Faculty News

UCI's Creative Engine

Through art, dance, music and drama, UCI artists push boundaries and fuel innovation By Christine Byrd This winter, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts will treat audiences to riveting performances and thought-provoking exhibitions, all of which are the result of a thriving creative engine...

Professor Joe Lewis to speak at The Broad in Los Angeles

The Un-Private Collection: John Ahearn + Rigoberto Torres + Joe Lewis From The Broad website: In this edition of The Un-Private Collection conversation series, artists John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres will speak with moderator Joe Lewis about the cornerstone of community and its...

Professor David Trend seeks to cultivate DEI and accessibility in teaching and learning

  Professor of Art David Trend recently received a Confronting Extremism Award through the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence.  Rodrigo Lazo, Interim Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, announced the Confronting Extremism through Community, Thriving and...

UCI Drama Professor Daphne Lei, Ph.D. Wins Distinguished Scholar Award

Daphne P. Lei (Ph.D. ’99), professor of doctoral studies in the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) Department of Drama, has received the 2022 Distinguished Scholar Award for outstanding achievement in scholarship in the field of theatre studies. Presented by the American Society for...

Professor of Dance Jennifer Fisher Shares the History Behind Pointe Shoes

Watch Professor of Dance Jennifer Fisher explain the history of pointe shoes on a segment of The Pointe Shop with Josephine Lee.   A former dancer and actor, Professor Jennifer Fisher had careers as a travel writer, film critic, magazine editor, television critic, and media...

The Highly Collective Work of ICIT’s “Circadian Etudes”

And the pursuit of ‘remote interconnectedness’ Inherent to UCI’s Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT) Ph.D. program is collaboration; all projects to emerge from the ICIT program suggest a degree of collectivity and interactivity. Rather—the entire music-making process...

Inside The Making of THE STORY OF BIDDY MASON

A Q&A Interview with Playwright and Director Annie Loui Professor of Acting Annie Loui is a director, choreographer, author and playwright and is the Artistic Director of CounterBalance Theater. She has taught for the Brandeis Theater Arts Department, the Institute for Advanced Theater...

New Book: Rethinking Brahms, edited by Nicole Grimes and Reuben Phillips

The Department of Music is pleased to announce the publication of a new book, Rethinking Brahms, edited by Nicole Grimes and Reuben Phillips, and published by Oxford University Press. The book features chapters by two core faculty members in the Ph.D. in the History and Theory of Music Program: Dr...

Professor Richard Brestoff will present at the inaugural Theatre Teacher Summit

Professor of Acting Richard Brestoff will present at the inaugural Theatre Teacher Summit, a 2-day conference with inspirational training sessions from renowned acting teachers, authors and industry professionals taking place Nov. 12-13 online.    Brestoff will present on Nov. 13...

A Revelation

Ariyan Johnson teaches hip hop, jazz and healing to her dance students By Christine Byrd Ariyan Johnson is used to being ahead of the curve. First as a pioneer of East Coast hip hop and as an actor and, since coming to UCI in 2020, as a scholar, too. This year, she is one of seven UCI junior...

Amplifying a classic Black music genre

UCI to host 25th anniversary African American Art Song Alliance conference By Nick Schou, UCI | October 9, 2022 If early African American classical music composers such as Scott Joplin, who went bankrupt trying to promote his 1911 opera “Treemonisha,” had been better received by white...

Dean Tiffany López featured on Erin Gruwell's podcast series "Freedom Writers"

The new dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Dr. Tiffany Ana López, recently sat down with Erin Gruwell (B.A. '91, Humanities) for the podcast series "Freedom Writers." They discuss Dr. Lopez's journey from being a first-generation college student to becoming a leading voice in the fight...

Flourishing this fall: UCI arts

Upcoming performance season includes such bold and ambitious programs as a modern take on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Nick Schou, UCI | September 26, 2022 After a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UCI once again hosted its popular New Swan Shakespeare Festival on campus this summer. With...

Made in California

The arts and education helped new dean Tiffany Ana López reimagine her own life By Christine Byrd For Tiffany Ana López, joining the Claire Trevor School of the Arts as dean is a double homecoming. Both a return to her native California and to the public higher-education system that shaped...

Umezaki joins the the first Silkroad Ensemble tour with Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens

Now in his 21st year with the ensemble, Professor Kojiro Umezaki joined the summer Phoenix Rising tour including performances at the Newport International Folk Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center. The summer festival tour was the first with MacArthur Fellow and multiple GRAMMY...

Professor of Music Mari Kimura nominated for OC 2022 Innovator of the Year

Professor of Music Mari Kimura has been nominated for the 8th annual Innovator of the Year honor presented by the Orange County Business Journal (OCBJ). Kimura is one of 74 outstanding nominees from various industries throughout Orange County.    This program is...

Local Choreographer Molly Lynch Brings her National Dance Initiative Back to Irvine Barclay Theatre July 30

By Christopher Trela | July 15, 2022   Ever since Ballet Pacifica closed its doors in 2007, Orange County has relied on a handful of local dance troupes and touring professional companies to provide the county with quality dance programs. And then there is National Choreographer’s...

Nicole Grimes receives Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Prize Honorable Mention

Nicole Grimes receives Society for Musicology in Ireland’s Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Prize Honorable Mention The Department of Music is pleased to share the news that Associate Professor of Music, Nicole Grimes, has received the Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Prize 2022 Honorable Mention for her book...