Hobart and William Smith Colleges

This Week in Photos pays tribute to the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with the first anniversary of its opening. Located at the heart of campus, the new 65,000-square-foot facility has brought together music, dance, theatre and media and society in a unified academic space for the first time in HWS history. The photos in this week’s gallery trace some of the accomplishments of the past year.

Major donors join President Mark D. Gearan for the ribbon cutting ceremony in January 2016, officially opening the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts. The Board of Trustees unanimously decided to name the building in honor of Mark and Mary Herlihy Gearan.

Grant Shinegawa '18 sings during a Chorale performance on opening night.

On the day of its delivery, Assistant Professor of Music Mark Olivieri plays the new Steinway grand piano in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

German Veras '17, Marie Claire Hamet '19 and Sydney Gomez '17 check out the new spaces in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Devyn Workman ’15, MAT ’16 plays Duke Orsino and Casey Cady ’18 portrays Viola/Cesario in “Twelfth Night,” Shakespeare's romantic comedy directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Chris Hatch.

Natalie Young ’18, Luis Figueroa ’18, Mimi Scott ’16 and Nick Stewart ’15 perform in McDonald Theatre during a rehearsal for “Twelfth Night,” the inaugural theatre production in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Assistant Professor of Theatre Chris Hatch speaks with Audio Technician Kelly Walker during rehearsal for HWS Theatre's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

In her class “Medieval and Renaissance Music History,” Assistant Professor of Music Katherine Walker discusses the development of polyphony (multiple voices singing independent lines) during the ninth century in the Roman Catholic Church.

Professor of Media and Society Lester Friedman speaks to students in his class Imagining the West” in the Fish Screening Room of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

On the first day of classes in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, students in a Laban studies class listen to Adjunct Assistant Professor of Dance Colleen Wahl Culley ’06.

Davente Gilreath, of Garth Fagan Dance, leads a master lesson for students in Assistant Professor of Dance Kelly Johnson’s class in the Deming Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

In front of the Gearan Center, Kelly Mauch ‘17 works on an assignment for her class “Digital Rhetoric and Writing with New Technology” taught by Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Ben Ristow.

Assistant Professor of Media and Society Lisa Patti speaks with students during Media Industries and Alternatives in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Led by Associate Professor of Theatre Heather May, students in the social justice performance group Mosaic NY perform an environment building exercise in the McDonald Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Walden Bass, applied music instructor, works with Ryan Tinklepaugh '16 on the first cello lesson to occur in Froelich Hall.

Austin Jennings '19 and Luis Figueroa '18 rehearse for Duchess in the McDonald Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Cast members of Duchess, a modern adaptation of John Webster's Duchess of Malfi,” rehearse in McDonald Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts. Duchess” was written for HWS by award-winning playwright Johnny Drago.

The L. Thomas Melly '52 Lobby of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts has become a favorite location to host events. Here, attendees of the Colleges' first Multicultural Career and Networking Conference gather for a reception.

Guest dance instructor Caitlyn Schrader '10 leads a modern dance class in the Dance Studio of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Students watch their classmates perform a hip-hop dance routine with guest dance instructor Kimberly Trimlett '10, MAT’11 in the Dance Studio of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

On Earth Day, Senior Project Manager Chris Button gives a tour of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts highlighting the areas in the building that contribute to the facility's advanced sustainability. The building was designed to meet LEED silver or above certification requirements.

Dan Klementowski '17 plays the violin during the HWS String Ensemble concert in Froelich Hall of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Caitriona Carey ’18 performs during an HWS String Ensemble concert.

Lights illuminate the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Mosaic NY celebrates the end of the 2015-2016 season with a final performance in the McDonald Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Renowned choreographer and performer William “Bill” Evans meets with Dance Department faculty members in the Deming Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Dylan Rawlins '16 works on an interior space architectural drawing of the L. Thomas Melly ’52 Lobby of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts as part of a class with Professor of Art and Architecture Nick Ruth.

While visiting campus, Emmy award-winning “60 Minutes” correspondent and Trustee Bill Whitaker ’73, L.H.D. ’97 discusses his experiences at Hobart and William Smith and the work necessary to advance the Colleges.

Students walk in front of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts on a crisp fall day.

Liza Howard '18 has a lesson with Jazz Guitar Ensemble Director and Applied Instructor of Guitar Greg Wachala in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Chris Woodworth and written by playwright Qui Nguyen, “She Kills Monsters” explores the world of role-playing before the technology boom, through the narration of a geek heroine.

Samantha Shaffner ’17 wards off a group of dragons during practice for the HWS Theatre production of “She Kills Monsters” in the McDonald Theatre.

Professor of Dance Donna Davenport performs a warm up exercise with a group of alums during her Reunion College Class, Create and Move,” held in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Associate Professor of Dance Cadence Whittier speaks with student choreographers about the 2016 Junior/Senior Choreographers' Concert.

Guitar Instructor Benjamin Ellis works with Nicholas Liverio '16 in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Namita Neerukonda ’17 works on a piece with Applied Instructor of Piano Meg Heaton in a practice room in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Students rehearse the piece titled “Whole/Part” choreographed by Elizabeth Strano '16 in the Deming Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Bandeja Munir '18 and Tanina Urbanski '17 practice Solace, a work choreographed by Morgan Drake '17.

As part of the 2016 Arts Experience Festival, members of the ARC of Seneca Cayuga and students in Assistant Professor of Dance Kelly Johnson's Jamaican Dance class take part in a drum circle workshop.

The critically acclaimed Irrera Brothers perform in Froelich Hall of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

The Classical Guitar Ensemble, directed by Ben Ellis, performs in Froelich Hall.

A metal sculpture by Andrew Hellmund '14 stands in front of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts. Hellmund, who recently received his MFA from the University of Alberta in Canada, also has two sculptures on display in Geneva's Lakefront Park.

HWS Dance alums join together to form a movement choir during the “Dance Alumnae/i Weekend” performance in the Deming Dance Theatre.

Kathryn Bowering ’11 (center) performs a self-choreographed piece “Misconductor of Ceremonies” alongside a leaping Renee Sobers in the Deming Dance Theatre of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Morgan Drake '16 performs on the roof of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts at sunset. Drake was being photographed for her senior dance portfolio.

Liza Alexakos ’20 studies for her First-Year Seminar taught by Professor of Education Pat Collins in the Melly Lobby of the Gearan Center.

Members of the Colleges Chorale gather for a group photo following their fall concert in Froelich Hall of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.

Fireworks fill the sky over the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts during the Senior Barbecue for the Classes of 2016.