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SMTD Welcomes Sean Young and Curtis Fuller for UM Jazz Festival

The life and music of Miles Davis will be at the heart of this year’s University of Michigan Jazz Festival on Saturday, February 11, with a day of clinics, lectures, masterclasses and performances at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. The festival finale will take place at Rackham Auditorium at 8 p.m. with a free concert featuring the UM Jazz Ensemble, the UM Jazz Trombone Ensemble and a performance by trumpeter Sean Young with Geri Allen on piano, Robert Hurst on bass and Sean Dobbins on drums. Also appearing will be legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller, who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Jazz Festival is organized and run annually by SMTD through the Department of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation, with support from numerous academic units within UM. It is a noncompetitive event providing collegiate and high school students with an opportunity for increased experience and understanding of American jazz. All participating students enjoy interaction with the festival guest artists, the music faculty of SMTD, and other professional jazz musicians and distinguished music educators. The festival is open to students, educators and music lovers of all ages.

The 2012 festival is named “Miles Davis Day” in celebration of the late great trumpeter, and will include a historical lecture about Davis with Young and Fuller, (2:15 p.m., Stamps Auditorium, Walgreen Drama Center, moderated by Linda Yohn of WEMU-FM). Jones is one of jazz's top young trumpeters, known for both his lyrical fluidity and high-tier technical facility. Fuller, a Detroit native celebrated for his unique style and sound, has enjoyed half a century of performing with a who’s who of jazz giants, including Davis.

Other highlights of the day are a music career seminar (“Getting a Gig”), a Sean Jones masterclass, and a Festival Awards Concert featuring the UM Jazz Lab Ensemble with guest soloist Bill Sears (4:50 p.m., Stamps Auditorium) and led by Prof. Dennis Wilson, executive director of the festival.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit the SMTD website.

Composer Sydney Hodkinson Begins Guest Residency at SMTD

Sydney Hodkinson

This week, the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance welcomes distinguished composer, conductor and teacher Sydney Hodkinson for the 2012 William Bolcom Guest Residency. Hodkinson will be on campus throughout the term for a series of lectures, rehearsals, lessons, performances and a masterclass.

Hodkinson, (UM DMA in composition, 1968), has been described by the American Record Guide as "a composer with an absolutely unique and fascinating musical language," and has been honored by the Guggenheim Foundation, the Canada Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, among many others. He served on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, and teaches at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

The inaugural event of his residency takes place on Saturday, January 28 at 3 p.m. in the McIntosh Theatre in the Moore Building when the UM Percusssion Ensemble, directed by Professors Joseph Gramley and Jonathan Ovalle, presents a special evening devoted to Hodkinson’s works. Drawing from his vast repertoire, the PE's concert will include “Night Moves” (1990) and three sets from the composer's "Drawings" series. The event is free and no tickets are required.

Other events taking place during Hodkinson’s residency include:

Friday, February 3, 8 p.m., Hill Auditorium

Symphony Band, Michael Haithcock, conductor.

Program includes Hodkinson - Duae Cantatae Breves, as well as a new work by UM alum Roshanne Etezady; Free - no tickets required

Thursday February 9, 4:30 p.m., Room 2058 Moore Building

Guest Seminar: Works of Sydney Hodkinson

Thursday February 9, 8 pm, Britton Recital Hall, Moore Building

Contemporary Directions Ensemble, Christopher James Lees, conductor.

Featuring the music of William Bolcom and guest composer-in-residence Sydney Hodkinson

Friday, March 9, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Room 2058 Moore Building

Masterclass with Sydney Hodkinson

Selected UM composition students present their works in a group setting

Thursday, April 5, 4:30 p.m., Room 2058 Moore Building

Guest Seminar: Works of Sydney Hodkinson

SMTD Graduate Wins Position with San Diego Symphony

Anicka Skalova

A 2011 graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Anicka Skálová (BM) was victorious over 163 other candidates to win a coveted position as violinist with the San Diego Symphony. Skálová, 22, was SMTD’s 2011 Albert A. Stanley Medal winner, an award given each year to a graduating senior, and she also won first prize in the school’s annual concerto competition. Since September she has been studying for her performer diploma at Indiana University with Jaime Laredo , a one year program that she will complete in April, following which she will take up her post with the SDS.

A native of the Czech Republic, Skálová flourished at SMTD under the tutelage of violin professor Stephen Shipps and studied chamber music with faculty members Andrew Jennings, Martin Katz and Edward Parmentier. She was concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra for three years.

“The training I experienced from this position was substantial,” said Skálová. “Not only was I able to develop leadership, communication and ensemble skills, but I was provided with the opportunity of playing some of the best music written for the genre.”

In addition to her role as concertmaster and her training under Shipps, Skálová credits her SMTD master classes with such esteemed artists as concertmasters William Preucil (Cleveland Orchestra) and David Halen (St. Louis Symphony) as having a profound influence on her playing. “These mentors helped me develop the essential skills necessary to win a position in a major symphony orchestra,” she said.

"In today's world it is extremely uncommon for students to achieve a highly paid orchestral position directly after finishing undergraduate studies,” said Stephen Shipps. “The orchestral world is one in which orchestra members retain their positions as long as possible because of the challenging American economic situation. The significance of a secure orchestral position, such as one with the San Diego Symphony, cannot be overestimated. I find it all the more remarkable that our young Anicka has won success at such an early age and I congratulate her!"

U-M Collegiate Chapter of MTNA Wins National Award

The Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) has named the collegiate chapter of the University of Michigan as the 2012 MTNA-Benjamin Whitten Collegiate Chapter of the Year. This honor recognizes the University of Michigan Collegiate Chapter’s commitment to the music teaching profession and MTNA.

“I'm extremely proud of the U-M Collegiate Chapter and all they have done to earn this award, including their work in outreach, encouraging scholarship, and a host of other achievements,” said John Ellis, the collegiate chapter faculty advisor and SMTD associate professor of music.

The U-M collegiate chapter, whose current president is Jovanni-Rey V. de Pedro, a doctoral candidate in piano pedagogy and performance, will be recognized at the MTNA National Conference in New York City at the annual business meeting of the association in March. During the presentation, MTNA president Benjamin Caton will present the award along with a check in the amount of $500 in recognition of the chapter’s accomplishments.

The U-M collegiate chapter’s activities cover five main areas: recruitment and exposure, community and teacher service, research and presentations, collaboration and networking, and fundraising.

Among the chapter’s major initiatives this year was the creation of the first-ever Piano Pedagogy Symposium, presented in coordination with the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program, featuring two days of extensive lectures, panel discussions, roundtables and other events for future music professionals. The symposium takes place January 21-22 on North Campus and welcomes MTNA members from across the country.

The Music Teachers National Association is currently the largest professional, non-profit music teachers organization in the world. More than 26,000 members—comprised of independent and collegiate music teachers—are committed to furthering the art of music through teaching, performance, composition and scholarly research.

David Halen, St. Louis Symphony Concertmaster, Named Professor of Violin

David Halen

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance has announced the appointment of David Halen as a new professor of violin beginning in fall 2012, pending Regental approval. Halen is concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony under David Robertson. He joined the SLS in 1991 and was named concertmaster in September 1995. He has soloed with the orchestra in much of the major concerti in the violin repertoire and has also soloed with the Houston, San Francisco and West German Radio (Cologne) symphonies. Prior to joining the SLS, Halen was assistant concertmaster with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under Sergiu Comissiona and Christoph Eschenbach.

Born in Bellevue, Ohio, Halen grew up in Warrensburg, Missouri. His father, the late Walter J. Halen, was also his violin professor at Central Missouri State University, where Halen earned his bachelor’s degree at the age of 19. In that same year, he won the Music Teachers National Association Competition and was granted a Fulbright scholarship for study with Wolfgang Marschner at the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik in Germany, the youngest recipient ever to have been honored with this prestigious award. In addition, Halen holds a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, studying with the late Sergiu Luca.

During the summer, Halen teaches and performs extensively, serving as concertmaster at the Aspen Music Festival and School under Robert Spano. He has also soloed, taught and served as concertmaster extensively at the Orford Arts Centre in Quebec, the Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, the National Orchestra Institute at the University of Maryland, the Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. He has served as a Distinguished Visiting Artist at Yale University, and at the Robert Mcduffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon Georgia.

As cofounder and artistic director of the Innsbrook Institute, Halen coordinates a weeklong festival, in June, of exciting musical performances and an enclave for aspiring artists. In August, he is artistic director of the Missouri River Festival of the Arts held in one of the oldest opera houses in the mid-United States in Boonville, Missouri. His numerous accolades include the 2002 St. Louis Arts and Entertainment Award for Excellence, and an honorary doctorate from Central Missouri State University and from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

SMTD Presents Collage 2012

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is preparing its most ambitious production of the calendar year, the annual Collage Concert, which takes place on Saturday, January 14, 8:00 p.m. at Hill Auditorium.

Now celebrating its 35^th year, this season’s Collage will present 30 different short performances representing all of the performing arts, all of which are performed seamlessly, in rapid succession, without interruption of applause. Approximately 400 students are involved in the collaborative production, which has been in the planning since September and utilizes not only the breadth of performing talent at SMTD, but a highly skilled team of behind-the-scenes professional and student technicians.

The format of Collage is unique: a series of short performances in a host of styles and genres, all on a darkened stage with a spotlight directing the eye from one number to the next. A woodwind quartet flows into a scene from musical theatre, which flows into a dance solo. The final note of one performance virtually overlaps the first note of another, with the surprise of what comes next almost as thrilling as the quality of the student performances. There is one intermission and applause is held until the final act is finished.

“Programmatically, Collage takes the audience through an artistic journey of world music, theatre, and dance spanning from the Renaissance through present day,” said John Pasquale, Assistant Director of Bands and coordinator of this year’s event.

The evening ends with a grand finale, usually featuring an excerpt from a massive orchestral or choral work that incorporates hundreds of performers and closes the event with a powerful display of collaborative talent at its best.

Tickets are available now at the League Ticket Office, 734-764-2538, or buy online now.

2012 Concerto Competition Winners Announced

Each year the School of Music, Theatre & Dance holds a concerto competition in which both graduate and undergraduate students compete for the chance to solo with a large ensemble. The winners of the 2012 competition, which took place on January 4 and 5, are as follows:

Undergraduate division:

Timothy Krippner, 21, a senior piano performance major who performed Piano Concerto No. 1 by Béla Bartók.

Ariel Halt, 21, soprano, a senior voice performance major who sang Honey and Rue for Soprano, Orchestra and Rhythm Section by André Previn.

Graduate Division:

Edward Goodman, 24, a first year master’s student in saxophone performance who performed Concert Suite for E - flat Saxophone and Band by William Bolcom.

Siyuan Li, 24, a first year master’s student in piano solo performance and chamber music, who performed Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Congratulations to the winners!

Baird Carillon Turns 75!

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by Rachel Francisco

On December 4, beginning at 5:15 p.m., University Carillonneur Steven Ball will re-create the 1936 dedicatory recital in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the newly restored instrument's installation in Burton Memorial Tower. The concert follows the University Musical Society presentation of the Messiah at Hill Auditorium.

The carillon was donated by Charles Baird, a UM graduate and former athletic director. The bells of the Baird Carilllon have been silent since April 2010, rang for one brilliant day in June 2011, and will once more ring again beginning December 4. Under the direction of Steven Ball, University Carillonneur, specialist in the field of campanology, and professor of organ and carillon at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the Charles Baird Carillon restoration project was undertaken.

As a campanologist, Ball recognized the absolutely unique historical significance and irreplaceable musical quality of these original bells, installed in 1936, but placed in a 1974 renovation—and almost sent to the scrap yard before being rescued by Ball. The original bells have now been restored and reinstalled, along with the original keyboard and all new clappers, designed and fabricated according to the original patterns and promising to produce a sound that has been described as “dark and smokey.” The largest bell weighs 12 tons and strikes the hour; the smallest bell weighs 16.5 pounds.

Recent research revealed that the instrument was revolutionary in numerous ways: the first use of ball bearing transmission, the heaviest ever cast by John Taylor & Co. Bellfoundry in Loughborough, England in 1936, the first to use "B" crooks and, one of the first carillons to be built in the United States, and, of course, the principal teaching, and performance instrument of the oldest program for the study of carillon and campanology in the nation.

U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance Presents "¡Viva Ginastera! Festival"

by Marilou Carlin

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance will explore the life and music of Alberto Ginastera, the leading Argentinian composer of the twentieth century, with a multi-day music festival in December. Titled “¡Viva Ginastera!” (Dec. 6 – Dec. 11), the festival will present multiple lectures and concerts, featuring a variety of U-M ensembles, in celebration of a composer, known for his intense rhythmic energy and captivating lyricism, who was significantly connected to U-M at the height of his career.

The “¡Viva Ginastera!” centerpiece will be the world premiere of Ginastera’s Concierto Argentino, written in 1935 but then withdrawn by the composer. It will be performed by renowned pianist and SMTD alumna Barbara Nissman (BM ’66, MM ’66, DMA ’69) with the University Symphony Orchestra and conducted by music director Kenneth Kiesler, recently named winner of The American Prize for conducting. This concert, on Saturday, December 10 at 8 p.m. at Hill Auditorium (with a pre-concert lecture beginning at 7:15 p.m.), will also include Ginastera’s popular Piano Concerto No. 1, written in 1962, and his Piano Concerto No. 2, from 1972, which has been restored to its original version by Nissman. All three works will be recorded by Nissman and the USO for later release.

“The diversity between these three compositions, written for piano and orchestra, is quite stunning,” said Nissman. “The sheer physical act of playing his piano music has a cathartic effect, providing a release of raw, earthy emotions that seem to transcend thought.”

Recognized as one of the most important of all Latin American classical composers, Alberto Ginastera (April 11, 1916 – June 25, 1983) wrote two ballets, three operas and many orchestral works, concertante, solo piano and organ pieces, choral works and chamber music. He is considered as important in giving his native folk heritage a voice in art music in Argentina as Bartók was in Hungary.

In addition to the piano concerto performances, the festival will include a Brown Bag Lecture titled “Remembering Alberto Ginastera” with Kenneth Kiesler and Barbara Nissman (Dec. 6 at 1:30 p.m.); a lecture by Michigan State University professor of musicology Carol Hess, titled "Alberto Ginastera and the Cold War: A 'Musical McNamara' in the United States” (Dec. 8 at 1 p.m.); a concert of Ginastera music featuring the U-M Percussion Ensemble, the University Philharmonic Orchestra and student piano soloist Jovanni-Rey V. de Pedro (Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.); and a concert titled “A Tribute to Alberto Gianstera” by the Michigan Chamber Players (Dec. 11 at 8 p.m.). All events are free and no tickets are required. For complete information on the festival, read the press release.

Chamber Choir presents world premiere of new cantata by Bruce Adolphe

Students, faculty and the public are invited to attend a special free concert by the Chamber Choir of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, conducted by Jerry Blackstone, performing a new cantata by composer Bruce Adolphe. Written for choir, woodwind quintet and percussion, the work will be performed on Sunday, November 20 at 7 p.m. in Stamps Auditorium at the Walgreen Drama Center on North Campus. No tickets are required. The world premiere of the cantata will be on Friday, November 18 at a private celebration as part of the School of Social Work 90^th Anniversary.

Titled “Reach Out, Raise Hope, Change Society (A Social Justice Cantata),” the work was commissioned by U-M alumni and music aficionados Joan Fisch and Allan Fisch for the 90^th Anniversary Celebration for U-M’s School of Social Work (SSW), on November 18. The cantata was created both to commemorate this important anniversary of the SSW and to encourage the community to think more deeply about justice and how it can be obtained and exercised.

The 35-minute cantata is written in 10 movements, each allowing for a different mood, and is derived from 10 multicultural texts (poems, sayings, proverbs). SSW students and faculty were invited to submit suggestions for inclusion in the text.

“The message of this text lifts this piece to a different level,” said Adolphe. “The cantata is one of the most important works I’ve done.”

Bruce Adolphe is an American composer, pianist and author. He has written works for Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Sylvia McNaiar and the Beaux Arts Trio, and is the Resident Lecturer and Director of Family Concerts of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Among other positions that he currently holds, Adolphe also creates and performs a weekly “Piano Puzzler” segment on the nationally broadcast classical music radio program Performance Today.

Grammy Award-winning conductor Jerry Blackstone is Director of Choirs and Chair of the Conducting Department at the SMTD where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches conducting at the graduate level and administers a choral program of 11 choirs. His students have received first-place awards and been finalists in both the graduate and undergraduate divisions of the American Choral Directors Association biennial National Choral Conducting Awards competition.

Among the Class of 1961 alumni returning to the University of Michigan campus for the 50^th Reunion Weekend (Oct. 27-30) are a group of musicians who share a particularly special bond. They are the former members of the U-M Symphony Band, a group that made history when it toured Russia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe for 15 weeks in 1961, at the behest of the U.S. State Department. The alumni are being honored with the 2011 “Hall of Fame” award bestowed by the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Alumni Board. 52 of the band’s original members will be making the trek back to Ann Arbor for the celebrations.

Still the longest State Department sponsored tour in U.S. history, the groundbreaking odyssey was conducted at the height of the Cold War and was only the second cultural mission of its kind to take place during that tense political period. Under the direction of legendary conductor Dr. William D. Revelli, the Symphony Band musicians were America’s cultural emissaries, using music to forge common ground with our adversaries.

It was an eye-opening experience for the band members, exposing them to cultures and ways of life that were completely new to them while also providing thrills, challenges and invaluable professional experience.

“The tour was beyond any dreams I had ever had,” said tour member Richard Longfield. “Each city and country provided opportunities, lessons, and insights beyond the experiences of performance and became an indelible part of my educational and personal development.”

The impact that the tour had on its members was so profound that these alumni have taken a lead role in establishing the SMTD Global Tour Fund to support future international and domestic touring by major U-M ensembles. The 1961 tour was also a major inspiration for last May’s tremendously successful China tour by today’s U-M Symphony Band.

Several events will celebrate the reunion of the 1961 Russian Tour Band during the 50^th Reunion Weekend including a reunion dinner; a reception that will bring together the 1961 Russia tour members with the 2011 China tour members; a panel discussion of alumni, faculty, current students and China tour members titled “Cracks in the Wall: U-M Cultural Diplomacy and the Cold War” (Oct. 28, Michigan League, Vandenberg Room, 2:30); the SMTD Alumni Reception and Awards Ceremony in which the 1961 Russia Tour Band will be inducted into the SMTD Hall of Fame (Oct. 28, 6 p.m.) and the Band-O-Rama Concert at Hill Auditorium (Oct. 28 8 p.m., Ticket information available at music.umich.edu or the League Ticket Office, 734-764-2538). In addition, the Michigan Marching Band will salute the ’61 Tour during the halftime show on Saturday, October 29 when Michigan plays Purdue . For more information on any of the events, contact Jeffrey Cotnoir, 734-763-9769/jcotnoir@umich.edu.

Margo Martindale, who attended the University of Michigan Speech Department (now the Department of Theatre & Drama) won the 2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performances on Justified. Congratulations Margo!

The School of Music, Theatre & Dance has announced its 2011-2012 season of ticketed performances. Featuring ten full-scale stage productions in theatre, musical theatre, opera and dance, two musical theatre studio productions, and seven concerts by a variety of departments within the School, the season runs from September 24, 2011 through April 29, 2012. Online ticket sales begin August 30, 2011 at tickets.music.umich.edu. In-person and phone sales begin September 6; call the League Ticket Office, 734-764-2538, open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

It is a pleasure to welcome new faculty to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance for the coming academic year.

Kwasi Ampene, a scholar in the Akan song tradition in Ghana and a highlife performance artist, comes to us with a joint appointment in the College of LSA and the School of Music, Theatre & Dance in the Department of Winds and Percussion. Patricia Hall, an internationally recognized scholar and expert on the work of Alban Berg, joins us this fall as professor of music and chair of the Department of Music Theory. Sile O’Modhrain, whose area of expertise is interactive technology, is joining us as associate professor in Performing Arts Technology. Michael Jonathan Ovalle, percussionist and composer, joins the Department of Winds and Percussion as assistant professor. Michael Gurevich, a specialist in performance interactions, will be a new assistant professor of Performing Arts Technology. Eugene Rogers will join the Department of Conducting as assistant professor, teaching undergraduate conducting courses and taking the baton of both the Men’s Glee Club and the University Choir.

You can take an audio tour of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments. Artpod, the arts and culture podcast from Michigan Radio, features an interview with Steven Ball, director, along with a slideshow of some of the instruments in the Collection. Jennifer Guerra, arts and culture reporter, interviews Steven as they take a tour. You can hear the sounds of the instruments as they are demonstrated, including a Theremin, a celesta, and an elaborate music box.

A short video featuring the recent tour of China by the U-M Symphony Band was aired on Friday, July 29, but if you missed it, you can view it online. Visit the Out of the Blue Web site and select "Episodes and Downloads." The China story is Episode 311.

The American Prize, a non-profit national competition founded in 2009, has just announced the Winner in Orchestral Performance/Conducting. Kenneth Kiesler and the University Symphony were chosen to receive the American Prize in Orchestral Conducting and the American Prize in Orchestral Performance, respectively. In accepting the prize, Professor Kiesler said, “We are honored by the selection, and will regard this not only as affirmation of the work we have been doing, but an inspiration as we move forward.”

The third annual University of Michigan International Trumpet Institute (UMITI) was held from June 4-June 12, 2011, at L’Abbaye de Pontlevoy in Pontlevoy, France. Professor Bill Campbell of the University of Michigan directed and coordinated the institute, focusing on developing solo and chamber ensemble performance techniques and experience. University of Michigan students in attendance were Matthew Bloomfield (senior); Joseph Brown (master’s); Katherine Cosgrove (master’s); and Joseph Nibley (master’s); with Ra-Jung Yang (MM ’05, DMA ’09, piano), now assistant professor of piano and chair of the piano department at the University of Idaho. As part of the institute, four concerts were performed consisting of solo and trumpet ensemble works.

The largest performance of the institute was given in collaboration with the Tours Conservatory of Music and was organized by Professor Campbell and Arnaud Juchault, Professor of Trumpet at the Tours Conservatory. Professor Juchault joined seven other local trumpet teachers and approximately 80 of their students in performing trumpet ensemble music, while the UMITI had the opportunity to rehearse, coach and conduct the smaller student ensembles.

In addition to the performances, given throughout the Loire region of France, the UMITI participated in a master class given by renowned soloist and teacher Eric Aubier. Pictured from left to right: Ra-Jung Yang, Bill Campbell, Matt Bloomfield, Eric Aubier, Joe Nibley, Katherine Cosgrove, and Joe Brown

A new wave of excitement and energy is coming to North Campus, in the form of some 200 high school students, arriving over the month of July, for the 2011 MPulse Summer Performing Arts Camp. Faculty from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance will lead them in two- to three-week intensives in wind instruments, jazz, musical theatre, percussion, dance, performing arts technology, vocal arts, harp, and theatre and drama.

“I love teaching at MPulse every summer and seeing young talented students come from all across the country,” says Chad Burrow, heads up the clarinet institute. “It is quite remarkable to see all of the growth that can happen over a two-week intensive program.”

New this summer is the Jazz Institute, created by popular demand. “It's exciting to be a part of the first summer jazz program in school history,” says Andrew Bishop, saxophonist and faculty member in Jazz and Improvisation Studies. “I’m especially excited about the saxophone workshop with my amazing colleague and legendary saxophone teacher Donald Sinta.”

At MPulse, high school students have a chance to work with faculty like Adam Unsworth, who came to SMTD from the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2007. "I'm excited to meet and work with the MPulse 2011 class of horn players,” Unsworth says. “It's fun to give these young musicians a two-week preview of what the School of Music, Theatre and Dance has to offer.”

MPulse students, most of whom are considering college study in these areas, stay in North Campus residence halls, getting a first-hand taste of daily life at a University and exposure to the rigorous training provided by the School.

The Stearns Building on North Campus is alive with activity these days, as some 30 teachers from around the country check in for the annual summer master’s program in music education, a five-week intensive designed for the professional music educator. From late June through July, participants will be taken through a series of foundational courses and curriculum-based workshops that interweave research and practice, leading students to reflect on and apply knowledge and experiences from coursework to their teaching. The coursework toward a master’s in music education can be completed in three summers.

Along with band conducting, curriculum development, and theory review, participants could also select from new courses. Working with Rock Bands, led by Dr. Carlos Xavier Rodriguez, new chair of music education, will give participants insight and experience in arranging, rehearsing, and performing with rock bands, culminating in an actual hands-on session with a live rock band at the final meeting. Popular Music Songwriting, taught by Dr. Betty Anne Younker, will use exercises to encourage song creation and sharing and vocabulary development for song analysis. Younker will bring in well-known guitarist and Ann Arbor singer and songwriter Dick Siegel.

They have been conspicuous by their absence. The Charles Baird Carillon, 120 feet up in Burton Memorial Tower (BMT) on Central Campus, has been silent since April 2010. Under the direction of Steven Ball, University Carillonneur, specialist in the field of campanology, and assistant professor of organ and carillon at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the Charles Baird Carillon restoration project was undertaken. It is now complete; the new bells sounding better than ever, will be performed for the public for the first time on June 28.

As a campanologist, Ball recognized the absolutely unique historical significance and irreplaceable musical quality of these original bells, installed in 1936, but replaced in a 1974 renovation—and almost sent to the scrap yard before being rescued by Ball. The original bells have now been restored and reinstalled, along with the original keyboard which was discovered in a warehouse in Cincinnati, owned by the Verdin Company. Dr. James E. Harris, world-famed Egyptologist and lover and supporter of organ and carillon at SMTD, understood the import of the discovery and funded the restoration of the keyboard. There are now all new clappers, designed and fabricated according to the original patterns and promising to produce a sound, described as “dark and smoky” that will also be clearer and carry much further. The largest bell weighs 12 tons and strikes the hour; the smallest bell weighs 16.5 pounds

Join us as the University begins celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Charles Baird Carillon, donated by Charles Baird, U-M graduate and former U-M athletic director, in 1936. The official anniversary celebration is scheduled for December 4, 2011, the actual anniversary date. The Charles Baird Carillon is the principal teaching and performance instrument of the oldest program for the study of carillon and campanology in the nation.

The Symphony Band has been back in Ann Arbor since May 30. With time to settle in, memories of the three weeks in China come into perspective. Read Michael Haithcock’s thoughtful blog on the experience from this vantage point.

“It was AMAZING. Kudos to all.” . . . “I loved the concert and sharing the energy of everyone involved. . . . Clearly professors, support staff, and student musicians have taken part in a pivotal experience.” . . . “It was an amazing concert! Congratulations to all the students and staff who made this trip possible. Makes me proud to be an alum. Go blue!”

These are some of the comments coming in from friends and alumni of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance who were at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Sunday, May 29, when the University Symphony Band performed its last concert, the grand finale of a triumphant three-week tour to China. By now the student musicians are back in Ann Arbor, hopefully resting up. Read a great summation of the final concert in LA by musicology professor Mark Clague and all of the student stories about this amazing trip on the China blog.