Faculty, staff, students, and families gave several rounds of applause to retiring College of Fine Arts faculty members at the Convocation ceremony on May 2nd in Kingsbury Hall. Those honored included The Ellen Neilson Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair for Choral Studies & Professor Barlow Bradford from the School of Music, Professor (Lecturer) of Vocal Studies Paul Dorgan from the School of Music, and Professor Brian Patrick from the Department of Film & Media Arts. The CFA wishes Bradford, Dorgan, and Patrick a fond farewell and gives deep thanks for their service to the college.
Read about their impressive achievements and prestigious careers below:
- Barlow Bradford joined the School of Music in 2010 and has maintained a distinguished career as the Ellen Neilson Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair for Choral Studies in the School of Music. Highlights over the years include the Chamber Choir winning an international choral competition in France and being invited to sing in The Chinese International Choral Festival that was televised to millions of viewers. Dr. Bradford has also composed and arranged over 20 pieces of choral and orchestral music, performed by notable professional organizations across the globe, including The Mormon Tabernacle Choir (now known as the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square), Dallas Symphony Chorus, the New York Choral Artists, and his own performing groups, which includes the Utah Chamber Artists that he co-founded over 30 years ago. He has also served as the chorus director of The Grand Teton Music Festival and The Utah Symphony Chorus.
- Paul Dorgan joined the School of Music in 1993 and has a long and storied career as an influential coach and collaborative pianist in the classical voice field. Dr. Dorgan has served as coach at many major opera houses both in the United States and overseas. Since moving to Utah, he has been a frequent and sought-after performer in the NOVA Chamber Music Series, the Temple Square Recital Series, and has performed countless times in various concerts and recitals for our School of Music. Dr. Dorgan has built a strong reputation as a definitive source of diction and literature for singers at our university and beyond, and his translations are used often by various opera companies for supertitles during their performances. He has been a celebrated master clinician throughout the US, and has been one of the most important resources for diction, literature and vocal coaching for generations of singers moving through our School of Music.
- Brian Patrick has been teaching film at the University of Utah since 1978 and served for several years during the ‘90s as the Director of the Film Studies Program – a previous incarnation of the now Department of Film & Media Arts. In addition to his over four decades in residence here at the U, he has also taught film production at Ohio University, University of Colorado, Southern Illinois University, and UC Santa Cruz. During this time he developed and taught courses in film/video production, film history survey, and film directing. Immediately prior to his arrival at the U, he served as Filmmaker-in-Residence for the Wyoming Arts Council where he taught beginning filmmaking in the Cheyenne Public Schools. Professor Patrick has collaborated with notable directors such as Steven Spielberg, and the Documentary films he has directed, produced, and edited have won numerous awards and have aired on National Public Television.