Duke Wind Symphony and alumni honor Paul Bryan, final concert of the 2011-2013 Wet Ink Residency, Susan Fancher's new CD, and more. Read it here. read more about Duke Notes 4/26/2013 »
On April 18, 2013 the Duke University Wind Symphony, directed by Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, presented a concert dedicated to Professor Emeritus Paul Bryan, featuring works he conducted, arranged, and commissioned during his legendary tenure at Duke. Special guests included more than 60 Duke University Wind Symphony alumni who took the stage with the current student musicians. Paul Bryan was Professor of Music and Conductor of the Wind Symphony at Duke University from 1951-1988. He received his Ph.D. in musicology from… read more about Duke Wind Symphony honors Paul Bryan »
On April 19 and 21, 2013, Duke Opera Workshop presented Comedy Tonight!, scenes of mirth & merriment from operas by Donizetti, Menotti, Mozart, Smetana, and Verdi. Members of The Juggling Club at Duke also participated in this production, which was directed by Susan Dunn. David Heid was the pianist for this gala show. The Bartered Bride, Laurel Toyofuku as Esmerelda, Jianghai Ho as Vasek, and Vasco Botelho as The Director.Click image for… read more about Duke Opera Workshop: Comedy Tonight! »
On April 12, 2013, legendary trumpeter Jon Faddis joined the Duke Jazz Ensemble, directed by John Brown, onstage in Page Auditorium for a concert of works by Dizzy Gillespie and others. [READ MORE ABOUT IT in The Chronicle.] Faddis is praised by Time Out New York as "the world's greatest trumpeter ... brash soloistic logic and breathtaking technical acuity," and The Wall Street Journal characterizes him as "a trumpet player of prodigious lyrical force."… read more about Duke Jazz Ensemble with Jon Faddis »
Remembrances of Robert Ward; Philip Rupprecht awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Duke Jazz Ensemble performs with trumpeter Jon Faddis; and more. Read it here. read more about Duke Notes 4/10/2013 »
Renovations continue in Baldwin Auditorium, scheduled to open in Fall 2013. Enhanced features of the renovated building include a much larger stage, side balconies, a state-of-the-art control booth, and enlarged bathrooms. Click image for additional photos. read more about Baldwin Auditorium renovations continue »
On April 4, 2013, Edward Dusinberre of the renowned Takacs Quartet conducted a master class for undergraduate students enrolled in Music 211-2 (Chamber Music). Wenjia Xu (violin), Diana Christensen (violin), Timothy Shih (viola), and Catherine Hueston (cello) performed the first movement of Ravel's String Quartet in F for Mr. Dusinberre. Jonah Yousif (violin), Suqi Huang (violin), Olivia Chen (viola), and Clayton Avent (cello) presented the first movement of Beethoven's String… read more about Chamber music master class with Edward Dusinberre of the Takacs Quartet »
I found this object during the inventory, what do you think it is? A laser gun? A wind instrument? A piece of jewelry? read more about What is it?! »
On October 5, 2012, Joshua A. Waggener, Instructor of Music at the College at Southeastern in Wake Forest, NC, brought four of his students to see some of the instruments from the collection. This was a really exciting visit because it was the first time that I felt comfortable opening the collection up to visitors since I began working with DUMIC. Mr. Waggener’s students were musicians – we had a French horn player and singers, as well as a few who were interested in some of our stringed instruments. I was able to bring… read more about Visiting Students this Past October »
Although it may look like an otherworldly laser gun from a science fiction movie, this is actually a Japanese instrument called a shō. The shō is a free-reed mouth organ; it features pliant metal tongues fastened on one end to a fixed plate. The shō is a part of the modern gagaku ensemble, the Japanese court music ensemble that was used solely to create music for leisure and ceremonies in the Imperial Household during the Meiji era (1868-1912… read more about What is it?! Answer: »
An inventory for a museum collection varies depending on what information needs to be collected. Sometimes, a complete inventory of every object is done, but sometimes only partial inventories are necessary to check and make sure that the objects are where they should be according to the museum’s records. Usually, the type of inventory that is completed depends on each museum’s written policy and the size of its collection. Usually, a museum’s policy may dictate that a complete inventory should be done every X number of… read more about How does an inventory work in a museum setting? »
The Music Department wishes to express our sadness at the passing of Professor Emeritus, Robert Ward. Professor Ward was a prolific American composer of operas and other works and is perhaps best known for his operatic setting of The Crucible, Arthur Miller's dramatic telling of the Salem witch trials, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1962. In 1967 Ward became Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem. He held this post until 1975 when he stepped down to serve as a member of the… read more about Robert Ward (1917-2013) »
Kerry McCarthy's Byrd released as part of Oxford University Press's Master Musician series; a master class with the Takacs Quartet; Stephen Jaffe's Southern Lights premiered by the Durham Symphony Orchestra; and more. Read it here. read more about Duke Notes 4/1/2013 »
We apologize for our absence, but some important and exciting things have been going on with DUMIC. In Fall 2011, we hired Gillian Suss (MA, Museum Professions, Seton Hall University) to complete the first comprehensive inventory of the collection and help us begin to visualize what will come next for DUMIC. Over the course of the next six months, Gillian found, measured, photographed, and catalogued over 900 objects – almost three times the number of instruments and related objects as we initially… read more about Welcome back to the Duke University Musical Instrument Collections’ (DUMIC’s) website! »
Oxford University Press has released the newest title in its Master Musicians series, Byrd by Kerry McCarthy. In this "detailed, fresh, and readable account," Prof. McCarthy takes a new look at the life and music of William Byrd (c. 1540-1623), one of England's greatest composers of the late Renaissance. read more about Byrd, a new book by Kerry McCarthy »
Congratulations to our Ph.D. candidates who have successfully defended their dissertations and will be graduating in May: In Musicology: Karen Cook defended her dissertation, “Theoretical Treatments of the Semiminim in a Changing Notational World, c.1315-c.1440” (advisor: Tom Brothers). Elizabeth Terry Joyner defended her dissertation, “The Evolution of Genre and Narrative in Mahler’s Vocal-Orchestral Works, from Das klagende Lied to the Eighth Symphony” (… read more about Doctoral Defenses »
Chia-yu Hsu (Ph.D. composition, 2009) has accepted an assistant professorship of Music Composition, tenure-track, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Department of Music and Theatre Arts. Angela Mace (Ph.D. musicology, 2013) has accepted an Assistant Professorship of Music History, tenure track, at the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. read more about Academic appointments for 2013-14 »
Bryan Christian designed the sound for Duke Theater Studies' production of Young Jean Lee's Lear, to be performed April 4-6 and 11-13 at 8 pm and April 7 & 14 at 2 pm in Sheafer Theater on the Duke campus.D. Edward Davis was a guest artist-in-residence for four days in March at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. While he was there, he taught an undergraduate seminar about music and technology and worked on passing lands… read more about Graduate Student News, March 2013 »
On March 22, 2013 the Duke Jazz Ensemble, led by John Brown, joined the Duke Swing Club to present A Night of Swing. The Great Hall in the West Union was packed as 400 students and community members took to the floor, enjoying the opportunity to dance to the live jazz provided by Brown's group. The event drew swing dancers from across the state, including the UNC-CH Swing Dance Club and the Triangle Swing Dance Society. "I really enjoyed doing this… read more about A Night of Swing with the Duke Jazz Ensemble »
On March 22, 2013, Adastra Duo (Jennifer Roig-Francoli, baroque violin, and Vivian Montgomery, harpsichord) performed a concert sponsored by the Duke University Musical Instrument Collections (DUMIC) in the lobby of the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building. The previous afternoon, Roig-Francoli and Montgomery led master classes for modern performers interested in learning to play historical instruments. Roig-Francoli's class was "Baroque Violin for Modern… read more about Adastra, a period instrument duo »
The return of Scott Lindroth's Soundspace installation at the Durham Museum of LIfe and Science; the Duke Chorale performs music from their spring tour; graduate students present papers around the country; and more. Read it here. read more about Duke Notes 3/15/2013 »
Recent performances: Dan Ruccia's piece "Movement O: Frog, Pond, Plop" was performed at the New Voices @ CUA Festival at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, on January 25. Papers presented at conferences: Samantha Arten, Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship. Yale Institute of Sacred Music "Catholic and Anglican Theologies in Tallis’s Cantiones Sacrae (1575) and Their English Contrafacta." Feb. 14-16.… read more about Graduate student conference papers and publications »
On Sunday, March 3, 2013, Encounter: with the music of our time presented the world premiers of Ph.D. dissertations by Tim Hambourger, Paul Swarzel, and Dan Ruccia. The packed house was treated to a wonderful evening of works performed by the New York-based Wet Ink Ensemble, who are in residence at Duke for the 2012-13 season; world renowned mezzo-soprano Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek from the early music vocal group Anonymous 4; members of the North Carolina Symphony; and other local musicians; conducted by Verena… read more about A Concert of Dissertations »
On March 7, 2013, the Duke Music Department was pleased to offer a master class with renowned violinist Leila Josefowicz, in Durham to perform a concert for Duke Performances. Three students participated in the master class: Jacqueline Sun, Roman Lin, and Wenjia Xu. Leila Josefowicz, a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1994 with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields… read more about Violin Master Class with Leila Josefowicz »
James Nyoraku Schlefer and Yoko Reikano Kimura of Kyo-Shin-An Arts performed on shakuhachi and koto, and discussed the musical features, aesthetics and history of Japanese music on Feb. 21 in the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building. Kimura and Schlefer were at Duke to perform with the Ciompi Quartet in a concert sponsored by the Encounters: with the music of our time new music series. The concert combined traditional Japanese and Western… read more about Kyo Shin An Arts at Duke »
On February 22, seven undergraduate pianists (l to r: Eugene Rabinovich, Jameson Kuang, Mark Chee, Austin Lu, Brett Schnobrich, Eileen Lu, and Rowena Gan) performed works by Brahms, Chopin, Ravel, and Bartok to a standing-room only crowd in Bone Hall in the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building. Piano faculty (l to r): Randall Love, Jane… read more about Piano Honors Recital »
Da (Clara) Yang (Trinity 2011) is Associate Conductor of the Manhatten Wind Ensemble, a fifty-person symphonic band composed of both professional and non-professional woodwind, brass and percussion players. The Manhatten Wind Ensemble performs several times each year throughout the New York City community. Yang double-majored in Music and Biology at Duke. In addition to her job with the Wind Ensemble, she teaches 7th grade science at Summit Academy Charter School in New York through… read more about Da (Clara) Yang named Associate Conductor of the Manhattan Wind Ensemble »
The Wet Ink Ensemble, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, and friends premier dissertation pieces by Tim Hambourger, Dan Ruccia, and Paul Swartzel; the Duke Symphony Orchestra featuring violinist Jingwei Li, perform music by Sibelius, Wagner, and Britten; a masterclass with Leila Josefowicz; and more. Read it here. read more about Duke Notes 2/27/2013 »
David Kirkland Garner's piece Forward / Still won First Prize in the OSSIA New Music competition and will be performed at Eastman in March. Forward / Still was developed during the 2011-13 WET INK residency, which was made possible through a Visiting Artists Grant from the Duke Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts. (For more of Garner's work, view the video of his piece I ain't broke… read more about Graduate Student News, February 2013 »
On Friday, February 15, 2013, the Duke Jazz Ensemble, directed by John Brown, welcomed saxophonist Tia Fuller. As a member of the all-female band touring with R&B star Beyonce, Tia Fuller has played in various venues throughout the US, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. She is a featured soloist on the Beyonce Experience DVD (Me, Myself and I) and also appeared on number of major television shows, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today Show, Good Morning… read more about Jazz Ensemble with Tia Fuller, saxophone »