Clark College Orchestra Performs Grand Finale Spring Concert Featuring Retiring Music Director And Conductor, Dr. Donald Appert (Photo) -06/04/25

Vancouver, Wash.—The award-winning Clark College Orchestra will present its Spring Concert of the 2024-2025 Grand Finale season on Sunday, June 15, 2025, 3:00pm at Skyview High School, 81300 NW 139^th St. Vancouver, Wash., marking the final time Dr. Donald Appert will raise his baton as the orchestra’s music director and conductor. After 35 years of shaping Clark’s music program and inspiring generations of students, Dr. Appert is set to retire at the end of the month.

 

The community is invited to attend this upcoming special concert program which will include three Puccini arias, performed by soprano soloist, Linda Appert; and the orchestra’s stirring rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony 2.

 

More than just a performance, this event is a tribute to the hundreds of students who have found their musical voice under Dr. Appert’s guidance. When Dr. Appert first came to Clark in 1990, the student orchestra was a small ensemble of only 15 musicians. Today, it has grown to over 80 student and community performers, supported by a vibrant music library, and a reputation for artistic excellence throughout the region.

 

“Dr. Appert believed in the potential of every student,” said a longtime orchestra member. “This concert is our way of honoring him and everything he’s given us.”

 

Over the years, students have not only grown as musicians, but also been part of a thriving ensemble that has performed challenging works, collaborated with guest artists, and represented Clark College with pride. Many have gone on to professional careers in music and education, carrying with them the foundation built in the Clark College Orchestra.

 

Dr. Appert’s final concert will be followed by a community reception to honor his dedication to student success, the college, and the arts in Southwest Washington. The event is free and open to the public.

 

About Donald Appert

Donald Appert has appeared as a guest conductor in Japan, Australia, Central America, and throughout Europe.  In Italy La’ovadese wrote, “…the performance of the ‘Serenade in C Major’ of Tchaikovsky, under the exceptional direction of Appert, was in such a style that it brought out the elegance and grace of the melodic lines with Mozartian inspiration.  …The L’Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto… performed the Barber ‘Adagio’ with rare effectiveness, emphasizing its intrinsically rich melody.”  Giornale di Sicilla praised his interpretation of Nielsen’s First Symphony as “lyrical with an airy freshness,” and his conducting as “precise, painstakingly accurate, and diligent.” He has guest conducted orchestras in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, El Salvador, and Japan. He currently serves as the Music Director/Conductor of the Oregon Sinfonietta and the Jewish Community Orchestra of Portland. 

 

Dr. Appert was awarded the 2020 Winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Programming. He won this same award in 2011 and in 2015 was named an Honored Artist by The American Prize Competition.  He is a recipient of the 2019 – 2020 Clark College Exceptional Faculty Awards, several ASCAPLUS Awards in recognition of his performances of his own compositions in Italy, Qatar, Europe, Central America, Japan, and the United States.  In 2014, Dr. Appert received the Clark County Arts Commission Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, and in 2009, he received the Washington Community College Humanities Association Exemplary Status Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Humanities. 2024-2025 marks Dr. Appert’s 35^th year of teaching at Clark College and of conducting the college orchestra. Under his leadership, the orchestra has grown from 15 to over 80 musicians and the orchestra library has grown from 100 titles to over 470.

 

About Clark College

Founded in 1933, Clark College provides residents of Southwest Washington with affordable, high-quality academic and technical education. It is a public community college offering more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including bachelor’s and associate degrees; professional certificates; high school diplomas and GED preparation; and non-credit community and continuing education. Clark serves a wide range of students including high school students, displaced workers, veterans, parents, non-native English speakers, and mature learners. Approximately three-quarters of its students are in the first generation of their families to attend college.

 

For complete information about all the Clark College Music Department concerts including the orchestra, concert band, jazz ensemble, and choirs, please see http://www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/music/music-concerts.

 

Arts, Music & Theater

June 6, 7,12-14             In the Next Room by Sarah Ruhl @Decker Theater, Clark College

June 7, 7:30 pm            Jazz Band Spring Concert @Gaiser Student Center, Clark College

June 12, 7:30 pm         Treble Ensemble & Chorale @First United Methodist Church, Vancouver

June 13, 7:30 pm    Concert Band @ Vancouver School of Arts & Academics

June 14, 7:30 pm         Concert Choir @First United Methodist Church, Vancouver

June 15, 3:00pm          Orchestra @ Skyview High School

 

 

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Clark College Launches Computer Science Bachelor Of Science Program (Photo) -05/19/25

Clark’s first bachelor of science degree program begins fall 2025

                                                                                                                                  

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Clark College is offering a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. The first cohort will start in fall 2025, with students graduating in spring 2027. 

 

Although Clark College offers five bachelor of applied science (BAS) degrees, this is Clark’s first bachelor of science (BS) degree. 

Clark College currently offers a two-year associate’s degree in computer science. Previously, graduates of Clark’s two-year program who wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science had to transfer to a four-year institution. Beginning in fall 2025, computer science students can earn their associate’s degree followed by their bachelor’s degree entirely at Clark College. 

 

Graduates of this program will be qualified for a wide range of computer software development opportunities across many industries. The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $105,990 in May 2024, which was more than double the median wage for all occupations, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [source]. Overall employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow by 26% from 2023 to 2033, which is much faster than the average for all occupations [source]. 

 

Izad Khormaee, director and professor of computer science at Clark College, explained how the new Bachelor of Science degree program will prepare graduates to step into a variety of fields in the computer industry. He said, “Our program focuses on preparing students to be productive on their first day of their career. Students may choose to specialize in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Mobile Application Development and imbedded systems programming. Demand for graduates with a BS in computer science is growing. Our graduates will be prepared to enter promising careers offering excellent pay and enormous opportunity for growth.”

 

Background: During the 2020-2021 legislative session, Washington State legislators passed Substitute Senate HB 5401, which permits community and technical colleges to offer a bachelor of science in computer science degree, subject to approval by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. Clark is among a dozen Washington community colleges to offer a BS in computer science. The closest is South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, which is 105 miles from Clark College. 

 

“Clark College always strives to meet local and regional industry needs. The industry of computer and information technology is growing exponentially, and is expected to continue growing,” Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards said. “Our Bachelor of Science degree in computer science will prepare students to assume current and future positions in this high-demand field.”

 

Learn more about Clark’s new BS in computer science here: https://www.clark.edu/academics/programs/dept/cse/

 

More about Clark College bachelor degrees: https://www.clark.edu/academics/degrees/bas.php

• Applied Management
• Cybersecurity
• Dental Hygiene
• Human Services
• Teacher Education

About Clark College 

Founded in 1933, Clark College provides residents of Southwest Washington with affordable, high-quality academic and technical education. It is a public community college offering more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including bachelor’s and associate degrees; professional certificates; high school diplomas and GED preparation; and non-credit community and continuing education. Clark serves a wide range of students including high school students, displaced workers, veterans, parents, non-native English speakers, and mature learners. Approximately 45% of its students are in the first generation of their families to attend college.   

 

 

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Clark College Hosts Creative Writing Festival May 27-31 (Photo) -05/17/25

Free festival culminates in a full day of workshops designed for writers 

 

VANCOUVER, Wash.— The English department at Clark College hosts its annual Creative Writing Festival from May 27-31. The event, which is free and open to the public, features activities geared for writers and readers at all levels. The festival allows writers to immerse themselves in workshops and readings by renowned authors. It will culminate with the Spring Writing Workshop on Saturday, May 31, with a full day of workshops for writers.

 

All events will be in the Penguin Union Building (PUB) on Clark College's main campus, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver.  Directions and maps are available online.

 

Creative Writing Festival Schedule:

 

May 27, 10 am–Noon, PUB258: 
Reading & Conversation with New York Times bestselling young adult and adult fiction author Emiko Jean

 

May 28, 10 am–Noon, PUB161: 
“The Swift” release party with student readings and a celebration of the publication of the 3^rd edition of Clark's student-run literary journal

 

May 29, 10–11 am, PUB258:
Columbia Writers Series Fiction Reading: Chelsea Bieker

 

May 29, 3-4 pm, Cannell Library:
Book release celebration for Clark Professor Gerry Smith’s collaborative project Coyote and Bear Discuss Modern Art

 

May 30, 11am–Noon, PUB258: 
Yoga for Creativity

 

May 31, 10 am–5 pm, Penguin Union Building:
Spring Writing Workshop: A full day of writing workshops, readings, and community building. Includes free lunch, coffee, and pastries.  Reserve your free tickets here.

 

Clark College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution. Learn more at www.clark.edu/nds. If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, please contact Clark College’s Human Resources Office. Phone: 360-992-2105 or email: hr@clark.edu/.

 

For a detailed schedule and listing of the Writing Workshop, please check here:

 

Opening Remarks by Susan Dingle, the current Clark County Poet Laurate. Dingle earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the author of two books: In Pilgram Drag, published by Finishing Line Press and Parting Gifts, published by Local Gems. Dingle earned a Master of Social Work degree at SUNY Stony Brook University and is a licensed clinical social worker and alcohol and substance abuse counselor.

 

Workshop: Letters and Poems, Poems and Letters with Jeff Alessandrelli, a writer and editor living in Portland. The Kenyon Review called his most recent poetry collection Fur Not Light “an example of radical humility."  Jeff Alessandrelli is the author of the novel  And Yet. In addition to his writing Jeff also directs and co-edits the non-profit record label/book press Fonograf Editions. 

 

Workshop: Writing with Ghosts in the Archival Machine with Katy Anastasi (she/her), a Reference & Instruction Librarian at Clark College and a graduate student at Eastern Oregon University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. In this generative, open-genre craft workshop, participants will explore various library and archival materials with sensitivity to ghosts in the archival machine. 

 

Workshop: Writing the Magical, Writing the Real: On Making Magical Stories Believable with Emme Lund, an author living and writing in Portland, OR. She has an MFA from Mills College. Her debut novel, The Boy with a Bird in His Chest (Atria Books, 2022) was longlisted for the First Novel Prize from the Center For Fiction, was a finalist for an Oregon Book Award, was named a best book of the year by Buzzfeed and The Portland Mercury, and was included on lists in The Washington Post, USA Today, People Magazine, The Advocate, Cosmopolitan, and Shondaland. 

 

Workshop: Talk Short to Me with Elena Passarello, whose essays on performance, pop culture, and the natural world have been translated into six languages. Her recent work appears in the New York Times Book Review, Paris Review, Audubon and Best American Science and Nature Writing.  She is the author of two collections, the most recent of which, Animals Strike Curious Poses, was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. Her next book, about the spotty legacy of Elvis Presley, is forthcoming from Penguin Press in 2027. You can hear Elena every week on the nationally syndicated public radio program Live Wire! This class works through a few of Carson's short talks and closes with a generative prompt to get you started on a Talk of your own.

 

Workshop: ‘As You Know, Captain…’ Avoiding Infodump in Speculative Fiction with Joe Pitkin. Pitkin has lived, taught, and studied in England, Hungary, Mexico, and at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. His short stories have appeared in The Boston Review, Analog, Black Static, Cosmos, and other magazines and podcasts, as well as on his blog, The Subway Test. Stranger Bird, his first novel, was published in 2017; his most recent novel, Exit Black, was published by Blackstone last year. 

 

Workshop: Character Development: A Generative Tarot Writing Journey with Selah Saterstrom, the author of the innovative novels Slab, The Meat and Spirit Plan, and The Pink Institution, as well as two nonfiction collections, Rancher and the award-winning Ideal Suggestions: Essays in Divinatory Poetics. Selah Saterstrom is the co-founder of Four Queens Divination, an online platform dedicated to the intersection of creative writing and divinatory arts, where she offers classes and mentorship. 

 

Workshop: Zenyatta Mondatta with Ed Skoogm, the author of four collections of poetry, Mister Skylight, Rough Day, Run the Red Lights, and Travelers Leaving for the City. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, The New Republic, American Poetry Review, and the Best American Poetry series. This generative poetry workshop will focus on how poems can sound amazing and memorable, with language that resonates before it even means. 

 

Workshop: Poetry and Art: Ekphrastic Poetry with Gerald Donnelly Smith, who has published poems in various literary journals including The Adirondack Review, hummingbird, River Wind, Icon, and Talking Leaves as well as the anthologies War (Green Haven, 2007), The X-Y Experience (2001), and Playing with a Full Deck. He served as the director of the Columbia Writers Series at Clark College for seven years. In this workshop, we will review the different methods for writing poetry about artwork, focusing on painting. We will briefly discuss example poems about Van Gogh's "Starry Night.”  

 

Workshop: Multidisciplinary Workshop: Reading & Writing with Images by Dao Strom, a poet, musician, writer, and interdisciplinary artist who works with three “voices”—written, sung, visual—to explore hybridity and the intersection of personal and collective histories. She is the author/composer of several hybrid-literary works, including the poetry-art collection, INSTRUMENT, and its musical companion of song-poems, TRAVELER’S ODE, and the forthcoming TENDER REVOLUTIONS/YELLOW SONGS (2025). Recently, she co-edited/co-curated the hybrid-literary anthology + exhibit A MOUTH HOLDS MANY THINGS (2024). Strom’s work encompasses both solo and collaborative art and writing projects, and has received support from the Creative Capital Foundation, NEA, Oregon Community Foundation, and others. 

 

Workshop: Multidisciplinary Workshop: Reading & Writing with Images by Dr. Tara Williams (she/her), who earned her MFA in Fiction at Fresno State University. She also holds a masters and doctorate in education. Currently she teaches composition and literature courses at Clark. Her literary work has appeared in Southwest Review, Tales of the Fantastic, Fatal Flaw, and other publications, and her short stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. An excerpt from her novel-in-progress won an honorable mention for the Plentitudes Prize, and an audio adaptation of one of her short stories took second place in Sycamore Review’s Deanna Tulley Multimedia Contest. Her work is also included in the climate fiction anthology Fire & Water: Stories of the Anthropocene (Black Lawrence Press, 2021).

 

Workshop: The Poetry of Memoir by Jane Wong, the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023), winner of the Washington State Book Award. She also wrote two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships and residencies from the U.S. Fulbright Program, Harvard's Woodberry Poetry Room, Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, Ucross, Loghaven, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and others. An interdisciplinary artist as well, she has exhibited her poetry installations and performances at the Frye Art Museum, Richmond Art Gallery, and the Asian Art Museum. She grew up in a take-out restaurant on the Jersey shore and is an Associate Professor at Western Washington University. 

 

About Clark College 

Founded in 1933, Clark College provides residents of Southwest Washington with affordable, high-quality academic and technical education. It is a public community college offering more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including bachelor’s and associate degrees; professional certificates; high school diplomas and GED preparation; and non-credit community and continuing education. Clark serves a wide range of students including high school students, displaced workers, veterans, parents, non-native English speakers, and mature learners. Approximately 45% of its students are in the first generation of their families to attend college.   

 

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