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| Photo © 2015 Gary A. Trimble |
Guest speakers enrich the intellectual environment at the Boyd School of Law, contributing their expertise, practical observations, and varied perspectives. This semester Professor
Marketa Trimble invited two performing artists to her Copyright course to share their experiences with and opinions of copyright law: Professor and Director of Opera Theater, Voice at UNLV Dr. Linda Lister, and Las Vegas Headliner of the Year twice running, Mr. Frankie Moreno.
Dr.
Linda Lister is Associate Professor of Music at UNLV and Director of Opera Theater, Voice at UNLV. In addition to her educational roles, she has many solo soprano credits, including performances with the Washington Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and numerous opera roles, including one of her favorites, Musetta in “La Bohème.” She is also a composer of vocal works and operas, including a chamber opera about the Brontë sisters entitled “How Clear She Shines!”, and the author of numerous articles and the 2011
book “Yoga for Singers: Freeing Your Voice and Spirit Through Yoga.” In 2014 she was awarded the American Prize in Directing, and in 2015 she directed the UNLV Opera to two First Place Awards in the 2015 National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition in both the musical theatre and graduate opera divisions.
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| Photo © 2015 Gary A. Trimble |
Mr.
Frankie Moreno is an Emmy-nominated international recording artist, singer, songwriter and composer, and one of the most popular performing artists in Las Vegas today. From his childhood days on “Star Search,” to headlining at the Stratosphere, to his performance in 2012 on “Dancing with the Stars,” he has performed to sold-out shows across the United States, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and The Hollywood Bowl. His touring has taken him around the world, and this year, after thrilling Las Vegas audiences with his “Under the Influence” series of concerts at
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, he went on to Australia to thrill audiences Down Under. Mr. Moreno participates in many educational activities: with the students of the Gilbert Magnet School in Las Vegas he recorded an iconic version of the official state song of the State of Nevada
“Home Means Nevada” for
Nevada’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 2014.
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| Photo © 2015 Gary A. Trimble |
Professor Lister and Mr. Moreno shared with students their many experiences with copyright law, including their very first encounters with copyright law, how technology has changed the challenges that artists and the copyright laws face, and how different copyright law issues arise in the various types of art that artists create. From composing their own music, to performing and recording music by others, to using works either in or out of copyright, artists face a multiplicity of copyright challenges. Professor Lister and Mr. Moreno also opined on how copyright law and its practice can enhance – or at least not impede – their work, and explained what they would like lawyers to know when lawyers work with or represent artists. Law students at Boyd are fortunate to study copyright law in a city that is the home of such talented artists who are so generous in sharing their experiences with students and the community.
