By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The arts programs at Bowling Green State University threw their doors open to give friends and neighbors the chance to peek in.
That meant that as Aaron Hynds squeezed chords out of his tuba the strains of gospel-styled Broadway number wafted in from an adjacent theater. This was all part of the aural and visual hubbub of Bravo! BGSU, which was held Saturday night at the Wolfe Center for the Arts on campus. About 150 BGSU students fiddled, danced, sang, painted, posed, drew and otherwise entertained the 275 attendees at the event.
Something was going on around every corner and down every hall and byway in the Wolfe Center. Jazz musicians jammed, and a pianist played familiar tunes. Seamstresses were at work, and a crew was busy constructing the rotating set for the Department of Theatre and Film’s next production “Noises Off!” Film was being edited.
In its second year, Bravo! BGSU is intended to raise money for arts scholarships. Twice as many tickets were sold this year as last. (On April 6, the university reported the event raised more than $70,000.)
President Mary Ellen Mazey said the gala gives those in the community a chance to see just what kind of talent the university attracts. That included 2015 graduate Mariah Burks, a national honoree for her acting, who returned to entertain Saturday.
Burks, now studying theater at Case Western Reserve, said she was pleased to be back in her familiar haunts, and playing a role in an effort to help others study here.
Steve Hanson, who graduated 40 years earlier than Burks, was also pleased to be back. He was talking about the animated film “The Prophet,” which he produced. He’ll also be participating in the university’s E-Week on Monday with a lunchtime talk in the School of Business.
Hanson called the event “spectacular.”
In his talk he spoke of the value of art. “The arts help us to understand each other and understand what we can be.”
Elaine Mickel received an MFA from the School of Art in 1983. She knew Mary and Fritz Wolfe, the donors for whom the Wolfe Center was named.
The university was a special place, and Bravo! showcased those qualities, she said.
Mickel attended with her daughter Laura Jajko, the president of American Frame in Maumee, and son-in-law Reid Jajko.
American Frame is involved in its own effort to raise scholarship money for art at BGSU. The company is selling prints by the late Bob Mazur, who taught painting at the university for many years.
Mickel studied with him during her student days.
Laura Jajko said she had a business degree from the University of Washington. “But I will tell you it was my art training that made it possible to make my business degree useful.”
Students in the arts have to work hard realizing their visions, do so in collaboration with others, and then defend their work. All that serves them well in anything they end up pursuing.
“Arts education is undervalued,” she said.
And, Mickel added, “if you deal with art, you’re never bored.”
There was little reason for anyone to get bored at the event.
“To hear the talent of these performers is amazing,” said David Levey, president of the BGSU Board of Trustees.
Having the diversity was all part of the plan, Mazey said. The event promotes collaboration among all the university’s arts programs – music, theater, film, visual arts, creative writing and dance. They all benefit from working together, she said.
And with so much offered, no attendee could take it all in. That was also part of the plan. Mazey said: “I tell them, they’ll have to come back next year.”
