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Total Number of Articles: 25
First Article on this Page: December 1, 2017
Latest Article on this Page: September 15, 2023
Joshua O’Donnell is always seeking. He’s wandered for a lot of his life and has been writing poetry the whole way through. “I’ve been in Zen monasteries, I’ve been in deserts and I’ve been all over the place, and I think for poetry, it’s the one thing where the prayer is enough.
Despite the nearly two decades that have passed since his graduation, the Bowdoin that Matt LeJoie ’05 inhabited as a student wasn’t all that different from the one of today. He was a DJ on WBOR, played in a student band on the weekends and even wrote a couple of articles for the Orient.
From Purity Pact to Masque & Gown, Mira Pickus ’25 has made an impact on Bowdoin’s stage within her first two years on campus. Pickus is best known for her comedic roles as a sketch and stand-up performer in Purity Pact, a comedy group made up of women and non-binary students on campus, but her work has touched countless aspects of the theater community from acting to technical design.
Ever since his debut role as the provost in his high school’s production of “Measure for Measure,” Souleman Toure ’23 has captivated audiences on the stage. When he arrived at Bowdoin as a first year, he quickly joined the ranks of the improv group Office Hours and made a home for himself in the College’s theater productions.
Since being cast in the role of a murderous old woman during her freshman year of high school, actor, writer and director Julia Jennings ’23 has only grown in her understanding and appreciation of theater. From studying at the National Theater Institute (NTI) in 2022 to, more recently, writing and developing a play titled “In the End, we all go to Providence,” Jennings has been involved in many different facets of theater production, ranging from writing to acting to stage management.
Professor of Music Tracy McMullen’s journey into jazz was neither direct nor without resistance. Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, McMullen’s introduction to jazz came from a high school stage band visiting her elementary school. “For me, it’s definitely mysterious how I had this love of jazz,” McMullen said.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a gangster,” poet and musical artist Weatherspoon ’25 said, reflecting on their childhood in the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio. “I wanted to sell drugs and shoot people. [I was a] product of the environment … Life happened to me really early.
If you were to poll members of Bowdoin’s music community on who among their peers they want to play with most, one name would appear with greater frequency than the rest: Danny Little ’22. The second-semester senior started his musical career young, playing classical piano.
When explaining her current art style, Katherine Page ’23 described it as “preschool-classroom-esque,” a modest label for work characterized by joyful explosions of color and themes that draw upon scientific discovery, music and social commentary. For Page, the process is just as exuberating as the final product.
This past February, Thando Khumalo ’23 released her debut EP, “Normal Day.” The project’s honest guitar riffs and calming vocals garnered recognition across campus. Khumalo recorded the EP in the laundry room of her hometown house in Oxford, Massachusetts.
Produced, edited and filmed by Marcus Ribeiro ’23 John “Galush” Galusha ’20, of the Bowdoin Meddiebempsters, dominates the beatboxing scene on campus. In addition to double majoring in music and Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, he has competed in multiple beatboxing championships nationwide.
Produced, edited and filmed by Alexandra Lin ’23 Sophomore Emma Dewey used to think dancing was about perfect posture and technique. For her, improvisation used to take place in her bedroom only. Now, in her fourth dance class in three semesters and as a leader of the Bowdoin Modern Dance Collective, she’s begun exploring dance that makes her feel good—and lots of other feelings, too.
Niles Singer ’21 is a visual arts and francophone studies double major from Reading, Massachusetts. He is the Head of Photography for Avant-Garb Magazine and serves as a darkroom teaching assistant for photography courses. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tobi Omola ’19 and Ellis Laifer ’19 comprise the music duo Fortuno, which recently released the singles “Be” and “Feel” on all major music platforms. Omola will be performing in his senior recital this Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Sam Roy is a junior majoring in neuroscience and minoring in visual arts. Last November, she gave a TedX talk in Springfield, Massachusetts titled “Accidental Photographs: Taking Ownership of Chance.” Roy was the recipient of a McKee Photography Grant last summer for her independent study.
Darius Riley is a senior visual arts major and photographer from East Palo Alto, California, who also co-founded Bowdoin’s creative and fashion magazine, Avant-Garb Magazine. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. The Bowdoin Orient: How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Jaden Dixon ’21 is an artist and producer from Davenport, FL. He recently released his first EP, “Moving Forward,” as well as his first music video for the track, “Wait Up.” Jaden’s music is featured on all major streaming platforms.
Ben Painter ’19 and Meghan Parsons ’19 collaborated on a photography project titled “Love Theories.” Recipients of the Richard P. Martel Jr. Memorial Prize from the Visual Arts department, their work has been previously featured in the Annual Maine Photography Show as well as a pop-up show at Frontier Cafe and Cinema.
Camille Farradas is a member of the Bowdoin Class of 2019 and a visual arts major. She received two Bowdoin grants to work on her art this past summer and will be featured in the Kaempfer Grant show on October 10.
Ariana Smith ’21 and Flora Hamilton ’21, members of the Bowdoin jazz program, are creative partners in writing and performing original music on campus. Smith is a singer-songwriter, and Hamilton is a jazz pianist. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Isaac Jaegerman is a 2016 Bowdoin graduate who majored in visual arts. He was recently selected as one of 10 Emerging New England Artists by Art New England magazine and currently works as a technician in the visual arts department.
Jeonguk Choi ’18 is a visual arts and computer science double major from South Korea, who primarily works with “time-based media.” His installation, “the gaps were filled with water that soon evaporated,” is currently on display in the Blue Gallery.
Parker Lemal-Brown ’18 is a sociology major and Francophone Studies minor. They started writing plays during the spring of their sophomore year, and their one-act play, “Gesundheit,” was recently selected for the upcoming Maine Playwrights Festival.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: When did you first start dancing? At Bowdoin or before? A: There is a really small, lovely dance company called Flock Dance Troupe [in Vermont]. It was really close to where I lived, and my dad and I started dancing in it together when I was three.
Nicole Tjin A Djie ’21: What got you started with music? Daniel Mayer ’21: My dad and my brother were both musicians, so I got started on piano really early. I didn’t really like it so I started playing my dad’s guitar and I picked that up really easily.
