WMU

The 11th annual New York Voices Vocal Jazz Camp, a training ground for aspiring jazz singers, is underway at Western Michigan University. Public concerts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday will be held at 8 pm, and on Saturday, a 4 pm faculty and student concert will be followed by a New York Voices show at 8 pm.

Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian are the original members of the New York Voices, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary by recording a new album, Reminiscing In Tempo, which will be released on Aug 16.  They and Gold Company director/camp director Greg Jasperse joined Cara Lieurance to preview the week, and describe how the camp is meaningful to them for bringing the art of vocal jazz into the future.

A Western Michigan University Political Science Professor says Great Britain has always been somewhat “aloof” from the rest of Europe. However, Gunther Hega, who studies European politics, says British attitudes toward the European Union have changed over the last 45 years.

Western Michigan University Political Science Professor Gunther Hega says now that Boris Johnson is Britain’s Prime Minister, it’s more likely that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. But Hega, who studies European politics says Johnson faces many challenges. 

Johnson was a major proponent of “Brexit,” the referendum to leave the EU that British voters approved in 2016. Hega says that sets him apart from previous prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, even though both them also came from the UK’s conservative party. 

There’s playing video games in a basement with a friend, and then there’s playing competitively online while streaming the video for thousands of people. That’s what it means to play Esports. Western Michigan University is holding its first Esports camps for middle and high schoolers this summer.

Western Michigan University Economics Professor Susan Pozo says that when the debate over immigration heated up in 2016, it was important to hear from economists who had studied the issue. She says several of them came to the Western Michigan University campus during the 2016-17 academic year for the Economics Department’s Werner Sichel Lecture series. Note: This interview was originally heard in January. 

Pozo is the editor of The Human and Economic Implications of Twenty-First Century Immigration Policy. The book published by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research includes summaries of the work by the economists who spoke at Western that year.