Introducing Bobcat Showcase: A Mini-Concert Series

Published April 17, 2023

Dear MSU Community,

Building on the powerful, community-affirming message of the MSU Week of Belonging, the Associated Students of Montana State University (ASMSU) and the Office of the MSU President are delighted to present our next collaboration: Bobcat Showcase: A Mini Concert Series.

The purpose of this new mini-concert series is to expand on our deliberate efforts to strengthen our sense of community at Montana State University, as encapsulated in our theme of "Bobcat Love."

Starting today and running through Friday, May 5, the Bobcat Showcase Mini-Concert Series will feature MSU students, faculty and staff who, for 30 minutes every weekday, will perform music at noontime at Malone Centennial Mall Plaza, just south of Montana Hall.

Performers will be listed on the MSU Calendar and showcased on the plaza. We look forward to seeing you at these extraordinary events, and we thank our performers for sharing their musical talents with us.

To open our Bobcat Showcase Mini-Concert Series, we are proud to announce Dr. Ilse-Marie Lee, Dean of the MSU Honors College and our very own renowned composer and concert cellist. A native of South Africa, Dr. Lee premiered her cello concerto "Mandela" with the Billings Symphony in 2022. Her original compositions include works for orchestra, choir, chamber music ensembles and award-winning film scores. She composed the MSU "Alma Mater" song in 2013, and her work for solo cello and digital sound, "Unearthed," was premiered at Tippet Rise in October 2018.

Dr. Lee took a one-year leave from her academic and administrative work at MSU to take care of her husband, Dr. Denny Lee, a beloved and legendary MSU physics professor who passed away last month, after a courageous battle with cancer. With her absolute love for MSU and her Bobcat family, we are honored and grateful to Dr. Lee for accepting our invitation to inaugurate our Mini-Concert Series.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Lee back to her MSU home and let's come together at our first Bobcat Showcase at noontime today.