This year’s graduation marked the end of a particularly fruitful year for the Department of Music graduating class, current students, and alumni.
2012 Graduates and Current Students
Two PhD graduates from the class of 2012, Elizabeth Hoover and James H. Moore, have been appointed to academic posts: Moore was appointed Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Ensemble, Chair of the Department of Music in West Virginia Wesleyan College and Hoover was appointed Lecturer in Musicology at The University of Miami Department of Music, Oxford Ohio.
Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships were awarded to current graduate students Da Lin (ethnomusicology) and Jeremy Woodward (composition/theory). The Mellon fellowship includes tuition for two semesters along with a stipend.
Brandon Masterman (who received his MA degree this spring) won the best student paper award at the Greater New York American Musicological Society chapter meeting for his paper "'This Is How They Do Not Like It': Queer Abjection in Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts." Masterman will be attending New York University in the fall to pursue his PhD in performance studies.
Aaron Brooks, in the PhD program for composition and theory, received the first Dead Elf Music Award for an outstanding composition by a University of Pittsburgh graduate student. Brooks’ winning composition is a string quartet titled Two Rhythmic Studies, a work in two movements he originally composed for a reading session with JACK Quartet.
Ethnomusicology graduate students Kaitlyn Myers and Stephen Hager both won awards for Outstanding Presenter during Pitt’s Grad Expo 2012. Myers won for her paper “‘You must be quiet so that we can hear’: Ballads and Memory in an Irish Traditional Session” and Hager won for “Wacongo Dance Company: The Ethics and Aesthetics of African Music and Dance Performance in Pittsburgh.”
Other awards to graduate students and their recipients are:
K. Leroy Irvis Fellow – 1yr.
Ashley Humphrey
Provost Humanities
Alec MacIntyre
A&S Fellowship
Sara Guglas - 2 terms
John Bagnato – 1 term
Ramteen Sazegari – 1 term
Undergraduates
The Department awarded a variety of scholarships to several highly motivated undergraduates to assist them in their music studies. Congratulations to all scholarship recipients!
Anita J. Curka Scholarship - $ 8,000 available (PA residents only)
$2,500 - Natalie Rogers: Music (Voice and Heinz Chapel Choir)
$2,500 - Hamid Campbell: Music/Physics (Jazz Piano and Carpathian Music Ensemble)
$2,500 - Dylan Crossen: Music/Anthropology (Piano, Guitar, Trombone, and Gamelan)
Mildred Posvar Scholarship - approx. $ 8,000 available
$2,500 - Evelyn McCoy: Music/Spanish (Piano and Women's Choral Ensemble)Honors College, Study Abroad in Peru Spring 2012
$2,500 - Stephanie Mangold: Music/Psychology, Theatre Arts (Jazz Voice and Chamber Music) Honors College – partial Scholarship
$2,500 - Eric Gratta: Music/Computer Science/Statistics (Cello and Orchestra)Honors College
Alfred d’Auberge Scholarship - $1,000 available
$500 - Forrest Guilfoile: Music/Biological Sciences (Jazz Guitar and Men’s Glee Club) Honors College
$500 - Jonathan Heins: Music/Philosophy/Computer Science (Trombone and Carpathian Music Ensemble). Honors College, Study Abroad in Mongolia Fall 2011
Gerlowski Scholarship - $ 400 available
$400 - Jennifer Hess Freshman Violinist, Music Minor
Gluck Scholarship - $1,400 available
$700 - Jamison, Harry: Music/Math/Physics (Piano and Chamber Music)
$700 - Andrew Head: Music/Computer Science (Piano, Orchestra, and Chamber Music)
Alumni
Several Department of Music alumni also received appointments and awards this year.
Nick Emmanuel (BA 2011) has been accepted into the graduate program at University of Buffalo as a Presidential Fellow. He will be pursuing a PhD in historical musicology and continuing his piano studies.
Oyebade Dosunmu (PhD 2011) was appointed Visiting Assistant Professor of Music in the Department of Music, Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Dosunmu was part-time faculty member at the music department this year teaching courses in African music.
David Gerard Matthews (PhD 2011, comp/theory) was recently awarded an Artist Opportunity Grant from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council to study the onde Martenot in Montreal with ondist Geneviève Grenier. Matthews will have daily lessons during his immersion course and hopes to include the ondes Martenot in future compositions
Philip Thompson (PhD 2002, comp/theory) received a two-week fellowship with the John Duffy Composers Institute at the Virginia Arts Festival. As part of the fellowship, scenes from his one-act baroque-metal professional wrestling opera, The Final Battle for Love, will be performed.
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David Gerard Mathews (PhD 2011, comp/theory) was recently awarded an Artist Opportunity Grant from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council to study the onde Martenot in Montreal with ondist Geneviève Grenier. We asked David to tells us about how he became interested in this unique instrument and how his time of study will help him achieve his creative goals.
I’ve been interested in the ondes Martenot ever since I discovered Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony as a teenager. I kept encountering the instrument at different points after that: as undergrad, I became very interested in the music of Tristan Murail, who both plays and writes for the ondes Martenot, and Radiohead, who has also utilized it extensively.
David Gerard Matthews at the Morton Feldman Symposium. Unfortunately, the ondes Martenot is such a rare instrument that I never had a chance to see one up close until recently. When I attended a conference in Montreal a year ago, I took a chance and emailed the ondist Geneviève Grenier, who lives there. She was kind enough to let me stop by her house, where she demonstrated it for me and allowed me to play around with it for a bit. This encounter with the instrument and with one of the few people in the world who plays it professionally stoked my interest even more. When I saw the announcement for the Artist Opportunity Grant, I immediately thought of the ondes Martenot, and I once again contacted Geneviève Grenier to see if she would be willing to do a short immersion course. She agreed, and I sent in my proposal. During my stay in Montreal, I will have a lesson daily, and I will spend most of the day practicing intensively on Ms. Grenier’s instrument. I have several goals in mind in studying the ondes Martentot. I do hope to eventually have access to an ondes Martenot, but since they are very rare and expensive, that may have to wait for some time. However, I wish to gain a greater understanding of an instrument that has fascinated me since I was 14. As a composer, I am very interested in writing for the ondes Martenot, so learning more about the instrument and getting to know performers who play it is a priority. Another goal is to learn more about the ergonomics and performance practice of the instrument, which unlike most electronic instruments, is very expressive and capable of very subtle nuances of dynamics and intonation; I hope to be able to apply some of what I learn to programming synthesizers and Max patches. Lastly, I hope to gain some insight into interpretation and performance technique from studying with Geneviève Grenier, who is a very accomplished performer in her own right.
Congratulations are in oder for Elizabeth Hoover (PhD 2012, musicology), who has been appointed a Lecturer in Musicology at Miami University in Ohio. Dr. Judith Delzell, Chair of the Department of Music at Miami University, expressed particular pleasure in appointing Hoover, who earned her BA from MU with a concentration in literature and theory. Delzell writes that,
“In 2002 I offered Elizabeth an oboe scholarship to come to Miami as an undergraduate; in 2012 I offered her a faculty job!”
Read the complete article from Miami University.
The Department of Music’s Class of 2012 breathed a sigh of relief as the spring semester, along with their undergraduate careers, came to a successful end. Graduating seniors gathered with faculty and staff from the music department for a brunch and brief presentation to celebrate the completion of their academic programs and to offer encouragement for the future. The celebration took place at the William Pitt Union and included words of congratulations from Chair Mathew Rosenblum and Director of Undergraduate Studies, John Goldsmith. Students Pictured above are
Front row L-R: Meghan Matscherz, Angelina Magreni, Adrienne Johnston, Jacob RobbinsBack row L-R: Theodore Zellers, Eric Markley, Sean O'Hara, Charles Rieger, Dillon HassNot pictured: Andrew Gidley, Benjamin Greenwood, Benjamin Cress, Harry Jamison
Congratulations to all our graduates and best wishes for continued success!
2012 Graduates
PhD - Music
Kerrith LivengoodMark FrommMatthew HeapElizabeth HooverStephen Ayodamope OlurantiMary OberJames Moore
MA - Music
Nathan FrinkJoseph FrankeBrandon MastermanJungwon KimMeng Ren
BA - Music
Benjamin Cress Andrew GidleyBenjamin GreenwoodDillon HassHarry JamisonAdrienne JohnstonAngelina MagreniMeghan MatscherzEric MarkleySean O'HaraCharles RiegerJacob RobbinsTheodore Zellers
The HEAR/NOW Festival of New Sound will unfold over two days, on April 13 and 14, and many Department of Music alumni, students, and faculty will contribute. Federico Garcia (PhD 2006) has played a leading role in organizing the festival in partnership with the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and Alia Musica Pittsburgh, the composer performer collective Garcia helped found.
HEAR/NOW will also feature David Gerard Matthews (PhD 2011) leading the Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra, Eric Moe performing his own solo piano music, and Dave Eggar playing music by Mathew Rosenblum. The festival will include performances by outstanding guest artists such as Tim Munro (eighth blackbird), Pamela Z, and DJ Spooky along with stellar artists from Pittsburgh’s vital new music scene. You can see the whole schedule at the Kelly-Strayhorn web site.
The debut of the Fela Sowande Singers, led by music department alum Oyebade Dosunmu, will take place at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Tuesday night, April 10 at 8 p.m. The singers will perform a concert of sacred music by Nigerian composers. Along with Dosunmu, the concert will feature Richard Teaster (director of Pitt’s Glee Club and vocal instructor) and Ayo Oluranti (a doctoral candidate in composition and theory). The program will also feature Sara Botkin (Soprano), Raquel Winnica Young (Mezzo-Soprano), Ayo Oluranti (Organ), performing works by Ikoli Hacourt-White, T.K.E. Phillips, Fela Sowande, Laz Ekwueme, Ayo Bankole, Seun Owoaje, Ayo Oluranti. Come out and enjoy an evening of sacred Nigerian Choral music!
Congratulations to Pitt graduate composer Jonghee Kang who has been selected as a participant in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's 8th Annual Student Reading. The reading session takes place on Saturday March 31st at Heinz Hall at 10 p.m. The PSO will read Kang's work Will You Take Me Home (When the Spring Wind Blows)? along with music by composers from Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, and West Virginia Universities.
Steven Stucky, this year's PSO composer of the year, will give the composers feedback on their scores.
The reading session is free with general admission seating, but seats should be reserved in advance by calling 412-392-8444. For more information about the student composer readings vist the PSO's Web site.
Applications are now available for the 2012–13 University of Pittsburgh-BNY Mellon Jazz Scholarship. A $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to a full-time undergraduate student who will be enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in September of 2012. The scholarship is divided between the Fall and Spring terms. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of performing ability as demonstrated by an audition tape/CD. Completed applications must be returned by Monday, May 7, 2012. Download the application.
In celebration of Bell Yung’s 31 years of service at the University of Pittsburgh, the Department of Music has organized a series of events, including a reception on March 23 (by invitation only), a symposium on March 24, and a lecture-recital by Bell Yung on March 26. The symposium, with the title of “New Research in Asian and American Music,” will gather together Yung’s former students who have gone on to establish distinguished academic careers in the U.S. and elsewhere for a reunion. Along with Yung’s current students, they will report on their new research projects.
The lecture-recital is on the instrument qin, one of Yung’s research interests on which he has published two books, numerous articles, a compact disc, and a museum exhibition catalogue. Having lectured and performed on many university campuses and in several museums, he looks forward to sharing some of his thoughts and music with Pitt colleagues on this most venerated musical instrument of China.
Find out more about "New Research in Asian and American Music" here.
Find out more about Bell Yung's lecture-recital here.
Pitt's campus is already getting quiet as students head out of town for spring break, but that doesn't mean we don't have great concerts to offer. The Men's Glee Club will tour Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois throughout the week, so don't miss this opportunity to hear them if they're coming to your area. Here's the complete itinerary:
Sunday, March 4th: 11:15 am Morning Worship Service, Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal), 2230 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115Monday, March 5th: 7:30 pm, Monroe Street United Methodist Church, 3613 Monroe Street, Toledo, OH 43606(419) 473-1167Wednesday, March 7th: 2:00 pm, Trinity School at Greenlawn, 107 S. Greenlawn Avenue, South Bend, IN 46617(574) 850-7168Thursday, March 8th: 7:00pm, Sun City Community Association of Huntley, 12880 Del Webb Blvd. Huntley, Illinois 60142 (847) 515-7619Saturday, March 10th: 7:30pm, Knox Presbyterian Church, 1105 Catalpa Lane, Naperville, IL 60540 w/Naperville Glee Club. (630) 448-0518
