Cornish College of the Arts
Encyclopedia
Library
The library at Cornish College specializes in art, dance, design, music, performance production, and theatre. As of 2011 it holds 4700 CDs, 40,000 books, has 2,200 videos, and subscribes to 154 periodicals. Its special collections include an image collection and 35mm slides.Presidents
- Nancy Uscher (2011)
- Sergei P. Tschernisch (1994–2011)
- Nellie CornishNellie CornishNellie Centennial Cornish was a pianist, teacher, writer, and founder of the Cornish School in Seattle, Washington. She was influenced by the pedagogical ideas of Maria Montessori as well as Calvin Brainerd Cady's ideas about teaching broader values through music education...
(1914–1939)
Notable faculty
Music- Bun-Ching LamBun-Ching LamLam Bun-Ching is a composer, pianist, and conductor.She holds a B.A. degree in piano performance from the Chinese University of Hong Kong . She obtained a scholarship from the University of California at San Diego, where she studied composition with Bernard Rands, Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds,...
- Jay ClaytonJay ClaytonJay Clayton is an internationally acclaimed avant-garde vocalist and jazz educator.- Early years :...
- Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
- Adam Stern (conductor)Adam Stern (conductor)Adam Stern is an American conductor. Born in Hollywood, Stern was trained at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. He received his MFA in conducting in 1977 at the age of twenty-one, the youngest music student in CalArts' history to receive a Master's degree.Following years as a...
- Guy AndersonGuy AndersonGuy Anderson , born in Edmonds, Washington, was an American Abstract Expressionism painter. Along with Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, Anderson was identified in a Life Magazine article as one of the "northwest mystics," also known as the Northwest School.-Early...
- Bern HerbolsheimerBern Herbolsheimer-Biography:Bern Herbolsheimer has received recognition throughout the United States and Europe for over 500 works ranging from ballet to symphonic, operatic, chamber and choral works. His numerous major commissions and premieres have included ballets for the Frankfurt Ballet, the Atlanta Ballet,...
- Eric Banks
- John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
- Randy HalberstadtRandy HalberstadtRandy Halberstadt is an American jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, author, and teacher. In addition to leading his own trio and producing his own recordings , he has performed with Herb Ellis, Buddy DeFranco, Nick Brignola, Terry Gibbs, Slide Hampton, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Shew, Joe...
- Christopher DeLaurentiChristopher DeLaurentiChristopher DeLaurenti is a Seattle-based composer, improvisor, and phonographer. A new music rabble-rouser, he also writes music reviews and articles. His electro-acoustic works are composed of field recordings and often deal with political issues, political protests in particular...
- Janice GiteckJanice Giteck-Biography:Giteck grew up in Hicksville, Long Island and moved to Arizona when she was twelve years old. She attended Mills College, completing her Master's in 1969 and studying under Darius Milhaud. She later studied under Olivier Messiaen, and following this she studied percussion with Daniel...
- Stephen StubbsStephen StubbsStephen Stubbs is a lutenist and music director and has been a leading figure in the European early music scene for nearly thirty years....
- Ingrid MatthewsIngrid MatthewsIngrid Matthews is a violinist and Music Director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra,Ingrid Matthews is recognized as one of the leading baroque violinists and period instrument performers...
- Julian PriesterJulian PriesterJulian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...
- Jovino Santos-NetoJovino Santos-NetoJovino Santos-Neto is a Brazilian American jazz pianist, flutist, composer, arranger, educator and producer....
- Chuck DeardorfChuck DeardorfChuck Deardorf, is an American musician, best known for playing double bass and bass guitar with numerous internationally known Jazz musicians....
- Wayne HorvitzWayne HorvitzWayne Horvitz is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer.-Biography:Horvitz, a "defiant cross-breeder of genres", has led the groups The President, Pigpen, Zony Mash, and the Four Plus One Ensemble...
- Paul TaubPaul TaubBorn in New York City, flutist Paul Taub has been a resident of Seattle and a Cornish College of the Arts faculty member since 1979. He holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts, and has studied with some of the world’s greatest flutists including...
- Tom VarnerTom VarnerTom Varner is an American jazz horn player and composer.Varner studied piano in his youth with Capitola Dickerson of Summit, New Jersey. He holds a B.M...
- Linda WaterfallLinda WaterfallLinda Waterfall is an American folk musician and singer-songwriter. She has recorded more than 10 albums beginning with her first in 1977.-Career:...
- Art LandeArt LandeArt Lande is a jazz pianist, drummer, composer and educator.Born in New York City, he began piano at age 4, studied at Williams College, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969. He made the first record of his own compositions in 1973 for ECM Records, in a duo with saxophonist/flutist Jan...
- Vicki BoeckmanVicki BoeckmanRecorder artist Vicki Boeckman is an American performer and educator. She was introduced to the recorder while studying flute at California State University, Northridge. In 1981, she moved to Denmark to continue her studies and teach at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, returning to the United...
- Seattle Chamber PlayersSeattle Chamber PlayersThe Seattle Chamber Players are a chamber ensemble focused on contemporary music, founded in 1989 in Seattle, Washington, U.S. In January 2004, the group was awarded the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming....
(artist-in-residence) - Corigliano QuartetCorigliano QuartetThe Corigliano Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1996 with the blessing of the Pulitzer-, Grammy-, and Oscar-winning John Corigliano. "They are truly one of the great quartets of the new generation," said the composer...
(artist-in-residence) - Bill FrisellBill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
(artist-in-residence) - Lou HarrisonLou HarrisonLou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...
(artist-in-residence) - Myra MelfordMyra MelfordMyra Melford is a jazz pianist and composer. In recent years, Melford has begun playing the harmonium as well as piano.Melford grew up in the Chicago area...
(artist-in-residence) - Jody DiamondJody DiamondJody Diamond is an American composer, performer, writer, publisher, editor, and educator. She specializes in traditional and new music for Indonesian gamelan and is active internationally as a scholar, performer, and publisher.-Biography:She received a B.A. from the University of California,...
(artist-in-residence) - Matt Wilson (musician)Matt Wilson (musician)Matt Wilson is a singer/songwriter who is best known as the not overly serious lead of the band Trip Shakespeare. While Matt was an English concentrator at Harvard he met John Munson and Elaine Harris and formed the band Trip Shakespeare. After the breakup he was a drummer for a Minneapolis band...
(artist-in-residence) - Meredith MonkMeredith MonkMeredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
(artist-in-residence) - Butch MorrisButch MorrisLawrence D. "Butch" Morris is an American jazz cornetist, composer and conductor.-Biography:Before his musical career, Morris served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War....
(artist-in-residence) - Rudresh MahanthappaRudresh MahanthappaRudresh Mahanthappa is a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer.Mahanthappa was born in Trieste, Italy, and grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1992 and received his Master of Fine Arts degree in jazz composition from Chicago's DePaul University...
(artist-in-residence) - Frank J. OteriFrank J. OteriFrank J. Oteri born May 12, 1964 is a composer based in New York City.Oteri's musical works have been performed in venues from Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall to the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art...
(artist-in-residence) - Robert Dick (flautist) (artist-in-residence)
- Hossein OmoumiHossein OmoumiHossein Omoumi is a scholar and teacher of Persian music, who is Maseeh Professor in Persian Performing Arts of music at the University of California, Irvine. He has performed at many concerts and music festivals as a player of the ney, the traditional reed flute of Iran.-External links:*...
(artist-in-residence) - Melia WatrasMelia WatrasDescribed as "staggeringly virtuosic" by The Strad, Melia Watras is a prominent American violist. She is active as a performer and recording artist, both as a soloist and co-founder of the award-winning Corigliano Quartet...
(artist-in-residence)
Dance
- Martha GrahamMartha GrahamMartha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
- Merce CunninghamMerce CunninghamMercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
- Ralph LemonRalph LemonRalph Lemon was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lemon has been classified as many things; an African American dancer, a choreographer, company director, a writer and a visual artist but he chooses to categorize himself as a conceptualist. He was raised in a religious environment where as a child...
(artist-in-residence) - Mark MorrisMark MorrisMark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments...
(artist-in-residence) - Syvilla FortSyvilla FortSyvilla Fort was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance educator.Born in Seattle, she was African American and drew on her heritage in her original dance works....
(artist-in-residence) - Donald McKayleDonald McKayleDonald McKayle is an African American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and 60s that focus on expressing the human condition and more specifically, the black experience in America...
(artist-in-residence) - Bill Evans (dancer)Bill Evans (dancer)Bill Evans is an internationally-known choreographer, performer, teacher, administrator, and movement analyst. More than 200 of Evans' works have been performed by professional and pre-professional ballet, modern dance, and tap companies through the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Europe and...
(artist-in-residence) - Seán CurranSeán CurranSeán Curran is an American dancer and choreographer. Curran's dance company, the Seán Curran Company is based in New York City.As a boy in the Boston suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts, Curran began dancing by learning traditional Irish step dancing...
(artist-in-residence) - David Dorfman (choreographer)David Dorfman (choreographer)David Dorfman is a dancer, choreographer, musician, activist and teacher. A native of Chicago, IL, he received his bachelor of science in business administration degree in 1977 from Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis...
(artist-in-residence) - Bebe MillerBebe MillerBebe Miller is an American choreographer, dancer and director.-Biography:Daughter of an elementary school teacher and a ship steward, Bebe Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950. She was raised in a public housing project in the Red Hook Nieghborhood...
(artist-in-residence) - Ralph LemonRalph LemonRalph Lemon was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lemon has been classified as many things; an African American dancer, a choreographer, company director, a writer and a visual artist but he chooses to categorize himself as a conceptualist. He was raised in a religious environment where as a child...
(artist-in-residence) - Liz LermanLiz LermanLiz Lerman is an American choreographer and founder of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.They have appeared at the National Cathedral, Kennedy Center Opera House, and Millennium Stage, Lansburgh Theater, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center,and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.She plans to retire...
(artist-in-residence) - Alonzo KingAlonzo KingAlonzo King is an American dancer and choreographer working in San Francisco, California. He is known for founding a contemporary ballet company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, in 1982....
(artist-in-residence) - Twyla TharpTwyla TharpTwyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
(artist-in-residence) - Elizabeth StrebElizabeth StrebElizabeth Streb is an American choreographer, performer, and teacher of contemporary dance.-Background:Streb was born and raised in Rochester, New York and, after graduating from the dance program of State University of New York at Brockport in 1972, she was interested in experimental works and...
(artist-in-residence) - David Gordon (choreographer) (artist-in-residence)
- Steve PaxtonSteve PaxtonSteve Paxton is an experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, he performed works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown...
(artist-in-residence) - Jennifer TiptonJennifer TiptonJennifer Tipton is a lighting designer. She has designed for dance, theater and opera.In 1958, she graduated from Cornell University...
(artist-in-residence)
Theater
- Robert Sandberg
- Amy Thone
- Rinde Eckert (artist in residence)
- Ping ChongPing ChongPing Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
(artist in residence)
Performance Production
- Karen Gjelsteen
- Ron Erickson
- Greg CarterGreg CarterGreg Carter is the founding Artistic Director of Strawberry Theatre Workshop , a non-profit theatre company in Seattle, Washington. He works as a freelance director, designer, and stage manager and teaches at Cornish College of the Arts...
- Dave Tosti-Lane
Fine Art
- William CummingWilliam Cumming (artist)William "Bill" Cumming is a noted 20th century artist and a founder of the Northwest School....
- Morris GravesMorris GravesMorris Cole Graves was an American expressionist painter. Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, he founded the Northwest School. Graves was also a mystic.-Early years:...
- Gary HillGary HillGary Hill is an American artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington.One of the pioneers of video art, Gary Hill has exhibited his video and video installations worldwide . He is represented by Donald Young Gallery of Chicago.An anthology on the work of Gary Hill by Robert C...
- Charles StokesCharles StokesCharles Stokes was a painter and sculptor and a prominent member of the last generation of artists identified with the Northwest School. He was the first winner of the prestigious Betty Bowen Award in concert with the Seattle Art Museum in 1979...
- Mark TobeyMark TobeyMark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
- Ron WiggintonRon WiggintonRon Wigginton is an American artist and landscape architect. Wigginton has won numerous awards for his landscape designs and built projects. His paintings and sculptures are found in West Coast museums and many private collections...
- Ellen ForneyEllen ForneyEllen Forney is a cartoonist and teacher based in Seattle, Washington, whose work has been published by Fantagraphics Books and The Stranger , among other publications. Her most recent collection is called Lust...
- John Butler (artist)John Butler (artist)John Davidson Butler , was an American artist from Seattle, Washington. He worked primarily as a painter, but later also as a printmaker and ceramicist....
- Thomas J. DuffyThomas J. DuffyThomas J. Duffy is a designer/craftsman whose present work is the conceptualization and creation of curved doors using lasers. Duffy has also crafted one-of-a-kind cabinets, chairs, and other furniture. For many years, Duffy also made St. Lawrence River rowing skiffs. One of his furniture works is...
- Windsor UtleyWindsor UtleyWindsor Utley was an American musician, artist, teacher and gallery owner, closely associated with the painter Mark Tobey.Utley was born in Laguna, California in 1920...
- Imogen CunninghamImogen CunninghamImogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her photography of botanicals, nudes and industry.-Life and career:...
(artist in residence)
Notable alumni
Dance- Merce CunninghamMerce CunninghamMercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
- Ann ReinkingAnn ReinkingAnn Reinking is an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has worked extensively in musical theatre, both as a dancer and choreographer, as well as appearing in film.-Biography:...
Music
- Nick Rolfe
- Reggie WattsReggie WattsReggie Watts is a Seattle-based comedian and musician. His shows are mostly improvised and consist of stream of consciousness stand-up in various shifting personae, mixed with loop pedal-based a cappella compositions. He also performs regularly on television, radio, and in live theater...
- Steve White of The Blue Man Group
- Michael WiltonMichael WiltonMichael Wilton is an American guitarist for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche. Wilton attended Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where he met future Queensrÿche drummer Scott Rockenfield and began recording in 1981...
- Betty XBetty XBetty X, is an American musician, artist, and writer known for her controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band Betty X. Her stage name was formed the combination of 1950's American icons, domestic goddess Betty Crocker, pin-up model Bettie Page with the human...
- Wendell YuponceWendell YuponceWendell J. Yuponce is an Emmy-winning composer and percussionist. He has written for film , television as well as numerous television commercials...
Theater
- Jane Adams (actress)Jane Adams (actress)Jane Adams is an American film, television and theatre actress.- Early life :Adams was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer. She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois and Bellevue, Washington...
- Chet HuntleyChet HuntleyChester Robert "Chet" Huntley was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.-Early life:...
- Brendan FraserBrendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American film and stage actor. Fraser portrayed Rick O'Connell in the three-part Mummy film series , and is known for his comedic and fantasy film leading roles in major Hollywood films, including Encino Man , George of the Jungle , Dudley Do-Right , Monkeybone ,...
- C.S. LeeC.S. LeeCharles S. "Charlie" Lee , known professionally as C.S. Lee, is a Korean American actor, most notably known for playing Vince Masuka on the Showtime series Dexter.-Personal life:...
- Wolfe BowartWolfe BowartWolfe Bowart is a modern-day physical comedian, actor and playwright whose work is reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. His current touring productions include Letter's End, LaLaLuna and The Man the Sea Saw...
- David GasmanDavid GasmanDavid Gasman is an actor, director and translator who also directs dubbing of films, cartoons, video games and documentaries. He has appeared in many popular cartoons and video games, such as Rayman and Code Lyoko...
- Lady RizoLady RizoLady Rizo is a comedienne and chanteuse who began performing in New York in 2004. In 2005 she co-created the cult caburlesque show "Lady Rizo and the Assettes" with her close friend and dancer, Amber Star. Coining the word 'caburlesque', the show drew inspiration from theater, vaudeville,...
Fine Art
- Clayton LewisClayton LewisClayton Scott Lewis was an American artist known primarily for his work as an envelope artist and jewelry designer.- Life and career :...
, painter and sculptor - James McMullanJames McMullanJames McMullan is an illustrator and designer of theatrical posters.Born in Tsingtao, China, where his grandparents had emigrated from Ireland as missionaries for the Anglican Church, he and his mother fled to Canada at the onset of World War II. In 1944, he enrolled at St. Paul's Boarding School...
- Felicia OhFelicia OhFelicia Linda Oh is an Asian American black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under senior instructor Jean Jacques Machado, an accomplished submission grappling competitor, martial arts instructor, and college professor.-Biography:Felicia began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in early 2001 after being...
- SuttonBeresCuller
- Mark VelasquezMark VelasquezMark Velasquez is a photographer who competed on the first season of Bravo's reality television competition, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.-Early life:...
- Nancy Wilson (rock musician)
Film
- Colleen AtwoodColleen AtwoodColleen Atwood is an American costume designer.Atwood has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design nine times and won Academy Awards for the movies Chicago in 2002, Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006, and Alice in Wonderland in 2011. Atwood has collaborated several times with...
, costume designer, three-time Academy Award winner
Design