School of Music

BYU’s School of Music will host a free concert this Saturday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. The concert, in the HFAC Madsen Recital Hall, features Norman Krieger, one of the world’s most acclaimed pianists who will play selections from Mozart, Beethoven, Lazarof and Chopin.

BYU Singers have had a very busy second (and last) week of their Northwest States tour. They enjoyed their three-day weekend in Seattle, and had a few hours to wander the waterfront and enjoy the Pike Place Market. But with a concert every night and clinics nearly every day, free time was scarce. This week the choir had clinics or exchanges with The Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University, Olympic College Music Department, White Salmon High School, and Portland State University Chamber Choir and Portland Ensign Choir. The professional and university choirs are very wonderful to hear and to interact with, but the most gratifying clinics are with young singers who are eager to learn. The concerts have been splendid, with fine performances from the choir every night, and very good venues with large audiences. As the group has gone back and forth across the Oregon/Washington border several times this week, they have been enthralled with the beautiful scenery; but more than that, they have appreciated the wonderful sponsors and host families who have made this tour possible. The BYU Singers will remember the Northwest States tour with great fondness.

The tour of the Chamber Orchestra began in Venice, where students had the chance to explore the historical city. Some went to discover the world famous Murano glass manufacturing center; others walked to the Jewish Ghetto (which is where the word 'ghetto' was first used); and still others decided to get off the tourist beaten path and see the 'real' Venice. The concert in Venice was a benefit concert in the Dell Angelo Hospital Concert Hall, an unusual and beautiful structure featuring a several-story, wall-to-ceiling glass structure that also sported a nice acoustical environment. In addition to the guests at the concert, patients also listened through the glass walls of their rooms facing the concert hall. All were thrilled when pianist Frani Massimiliano soloed with the orchestra on a Mozart piano concerto. At the end of the well-received concert, one patient said, 'We heard this wonderful music coming from the walls.' Another patron added, 'I love that your music is without words because it speaks more to me. I can just sit and feel.' Fifteen who are investigating the Church joined those who attended a devotional by the Chamber Orchestra in Venice. After the devotional, the bishop insisted on another musical number. 'I never listened to classical music before,' said the bishop, 'but I think I'll start now. ' In Vicenza, Italy, the high-vaulted ceilings of a local cathedral seemed to especially resonate with the audience during the Respighi orchestral arrangement of the Bach prelude. With the cathedral being on the main Palladio Street, many were lured in to watch. It was the encore, a Nate Hofheins arrangement of 'A Child's Prayer,' that seemed to move the audience most. Guest conductor de Maio came back from a curtain call and exclaimed, 'I had tears streaming down my face on the encore. It's the first time in my life I cried. What was that piece? ' Kory Katseanes then told him the words in English, which de Maio translated for the Catholic priests, who nodded as if to say, 'Yes, we know that. ' At the musical devotional in Lublijana, Slovenia, many in the audience were first-generation members-modern-day pioneers. One was a sister who helped translate the Book of Mormon in Slovenian when she was 14. Also, the missionaries told of some they were teaching who talked about a feeling they had inside for the first time. Others said, 'they felt like they heard angels and God was speaking to them. ' After driving through a heavy hail storm on the way to Logatec, Slovenia-lightning flashing everywhere-the orchestra members settled into their accommodations while looking forward to the adventures of the upcoming week.

Having already amazed thousands of concertgoers, Rebecca Pedersen impressed judges in this weekend’s win at the Licia-Albanese Puccini Vocal Competition in New York City.

Taking the world by storm, the Ballroom Dance Company, Young Ambassadors and BYU Singers kicked off their respective tours this week. Read on for updates on their progress:

For more than a decade now, you could say that the BYU Center for Animation has “owned” the animation category at the College Television Awards, commonly called the “student Emmys.”

Jerry L. Jaccard, associate professor of Music Education in the BYU School of Music, is determined to tell the story of one of music education’s most influential women.

Two School of Music faculty members and one graduate recently had articles published in the March edition of Music Educators Journal (MEJ), a national publication by the National Association for Music Education.

Scott Holden shares his passion for piano By Sarah Ostler Hill He has been known to instruct his students to move their fingers “like Olympic divers” or to play a piece “more brown.” His tactics may sound strange, but Professor Scott Holden is not only an accomplished pianist in his own right, he is also an inspiring and motivating teacher in BYU’s School of Music.

April 2014 marked the announcement of the partnership between Naxos, the nation’s largest independent classical music distributor, and BYU Music Group.

PROVO, Utah -- Brigham Young University’s celebrated male a cappella group, BYU Vocal Point, is following up on their best-selling album of hymns and inspirational songs, Lead Thou Me On, with an all-new contemporary album. Released today, April 8, Spectrum showcases the group’s signature take on popular songs from yesterday and today. The album is produced by BYU Records.

On what seemed like a normal day in the 1990s, Jim Barnes’ infant daughter passed away. This father experienced, as all would, terrible grief, followed by resentment and frustration. As peace began to return to his life, Barnes cathartically created what has been lovingly called “The Tragic,” a four-movement symphony that details his emotions while accepting the death of his daughter and eventually the joy of welcoming a newborn son into his family. On April 10, the BYU Wind Symphony will take its audience through this emotional venture. Under the tutelage of Donald Peterson, Director of the Wind Symphony, these students will connect with the audience in a more emotional way than many expect from band music. “It’s a pretty poignant musical journey. One thing that’s appealed to the students is that we’ve all been depressed or had dark times before,” Peterson said. “But I think most of them would say this music is a gift and provides a way to help feel emotions even stronger.” Peterson said the students are prepared for this advanced composition. “The piece was written for the Air Force Band in Washington D.C., so it’s written for professionals,” Peterson said. “But our band members are ready for it. It’s not only enriching their personal lives, but their music education as well.” The Wind Symphony rehearses twice per week, and normally prepares for music typical of concert band, like military marches and other shorter arrangements. Catelyn Gentry, a member of the Wind Symphony for four years, said that the preparation for this special piece has been invigorating. “The first thing that makes it really difficult is it’s almost 40-minutes long, and each of the four movements is so intensely focused on different emotions,” Gentry said. “So whatever you put into one movement isn’t what you’ll put into the next. It’s emotionally draining.” McKay Heaton, Wind Symphony Band President, noted that preparing to play Barnes’ “Tragic” Symphony is proving to have a long-term affect on the band. “Learning about what the composer thought for each movement and realizing how significant it was to him is amazing,” Heaton said. “And then trying to connect with the piece emotionally on that level has brought us closer together as a band.” Heaton said he and other members of the band are excited to share this beautiful work with their audience. “With each of the movements in this piece, there is quite a bit of meaning,” Heaton said. “I hope that we can help the audience feel that.” Tickets for the Wind Symphony’s upcoming concert are available at arts.byu.edu.

It’s 10 p.m. in a bitterly cold New York City. As light and excitement pour out from the windows of a late-night diner, a growing crowd flows into the establishment. Inside, surrounded by dozens of his former BYU students, sits Randy Boothe. It is Boothe’s last night in the city, and he makes it a point to take advantage of every chance to catch up with his graduates.

A Taste for SuitesLocation: de Jong Concert Hall — Harris Fine Arts CenterTime: 7:30 PMKirt Saville, conductorFeaturing selections from musical suites byGustav HolstWilliam Grant StillErnest TomlinsonDimitri ShostakovichDarius MilhaudPhilip Sparke

Featuring freshman and sophomore level music students, selected through the Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.

The Brigham Young University School of Music will present alumnus Jack Wood in “A Salute to Frank Sinatra,” featuring the BYU Synthesis Band and the Philharmonic Orchestra, guest directed by Vincent Falcone, the former music director for Frank Sinatra, Saturday, Mar. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.

Brigham Young University faculty pianist Jeffrey Shumway will perform with guest artist Del Parkinson from Boise State University as the American Piano Duo Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall. The concert is sponsored by BYU’s School of Music. Admission is free. The performance will feature guest percussionists Ron Brough and Mike Sammons. The concert will include the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion by Béla BartÁ³k, Fantasy on “Porgy and Bess' by Percy Grainger and Tobin Stokes’s “El Sol del Sur.” Shumway and Parkinson, who have performed together since 1984, met while studying music at the Juilliard School in New York City. They have since performed throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe. For more information, contact Jeffrey Shumway, (801) 422-4922, jeff_shumway@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

Celebrates purchase of School of Music's new Fazioli grand piano