DePaul Alum Wins Emmy

A belated congrats to alumni Philip Jones (LAS ‘92), who, along with the Bridges Media Group. recently won an Emmy from the Chicago/Midwest chapter of National Academy of Arts & Sciences for his work on the production team for video “Journey to Sunda.”

From the Bridges Media website:

“The story details Dec and his Rockit Ranch Productions partners Gomez and Young as they traveled throughout the Japan, China and the Southeast Asian Island region finding inspiration for the yet un-named restaurant while documenting the cuisine and culture of their visits through photography.”

Check out the video here:

Alum in the Running for Athlete of the Year

Mark Buciak (COM ‘83, MBA ‘88) has run 52 marathons, including 29 consecutive Boston Marathons. This fall, he’s in a different kind of race: He is in the running for Chicago Athlete magazine’s Athlete of the Year.

From Buciak’s biography on the Chicago Athlete magazine website:

From flickr user Danielle Walquist

Most people who complete their first marathon slap the “26.2″ bumper sticker on their car and pat themselves on the back for a job well done. Mark Buciak is a different story. Not even heart surgery could stop this man from continuing his streak of consecutive Boston marathons. Seriously.

Vote for Buciak, who ran track for DePaul, or your favorite Chicago athlete. 

Buciak was honored as the magazine’s May Male Athlete of the Month, which qualified him for the Athlete of the Year nomination.

DePaul Professor Receives Fulbright Grant

We recently received word that DePaul Political Science professor Scott W. Hibbard is a recipient of 2009 – 2010 Fulbright Scholar Grant, lecturing in American studies at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Congratulations, Professor Hibbard.

Muriel Anderson – DePaul Guitar Superstar Gives Back

From murielanderson.com

Virtuoso guitarist and composer Muriel Anderson (MUS ’82), has no shortage of achievements on her resume:  multiple CD’s and DVD’s, film soundtrack credits (including Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcalona) a packed touring schedule, and the distinction of being the first female winner of the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship in 1989. But like many DePaul alums, Anderson is not content to rest on her laurels and regularly uses her talent and recognition to give back to others.

Each year, Anderson returns to her hometown of Downers Grove, IL to put on a fall benefit “Hometown Concert” for the Music For Life Alliance, a non-profit that supports music education for children.  The 18th Annual concert, held each year at the Downers Grove North High School auditorium, is a neighborhood tradition.

Her generosity doesn’t end there; Anderson will be returning to DePaul to share her knowledge and talent with  the public in a guitar masterclass on January 26th, 2010.

Muriel Anderson’s 18th Annual Hometown Concert benefit takes place on Saturday November 28  in Downers Grove, IL and starts at 8:00 pm.  This year’s event features special guest Andy Wahlberg, an award winning harp-guitarist from Florida.   For more information on the benefit, go to murielanderson.com.

Muriel’s DePaul’s  master class will take place January 26th from 7:00 to 8:45 in the DePaul School of Music Recital Hall on the Lincoln Park Campus. DePaul guitar students will participate and it is open to the public. Come back to Demon Tracks in the coming weeks for more information on the class.

Stay tuned for a feature profile on Muriel coming soon to the DePaul Alumni and Friends website early next month!

New DePaul Music and Theatre Facilities Move Forward

As the Chicago Sun-Times reported today, DePaul’s School of Music and Theatre School are one step closer to having “the world-class facilities to match their top-notch talent.”

More from the Sun-Times article:

Without a word of dissent, the Chicago Plan Commission signed off on DePaul’s ambitious plan to build new schools for theater and music, a new academic center, and to redevelop Fullerton Avenue with a hotel, student housing and market-rate housing….

“Those two schools have some of the finest faculty in the world and some of the finest students in the country. And they’re literally performing in spaces with dropped ceilings and walls that bleed sound,” said the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, DePaul’s president.

“It’s not where you learn how to play an instrument. It’s not where you learn how to sing. We need a space where musicians [and actors] can be properly trained.”

The buildings will be funded through a variety of sources, including philanthropic support.

DePaul Students Document Nancy Loo’s “Life in Journalism”

DePaul student Brian Ernst and other students from DePaul University’s Digital Cinema program created this short video documentary of Chicago journalist and social media maven Nancy Loo. It’s a good looking video, check it out:

Great job, Brian!

DePaul Men’s Basketball Tips Off Tuesday

Cheer on the DePaul men’s basketball team as it opens its regular season Tuesday night against the Columbia Lions. The game, which is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m., begins the team’s 30th season at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

Get tickets through the DePaul Blue Demons ticket information center. And while you’re at the game, donate non-perishable items to the food drive organized by the DePaul Captains’ Council in support the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.

For a peek at the action, check out a video of DePaul’s Eric Wallace jumping over a defender on an alley-oop that turned into a three-point play at last Friday’s game (video courtesy of DePaul Athletics Communications):

If you want to feel the excitement of Blue Demons basketball but can’t make it to the Allstate, you can watch the action in Chicago on Lakeshore Public Television (LPTV) or listen to the play-by-play on radio station WSCR (670 AM). In New York, the game will be shown on SportsNet New York (SNY), ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com.

Need more options for DePaul basketball? Live audio and live stats are available at www.depaulbluedemons.com. You also can follow the game via @DePaulSID on Twitter.

The women’s basketball team is already two games into its season, winning against both Central Michigan and North Dakota State.

Rolling Stones Sax Man Teams with DePaul University Jazz Ensemble

This particular member of the Demon Tracks staff is definitely more of a Beatles fan than a Stones fan, but whereever you happen to fall in the classic Beatles/Stones divide, you’ll likely find this to be cool:

Starting next week, Rolling Stones saxophonist Tim Ries will join with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, performing interpretations of classic Stones’ tunes. This seven-show engagement goes from November 19 to 22 at Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago.

Here’s more about Ries and the event from the DePaul Newsroom:

Over the past 10 years, Ries has performed with the Rolling Stones as part of their three blockbuster world tours. During his downtime on the road, Ries took many of the Stones’ greatest hits and radically reinterpreted them in traditional jazz and world genres. His collaborators included some of the biggest names in music, including Stones members, as well as Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow and others.

Ries’ arrangements of these and other Stones songs have been captured in two compact disc collections. “The Rolling Stones Project” features intimate jazz arrangements with Ries providing melody on saxophone, accompanied by small groups of musicians, including Stones members Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood as well as Bill Frisell, Jones and Crow, among others. “Stones World: The Rolling Stones Project II,” is an eclectic blend of world music sounds featuring 72 musicians on 11 tracks, capturing styles from South America, Africa, Europe, India and the Middle East. The Rolling Stones themselves also are featured on the recordings.

Show times for the performances are 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Alums! Plan to check out any of the shows? Please share any reviews you have on Facebook or the Demon Tracks blog.

Four DePaul Alumni Make New Film

No you’re not seeing double! There is another new DePaul-associated film out. 

Frontwards, the first movie of four recent DePaul alumni, will premiere at Chicago’s Portage Theater, Nov. 19 at 8 pm.  William Grant (LAS’ 09), Eric Marsh (CDM ’07), Charlie Hoosier Panian (CDM ’07), Brett Young-Fountain (CDM ’07), and Alex Foucre-Stimes (CDM ’07) made the 123-minute wry comedy about  the travails of a newly homeless, jobless and loveless young man over a two-year period.

Shot on a shoestring budget on nights and weekends in the winter and spring of 2008, the drama starts in Chicago and unfolds across four states. The cast includes DePaul film professor Matt Irvine, some of the new filmmakers, and their friends.

For more information about the movie, click here.

 

More DePaul Bloggy Goodness: Welcome DeBlogs!

We here at Demon Tracks welcome our bouncing new addition to  the DePaul blog family – DeBlogs!

You can check out DeBlogs for regular insight on DePaul life from students, faculty (including College of Communication dean Jacqueline Taylor) and staff (Jordan Myers from the office of undergraduate admission). We’re excited to see what these guys have cooking.

Check out a video welcome to DeBlogs from Jordan Myers.