Continued From Part 1.
The Artist Partner Program “curates a multi-arts performance series with regional, national and international artists and creative innovators,” according to its website. The Clarice’s executive director Martin Wollesen said these opportunities are another part of The Clarice’s mission, even for students outside its specific schools.
“We have a very strong commitment to find opportunities that connect the artists who are coming [to] … master classes, workshops, learning environments, conversations [and] dialogues, with students across our campus,” Wollesen said.
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The Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, which is also housed in The Clarice, maintains a collection of 56,000 books, 156,000 musical scores, 130,000 audio and video recordings, 4,500 microform titles and 281 active journal subscriptions.
“We collect anything that supports any of the research that goes on [in the School of Music and the School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies],” said Library Interim Head Stephen Henry during an interview in a previous “Writer’s Bloc” article.
“The arts is something everyone can take part in,” Henry said.
The Clarice, like The Stamp or any other entity that takes student fee money, has a student advisory council, in this case the Maryland Students for the Arts Advisory Council, or MSAAC.
“[Students] are already paying into [The Clarice], so they should take advantage of it … and everything else it has to offer,” said TDPS Master’s Program Graduate Andrew Barker, co-chair of MSAAC. “We try to advocate for The Clarice [and] make sure people know about it.”
One of MSAAC’s recent projects was ensuring ticket prices for students remained at $10 for all events. Additionally, it advocated to continue Free Ticket Mondays, allowing students an opportunity to reserve a free ticket for various performances.
Another of MSAAC’s main tasks is providing input toward the future of The Clarice.
The NextNOW Fest, which brought together students, artists and art in new and innovative ways at the beginning of this school year, drew 4,000 visitors over four days, Snyder said.
Wollesen said he hopes it will continue and grow.
“We have the opportunity, through developing the NextNOW Fest, … to create an annual tradition that’s an arts tradition and a creative tradition as part of welcoming students to our campus,” Wollesen said.
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Each of these individual pieces is extremely valuable.
“We’re multidisciplinary,” said Wollesen, “so that means there’s a lot of ways that people can access the arts [at The Clarice].”
“It’s a great confluence of the performing arts,” said Barker. “The Clarice offers an experience unlike many others.”
Just like Mussorgsky’s movements, the concurrent components are at the same time radically different and evocative of different ideals and emotions, yet grounded in the same truths about excellence in the arts at Maryland and in the same mission to promote those truths.
They are very different pictures, yes, but part of a greater, inseparable exhibition.
Evan Berkowitz is a freshman journalism major and can be reached at evanjberkowitz@gmail.com.
