Ullberg Sculpture to be Dedicated at New Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Performing Arts Center - "Danzamar" to Grace Atrium of Stat

(PRWEB) April 7, 2005 -- Kent Ullberg's sculpture, "Danzamar," which graces the atrium of the new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, will be dedicated this Sunday, April 10 at 3:00 p.m. Danzamar is Spanish for "sea dancer," and the piece blends elements of music, the performing arts, ballet and folklorico dance and the ocean, and features a dancer's flowing skirt that suggests a sea shell. The Amy Shelton McNutt Charitable Trust commissioned the piece in appreciation of the university's impact on the community, and donated $100,000 to the university for the sculpture.

On Saturday, April 16, world-renowned pianist Van Cliburn will perform for the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra's Inaugural Benefit Concert, in just his second appearance in the city since 1970, and in a rare appearance for a venue so intimate. The festivities will include an opening reception and a dinner. Van Cliburn will be presented with an Ullberg sculpture of three leaping dolphins called "Water Music." Proceeds from the concert will be used for scholarships for students and an endowment fund for future Art and Music programs. For tickets or information, call 361-833-6683, 1-877-286-6683 or visit www.ccsymphony.org

The newly opened $18 million, 1,500 seat concert hall will be home to the university's music programs and performing groups, and will also be the home of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra for the next five years. The center was designed by Gordon Landreth of Cotton Landreth Kramer Architects, Inc., and features a concert stage that can expand to hold 85 musicians, 180-degree seating and a technologically advanced sound system. Jaffe Holden Acoustics, which worked on Fort Worth's Bass Hall, was consulted, along with New York design firm Hardy, Holzman, Pfeiffer Architects and theater consultants Fisher Dachs Associates. The 50-foot glass-walled atrium where Danzamar is placed faces Ocean Drive and overlooks Corpus Christi Bay and the city’s skyline.

About Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is one of the state's fastest growing four-year universities and the only university in America located on its very own island. The University was ranked as the top public regional university in Texas by U.S. News & World Report in its annual college guide in 1998, 1999 and 2001, and again recognized in 2002 as one of the top public master's level universities in the western United States. Students select from 33 undergraduate majors, 25 graduate programs and two doctoral programs offered through four colleges, including Colleges of Arts and Humanities; Business; Education; and Science and Technology. The 240-acre island campus is just minutes from downtown Corpus Christi.

About Kent Ullberg
A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg is recognized as one of the world’s foremost wildlife sculptors. While he has done hundreds of works on a small scale, he is perhaps best known for the monumental works he has executed for museums and municipalities from Omaha, Nebraska to Cape Town, South Africa. A recent project was the largest bronze casting ever done, measuring 36' high and 120' long, capturing the stages of a sailfish leaping form the water. Regardless of scale, he imbues all of his subjects with unparalleled vitality.

He's received awards from the National Arts Club, the National Sculpture Society, the Society of Animal Artists and the National Academy of Western Art, and has completed commissions for the National Wildlife Federation Headquarters, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and the Museum of Natural History in Gothenburg, Sweden. A member of the American Society of Marine Artists, Ullberg was elected as a full "Academician" by the National Academy of Design, one of the highest recognitions a visual artist can receive. In 1995, he received the prestigious Frederic Remington Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City for his bronze of a bison called "Headmaster." His work can be found in the private collection of H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, as well as major museums and corporations around the world. He maintains studios in Loveland, Colorado and Corpus Christi, Texas.

For more information, call (970) 667-7809 or (361) 851-1600, or email ullberg@kentullberg.net.

# # #