT
Published Dec. 3, 2008 by The Current Sauce

English majors at NSU can concentrate in folklife and southern studies, professional writing, literature - and now, film theory.

The Curriculum Review Council just approved the new film theory concentration, which will provide students with the opportunity to study and analyze aspects of classic and contemporary cinematography.

Allen Bauman and Andy Crank, two English professors at NSU, conceived the idea of a concentration, as well as a Classic and Unseen Cinema series that will be open to the public.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Violin professor takes center stage

By KELLI FONTENOT
Published Oct. 29, 2008 by The Current Sauce

Light filters in through the windows of Andrej Kurti's studio in the afternoon, splaying across the blue plush lining of his open violin case.

A small icon decorated with an Orthodox Christian image rests against the neck of the exquisitely carved wooden instrument. The low, clear sound of a nearby euphonium rehearsal seeps through the walls.

Kurti leans back in his chair at his computer, catching a breath after his hectic day of back-to-back violin and viola lessons and long rehearsals with the orchestra.

It's 5 p.m. and his day is nowhere near over. Each night, he practices violin for about four hours to keep his bow steady and his fingers in shape, building up strength for his next solo performance.

His concert, scheduled for Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall, will feature music by Bach and composer Eugene Ysaye, on whom Kurti wrote his dissertation for his doctorate. The classical pieces certainly reflect Kurti's skill, but his vast repertoire includes more than just sonatas. Kurti, a professor of violin at NSU, has been featured as a recording artist for more than 45 albums on electric and acoustic violin. Dozens of posters and photographs are taped against a wall in his studio, displaying his past performances and future plans.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Orchestra off to dynamic start

By KELLI FONTENOT
Published Oct. 1, 2008 by The Current Sauce

Audience members settled into their chairs in Magale Recital Hall Thursday night as Douglas Bakenhus, the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra conductor, prepared backstage for the first concert of the semester.

Onstage, his hands floated over the detailed score on his music stand, keeping time for the students with a precise inner metronome.

Behind the energetic conductor is a man who takes the historic significance of his song selections into consideration, making every movement meaningful.

The concert included several classical pieces, including Gioacchino Rossini's "Overture: The Barber of Seville," Giovanni Bottesini's "Duo Concertant on themes from 'The Puritans,'" and Ludwig van Beethoven's 7th symphony.

Taking students to the history

By KELLI FONTENOT
Published in the July 2008 issue of Women In Business, a publication of The Dalles Chronicle

Taking students to the history

Paulette Brook, history teacher

Paulette Brook readily admits to her nerdy tendencies. She loves researching archives at the library. She wears thick-framed black glasses. She prides herself on her realistic chicken impersonation. She lacks plumage, but when duty calls, Paulette balances on one leg, flaps her arms, pecks at the air with her chin and makes a clucking noise in the back of her throat.

For a self-proclaimed "boring person," Paulette has seen quite a bit of the world. She lived in Costa Rica as an exchange student for a summer in high school. She has visited every country in Central America. She managed a doll-making company called "Heartwarming Creations" that sold about $250,000 worth of handmade dolls. She worked at a jewelry store, and later at an airport as a ramp agent (the people on the runway who signal directions to the pilot with reflective wands). She went to college as a 40-year-old with two grown kids. And next summer, she plans to take a group of nearly 30 high school students on a trip to Europe to study World War II sites.