KU MUSIC BLOG

WELCOME BACK!

Dear KU Music Students:

Welcome to a new semester at the University of Kansas School of Music! Whether you are a returning student or new to our program, the faculty and I are thrilled to have you here. We have a great year planned with many exciting opportunities ahead.

Your best source of information is the School of Music website http://music.ku.edu. Certainly, our faculty and professional staff are here to help serve you as you pursue your dreams for a lifetime filled with music. Have a wonderful semester, practice slowly, and Rock Chalk!

Robert Walzel
Dean, KU School of Music

New Faces

We have new faculty and staff members joining us at the KU School of Music this year, as well as some part time lecturers. Below we’ve profiled the three new faculty members and one of our new staff members. We will introduce you to additional new faces in a later post. Please help welcome these new faces to Murphy Hall!

Sharon Toulouse joins us as the new Assistant Director of Bands. Toulouse holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from KU, and was the Assistant Director of Bands at Lawrence Free State High School. She has also been an officer/conductor in The United States Army and is a member of the Washington D.C. National Guard Band, where she holds the position of Executive Officer/Associate Conductor.

Ryan Dohoney joins us as Assistant Professor of Musicology. Professor Dohoney taught at Colby College where he was Faculty Fellow in music and director of the Collegium Musicum. His research and teaching center on twentieth and twenty-first century musical modernism, experimentalism, ethnomusicology, jazz, US popular music, and research methods.

Mariana Farah is the new Associate Choral Director and will teach graduate choral literature, direct two of KU’s choral ensembles, and help oversee the choral program. Born in Brazil, Dr. Farah appeared several times as guest conductor of the University Orchestra and of the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de Campinas. She also worked for the Universidade de São Paulo as the conductor of Grupo Lauda and Canto do Campus. Farah is founder and conductor of the Conservatory Women’s Chorus, Bella Voce, at UMKC.

Leslie O’Neil is a new staff member this year, joining the School of Music Band Office as the new Administrative Assistant. O’Neil completed her teaching degree at the University of Nebraska and moved to the Lawrence area to teach. She then earned a degree in library science and information management at Emporia State University and since 2005 she has collaborated on various projects with the National Park Service, the Brown Foundation, the Lawrence Public Library and the KU Confucius Institute. O’Neil replaces Cindy Koester, who is retiring from KU this year.

Upcoming Events

There are numerous groundbreaking events happening at the KU School of Music this year!

This summer our students participated in another exciting music exchange with Lawrence’s sister city, Eutin, Germany. The students return this month from their journey, and we cannot wait to hear all about their performance experiences.

Our 13^th Annual College Concert takes place on Friday, September 21 at the Lied Center. This event officially kicks off our concert season, and it’s always an exciting showcase to present to the public.  The concert begins at 7:30pm, followed by a (ticketed) fundraising reception. All proceeds benefit the KU School of Music Student Opportunity Fund.

We are excited to announce our Wind Ensemble will be performing the world premiere of a work commissioned especially for the ensemble by composer Mohammed Fairouz. “In the Shadow of No Towers” will be premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 26, 2013, and a repeat performance will be held at the Lied Center on April 2. This event is sponsored by Reach Out Kansas, Inc., and the Law Offices of Smithyman & Zakoura.

Reach Out Kansas, Inc., and the Law Offices of Smithyman & Zakoura will also be sponsoring a variety of additional large events this year, including a Scholarship Concert and Bernstein Festival at the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts on November 13, a KU Piano Concert in March of 2013 at the Kauffman Center in Kansas City, the spring KU Jazz Festival, and more.

Highlights from our 2012-13 events are included below. Please visit our web calendar at http://music.ku.edu for the most updated list of KU School of Music events. And stay tuned to our blog and website for more on what’s happening this year with the KU School of Music! WELCOME!

  

Sep. 21^st

13^th Annual Collage Concert, featuring KU students and faculty

7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Sep. 25^th

KU Symphony Orchestra

7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Sep. 26^th

KU Jazz Ensembles I, II, III

7:30 PM Lawrence Arts Center

Admission Free

Oct. 2^nd

Wind Ensemble

7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Oct. 17^th

Symphonic Band & Chamber Winds

7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Oct. 23^rd

KU Choirs: Collegium, Oread Consort, University Singers

7:30 PM Swarthout Recital Hall

Admission Free

Oct. 24^th

Jazz Combos I-VI

7:00 PM Lawrence Arts Center

Admission Free

Oct. 26^th

KU Symphony Orchestra Halloween Concert + Costume Contest

7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Oct. 30^th

KU Choirs: Men’s Glee, Women’s Chorale

7:30 PM Swarthout Recital Hall

Admission Free

Nov. 1^st

KU Jazz Ensemble I & Composer, George Stone

7:30 PM Lawrence Arts Center

Admission Free

Nov. 2^nd

Wind Ensemble

7:30 PM Carlsen Center for the Performing Arts

Johnson County Community College/Yardley Hall

Call 913-469-4445 for ticket information

Nov. 6^th

KU Choirs: Chamber Choir & Concert Choir

7:30 PM Swarthout Recital Hall

Admission Free

Nov. 13^th

KU Symphony Orchestra & Choirs

Bernstein Festival & Scholarship Concert

7:00 PM Kauffman Center for the Arts

Admission Free but tickets are required

Call (816) 994-7200 for information

Nov. 16-19^th

KU Opera: Trouble in Tahiti & Arias & Barcarolles

7:30 PM  Baustian Theatre (2:30pm on 11/18)

Ticket Price TBA

Nov. 19^th

KU Jazz Singers & Jazz Combo I

7:30 PM Lawrence Arts Center

Admission Free

Nov. 27^th

Symphonic Band & University Band

7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Dec. 2^nd

Vespers

2:30 & 7:30 PM Lied Center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

Dec. 6^th

Jazz Vespers

7:30 PM Lied center

Call 785-864-2787 or go to lied.ku.edu for tickets

March 1-2

KU Jazz Festival Concerts

7:30pm Free State High School (Lawrence, KS)

Tickets TBD. Call 785-864-3436 for information

March 7

KU Piano Concert

7:00 PM – Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Free but tickets required for seats. Call (816) 994-7200

March 26

KU Wind Ensemble performs “In the Shadow of No Towers”

World Premiere, by M. Fairouz

8:00 PM -- Carnegie Hall/Isaac Stern Auditorium, New York, NY

April 2

KU Wind Ensemble encore of “In the Shadow of No Towers”

7:30 PM—Lied Center of Kansas

Free but tickets required for seats. Call (785) 864-2787 for information