Musicology

Remembering Fauré—a century later

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Remembering Fauré—a century later Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/13/2024 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold , Sabine Kortals Stein

Professor of Musicology Carlo Caballero remembers when he fell in love with the music of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): “It was when I heard his ‘Requiem’ as an undergrad at Pomona College [in southern California].

“I was so taken by the harmonies and I started looking at scores. I didn’t realize then that my career would become centered on Fauré.”

Pursuing a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, Caballero’s graduate dissertation was on Fauré. From there, his love and admiration for the Frenchman’s music continued to grow. He’s since written books about Fauré and edited critical editions of the composer’s two piano quintets for “The Complete Works of Gabriel Fauré.” Yes, he’s also published studies on ballet music of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and social continuities in French music from the 18^th to the 20^th centuries. But one composer remains close to his heart and his academic pursuits. Particularly these days.

This year marks a milestone for Caballero who—along with his academic partner Stephen Rumph, professor of music history at the University of Washington—will co-host the Fauré Centennial Festival in Boulder, Feb. 27-March 3. All festival events comprising this major, global gathering of �� Boulder faculty and student musicians alongside panelists from France, Canada, Israel, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States are free and open to the public although registration is appreciated from those who plan to attend the conference.

Self-caricature by Gabriel Fauré—under his signature at the end of a letter to Elizabeth Swinton—circa 1898. Private archive, with permission.

Before enumerating the impressive number of papers to be presented, concerts to be held and new works to be premiered, Caballero shares how the whole project began. “I visited Stephen in Seattle in the summer of 2021,” he recalls. The two men had worked together previously, co-editing “Fauré Studies” for Cambridge University Press. “We were strolling on the beach—talking about how 2024 was the 100^th anniversary of Fauré’s death—and Stephen said, ‘Why don’t we do a festival?’ That’s how it all started.”

In retrospect, Caballero points out, Rumph’s casual suggestion proved advantageous. Getting the ball rolling, and planning and sending out all the invitations and calls for papers so early, resulted in strong interest and a healthy number of acceptances.

There was much to do in the months that followed: Grants to write and submit, campus facilities to secure and—here’s a surprise—composers to commission. “The four festival recitals [including a Faculty Tuesdays recital on Feb. 27] will offer a kaleidoscopic experience, not just a look back,” Caballero explains. In addition to chamber music by Fauré in diverse instrumentations, the festival will feature works by his contemporaries—like Maurice Ravel, Mel Bonis and Cécile Chaminade—as well as nine new commissions by both professional composers and students.

“It was Stephen’s idea to connect these new works to the legacy of Fauré, but in the composers’ own style,” says Caballero, who further notes that 16 academic papers will be presented as part of the festival, including one of his own—“The Smith’s Harmonic Forge: Voice-Leading in the First Movement of Fauré’s Second Piano Quartet.”

Caballero is optimistic that the Fauré Centennial Festival will continue to raise appreciation of Fauré’s music. For him, the attraction is singular: “My academic career is fueled by the beauty of his music.”

The Fauré Centennial Festival—held on campus at the Imig Music Building and Macky Auditorium, and at Boulder’s First Congregational Church—is supported by the Dr. C. W. Bixler Family Foundation, the �� Boulder College of Music, the Center for Humanities & the Arts and the Research & Innovation Office.

This year marks a milestone for Professor of Musicology Carlo Caballero who—along with his academic partner Stephen Rumph, professor of music history at the University of Washington—will co-host the Fauré Centennial Festival in Boulder, Feb. 27-March 3.

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American Music Research Center announces interim director, upcoming events

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

American Music Research Center announces interim director, upcoming events Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/13/2023 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

The American Music Research Center (AMRC) has named Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Austin Okigbo as its interim director for the 2023-’24 academic year. Okigbo, also an affiliate faculty member in the Center for African & African American Studies, global health and ethnic studies, is no stranger to the AMRC.

“I’ve been involved in the AMRC for as long as I’ve been at the College of Music,” Okigbo says. In the past—as an AMRC Faculty Affiliate and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on the AMRC’s Soundscapes of the People grant—he has participated in outreach activities and research opportunities, and he continues to serve on the AMRC Advisory Board as well as the editorial committee for the AMRC journal, Americas: A Hemispheric Music Journal.

This year, Okigbo has stepped in to lead the AMRC’s events and research projects while a search for a new permanent director is underway. Susan Thomas, the AMRC’s former director, is now with the Butler School of Music in Austin, Texas; she continues her involvement in the Soundscapes of the People project as a faculty affiliate.

“My goal at this point in time is to make sure that the center maintains the things we are doing,” Okigbo says. “I want to make sure the programming that we have in place is well executed.”

Coming up in October, the AMRC will host a pair of concerts titled “Song of Pueblo.” These concerts highlight the AMRC’s Soundscapes of the People study that’s documenting the history of Pueblo, Colorado, by researching its musical past and collecting oral testimonies.

Check out the full story.

The American Music Research Center’s interim director, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Austin Okigbo, shares the center’s fall semester highlights—including free performances of “Song of Pueblo” on campus and in Pueblo, Colorado.

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Discovering Vienna’s art history first-hand

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Discovering Vienna’s art history first-hand Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/14/2023 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold

There’s nothing wrong with the traditional college classroom. Nothing at all, Robert Shay stresses. But when it comes to teaching a course titled “Music, Arts + Culture 1880-1920 (Vienna, Austria),” the College of Music professor of musicology admitted that, sometimes, it’s time to leave the classroom behind.

In this case, when Vienna beckoned, Shay and 10 of his upper-level undergraduate students answered the call. During Maymester, they headed off to get up close and personal with the Austrian capital. Part of the �� Boulder Study Abroad program, this exciting, interdisciplinary two-week experience was one of the many instructor-led Global Seminars, Shay points out, noting that “�� does 30 or 40 of these around the world.”

Planning for such an intense on-the-road course began “a few years ago,” says Shay. “Before we left, we had three class sessions, sort of as a crash course. I wanted to get the basics in place.” Once in Vienna, everything changed. “By actually being there, you’re seeing these things we’re talking about,” Shay adds. “There’s an immediacy. I can see how rapidly students can internalize information.”

And there was a lot of information to internalize—and a lot of sights to see. Though Shay’s specialization is music, this course involved all of the arts, particularly new views of architecture and painting—creative breakthroughs that had made the city a hub of revolutionary activity at the start of the 20th century. “It was the birth of the Modernist movement,” he says. “There was enormous political upheaval.” The artistic explosion became known as the Vienna Secession, led by architects Joseph Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich, and painters Gustav Klimt, Alfred Roller and Koloman Moser. Their goal was to join Europe’s growing Art Nouveau movement. Secessionists sought a new purity that would chase away traditional styles and bring together all of the separated arts. Olbrich designed a Secession Building, which currently houses Klimt’s enormous “Beethoven Frieze” in the basement. Yes, Shay and his students visited the impressive gold-domed structure.

Besides a visit to Klimt’s remarkable 112-foot salute to Beethoven, Shay and his students were able to sample live music while in Vienna, attending a performance of Alban Berg’s opera “Lulu” and a concert in the famed Musikverein concert hall. In fact, Shay points out, the course was offered as a music course. Nine of his charges were music majors, the other a music minor. “We had focused on [composer Arnold] Schoenberg beforehand and one of the students chose him for the integrated topic.”

Shay explains that the course requirement included a paper based on the Vienna trip. Other topics chosen by the students included women composers of that period and Viennese architects.

Since nine of the 10 young travelers had never visited Europe, one wondered about the impact of visiting the great Austrian city. “We talked as a group afterward,” recalls Shay, “and I got a general sense of their response to the trip—I think I whetted their appetite for more learning and for more travel.”

Professor of Musicology Robert Shay and 10 of our students went beyond the traditional classroom this summer—to Vienna, Austria! Part of the �� Boulder Study Abroad program, this exciting, interdisciplinary two-week experience was one of several instructor-led Global Seminars.

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Confronting the “Dido” dilemma

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Confronting the “Dido” dilemma Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/05/2023 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold

Some musicologists enjoy tracking down a mystery: Why didn’t Schubert finish his “Unfinished” Symphony? Who was Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”? They’ll search endlessly, even if their quest hits a series of dead ends. Others avoid such foolishness, preferring to stick to their books, leaving the wild goose chases to those infected with the curiosity bug. For Professor of Musicology Robert Shay, the many mysteries of “Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell (1659-95) are too important to ignore. That said, he feels confident that his critical edition of the English composer’s score, newly published by Bärenreiter, provides fresh answers to a number of questions.

Certainly there’s no mystery about the opera’s stature as one of the glories of the Baroque era. The work tells, in achingly gorgeous music, the sad tale of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and her lover, the Trojan hero Aeneas who heads off to war, leaving her behind, desperate and suicidal, singing one of opera’s most tragic laments. What we don’t know is when the opera was written, when it premiered and, worst of all, what happened to Purcell’s original music. Adding to the frustration of Purcell scholars is the presence of a libretto, with no date and no music, linked to a performance (in 1689?) at Josias Priest’s school for girls. Was it first performed by those young ladies? Or more likely earlier for a king? But which king? Was it James II? Charles II?

Here’s the problem: There’s a gap of nearly 100 years between when the opera was likely premiered and the copying of several music manuscripts, dating from the 1770s and ’80s—and none of those having much of a connection to Priest’s libretto. “There are three (musical) sources from that period, and they’re the earliest we have. But what happened in the interim?,” wondered Shay, a noted Purcell scholar. And what about those manuscripts? Can we trust any of them? Shay thinks he can answer that last dilemma.

“I’ve come to rely on a manuscript from about 1780 that came to light in the 1960s at Tatton Park [in Cheshire, northwest England]. What’s important is that we know the name of the copyist, Philip Hayes, who was known then as a devoted Purcell expert.”

Working with Hayes’ score for his edition, Shay made a radical reduction in the number of movements in the three-act work. “I’ve maintained a flow in the music that I got from Hayes and I’ve been careful not to force the libretto onto the music,” he says. There are a handful of earlier editions of “Dido” from recent years, including one published in 2021, that list as many as 44 musical segments, while Shay’s edition numbers only 23. “It’s all there,” he says of Purcell’s music. “The number of movements changes but the scope of the music is not changing.” After working on this project for seven years, launched by an invitation from Bärenreiter, Shay can now join the ongoing, international “Dido” debate among scholars and fans of Baroque opera. Somewhere, Purcell must be smiling at all the attention.

Note: Robert Shay’s new critical edition of the opera “Dido and Aeneas” is only the fourth new critical edition of “Dido” from a major publisher since the work first appeared in print in the 19th century. For Bärenreiter—one of the world’s great music publishers, including the collected works of Bach, Mozart and many other familiar names—this is their first foray into Purcell (and Shay has committed to a second large editorial project for the publisher, Purcell’s “King Arthur”).

Related:
The more we learn about “Dido and Aeneas,” the less we know (The New York Times)

Top left photo credit: Katherine Shay.
Above right photo: From the manuscript copied by Philip Hayes. Copyright: National Trust/Tatton Park.

For Professor of Musicology Robert Shay, the many mysteries of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” are too important to ignore. His critical edition of the English composer’s score provides fresh answers to a number of questions.

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Historical musicology grad student presents “Jane Austen Playlist”

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 15:20:38 +0000

Historical musicology grad student presents “Jane Austen Playlist” Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/17/2023 - 08:20

Sabine Kortals Stein

For Laura Klein, a visit to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire, inspired “The Jane Austen Playlist: Love and Music of Regency England.”

“It began as a discovery when I visited the museum in 2018,” explains Klein, a first-year PhD student in historical musicology and a Jane Austen scholar. “As a lifetime pianist and Jane Austen enthusiast, I was treated to a glimpse of her personal music manuscript collection in the museum holdings after playing the 1813 Clementi square piano also housed at the museum.”

Klein began to research the music in the manuscripts, discovering pieces and songs that reminded her of characters and scenarios from Austen’s novels.

“Austen herself was a committed pianist, practicing an hour every morning before beginning her daily activities—one of which would have been her writing, including the novels and letters we now devotedly read and reread the world over,” continues Klein.

“This piqued an idea of a performance that pairs the words off the pages of Jane’s novels with the lyrics of songs that share a similar narrative. Thus, ‘The Jane Austen Playlist’ was created and first premiered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Valentine’s Day last year.”

On Feb. 25, the regional premiere of the same program at the Lakewood Cultural Center will capture the essence of Austen’s six major novels in a dramatized performance that features piano, voice, strings, flute … and period costumes.

Klein, who began her studies at �� Boulder last fall, is an established performer, teacher and affiliate faculty at Colorado Christian University. “My musicology research is historical and performance-practice focused with the goal to continue my current research while developing other related areas of music scholarship surrounding Jane Austen’s life,” she shares.

A recipient of the Dean’s Graduate Student Grant, the Entrepreneurship Center for Music’s Grant Award and the University of Colorado Boulder Graduate School International Travel Grant Award, Klein’s current residency with Jane Austen’s House kickstarts a yearlong project focusing on Austen’s best known novel, “Pride and Prejudice.”

What’s next?
Klein has been commissioned by the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) to create a premiere performance for the 2023 JASNA Annual General Meeting in Denver, Nov. 3-5.

For first-year PhD student Laura Klein, a visit to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire, inspired “The Jane Austen Playlist: Love and Music of Regency England.” On Feb. 25, Klein will capture the essence of Austen’s six major novels in a dramatized performance.

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Graduate student researchers explore Pueblo’s Soundscapes

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 04:40:29 +0000

Graduate student researchers explore Pueblo’s Soundscapes Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/24/2023 - 21:40

It was a busy fall for the American Music Research Center (AMRC)!

One of the many efforts underway is the Soundscapes of the People project. Two �� Boulder PhD students—Lydia Wagenknecht and Ben Cefkin—are working on this project alongside AMRC Director Susan Thomas, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Austin Okigbo and �� Boulder alumna Xóchitl Chávez, the first Chicana tenure track assistant professor in the music department at the University of California, Riverside. Both students are studying ethnomusicology and have been working on the project since summer 2021.

Soundscapes of the People explores the historical significance of Pueblo, Colorado, and the culture of the community there, particularly highlighting local music. This research initiative is funded by the National Endowment for Humanities and �� Boulder’s Research & Innovation Office and Office for Outreach and Engagement. The team spends time in Pueblo interviewing people and traveling to culturally significant places. For the graduate students, the project requires fieldwork in Pueblo, combing through the completed interviews and preparing them for University Libraries archives. Read the full story.

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Rebecca Maloy named Distinguished Professor

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Rebecca Maloy named Distinguished Professor Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/11/2022 - 00:00

With approval by the �� Board of Regents, the University of Colorado has announced seven newly designated distinguished professors—the highest honor bestowed upon faculty across the system’s four campuses. Among the four awardees affiliated with the �� Boulder campus is Professor of Musicology Rebecca Maloy.

Maloy was recognized for her distinguished research, her dedication to teaching and mentoring, and for her service to her profession and the university. As Don Randell—who served as chair of the Board of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is both president emeritus and professor emeritus (musicology) at Chicago University—put it: “She is certainly one of the very most accomplished scholars of medieval Christian liturgical chant at work today, both in America and Europe, where she is extremely well known.”

Maloy specializes in early medieval music. Her primary interests are liturgical chant, liturgy and ritual, and the theory and analysis of early music. The author of four books and many articles and book chapters, Maloy has substantially contributed to her field and is a leading voice in musicology. Her current and recent work has been supported by funding from the European Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the United Kingdom, the American Council of Learned Societies and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Maloy is recognized as among the most respected and dedicated teachers in the �� Boulder College of Music. On faculty since 2002, Maloy has demonstrated a deep commitment to teaching. From the beginning of her time at ��, she has taught 18 different courses, ranging from introductory courses for non-music majors to doctoral seminars in musicology.

In her tenure at the university, she has served as a member of many university and college committees and as a frequent peer reviewer and external evaluator for presses, journals and other institutions.

Says Dean John Davis, “Join me in congratulating Rebecca for attaining this, the highest honor that the university bestows. She now joins Alan McMurray and David Korevaar, the only other faculty from the College of Music ever to have been selected for this high distinction.”

Including the seven faculty awarded this distinction this year, only 136 faculty members have ever been named since this title was established in 1977. Learn more about �� Boulder’s 2022 distinguished professors.

�� has announced newly designated distinguished professors—the highest honor bestowed upon faculty. Among the four awardees affiliated with the �� Boulder campus is the College of Music’s Professor of Musicology Rebecca Maloy.

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Musicking in the time of COVID

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:35:00 +0000

Musicking in the time of COVID Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/26/2022 - 11:35

Brandon Stover

Brandon Stover, a College of Music PhD candidate studying the transmission of Japanese shakuhachi online, recently reflected on making music and doing research during the time of COVID. Among others, he asked Allison Cawthon—a master’s student pursuing music education with a concentration in ethnomusicology—what it’s been like to make, teach and/or perform music recently; and her advice for students specific to “musicking in the time of COVID.”

According to Cawthon, who earned a bachelor’s in music education with an emphasis in choral and general music from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, “Music teachers had to rework their curriculums, typically from a performance focus to a creating-responding-independent focus to leverage online teaching platforms.

“I shifted my teaching focus from community-based music making to more independent projects that students could do on their own. Some examples of projects I had my students do included research and composition within various assigned or chosen genres, lyric writing activities, use of digital audio workspace [DAW] to compose and analysis of music videos.

“There were objectives to teach musicological features—such as dynamics, form, time signatures, instrumentation, beats, polyrhythms, key signatures, timbre and so on—but most of all, I wanted students to be able to express themselves and have an outlet for their emotions during COVID.

“Students, like many of us, are terrified, frustrated, angry, confused and sad because of all the shifts in their normalcy, and my most prominent goal in the classroom is always safety—emotional, physical, mental, social and emotional safety. These composition and responding-oriented activities left space for students to safely work through some of their emotions, should they choose to do so, in a safe and comfortable environment.”

A proud member of the Choctaw Nation, as well as a part-time employee of the Chickasaw Nation Arts Academy, Cawthorn’s heritage drives her studies of culturally relevant pedagogies in the field of Ingenious music of the United States. As an undergrad, she worked closely with the Multicultural Student Affairs office, as well as faculty members and administrators, to set up committees and policies for Indigenous students. Currently, she’s engaged with the �� Boulder Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies to connect with other Native students on campus and to obtain her Certificate in Native and Indigenous studies.

She adds, “Trying to teach ensembles exactly the same way that we have in the past will not work on Zoom. Creativity and flexibility are essential when redefining what you’d like to do in your classrooms.

“Rather than mourn what we have lost, try to find new, different ways of music making. I tried to take this as an opportunity to create long-term curriculums with student-centered projects, and this was a great way for my students and me to interact with music in new, safe ways.”

Stover—who previously taught middle school band and choir before coming to �� Boulder, and who earned a bachelor’s in music education from Millikin University and a master’s in ethnomusicology from Goldsmiths, University of London—offers an additional perspective: “Go where the music is happening. Don’t be afraid to join online groups or take online lessons from teachers as they can really provide some insight into what is happening in the field.

“For those researching, the field is definitely a hybrid of in-person events and online interactions, so don’t neglect one or the other. There are a lot of new YouTube videos that people have made in the last two years while stuck at home explaining different aspects of their tradition. These can be an invaluable tool, but watch out that you do not devote too much time going down the rabbit holes.”

“Rather than mourn what we have lost, try to find new, different ways of music making. I tried to take this as an opportunity to create long-term curriculums with student-centered projects, and this was a great way for students and myself to interact with music in new, safe ways.”

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Music student finds inspiration at the gateway to Antarctica

Anonymous — Wed, 04 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Music student finds inspiration at the gateway to Antarctica Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/04/2022 - 00:00

Kenna Bruner

Lydia Wagenknecht was 5 when she began taking piano lessons. Although she loved the sound of the music, she wasn’t keen on practicing. So, being from Wisconsin, Wagenknecht’s mom bribed her young daughter with cheese to entice her to practice.

The strategy must have worked since Wagenknecht can now play the piano more skillfully and is a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at �� Boulder’s College of Music.

“While singing in a high school choir, I realized I wanted a career as a music teacher,” she says. “Music is something I’ve always been excited about. But I’m interested in a lot of things, not just playing the piano. I’ve been interested in learning to speak Spanish, other languages, history, activism and ecotourism. I love how ethnomusicology brings so many elements together and allows me to work with people and tell stories, which is something I’m excited about.”

Ethnomusicology is the study of music in its social and cultural contexts. Wagenknecht began scholarly work in the field to delve into questions of equity, justice and ecotourism. She has even come to embrace Chilean musical activism. It all makes a good fit for combining her many interests into a cohesive career.

An initial interest in German/Chilean musical interactions from the 20th century piqued an interest in Chilean immigration in general. That interest brought the city of Puntarenas into focus; located in the southern peninsula of Chile, the city has a connection for many researchers who study weather and climate change in Antarctica.

“Punta Arenas is like an Antarctic research hub,” says Wagenkencht, recent recipient of a Fulbright Research Award to conduct research in the area. “Since the Colonial era, it’s been growing into a cosmopolitan area with people of different backgrounds coming and going, especially now since it’s a jumping-off point for travel into Antarctica.

“Musicians in Punta Arenas are becoming climate activists. The direction I’m going with my research now is looking at the many musicians who are changing their artistic focus in the wake of the evolving makeup of that area.”

In addition to her research interests around the evolving Punta Arenas musical scene, Wagenknecht is involved with Soundscapes of the People, a project of the American Music Research Center. Soundscapes is based in Pueblo, Colorado, and is being led by �� ethnomusicologists Susan Thomas and Austin Okigbo, along with �� Boulder alumna Xóchitl Chavez from the University of California, Riverside. The project is documenting the music and culture of Pueblo and the surrounding area, and will result in a digital archive of interviews and performances that will be accessible to the public through the University of Colorado Libraries. Soundscapes was recently awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research program.

“Pueblo has a rich culture and history, and has a very vibrant music scene,” Wagenknecht says. “It’s a steel mining town, and that brought in workers and others from all over the world.”

As an Engaged Humanities and Arts Scholar, Wagenknecht is also collaborating with K-12 teachers in Pueblo using some of the recordings and interviews from the Soundscapes project to create materials for teachers to use in music classrooms. “I have a soft spot in my heart for K-12 music,” she says. “That’s how I got my start.”

Wagenknecht grew up in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. After graduating magna cum laude from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in wide-range music education, she taught classroom music in Wisconsin. Wanting to teach at the college level plus a desire to live near mountains led her to �� Boulder.

In 2020, she received the Joann W. Kealiinohomoku Award for Excellence at the Rocky Mountain Music Scholars’ Conference. She is president of the Graduate Musicology Society, and has presented her work at national and regional conferences.

In her free time, she serves as a church musician, trains for ultramarathons and works on her self-described “mediocre” rock-climbing skills with her husband Austin, a graduate student in applied math at �� Boulder. He has an interest in the mathematics of music applications and signal processing.

Curiosity drives Wagenknecht. “I’m a curious person and I always want to learn more,” she says. “Doing research about Punta Arenas will allow me to use my skills, training and knowledge to do something that I feel impacts our understanding of how climate change is affecting lots of people. The Soundscapes project will disseminate musical knowledge into classrooms and for public awareness.

“I care about all of this. I care that my research will help us understand something in a more broad-based way that we didn’t understand before.”

Curiosity drives Lydia Wagenknecht, a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology and recent recipient of a Fulbright Research Award. “I care that my research will help us understand something in a more broad-based way that we didn’t understand before,” she says.

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Building blocks of human betterment

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Building blocks of human betterment Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/21/2022 - 00:00

John Davis

Susanne Langer—philosopher and educator renowned for her theories on the influences of art on the mind—defined music as “a laboratory for feeling and time.” I would add that music is essential to human betterment.

This Spring alone, from the war in Ukraine to fires in our own backyard—on the heels of a two-year (and counting) pandemic and accelerating repercussions of global climate change—it can be difficult to stay focused, to be creative. And yet, in the steady success of our students (meet Outstanding Graduating Senior Nelson Walker), alumni and faculty, I’m convinced that what we do at the College of Music is more important, more relevant than ever. Because what we do is create the building blocks of human betterment—of ourselves, one another and our world.

As I reflect on the past academic year and look forward to the next one, I’m moved by our accomplishments and motivated by our mission to develop and nurture the universal musician. I consider it a profound privilege to ensure that our programs and practices increasingly support a compassionate community, transcending differences and difficult times. It’s through this lens that our faculty and staff, too, aim to guide, empower and elevate our talented and remarkably resilient students.

It’s understandable to feel helpless and to ask “What can I do?” While there’s no playbook for the unprecedented and the unknowable, a shared commitment to betterment provides anchorage and inspires action. The way I see it, by channeling collective despair into collective creativity, we become artistic entrepreneurs, contributing to society in impactful ways:

Among too many recent student successes to name, Nelson Walker’s composition “Untitled [wind]” is his processing of—and reflection upon—the devastation of the Marshall and Middle Fork fires. Meanwhile, first-year master’s student Kedrick Armstrong landed on The Washington Post’s 2022 “Composers and performers to watch” list, representing the College of Music among diverse composers, performers and artists who are “hitting their stride with work that resonates with the right now.” As well, the Ivalas Quartet—our Graduate String Quartet in Residence, studying with the Takács Quartet—won Grand Prize and First Prize in the national Coltman Chamber Music Competition; and our exceptional trumpet studio had unprecedented success at the National Trumpet Competition, winning three out of five collegiate divisions (large ensemble division, small ensemble division and military excerpts division) and placing second in the graduate solo division.

Among wide-ranging faculty achievements and well-earned accolades, Professor of Music Education James Austin was inducted into the Colorado Music Educators Association’s Hall of Fame earlier this year; and Susan Thomas—the College of Music’s Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity + Inclusion, Director of the American Music Research Center and Professor of Musicology—was recognized for her leadership and service by the Boulder Faculty Assembly this month. The Soundscapes of the People project she co-directs was just awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research program. Additionally, a new book—“In Search of Inspiration: Interviews with Notable Choral Conductors”—by Director of Choral Studies Gregory Gentry features 15 choral conductors, each answering fundamental questions about how they shaped their achievements; and, on April 30, Chair of Musicology and Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Austin Okigbo will explore how we create music in response to pandemics, and how musicians impact public health and healing from pandemics at TEDxMileHigh.

Such examples of the College of Music’s community engagement and artistic entrepreneurship in composition, performance, scholarship and research inspire me every day. I’m confident that, through music, our students, alumni, faculty, staff and supporters will continue to contribute to the betterment and benefit of the world we inhabit. Stay tuned for our spotlights next week featuring the impact and influence of 2022 Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient Damani Phillips and 2022 Distinguished Service Award recipient Judith Glyde.

With proud congratulations to our Spring 2022 graduates, I wish you a rejuvenating summer!

Photo: Dean Davis interacts with Conducting Chair and Director of Bands Donald McKinney. On Tuesday, April 19, the �� Wind Symphony—conducted by McKinney—performed “The Battle for the Ballot” by Stacy Garrop. Her piece celebrates the centenary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Also on the program was “I wander the world in a dream of my own making” by composer Christopher Theofanidis. Join us on April 26, when the �� Symphony Orchestra premieres Theofanidis’ “On the Bridge of the Eternal.” Originally commissioned by the college in 2020, the debut of this work was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“While there’s no playbook for the unprecedented and the unknowable, by channeling collective despair into collective creativity, we become artistic entrepreneurs, contributing to society in impactful ways.” In this year-end reflection on triumphs over turmoils, Dean Davis offers his perspective on music as essential to human betterment.

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