Alumni News

The Musicians of Ma'alwyck has commissioned a new piece from Max Caplan '16 in celebration of their 25th anniversary season. It will premiere on Sunday, Sept 22nd 3pm at First Reformed Church in Scotia. Five Union College affiliated musicians will be performing on the program also: Max, Norm Thibodeau, Andre O'Neil, Heather Chan and Andrew Snow.

Class of 2020 graduate Shreya Srivastava recently published two articles on the connection of the performing arts and medicine. Shreya is currently a student at Albany Medical College. Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest dance forms originating from text, originated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. For centuries, it has been used as a form of expression and a means of telling stories. In these two articles, she explores the connection between psychiatry and the performing arts, utilizing this style of dance to do so. Bharatanatyam takes the kinetic movement of the human body and serves as a means of embodying Hindu mythology, which is often found in classical Indian art. Using this artform, Shreya draws one conclusion that we can improve our health by "exploring the mental and physical connections" of our bodies. Both articles are linked below:

https://hekint.org/2022/03/25/anatomy-of-the-araimandi/

https://closler.org/creative-arts-in-medicine/storytelling-with-hands

Elyse Clark '18 - The Music Department at Union gave me confidence in myself as a scholar and performer. It gave me the opportunity to perform many types of music with great people and opened my eyes to the vast musical world outside the Western Canon.

Emily (Karam) Black '11 - My time spent in the music department was some of my best times at Union. I loved all of my classes especially the world music classes and being a member of Taiko! The unit we did on Bali my senior year with a Music and Dance concert is something I still talk about.

Jake Rekedal '04 - I gained an incalculable degree of experience, both musically and intellectually. It was a transformative time in my life, and remains the bedrock of my career.

Brian Card '09 - Music was very intellectually challenging for me, I liked the intersection between music and technology and used the music lab to experiment.

Nate Gillespie '20 - Union's Music Department gave me permission to make mistakes, and gave me the opportunity to use my mistakes to discern who I am as a musician. As a result of the music education I received at Union, I am now comfortable thinking and musicking independently - Union gave me the ability to stand on my own feet as a musician. The impact of what Union, and my mentors within the Music Department, did for me cannot be understated: I am profoundly thankful for all the growth Union catalyzed in me.