Jon Stewart and Ice Cube Visit McNally Smith!

The school year has begun, and already the excitement is running high. Jon Stewart and The Daily Show just left our campus after a highly successful run during the Republican National Convention. The most watched video clips on The Daily Show web site are some hilarious scenes from these programs. Check out the one that is tagged: Minnesota! Where everything tastes better on a stick!

Dozens and dozens of McNally Smith students performed throughout the city during the RNC, and they were professional, poised, and made us proud. It was especially rewarding to see so many of our entering students take advantage of this unique performance opportunity and to hear how exceptionally talented this new class is.

Then Ice Cube hit campus! He was in town to award the Ice Cube scholarship to Josiah Kosier, a full ride scholarship for the student personally selected by Cube himself based on extensive evaluation of compositions and performances by the applicants.

Cube was gracious and enlightening as he addressed hundreds of students in a Q & A session in our “Penthouse.” He also met with the committee that is creating a new Diploma program in Hip Hop, and has agreed to review our work and advise on the content and development of this exciting new program. It was very impressive to see how truly dedicated Cube is to students and education. He shares the passion, and is making a significant contribution to our future artists.

On a personal front, I’m working hard on preparing a concert program to kick off the new Faculty Artist Performance Series at McNally Smith. My concert is on Wednesday, October 22nd and you’re all invited! I’m going to include some classical guitar music, an “unplugged” set in which I’ll play and sing some of my songs and a couple of favorites by other songwriters, and conclude with an electric blues/rock set.

Faculty members Judi Donaghy, Lori Dokken, Dave Schmalenberger, and Charles Fletcher will perform with me. We’ll be joined by Melissa Matthews, an outstanding classical and improvising violinist from the Twin Cities.

Best wishes to everyone as the new academic year begins. We’re off to a magnificent start!