Related Articles

• Musicians' Academy

  This summer Itawamba Community College will provide an opportunity for incoming freshman music majors, band and choir members to participate in a new program.             During the Musicians’ Academy, which is scheduled for July 2-31 at the Fulton Campus, participants will take fundamentals of music as well as a lab science course. Taught by ICC Fine Arts Division chair Dr. Cass Patrick, fundamentals of music is beneficial for students to increase their knowledge and skills in musicianship and technique, according to Dr. Bronson Prochaska, Learning and Life Skills Division chair and Academic Success and Retention director.             Students may live in the residence hall or commute daily and may pay for the program either out-of-pocket or apply for federal financial aid, Prochaska said. Evening activities are planned for those who choose to stay on campus. In addition, all students will have the opportunity to being working with ICC Music Department faculty.             Classes meet Mondays through Thursdays.             For more information, contact Prochaska at (662) 862-8250 or email bgprochaska@iccms.edu.  
• ICC's Griffith to present "Music: A Uniquely Human Experience," Feb. 6

              Christy Colburn Griffith of Amory, recipient of Itawamba Community College’s Mississippi Humanities Teacher Award for 2024, will present “Music: A Uniquely Human Experience,” Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium at the Fulton Campus.             “Music does more than just make sounds,” Griffith said. “It changes the way people think and behave. The skills learned in music will help students be successful on the stage, in the classroom and for the rest of their lives. Music is a human experience, and it plays an important role in educating the entire person.”             Griffith will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony in March at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The evening pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.             In her 25th year as a music educator, Griffith serves as associate band director at ICC.             A graduate of Aberdeen High School, Grifith earned the associate’s degree from ICC and both the bachelor’s and master’s ...
• Local musician to kick off ICC's Senior College, Feb. 6

  Dale Rushing of Tupelo will kick off Itawamba Community College’s Senior College, Feb. 6, with a presentation on the influence of Mississippi musicians on the music industry.             Rushing is a member of the Rust Bucket Roadies of Mooreville and a self-described late bloomer in the music world. The group is “a lively band that will get your feet moving with their rowdy throwback backbeat of years gone by,” according to their social media account. “They are a true Mississippi gem playing some of the best rocking blues you will ever hear. They have the sound that made Sam Phillips famous influenced by the Hill country blues of North Mississippi, true Americana music that will rock everyone of every age.”             In addition to Rushing’s presentation, there will be bingo and door prizes.             The Senior College meets once per month, except for February, from 9-11 a.m. at the ICC Belden Center.             The next session will be Feb. 20, when Tupelo’s Jack Reed, Jr. will share excerpts from his book, “A Time to Listen.”             The first session is free, but a $30 ...
• Cass Patrick to represent ICC as William Winter Scholar

              Dr. Cass Patrick of Tupelo, Fine Arts division chair, has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s William Winter Scholar for 2020.             He will be among statewide recipients honored during opening and closing ceremonies at the 31st Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, Feb. 27-29.             Patrick, who is in his 24th year at ICC, also teaches freshman and sophomore music theory, jazz improvisation, music appreciation, classical and jazz guitar and directs the ICC Jazz Band. He has previously been an assistant band director, woodwinds instructor and director of the woodwind choir. Prior to ICC, he was the director of the Jazz Studies and Classical Guitar programs at Auburn University.             In addition to teaching, Patrick has remained active as a performer, arranger and composer as well as serving on numerous occasions as a clinician and adjudicator for various jazz festivals and solo ensemble competitions around the Mid-South. His work includes music for jazz band and combo, marching band, symphonic band, choir, woodwind choir, brass choir, various show choirs, orchestra, solo classical guitar and multiple guitar works as well as various ...
• ICC to offer Summer Institute

             Itawamba Community College will offer three opportunities as part of its upcoming Summer Institute.             Participants in the Graduation Academy, which will begin June 1, are students who lack specific courses to complete degree requirements. They have been contacted about enrollment opportunities, according to Dr. Brandi McCraw, instructional coordinator.             The Musicians Academy is for music majors (voice and non-voice) to complete a lab-based science during the summer term while they also become more fluent in reading music. Each student will be enrolled in a four-hour lab-based science course and in Fundamentals of Music, McCraw said.             “Developmental education courses can add the expense of unplanned, extra semesters to a student’s collegiate experience,” McCraw said. The Summer Bridge program targets students who have an ACT math sub-score of 16-18 and enrolls each into a summer cohort with handpicked instructors who are dedicated to student success. “The academic progress for this cohort of students is carefully tracked by our academic support specialists in order to provide the tools each student needs to successfully move to the next course ...
• ICC's Kyle Davis selected as William Winter Scholar for 2024

  Kyle Davis of Fulton, choir director/music instructor, has been selected as Itawamba Community College’s William Winter Scholar for 2024.             He will be among statewide recipients honored during opening and closing ceremonies at the 35th Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, Feb. 22-24.             Davis joined the ICC family in fall 2018. Before his appointment, he served as the music director, vocal coach and instructor for the University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance.             He earned the bachelor’s degree from Blue Mountain Christian University and the master’s degree from the University of Mississippi and is scheduled to receive the doctoral degree from William Carey University this summer.              Davis’s honors and awards include the Ed Ludlow Alumni Award for Servant Leadership in Music, Linda Berry Music Award and Purser Speech Award, all from Blue Mountain Christian University; the Outstanding Faculty Award from Alpha Psi Omega at the University of Alabama; Target Award for Most Outstanding Teacher in the South Tippah County School District; and the Most Outstanding Graduate Singer Award and Most Outstanding Opera Singer Award from the University of ...