NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

4/2/2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- Tony C. Smith, Associate Professor of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University, recently presented an academic paper at a regional meeting of the Society for the Popular Culture in Albuquerque.

The presentation on the film music of Dimitri Tiomkin, dealt with the composer's Western-themed musical scores, for films including "High Noon" and "The Alamo." Smith conducted research for the paper during a trip to Los Angeles. During the trip, he interviewed prominent film scholars and spent time at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Archives. Smith was able to do the on-site research with funding provided by the Magale Endowed Professorship.

Smith has also been chosen as a presenter for NSU's annual "Research Day" April 10. He will be lecturing on the use of the infamous "Dies Irae" Gregorian Chant in classical musical and film examples.

This summer, he will be one 13 Louisiana scholars who will be teaching 2002 Institutes for Advanced Study through sponsorship of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Patrick Taylor Foundation, and the State of Louisiana. His workshop entitled "From 'Madama Butterfly' to 'Miss Saigon': Using Opera and the Musical to Teach Secondary School Humanities," is designed for public school teachers in the humanities (including the arts, languages, and social sciences), as well as librarians and school administrators. The institute will be held June 3-27 on Northwestern's Natchitoches campus.

Teachers accepted for participation in the LEH workshop can receive graduate credit, as well as a $500 stipend. Faculty assisting Smith will include Dr. Kathleen Smith, an assistant professor of social sciences at NSU, who will provide historical perspective for works such as "Madama Butterfly" and "Miss Saigon;" Dr. William Hunt, NSU director of grants and sponsored programs, who will discuss grant writing in the public schools; and Masahito Kuroda, an adjunct NSU professor and doctoral candidate at LSU, who will present a workshop on multi-media classroom presentations.

Deadline for application is April 30. Space is limited to 25 participants. For more information, please contact Smith at (318) 357-5807 or by e-mail at smitht@nsula.edu.

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