School of Music

Brigham Young University School of Music will host the annual Essentially Ellington Regional Jazz Festival featuring local high school jazz bands, concluding with a concert from the BYU Synthesis Band at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, in the Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom.

This Christmas eve marks 100 years since a Christmas truce took place on Flanders Fields in Belgium during World War I. BYU students collaborated to write, produce, photograph, edit and compose for a video to commemorate the event. The video is hosted by the nondenomenational, interfaith group Faith Counts. 'The story of The Christmas Truce of 1914 has been told and retold over the past century, and deservedly so,' said Faith Counts spokesperson Kerry Troup. 'It is a true story of how faith has the power to bring hope, even in the darkest times. The video that the students of BYU, one of our many faith partners, have produced showcases this story in a beautiful, creative way that we know others will enjoy and hopefully share.' Graphic design and animation students used original photography from that day in 1914, enhancing and adding motion in the video. Film students spent time in Belgium shooting the video from current-day Flanders Fields earlier this month. The BYU Men's Chorus composed and sang a special arrangement of Silent Night, a song that was sung during the Christmas truce. “FaithCounts works with a variety of content creating partners from many faiths,' Troup said. 'We’ve been very impressed with the BYU students’ creativity, professionalism and ability to give voice to stories of faith in profound and innovative ways.” The project was coordinated and organized at BYU through the Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration, with the cooperation of Don Mullan, creator of the Christmas Truce and Flanders Peace Field Project. Download the BYU Men's Chorus Silent Night soundtrack Play the BYU Men's Chorus Silent Night soundtrack See more at BYU News>>>>

Largest U.S. Collegiate Men's Choir Supports LDS Missionaries Through Song

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.

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.

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.

The Piccolo Artist Competition occurs every other year in Chicago, bringing some of the country’s best piccolo players together to compete. And this month, a BYU graduate took first place. The Piccolo Artist Competition is one of 19 competitions put on by the National Flute Association. Contestants include high school students, college students and professionals. Jennifer Nealon, a 2009 BYU School of Music graduate, took home a first place prize of $1,500 for her piccolo playing, beating out hundreds of other competitors. This is not the first time someone with a BYU affiliation has won a competition hosted by the National Flute Association. Annie Elmer, another 2009 SOM graduate, won first place in the Orchestral Audition Competition in 2010. In 2013, Catherine Winters, an incoming BYU freshman, won first place in the High School Soloist Competition.

From an applicant pool of about 1,000 singers, only 40 were invited to Los Angeles to compete at PlÁ¡cido Domingo’s annual Operalia competition a few days ago. Rachel Willis-SÁ¸rensen, a BYU School of Music graduate, recently took first place. She also received two other recognitions. Read the Los Angeles Times recap of the competition here.

Paul Broomhead's University Chorale will be performing a free short program tonight at 7:30pm in the Madsen Recital Hall. Come and enjoy the sounds of a summer eve.

Four years seems like a long time to a newly minted freshman, yet most college graduates will tell you that this time will be over in a blink of an eye. For Chelsea Hurst, this chapter of her life has sadly come to an end but a new and exciting one is just about to begin.In her senior year at BYU, Hurst has been first chair in both the Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras. She has also had the privilege of touring Europe twice which she feels has greatly enhanced her experience at BYU.

DOWNLOAD/PRINT PRESS RELEASE Retired Mormon Tabernacle organist and former BYU music faculty member (1957-1965), Robert Cundick has dedicated his entire career of more than 50 years to changing lives and serving others through the power of music.

Photo by Jocelyn Bowman. The Young Ambassador Singing Entertainer Workshop (YASE) is underway at BYU for two one-week sessions this month. YASE prepares ambitious high school students improve their skills and understanding of music, dance and theatre. YASE is a camp where the teachers are the BYU Young Ambassadors, who take time to help teenagers put together a show after a week of high-energy musical dance training that includes group classes, auditions, rehearsals and performance-enhancement workshops. YASE attendees also enjoy an outdoor barbecue, a fireside given by Young Ambassadors and a final concert on Friday. “I loved being able to step into a high level of professionalism as we embarked on the challenge of putting a show together in less than one week,” said Tanner DeWaal, the current president of Young Ambassadors. DeWaal attended YASE when he was in high school, and attributes much of his happiness in his Music Dance Theatre (MDT) major to the time he spent there. “I am still great friends with a number of people who I originally met at YASE camp,” DeWaal said. “As a person with a passion for performing, there isn’t anything else I would more strongly recommend to a young performing artist than to be a part of this summer camp.” For more information about YASE camp, click here.

Thirty students and nine professors from BYU and England’s Wirral Metropolitan College (WMC) gathered in Yellowstone National Park in June to collaborate across disciplines for the purpose of making art inspired by the scenery.

Contemporary Dance Theatre and Synthesis had a fantastic second week in Nauvoo. The students kicked the week off with a spirited fireside that they performed not only for missionaries serving in Nauvoo, but also several community members. Then they set off on another whirlwind week, this time traveling to Ft. Madison, Springfield, Fairfield, Carthage and Memphis for a series of fantastic performances.This week gave the student time to explore the historic sites of Nauvoo, and connect the historic legacy of the early saints. One highlight was a trip to Carthage, where the groups were able to fortify their testimonies of Joseph Smith. This held particular significance since this week commemorated the 170th anniversary of the Martyrdom.

Susan Kenney, a music education professor in the BYU School of Music, will begin new adventures and endeavors as she retires at the end of a summer.

Contemporary Dance Theatre and Synthesis departed this morning for Nauvoo, IL.They will spend two weeks performing in Nauvoo and surrounding communities.

Conlan Miller, an alumnus of the BYU School of Music, will compete in the Bachauer Piano Competition this month with 36 other participants from 14 nations.

The Young Ambassadors started their week off in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This is the first time the Young Ambassadors have ever visited this beautiful country. One of the first things the group was able to do was tour parts of Angkor Wat. Translated, Angkor Wat means 'City of Temples' and is considered to be the largest religious monument in the world. That same night, the group met with 400 LDS church members for a devotional. The capital city of Phnom Penh was next. The group had the humbling experience of visiting the Killing Fields Memorial at Cheoung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Tears were shed as the group toured these locations where many people were tortured and killed during the reign of Khmer Rouge.