Department of Music
Professor Ku writes: At 5:00 pm on April 15, nine students in my violin studio performed from their homes for the Duke Music Department's first virtual end-of-semester recital. We even had an audience, as parents, siblings, friends and even a couple Duke peers “showed up” to view the live performances. It was quite a moving experience for all of us. I could tell that, despite all the disadvantages of the current circumstances, my students… read more about Students in Professor Hsiao-mei Ku's violin studio share music-making in a live, virtual recital »
Thandolwethu Mamba performed Gustav Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), a song cycle for baritone and orchestra, with the Raleigh Symphony on Saturday, March 7, at 8:00 pm in Jones Auditorium, on the campus of Meredith College. (View video of the performance to the left.) Mamba studies voice with Professor Susan Dunn at Duke, where he also participates in Opera Theater and sings in the Duke Chorale. A Music Major with a Concentration in Performance, Mamba will… read more about Senior Thandolwethu Mamba is the 2020 winner of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Rising Stars competition »
On April 9, members of the Duke University Wind Symphony logged into Zoom to celebrate the ensemble's graduating seniors and to share stories and memories of the 2019-2020 season. April 9 was to have been the group's final concert of the year, where seniors are typically recognized and thanked for their contributions to the group. Director Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant called the students to gather virtually to honor graduating PH.D. student (mechanical engineering) Matthew Tedesco and seniors… read more about Duke Wind Symphony celebrates its graduating seniors and the 2019-20 season »
Dr. Eric Zhou (Trinity '10) and Dr. Daniel Chang (Trinity '10) were freshman year roommates in Pegram dorm. They are currently working in the Covid-19 Intensive Care Unit as colleagues in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. During their time at Duke, both were active in the music department and minored in music. Dr. Zhou was the former concertmaster of the Duke Symphony Orchestra, a… read more about Physicians and Music alums Eric Zhou and Daniel Chang are on the COVID-19 frontlines in NY »
Rodney Wykoop, Professor of the Practice of Music and Director of the Duke Chorale, shared this story:One of my conducting students, Jia Jia Shen, posted on reddit a video of some Chorale members singing on our tour bus on the final day of our shortened tour, and it was broadcast recently on a radio program on WBUR in Boston. The music is from a setting of words traditionally heard in Gibbons’ well-known “Silver Swan,” in a contemporary setting by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm. The singing is in a bus… read more about Duke Chorale (Silver Swan): A final performance »
This scene was to be part of the spring 2020 Duke Opera Theater production “Afterlives of the Star-Crossed Lovers: The Many Forms of Romeo and Juliet," which had to be canceled because of COVID-19. Jacob recorded this in his apartment near the Duke University campus. Although Juliet has secretly wed Romeo the previous night, her father has just announced an arranged marriage for her. In this scene, the Friar proposes a solution to her dilemma. He tells of a mystical bottle of potion that will make her appear as… read more about Duke senior Jacob Liang shares the aria he would have sung in this spring's Duke Opera Theater production »
John Brown, Director of the Duke Jazz Program, takes musicians into North Carolina's public schools, introducing some of the students to their first live concert experience. This small school in western NC was one of six schools at which they performed during a week-long tour earlier this year. View more photos in the gallery on the left. read more about John Brown takes jazz into NC's public schools »
Paul Bryan was Professor of Music and Conductor of the Wind Symphony at Duke University from 1951-1988. He organized and led the Duke Wind Symphony's semester-long Programs in Vienna in throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Under his leadership, the Duke Wind Symphony performed concerts in Austria (Vienna, Graz, Lockenhaus, Mayrhofen, Berndorf, Bad Gleichenberg), Italy (Venice, Vicenza), Hungary (Budapest), Germany (Dresden, Leipzig, Mainz), and Czechoslovakia (Prague, Cheb). Professor Bryan was also conductor of the Durham Civic… read more about Duke University Wind Symphony celebrates the 100th birthday of its former director, Paul Bryan »
Name: John V. Brown Title: Director of Jazz Program, Professor of the Practice of Music Years at Duke: 19 What he does: When he’s teaching courses, directing student musicians in Duke’s jazz ensembles or performing for or alongside members of the Duke community, Brown works to make jazz a quintessential part of the overall Duke experience. “My mission at Duke is to make sure that no one comes through these walls without being touched by jazz in some way,”… read more about Blue Devil of the Week: Fueling Duke’s Love of Jazz »
Ling and Mulligan have received two of only six Charles Ives Scholarships given this year. This is the first time two fellows in the Duke graduate composition program have been awarded this distinction in the same year. The scholarships, in the amount of $7500 each, will be used by the composers to help support attending music festivals this summer, as well as purchasing compositional materials necessary for their work. Both Ling and Mulligan are currently Ph.D. students in… read more about Graduate Composition Fellows win 2020 Charles Ives Scholarships »
On February 6, 2020, the Music Department bid a fond farewell to longtime staff member Cecelia Goldman. Cecelia worked at Duke for 42 years, the last 16 of which were spent in the Music Department. During her time in the Biddle Music Building, she touched the lives of countless students who will remember her kind smile and warm demeanor. Cecelia is looking forward to a wonderful retirement in Durham with her husband, Dr. Vinston Goldman. Photo: Cecelia with current Music Chair Jonathan Bagg (l) and former Chair Philip… read more about Longtime staff member Cecelia Goldman retires »
Composed between 1798 and 1826, a span of not quite three decades, Beethoven’s sixteen string quartets have continued to exude their magic over the rich traditions of Western chamber music for now approaching two centuries. When Beethoven arrived in Vienna from Bonn in 1792, to receive, according to his patron Count Waldstein, Mozart’s spirit from Haydn, the young musician strove to establish himself as a pianist, in order to gain entrance into the salons of the aristocrats who were the principal arbiters of musical taste… read more about Beethoven’s String Quartets »
"I wanted to give people an opportunity to make music who may not otherwise have the chance to do so." Brooks Frederickson, a PhD student in music composition at Duke, has designed a new kind of music-making experience in the Ruby. If you are like most of us, you probably limit your singing to the car, shower, or other private spaces. To fully experience Here to Hear // Hear to Here, a new installation in the Rubenstein Arts Center, you need to bring your signing voice. This installation by music… read more about 5 Questions for Brooks Frederickson, Creator of Here to Hear // Hear to Here »
James Budinich's "Plexus: a work in knots" is an electroacoustic score commissioned by Princess Grace Award winning choreographer Gabrielle Lamb for her own company, Pigeonwing Dance. The new, evening-length work will take place on February 7 at the Gerald Lynch Theater on the CUNY campus. Budinich's score was commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation. Watch a preview video Jason Mulligan's Oboe Concerto will be … read more about Premieres by Duke composition fellows James Budinich and Jason Mulligan »
The retrospective recital, which took place on February 1 in Baldwin Auditorium, featured Professor Love performing on three pianos. He began the concert with works by Jan Hugo Voříšek and Beethoven, performed on the Music Department's Thomas and Barbara Wolf fortepiano (1987) after Streicher, 1815. Professor Love commissioned this fortepiano soon after he arrived at Duke in 1982 and has played many recitals on it over the years. The program then moved on to works by Debussy and Ravel, played… read more about Randall Love: A retrospective recital »
Graduate composer Dayton Kinney has been selected as a semi-finalist by The American Prize for the 2020 Composition - Instrumental Chamber Music (student division) competition for her piece "Hand Carved Names and Railroad Tracks." Her piece will in the running for the finalist and winner rounds.Listen to "Hand Carved Names and Railroad Tracks" Follow the results of the competition on Facebook or Twitter. The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the… read more about Dayton Kinney named Semi-Finalist for the American Prize »
Gümrükçüoglu's new piece, Optimist (to a 1958 text by Nazim Hikmet), was written for the occasion and will have its world premiere at the Taproot Festival by the Quince Ensemble on January 30, 2020. During the festival, Gümrükçüoglu will also give a presentation on his compositional processes. MORE Eren Gümrükçüoglu (b. 1982) is a Turkish composer currently based in Durham, NC, where he is a PhD candidate in music composition at Duke University. Eren’s music… read more about Eren Gümrükçüoglu's new composition to be featured at the Taproot New Music Festival (UC Davis) »
Max Ramage is a musicology graduate student in the Duke University Department of Music. A native of Durham, he holds degrees from Yale and Indiana University and has won a number of honors for his compositions. Taiga, premiered by the UNC Symphony Orchestra, is an atmospheric tone poem. Ramage is also an accomplished violinist and member of the chamber music group Contrarian Trio, which performs at Duke University and in the community. He will direct the Duke Collegium Musicum, the Music… read more about UNC Symphony Orchestra premieres new work by Maxwell Ramage »
About Tiled Fields, Budinich writes:Tiled Fields, whose name stems from a misreading of Joan Miró’s painting Tilled Fields, creates successive sections that obsessively build on the same material. While writing Tiled Fields, I drew inspiration from Miró’s combination of a freely composed background with sharp figures neatly superimposed upon it, seen in such paintings as The Birth of the World, The Hunter, and Bleu ii. My work blends freely composed material… read more about Graduate composer James Budinich's "Tiled Fields" premiered by the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra »
Two students in Carla Copeland-Burns' flute studio placed in the Raleigh Area Flute Association's 2019 Artist Competition earlier this month. Jessica Chen won the Undergraduate Division 7, and Sarah Tan as runner-up won Honorable Mention of Undergraduate Division 7. read more about Duke flutists win honors at RAFA competition »
Three chamber music groups in the Chamber Music program, directed by Caroline Stinson, participated in a chamber music masterclass on November 7: Onomenos Quartet (Megan Rabe and Riya Shankar, violins; Charles Zhang, viola; Bryan Tong, cello)Stretto Quartet (Neha Vangipurapu and Joie Jamison, violins; Gabrielle Lee, viola; Lauren Simmons, cello)Quarlitté (Haoyang Yu and Ann Chang, violins; Celina Zhou, viola; Prateek Khandelwal, cello) Cello students… read more about Joel Krosnick (Cellist, Juilliard Quartet 1974-2016) engages with undergraduate musicians »
Four undergraduate groups in the Chamber Music program in the Duke University Department of Music performed at the home of Michael and Elizabeth Schoenfeld on October 20. The afternoon concert included the Sanren Trio (Sanna Symer violin; Wallace Peaslee, cello; Courtney Danzler, piano), Devil's Chamber (Miryam Rudolph, oboe; Albert Sun, clarinet; Rebecca Eneyni, flute; Yajur Sriraman, French horn; Caroline Tan, bassoon) and Liscio Trio (… read more about An afternoon of chamber music brings undergraduates out of the concert hall »
FACULTY POSITION IN MUSIC ASSISTANT / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PIANO The Department of Music at Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina, invites applications for a full-time faculty position in piano to begin August 1, 2020. Position: Assistant or Associate Professor of the Practice of Music, non-tenure-track Duties: Teach undergraduate piano and chamber music; perform and participate actively in the profession; engage in the activities and responsibilities of regular rank faculty in the … read more about Faculty Position opening: Assistant or Associate Professor of Piano »
After filling a Biddle Music Building classroom with around 20 minutes of beautiful sound, the members of the Ciompi Quartet, who were guests in Professor Tom Brothers’ “Meet the Beatles and the 1960s” course, took questions from the class. One student, after watching the musicians’ bodies sway with the music, asked how they developed the confidence to play with such expressive movements. Viola player Jonathan Bagg explained that, while it may look as though the movement is merely a result of being swept up into the… read more about Sharing the Joy of Music »
Brooklyn-based musician and artist Alex Sopp will be on campus three times this year (September 2019, February 2020, March 2020), engaging with students and the community in numerous ways, including class visits, masterclasses, informal talks, and collaborative work. As the flutist of yMusic, Alex previously worked with Duke graduate composition fellows during yMusic's residency in 2013-2014. Her current residency provides the opportunity to deepen the engagement begun at that time, as well as new… read more about Flutist Alex Sopp artist residency 2019-2020 »
Cellist Caroline Stinson will perform at the Rudersdal Summer Concert Series in Copenhagen on August 29. She and pianist Sarah Ho will present works by Joan Tower, Andrew Waggoner, Hans Abrahamsen, Beethoven and Fauré. Also in late August, Bridge Records released The Lark Quartet's A Farewell Celebration. This CD brings the group's 30 year career to a close. On this recording, Lark Quartet (Deborah Buck, Basia Danilow, Kathryn… read more about Caroline Stinson performs in Copenhagen & Lark Quartet releases its "Farewell Celebration" CD »
Georgiary Bledsoe will participate in a panel on September 14 led by Mark Lomax which explores new modes of youth music education using scholarly perspectives. Anthony Kelley, Associate Professor of the Practice of Music in the Duke University Department of Music, and Karen Walwyn, who will be piano soloist for the Duke Symphony Orchestra's concert on Oct. 2, will also participate in the 2019 Videmus conference. Bledsoe is the Founder & Principal of BaobaoTree LLC, a… read more about Georgiary Bledsoe (Ph.D. musicology, 2002) participates in Videmus conference at the University of Michigan »
Tanglewood premiered two movements of Richardson's dissertation piece Red Wind, which was recorded with Duke Performances in April 2017, and features professor Nathaniel Mackey's poetry. The premiere took place on July 21 at 10am in the Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. Other works on the program included pieces by George Crumb, Lukas Foss, and Krzysztof Penderecki.Sid Richardson has also participated in artist residencies at Crosstown Arts, The Hermitage Artist Retreat, and the Virginia Center… read more about Sid Richardson (Ph.D Composition, 2018) at Tanglewood Music Center »
Described by Chicago Classical Review as “cinematic in the best sense” and “searing,” Brittany J. Green’s music is centered around facilitating collaborative, intimate musical spaces that ignite visceral responses. The intersection between sound, movement, and text serves as the focal point of these musical spaces, often questioning and redefining the relationships between these elements. Green’s music has been featured at New York City Electronic Music Festival, SPLICE Institute, Chicago Impromptu Fest, and West Fork New… read more about Incoming composition fellow Brittany Green receives JACK Quartet Studio Commission »
Kinney is headed to Thailand to attend the festival at the College of Music, Mahidol University, where her string quartet, “Hand Carved Names and Railroad Tracks,” will be premiered. This is a busy summer of premieres for Kinney. On July 12, her “Obsessive Snapshots” premiered at MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston, as part of the Space City New Music Festival. read more about Graduate composer Dayton Kinney is a finalist for the 2019 Rapee Sagarik Composition Prize »