The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance presented “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” in April in Marquette Theater to a packed house.
The heartfelt, Tony-Award-winning musical comedy follows an eclectic group of sixth-grade students vying for a spelling bee championship. Rachel Sheinkin wrote the book of the musical, with music and lyrics by William Finn. “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” debuted on Broadway in 2005.
Greetings,
The College of Music and Media is moving full-speed ahead.
Our Music students took the stage at three of our city's most popular festivals: Freret, French Quarter, and Jazz. All three festivals attract a global audience, and we were thrilled to have Loyola's signature musicianship on display. The School of Music and Theatre Professions has returned as a lead French Quarter Fest stage sponsor. I am grateful for SMTP Director Kate Duncan and Professor Jonathan McHugh's work keeping us engaged and visual in these spaces.
The School of Communication and Design screened a documentary lost since Hurricane Katrina showcasing the life and artistry of the late Allison “Tootie” Montana, who led the Yellow Pocahontas Black Masking Indians as its big chief for 50 years.
Students in Will Horton’s Documentary Filmmaking course hosted the free event, which was open to the public, in December in Nunemaker Auditorium. A panel discussion with the filmmakers and those who knew Montana followed.
Dr. Robert Thomas, the director of the Center for Environmental Communication, has been appointed interim director of the School of Communication and Design.
He previously served three years as interim director of the School of Mass Communication. Thomas was also the founding director of the Louisiana Nature Center, where he served as the community's liaison for information pertaining to science education, environmental issues, and natural history.
A national search is underway for a permanent director. The successful candidate will start on July 1, 2025.
In April, students from five New Orleans-area high schools participated in Ad Day, a day-long recruitment experience designed to expose them to careers in advertising.
Students from Booker T. Washington High School, Patrick F. Taylor High School, St. Augustine High School, and St. Mary’s Academy, all in New Orleans, and Vanderbilt Catholic High School in Houma, attended the event, which was themed “Creator Universe.”
The School of Music and Theatre Professions presented a double bill of French, one-act works for the stage in January in Roussel Hall.
The Loyola Opera Theatre performed Debussy's “L’enfant prodigue” and Ravel’s “L’enfant et les sortilèges” – both about children and the lessons they must learn – in its annual, fully-staged opera production, said Carol Rausch, director of the school’s Opera Workshop.
Journalist and author Liz Scott Monaghan was inducted into the School of Communication and Design’s Den of Distinction, the highest honor an alumnus can receive, at a reception in May at The Chloe in New Orleans.
Monaghan, a 1964 Loyola graduate, is a noted author, journalist and business owner, as well as a longtime journalism instructor at Loyola. As a student in the 1960s, she was editor of the Maroon. She later served as the newspaper’s advisor for 12 years.
The School of Music and Theatre Professions hosted an evening with The Dixie Cups in March in Nunemaker Auditorium to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their hit, “Chapel of Love.”
The evening began with a performance by Loyola's student vocal trio, Final Take, followed by a Q&A session with original Dixie Cup Barbara Ann Hawkins, hosted by journalist Arthel Neville. The Dixie Cups then took the stage for a free, 45-minute concert in front of a packed house.
Students in the School of Music and Theatre Professions performed in the spring at three local festivals: the Freret Street Festival, the French Quarter Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Loyola returned as one of the Freret Fest’s sponsors in March, and many of the school’s student artists, professors and alumni performed during the free event, now in its 24th year.
Who: Givonna Joseph
Degree: Bachelor of Music Therapy, ‘80
What: Co-founder and Artistic Director of OperaCréole
Givonna Joseph founded OperaCréole in 2011 with her daughter, Aria Mason. She serves as the organization's artistic director. OperaCréole works to bring “restorative justice to the world of Opera in the first city of Opera – New Orleans,” specifically by uplifting long-lost or rarely performed works by composers of African descent.
Joseph’s research on 19th Century New Orleans free classical and operatic
Three members of the Loyola community were honored in February at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, with an alum and a faculty member coming away with awards.
Carter Lang, who graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s in Music Industry Studies, won a Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album for co-writing and producing “SOS” by SZA. He was also nominated for three other awards – Album of the Year for “SOS,” and Song of the Year and Record of the Year, both for “Kill Bill.”
Who: Henry R. Muñoz, III
Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Communication, ‘81; Honorary Degree, ‘14
What: Winner, 75th Emmy Awards – Executive Producer, “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story”
Henry R. Muñoz, III, an activist, businessman and philanthropist, won his first Emmy this past spring as executive producer of “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story,” which won in the Outstanding Television Movie category. The movie stars Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al Yankovic, one of the highest-selling comedy recording artists of all time.
In late January, the School of Communication and Design joined with the Louisiana chapter of the Journalism Education Association to host JEA/Loyola Media Day. This event gives high school students from around the state a chance to learn about various careers in Mass Communication and Design.
Julia Ernst, a May cum laude College of Music and Media graduate, is headed to graduate school at Yale University this fall on a full scholarship to study opera.
Ernst is one of only 100 musicians accepted into Yale's postgraduate program. In addition to the scholarship, the school awarded her a stipend for living expenses.
At Loyola, Ernst studied under internationally renowned soprano and Professor of Practice in Music Irini Kyriakidou-Hymel. She made her professional debut in March 2023 with the New Orleans Opera, singing the role of Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly.
Who: Kathryn Lintott
Job Title: Office Manager, School of Communication and Design
Years at Loyola: 2
Kathryn Lintott, who goes by Kate, was born in the United Kingdom and moved to the United States in 1986. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Texas Tech University in 1996 and has lived in the Lower 9th Ward since 2005 with her husband, children and dogs.
Who: Lori Atkinson
Job Title: Office Manager, School of Music and Theatre Professions
Years at Loyola: 1
Lori Atkinson joined the College of Music and Media in 2023 after working in the hospitality industry for several years. She spent time working front of house and managerial positions for small business owners, with stints in nonprofit and manufacturing administration work.
The School of Communication and Design hosted an evening in March with Marc Spears, a veteran NBA reporter and recent Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, to discuss the cross-section of race and sports, and how race and culture intersect.
Spears has worked as a national NBA reporter for ESPN's Andscape, a Black-led media platform that tells the diverse stories of Black identity, since 2016, said Gregory Lee Jr., the Marion M. and John S. Stokes Jr. Visiting Professor in Race and Culture in Media.
Nearly 100 former Maroon staffers returned to campus last fall to celebrate the organization’s centennial milestone, held on the same weekend as the inauguration of Loyola’s 18th President, Dr. Xavier Cole.
The Maroon 100 celebration featured a guest critique from past editors, a cocktail party in the Maroon office – allowing many different generations to mix and mingle – and, of course, a commemorative edition of The Maroon.