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Symphonic Winds: Dr. F. Mack Wood, Conductor; April 17, 2026, Dr. F. Mack Wood, Wes Anderson

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and sixty-fourth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

April 17, 2026

Friday Evening

8:00 p.m.

Senior Recital: Berkshier, Saxophone; April 17, 2026, Seth Berkshier

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and sixty-fifth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

April 17, 2026

Friday Evening

9:00 p.m.

Senior Recital: Brown-Givens, Cello; April 17, 2026, Kahauri Brown-Givens

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and sixty-second program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

April 17, 2026

Friday Evening

6:00 p.m.

Senior Recital: Carico, Voice; April 17, 2026, Kennedy Carico, Pepe Guillen Prados

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and sixty-third program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

April 17, 2026

Friday Evening

7:30 p.m.

Convocation Recital: April 17, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and sixty-first program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

April 17, 2026

Friday Afternoon

1:00 p.m.

The Spirit And The Letter: Performance Practice, Piano Pedagogy, And The Steinway Spirio, Rachel Chia, Jesse Puglia

25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026)

Steinway’s Spirio high resolution player piano combines technology and musicmaking in ways that open new possibilities for piano pedagogy. But as of yet, these have not been extensively researched. The present study focuses on how classical piano students can emulate historical style and performance through the practice of embodiment as made possible by the Spirio. Steinway’s iPad app features historically significant video performances of “Steinway Immortals” which are synched to the piano as it replays performances by these musicians, bringing the past to life on the instrument the students are practicing on. To better understand character as expressed in performance, …

Dialects In Narration, Olivia Dunphy, Madeline Ellingson, Alexandra Kroger, Elise Ferguson, Annie Lou Howell, Claire Doty

25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026)

This study examines differences in Spanish dialects among native speakers from various countries, while focusing on pronunciation and the use of local slang. Fifteen native Spanish speakers participated in the study, which was divided into two parts. In the first part, participants told a free-form story to elicit and observe their natural speech. In the second part, they completed two more activities that were structured with specific prompts. All the responses were recorded and then later analyzed to identify dialectal features. The analysis was completed by the researchers, with the help of artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT. By comparing linguistics in …

The Storied Life: Biblical Metanarrative And The Human Experience, Samantha Jones

25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026)

The storytelling animal. This eclectic title was coined by Alasdair MacIntyre in his famous philosophical work After Virtue. Notice MacIntyre does not call man “the working animal who also tells stories,” nor the “rule following animal who enjoys the trivial pursuit of narrative.” He calls man the storytelling animal because he has discovered that stories are not the just one characteristic of the human experience, they are so much more. To be a human is to be a storyteller, and to be a storyteller is to be human. This claim is not specific to philosophers like MacIntyre, but is an …

Layers And Ambiance: Latin American Female Perspectives In The Early 21st Century, Layla Rumble

25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026)

Female Latin American authors have been studied from various perspectives, mainly based on their roles in society and their representation in literature. This project had two major goals: to produce an academic paper on Chilean film 1976 and to create a database of fiction — written and filmic— produced in the 21st century. The research paper The Dictatorship Aura: Layers and Soundscapes in Chile 1976 (2022) is in the process of incorporating reviewers’ feedback and it has pointed to various relevant hypotheses. Notably, Chilean cinema seems to be going through a paradigm shift. Whereas film directors used to overemphasize the …

2025-2026 Performance Forum - April 17, 2026, Brooke Gunter, Sheng Yuan Kuan, Kade Gordon, Nabil Hetman, Paola Nava, Ruzanna Usmanova, Sarah Conley, Maria Savelyeva, Zion Pe Montebon, Rebeca Sierra, Laura Gonzalez, Nia Morgan, Roey Dushi, Verse Tomac, Mia Cotton, Daniel Cruz, Juanita Jaimes, Michael Shipps, Derek Lund

Performance Forum

No abstract provided.

My Laments (Grief Is Cyclical), Delaney Harrington

Ex Sapientia Loqui

No abstract provided.

Science Experiment, Rachel Miller

Ex Sapientia Loqui

No abstract provided.

Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt: Examining The Female Gothic In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And Bram Stoker's Dracula, Delaney Harrington

Ex Sapientia Loqui

This paper establishes characteristics of the Female Gothic subgenre, traces the origin of the fiction subgenre throughout the years, and applies these characteristics to argue that Frankenstein and Dracula should be considered prime examples of feminist literature. I analyse the characters of both novels, as well as the authors' respective intentions and social contexts.

“I Care For Nothing Else”: Prayer In Purgatorio And Paradise Lost, Clara Kernodle

Ex Sapientia Loqui

In Dante's Purgatorio, the penitent souls reform themselves through physical penance and constant prayer. Dante depicts the power of sincere, repentant prayer, as God is more merciful than the earthly institution of the Church, and participates equally with the sinner in the soul's salvation. The efforts of souls in Purgatorio are like our own lives; we too ought to engage in the holy sacrifice of constant, repentant prayer. Further, in Paradise Lost, Milton demonstrates how honest prayer is imperative to salvation.

Cloudless & Childlike, Clara Kernodle

Ex Sapientia Loqui

No abstract provided.

Review Of Ancient Near Eastern Thought And The Old Testament, Walker Sharp

Ex Sapientia Loqui

A relatively short overview of Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, I attempt to address important aspects of Ancient Near Eastern culture and its relevance to interpreting Scripture. By addressing different aspects of the cultures and by using certain methods to understand them, we can gain a deeper understanding of the contexts of a lot of the Old Testament history.

Beasts Of Burden: Human Dignity And Roman Slavery In The Silver Age Latin Literature, William Deloach

Ex Sapientia Loqui

This article evaluates rhetoric used to describe enslaved persons in Petronius's Satyricon and Statius's Silvae through the lens of human dignity. Human dignity is evaluated through ancient and modern lenses, drawing upon Cicero's conception of civilitas and contemporary views by luminaries such as George Kateb and Michael Rosen. Silvae and Satyricon utilize conceptions of dignity to uplift the value of slaves, though in some cases the opposite is also observable. Overwhelmingly, the two works lean towards recognizing enslaved persons' dignity rather than rejecting it.

Galen Of Pergamum: Life, Literature, And Legacy, Elyse Rogers

Ex Sapientia Loqui

Galen of Pergamum was a second-century physician whose work had an enduring impact on the field of medicine. His extensive writings were the primary reference and teaching materials for the medical community for over a millennium. While his ideas were revolutionary for his time, they were eventually outdated. Nevertheless, there was a continued reliance on his authority, which hindered scientific advancement. Galen both advanced the world of medicine with his emphasis on observational analysis and constrained its progress through the profound dominance of his theories.

This paper aims to understand the life of Galen and the significance of his work …

Sacramental Intimations, Clara Kernodle

Ex Sapientia Loqui

No abstract provided.

Solitude And Busyness, Eliza Kuhlmann

Ex Sapientia Loqui

This essay addresses a prevalent problem in modern society: excessive and out-of-control busyness. It outlines some of the problems of busyness and then offers a solution---namely, solitude. Along with defining the phenomena, the benefits and practical applications of solitude are shared in an attempt to counteract some of the harms of busyness.

Christian Barbie: Exploring Biblical Themes In Greta Gerwig's "Barbie", Julia Howell

Ex Sapientia Loqui

The record-breaking and highly successful hit movie, Barbie, may have more depth than a simple film concerning a plastic doll. After carefully watching and studying, I have reached the firm conclusion that there are clear Biblical allusions throughout the Barbie movie. While one can ascertain these allusions using a Christian lens, it is important to highlight that the director of the film, Greta Gerwig, has confirmed her movie to be Biblically inspired due to her religious background. I believe it is important to seek how Christ is being reflected in film whether His reflection is intended by the creator or …

In The Shadow Of Justice: How The Mythos Of The Batman Balances Major Ethical Theories In His Pursuit Of Ideal Justice, Camille Bewley

Ex Sapientia Loqui

For more than eighty years, the Batman character has exhibited a unique synthesis of major theories of Justice, and through his experiences as a vigilante, exemplified the pursuit of the ideal virtue of Justice. Because virtue requires a lived example to be understood, Batman is one of the foundational stories fulfilling this need for one of collective society’s prominent pillars. Within the horror of Gotham City–a hyperbolic, fictional representation of urban corruption–Batman’s actions as a vigilante, walking a tightrope to maintain morality even above the law might not only be justified, but necessary. The Batman’s nature, balancing ethical theories and …

Hyssop, Joshua Williams

Ex Sapientia Loqui

No abstract provided.

Tactical Seagulls: A Multimedia Children's Story, Clara Showalter

Celebration of Research

This story is true. Well, sort of...

Tactical Seagulls is an in-process children's book that imaginatively and humorously (and yes, a tad chaotically) retells a true story about seagulls trying to steal food from beachgoers. But it's more than just a quirky story. Tactical Seagulls began its life as a means to help teach new vocabulary to children in a non-obvious and enjoyable way. Throughout the process, the vision for this book expanded into something more: it is intended to help revive the practice of the family read-aloud through the intentional incorporation of distinct character voices and personalities, expressive illustrations, …

The Intentional Soundtrack: Using Specific Music To Proactively Manage The Elementary Classroom, Meredith Sundberg, Angela Carlson, Carrie Thonstad

Celebration of Research

This research investigates how educators can intentionally use specific musical genres and tempos as reliable environmental cues to enhance student attention, engagement, and classroom management. While the general benefits of music in education are well-documented, this study seeks to identify which genres are most effective for specific instructional outcomes. While conducting a four-week comparative study across four second-grade classrooms, I evaluated the impact of upbeat and slow music during transitions, classical and pop music during independent spelling work, and classical, pop, and curriculum related music math brain breaks. Data was collected through observational rubrics, student surveys, and academic test scores. …

Ritual, Economy, And Social-Relational Impacts In The Church, Alexia M. Hanson, Dr. Jeremy Williams

Celebration of Research

Using ritual theory, understanding of economics in the Bible, and social-relational frameworks, this research explores the connections between ritual and economy in the Church. We ask: how does economy affect ritual and how does ritual affect economy? Biblical exegesis and an original survey are incorporated to get a real-world, practical sense of the impact of these questions, and their answers, have for the Church as a whole. The ritual focus of the research is on the practices of baptism and communion in the Church today. The social and relational aspects of these practices are also explored. How does the method, …

Water Feature Design For An Enemy Of The People, Rae Outland

Celebration of Research

The hot springs in the show An Enemy of the People is a crucial piece that is the main focus of the issue for the duration of the show. As the hot springs are never actually seen in the play, it was brought up in a design meeting that a water feature of sorts be made to show what the springs would look like, incorporate the audience, and invite them into the space we are creating.

This project took my blood, sweat, and tears--- all literally speaking. I had the privilege of unexpectedly getting to design in my freshmen year, …

Properties Design For The Little Prince, Ruthie Zimmerman

Celebration of Research

In designing properties for Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, I aligned with the director's vision of lush minimalism by using clear silhouettes with rich color and texture. Props design is the thread holding together the work of the scenic designer, costume designer, and for this show, the puppet designer, so I followed their aesthetic choices and repeated colors, textures, and materials in order to build a tactile, believable world.

Projection Design For The Little Prince, Melissa Thompson

Celebration of Research

As the projections and scenic designer for Northwestern's February 2025 production of The Little Prince, I encountered many challenges and much unfamiliar territory. This project taught me complex projection mapping, digital media design principles, and communication in a team setting.

German Language And Dialects In The Bavarian-Swabian Region, Gabriel Sullivan

KU Inspires! Undergraduate Research Day

No abstract provided.