Announcing the 2024-2025 Cultural Events Committee Grant Recipients

The Cultural Events Committee (CEC) offers grants to support cultural events that celebrate human creativity, diversity, and engagement within the ISU community. These grants help fund speakers, artists, programs, and events, with an emphasis on student and community involvement. The CEC sponsors a wide range of artistic, intellectual, and cultural events designed to enrich the ISU campus and surrounding community. The CEC awarded $11,000 toward cultural events for the 2024-2025 academic year. Below is a summary of the grants awarded.

CEC Grant for 2025 ISU Jazz Fest Featuring Randy Gloss
Dr. Jonathan Armstrong, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz and Commercial Music and Dr. Jenna McLean, Assistant Professor of Music

The 2025 ISU Jazz Fest, featuring world music percussionist Randy Gloss, will take place from February 6–8, 2025. The event, organized by Professor Jonathan Armstrong and Dr. Jenna McLean, will include workshops, rehearsals, and performances with ISU students, faculty, and regional high school ensembles. Gloss will collaborate directly with the ISU Commercial Music Big Band, regional high school jazz ensembles, and the ISU faculty jazz sextet. Gloss’s workshops will culminate in a ticketed concert in Jensen Hall, which will be free to ISU and high school students.

“I am so excited to receive CEC funding to bring in the brilliant world-music percussionist Randy Gloss for jazz fest! It'll be so impactful for our commercial music students to perform incredible music alongside a master, collaborating and learning through the experience!” -Jonathan Armstrong

CEC Grant for 2025 Flute Day with Guest Artist Nicole Riner
Kristi Ballif, Instructor of Music, Flute

The ISU Flute Studio received a grant to bring guest artist Nicole Riner to the annual ISU Flute Day on March 15, 2025. The event will feature a masterclass, workshops, and a final performance, offering students and community members a chance to learn from a renowned flutist, perform together, and engage in a celebration of flute music.

“The CEC Grant has made it possible for the ISU flute studio and the surrounding flute community to spend a day with a high caliber guest artist at our annual Flute Day. She will not only perform and teach us how to be better flutists, but we will have the opportunity to all come together to feature her as the soloist with our Flute Day 2025 Flute Ensemble." -Kristi Ballif

CEC Grant for Chopin Nocturnes Lecture Recital and Piano Masterclass
Dr. Kori Bond, Professor of Music and Piano Area Coordinator

Dr. Kori Bond received a grant to support a lecture recital and piano masterclass by Dr. Stephen Thomas on Frédéric Chopin's Nocturnes. The event, scheduled for February 6, 2025, at Jensen Grand Concert Hall, will feature performances and discussions of Chopin's works, benefiting ISU students, faculty, and the local community, with cost-sharing support from the ISU Preparatory Piano Program.

“I’m thrilled to bring in Chopin Nocturne specialist Dr. Stephen Thomas to inspire ISU and local pianists how to interpret this poetic and improvisatory style. This would not have been possible without the grant from ISU’s Cultural Events Committee, so I’m truly grateful to them.” -Kori Bond

CEC Grant for 2025 Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibition with Juror Brian Collier
Shawn Edrington, MFA, Assistant Professor of Art

This grant funds the honorarium of Brian Collier, an internationally recognized artist, who will serve as the juror for the 2025 Undergraduate Juried Art Exhibition at Idaho State University. Collier will also give a presentation, conduct a workshop, and engage with students and faculty, contributing to a lasting impact across multiple disciplines.

“The CEC grant has helped our department each year with providing an honorarium to an artist we select to juror our Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition and Scholarship Competition. Being able to bring established artists from outside our department, and often from outside the community or region, provides students with fresh perspectives on the work they are making and demonstrates the necessity for contextualizing their work within the contemporary landscape, pushing them to develop relevant and compelling scholarship.

The impact we hope this work has is to embolden promising students in our department who are pursuing art to recognize their creative talents, and to honor their hard work and dedication. This kind of affirmation can be a critical factor in a student's personal commitment to their college education and university citizenship more broadly. In serving to illustrate to them the supportive mechanisms and resources the university offers, we see students become more confident in their departmental coursework and in their scholarship and contribution across campus.” -Shawn Edrington

CEC Grant for 2024 Choral Invitational with Dr. Raymond Wise
Dr. Jeffrey Francom, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities

Dr. Jeffrey Francom, Assistant Professor of Music at ISU, organized the Choral Invitational in October 2024, where Dr. Raymond Wise, a renowned conductor and expert in African American gospel music, led the 2024 Choral Invitational at ISU. Nearly 400 participants, including ISU students, local high school choirs, and community members, gathered to celebrate African American gospel music through rehearsals, workshops, and a public concert, fulfilling ISU’s mission to bring together the university and local community in a meaningful cultural experience.

“Our event was extremely successful. Eleven high schools participated (Bonneville, Century, Hillcrest, Idaho Falls, Madison, Minico, Pocatello, Rigby, Thunder Ridge, Twin Falls, Canyon Ridge), as well as three ISU choirs and a community chorus (Pocatello’s Camerata Singers). Over 500 singers were on stage. I have received many favorable responses from community members, high school choral directors, and singers. Dr. Wise spent two full days running workshops and rehearsals with each individual choir. We truly appreciate the support we received from the Cultural Events Committee. 

ISU’s Choral Invitational, now in its 39th year, gives 500 high school, collegiate and community singers the opportunity to sing in Jensen Hall with distinguished guest conductors like Dr. Raymond Wise. It is a life-changing experience for all who participate, as witnessed by the joy and excitement that radiated from each and every individual singer. This year, our focus was on Black gospel music, and we are extremely grateful for support provided by ISU’s Cultural Events Committee.” -Jeffrey Francom

Members of the community may enjoy listening to the last portion of our event.

CEC Grant for 2025 Idaho State Day of Percussion
Dr. Thom Hasenpflug, Professor of Music, Percussion and Composition

Dr. Thom Hasenpflug received funding for the 2025 Idaho State Day of Percussion, an event for high school students and percussion enthusiasts. The event will feature clinics, workshops, and performances by guest artists, including Gifford Howarth, and is designed to bridge the gap between ISU and regional high schools while providing a free, engaging cultural experience.

"I think it's great receiving support from Cultural Events and by extension, the larger College, because it allows us to directly impact musical lives within our region. In my case, a focus on visiting artist educators for drum and percussion activity showcases not only ISU programs, but the high school workshop participants who come to campus to share the performance efforts of all their hard work. These activities simply wouldn't be feasible without institutional funding." -Thom Hasenpflug

CEC Grant for 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Masterclass
Dr. Diana Livingston Friedley, Professor of Music, Voice

Dr. Diana Livingston Friedley received a CEC grant to host a masterclass featuring an esteemed Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition judge on November 8, 2024. This event, held in conjunction with the longstanding Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, provides ISU voice students a unique opportunity to learn from world-renowned clinicians, fostering professional growth and community engagement through high-caliber music training.

“This is the twelfth year ISU has hosted the Idaho/Montana Laffont Competition. Every year one of our esteemed judges conducts a masterclass with ISU voice majors and minors. CEC along with the James Rogers Endowment helps to fund world-class musicians in offering this masterclass. This year's master clinician was world-renowned mezzo-soprano, Jane Bunnell. 

We're thrilled that she could work with ISU voice students in the Marshall Rotunda at the Stephens Performing Arts Center. This masterclass was free and open to the public. Training for tomorrow's stars begins here! Stardom doesn't happen overnight, it is a journey of experiences. The Voice Area in the Department of Music is committed to offering these experiences.” -Diana Livingston Friedley

CEC Grant for "Latin American History at The Movies" Film Series
Dr. Lauren MacDonald, Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Latin American History

Dr. Lauren MacDonald is organizing a film series titled "Latin American History at the Movies" for Spring 2025, featuring four historical films at the Bengal Theater to explore Latin America's complex history. The series, coordinated with the Spring 2025 course, History in Film (HIST 1100), aims to engage ISU students and the community, with films spanning five centuries of Latin American history, including Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Frida.

CEC Grant for Monthly Neurodivergent Social Support Group Meetings
Dr. Robert Rieske, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and Clinic Director

The Neurodivergent Social Support Group is a monthly meeting for adults in the Pocatello area who are neurodivergent, offering a safe space to socialize, share experiences, and access resources. The program, led by ISU graduate students and faculty, aims to foster community connections and support for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. The CEC grant will support monthly support group meetings.

CEC Grant for 2025 Workshop with Artist Steve Garst, Experimental Printing Project
Naomi Velasquez, MFA, Professor of Art and Chair of Political Science 

Naomi S. Velasquez is organizing the Experimental Printing project for Spring 2025, which will feature a Zoom workshop by visiting artist Steve Garst on experimental letterpress printing using non-traditional materials like Legos. The event will include follow-up in-person workshops at the Pinyon Jay Press, engaging the ISU and Pocatello community in creative, accessible printmaking.

“This grant will allow Pinyon Jay Press to engage ISU and our community with letterpress printing and printmaking techniques, including working with legos, to make fun art and design projects without expensive equipment.” -Naomi Velasquez

CEC Grant for Inaugural Hispanic Film Festival at ISU
Dr. José Eduardo Villalobos-Graillet, Assistant Professor of Spanish

Dr. José Eduardo Villalobos-Graillet received a grant from the Cultural Events Committee to host the inaugural Hispanic Film Festival at ISU, celebrating National Hispanic American Heritage Month. The event, which featured screenings of five curated films, engaged students, faculty, and the Pocatello community while promoting diversity and cultural exchange, with additional support from Pragda and SPAIN arts & culture.

“The goal of the Hispanic Film Festival is to bring the Bengal and Pocatello communities closer to the rich cultures and languages of the Hispanic world. With this year’s selection of films, I hope to convey powerful and timely messages about tolerance, the end of violence, and the celebration of diversity. I envision this festival becoming an enduring tradition at ISU, held annually during National Hispanic Heritage Month as a tribute to the Hispanic community in the United States. These films not only give visibility to their stories, but also recognize their presence as an integral part of our society. Additionally, this initiative plays a crucial role in helping ISU achieve its goal of becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution, which further reflects our commitment to inclusivity and support for the Hispanic community.” -Eduardo Villalobos-Graillet

CEC Grant for Medieval World Speaker Series
Dr. Meghan Woolley, Assistant Professor of History, Medieval Europe

Meghan Woolley received a grant to fund honoraria for speakers in the "Medieval World Speaker Series" during Spring 2025. The series will explore global connections in the medieval world through four lectures by leading scholars, open to ISU students, staff, and the community, with a focus on interdisciplinary engagement across various departments.

“I'm really excited to be bringing brilliant speakers to ISU who will be sharing their work about intellectual exchange, globalization, and connections in the medieval world. It's a great opportunity for ISU students and other members of our community to get to connect with exciting scholars who are opening up new areas of study in the humanities. We'll get to learn something new and come away with fresh perspectives about global connections.” -Meghan Woolley

CEC Grant for Translucent Drop Painting Workshop with Guest Artist Jenny Knott
Paul Yeates, MFA, Assistant Professor of Theatre, Scenic and Lighting Design

Paul Yeates received a grant for a workshop on translucent drop painting. The event, planned for March 20-22, 2025, will feature guest artist Jenny Knott and provide both students and the broader community the opportunity to learn a new scenic painting technique. The workshop will contribute to the spring musical The Lighting Thief, and Rosco has agreed to contribute materials. The workshop will also promote collaboration among artists and non-artists and help raise ISU's profile in the professional theatre community.

"The grant that was awarded for painting translucent drops will be a great opportunity for the community to see a new side of theatre magic and artistry that ISU has not used in the past. The "magic" is usually something simple, but the exciting part is watching change happen where it is least expected." -Paul Yeates