Each year, BYU’s Barlow Endowment for Music Composition hosts three competitions for composers around the world. One of their 2015 Latter-day Saint commission recipients, Lansing McLoskey, wrote the concert-length choral oratorio “Zealot Canticles,” which was performed by The Crossing and won a 2019 Grammy for Best Choral Performance. “My immediate reaction while sitting there at the Grammys was almost numbness,” said McLoskey. “I saw it with my eyes and heard the announcement with my ears, but my mind couldn't process that it was real. Then I was flooded with feelings of joy, pride, gratitude; I felt honored and humbled. I do not write music for awards or recognition, yet it's a humbling and rewarding experience when a work like this is recognized by my peers.” Ethan Wickman, the executive director of the Barlow Endowment, said the Grammy reflects well on the endowment and its mission, which is to encourage the creation of great music. “While there are many marvelous works that have been supported by Barlow over the years that won’t win awards in such a public venue, it is a reminder that without the Endowment’s support, this work—and so many others—probably wouldn’t have come to be,” said Wickman. “All of the new music that the endowment supports plays some small part in making the world a better, richer, more fulfilling place.” McLoskey was one of about 500 composers that judges reviewed during the selection process for the the Barlow Endowment. The judges then selected 13 composers and performers — one Barlow Prize winner and 12 LDS and General commision winners — to receive a commission. Wickman said, “Commissions are the lifeblood of new music; they provide the financial means for a composer to dedicate the time needed to create.” The endowment is one of only a handful of major commissioning competitions in the world, which means the aid it provides is vital to composers, performers and other music aficionados around the world. “I would argue that there is scarcely a corner of the globe with a community of composers of concert music who have not heard of the Barlow Endowment,” said Wickman. McLoskey echoed Wickman’s sentiment, stating that he applied because “the Barlow Endowment is one of the most important and significant organizations that funds commissions of new music by composers in the country — the world, really.” Wickman said that one of the things that sets the Barlow Endowment apart from similar competitions is that fact that a portion of the money is specifically dedicated to Latter-day Saint composers, something the endowment’s co-founder Milton Barlow was passionate about. “These LDS compositions are pieces of artistically valuable music that often do not enjoy the same mass-market, economic benefits as pieces of popular or commercial music,” said Wickman. “That’s why the work we do is so important to developing a high culture within music by LDS composers.” For McLoskey and other LDS composers, the LDS portion of the endowment opens doors that may otherwise remain closed. McLoskey says his great experiences with “Zealot Canticles” — including collaborating with the performers and their conductor, Donald Nally; releasing a CD with Innova Records; and, of course their Grammy for Best Choral Performance — all began with the Barlow Endowment making it possible for him to write the piece in the first place. McLoskey pointed out that historically there hasn’t been a lot of support for LDS art and music that wasn’t strictly conservative or traditional. “The importance of having an LDS (though technically not Church-owned) foundation that specifically promotes, advocates for and supports the creation of music by LDS composers, regardless of how 'traditional' it is and irrespective of whether it's ever heard within the walls of an LDS building or promoted by the Church, cannot be overstated, said McLoskey. “What an invaluable resource for composers — LDS and otherwise.”

Each year, world-renowned publishing company Graphis Inc. recognizes the work of up-and-coming design students during their New Talent Annual. This year, they received 1160 submissions from around the world and chose to recognize 22 of the 25 projects sent in by BYU. Design major Todd McAllister was the only student from BYU — and one of just 21 students total — to walk away with the annual’s highest honor: the Platinum Award. “I was pretty surprised when I found out that I had won the award,” said McAllister. “It’s nice to get some validation after working hard on a project like that. There are a lot of great designers that submit to Graphis each year, so it was a significant personal achievement to win an award against such tough competition.” The designs that won McAllister the award were for Dwell Magazine. McAllister was tasked with re-designing the magazine’s current cover in a way that was aesthetically pleasing but still on-brand. McAllister’s approach to the project was centered on his love for clean, uncluttered design. “I seem to be drawn to simple, minimalistic design because it leaves me with a sense of awe or piques my interest somehow,” said McAllister. “The design direction was inspired by wanting to achieve that same feeling in a magazine cover.” McAllister said he isn’t sure exactly what set his designs apart from the rest of the competition, though his guess is that it was how well the designs paired photos and text. “In my opinion, a lot of beautiful cover photographs are ruined with really busy headlines and other text elements,” said McAllister. “I think that trying to reduce that as much as possible so the photos can speak for themselves might have set my designs apart from the rest.” While McAllister’s designs may have been simple, the creative process that led to the finished pieces was not. He repeatedly designed covers and critiqued them until he settled on three final designs. McAllister said his favorite part of working on the project was figuring out the title part of the design. “I had been through tons of iterations that didn’t seem to feel right, but something about the lowercase masthead placed vertically along the side of the cover seemed to click, and then things sort of fell into place from there,” said McAllister. His experience working on the designs and winning the award impacted McAllister in a lasting way. “I definitely think this experience will have a positive impact on my future career,” he said. “If nothing else, it has helped me feel a bit more confident in my abilities, which is pretty vital to creativity.” After graduation, McAllister doesn’t imagine his future as a concrete, five-year-plan type of journey. “My future career goals basically involve waking up everyday excited to work on whatever project I have,” said McAllister. “I guess I don’t really have a specific position or place I want to be in, I just want to be excited about the work that I’m doing while pushing the boundaries of what I’m able to do.” For now, McAllister and the other students who were honored by Graphis Inc. are waiting for their work to be published in the hardcover version of the New Talent Annual, which comes out May 1, 2019.

Many BYU professors aren’t just professors; they’re also successful professionals in their respective fields. However, few double as government contractors — but illustration professor Justin Kunz has devoted much of his time to designing America’s coins and medals for more than a decade. Kunz is a member of an elite group of artists that comprise the U.S. Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program (AIP). Kunz has designed various coins and medals for the U.S. Mint, with one of his recent designs winning the Coin of the Year in the category of Best Gold Coin Award at the 2019 World Money Fair in Berlin. “I was thrilled to see this important coin recognized on an international stage, and thankful all over again to have been part of the process of creating it,” said Kunz. Kunz’s involvement with the U.S. Mint began in 2004. After seeing an advertisement on local TV calling for artists, Kunz sent in a portfolio and a sample coin design. Before long he was in Philadelphia learning the ins and outs of coin, or numismatic, design. Kunz was one of just 18 professionals selected for the program along with six student artists. Kunz said when he was selected for the program he felt like Charlie from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”; his acceptance into the program felt like a “golden ticket.” Other than a hiatus while he was working on an MFA in painting, Kunz has worked with the U.S. Mint ever since his first trip to Philadelphia in 2004. “I have a good working relationship with the Mint,” said Kunz. “They are smart, hard-working people who really care about our country and the artistic quality of our coins and medals. They have always treated me fairly and have helped me grow and improve as an artist.” Kunz’s love for drawing and design is at the core of why he continues to collaborate with the Mint over the years. For him it is a way to apply his skills and interests into a project of national importance. “As part of the process for developing visual ideas, I get to study the events and symbols that are important to the history of our country and compete with other talented designers to help tell those stories,” said Kunz. “It’s really satisfying to hold the finished coin or medal in my hands, rotate it under the light and feel the texture of the relief work on it.” From collaborating with fellow artists to interacting with coin collectors, Kunz has had a lot of special moments during his decade and a half working with the Mint, but he says one of his favorites was the unveiling of the 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin. For a few days, the story became a trending topic in all the major media. “I was in Washington D.C. while that was unfolding, just hiding out in my favorite place in the city,” said Kunz. “It was pretty surreal to think a little gold coin could attract so much national attention. It’s been really rewarding to know my work is out there connecting with people.” Kunz’s road to international success has been rooted in the way he approaches his work and life in general. He advises aspiring artists to “Become better than you currently are — but please take it one day at a time. Try to see every situation and assignment as an opportunity to learn and prepare. Not just for a rewarding career, which you can have, but also for a deeply fulfilling life.” For more information about Kunz’s work, visit his page on the U.S. Mint website.

The group gave students a glimpse into their signature sound

Artist Michael Parker opens up on his success and how BYU impacted him in a Q&A

“Ballet in Concert” brings “Sleeping Beauty” and modern masterpieces by Balanchine and Arpino to audiences. The BYU Department of Dance hopes to introduce new fans to the splendor of ballet with the performance of “Sleeping Beauty” on Feb 28. “Ballet, by and large through the ages, has been removed from the general public,” said Shayla Bott, the concert’s artistic director. “You’re seeing dancers that move in a way that makes the general public think, ‘I can’t even walk like that, much less do what they’re doing.’ But, we really try to make it fun.” Read more here.

The BYU Singers Selected to Perform at Prestigious National Conference for Choral Directors

Viola Professor Claudine Bigelow Receives Grants for Interdisciplinary Folk Music Research

Department of Dance professor Marin Roper presents to students, faculty and staff on how dance can be used to connect with oneself, God and other people.

BYU's animation bachelor of science program was ranked first in the nation by Animation Career Review in 2018. Read more and see some of the animation students' best work in BYU Magazine.

BYU’s Museum of Art will be hosting a guided tour of the exhibition “Pulitzer Prize Photographs” on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 12:10 p.m. The exhibit closes on March 3, so the tour will be one of the last chances visitors will have to view the photography. The exhibit, which is on lend from the Newseum in Washington D.C., features Pulitzer Prize photography since 1942, interactive kiosks and videos of interviews with the photographers. Kenneth Hartvigsen, the museum’s curator of American art, will guide visitors through the various parts of the exhibition. “Viewing the entire collection of Pulitzer Prize photographs together will be a profound experience that will remind visitors of the responsibility we all have to learn from history and work together to create a brighter future,” said Hartvigsen. To learn more about the event, visit the MOA’s website or their Facebook Page, where the Gallery Talk will be livestreamed.

School of Music Professor Michelle Kesler explores if one can find meaning independent of the outcome throughout the creative process.