At the WMU College of Fine Arts, our faculty, students and alumni are practicing professionals and leaders in their fields. We are so proud of their success and celebrate them for the following achievements that show their dedication and preparation for their careers.
Awards and nominations
- Carlos Sanchez (MM Viola Performance) won the 2020 Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Excellence in Teaching Award
- Alexandria Shiner (B.M. '14) was one of the five winners of the Metropolitan Opera competition.
- Product Design junior Nick Koch won honorable mention in the Inspired Home Show's student competition for his makeup brush cleaning case.
- Nathan Haering (B.M. in Music Composition '16) won first place for a graduate-level piece in the field of electroacoustic music in the US. Second place was awarded to Elliott Lupp (MM in Composition '19).
- Brent Proseus, a student in the School of Music, won first prize in the International Trumpet Guild's Orchestral Excerpts Competition.
- Theatre alum Crystal Lucas-Perry won a Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.
- Adriane Little, a professor in the Frostic School of Art, won the 29th Arizona International Film Festival Award for Best Experimental Short.
- Trombone professor Steve Wolfinbarger won the 2019 Ken Hanlon Award from the International Trombone Association.
- Metals student Vicki Cook won a Midwest Metalsmiths Merit Scholarship.
- Eddie Codrington won an ASCAP Composers Award for his piece, Obsidian Galaxy.
- Music alum Corey Shotwell ('12) was selected to participate in the Carmel Bach Festival Vocal Master Class.
- Professor Dan Jacobson (music history and theory) selected as WMU’s nominee for the Michigan Association of State Universities (MASU) Professor of the Year Award.
- Students Benjamin Hahn and Nathaniel Chiu selected as finalists in the 2019 Larry Wiehe Tenor Trombone Competition.
- Alumnus Sam Alhadid (Jazz studies, '15) is a finalist for the Canton Symphony Music Educator of the Year award.
- Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble has been nominated for best jazz album at the Juno Awards, recognizing outstanding accomplishments of Canadian musicians.
Press coverage
International theater movement supporting local Black artists comes virtually to Kalamazoo - WWMT
WMU Conductor Finds Musical Haven In Kansas During Pandemic - WMUK
- Alexandria Shiner (B.M. '14) feature - Torchbearer
40 paintings by late professor saved from destruction - WOODTV 8
‘Hamilton’ cast member returns to his West Michigan roots -MLive
- Suzi Barret, WMU Theatre grad, has a starring role in the new Disney Channel series Just Roll With It - Broadway World
- Dance student Mariya Calhoun performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards broadcast on Telemundo - Fox47
- School of Music Multimedia Arts Technology student capstone performance promotion - WMUK
- Former Western professor and pianist, Phyllis Rappeport, honored for her impact on Kalamazoo - MLive
WMU Opera Presents Puccini and Ravel One-Acts, Dubbed 'Saints & Sinners" - WMUK
- Alumna Erin Lamont (BA Dance, '02) is on the cover of the February issue of Dance Informa Magazine
- Harnessing the Future of Product Design - WMU Magazine