Rush Archives Blog

From the Rush Archives: Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day (Nov. 24) and Rushapalooza

November 24th is Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day!

Although Rush might have skipped a year or two, Rush has featured an event to showcase the performance talents of Rush students and faculty since 1978! (And our predecessor nursing schools hosted their own talent shows, as well! But we'll save that for a future post.)

Originally known simply as the Rush Talent Show (and focused mostly on Rush Medical College), it became known as the Student-Faculty Recital for many years before being dubbed Rushapalooza in 2015. Currently, Rushapalooza is offered by Rush University's Office of Student Life and Engagement and the Medical Staff of Rush University Medical Center.

CAPTION: John Wahlstrom, a second-year Rush Medical College student performs in the Rush Talent Show, 1980. From Rush's NewsRounds newsletter, April 1980. [1]

One of the key people involved in developing and organizing the talent show for many years was Rush cardiologist Armando Susmano, MD, who was also a prolific composer. Over the years, Dr. Susmano has donated copies of almost thirty original compositions to the Rush Archives to the Armando Susmano, MD, Personal Papers. They are a unique and very special part of our collection.

The Rush Archives holds video of some of these older recitals in the Office of Student Affairs Records, along with photographs and related items.

More recently, Rushapalooza was hosted in January this year and highlights can be found online: youtu.be/e2hMp6-o34g Learn more about 2020's event here: [2] Other recent Rushapalooza content can be found on Rush University's YouTube, Facebook, and Flickr accounts.

If you're interested in the recitals or talent shows that preceded Rushapalooza, explore these searches for “recital” [link] or "talent show" [link] in the Rush newsletter, NewsRounds. 

Because of current COVID-19 precautions, we cannot provide access to our physical collections in the Rush Archives. But if you are interested in learning more about the Office of Student Affairs Records or the Armando Susmano, MD, Personal Papers, please let us know.

CAPTION: Program for the "First Annual Rush Medical College Student-Faculty Recital," 1983. However, there was a talent show event that began in 1978, that preceded this incarnation. [From the Rush Medical College II Records.]

Want to learn more about the history of Rush or the Rush Archives collections? Explore the Rush Archives website, or contact the archivist, Nathalie Wheaton, MSLS. Follow us on Twitter! @RushArchives

All documents and photographs belong to the records collections of Rush University Medical Center Archives, Chicago, Ill. Contact the archivist for permissions and full citations.

[1] archive.org/details/newsrounds19801980rush/page/n49/mode/2up

[2] www.rushu.rush.edu/rush-experience/student-affairs/student-life-and-engagement/rushapalooza