Big band jazz takes center stage with special guest BYU Contemporary Dance Theatre on November 21. Note: the Essential Ellington Jazz Festival will no longer take place this weekend. Synthesis will still perform as scheduled on Friday, Nov. 21; the performance on Nov. 22 has been cancelled.

In a recent letter to faculty, staff and administrators, Academic Vice-President Brent Webb announced the end of Dr. Stephen M. Jones' tenure and launched the search for a new dean:

Utah’s professional orchestra, conducted by Thierry Fischer, presents a program of European classics by celebrated Czech composer AntonÁn DvoŠ™Á¡k and French composer Camille Saint-SaÁ«ns, the latter featuring rising star Japanese musician Fumiaki Miura on the violin. Tonight's performance begins tonight November 20, at 7:30 in the de Jong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center.

November 19, 2014 4:00 PM

The BYU Philharmonic Orchestra received overwhelmingly positive reviews in Fanfare magazine for their recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. Fanfare is a national, bimonthly publication that reviews contemporary recordings of classical music. The quality of music from the BYU Philharmonic was not only compared to the work of other collegiate level orchestras, but also to professional orchestras in the United States and in Europe. As the university’s flagship orchestra, the School of Music faculty and students are appreciative of and excited for these kinds of reviews. Robert Markow, a writer for Fanfare, praised the orchestra on several levels. “After learning it was the flagship orchestra at Brigham Young University’s School of Music in Provo, Utah, I was prepared to dismiss it as no more than a vanity exercise,” wrote Markow, who reviewed the BYU Philharmonic’s recording of Mahler Symphony No. 3. “That would have been a grave mistake... What a revelation!” Kory Katseanes, Director of the School of Music, conducts the BYU Philharmonic orchestra. He said he is grateful for the praise, but he feels that credit needs to be given to the members of the orchestra. “These gratifying reviews are a reflection of their hard work and their capacity,” Katseanes said. “When we get praise as glowing as this, I think of these students and how grateful I am that they rose to this level.” Reviewers also shined the spotlight on a few individual students. Spencer Park, one of the orchestra’s principal horn players, and Ali Atkinson, a trumpet player, were both singled out by reviewers. One reviewer said that Park has “a glorious sound, perfect intonation, clean articulation,” and that “he could easily step into a first-horn position in any major orchestra tomorrow.” “I’m really happy that the BYU School of Music is being recognized nationally as a top-notch music school,” Park said. “With the help of these reviews, hopefully we can get more national attention, which I think we deserve.” Atkinson said that this recording of the Mahler symphony is a testimony to the talent and hard work the members of the orchestra put into their musical efforts. “We all expect so much of each other,” Atkinson said. “We keep each other accountable to high expectations, because where we’re headed is incredible.” The orchestra’s next concert is November 19 in the de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. Tickets are available at arts.byu.edu. To purchase the BYU Philharmonic’s recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, click here. See the BYU Philharmonic at the Salt Flats, produced by the Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration:

The Board of Trustees approved a change in the Visual Arts Department that includes the art history faculty moving to the College of Humanities and the remaining faculty and staff in the department being split into the Art Department and the Design Department.

BYU animation students learned firsthand from the director of the highest grossing animated movie of all time in a lecture on campus.

To prepare for her role as Mercedes in the production, BYU student Shae Robins spent time with Frank Wildhorn and the show’s musical director Gayle Lockwood this August prior to the start of rehearsals. This summer in New York, Tony Award-winning composer Frank Wildhorn sat in his apartment with Shae Robins, a BYU Music Dance Theatre

SOLD OUT! The Women’s Chorus and Men’s Chorus tickets are sold out, but you can still see their performances streamed live at liveconcerts.byu.edu. These two groups are versatile singers who perform a diverse repertoire extending from medieval and renaissance works to masterpieces of our own time.

Jonathan Furmanski, Audio/Video Conservator at the Getty Research Institute, will address us as part of the MOA’s fall Contemporary Art Lecture Series, featuring talks by artists and professionals from all over the world, film screenings, and speaker panels.

Brigham Young University’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present a performance of “Our Town” Tuesday through Saturday, Nov. 21-22 and Dec. 2-11 in the Pardoe Theatre. The play will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, with additional Saturday matinee performances at 2:00 p.m.

Students and faculty of the College of Fine Arts and Communications’ Department of Communications took the lead October 24 at a presentation in the Hinckley Center for the President’s Leadership Council (PLC), a group of donors who match student, employee and alumni donations.