Encouraging critical engagement through art with the past, present, or future, the CREATE! Micro-Grant program recently awarded $500 grants to 13 Michigan State University students to fund their proposed creative projects, and among the winners are two students from the College of Music.

Students who receive the grants spend the fall semester creating their proposed projects. At the end of the semester, their completed works are showcased online in the CREATE! Micro-Grant exhibition.

Samantha Gucwa

Samantha Gucwa, a Jazz Studies major with a focus on Saxophone, will create a five-track album celebrating women who sacrificed their careers for their partners. The album will explicitly reference the five long-term relationships of Miles Davis with Cicely Tyson, Bette Davis, Frances Taylor, Jeanne Moreau, and Juliette Gréco.  

“Miles Davis is one of the most celebrated jazz musicians in history, with students of every instrument studying his recordings,” Gucwa said. “What we do not talk about, though, is how the women in his life made his long and influential career possible. All of these women were highly successful artists in their own right who were forced to adjust or pause their careers for Davis.

“The jazz community has taken huge strides in recognizing early musician women, but we often fail to recognize that many jazz musicians thrived because of support from women who modified or sacrificed their careers for their musical partners. This album seeks to celebrate the accomplishments of these five women and open a larger conversation about the importance of non-musicians to the jazz community.”

Danny Sesi

Danny Sesi, a Music Performance major, will create a musical composition addressing religion, attentiveness, and removing all “worldly cares” as mentioned in music compositions from the Eastern Orthodox Christian Liturgy.  

“Music is a constant,” Sesi said. “No matter how tough times get, people will always gather at a symphony hall and enjoy the rich musical traditions bestowed upon us. It brings people together by sheer beauty and sublime meaning.

“Outside of the strictly art-centered communities I am a part of, I am first and foremost an Orthodox Christian. In the Orthodox Church, all art is important. It is vital to our worship. Visual arts are seen in our rich iconographic tradition, and music is always a part of our services. There is no Orthodox liturgy that is merely spoken; everything is always sung. Because of this, music is not merely some nice extra thing in the Orthodox community but rather a constant reality in our striving toward God.”

Congratulations, Samatha and Danny!

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Offered by MSU’s College of Arts & Letters and facilitated by the Dean’s Arts Advisory Council (DAAC) with support from the MSU Federal Credit Union and departments across the university, the CREATE! Micro-Grant program offers students the opportunity to creatively explore current events and issues through mediums such as art, dance, film, poetry, and song.

This information first appeared in an article on the College of Arts & Letters website.