Just finished a story for Notre Dame Magazine that will hit stands this summer. The piece, which will be in the front-of-the-book news section, details the university’s push for more scholarly achievement from its undergraduate population. This includes research projects - often studying abroad - the completion of a senior thesis and more. I spoke with a handful of students in the 2010 graduating class who not only welcome this change but who feel it is essential to the changing face of undergraduate studies. I’ll post a link to the story when it’s posted to the magazine’s website.

Here’s the link to my article about the university’s efforts to commission original works in the performing arts that appears in the Spring issue of the magazine. Here’s an excerpt:

Since the 2008-09 Visiting Artist Series, the University has showcased eight new commissioned works by such artists as the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man, the Richard Alston Dance Company and Tim Robbins’ The Actors’ Gang. The University has already commissioned at least six more works for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons — most notably The Actors’ Gang’s anticipated stage adaptation of author Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States — in a growing effort to establish the University as a leader in the creation of new works in music, dance and theater.

“What if we had no more new music?” Thompson says. “What if we had stopped with Bach? What if we said, ‘Okay, nobody’s going to do better than that. Let’s stop now.’ If that happened the world wouldn’t have gotten to hear Mozart or Stravinsky. Can you image a world where nothing new was being created? I feel it’s our responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen. I think it’s one of the most important things we’re doing right now. There’s a cultural legacy that we have to leave.”

I recently finished two stories for publications at the University of Notre Dame that will be coming out soon. The first is a piece on the Kronos Quartet and their upcoming performance of “A Chinese Home” in ND Works. The second is a look at the University’s commitment to commissioning new works in the performing arts that will appear in the Spring issue of Notre Dame Magazine. I’ll post links when they come out.
Also, remember that you can find the writing from my “day job” at www.heraldpalladium.com.

My article in the Winter issue of Notre Dame Magazine is now on the magazine’s site. Click here to read my story on Notre Dame’s new Center for the Study of Languages. Here’s an excerpt:

Lance Askildson grabs a black-and-white photograph from a shelf.

The image of a row of stark, empty carrels filled with little more than the customary headphones serves as a reminder of the isolation and frustration many people still associate with foreign language instruction.

“This is the image people think of when they hear ‘language lab,’” says Askildson, director of Notre Dame’s new Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures. “You would sit there in your carrel and listen and repeat, listen and repeat, right? Well, this is not a language lab.”

Welcome to 2010.  Now that we’re in a new year, I’ll soon be updating my portfolio with some of my favorite pieces  from 2009. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks for those updates. Also be on the lookout for my story on the language arts program at the University of Notre Dame coming out in the Winter issue of Notre Dame Magazine. I’ll be posting a link to the story when it becomes available.

I’m also currently scheduling freelance assignments for late winter/spring issues. Assignment editors can send any story/rate inquiries to me through the contact page on this site. Thanks, as always, for considering me for your publication.

My article in the Autumn issue of Notre Dame Magazine is now on the magazine’s site. Click here to read my story on the university’s ever-expanding Shakespeare program. Here’s an excerpt:

In 2000, Paul Rathburn, a professor in Notre Dame’s English department, founded Summer Shakespeare (now known as the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). The idea was simple enough: Take literary study to the stage and perform a work the way Shakespeare intended; combine a cast of student and professional actors; and perform a classic production. The Taming of the Shrew was first. Others followed.

Suddenly Shakespeare was popping up everywhere. Notre Dame became the American base for Actors From The London Stage, a prestigious traveling troupe of classically trained performers. Guests such as Michael York and Claire Bloom appeared on the University’s stages. There was a residency by Minneapolis’ famed Guthrie Theater and lectures by world-renowned Shakespeare scholars.

Be sure to check out the Autumn issue of Notre Dame Magazine to read my story on the university’s ever-expanding Shakespeare program. The work that is going on there is really quite impressive.

Since May 20, 2009, I’ve been writing features and arts and entertainment for The Herald-Palladium in Saint Joseph, Michigan. The newspaper covers all of the Southwest Michigan lakeshore and is about a 30-minute commute from our home in South Bend. Look for my work in the Entertainment section, which comes out each Thursday, or the Focus section, which comes out on Sundays. You can find my most current work at www.heraldpalladium.com/features/

If you are looking for a writing coach to help with your summer interns or need someone to help guide those cub reporters I may be able to help. During my 17 years as a newspaper writer and editor, I’ve spoken at a number of schools, including the University of Notre Dame and my own alma mater Eastern Kentucky University. I was also a mentor for our college interns at the South Bend Tribune, where each semester I helped with everything from simple style questions to navigating working in a professional newsroom. I’m available to speak and work with reporters in person, by phone or online. To learn more about my own work, come inside and look around. For rates and inquiries please use the contact page and I will respond promptly.

For the past 17 years, I’ve worked as a newspaper writer, editor and occasional designer for a number of publications. I was a Feature Writer/Television Columnist for the South Bend Tribune for a little over four years until I got caught in the most recent flurry of downsizing that is decimating the industry. As a result, beginning Jan.1, 2009, I will be turning my occasional side gig of freelance writing into a full-time endeavor. In addition to the myriad staff positions I’ve held, I’ve also written for the Chicago Tribune, Arizona Republic, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Rocky Mountain Sports and American Hockey magazine. To learn more about my work, come inside and look around. For rates and assignments please use the contact page and I will respond promptly.

Thanks again for visiting JeremyBonfiglio.com.