As a Queen’s National Scholar in Music Theatre & Opera, Colleen Renihan can barely contain her excitement – she truly feels that at Queen’s she is in the right place at the right time.

With the recent merger and naming of the Dan School of Drama and Music, as well as the opening of the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in 2014, Dr. Renihan says that when she first read the posting about the QNS position she knew that she had found her academic calling.

“There were so many things in the QNS posting that spoke to me and to the priorities of my work,” she says, adding that her interdisciplinary research considers contemporary opera in the U.S. and Canada through the lenses of temporality, the philosophy of history, and performance studies. “I read about the position and about the newly formed Dan School, and I thought ‘Wow, that’s where I want to be, that’s the kind of culture I want to be a part of developing.’”

Having arrived at Queen’s in July, Dr. Renihan has already noticed an excitement around the Dan School, emanating not only from the students but from the school’s leadership and her faculty colleagues as well. It has helped her transition to a new setting as both an academic and a performer.

Before her arrival she says she did a lot of research on the Dan School of Drama and Music, and the university. She repeatedly found references to an “energy” at the university, and what she has discovered is that at the Dan School the energy, the vibrancy, is a reality.

“There’s an open-mindedness, there’s a remarkable amount of creative, out-of-the-box thinking and it’s not just something that the school pays lip service to. Students and faculty are constantly innovating: the future of the performing arts is very bright at Queen’s,” she says.

Dr. Renihan has previously taught at the University of Toronto, Western University, Mount Allison University and the University of Guelph. In 2012 and 2014 she was recognized by the Mount Allison University Music Student’s Association Council as “Professor of the Year,” and was a recipient of a Teaching Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from Western University in 2012.

Dr. Renihan earned a bachelor degree in vocal performance from the University of Manitoba, an artist diploma in opera performance from the Vancouver Academy of Music, and an MA and PhD in Musicology from the University of Toronto in 2011 with funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Her dissertation was a finalist for the Society for American Music’s Housewright Dissertation Award.

As a Queen’s National Scholar she is hoping to set down roots, and, once again, is excited by the opportunities that are presented here at Queen’s and in the broader Kingston community. She points to what she calls “a real buzz about music theatre” at Queen’s and in the community, and looks forward to contributing to its continued vibrancy and growth.

She also maintains an active performance schedule as a mezzo-soprano in opera, oratorio, and new music. To learn more about Dr. Renihan’s research and career, visit her page on the Dan School of Drama and Music website (sdm.queensu.ca).

The QNS program was first established in 1985, with the objective to “enrich teaching and research in newly developing fields of knowledge as well as traditional disciplines.” Since then, over 100 QNS appointments have been made in a wide variety of disciplines, and the appellation of Queen’s National Scholar has become synonymous with academic excellence.

The program provides $100,000 annually for five years for each appointment, and funding for the program allows for a maximum of two QNS appointments in each annual competition.

For more information on the QNS program, visit the QNS page on the Provost’s website.

The Koerner Artist in Residence program aims to provide Queen’s Fine Arts students a mentorship opportunity with a professional artist, while at the same time giving the artist a venue to share their expertise.

Interaction, discussion, collaboration. A chance to learn.

This year’s Koerner Artist in Residence is Nadia Myre a visual artist from Quebec and an Algonquin member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation.

Her multi-disciplinary practice employs collaborative processes as a strategy for engaging in conversations about identity, resilience and politics of belonging

“The Koerner Artist-In-Residence Program is a jewel in the crown of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program and a real highlight for students. We are very excited to have First Nations artist Nadia Myre as the 2016-17 artist resident,” says Kathleen Sellars (Fine Art), adding that this month alone Myre has work on exhibit in Quebec, Edmonton and Seattle and later will be leading a professional artist residency at the Banff Centre. “What an exceptional opportunity for the BFA undergraduate students to hear Nadia speak about the trajectory of her art practice and to observe her at work in her studio, right alongside theirs in Ontario Hall.”

During her residency at Queen’s, the Queen’s community and general public will have two opportunities to see Myre’s work.

First, Myre will provide an illustrated public lecture on her sculptural work on Tuesday, Oct.18 from noon to 1 pm in Stirling Hall A. Then, on Wednesday Oct. 26 at 7 pm, she will be at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre for a public talk on her media work. A reception will follow.

Myre’s installations often employ collaborative processes as a strategy for engaging in conversations about identity, resilience and politics of belonging, Myre says of her work.

A graduate from Camosun College (1995), Emily Carr (1997), and Concordia University (MFA, 2002), Myre has received numerous awards, including the Sobey Art Award (2014), Pratt & Whitney Canada’s ‘Les Elles de l’art’ for the Conseil des arts de Montréal (2011), Quebec Arts Council’s Prix à la création artistique pour la region des Laurentides (2009), and a Fellowship from the Eiteljorg Museum (2003).

She has exhibited around the world and her works may be found on permanent exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, National Gallery of Canada, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Canadian Museum of History, and the Musée des civilizations (Quebec). 

For more information visit the Bachelor of Fine Arts website or contact Kathleen Sellars.

The Koerner Artist in Residence Program is made possible by the generous support of the Koerner Foundation.

With Queen’s University marking its 175^th anniversary it is only fitting that the Agnes Etherington Art Centre be part of the celebrations.

The Agnes will be celebrating the Fall Season launch on Thursday, Sept. 15 with three new exhibitions – Ciara Phillips: Comrade Objects; Treasures and Tales: Queen’s Early Collections; and The Other NFB: The National Film Board of Canada’s Still Photography Division, 1941–1971.

“Two of our three new exhibitions this season are inspired by Queen’s University’s 175^th anniversary,” Agnes Director Jan Allen points out. “Treasures and Tales: Queen’s Early Collections brings the past to life through the rare art, artifacts and documents that formed the foundational holdings of the Agnes and Queen’s Archives. Every item reveals the personalities, aspirations and shifting networks of influence that shaped the university and the nation itself. Ciara Phillips: Comrade Objects projects this history into the present and the future through the practice of an extremely talented alumna, who holds social forces up to scrutiny while exploding graphics across our gallery spaces.”

A graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Queen’s, Ciara Phillips was a finalist for the prestigious Turner Award in 2014 and returned to her alma mater as the Koerner Visiting Artist last year. This year she will be on campus for six weeks as a Queen’s University Artist in Residence. Her exhibition for the Agnes, Comrade Objects, presents a new body of work that brings together energetic blocks of colour, echoing motifs, useful slogans and black and white portraits of women engaged in focused work.

At the same time Ms. Phillips is offering a new iteration of her Turner Prize-nominated Workshop (2010–ongoing), which brings screen printing equipment into the gallery to create an active space of investigation, discussion and debate.

To explore the ethics and potential of “making together,” Ms. Phillips has invited fellow Canadian artist, artist-curator and artist-publisher Clive Robertson to co-produce posters and publications.

With Treasures and Tales: Queen’s Early Collections, curators Alicia Boutilier and Deirdre Bryden mark Queen’s 175^th anniversary through significant artworks and archival documents from the university’s early collections.

Produced by Carleton University Art Gallery and curated by Carol Payne and Sandra Dyck, The Other NFB: The National Film Board of Canada’s Still Photography Division, 1941–1971 looks at how the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) imagined Canada and Canadian identity, the role photographs played in that imagining, and how the NFB’s photographic archive was — and continues to be — used.

The Fall Season launch starts with a members’ preview from 5 to 6:30 pm with brief curatorial presentations and Ms. Phillips will introduce her work. Formal remarks will take place at 6:30 pm, at the beginning of the public reception, which runs to 8 pm. Artists and special guests will be present. All are welcome to attend.

Ms. Allen says she is eager to celebrate and scrutinize the shows through new eyes.

“The season launch is a special moment in which the culmination of prolonged effort encounters its audience; I always learn something unforeseen about the exhibitions from our visitors,” she says. “We’re very excited to present these extremely fine new and continuing shows.”

A number of events are also being held this fall at the Agnes to mark the 175^th anniversary of Queen’s. During Homecoming Weekend the Agnes will extend its hours to 10 am-5pm to welcome alumni back to the university. A special guided tour is available on Friday, Oct. 14 from 2-3pm. The Agnes will also host an Open House 175^th Anniversary Party on Thursday, Oct. 20 from 4-8 pm. Visitors will be able to see the new David McTavish Art Study Room in action while selected works of art will also be brought out of the vault with Agnes curators on hand to discuss the pieces that are currently not on display.

Continuing exhibitions at the Agnes are Stories to Tell: Africans and the Diaspora Respond to the Lang Collection and Singular Figures: Portraits and Character Studies in Northern Baroque Painting. The latter features the recent addition to The Bader Collection, Rembrandt’s splendid Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo. Additional new installations are featured in the Atrium and Etherington House.

For more information visit the Agnes Etherington Art Centre website.

A performance venue the quality of the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts deserves a musical ensemble that matches its excellence.

Enter the Isabel String Quartet.

The members of the quartet – Queen’s faculty members Gisèle Dalbec-Szczesniak (violin) and Wolf Tormann (cello), along with Sharon Wei (viola) and Scott St. John (violin) – are all experienced professional musicians at the top of the respective fields.   

Not surprising, there is a sense of excitement surrounding the quartet’s upcoming inaugural performance at the Isabel on Wednesday, June 29, at 7:30 pm.

“For many lovers of classical music, the string quartet exemplifies the epitome of chamber music and composers have certainly penned some of their finest and most intimate music for this ensemble,” says John Burge (Music), coordinator of the Faculty Artist Series. “Knowing all the Isabel Quartet members personally and being in great admiration of their distinctive talents and musicianship, I look forward to hearing the results of their collaboration. What a great opportunity to be in the audience at their very first concert.”

It is also hoped that the quartet’s strength will support the Dan School of Drama and Music’s goal of developing new initiatives to enhance the recruitment of students into the school’s programs by communicating the commitment, leadership and strengths of Queen's and Kingston in support of the performing arts.

The concert will include the Burge String Quartet No. 1, Bartok String Quartet No. 3, and Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in d minor, D.810 “Death and the Maiden.”

The creation of the quartet and performance has proven to be an exciting development for the musicians as well.

“I have worked with my colleagues on the idea of establishing a quartet in residence at the Dan School of Drama and Music now for over a year. To see this idea develop and gain momentum so quickly has been one of the most exciting times in my musical career,” Tormann says, an instructor for Cello at Queen’s. “It is an absolute privilege to work with such amazing musicians like Scott St. John, Sharon Wei and Gisèle Dalbec in a string quartet setting and we would like to invite all chamber music lovers in Kingston to be part of this amazing inaugural concert.” 

Tickets are available by calling (613) 533-2424 (Monday-Friday, 12:30-4:30 pm) or online at theisabel.ca.

The Isabel String Quartet will also perform Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2:30 pm in the first of four concerts that make up the 2016/17 Faculty Artist Series. Tickets are available online.