Faculty Lecture Series
About the event
The David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities at Washington State University offers an annual fellowship program to help support arts- and humanities-based research and creative activities from WSU faculty. This talk features two recipients of this fellowship who will present their ongoing projects.
“Brazilian Jazz Fest”
Abstract: Following its highly successful debut, marked by a full-house concert, the Washington State University School of Music proudly presented the second edition of the multinational Brazilian Jazz Festival to the Palouse in 2025. Led by Professor Dr. César Haas, this year’s festival brought together world-renowned Brazilian and American jazz artists, including Três Mais and Grammy Award–winning drummer Rafael Barata, delivering a celebration of Brazilian musical artistry.
Over the course of five days, the festival offered performances, clinics, rehearsals, and talks designed to promote the dissemination, teaching, and learning of Brazilian music at WSU and local schools. The guest artists collaborated closely with regional middle and high school students, as well as WSU students and faculty, engaging multiple areas and ensembles within the School of Music. All events, concerts and clinics alike, were free and open to the public, fostering broad community participation and cultural enrichment.
Bio: Dr. César Haas is a Brazilian guitarist, composer, and educator whose work bridges jazz, classical traditions, and the rhythmic richness of Brazilian musical language. He serves as Assistant Professor of Jazz and Classical Guitar at Washington State University, where he teaches applied guitar, jazz theory and history, chamber ensembles, and leads cross‑cultural artistic initiatives. His performances have been recognized for blending post‑bop authenticity with the expressive depth of his Brazilian heritage, earning praise from artists such as Walt Weiskopf (Steely Dan) and Mark Sherman (Juilliard School). Haas has also presented lectures and clinics at major international events, including the Midwest Clinic and the Jazz Education Network Conference.
An active performer and composer, Haas has collaborated with world‑renowned musicians including Nelson Faria, Bobby Militello, Rafael Barata, Clay Jenkins, Scotty Barnhart, Jovino Santos Neto, and John Benitez. Recently, his work was also featured in the soundtrack of a documentary screened at multiple festivals in Brazil and Portugal. As co‑founder and artistic director of Três Mais, a Brazilian‑American jazz collaboration, Haas recently completed a five‑concert tour of Brazil, with featured performances in acclaimed jazz venues in Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte.
“Plant Companion Field Guide: A New(old) Way to Know the Plants of the Palouse”
Abstract: Can we together remember and imagine our lineages of earth-honoring practices of interspecies kinship and an ethics of care? What role can art play in cultivating knowledge of our socially and ecologically entangled histories and futures? How can getting to know plants take part in transforming relationships to the land we inhabit, the traditional homelands of the Nimíipuu and Pelúuc, and to each other? Plant Companion Field Guide: A New(old) Way to Know the Plants of the Palouse brings together poems, essayettes and plant portraits by local artist Cori Dantini. Because thinking along with plants that are indigenous to the Palouse Prairie is a good place to start.
Bio: Linda Russo is a poet, scholar, essay-writer, willing co-creator/collaborator and a student of ecospheric care. A Scholarly Professor in the English Department at WSU, she also directs EcoArts on the Palouse (EcoArtsonthePalouse.com). Her most recent book, the verdant, was awarded the Halcyon Award for Poetry from Middle Creek Publishing.