Visual and Performing Arts

Assistant Professor

Jared Anderson is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Michigan Tech where he conducts the Michigan Tech Concert Choir, teaches courses in music theory, group voice, and basic musicianship, and coaches singers in Tech theater productions.

Originally from Orem, Utah, Dr. Anderson has conducted ensembles in Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. He has worked with and conducted ensembles of all sizes and voicing, with singers of many different ages and backgrounds, including the Michigan . . .

Associate Professor of Music

Michael Irish, Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan Tech University, has a broad background in Jazz Studies as both an educator and performer. He holds a B.M.E. from Northern Michigan University and an M.M.E. from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a thesis in Jazz Studies. Prior to his appointment at Michigan Tech, Mr. Irish taught in the Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools and for eight years was the Director of Jazz Studies at the . . .

Associate Professor of Sound

Professor Plummer graduated from the University of Illinois where his work earned him the 2001 Clearcom Intercom Systems Sound Achievement Award presented by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. He has recently directed Every Good Boy Deserves Favour in conjunction with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, Cymbeline, Henry V, and the premier of That Dead Man’s Jazz Club on Houghton Stages and designed sound for the world premier of The Legacy Codes at the Hangar . . .

Director of Bands

Nicholas Enz, born in Newton, Kansas, is both an active performer and educator. He studied under John E. Williamson, Dr. David R. Gillingham, Daniel Hege, Jean Lansing, Thomas Luer, Stephen Jones, Dr. William Eash, Dr. Donald Kehrberg, and Dr. J. Harold Moyer. As a saxophonist, he has recently performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and the Pine Mountain Music Festival Symphony Orchestra. Enz was a featured soloist with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra in 2007.

Under Enz's leadership, . . .

Assistant Professor of Theatre

Patricia Helsel, Assistant Professor of Theatre, is head of the new degree program in Theatre and Electronic Media Performance. She teaches Acting, Voice and Articulation, Musical Theatre, Audition Techniques, Vocal Techniques for Media and Theatre, Presentation Skills courses. She recently directedThe Bald Soprano and The Lesson, two Eugene Ionesco one-acts, selected to be a part of the 2010 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region III. In April, 2009, Patricia directed The Robber Bridegroom transforming the Rozsa stage into a trailer park, . . .

Department Chair

First, the Arts serve an important function, Dr. Held says. They meet our psychological needs as human critters and teach us survival skills for navigating through a life in our culture. As such, they are extremely important to our quality of life and to our personal development. Consequently, schools and universities, both the repositories of our cultural history and the mechanisms for cultural evolution, are called upon to provide strong and inclusive arts programs.

He attended the . . .