
Finding the Collaboration in the Co-Major
If you haven’t heard of the arts management co major or minor, I am glad you are reading this. Miami University offers an awesome program that no other school has (or at least I have never heard of). When I was a freshman I had no idea what I wanted to choose as my major, it was a lot of pressure. By the end of my sophomore year, I chose Strategic Communication. Luckily for me it required another major. When I was looking up majors and minors I didn’t see many that interested

Painting the Picture: Exploring Diversity in Children’s Literature
When was the last time you read a children’s book? Do you have a childhood favorite? You might gain a new perspective on children’s literature, and particularly children’s book illustrations, at the Miami University Art Museum’s upcoming exhibition Telling a People’s Story: African American Children’s Illustrated Literature on January 30 – June 30, 2018. For curator of exhibition, Jason Shaiman, children’s literature holds a special place in his heart. Shaiman has a particula

Letting Art Drive My Education
February 2014 After applying to numerous schools and getting admitted to many, as well, I had narrowed my choices down to two schools. I was either going to go to Indiana University and pursue business in the Kelly school of business or attend Miami University and study architecture. I was very torn between the two and was really struggling to make a decision. I had talked to numerous people and they seemed to advise me to pursue business because there were more jobs in that

Behind the Scenes: Miami University Art Museum’s Arts Management Internship
Over the course of the 17/18 school year, I served as the Arts Management Intern at the Miami University Art Museum (MUAM) in Oxford, OH. This year-long internship allowed me to focus each semester on a different aspect of the museum, providing a more well-rounded and hands-on learning experience. After working last fall as a Curatorial Intern under Curator of Exhibitions Jason Shaiman, I knew the opportunities at MUAM were vital in continuing my education. As an Arts Managem

Major Changes: How Arts Management at Miami Helped me Find My Way
According to a statistic published on the Career Services site of the University of La Verne, 50-70% of college students change majors at least once before they graduate. I never expected to be a part of that statistic. When I entered college, I was certain that I wanted to study Music Education. I loved music and I had enjoyed tutoring younger students in music during high school. A doe-eyed college freshman, I dove headfirst into my studies. I loved studying music, one of m


The Rhythm of Management: How Arts Management Affected my Season with Rhythm X
During my freshman year at Miami I participated in a drumline that competed in World Guard International (WGI) called Rhythm X. For the unfamiliar, WGI is a non-profit organization that hosts competitions for indoor color guard, drumline, and winds across the world. I had participated in WGI events since I was a freshman in my high school indoor drumline. Those events and the activity of indoor drumline had a big impact on me as a high schooler, so I knew I would want to stay


Making the Magic: Arts Management and the Charter Day Ball
There’s something special about the amount of thought, effort, and talent that goes into endless forms of art. Art cannot be defined simply and it feels that the definition is always becoming broader. For me, that moment I see an incredible artist walk on stage and flawlessly sing, dance, and perform in front of audience is magical. When a symphony orchestra is seamlessly in sync, when a dancer breathes life into music simply by the movement of their body, or a live theater p


Looking at the Big Picture: Presenting Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky
When the board of the Miami University Symphony Orchestra learned that we would be performing Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, we knew that we wanted to do something special. The Russian composer originally wrote a suite of 10 pieces, interspersed with movements titled Promenades, for piano. The piece depicts a journey through an exhibition of paintings, inspired by the paintings of Viktor Hartmann. Each promenade is a depiction of the viewer or listener walkin


From Page to Stage and Everything in Between: A Timeline of Making a Musical
March 2015 I am a budding playwright with dreams of one day acting and writing professionally. I have what I think to be a cool concept for a musical about two feuding singing groups. I call it “Octets.” After writing a few poorly constructed scenes in a small notebook, I realize that I do not have the musical ability or even a solid enough idea to continue writing. In frustration, I toss the notebook in the back of my closet to separate myself from what I thought to be a pat