Jessica Roy, John Morrow, Sarah Sewell, Lindsay Williamson, Dalton Latham, Jordan Johnson, Karissa McClain, Todd Greenlee and Alex Greenlee are in residency at Quartz Mountain.
“Attending the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute is an honor that only few can say they have been a part of,” said Sewell, an OSAI chorus student. “I love it. I am very glad to have been chosen to attend this very prestigious camp.”
The Altus students are part of an elite group of 268 students chosen for the prestigious program through competitive auditions out of a pool of over 1,300 applicants. OSAI students study a chosen discipline for at least six hours a day, and in the evenings attends a variety of performances, lectures, and demonstrations in all of the fine arts.
“OSAI has taught me skills that I will be able to use in my future career,” said Todd Greenlee, an OSAI film student. “OSAI has not only allowed me to grow in my discipline, but has opened me to new artistic forms.”
At OSAI, Altus students are learning from the nation's finest artists. For the past 33 years, many famous artists have taught at OSAI, including recipients of the Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards. This year's faculty artists include actor John de Lancie, poet Billy Collins, and conductor Charles Bruffy.
John de Lancie is perhaps best known as the character "Q" on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but he is a seasoned film, television and stage actor whose credits include The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Taking Care of Business, Hill Street Blues, West Wing, Without a Trace, Judging Amy, The Closer, L.A. Law, The Practice, Touched by an Angel, and many more. Collins is a bestselling author and former two-term U.S. poet laureate, who has been called the greatest poet since Robert Frost. Bruffy is a Grammy Award-winning choral conductor in demand across the United States.
“Altus students are studying with world-renowned artists this year at the 2009 Summer Arts Institute,” said Julie Cohen, Oklahoma Arts Institute president. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime, and we’re thrilled to have Altus represented at Quartz Mountain by these students.”
In conjunction with acceptance, Altus students received full scholarships to OSAI. Altus students' scholarships were provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Helon Whiteside LaGree Scholarship Fund, Inasmuch Foundation, ConocoPhillips, Richard W. Moore Memorial Scholars Fund, Jarrod Fergeson Scholarship Fund, Melda Moore Scholarship Fund, and the McCasland Foundation Scholars Fund, with additional funding provided by the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Oklahoma State Department of Tourism and Recreation.
“The Arts Institute is a place where people can connect through their arts in ways that fill them with experience and knowledge in their passion,” said Morrow, an OSAI chorus student. “There’s nothing like two weeks of pure imagination as it meets creativity, and OSAI has helped me grow with a deeper appreciation of the arts over the years.”
OSAI culminates in ONSTAGE Weekend, June 26 and 27. The weekend consists of concerts, performances, film screenings and exhibitions where every OSAI student has a chance to display their work. All events are free and open to the public, and a performance schedule is available at www.oaiquartz.org or (405) 321-9000.
Altus is represented on the OSAI board of directors by Nancy Cox, C. Kendric Fergeson, Jeff Greenlee, Donna Hinton, Helon LaGree, Jacquelyn Parrish, Holly Urbanski and Jeff Wilmes.
OSAI is administered by the Oklahoma Arts Institute, a private, non-profit organization established in 1977 with a vision to cultivate established and emerging artists and educators through art workshops, immersion and awareness.
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