Lifelong Connections
Throughout your college career you will form many connections who will be important to your educational and artistic journey. Faculty. Friends. Guest Artists. Audiences. Community. Those connections will stay with you long after graduation. The experiences you share will help to expand your artistry as you connect with a community and make a life in the arts. While we can’t predict the friends, community members, or patrons that will make a difference in your journey, we can tell you more about the faculty and guest artists we bring to campus.

Faculty
Our faculty are here to challenge and support you. They are professional artists themselves – still active and recognized in their respective fields – who bring current industry standards and expectations into the classroom and studio.
Our Faculty Include
Our Faculty Include:
- One of the leading art historians on the art and animation of Disney and Pixar.
- Dancers who have performed with internationally renowned companies and choreographers such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, and Camille A. Brown & Dancers as well as many other notables.
- Equity and SAG-AFTRA actors.
- Artists who exhibit in museums and galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, and across the country.
- Authorities on culturally responsive educational methods.
- Guest lecturers and presenters at leading universities and conferences.
- Researchers who publish articles regularly in the Journal of Research in Music Education and Animation Studies, and Dance Magazine
- Playwrights who have created works that have been seen at The Guthrie Lab, The Kennedy Center, and numerous other theatres nationally and internationally.
- Grammy and Tony award nominees.
- Broadway veterans who worked on shows like The Lion King, Wicked, Escape to Margaritaville, and Prince of Egypt.
- Musicians who have performed at or whose works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and stages across the country and globe.
- Community builders who create, lead and support over 30 community engaged programs throughout Greensboro and the Triad.
- Arts administrators who have held positions at top regional arts organizations like Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Cincinnati Arts Museum, Golding-Yang Art Gallery, and Playmakers Repertory
To learn more about the faculty, check out the faculty profiles or find bios via the Directory.
Guest Artists
Each year, CVPA brings over 50 guest artists to campus to enhance the instruction of our student-artist community. Whether they are rising stars or at the top of their artistic fields, they all bring their expertise, methods, and experiences to share with you through masterclasses, lectures, workshops, conversations, and performances.
Recent Guest Artists
Recent Guest Artists have included:
- Alan Alda, Award-winning actor, director & screenwriter
- Joe Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic
- Sebastian Arcelus, actor
- Stephanie J. Block, Tony Award-winning actress and singer
- Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Bessie Award-winning dance company
- Jay Bushman, Emmy-winning writer and producer
- Nick Cave, fabric sculptor, dancer and performance artist
- Chris Chalk, actor and UNCG alumnus
- Renee Fleming, internationally acclaimed operatic soprano
- Joe Forbes, Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre recipient, owner of Scenic Art Studios & UNCG alumnus
- Rhiannon Giddens, Grammy Award-winning musician and UNCG alumna
- Danny Glover, actor & director
- Kevin Greene photographer
- Calandra Hackney, artist, educator, theatre arts advocate and UNCG alumna
- Herbie Hancock, jazz pianist
- Emmylou Harris, singer, songwriter and UNCG alumna
- Dan Holland, animation artist with Pixar Animation
- Stacey L. Kirby, interdisciplinary installation artist
- Branford Marsalis, saxophonist
- Audra McDonald, Tony and Grammy-Award winning actress and singer
- Mark Morris Dance Group, internationally renowned and award-winning modern dance group
- Lynn Nottage, playwright and screenwriter
- Anthony Patterson, documentary artist and UNCG alumnus
- Robert Reynolds, principal conductor of USC Thornton Wind Ensemble
- Anderson & Roe, piano duo
- Black Violin, hip hop duo
- Carrie Mae Weems, visual artist
- Afendi Yusuf, Principal Clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra
- Rebecca Young, violist with the New York Philharmonic