Each semester, the College of Fine Arts publishes a digital magazine, highlighting the innovative artistry of our students and faculty in the Schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Drama, and Music.
A NOTE FROM THE DEAN
Visually, this issue is all vibrant color and diagonal slashes of torn paper, a kinetic
representation of improvisation and spontaneity. It pulses with the energy of our faculty, staff,
students and alumni. Sometimes the fabric of time gets ripped!
Contrasting the theme of reinvention in this new year, inside you’ll find the story of a
very particular “re-visit.” Henry Hornbostel, the architect who left his fingerprints all over
CMU and Oakland — notably in our own College of Fine Arts and Margaret Morrison
Carnegie Hall buildings — is a ghost always among us. His great-granddaughter Julia
Hornbostel Bartholomew paid a call last semester, and our architectural history came
alive.
Other leaves are turning over. The metamorphosis of ICA Pittsburgh — due to physically
reopen in its fabulous new home in 2027 — is starting to unfold. And by the end of the
summer, four dynamic new colleagues will have joined us; they’ll have begun to make
their distinctive marks on our culture and community. Mary Anne Talotta has been
guiding our advancement efforts with skill and savvy since late October. We recently
welcomed Matthew Krause (whom you’ll meet in a later issue) as associate dean for
Finance and are so delighted that he is finally here (when you don’t have a finance
person, you notice!). Finally, on July 1, Milton Rubén Laufer and Ana Maria Pinto da
Silva will unlock their offices in the Schools of Music and Design, respectively, and a
new era will begin for both schools.
The world is an uncertain place, but surround yourself with good people doing beautiful
things, and you’ll be all right. Thank you for being part of the fabric of our CFA
community.
Dean Mary Ellen Poole
New Stephen Schwartz Musical
The Queen of Versailles
Stephen Schwartz is headed back to Broadway. The Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumnus (BFA 1968; HD 2015), known for his hit musicals “Godspell,” “Pippin” and “Wicked,” has teamed up again with Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth on a brand-new musical, “The Queen of Versailles,” which had its pre-Broadway premiere in Boston last summer.
Throughout his hugely successful career, Schwartz has remained a supporter and champion of CMU students and alumni, and several were part of the development of “The Queen of Versailles.”
Drama Without Limits
BXA Reflects on Theater’s Value in Interdisciplinary Studies
CMU students embrace the ability to navigate their interests in more than one field of study and earn a degree in those combined fields. This is especially true for the BXA Intercollege Degree Programs, which allow undergraduate students to combine an arts curriculum with studies in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) or the humanities.
Many students choose drama as part of their degree, she added, knowing that their combination of interests may be one-of-a-kind. However, advisers in the program encourage them to embrace this unfamiliarity precisely because it promotes innovative thinking.