UNIVERSITY NEWS - OCTOBER 2003

MEDIA CONTACT: Stacia Smith
561-297-2971 or ssmith@fau.edu
Picture of George Sparks attached.

FAU Launches School of the Arts - George Sparks to be director of new school

BOCA RATON, FL (Aug. 26, 2003) - Florida Atlantic University's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will launch a School of the Arts this fall under Inaugural Director Dr. George Sparks, FAU professor of music.

The new school will bring together FAU's music, theatre and art departments, as well as the University Galleries, to provide specialized and interdisciplinary education for students. Building upon its existing departments, programs and faculty the school will strengthen FAU's mission to become a central source for arts offerings for South Florida audiences.

"FAU has some audiences that come for music, some for art and some for theatre," said Sparks. "We want South Florida to think of FAU as the place for all of the arts. Our faculty members are among the best in the country, and we think that by encouraging more collaboration between the disciplines, we can better highlight their work."

Sparks is the founder and principal conductor of the Florida Wind Symphony, an ensemble in residence at FAU. He has also served as FAU's Director of Bands and chamber music and coordinator for winds and percussion since 1993. In the fall of 2002, Sparks started FAU's first marching band, the Marching Owls, creating a new tradition for FAU's athletic program.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Sparks earned his bachelor's degree in music education from Henderson State University, a master's in music from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in conducting from Louisiana State University. He has performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Boca Pops, the Acadiana Symphony and the Palm Beach Pops.

In addition to Sparks, the FAU School of the Arts brings together the distinguished faculty and dynamic programs of the departments chaired by Angel DiCosola (Art), Heather Coltman (Music), Jean-Louis Baldet (Theatre) as well as the exhibits and activities of the University Galleries under the direction of Rod Faulds.
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