Student and Recent Alumni Success Exemplifies the Mission of the Faulkner Center

The core mission of the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center is to give its students practical, real-world experience in performance art production while providing world class performances. 

The center's educational mission is exemplified in three of its students who are using the skills they've learned at the Faulkner Center to make a name for themselves in the production industry.

Henry Bowen graduated in 2017 and has taken his Faulkner Center experience and earned an internship with the Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Vail Valley, Colorado this summer. He will be working as the festival's artist liaison, which entails dealing directly with artists and their managers, organizing itineraries, crafting rehearsal schedules and transporting the musicians.

Bravo! Vail is ranked third in NPR's Top Ten "Can't Miss" Classical Music Festivals in the U.S. and is the only music festival to host four of the world's most prestigious orchestras throughout the summer, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bravo! Vail celebrates its 31st season from June 21 through Aug. 3.

Codasthi McAllister, also a 2017 graduate, is taking the skills she learned at the Faulkner Center to the Kansas City music world. This summer, she will be working at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, preparing for its exciting 2018-2019 season.

Since moving to the Kansas City area, she's been performing with the Northland Symphony Orchestra, the Heritage Philharmonic and the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, as well as freelancing. McAllister will be taking the off-season time to work on some solo repertoire and prepare for upcoming orchestral auditions.

Brandon Wade is a senior honors student pursuing a double major in cello performance and composition. At the Faulkner Center, he acts as a sound intern, running lights and audio for front-of-house operations for shows throughout the academic year. Wade has a deep love for the music he plays, and said he learned during the course of his college career that his interests lie in the 'behind the scenes' aspect of the performing arts.

As an intern at the Faulkner Center, Wade has honed his skills in audio engineering under the direction of Faulkner Technical Director Adam Putman. Through Putman, Wade was able to take those skills to George's Majestic Lounge, where he's received hands-on experience in live mixing both amateur and professional bands. After college, Wade will continue to build on his experience as an audio engineer as he makes his mark in the professional production world.

"One of our primary goals here at the Faulkner Center is to give our students the necessary skills needed to be successful in the production industry," said Nicole Cotton-Leachman, director of the Faulkner Center. "We couldn't be more proud of these students. Practical experience for students in performance production is limited in this area and we look forward to continuing our mission to provide these invaluable skills for our students now and in the future."

The Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center will be honoring this year's round of graduating seniors at the 'Hard Travelin' with Woody' performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5. To get tickets to this event, visit Faulkner.uark.edu, call 479-575-5387, or stop by the Box Office, which is open Monday through Friday from 1:30-5 p.m.

About the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center: The newest performing arts center at the University of Arkansas — a renovation of the old Field House — is named the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, in honor of the couple's major gift to the project. Completed in September 2017, this world-class performance venue is 39,400 square feet, with seating for 587, and a stage that can accommodate as many as 250 performers. The center is the main performance venue for the university's J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences Department of Music and hosts guest musical activities for the university and Northwest Arkansas community. 

About the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences:  The J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with 19 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students and is named for J. William Fulbright, former university president and longtime U.S. senator.