Centers + Programs

Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/17/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

At the CU Boulder Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM), students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. Most recently, the ECM awarded $5,820 in artist assistance grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects including:

Josie Arnett

Josie Arnett
“I’m really picky about which pieces I release on streaming platforms because I’m 20 and need to be able to write really bad music … and then release the things that I really love,” says Josie Arnett, an undergraduate composition student.

“Last fall, I got the opportunity to write a saxophone quartet piece for a group that travels all over the United States. I was really happy with the piece and really proud of it, so I reached out to a faculty member who set me up with the CU Boulder graduate saxophone quartet.”

Sanitas Saxophone Quartet

Working with the Sanitas Saxophone Quartet, College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison and a mixing artist, Arnett recorded the piece for projected release on streaming platforms this summer. The ECM grant helped pay the artists and distribution fee.

Arnett says she learned a lot about how to interact in a professional recording setting and enjoyed collaborating within the College of Music. “It’s been fun to work with people that have a lot of energy, positive attitudes and are just really excited about what they do,” she shares.

Alice Del Simone
At the end of May, DMA student in voice performance and pedagogy Alice Del Simone was part of a workshop presentation at the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia titled “Legato Then and Now, Vibrato Edition: A Close-Up of What Happens Between the Pitches in the Classical Bel Canto Tradition.”

“The workshop offered a toolbox of exercises for how to teach the type of legato singing that was happening at the end of the 1800s, beginning of the 1900s when we started to have recordings available,” Del Simone says.

“It was my very first time presenting at a conference where there are often hurdles for a young academic to get an invitation to present. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to work with a group of people who are more prominent in the community than myself.”

During the symposium, Del Simone stayed at the conference hotel, partially funded by her ECM grant.

Zachary Howarth
Zachary Howarth, a DMA student in jazz studies, will go on the road this summer to record music in studios in Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Howarth also hopes to perform this music live in venues across Colorado and Nevada.

The project will involve a contemporary jazz quartet—trumpet, piano, bass, drums—writing and recording the music. The ECM grant will help the project get off the ground by assisting with studio fees, production costs and travel expenses.

“The opportunity to write, record and play music with such high-level artists is invaluable to my collaborative research in compositional tendencies in contemporary jazz mediums and fully improvised music,” Howarth says.

SeaJun Kwon

SeaJun Kwon
SeaJun Kwon, also a DMA student in jazz studies, likes writing compositions that push the boundaries of jazz music including “Avant Shorts”—10 etudes exploring micro tonalities and rhythmic concepts that aren’t commonly used in jazz compositions.

Kwon plans to compose these etudes and begin recording them over the summer, using a microphone setup funded by an ECM grant.

“I thought I’d write a bunch of super short compositions that focus on different ideas to develop myself and provide my community with these resources,” Kwon says.

By keeping them brief, he hopes to make the compositions more accessible and useful for his community.

“People are really busy, there are so many things that you have to do and also so many distractions,” Kwon says. “I think these short compositions put less pressure on people—they can work on them for 10 minutes and still learn from them.”

Er-Hsuan Li with orchestra

Er-Hsuan Li
Er-Hsuan Li graduated from the College of Music in May with a DMA in piano performance. In April, he held a concert featuring the world premiere of John Clay Allen’s “The Stone Harp” concerto for piano and strings along with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

“It was a very fun event,” Li says. “Even though it was off-campus, it was really CU that made this possible because that’s how we connected.”

Many CU Boulder musicians participated including conductor and Associate Director of Orchestras Renee Gilliland, composition alumnus John Clay Allen, Anna Kallinikos—who’s majoring in trumpet performance and minoring in business—and the majority of the 18-member orchestra. The ECM grant assisted Li with compensating the performers and renting the venue.

“I had performed in front of an orchestra only once before when I was a high schooler,” Li recalls. “So it was really special for me that—after 13 years—I got to do this again professionally. And I would like to think that I am a better musician now compared to then!”

Ethan Stahl

Ethan Stahl
When Ethan Stahl discovered Nkeiru Okoye’s music, he knew he’d found something special. “I loved her music so much that I began working on it for one of my degree recitals,” he says. “Eventually, it became evident that I had enough material to create a lecture recital.”

To prepare, Stahl—who’s pursuing a DMA in piano performance—interviewed Okoye about her music. “We talked on the phone for a few hours and in that conversation, she proposed the idea of writing a piece for me to add to one of the sets of piano pieces that I was studying.” The ECM grant helped fund Okoye’s contribution.

Okoye’s music is already part of the American Music Research Center’s Helen Walker-Hill Collection; her upcoming composition will be added to the collection.

“Okoye is extremely novel in the world of piano composition,” Stahl adds. “I’ve never heard piano music that is similar stylistically to hers.”

Natalie Trejo
Artist Diploma student Natalie Trejo competed in the finals for the Austin Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition in April—and the ECM grant helped her get there.

“I submitted the preliminary recordings back in January. From there, they selected three finalists to perform in the live final round in Austin, Texas,” Trejo says. “It went really well. I ended up getting third but I was very happy with how I played and I was not nervous at all.”

Trejo performed Chen Yi’s “Memory” for solo flute and Frank Martin’s “Ballade” for flute and piano.

“I love doing competitions because I get to learn new repertoire, meet new flutists, make connections and get to know the other finalists—it’s very important and humbling, but still encouraging,” Trejo says.

Jonathon Winter
Another spring 2024 graduate, Jonathon Winter—who earned a DMA in violin performance—recorded four pieces to be compiled into an album titled “Origin: Music by Women of the Americas.” The pieces are “ko’u inoa” by Leilehua Lanzilotti, “Scratch the Surface” by Dana Kaufman, “String Poetic” by Jennifer Higdon and “Sueños de Chambi” by Gabriel Lena Frank.

“I picked some fiendishly difficult music to play but it was so worth it,” Winter says. “I learned so much about preparing for recordings and what that actually entails.”

Winter worked with pianist and Postdoctoral Lecturer Barbara Noyes, as well as Kevin Harbison to record all four pieces over the course of seven months. Winter will continue the project over the summer with the goal of finding a label to disseminate the recordings.

Congratulations to all grant recipients and our thanks to this year’s adjudicators: College of Music staff member Kathryn Bistodeau, Music Advisory Board member Laurie Hathorn and University of Denver entrepreneurship faculty member Neil Pollard.

At the CU Boulder Entrepreneurship Center for Music, students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. This spring, the ECM awarded $5,820 in grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects.

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Graduating senior spotlight: Madison Tallman

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Graduating senior spotlight: Madison Tallman Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/11/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

When Madison Tallman graduates next month, she’ll take away more than a degree—she’ll take a community with her.

Tallman moved to Boulder from Colorado Springs, struck by how tight-knit the College of Music is. “I just love the community here,” she says. “I have really enjoyed getting to work with fellow students and build strong relationships with other people.

“I think it makes us much better musicians when we know people on a personal level because music is such a personal thing.”

Alongside performing, Tallman leveraged the College of Music’s business offerings: She’ll graduate with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance as well as a Music Entrepreneurship certificate and business minor. “I like having a balance of tangible results—like working in the nonprofit world—and very subjective results, like playing music. I like having both. I think it’s a nice balance.”

Business courses empowered Tallman to build practical skills for potential future entrepreneurial ventures. “For the music entrepreneurship capstone, I’m working on studio materials for when I want to start a private studio,” she says. “I think that’s really important.

“There are so many aspects of that, like setting up an LLC and payments and all these nitty-gritty things—I’m really glad that I have the tools and resources to learn those kinds of things now.”

Tallman’s future goals also include playing chamber music and working in the nonprofit sector. She explains, “I want to work for a nonprofit that does outreach to make arts more accessible in schools. I actually had a personal experience with that—in fifth grade through middle school, the arts were not funded by my school. I think it’s important that kids have arts experience.”

Next year, Tallman will continue her journey in both performance and management—she’s starting a master’s program in music and arts management at Colorado State University. “I’m super excited!”

Congratulations to Madison and all of our winter 2023 and spring 2024 graduates!

Madison Tallman graduates in May with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance along with a Music Entrepreneurship certificate and business minor. She shares highlights of her College of Music experience … and her plans for the future!

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Musical Dialogues offers networking opportunity

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Musical Dialogues offers networking opportunity Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/03/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

In working with College of Music students, Marilyn Brock—interim director of our Entrepreneurship Center (ECM)—realized there is one aspect of business that makes many students uncomfortable: networking.

“A lot of students shared with me that they hadn’t participated in many networking events and that networking seems stressful,” Brock says. “I got a lot of feedback that it felt like it might be overly transactional or anxiety-inducing to go up to people and introduce yourself.”

Those conversations were the inspiration behind Musical Dialogues, a networking event hosted by the ECM that aims to connect students with each other and with musicians from across the Front Range. Among others, participating music professionals include Colorado Symphony members Nicholas Tisherman and Carolyn Kunicki.

Musical Dialogues follows the framework of a formal networking event, down to the dress code: business formal. “This is a really unique opportunity for students to experience what some of these more formal events are like and for them to engage with musicians from a variety of spheres,” Brock says.

Musical Dialogues exemplifies the ECM’s mission to equip today’s music students with the skills and tools they need to create sustainable careers in the arts. Brock explains, “By attending an event like this, students are developing some of the networking skills that they will very likely be using in their careers.

“Also, so many career opportunities come as a direct result of the relationships that have been built over the years and the more that students can get the opportunity to connect with one another and musicians from outside of the university, the more they’ll be able to then build on those relationships and develop those opportunities for one another later on.”

The event is partially funded by the Dr. C.W. Bixler Family Foundation. “I am extremely grateful that the ECM has been given this opportunity through the generosity of the Bixler fund,” Brock says. Bixler Foundation funds support faculty projects that elevate and enrich the College of Music experience.

To the potential attendees, Brock says to come with an open mind. “There’s really space for everyone in terms of musical interests and in terms of career goals. Oftentimes, networking can feel like this prescribed, formulaic thing and really it’s just about leaning into who you are, bringing your own authentic self and developing connections with other musicians.”

Musical Dialogues will be held on April 10, 2024 from 5-8 p.m. at Chautauqua Dining Hall. RSVP here.

Photo: A recent ECM networking event in Grusin Lobby (credit: Marilyn Brock).

On April 10, our Entrepreneurship Center for Music will host a networking event that connects students and area music professionals.

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Fifth annual Persevering Legacy event promotes diversity in performance

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Fifth annual Persevering Legacy event promotes diversity in performance Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/28/2024 - 00:00

Sabine Kortals Stein + Kathryn Bistodeau

Historically, minority groups have been overlooked in classical music performance. Since 2019, the College of Music’s Persevering Legacy project—with support from the College of Music Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Endowed Fund—aims to bring such underrepresented artists into the spotlight.

On March 7, Persevering Legacy performances will showcase the talents of more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate students in a celebration of women-identifying composers from around the world. Selected from more than 20 submissions, the program will include works for bassoon, saxophone, French horn, trombone, violin, viola, piano, voice and electronic sounds in various combinations and featuring a range of musical styles.

Professor of Piano Pedagogy Alejandro Cremaschi has been coordinating the annual Persevering Legacy event and chairing the selection committee for the last six years. “I’ve always been interested in promoting and disseminating works by composers in underrepresented groups in the classical music field,” he says.

Cremaschi and Assistant Professor of Composition Annika Socolofsky comprised this year’s Persevering Legacy selection committee.

Many of the works to be performed come from the American Music Research Center’s Helen Walker-Hill collection including music by Black women composers such as Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Margaret Bonds, Florence Price and Mary Watkins, according to Cremaschi. “The program also includes a solo piano work by undergraduate composer Josie Arnett, to be performed by another undergraduate, Holly McMahon,” he adds.

Cremaschi further notes his excitement to discover how many students are interested in performing often neglected works. “The Persevering Legacy project is among the most successful DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives of the College of Music, creating awareness, excitement and engagement among our students and faculty for exploring amazing works that would otherwise be collecting dust,” he says. “Persevering Legacy concerts also create support around the women and women-identifying musicians and composers in our college.”

As part of this year’s Persevering Legacy event, alumnus Gregory Walker—son of the composer George Walker and Helen Walker-Hill, a pianist and musicologist who specialized in the music of Black women—will present a master class on March 5, 10:50 a.m.-12:20 p.m. (C125). Walker—a violinist, composer and American Academy of Arts and Letters Fellowship recipient, among other distinctions—is professor of music and entertainment studies at CU Denver.

Join us for Persevering Legacy on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Imig Music Building, Chamber Hall (S102).

Join us on March 7 for student performances celebrating women-identifying composers.

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Grad student brings first statewide Jamaican Choral Music Symposium to Boulder

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Grad student brings first statewide Jamaican Choral Music Symposium to Boulder Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/09/2024 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold + Sabine Kortals Stein

Mention Jamaican music to most Americans and the pop sounds of reggae usually come to mind. But there’s much more—the wonderfully rich harmonies of choral music, hundreds of rarely heard sacred songs and folk songs that deserve more exposure.

O’Neil Jones—a third-year DMA student in choral conducting and literature at the College of Music—is bringing those sounds to Boulder.

Jones has created the first statewide Jamaican Choral Music Symposium, Feb. 22-25, to elevate the history, language and musical elements of Jamaican choral music through direct interaction with natives of the country. A highlight of the symposium will be a Sunday concert by the University Singers who are based at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. The group, now led by Franklin Halliburton, will appear here thanks to a $25,000 Roser Visiting Artists Program grant awarded to Jones. Halliburton is a key figure in furthering Jamaican choral music as a genre, having worked with choral conductor-composer Noel Dexter over some 20 years prior to his passing.

“This music is a major part of who we are,” stresses Jones. “Jamaicans know this music, but they don’t know who wrote it.” A native of Montego Bay, he grew up singing those songs in church, noting that Jamaica has 1,600 churches, the largest per-capita number of any country in the world. “The music was not being preserved, beyond simply being performed,” he explains. Indeed, while there were sacred songs being sung all over the island, most were never written down or were notated in different versions.

Today, Jones—who’s also the 2023-24 recipient of the Susan L. Porter Memorial Fellowship—is advancing one of the goals of our American Music Research Center by bringing the choral music and culture of his island home to a wider audience this month, including the participation of area high schools and the CU Boulder University Singers, Chamber Singers and Treble Chorus. He also hopes to publish the music of Jamaican choral composers.

Primary among those is a major force in Jamaican choral music—and a pivotal figure in the lives of both Jones and Halliburton: Noel Dexter (1938-2019). “He’s the reason I’m here,” says Jones. “He was my mentor, he gave me my first voice lesson and he taught me how to conduct.” Their bond began in 2009 and continued until Dexter’s death.

More than a teacher, Dexter influenced his protégé with his humble approach to life. “He was so modest,” recalls Jones. “When he was near the end, he told those gathered around him, ‘Just let people know that I tried.’ All Jamaicans know of him.”

Dexter sent Jones on a journey of discovery that led him to Boulder. Since Jamaica had no serious conducting program, he encouraged his young student to enroll at Mississippi’s Alcorn State University where another of Dexter’s former students had been teaching. Jones obliged, then continued his studies at the University of Southern Mississippi. Eventually, he met Assistant Professor of Voice Andrew Garland at a national singing competition at CU Boulder. “CU allowed me to accept Professor Garland’s invitation to continue studying voice while actively pursuing a career in conducting,” Jones says.

In 2021, he settled in Boulder, although Jamaica remained close to his heart. “In preparing my conducting recitals, I included one song by Mr. Dexter to honor his memory—from there, the zeal to bring more of his music to the world was ignited,” he adds.

The CU Boulder College of Music presents the University Singers, Mona in concert—as part of the Jamaican Choral Music Symposium—at Macky Auditorium on Feb. 25, 2024.

Photos: O’Neil Jones (top); Noel Dexter (right).

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Getting to know Marilyn Brock—interim director, Entrepreneurship Center for Music

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Getting to know Marilyn Brock—interim director, Entrepreneurship Center for Music Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/10/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

The Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM) introduced a new face this academic year: While Professor of Composition and ECM Director Jeffrey Nytch is on sabbatical until fall 2024, Marilyn Brock fulfills the role of interim director.

Brock is a PhD candidate at Denver University, pursuing a degree in business administration. She also teaches classes in DU’s entrepreneurship program. Previously, Brock earned two music degrees—a bachelor’s in vocal performance from Pittsburg State University and a Master of Arts in musicology from DU.

“One of the things I tell my students frequently is how important it is to network and build relationships,” Brock says. “That’s how I came to be at the ECM. A friend of mine told me about the job and connected me with Jeff Nytch. From there, I did an interview and got the job offer the next day!”

In her current position, Brock works with students in classes, and runs events and workshops as the center director. “There are a few different pieces to this role,” Brock explains. “There are the courses I teach, looking at music business, careers and entrepreneurship.

“I also advise on the music entrepreneurship capstone projects and serve as instructor of record for music internships.”

Brock says her goals for the ECM are to continue the momentum already in place and to use her connections to bring lessons about the broader music industry to our students.

“I love to provide opportunities for students to learn in the classroom, or in workshops, things that I had to learn the hard way,” she says. “Another goal for me is to develop as much collaboration as possible—within the College of Music, with other parts of campus, or even with guests that we have coming in this year. I also want to ensure that diverse voices are represented and that I’m creating a space where regardless of identity or background, students feel safe and feel a sense of belonging within the ECM.”

In fall 2023, Brock helped bring many guests to campus as part of the ECM’s Learning Lunch series: Informal chats about the business and administrative sides of the music industry. She also set up open house workshops about networking and worked with a local photographer to bring free headshot opportunities to students.

Brock also brought several guest speakers to her Building Your Music Career classes, some of whom included College of Music leadership where panelists spoke about what they look for in applicants for jobs in higher education. Members of these panels included Dean John Davis, Diversity + Outreach Coordinator Alexis McClain, Assistant Dean for Advancement Andrew Todd and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Margaret Berg.

“It’s rare that you would have a dean who is willing to take not one but two mornings to speak to a class, and I think that’s a really amazing reflection of the College of Music,” Brock says.

Brock—who will be with the College of Music through the spring semester—has plans for even more guests, workshops and Learning Lunches. “I want to give students the opportunity to learn as much as they can to support their own individual goals and find what drives them, what their passions are and how they can then support what they’re wanting to do with their music degrees.”

Photo credit for session photos: Kathryn Bistodeau

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Alumna spotlight: Indigo Fischer

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Alumna spotlight: Indigo Fischer Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/11/2023 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

Alumna Indigo Fischer. Photo credit Cristina Cutts @cuttsphoto.

Indigo Fischer is a CU Boulder alumna, a flutist and now the artistic operations manager at the Music Academy of the West. She graduated from the College of Music in 2019 with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance and an Arts Administration micro-credential. The College of Music recently caught up with Fischer to ask about her current job and her time at CU Boulder!

Why did you choose the CU Boulder College of Music for your degree?

From the moment I listened to Professor of Flute Christina Jennings’ Rochberg album, I was enthralled (and still am!) with her sound. I had simply never heard a flute sound like that and knew immediately I had to study with her. Then it sealed the deal when I learned all of the holistic offerings that CU Boulder provides. I knew early on that I wanted to attend a school with a conservatory feel but still had the wealth of opportunities that a large institution can offer. I remember being so excited at the start of each semester picking out my classes—early music ensemble, Impressionism and Expressionism theory class, French, orchestral excerpts class with Brook Ferguson of the Colorado Symphony, Alexander Technique, fundamentals of audio recording—such a breadth of options!

When you think of your time at the CU Boulder College of Music, is there an experience that stands out?

As a total flute nerd, my weekly highlight was flute studio class where I refined my skills of critical listening, giving and receiving feedback, and performing under pressure. I learned so much from the graduate students in particular who were outstanding mentors. The close proximity to the Colorado Symphony was another major highlight, as was the access to the Colorado Flute Association. I was also very involved with chamber music throughout my entire degree and some of my favorite memories are late-night rehearsals preparing the Poulenc Sextet. We somehow convinced what felt like every instrumental faculty member to coach us and it was an incredible experience.

Fischer with Professor of Flute Christina Jennings at graduation.

Who were the faculty members that had an impact on you?

I was lucky to work with many of the stellar faculty at the College of Music. One of the most special parts of the college is the close-knit community and low student-to-faculty ratio that allows you to seek out opportunities for collaboration. Of course I credit so much of my development to Professor Jennings—she shaped the way I approach music and flute playing and also taught me the importance of developing a strong community, as evident in the “fludio” (flute studio) who are some of my closest friends.

Other faculty highlights were working with Joan Braun and SoYoung Lee in the arts administration certificate courses. It was so influential to work with and learn from women in leadership roles. My time with them helped motivate me to pursue my interests beyond just performance. And of course I have to mention studying with Margaret McDonald and working with the incredible collaborative piano department, chamber music coachings with Nicolò Spera, developing my ensemble skills in the Wind Symphony with Don McKinney, the weekly career workshops with Jeff Nytch at the Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM) … the list goes on.

Fischer with fellow alumni Brice Smith and Kaleb Chesnic after a CU Boulder Symphony Orchestra concert.

The current dean of the College of Music, John Davis, has a vision for the college that includes developing what he calls universal musicians. This means developing multiskilled, multifaceted musicians with a broader education to help them in their future careers. Why is this important in a musical career?

Developing a holistic skillset is a necessary requirement in the current musical landscape. Pursuing a broad education actually helps you specialize because it gives you opportunities to explore and discover what is best suited to you. A degree in music at a well-rounded institution such as CU Boulder gives you transferable skills for many different career paths. Your life will take many twists and turns—and when you’re first starting college it’s impossible to predict the trajectory of your career. The college’s ECM, Diverse Musicians’ Alliance, Arts Administration micro-credential and working in the box office at CU Presents opened up the world of arts administration for me. Through these offerings, I learned about internships at summer festivals and ultimately found a rewarding career path fitted to my unique skill sets and complimenting my training and background in performance.

What are you up to now?

I work in the artistic operations department at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. My role is focused on supporting our annual eight-week summer festival and year-round programming, and includes coordinating the logistics of our guest artists, creating the festival schedule and helping put on over 120 master classes, concerts and competitions each summer. It’s a very fulfilling job—I love getting to know so many different musicians and supporting their artistry. When you work “behind the scenes” of any organization, you realize just how many details go into everything.

I had such an amazing undergrad and am so grateful for my time in Boulder. I miss the Flatirons, the farmers market, but mostly the community at the College of Music—I can’t wait to visit! ‘Sko buffs!

College of Music alumna Indigo Fischer reflects on her time at CU Boulder and tells us about her new role at Music Academy of the West!

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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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Composition professor applies entrepreneurship to the arts

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Composition professor applies entrepreneurship to the arts Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/26/2023 - 00:00

College of Music

Professor of Composition + Entrepreneurship Center for Music Director Jeffrey Nytch.

We tend to think of entrepreneurship solely as a business endeavor, but Professor of Composition Jeffrey Nytch—who directs the CU Boulder College of Music’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music—considers the application of entrepreneurial principles as essential to his creative practice.

“Entrepreneurs create value for a product or service by addressing unmet needs in the marketplace,” says Nytch, recently awarded a MacDowell Fellowship, the preeminent artist residency program in the country. “In the arts, that means understanding the audience you’re trying to reach and creating works that speak to them in meaningful ways.

“There are boundless opportunities for musicians to bring their art to their communities, and the vast majority of them require some element beyond a performance in a concert hall.”

He adds, “It’s not enough for me to teach our students about building careers for themselves in the arts. I need to model that in my own work and lead by example.”

Indeed, Nytch has been taking an entrepreneurial approach to his creative work for more than a decade. His first symphony—“Formations,” commissioned by the Geological Society of America and premiered by the Boulder Philharmonic—depicted the geologic history of the Rocky Mountains and was paired with educational activities in the Boulder community. More recently, his multimedia string quartet, “For the Trees,” combined music, sound design, oral histories and projected images to engage audiences on issues of deforestation and climate change. Each performance of “For the Trees” is presented in partnership with local environmental groups and includes a discussion with the audience about how they can get involved.

As a MacDowell Fellow this fall, Nytch will tackle his next project—a concerto for his longtime friend James Rodgers, principal contrabassoonist for the Pittsburgh Symphony.

“My piece will celebrate the history and legacy of the steel workers and worker organizations who spearheaded the birth of America’s labor movement,” says Nytch. “It’s the human element I’m most interested in—these workers tended to be recent immigrants with little or no formal education, yet they quite literally built 20th-century America.

“That’s a history that I think is worth remembering today … and Pittsburgh is the place to do it. It’s incredible how much history of the labor movement unfolded there.”

He continues, “The early labor movement was marked by incredible violence, as well as heroism on the part of workers and their families. When I think about them, the phrase ‘gritty nobility’ comes to mind—put another way, ordinary people doing the extraordinary. That’s exactly how I would also describe the tone of the contrabassoon—earthy, sometimes unrefined, but also capable of great lyricism and beauty.”

The lower version of its better-known cousin, the bassoon, the contrabassoon is generally known as a supporting instrument for the bass section of the orchestra. As such, there’s little solo literature for the instrument and only a handful rarely-performed concertos. According to Nytch, “In addition to writing a piece that will tell an important story, it’s my hope that it will be a significant contribution to the woodwind repertoire.”

Nytch will be on sabbatical leave for the 2023-2024 academic year, during which he’ll advance his entrepreneurial/artistic pursuits, including the MacDowell residency and composing the contrabassoon concerto.

“This is truly a lifelong dream,” he says of the MacDowell Fellowship. To date, MacDowell Fellows have won 97 Pulitzer Prizes, 868 Guggenheim Fellowships, 117 Rome Prizes, 33 National Book Awards, 31 Tony Awards, 33 MacArthur Fellowships, 15 Grammys, nine Oscars and eight National Medals of the Arts.

Professor of Composition Jeffrey Nytch—who directs the College of Music’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music and who was recently awarded a MacDowell Fellowship—considers the application of entrepreneurial principles as essential to his creative practice.

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Meet Izzy Fincher: Spring 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Meet Izzy Fincher: Spring 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/20/2023 - 00:00

Sabine Kortals Stein , Kathryn Bistodeau

Congratulations to Izzy Fincher—the College of Music’s Outstanding Graduating Senior this spring—who will graduate with a BM in classical guitar performance, a BA in journalism, and a business minor with a Music Entrepreneurship Certificate and a Music Theory Certificate, exemplifying the College of Music’s universal musician mission. Each semester, outstanding students are selected based on academic merit, a strong record of musicianship, and a record of service and leadership. As part of this award, Fincher will be recognized and deliver a speech at the College of Music commencement ceremony on May 11.

“I’m so grateful and honored to have been selected for this award,” says Fincher. “I’ve had such an incredible experience here at the College of Music over the past five years and it means so much to receive this recognition at graduation.”

Fincher has also been named Outstanding Graduate of the CU Boulder College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI).

As a student, Fincher was involved with several student groups, including as a writer and editor at the CU Independent, and as a member of the College of Music’s Diverse Musicians’ Alliance (DiMA).

“DiMA has been one of my favorite experiences over the past five years,” says Fincher. “It’s been wonderful to be part of such a supportive, diverse community. I’m Japanese-American and a really important part of my identity is advocating for marginalized, BIPOC composers and musicians—that’s something I’m really passionate about.”

Fincher also notes DiMA’s Persevering Legacy project as being particularly inspiring. The project elevates the stories of women composers, aligning classical music with social activism. “The Persevering Legacy events had a really big impact on me, inspiring me to seek out diverse composers and champion their works which has become a really important mission for me as a musician,” she shares.

“For my senior recital, I’m programming three female composers—that’s more than half of my program and that’s something I know I wouldn’t have been aware of or really advocated for unless I’d been a part of DiMA.”

Fincher felt especially supported and inspired by faculty from across campus—taking classes at the College of Music, CMCI and the Leeds School of Business.

“I’m grateful to all the wonderful faculty members I’ve studied with during my time at CU Boulder,” she says. “In particular, I wanted to thank my thesis advisor, Professor Chang, for all of his support this past year, Professor Nytch with the Entrepreneurship Center for Music [ECM]—and all of those incredible entrepreneurship opportunities—and my guitar teacher Professor Spera, of course. He’s been so encouraging over the past five years, it’s been incredible.”

To incoming freshmen, Fincher says she highly recommends the Music Entrepreneurship Certificate. “The College of Music is such a wonderful resource and we learn so much about music here,” she says. “The ECM adds to that by offering important practical skills that we’ll need in the real world beyond the classroom.”

After graduation, Fincher is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she’ll pursue a master’s degree in classical guitar performance under René Izquierdo. “He’s a legend in the guitar world, so I’m really looking forward to studying with him,” she says.

Congratulations to Fincher and all of the College of Music’s 2022-23 outstanding students, selected by faculty vote:

Outstanding Graduating Senior—Izzy Fincher, classical guitar performance
Outstanding Junior—Ben Golden, music education—instrumental (trumpet)
Outstanding Sophomore—Anna Kallinikos, trumpet performance
Outstanding Freshman—Chloe Ehrmantraut, viola performance

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