Imagine This Podcast

This week we welcome Eric Tillich, President and CEO, and Mitch Shiner, Chair of Jazz and Contemporary Music, from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music to the podcast to talk about the MusiCreation Station, their new, mobile music recording studio.

After a warm welcome, the gang share stories about their own music education experiences (1:42); Eric and Mitch join and share stories about inspiring arts and culture experiences (spoiler: having Bobby McFerrin see into your soul and The Replacements fighting each other) (13:43); Innovating arts education online during the pandemic (26:40); Expanding music access with the MusiCreation Station (39:27); The MusiCreation experience at Summerfest, and Mitch gets the gang in a call and response! (49:15); Changing the landscape of music education in Milwaukee (53:00); Eric and Mitch’s turn as the Czars of Arts and Culture (58:08); Easter Egg outtake: David’s outlaw car (01:15:00)

Follow: https://www.wcmusic.org/ (The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music) on https://www.facebook.com/wcmusic.org/ (Facebook) and on Twitter and Insta @wcmusic1899 and https://www.shineymusic.com/ (Mitch Shiner) on https://www.facebook.com/mitchshinermusic/ (Facebook) and on Twitter and Insta @Shiney_Music

Go visit the MusiCreation Station at Summerfest near the entrance of the south marketplace next to the Feris wheel!

Music Transitions: “Milwaukee Strong,” Shonn Hinton and the Milwaukee All Stars

306 Ephemera:

https://www.palos118.org/east (Palos East Elementary)

https://www.sfusd.edu/school/roosevelt-middle-school (Roosevelt Middle School)

https://www.sunprairieschools.org/high (Sun Prairie High School)

http://bobbymcferrin.com/bobby-projects/bobby-vocabularies/ (Bobby McFerrin “VOCAbuLarieS”)

https://www.wcmusic.org/musicreation/ (The MusiCreation Station)

https://www.imaginemke.org/artists-and-creatives-survey.php (The Milwaukee Artist and Creative Survey)

This week we welcome Heather Dunn, senior vice president and chief financial officer of West Bend Mutual Insurance Company. She’s wrapping up her tenure as one of the three co-chairs of the United Performing Arts Fund 2021 Community Campaign, and brings her lifelong passion for the arts – fueled by experiences like working as a Dickens caroler at the American Club in high school and singing throughout college – to volunteer leadership in the Milwaukee arts community.

In the intro, the crew talks about their own recent artistic pursuits – taking auditions, acting in commercials, and more. If there’s anything Lindsay can audition for on our next recurring bit, send the information our way.

Heather joins the pod at 14:10. Growing up surrounded by arts and books (15:40), forks in the road between the arts and other interests (19:50), West Bend Insurance’s band (24:50), Heather’s nonprofit service (28:45), reacting to the pandemic and the arts as a way to heal (32:15), the importance of funding the arts (39:00), turn as Czar of Arts and Culture (44:15).

Follow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-dunn-6443365/ (Heather Dunn;) https://www.thesilverlining.com/ (West Bend Insurance) on https://www.facebook.com/wbsilverlining/ (Facebook;) and https://upaf.org/ (UPAF) on https://www.facebook.com/upaf1 (Facebook,) https://www.instagram.com/upaf/ (Insta), and https://twitter.com/upaf (Twitter)

Music Transitions: “Milwaukee Strong,” by Shonn Hinton, featuring the Milwaukee All Stars

E305 Ephemera:

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2021/07/14/traffic-calming-murals-among-many-art-projects-coming-metcalfe-park/7841401002/ (Metcalfe Park Painted)

https://www.facebook.com/imaginemke/photos/pcb.2065616623595697/2065598200264206 (Jewish Community Food Pantry Mural Celebration)

https://kmsymphony.org/ (Kettle Moraine Symphony)

https://www.belcanto.org/ (Bel Canto Chorus)

https://festivalcitysymphony.org/ (Festival City Symphony)

http://www.sunstonestudiosmke.com/toilandtrouble (Sunstone Studios)

Our guest this week is Malkia Stampley-Johnson is an actor, director, arts facilitator and consultant and emerging producer who – among many incredible credits – is the Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival, which just wrapped up its second year.

This week, we are honored to have Sarah Smith Pancheri (COO and VP of Sales and Marketing of Milwaukee World Festival) and Bob Babisch (VP of Entertainment, Milwaukee World Festival) join us – and we can’t believe they were able to take a break to hang with us in the middle of Summerfest preparations.

This week on the show, we welcome Kurt Ravenwood. Kurt directs commercials, music videos, and short films. He also produces indie feature projects with friends, including the forthcoming film “Corridor” based in Milwaukee. He also started SRH, a full-service agency with a team of 25 and clients like Harley-Davidson, Dean Health Plan, Children’s Hospital, and Palermo’s Pizza. Plus, he helped Wes Tank with his runaway Dr. Seuss / Dr. Dre mashups, and lead the effort to create the show StoryRaps for Kidoodle TV.

We’re back! This week, David and Lindsay are recording live and in-person at Sunstone Studios’ grand opening, speaking with Meg Stroble - Director of Marketing and Community Engagement for Sculpture Milwaukee. Meg has a background in filmmaking and photography and a passion for public art and the city of Milwaukee- which she has called home for almost 15 years. She lives in a cream-city brick building in Walker's Point with her fiance, Andrew, and their 70 houseplants.

In the opening, we share a story from our live audience member Jared and talk about our summer vacations (including some rejuvenating arts experiences).

Meg joins the pod at 7:40. We start with talking about being a plant parent. Then: seeing a Broadway style show as a young kid (9:45), participating in theater growing up (11:05), moving to Milwaukee for film school (12:50), Milwaukee as a strong film city (14:15), working with a fashion photographer and moving into jewelry (17:55), starting at Sculpture Milwaukee (20:50), how Sculpture adjusted in 2020 and 2021 (23:45), the importance of public art in engaging communities (25:10), Buskerfest (32:08), working with partners (36:10), this year’s exhibition (40:00), and Meg’s turn as Czar of Arts and Culture (45:00).

Follow:

http://www.sculpturemilwaukee.com/ (Sculpture Milwaukee)

S301 Episode Ephemera

http://www.sunstonestudiosmke.com/ (Sunstone Studios)

https://mashable.com/article/stephen-hawking-time-travel-party (Stephen Hawking’s Time Travel Party)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dnouFDwKeArUKN3i9 (South Dakota Trip!)

http://archive.jsonline.com/entertainment/arts/42159847.html (The Blue Shirt Controversy)

https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/legislation-policy/naappd/percent-for-art-ordinances (Percent for the)

https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/legislation-policy/naappd/percent-for-art-ordinances (Arts National Database)

https://www.mediaservices.com/production-incentives/production-incentives-interactive-map/ (Film Tax Credits)

https://www.mediaservices.com/production-incentives/production-incentives-interactive-map/ (Database by State)

The whole Imagine MKE team is here for a particularly harebrained season finale show concept. Join us as we wait to see who calls in. When they do, we’re gonna ask them two questions: What’s something you’re looking forward to this summer? What’s something you’re taking forward with you from the pandemic? We're delighted to be joined by Jason Haas, Steven Olikara, Samer Ghani, Ray Nitti, and Dan Condon.

This week, we welcome writer Anuradha D. Rajurkar. Anuradha is the national recipient of the SCBWI Emerging Voices Award for her contemporary debut novel, "American Betiya." We talk about finding stolen moments to write over nearly 15 years while also teaching and raising kids, Milwaukee's supportive author and artist community, breaking ground in the YA genre, and more.

This week on the pod we welcome Milwaukee business owner and community leader Omar Shaikh. Omar is well-known for his award-winning restaurant Carnevor, and he is also a partner in Wisconsin Ticket Concierge, O & B Consulting, and 3rd Street Market Hall at The Avenue and Tuk Tuk Chicago. Mac and David chat with Omar about how his love of connection with people got him into the hospitality industry, how restaurants worked together during the pandemic and the challenges they face ramping back up, Milwaukee's culinary taste and increasingly adventurous food scene, and more.

Our guest this week is artist Amanda Huff: electronic musician, film composer, lawful-evil sorcerer, and bug extraordinaire hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After a pop culture inspired intro, Amanda joins to talk about experiencing disorienting moments in art, vulnerability and emotion in creating, the role of the audience, the centering effect of the pandemic, and finding joy.