Lake Michigan College welcomes new Visual & Performing Arts Department, LMC Mendel Center staff 

Lake Michigan College welcomes two new staff members to the management team overseeing the Visual & Performing Arts Department and LMC Mendel Center. 

George Kendall was named Associate Dean, Visual & Performing Arts, in September, while Scott Burgess was hired in October to be the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center Operations Manager. 

GEORGE KENDALL 

George Kendall is a Detroit native with extensive experience in arts administration and theatre as a practicing artist and scholar. He comes to LMC from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where he served as chair of the Drama Department and faculty in the English Department.  

His arts administration background includes founding and operating a summer theatre arts school, sales and education program management at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and performance management at the Boston University School of Music.  

Kendall studied at Mary Baldwin University and the American Shakespeare Center, where he received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Shakespeare and Performance, focusing on stage directing. He also has a master's degree in Shakespeare Studies from the University of Birmingham Shakespeare Institute (United Kingdom) and a bachelor's degree in general studies from the University of Michigan.  

SCOTT BURGESS 

Scott Burgess joins LMC from the University of Colorado Denver, where he served as Manager of Recording Labs and as a faculty member in the Department of Music and Entertainment Industry Studies. 

Burgess is the Chief Audio Engineer of the Aspen Music Festival & School and previously worked at Central Michigan University as Manager of Audio Production and Music Technology for the School of Music. 

He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received a bachelor's degree in bassoon performance and audio recording. Burgess is pursuing a master's degree in public history at CU Denver.  

He is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and has deep family connections to Southwest Michigan.

About LMC Visual & Performing Arts 

The Visual & Performing Arts Department allows students to reach new levels of excellence through classroom instruction and public performance. Many programs, including theatre, instrumental and vocal music, and dance, are based in the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center, the only performing arts center of its kind in Southwest Michigan. Here, LMC students have opportunities to study the performing arts in a venue that attracts more than 100,000 patrons annually. Programs including drawing, painting and graphic design allow students to explore the possibilities in the visual arts.  

Auditions are held for select ensembles that perform on the same stages as world-renowned touring acts. Students in any major also have opportunities to audition for musicals and plays and join two different vocal ensembles, string and wind ensembles, a pop-rock ensemble, a drumline, and a jazz band. One of only two colleges in Michigan to carry the prestigious All-Steinway designation, LMC has a team of highly qualified faculty that bring real-world expertise to the classroom. 

For more information, visit lakemichigancollege.edu/arts. 

About LMC Mendel Center 

The Lake Michigan College Mendel Center raised the curtain on its first Mainstage season performance in the fall of 1992. Since then, it has presented Mainstage season performances to more than half a million patrons in the 1,559-seat Mendel Center Mainstage Theatre. Grand Upton Hall, first opened in 1979 and fully renovated in 2019, is a 13,700-square-foot venue serving the community as the host site for meetings, banquets, trade shows, weddings, and other celebrations. The 229-seat Hanson Theatre, which was renovated in 2020, hosts numerous Lake Michigan College Visual & Performing Arts Department performances and various Mendel Center and community events. 

The Mendel Center is 30 minutes from Niles and 40 minutes from the Kalamazoo and South Bend areas. It is located on the Lake Michigan College campus at 2755 E. Napier Avenue, Benton Harbor, Michigan, one mile east of I-94 (Exit 30) and one mile west of the US 31 Bypass (Exit 24). 

For more information, visit themendelcenter.com.