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Skidmore College
Civic Engagement
Profile picture of Evan Mack
 
meet our periclean faculty leader

EVAN MACK

Believing that opera should be theater grounded in climatic expression that delivers larger-than-life stories and music that harnesses the full athletic thrill of singing, Evan Mack has devoted much of his compositional life to opera and song.

His first major operatic composition, Angel of the Amazon, premiered in May of 2011 with Encompass New Opera Theatre at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City and was subsequently released on CD worldwide by Albany Records.

Mack then partnered with librettist Joshua McGuire. In 2016, their American grand opera Roscoe premiered at Seagle Music Colony and received its orchestral world premiere with the Albany Symphony starring Metropolitan Opera star Deborah Voigt. Their children’s opera, Lucinda y las Floresde la Nochebuena, has been seen by almost 30,000 children. Their latest, Yeltsin in Texas!, a musical comedy, is currently in development.

Mack was named 2018 Professional of the Year by Musical America, was a composing fellow at the John Duffy Composers Institute, and a resident artist at Yaddo.

He is a senior teaching professor at Skidmore College and lives in Ticonderoga, New York, with his wife, Kristin, and two sons, Carter and Henry.

Course Description

AA 351C The Arts & Rural Poverty: Solving Real-World Problems with Creative Solutions
Evan Mack, Senior Teaching Professor of Music
David Howson, Senior Teaching Professor and Arthur Zankel Executive Director of Arts Administration
Monday/Wednesday, 12:20-1:40 p.m.
3 credits
 
With a hands-on, civically engaged approach, this course provides students with the knowledge, tools, and framework to help solve real-world problems facing public school music programs in New York’s Adirondack Park, a complex rural region of more than six million acres of public/private land. In concert with community partners, students will design and implement musical instrument collection drives to provide upcycled musical instruments to public school students. Through the study of rural poverty, philanthropy, and community engagement, students will be prepared to address needs in their own communities. Application and permission of instructor(s) required.
 
Optional Spring Break Field Experience:
AA 341 SFE: The Arts & Rural Poverty: Solving Real-World Problems with Creative Solutions
Evan Mack, Senior Teaching Professor of Music
David Howson, Senior Teaching Professor and Arthur Zankel Executive Director of Arts Administration
March 12-20 (Spring Break Field Experience)
1 credit
 
This is the companion structured field experience to AA 351C: The Arts & Rural Poverty and is an immersive, fully engaged week-long intensive workshop spent wholly off campus in an Adirondack community. Together with local educators and community leaders, students will study the effects of rural poverty on arts programs in public school systems and design and implement instrument collection drives at various sites. Housing, transportation, and meals are provided. Must be able to comply with COVID-19 vaccination requirements and the testing and safety policies of local communities and school systems. Instructor permission required. Must be taken concurrently with AA 351C.

Civic Engagement Contact

Contact

Eric Morser
Professor of History, Faculty Director of Civic Engagement, and Director of the Bridge Experience
Tisch 320
518-580-5266

 

Michelle Hubbs
Director of Community Service
Campus Life, Case Center 2nd Floor
518-580-5784

 

Lisa Bradshaw
Administrative Assistant, Civic Engagement

MAILING ADDRESS

Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866