3 . The Steinhardt School’s program in vocal (声音的) performance offers music-based training for a career in music theatre performance. Our curriculum is designed for the serious young musicians who are seeking a program that fully combines the study of voice with the study of acting.

The course content

In addition to voice, acting and dance as well as courses in music theatre history, our program’s music theatre specialization training takes place through an intensive series of music theatre workshops.

The performance opportunities

Besides the work in classrooms and studios, the program offers performance opportunities in fully-staged productions under the guidance of professional directors, conductors, musical directors, and designers. Our guest artists are drawn from New York’s community of professional artists who count Broadway, regional theatre and national tours among their credit. Undergraduate and graduate students also benefit from the extraordinary opportunities available through the diverse offerings of a major university in the cultural capital of the world, New York City.

The graduation

Students specializing in music theatre make their public appearance in their final term as they are presented to New York’s agents, casting directors, directors and producers in their graduation showcase designed to evaluate the work of each student and help them make their first professional contacts in the industry.

The contact details

Telephone: 217-998-5156, 217-998-5157

Undergraduate Inquiries: Professor Dianna Heldman

Graduate Inquiries: Dr. Ana Flavia Zuim

4 . Darcie Hayward will have her five-year-old Alaskan Malamute, Sora, put paws on the pavement every day of the next month to raise funds for Guide Dogs Australia’s PAWGUST campaign.

The initiative, which encourages Australians to walk their dogs for 30 minutes a day for 30 days, is a cause close to the 29-year-old’s heart. Her younger blind brother Lachie, 27, was recently matched with a guide dog of his own, black Labrador Eddie in May after 18 months of tests and compatibility(相容)training.

“Since Eddie arrived, Lachie has been able to walk around without his cane(手杖), feeling like he is just walking his dog, ” said Darcie, who lives in Langwarrin, Victoria. “They are best friends. ” Seeing the difference a guide dog made to her brother, Darcie was overjoyed to be raising funds, so other Australians could one day have their own companion dogs, like Lachie.

“Many people see a guide dog and go, not realizing how much it takes to raise a guide dog puppy so I want to raise some awareness, ” said Darcie. “It’s amazing to see how Lachie’s life has improved, but there are many people without that companionship. It’s really nice to be able to contribute in any way I can. I shared the experience on our local community web page, mentioning we are raising money for guide dogs. Surprisingly, a couple of strangers donated. ”

It seems that Eddie has already been a popular pup with the locals. “There are so many kids who have been asking to pat Eddie that Lachie has to reject them, ” Darcie added with a smile. Excited to be making a positive impact by walking her own dog, Darcie is eager to encourage more people to fetch their leashes(牵狗用的皮带) and tie up their trainers to take action.

5 . “All of our senses convert (转换) physical energy in the surrounding world into electrical responses. which are the common currency that the nervous system uses, “ said James Hudspeth from Rockefeller University.

Hudspeth said, “Our ears have to convert mechanical vibrations(震动)in the air into electrical responses. And the way this is done is that there are so-called hair cells. These cells have little microscopic bristles(刚毛), about a hundred of them, and on the top of each cell, these bristles vibrate back and forth in response to sound. That sets up an electrical signal that goes down a nerve fiber and into the brain. ”

Hudspeth continued, “The real question is what happens with these hair cells as they degenerate. We lose them owing to loud sounds and certain drugs, and we lose them with ag- ing. What can be done to repair them so that we can restore hearing?”

Another expert, Robert Fettiplace said, “Well, I mean there are two aspects to this, one of which is that you could try and regrow them. Almost all hearing loss is due to death of the hair cells or lack of formation of them in the first place. The cells are all different. ”

Hudspeth said, “The problems that Robert has mentioned go for mammals, including ourselves. The situation is different with other four-legged animals. But, in reptiles, including birds, this regeneration is going on all the time, like in fish. In fact, you can take a chicken to a concert, blasting its ears. They will nicely regenerate, and even with frequency- specific hair cells, they will reconnect, and the animal will be able to hear normally again. ”

Hudspeth added, “I agree that there is an enormous challenge, and this is certainly some- thing that won’t happen overnight in ourselves. But I don’t think it’s a hopeless task and I think basically what many people are trying to do is decode (解码) the signals sent as these hair cells develop, and by doing so to recognize the signaling pathways that might be reactivated the original development and restore hair cells by that means. ”

6 . All those Christmas toys and books may spread more than good cheer. A new study has concluded that two common bacteria that cause colds, ear infections and sore throat can live for long periods on the surfaces of toys, books, and other items, even after being cleaned.

The findings just published in the journal Infection and Immunity show some bacteria continue to exist on surfaces for far longer than that has been believed.

The researchers said the study suggests that additional preventive measures may be necessary to prevent infections, especially in settings such as schools, daycare centers, and hospitals. “These findings should make us more cautious about bacteria in the environment since they change our ideas about how these particular bacteria are spread, ” said Anders Hakansson, assistant professor of microbiology andI immunology in UB. “Never before has any paper directly proved that these bacteria can survive well on various surfaces, including hands, and potentially spread between individuals. ”

S. pneumoniae(肺炎链球菌)is widespread in daycare centers and a common cause of hospital infections. Hakansson explained to us that it commonly causes sore throat and skin infections in children and adults.

To reach their conclusions, the UB researchers tested the surfaces of toys in a daycare center. They found four out of five toys tested positive for S. pneumoniae and several sur- faces, such as baby beds, tested positive for S. pyogenes(化脓性链球菌), even after being cleaned. The testing was done just before the center opening in the morning so it had been many hours since the last human contact.

“Bacterial colonization(细菌增殖)doesn’t, by itself, cause infection but it’s a necessary first step if an infection is going to become established in a human host, ” Hakansson explains, “Children, the elderly and others with weak immune systems are easily infected. ”

8 . Lacey, 13, found a large bumblebee(大黄蜂)lying in the road while walking her dog. She picked up the bee and noticed it had a broken wing. She tried to put it on some flowers in a nearby park, but it refused to stay there and climbed back to her hand. After an hour, she gave up and headed home with the little creature.

On the way home, the bumblebee was resting on Lacey’s glasses as she went into a local shop to buy milk-shocking other shoppers. Despite many attempts to leave the insect outside, the lovely bee refused to leave Lacey’s side.

Now recovered and named Betty, it follows her everywhere. And once it even stayed with Lacey during the games with her friends at the bowling room.

During the day, Betty rests on the back of Lacey’s neck, or hides inside her clothes or flies around the living room. At night, Lacey puts Betty in a little bottle beside her bed. While there is no lid(盖子), it stays inside quietly until morning.

“I’m so happy and I love spending my time with her,” said the girl. “She’s so lovely and I love our friendship.”

The bee likes Lacey’s food, but also gets sugar water, honey and strawberry jam. Lacey also takes her bee-pal into the garden to enjoy flower honey, but as soon as the girl goes back inside, Betty is right beside her.

“It’s really lovely and so beautiful,” said her mother, Laura. “I’m also glad that Lacey has a new close friend.” Betty enjoys a touch between the wings, but stays away from the rest of the family—mom, dad and two younger brothers. “We have all the doors open a lot and she’s just never gone—I don’t know why,” said Laura.

9 . Since the rise in car ownership in the 1950s, the US has started building roads in cities and across the country to provide enough room for automobiles. Houston, like many cities, is turning back the clock to make room for passers-by, cyclists and parks.

Memorial Park in Houston, Texas was halved by the Memorial Drive Highway in the1950s. It has now been reunited. The highway is still there, but the road goes underneath the 1,500-acre park.

The restoration (修复) of Memorial Park is part of a larger plan that was made after the city suffered from a serious drought. It was thought that 80 percent of the forested canopy (树冠) was dead. One of the ways to fight that was to reintroduce native plants and animals.

The city hired the landscape architectural company, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, to work with the Houston parks and the Memorial Parks Conservancy. The architects, led by Woltz, were inspired by wildlife crossings in the Northwest US and explored the possibility of using this idea in Memorial Park. Over the years, the park was cut into 20 pieces that were divided by highways, roads and parking lots. The only crossing was a 12-foot bridge.

After 10 years of planning and constructing, the Kinder Land Bridge officially opened in early February, 2023. The bridge consists of 100 acres of greenery, and while designed for people, has reconnected wildlife corridors (廊道). The reconstruction added 45 acres of native Gulf Coast prairie (草原) that’ll increase biodiversity in the park. “This project is not just about creating a passage or a bridge. This project is about ecology, it’s about biodiversity and water management. This project is a bridge into Houston’s future.” said Shellye Arnold, president of the Memorial Park Conservancy.