University of Pittsburgh
Home ›

Alumni

A Year of Success

This year’s graduation marked the end of a particularly fruitful year for the Department of Music graduating class, current students, and alumni.

 

David Gerard Matthews Recieves Artist Opportunity Fellowship

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.

Hoover Appointed Lecturer at Miami University

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.

Garcia Helps Launch New Music Festival

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.

Fela Sowande Singers Perform Sacred Music by Nigerian Composers

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.

Eric Beeko's Recent Publications

Eric Beeko (Ethnomusicology, 2005) has two new publications to his credit spanning 2011 and 2012.

David Hidek's Multifaceted Career

David Hidek (BA 2008) may be the only person we know who has heard his orchestral music played by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and seen his hip hop video splashed over the jumbotron at PNC Park.

Oyebade Dosunmu (PhD 2010) Give's Brown Bag Lecture for African Studies Program

Ethnomusicologist Oyebade Dosunmu (PhD 2010) will give a Brown Bag Lecture for the University Center for International Studies African Studies Program on Thursday, October 27 from 12:30–1:30 p.m. at 4130 Wesly W. Posvar Hall. Dosunmu's lecture, titled From Hepcat Beat to Afro, explores the development of Nigerian pop music.

Christina Savinell: Finding Balance

Christina Savinell’s job is so sweet even the distractions are better than most people’s. When she has a break, instead of hanging out at the water cooler or logging into Facebook, she can stroll into Heinz Hall to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra rehearsing.  That’s because since fall of 2010, Savinell has been the Multimedia Manager with Pittsburgh’s world-renowned ensemble.

Helen Rees will Chair UCLA's Department of Ethnomusicology

Congratulations to Professor Helen Rees (PhD ’94, ethnomusicology) on her appointment as Chair of UCLA's Department of Ethnomusicology and Systematic Musicology. She will begin service on January 1, 2011.

Copyright 2009 | Site by UMC Web Team