Serenade: Fall 2022

Band of Angels

a music match made in heaven

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF MUSIC

CONTRIBUTORS:

Fally Afani, KU School of Music

Paul Laird, KU School of Music

Andy White, KU Marketing Communications

Rick Hellman, KU News Service

Michelle Strickland, KU Endowment

Dan Gailey, KU School of Music

Leah Evans Photography

MESSAGE from the DEAN

Serenade is Back!

fter a two-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic, the School of Music is back to full force with well-attended public performances, international student tours, and a renewed sense of purpose and opportunity. Although the world has changed since Covid-19 disrupted every aspect of our society, the need to prepare future generations of music practitioners has not diminished. As you read through the following pages, I hope you are struck by the many meaningful contributions and accomplishments realized by our students, faculty, and alums.

As I step away from my role as dean this year, I do so with heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals who have helped propel our programs forward over the past 12.5 years. Our KU Choirs, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble are thriving at their highest levels of performance excellence ever. New leadership for our opera program has brought renewed excitement and promises similar progress. For the second year in a row, membership in the Marching Jayhawks has exceeded 300 students, with this year’s band being bigger and better than ever.

As our curriculum has grown, music enrollments this semester are up over 12%. Likewise, the number of music majors from under-represented populations has almost doubled since 2010, now exceeding 37% of our student population. Our international programs continue to expand, most recently with new cooperation agreements signed this year with the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, China, and the Paris Conservatory in Europe. The relationships our faculty have fostered overseas have helped provide opportunities over the past 12 years, facilitating over 200 KU music students to participate in opportunities abroad.

The many individuals who have supported the need for music scholarships have been incredible benefactors in the success we have realized together. For the first time this year, we are awarding over $1 million in music scholarships, up from about $400,000 in 2010. Graduate Assistantship stipends and their requisite tuition remission benefits also total about $1 million this year. This extraordinary progress could not have been realized without our alumni and patrons, who value the difference music makes in our world and KU’s role in educating future leaders.

In giving a shoutout to our incredible School of Music staff, I hope to acknowledge the individuals who work behind the scenes, rarely receiving the credit they deserve. These exceptional professionals continue to find solutions for seemingly impossible situations and do the hard work that allows others to succeed.

Now more than ever, the School of Music needs your support. Whether through financial gifts, attendance at KU Music events, or simply spreading the word about the incredible music family we have on Mount Oread, THANK YOU!

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!!!

Robert Walzel, Dean School of Music

YEAR in REVIEW!

It was an exciting year for the KU School of Music, one that saw many students on the road! Here’s a look at some of our fondest memories.

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF MUSIC

JOYCE CASTLE: A Colleague’s Appreciation

By: Paul Laird, Professor of Musicology

aving Joyce Castle as part of our music faculty at the University of Kansas since 2001 has been a ringside seat to watching a force of nature. Joyce is the consummate artist who is always on stage, but not in an artificial way, rather as part of her larger-thanlife personality. Her long career spent singing on opera and recital stages clearly was made possible by her wonderful musicianship, stunning voice, unforgettable stage presence, and expert comic timing. These are not traits that she turns on and off; they are always with her as intrinsic parts, making everyday conversations memorable and lifting the spirits of everyone around her. I have enjoyed interacting with my colleagues over the years, but working with Joyce Castle has been an experience that I will cherish for the remainder of my days. Murphy Hall simply will never be the same without her.

Joyce graduated from KU in 1961 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Voice and then earned a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music. Her ensuing career has involved singing nearly 140 roles—an astonishing number—including 25 seasons of work at the New York City Opera, 14 at the Metropolitan Opera, over a decade of singing in Paris, and prestigious appearances on many other stages. Her work as a recitalist has included several high-profile performances of music by Leonard Bernstein—including working with the composer himself—and such triumphs as singing at various venues song cycles written for her by noted composers Jake Heggie and William Bolcom. (Her career is described in detail at www.joycecastle.com, an eye-opening summary

of her distinguished career.) The good fortune that brought her to KU as Artist-in-Residence in fall 2001 began when John Stephens, long-time KU professor of voice, called her to ask whether she might want to teach at KU. Joyce reports that he was shocked when she said that she might be interested but admits that he probably called at the right time: “It’s my alma mater. I was a certain age.” Stephens sent her some requested information, she came to KU to sing, and then the administrators Dean of Fine Arts Toni-Marie Montgomery and Provost David Schulenberger concluded the deal. Joyce reports “Crazed for music were these people!,” but an important part of the opportunity for her was KU’s commitment to continuing her singing career for a certain period of time during each semester. This serendipitous association has resulted in more than two decades of wonderful instruction for KU singers and many performances around the world by one of the great mezzo-sopranos, identified in programs as a member of our School of Music faculty. It has been a singular, winning combination, one of the best developments that I have seen for music at KU in my 28 years of teaching here.

Joyce’s great work at KU, however, has hardly been confined to the voice studio, her influence on operatic productions, or her own memorable performances. Her title, “Artist-in-Residence,” implies to a music professor a colleague who teaches in a performance studio and goes out and performs, while usually being spared more mundane aspects of our jobs like committee work. Joyce would tell you that she learned about expectations for an academic position from her brother Neal Malicky, president of Baldwin-Wallace University from 1981 to 1999. She took his lessons to heart, and her colleagues on the KU faculty watched her serve with diligence and insight on numerous school and university committees over the years. She surely attended every KU School of Music faculty meeting when she was in town, proving

Joyce’s work with her students has been phenomenal. To them she is simply “Joyce,” a beloved and respected teacher and mentor.

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL

MUSIC

from page 6

herself time and time again to be a superb, intellectually engaged faculty member who always know what to say at a given moment. She is without a doubt one of the KU School of Music’s biggest cheerleaders. We have all learned valuable lessons from her about collegiality, how to support fellow faculty members and students, and how to be better members of our profession. Joyce had little experience as a voice teacher before arriving at KU—just her time as a master’s student at Eastman and a few private students when she lived in France—and we watched her enter a new profession after reaching that “certain age” and become an esteemed pedagogue, colleague, and artistic conscience at KU. It is an unusual story, but this dedicated Jayhawk has lived it day after day for over two decades and we are a better school because of it.

Joyce’s work with her students has been phenomenal. To them she is simply “Joyce,” a beloved and respected teacher and mentor who is a constant presence in the audience at performances and a Murphy Hall legend for her élan and dry wit. My daughter majored in voice at KU and did not study with Joyce, but she and her friends talked about her often, with huge smiles and sparkle in their eyes. Joyce’s own students simply idolize her, keenly aware of the great fortune they have had to study with her and benefit from her vast storehouse of experience. A most memorable moment that Joyce shared with numerous voice students took place in January 2016. As part of her recognition as a new KU Distinguished Professor—a singular recognition—Joyce directed and starred in a production of “Strawberry Fields,” an opera written for her by composer Michael Torke and

librettist A. R. Gurney, that Joyce premiered with the Glimmerglass Opera in 1999. Seeing her performing the opera in the Crafton-Preyer Theater, surrounded by so many KU vocal students in roles and in the active chorus, was one of the highlights of my career, and Joyce considers it one of her own. When asked about her highlights at KU, she answers, “It’s all in one!,” referring to her entire career here. Many of her students and colleagues would enthusiastically agree.

Sylvia Stoner-Hawkins, a private student of Joyce Castle, completed a DMA in Voice from KU in 2010. She remembers fondly her time in Joyce’s studio:

Joyce Castle treated me as an artist. I always felt that she respected my ability and instincts and through that respect challenged me to grow beyond my perceived boundaries. Her wealth of knowledge of singing, performance, and a career in the arts gives her singers the tools to pursue their dreams. Her sense of humor and compassion gives her singers comfort and the courage to embrace their humanity. I am not only a better artist, but a better human because of my time in her studio. Thank you, Joyce.

The bond that develops between a teacher and student can be very special and not easily explained to the outside world. This attachment is perhaps even closer in the case of private musical instruction, where there is an opportunity for not only growth as a musician and artist, but also in other areas: personal traits, confidence, willingness to take risks, and other areas. I cannot say anything definitive about what Sylvia Stoner-Hawkins learned from Joyce Castle besides what she says in the above moving tribute, but I was on her graduate committee at KU, advised her lecture-recital document, and she sang with my early music group. I saw her growth as a person and artist, and I am sure that much of that could be attributed to Joyce’s work and influence. This encapsulates Joyce’s true legacy at KU: the musical, artistic, and living experience as a performer that helped instruct, mentor, and mold her students. We celebrate this extraordinary human being, singer, artist, and teacher who has been in our midst these last 21 years and thank her from the bottom of our hearts. 

JAYHAWKS of NOTE

A look back at some of our most recent accomplishments from students, faculty, and staff at the KU School of Music!

Tuba professor wins teaching award

Photo: Scott Watson

Scott Watson, professor of tuba and euphonia, was named the winner of the 2022 International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA) Daniel Perantoni Teaching Award. The ITEA recently made the announcement on their website, pointing to Watson’s solo efforts on his CD, “Thoughts of a Cow,” as well as educational recordings “Stepping Stones for Tuba, Volume I & II.” He was the inaugural Music Director and Conductor of the Free State Brass Band since 2014 and plays Eb tuba in the Fountain City Brass Band of Kansas City. He previously served as the Principal of Tuba of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2018, where he taught at the Conservatorium of Music of the University of Melbourne/Victoria School for the Arts.

KU Musicology Professor receives Chancellors Club Teaching Award

Photo: Paul Laird

Paul Laird, professor of musicology at the University of Kansas, is known for his creative, energetic teaching style filled with movement and music.

After teaching a class at KU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the university’s continuing education center, Laird received a review from a participant that said, “Nail his shoes to the floor!”

Laird was undeterred. “I said, ‘Hey! I’ll just take ’em off. You’re not going to keep me in one place!’”

His enthusiasm and memorable style in large part earned Laird the 2021 Chancellors Club Career Teaching Award. Since joining the KU faculty in 1994, he has gained the admiration and trust of countless students he has taught, mentored and guided through undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral endeavors.

Robert Walzel, dean of the School of Music at KU, didn’t hold back when nominating Laird for the award.

“Professor Paul Laird is the single most outstanding university faculty member I have worked with or otherwise encountered in my 30-year career in higher education,” Walzel wrote in his nomination letter.

Laird is proud of being part of a large state university, which attracts students with varying life experiences — from farms and neighborhoods to high school graduating classes with single, double and even triple digits in metropolitan areas.

“When this job came up, I was really interested. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students who came from different backgrounds,” Laird said. “It seemed like the kind of democratizing place I wanted to be.”

Spencer Huston received his doctorate in musicology from KU in 2017, and Laird was his doctoral adviser. In his letter of support, Huston wrote that few professors capture students’ attention the way Laird does.

“Dr. Laird’s unselfish passion for sharing and teaching his subjects is mesmerizing, awe-inspiring and infectious,” Huston wrote. “Imagine an entire class eagerly soaking up every detail and then waiting in anticipation for 48 hours until the class meets again.”

The professional recognition the award brings is an honor, Laird said.

“When you’re as passionate as I am about teaching, to win an award like this is incredible,” he said. “It’s validation for what I’ve done with my life, and for students to take the time to write letters about me makes

me very happy. It also is very humbling. There are so many deserving instructors at KU.”

Music absorbs much of Laird’s professional time. He teaches, plays Baroque cello, advises undergraduate and graduate students, writes and publishes books and research, and serves the university with performances and lectures outside of his faculty obligations. All of those things together build support and interest in the music and ideas that drive him.

“When you publish a book, somebody emails you to say something appreciative or ask you a question, and you realize there’s a conversation going on out there and you are part of it,” Laird said. “It’s even more thrilling in the classroom because it’s immediate. We’re talking in a class, and I see light bulbs go on, and it’s just thrilling to be part of forming that conversation about something I care about so deeply.”

The Chancellors Club was founded in 1977 and recognizes donors who give $1,000 or more annually to the Greater KU Fund. As an honoree, Laird will receive a $10,000 award.

Performance Prize Winners focus on Climate Change

Photos: Hannah Collins and Climate Change Winner

It’s a lot to ask a cellist and a percussionist – even aided by the electronics wizardry of their composer pal – to address climate change in a meaningful way.

But Hannah Collins, the cellist, is excited about an opportunity to do just that after her New Morse Code duo won the inaugural Impact Performance Grand Prize of Ariel AVANT, a competition run by the Boston-based Ariel Artists management company.

The juried award was announced in September 2020, but because of restrictions then in place to stem the spread of COVID-19, the winners were not immediately able to take advantage of the travel and outreach opportunities that are part of the prize. Their tour starts March 30 in Norfolk, Virginia, and includes an April 3 concert at the Lied Center of Kansas.

New Morse Code consists of Collins, assistant professor of music, and Michael Compitello, percussionist and former KU assistant professor of music, now at Arizona State University. Their debut album, “Simplicity Itself,” came out in 2017 on New Focus Recordings.

Hannah Collins (left) and Michael Compitello are New Morse Code. Credit: Tatiana Daubek

Given their unusual instrumentation, New Morse Code has been compelled to seek out commissions for original works, like “The Language of Landscapes” by St. Louisbased composer Christopher Stark, which they debuted in 2015. It forms the nucleus of their Ariel AVANT prizewinning performances.

“That was commissioned for us by Chamber Music America,” Collins said. “We spent time building this piece together where we took samples of sounds from the natural world in a lot of different locations, including my hometown in upstate New York and Chris’ hometown in Montana, and other locations that we’ve traveled to together. And Chris created a long-form piece that has four different scenes that create opportunities for us to interact with these sounds.”

They’ve recorded the piece and have performed it live more than a dozen times. The 20-minute composition will form the first half of the upcoming concerts, along with an eight-minute, newly-commissioned work, as yet untitled, by composer Viet Cuong.

The second half of each concert will feature a new composition by Andy Akiho inspired by NASA’s ongoing OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a sample from asteroid Bennu.

The two new compositions are being funded by the Ariel AVANT prize’s commission component.

Prize applicants were urged to submit “performance proposals and engagement events designed to generate productive conversation and offer positive means of action around a social justice issue, particularly one related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals prioritized to be achieved by 2030.”

So Collins and Compitello submitted a plan for a series of concerts and related public-engagement events designed, in the words of Ariel AVANT’s announcement, to “engage the audience in a conversation about the challenges and urgencies of climate action and responsible consumption while also presenting optimistic possibilities for renewable energy, scientific discovery and innovative technologies in space exploration.”

Collins praised Ariel AVANT founder Oni Buchanan for “incentivizing things that I think a lot of artists are very much wanting to do and just need the opportunity. These are the issues that we’re trying to grapple with ourselves.”

Collins explained that in the “Language of Landscapes” performance, she and Compitello will be joined onstage by Stark.

“Chris uses electronics to blur the line between

real and synthetic sound,” Collins said. “He takes the natural sounds that we recorded and manipulates them sometimes to the point that they sound synthetic. And then he takes the sounds that we’re making, like, for example, Mike blowing on a beer bottle or hitting a Styrofoam bowl, and that might sound like the most natural sound in the world, even though it’s coming from a manmade object. So there’s this confusion and a sort of dialogue between that spectrum of sounds.”

Between Stark’s “Landscapes,” which focuses on the environment, and Akiho’s composition, which is inspired by space travel, the intervening piece by Cuong will focus on the forest ecosystem and was inspired by the poetry of Mary Oliver.

Before each concert, Collins said, she and Compitello will facilitate an interdisciplinary “engagement event” that attempts to highlight the particular environmental challenges of that region of the country.

“We’re trying to create a space where we can ... think together and communicate with each other about how the climate crisis is affecting that community specifically. We’ll be traveling to Norfolk, Virginia, which is a coastal community that deals with flooding as a major concern, whereas the concerns in Lawrence are much different, obviously. And the same will be true in Denver and elsewhere. So we’ll be experiencing conversations and exchanges with communities all across the country about how the climate crisis is affecting them.”

Collins said those conversations started when she and Compitello had a two-week “incubation residency” at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in fall 2021.

“We filmed interviews with experts from many different fields, including a public-policy specialist, a scientist who studies natural disasters, an astronomer, a botanist, and a visual artist and museum curator. We asked them about how the humanities and sciences intersect, especially in the challenge of trying to communicate information about how our world is changing,” Collins said. “We discussed how a community can come together and process that information and decide collectively how to respond. We’re going to continue to have these conversations and share some of them on our website, so that even if people don’t see us play the concert, they’ll be able to see some of the interactions that we have as we’re traveling the piece around.” 

BAND of ANGELS

By Abby Shepherd

Music student gets wings through Band

of

Angels

School of Music senior Oscar Haro has been passionate about music for nearly his whole life.

“I’m Mexican, and growing up I would always hear banda music, so I was always attracted to the trumpet,” Haro said.

When he was a sixth-grader at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School in Lawrence, Haro decided to join the band and take up the trumpet, despite peer pressure to do otherwise. Haro used the trumpet he rented in middle school all the way to his junior year at Free State High School. By then, his trumpet was nearly falling apart with an entire valve missing.

Things soon changed for Haro. His band teacher recommended he attend that year’s Prairie Winds Festival, an annual gathering organized by the KU School of Music for high school musicians. It was there he met Steve Leisring, professor of trumpet at the KU School of Music for 20 years.

“[Leisring] had never seen a kid play on a trumpet like that before,” Haro said. “He also offered me free lessons because I couldn’t afford those either,” Haro said.

Throughout the next year, Haro prepared for auditions for the KU School of Music. Leisring recognized Haro’s need for a new instrument, and recommended a tool for him to use — Band of Angels.

Founded in 2011 through a partnership between Kansas City business Meyer Music and WDAF-TV Fox 4, Band of Angels pairs deserving students with instruments at no cost to them.

Haro applied for a new trumpet and was successful.

“As a kid, that blew my mind,” Haro said. “That trumpet was pristine, silver-plated, the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.”

from page 13

The simple act of giving someone a new instrument can have so many benefits, Leisring said.

“Once Oscar had an instrument he could actually play, he started to see what the possibilities were,” Leisring said. “It gives them confidence. Just because they can’t afford a high quality instrument, when they do have one, it really makes a difference.”

The roots of Band of Angels

Mike Meyer, manager of Meyer Music, said year after year he saw a need for Band of Angels in the community.

Every year elementary, middle, and high schoolers would come in to rent an instrument for their school band, only to be unable to afford it.

“That was always gut-wrenching, and I was the one who would have to sit across the table from them and say ‘I’m sorry I can’t help you,’” Meyer said.

Nearly 13 years ago, WDAF-TV Fox 4 called Meyer, asking for suggestions on how to help save the local arts.

After initial brainstorming, Meyer suggested a program where people could donate used instruments. Meyer Music would repair them if necessary, and then those instruments would be donated to students in financial need.

So far, over 3,000 instruments have been donated to kids across the country. Band of Angels also started a scholarship program to send students to summer music camps.

“I was shocked that the community thought this was as important as I did,” Meyer said. “I thought this was my little pet project, and maybe we’d give 50 instruments a year and that would be a great thing. I had no idea it was going to resonate the way that it did, and so many people thought music was this important.”

Meyer said the group’s central mission is to level the playing field so students do have the education and tools necessary for success in music and beyond.

Some kids are already at a disadvantage, and Band of Angels wants to focus on the “quality of the match,” according to Meyer.

“When a kid from an inner-city school starts music, many times they have never owned their own instrument, and they are borrowing one from a school,” Meyer said. “When that kid goes to audition for a scholarship at KU, they’re auditioning against a kid that has had their own instrument, that has had private lessons.”

Meyer sees the music camp scholarships as a hugely important aspect of the group’s mission. In the scholarship’s first year, about five students were sent to KU’s Midwestern Music Camp. Now as many as 50 attend the camp each year, thanks to financial assistance.

Students have told Meyer that music camp gave them a place to belong, as well as lifelong friends. Meyer also said the volume of music learned in a week at camp is life-changing.

“What you do is take a kid out of a classroom where they might learn four songs over a semester, and you put them in a camp where everyone else finds music as exhilarating as they do, and now they learn those four songs in a week,” Meyer said.

What Band of Angels has given Oscar Haro Summer camp and the new instrument were a game changer for Haro. Since being accepted into KU, he has enjoyed many opportunities through the School of Music.

In 2022, Haro traveled with the pep band across the country for the NCAA tournament, visiting Fort Worth, Texas, Chicago and New Orleans.

In September of 2022, Haro even traveled to Italy with the university’s Wind Ensemble. He traces all of these opportunities back to the original opportunity given to him by Leisring and Band of Angels.

“If all of these people are helping me, then I have to give it my all,” Haro said. “I’m incredibly grateful to them for giving me a shot, especially Steve.”

Haro recently purchased a new trumpet, after getting so much use out of the one donated by Band of Angels. He also tutors younger students, currently teaching about eight, and up to 30 in the summer.

from page 15

He said he feels like he is planting seeds in their minds, by helping them realize what they’re capable of through music.

“There’s more to life than just going to school or playing a sport,” Haro said. “You can do music, and it can take you so much further than you’ve ever imagined. In our lifetime, so many people helped us and to do the same for the next generation of kids is the way it should be.”

Students who go above and beyond in music, like Haro, are likely to accomplish a lot, Leisring said. Haro travels to places like Chicago and Dallas to see professional musicians regularly, to become more immersed. His dream is to become a professional trumpet player.

Leisring described how a month ago he visited Memphis to see international performers, including famous Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval. Sandoval had actually met Haro earlier during his trip to Dallas.

Leisring thanked Sandoval for making such an impression on Haro, and the two made a video together to send to the student.

“Oscar is one of these students who goes above and beyond,” Leisring said. “He is a picture-perfect example of what Band of Angels can accomplish.”

Haro has chosen music as his life path, but many others involved in band or orchestra do not do the same. This isn’t important, Leisring said. His students have gone on to become businessmen, lawyers and doctors.

“One of my former students is an accountant at a firm in Kansas City, and he told me he’s able to figure out complex tax problems in an easier way than his colleagues because of the problem-solving he learned in music,” Leisring said.

Whether or not a student decides to become a professional musician, an engineer, a coach, or a politician, the help Band of Angels can provide is universal.

“I think people need to see more of the results,” Leisring said. “People hear about the students getting the instruments, but following up on students who got them four to five years ago is incredible. I think people don’t realize the difference it makes for a lifetime.”

How you can help

Band of Angels accepts instruments regardless of their condition, and each one is refurbished as needed. Those interested in donating instruments can drop them off at any Meyer Music location — the closest to KU is located at 1890 W. 135th St.

Most instruments are accepted, excluding pianos, organs, keyboards and drum sets. Guitars that are donated are sent on to Guitars for Troops, a nonprofit which distributes guitars to active-duty soldiers.

Cash donations to Band of Angels also go to summer music camp scholarships, a helpful experience for any student interested in music, as illustrated in Haro’s story.

In order to get a donated instrument or scholarship, students must fill out a simple application on the group’s website at https://bandofangels.org/instrumentapplication/.

In terms of Band of Angels’ future, Meyer only sees more possibilities.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Midwestern Music Camp was moved completely online. Usually, 300 students attend in person. That year, the virtual camp drew about 1,950 students from 46 states and five countries.

“We hope to grow outside of Kansas City and do this nationwide,” Meyer said. “We’re simply trying to provide students a place to belong in school, a life skill and something they can enjoy forever.”

The relationship between the University of Kansas and Band of Angels will only continue to thrive, according to Meyer.

“KU’s a really special place, and they’ve embraced me and the Band of Angels,” Meyer said. 

“KU’s a really special place, and they’ve embraced me and the

STUDENTS in the SPOTLIGHT

KU Jazz Ensemble I Honored by DownBeat and Jazz at Lincoln Center

KU Jazz Ensemble I, under the direction of Dan Gailey, was recognized with the Graduate College Outstanding Performance honor in the category of large jazz ensembles in the 45th Annual DownBeat Student Music Awards.

DownBeat released the results of the awards on, May 5, and published them in its June issue. As one of the world’s leading jazz and contemporary music publications, DownBeat announces its Student Music Awards annually. Students and educators nominate themselves in an open call for recorded performances and applications, and winners are selected from more than 1,000 entries.

Under Gailey’s leadership, the KU Jazz Studies Program has received 29 DownBeat Student Music Awards since 1992.

The DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most prestigious awards in jazz education. Since its founding in 1976, hundreds of musicians, music educators and music industry professionals received their first international recognition as DownBeat Student Music Award winners.

“This is the third time in the past four years that Jazz Ensemble I has received a DownBeat Award,” Gailey said. “Combined with the honors they received at the Rudin Jazz Championship, this is a testament to the continued excellence in our program and the exceptional work that our studio faculty does with our students.”

KU Jazz Ensemble I was one of 10 college big bands invited to participate in the 2022 Rudin Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 19 and 20. The schools chosen for the event and invited by JALC Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis are among the most well-regarded jazz programs in the nation.

Following their daytime performance in the competition, the band was chosen as one of five finalists to perform again that evening. At the end of the evening, Marsalis and the other four judges presented KU with the following awards:

• Earl Hines Outstanding Musician Award (presented to the most outstanding musician on any instrument at the championship): Keegan Kaiser, alto saxophone

• Outstanding Alto Saxophonist: Keegan Kaiser

• Outstanding Guitarist: John Fraka

• Honorable Mention—Outstanding Trombonist: Colin Wreath

• Outstanding Brass Section: University of Kansas

KU School of Music student nabs First and Grand Prize at international competition

The KU School of Music congratulates student Yi Chang, who recently received First Prize and the Grand Prize for Best Performance of the Required Work at the International Young Artist Piano Competition (IYAPC). The competition, based in Washington, DC, was held online in 2022 from June 23 – 26.

A student of Professor Scott McBride Smith, Chang is a third-year DMA student in piano performance and pedagogy. As part of the prize, he held a recital at Catholic University in Washington, DC in August.

Student performs at major percussion event

Luke Helker, a current DMA student in Percussion, was awarded Student Opportunity Funds to present and perform at this year’s Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is the main organization for all things percussion related and PASIC is one of the largest drum & percussion events in the world. It features concerts, clinics, panels and presentations from artists all over the world in all areas of percussion: drum set, marching, keyboard, symphonic, world, education, technology, and health & wellness, to name a few.

Luke’s performance specifically will be part of the “Focus Day” events. Every year the New Music/Research committee chooses a theme to focus on for the first day of the festival. This year’s theme is “the modern percussionist” and several of the performances will include world premieres, repertoire from underrepresented composers, pieces with a specific social or cultural message, etc. Luke will perform Daijana Wallace’s piece “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” for percussion and cello. Luke commissioned this piece several years ago and this performance will also feature KU alum James Alexander on the cello.

WELCOMES NEW FACULTY School of Music

The KU School of Music is pleased to announce eight new faculty appointments for the 2022-2023 school year. Included in the esteemed group are Eduardo GarcíaNovelli, Yi-Yang Chen, Stella Markou, Emily Rossin, CharCarol Fisher, McKenna Stenson, Gulli Björnsson, and Geoffrey Landman. “We are so excited to have such a large and highly qualified group of new faculty joining the School of Music this year,” says Dean Robert Walzel. “I know they will be wonderful additions to our faculty team.”

The new faculty appointments include:

Eduardo García-Novelli, Director of Choral Studies

Eduardo García-Novelli is the newly appointed Director of Choral Studies at the University of Kansas, where he directs the graduate program in choral conducting and guides the university choral program. He comes to KU from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, where he served as Director of Choral Activities and as Chair of the Music Department. During his tenure at Carthage, he led Carthage Choir to perform in five state conventions (WMEA and WCDA), three national tours, four European tours (concertizing in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, the Vatican, Spain, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland), a solo debut concert at Carnegie Hall, and multiple concerts at Chicago Orchestra Hall. In July of 2019, Dr. GarcíaNovelli led Carthage Choir to a coveted international recognition, winning both categories at the prestigious Spittal International Choir Competition in Spittal, Austria. In addition, he served for 10 years as Artistic Director of the Master Singers of Milwaukee.

Yi-Yang Chen, Assistant Professor of Piano

Praised for his ‘flair for the unusual and his technical and artistic capacity to deliver” in addition to his “musical and emotional intelligence, dexterity and virtuosity” (The Worthing Herald, UK), Dr. Yi-Yang Chen shot onto the international stage with back-to-back victories in the 2018 Sussex International Piano Competition and in 2017 at the Washington International and the Waring International Piano Competitions, in addition to first prize awards at the Pacific International Piano Competition and the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition.

Stella Markou, Associate Professor of Voice (tenure-track)

Hailed as ‘exquisite’ by Gramophone, Greek-American soprano Stella Markou has performed internationally as a soloist in oratorio, opera, and on the concert stage. She has been a featured guest artist with the Edinburgh Contemporary Musical Ensemble, The Consulate General of Greece, Union Avenue Opera, Masterworks Chorale, Nassau Music Society, Dance New Amsterdam Company, American Chamber Chorale, University of Nevada Las Vegas Concert Series, Ambassadors of Harmony, and the Nashville Ballet.

Emily Rossin, Associate Professor of the Practice (Music Education)

A proud Jayhawk, Emily Rossin received her doctorate., Master of Music Education, and Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kansas. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Emily was a music teacher in the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas. There she taught elementary, middle, and high school band, as well as elementary orchestra. She has taught undergraduate courses in elementary and secondary instrumental methods, conducting and rehearsal techniques, and human learning and development.

Gulli Björnsson, Associate Professor of the Practice (Electronic Composition)

Gulli Björnsson is a guitarist, composer, and programmer from Iceland whose music typically ties electronics, live instruments and visuals to experiences in nature. Gulli´s music has been described as “hypnotic” (Illinois News Gazette) “a knockout – wondrously inventive” (Soundboard Magazine) and “Virtuosic, modern, occasionally discordant, but still accessible” (Classical Guitar Magazine).

CharCarol

Fisher, Associate Professor of the Practice (Music Therapy)

CharCarol Fisher, MA, MT-BC, is a board-certified music therapist with 14 years of experience as a clinician in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She received her Master of Music Therapy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Bachelor of Music (saxophone performance) from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.

Geoffrey Landman, Associate Professor of the Practice (Saxophone)

McKenna Stenson, Associate Professor of the Practice (Associate Director of Choral Activities)

As an innovative conductor, teacher, and vocalist, McKenna Stenson has built a career inspiring students to sing with confidence and motivating communities to create lasting change through song. Her energetic demeanor permeates positivity throughout the ensemble, creating a community of compassion, trust, and resilience.

Geoffrey Landman is a performer, teacher, and advocate of the saxophone and new music. He has performed across North America, Europe, Singapore, Thailand, and in New York City’s most well-known, including Carnegie Hall, Miller Theatre at Columbia University, The United Nations, Trinity Wall Street, The Morgan Library, and John Zorn’s The Stone. Dr. Landman is the Associate Professor of the Practice in Saxophone at the University of Kansas, and previously served on the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA. For more information

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF MUSIC

TUNES at the TOURNAMENT

When the KU Men’s Basketball team headed to the championship, it wasn’t just an accomplish for our community, but for the KU Pep Band as well. The Pep Band is the heart and soul of basketball excitement, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the musicians as well. We talked with Colin Wreath, who played trombone with the Pep Band and is now an engineer.

How long did you play with the pep band?

“I played in the men’s basketball band every year that I was a student at KU, which was fall of 2017 through spring of 2022.”

What’s an average day like in KU Pep Band for you?

“During the season, the men’s basketball band isn’t that much of a time commitment. Every Thursday night during the season we would meet in Murphy Hall for a two-hour rehearsal to learn new songs or clean things up on old favorites before the next game. Game days were always exciting, though. It wasn’t always easy coordinating schoolwork on game days, especially if there were exams coming up, but that never kept me from getting to the fieldhouse an hour before tipoff like we were supposed to.

We always start with the same song, “Sounds of Summer”, right when the clock counting down to tipoff hits 45:00. From there, we just tried to play loud and bring as much energy to Allen Fieldhouse as we could. I’ve always been a huge basketball fan so I would have been at the games even if I wasn’t in the pep band, but being a part of it just made everything way more special.”

What was an average day like in KU Pep Band during the tournament?

“Travelling with the team for March Madness was one of my favorite experiences I had as a student. We got to travel to cool cities and had plenty of free time to explore and do some sightseeing before we had to be anywhere. On a normal game day, the Alumni Association always holds pep rallies near the arena in whatever city we’re in,

so we always got to be a part of those pep rallies and get our fans excited before the game.

I was lucky enough to have gone to both the final four this year and the final four in 2018 as a freshman. The trips for the final four were much busier, with way more pep rallies and events that the band needed to be at. It was always fun to see KU fans from all over the country, no matter how far we were from Lawrence.”

What was the most surprising part of the process?

“The biggest shock for me when I started travelling with the band my freshman year was just how close and personal the band got during the tournament. We flew to these cities on the same plane as the team, we were put up in hotels close to the arena, played at all these huge pep rallies, and were just a few feet from the action during the games.”

What’s something you and other musicians were able to take away from this experience?

“One of my biggest takeaways from all the travelling I have been able to do through the School of Music is just how many opportunities there are for young musicians if they just stick with it. I wasn’t even a music major and I was able to travel all over the world through the School of Music. I know so many people, who gave up their instrument after high school, that could have had the same opportunities I did. These are experiences I will never forget and would never have had if I had given up music.”

Pep Band: Interview with Colin Wreath

“The best advice I could give to freshmen in KU athletic bands this year would be just to do as much as you can. I was always stressed out during tournament travel because of schoolwork, but it was worth it every single time. If you’re hesitant about joining basketball band or volleyball band, I would say just go for it. If it really does become more of a burden than you can take on, then at least you tried and it didn’t work out, but I think a lot more people regret not joining these pep bands than people who regret joining them.”

Advice you’d give to incoming students with the Pep Band?

GERREN DEDICATION

n September of 2022, the KU School of Music launched the new Nicholas Gerren Hall of Achievement with a dedication ceremony at Murphy Hall.

The University of Kansas School of Music acknowledges its history of participation in the systemic exclusion and marginalization of under represented communities of people in our society. The Nicholas L. Gerren, Sr. Hall of Achievement is one attempt to begin redressing these offenses. The purpose of this hall is to honor the life and career of alumni, faculty, and staff from the KU School of Music who, despite exclusion and marginalization, made a positive impact in the field of music.

Nicholas Gerren persevered during a time when,

KU School of Music honor faculty, alumni, and staff with hall of achievement and dedication ceremony

for many people around him, the color of his skin suggested that he should be marginalized and excluded from reaping the benefits of this country’s cultural and educational institutions. This hall is to show respect for the lives and careers of people of color, such as Nicholas Gerren, who succeeded despite the barriers of Institutional Racism.

Members of Gerren’s family, including Nicholas L. Gerren, Jr. and Lucie Gaye Gerren, were in attendance for this special event. The School of Music also inducted two additional members into the Hall of Achievement, Etta Moten Barnett and William P. Foster. The recognition wall is located at the south wing of Murphy Hall outside the music and dance library.

Learn more about the inductees.

About Nicholas Gerren: Nicholas L. Gerren (1912-2002), born in Kansas City, Kansas, earned four degrees from KU: BM in violin (1935), BME (1947), MME (1948), PhD (1953). He studied violin and conducting on a scholarship at the Moscow Conservatory (1935-37). Gerren taught and directed orchestras and choirs at several colleges and universities for forty years, finally at Central State University (Wilberforce, Ohio), where he served as Dean of the School of Music and Art. He received both the Fred Ellsworth Medallion for Service (1975) and Distinguished Service Citation (1984) from KU and was a US State Department arts representative to the Soviet Union.

About Etta Moten Barnett:

Etta Moten Barnett (1901-2004), born in Weimar, Texas, earned a BA in voice and drama (1931) from KU. She joined the Eva Jessye Choir in New York and appeared in several Broadway productions, including in her signature role as Bess in a famous revival of Porgy and Bess (1942-44), with which she also toured. Her Hollywood career included solos in “Gold Diggers” of 1933 and “Flying Down to Rio” (1933). Moten’s performing career ended in 1952. Later she hosted “I Remember When” on radio in Chicago, was a civic leader, and served as an American cultural representative to African nations.

About William P. Foster: William P. Foster (1919-2010) grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, where he studied clarinet. He earned a BME (1941) from KU, MA (1950) from Wayne State University, and EdD (1955) from Columbia University. After two years of high school instruction, he moved into college level teaching, finally leading the Florida A&M University “Marching 100” from 1946 to 1998, and making it a premier, influential ensemble known for its high-stepping showmanship, dancing, rapid tempos, and international appearances. Foster became president of the American Bandmasters Association, a member of the National Council on the Arts, and was inducted into numerous halls of fame.

SUPPORTING KU MUSIC

Your support of the KU School of Music is essential to our mission.

Outright cash gifts from our alumni and friends make a vital impact for our students, faculty, and staff every day. As an avid KU Music supporter, you may wonder about other ways that you can help us to continue to share our music with the world.

One commonly used method is through a gift of money, property, or a share of your estate’s residue through your Will or Trust. But there are other options for giving to the KU School of Music beyond such bequests. Visit kuendowment.giftlegacy.com.

LEARN MORE!

If you want to learn more about the various ways that you can support KU Music, please contact Curtis Marsh.

Curtis Marsh, Development Director for the School of Music and the Lied Center KU Endowment 785 832-7467 | cmarsh@kuendowment.org

SCHOOL of MUSIC | Dean’s Club

The School of Music Dean’s Club is comprised of donors who give $1,000 or more annually to the School of Music.

Kathryn A. Algren & Mark S. Algren

William E. Benso & Beverly Runkle Benso

Beverly Smith Billings

Dee Blaser & Chuck Blaser

Tom E. Bowser & Judith Strunk Bowser

Christopher T. Bradt & Denise White-Bradt Joyce Malicky Castle

Harry W. Craig Jr. & Karen M. Craig

Michael M. Davidson

Sue Duncan & James F. Duncan

Doug Eason & Becky Alexander Eason, PhD

David U. Fitzcharles & Alice R. Fitzcharles

Joelle S. Ford & N. Allen Ford

Robert E. Foster, PhD & Rebecca Cox Foster

FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Janice Tande Gaumnitz & Jack E. Gaumnitz

Nicholas E. Good, DMA

Mary Deschner Grimes

Kenneth V. Hager & Marilyn J. Hager

Gunda Hiebert

Martha Dolores Hills

Richard H. Himes, PhD & Susan V. Himes

Adele Hodgdon & Chris Hodgdon

Clyde E. Holiwell & Janis C. Holiwell

Diana Double Ice

Jon L. Jamison & Vicki H. Jamison

Anne E. Johnson & Christopher M. Hepp

David S. Kyner, PhD & Carol J. Kyner

Joy E. Laird & Paul R. Laird, PhD

William E. Lewis & Laura Dent Lewis

John M. McGrew & Rita I. McGrew

Cecil R. Miller

Sally O. Smith Reed & Timothy J. Reed

Nang M. Rives, PhD & James A. Rives, PhD

Constance J. Roeder

Valerie Vandenberg Roper & John C. Roper

Charlotte S. Simonson

John A. Stephens & Barbara A. Stephens

Elizabeth S. Weaver & Robert F. Weaver, PhD

Jeffery B. Weinberg & Mary Haynes Weinberg James P. Zakoura

The School of Music Friends are a community of alumni, parents, friends, and students who are dedicated to providing annual financial and advocacy support to the KU School of Music.

We invite you to join us as a Friend of the KU School of Music by making an unrestricted gift to help students and families discover the wonder of music through our world-class educational programs and hundreds of performances each year. Your investment is essential to our success as we raise the bar of excellence and achievement for our students and faculty.

In addition to a free window decal to show your support for the School of Music Friends Program, your membership also grants you recognition in select programs for the year’s concert series.

www.music.ku.edu/KUMusicFriends

If you have any questions about membership or its benefits, please contact us at music@ku.edu or by phone at (785) 864-3436.

RETIREMENTS

Martin Bergee

Martin Bergee, Professor Meritus of Music Education and Music Therapy, taught undergraduate courses in secondary and elementary music methods, instrumental music methods, instrumental conducting and rehearsal techniques, low brass techniques, basic music skills, and introduction to music education. At the graduate level, his course responsibilities included historical and philosophical foundations of music education, psychology of music, research and measurement techniques, doctorallevel seminars, administration and leadership in music education, advanced pedagogical techniques, and teaching and research internships.

Bergee served on the editorial committees of the Journal of Research in Music Education and the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. He chaired the Executive Committee of the Music Education Research Council, the governing body of MENC’s Society for Research in Music Education. His research interests include music performance assessment.

Vince Gnojek

Vince Gnojek, Professor Emeritus of Saxophone, retired after 34 years with the School of Music. As a performer of both classical and jazz styles on all of the saxophones, Gnojek has performed in almost every conceivable musical setting. As a classical saxophone soloist, he appeared with orchestras and wind ensembles, and has been a solo recitalist in Singapore, Mexico, Costa Rica, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia, China, and throughout the United States. As a jazz soloist, he was featured with the University of Kansas Jazz Ensemble I on several occasions, including tours in Switzerland (The Montreux Jazz Festival) and Germany. He has performed in fortytwo states and in Mexico, Canada, Portugal, and Thailand as the alto saxophonist with the highly acclaimed Harvey Pittel Saxophone Quartet.

As the saxophonist with the Kansas Woodwinds, a faculty chamber music ensemble in residence at the University of Kansas, he performed regionally and at national conferences in Washington, DC, Chicago and Kansas City. Gnojek has also been a member of the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, and the Topeka Symphony Orchestra. In 2007 he was the recipient of the 12th Annual Phoenix Award for outstanding artistic achievement in Performing Arts, presented by the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission.

Bryan “Kip” Haaheim

Kip Haaheim, Professor Emeritus of Music Theory and Composition, joined the faculty at KU in 2001 as an assistant professor of Music Composition. He taught composition, electronic music, and music theory.

Kip received his DMA degree from the University of Arizona in 1999 after studying with Daniel Asia. He completed his masters degree at the University of Minnesota under Alex Lubet, Dominick Argento, and Judith Zaimont.

Before joining academia Haaheim was a freelance bassist, composer, and producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. During those years he gained extensive experience performing with some of the finest musicians of the region. His discography includes an eclectic mix of Jazz, Rock, World Beat, Latin, and Avant Garde musics.

In addition to more traditional chamber music, he has an extensive portfolio of electronic music which features works for digital audio and performer, interactive multi-media installations, interactive websites, live web performance, and works for video and film. The collaborative work “Sacred and Profane” with Daniel Asia (Summitt Records) was one of the first surroundsound audio DVDs in the United States. Haaheim’s works have received recent performances in New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Houston, Eugene; San Francisco, Toronto, Canada, Tel Aviv, Israel, Paris, France, and Lubeck, Germany.

1530 Naismith Drive

Murphy Hall, Room 460 Lawrence, Kansas 66045-3103