All posts by Chris Demmons

Award-winning organist Thomas Gaynor to perform at SPC

Music

Thomas Gaynor, an award-winning organist, plays the St. Petersburg College Music Center at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus as part of the Heissler Organ Concert Series on Friday, Sept. 23,  at 7 p.m.

General admission is  $10. The concert is free to SPC students and staff with a valid ID card.

Thomas Gaynor, Outstanding Artist

Gaynor was the winner of the Third International Bach-Liszt Organ Competition in Erfurt/Weimar, Germany, the Sydney International Organ Competition, and the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing competition. He is rapidly making his mark on the organ scene in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

 

Thomas GaynorA student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., Gaynor recently graduated with a master of music degree and the Performer’s Certificate. He is currently pursuing his doctor of musical arts degree there, as well as the prestigious Artist’s Certificate.

Gaynor recently released his first CD, recorded at Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul, New Zealand. Jamal Rossi, dean of the Eastman School of Music, picked this CD as one of five recent recordings that best represent the current Eastman School sound in an interview in the Rochester Review, the University of Rochester’s alumni magazine.

The Sept. 23 concert marks Gaynor’s première performance at SPC. This is the perfect opportunity to see a talented musician in top form.

About the Heissler Organ

In 2002, a Heissler tracker pipe organ made of solid oak was installed in the SPC Music Center. It has 1,600 pipes, 24 stops and 31 ranks, three manuals, including a coupling manual, a computer memory system and a Zimbelstern. This organ was built to the specifications of Robert Setzer, faculty organ instructor, consultant and major donor for this project.

The organ was assembled in Markelsheim, Germany, disassembled, packed and shipped. It was reassembled here at the SPC Music Center from December 2001 through February 2002 by Darwin Klug of Heissler in America. The only electronics in the organ are in the air pump, stop action and the very versatile memory, with 256 separate settings available for different applications.

The arts at SPC

Keep up with the latest arts events on the college arts calendar.

Comic Con Pinellas celebrates creativity

Robot at Comic and Maker Con
Digital Arts

This year’s local Comic Con (Pinellas Comic and Maker Con- PCMCON) brought more than five thousand people to St. Petersburg College (SPC)Seminole Campus on Saturday, Sept. 10. Now in its third year, the Comic Con convention is doing better than ever!

Comic Con draws crowds to SPC Seminole Campus

The free annual Comic Con event brings together makers, comics, anime, science fiction and horror fans. The first Comic Con event drew more than 3,000 attendees, and was the second largest event at St. Petersburg College Seminole Campus. In 2015, the convention grew to more than 4,000 fans and added additional space to host more vendors and panels. This year’s Comic Con event spread across Seminole Campus from the library and convention center to the University Partnership building.

Creativity rules at Comic Con

This year’s convention featured free talks on subjects from creating a graphic novel to improvisation. Fans celebrated the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with a panel by Kristal Mize on how the series inspired real technology. The event also featured a video game room run by Gamers on the Edge, a group that raises funds for John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. The Serenity Games board game room stayed full, and even overflowed into the hall until the end of the day.

Members of the 501st Imperial Legion, a Star Wars cosplay group, met with fans and posed for photos. Vendors sold everything from model kits, to costume supplies, to 3D printers. Members of St. Petersburg College’s Seminole Campus Web, Arts, and Visual Entertainment Club took documentary video footage. None of this would be possible without a strong community of volunteers.

Learn more about SPC’s A.S. Degree in Digital Arts, Media and Interactive Web Design.

Volunteers power Comic Con

The first PCMCON was planned in just six weeks, but as the event has grown, so has the work behind the scenes. Public library staff, friends of the Seminole Community Library, Greg Plantamura, and campus librarian Chad Mairn worked tirelessly.

“The Maker part of the convention is what makes us different from area comic and anime conventions,” said Chad Mairn, PCMCON organizer and SPC Seminole librarian. He says the do it yourself ethos is an important part of the spirit of the con. See more photos of this year’s convention and more on local Comic Con Facebook page.

Digital creatives headed for success

Digital arts students at SEmmys
Digital Arts

St. Petersburg College Digital Arts students  Anna Marie Mazza, Clio Perkins, David Quintana and Maddie Stubbs brought their heart, creativity and work ethic. SPC provided the foundation for the four to excel and achieve a placement in their dream programs at Florida State University, the Ringling College of Art and Design and the University of Florida.

“I wasn’t born into greatness, but I was made for it. I won’t forget my roots, so stay frosty SPC,” Quintana said.

DACollageFINAL
Anna Marie Mazza, Maddie Stubbs, David Quintana and Clio Perkins

The Digital Arts program provides opportunities for students interested in digital media, video production, film making and the graphic arts. Classroom work teaches them the skills and tools they need to succeed. Students have the chance to apply what they learn in the classroom in the field in an internship with leading Tampa Bay area companies like WFLA Channel 8.

Students also get help in building their portfolio, which will have a big impact on their educational and professional future. SPC instructors who encouraged them and career advisors who helped them plan for the future made a big difference to these students. Learn more about career and internship counseling.

Mazza, Perkins, Quintana and Stubbs’ hard work won them the 2016 SEmmy awards and led to their acceptance into the highly competitive programs at FSU, Ringling College and UF. Alumni of these programs have worked at internationally known companies like Facebook and Microsoft.

Each of these students thanked SPC for helping them find their passion and providing them with the training to take it to the next level. Read what these Digital Arts students had to say on the SPC Careers & Internships blog.

SPC’s Digital Arts program provides opportunities in diverse fields from software publishing to public relations to the biggest Hollywood studios! It can also serve as the basis for the next step in a student’s educational journey.