School of Music

Student performers recorded music on a Disklavier piano to accompany the art of M.C. Escher

M.C. Escher: Other Worlds will be on display from Nov. 17, 2017 - May 19, 2018 A new exhibit opening at the BYU Museum of Art will feature the mind-bending works and worlds of M.C. Escher. Even if visitors have never heard his name before, it is likely they have seen his mathematics inspired works. What fewer people are familiar with is the musical inspiration behind the prints that will be on display. In order to show this connection, the museum has brought in a Bösendorfer piano equipped with Disklavier technology which will play pieces recorded by students from the School of Music. An in-depth article on the exhibit can be read in the Daily Herald here.

Roomful of Teeth shared their vocal abilities on and off the stage and left a lasting impact on students at BYU

New professor of vocal performance and opera, Joshua Lindsay, shares his background performing in Europe as well as what brought him to BYU

Liz Shropshire shared how she made an impact using music in an inspirational lecture for College of Fine Arts and Communication faculty and students

Liz Shropshire will give the

A group of students attended SliderAsia Music Festival in Hong Kong to expand and enhance their musicianship.

A BYUtv documentary about the BYU Chamber Orchestra’s tour to the Philippines will air during General Conference weekend.

After a night of thunder and hail, orchestra members awoke to a beautiful, fresh morning with the sun shining, a perfect day for a tour of the alpine setting of Logatec, a city of 14,000. In preparation for the evening's benefit concert, the mayor met with orchestra members expressing gratitude for raising funds to help the city recover from January's devastating ice storm and the flood that followed. (The ice storm created a weight of more than 80 kilograms per meter of electrical wire. One could see the majority of trees in the area's forests with the tops of the trees severed off and other broken branches all around.) Members of the orchestra were surprised to see the flood lines on houses that were well up the hill. In the evening a large paying crowd filled a good portion of the city sports hall. After several local musical numbers--and remarks from the fire chief and mayor--the orchestra followed. Before the finale, director Kory Katseanes, said through a translator, 'Our final number is titled Appalachian Spring. After touring your beautiful city of Logatec on this spring day, I'm convinced that this music could have been called Logatec Spring. ' The audience gave an emotional applause of appreciation.

Through performance and service, the BYU Chamber Orchestra formed strong connections with the people of the Philippines.

Leaving the uniformity of school and experiencing international learning was life-changing for pianist Kaden Larson

Competition highlights hard work of BYU Music Major

Playing the violin has always been an important part of Megumi Terry’s life since she began playing at the age of four. Her favorite part about being a music performance major is getting to create something everyday. “I feel it is a privilege to be able to do something I love everyday and work with the most amazing faculty in the world.” Terry said the most meaningful experience she has had during her time at BYU has been receiving weekly private instruction from violin Professor Monte Belknap. “I enjoyed our lessons together. He has taught me so much more than how to play the violin. He has also taught me how to be a good person, a musician of faith, and how to keep God first in my life.” As she reflects on her time at BYU, Terry has enjoyed performing at Carnegie Hall, being the concertmaster of the BYU Philharmonic, soloing with the BYU Philharmonic and BYU Symphony orchestras, and being apart of the BYU Honors Quartet. Recently, she performed with the BYU Chamber Orchestra in concert with Lea Salonga. “It was such a thrill to be able to perform alongside one of my biggest idols in the music industry this past Winter semester,” Terry said. Terry applied for the adjunct professor position in the violin department and hopes to fill her time after graduation doing that. Other plans include auditioning for graduate schools and orchestra jobs. What was the most influential class you took at BYU? “Dr. Gaskill's World Religions class. Ironically, learning about other religions and their truths only strengthened my faith in God and in the LDS church. I am grateful to him for his very insightful class, it has changed my life.” Unique superpower you wish you had: “Teleportation. Can you imagine being able to go to one rehearsal after the other in a matter of seconds? Or being able to have lunch in Italy and then teleport back to work when your lunch break was up?” Teachers that impacted your education: “Everyone in the School of Music. There wasn’t one professor I had in the music department that I didn’t learn from. They all had such a profound impact on me and I truly believe that the best part of the BYU School of Music is the faculty.” Favorite BYU ice cream: “I don't really eat ice cream, but I have purchased a lot of hot pockets from the HFAC vending machine on those long days.” What is the legacy you hope you left for BYU? “I hope people remember me as the violinist that worked hard, but still had fun. At the end of the day we are creating great music and I was so grateful to be a part of that creative process.”

Kirt Saville, Director of the BYU School of Music, delivered the Devotional address on Aug. 1, 2017. Saville spoke about service saying “what goes around comes around.” Growing up, Saville watched his father frequently serve others. Through his father’s example, Saville recounted several things he learned. Saville used the Savior’s example of service and explained that Christ served the best because he allowed himself to be interrupted by those who needed help. Saville told students their acts of service didn’t need to be “gigantic” to make a difference. Saville concluded with three ways to share God’s love and bring others to Christ. A summary of his remarks can be found at news.byu.edu. Saville is a professor of Music Education and the Associate Director of Bands at BYU. He teaches instrumental music education and conducts the Symphonic Band. Coming from a long history in music education, Saville focuses on the development of practical applications for teaching instrumental ensembles. He has several articles published in different music journals and has taught at the University of Tianjin in the People’s Republic of China.

Choir returns after performing at the inaugural conference in 2006. BYU Singers have been invited to attend the National Collegiate Choral Organization’s 7th biennial national conference in November. They are one of only ten collegiate choral ensembles to be selected for this year’s 2017 conference. In order to be selected, ensembles must undergo a rigorous application process, according to BYU Singers conductor Andrew Crane. Groups must submit proposed concert repertoire, a letter from the supervisor of the sponsoring institution, and recordings from the current and previous year. The recordings are blindly evaluated by choral professionals from around the country and invitations to perform at the conference are extended based on quality of performance demonstrated by the recordings and the quality of the proposed concert repertoire. Recordings from both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons were used to qualify for this year’s conference. “NCCO is the foremost professional organization for conductors who work specifically with choirs at the college/university level,” Crane said. “In addition to speakers, workshops and classes, one of the central elements of the conference is the opportunity to hear concerts of the finest university choral ensembles in the country.” The NCCO is the only choral organization specifically designed to serve choral organizations at the college and university level. This conference allows a unique opportunity for collegiate choruses to perform at a national level and offers lectures and other aids in professional development, according to its website. Biennial conferences have been held since the NCCO’s inaugural conference in 2006. BYU Singers are returning to perform at the conference for the second time after their performance at the inaugural conference under the direction of Ronald Staheli. “We are truly honored and humbled by the opportunity to return in 2017, especially among such an elite group of peer choral groups,” Crane said. The conference will take place November 2-4, 2017. The conference is hosted by Louisiana State University and will be held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Diane Reich, Associate Professor of Vocal Performance and Division Coordinator for Classical Voice in the BYU School of Music, will deliver the Devotional address on June 6, 2017. With doctoral and master’s degrees from Indiana University, Reich has had an impressive career, winning numerous accolades and performing both across the nation and overseas. Reich was hired at BYU in 2007, where—in addition to her position as Division Coordinator—she teaches Vocal and Opera Literature. Read more…

Thousands applauded last month in the de Jong Concert Hall, while twelve thousand others cheered at the same time in more than fifty countries. Thanks to BYU School of Music’s new streaming system, anyone around the world with Internet can join the audience. 'We hope the experience will be similar to professional concert broadcasts on TV and videos,' said Kory Katseanes, director of orchestras. 'It's the first time we've been this sophisticated with our broadcast technology.' The new experience provides three high-definition cameras, each equipped with the ability to zoom in, pan out and switch angles. These effects are hand-operated to provide a personalized tour of each performance while highlighting individual performers. 'I'm most excited to think of parents and loved ones seeing the faces of their students while they're performing,' Katseanes said. 'People see how beautiful the students really are, and how beautiful it is to see them perform.' The stream has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe, attracting viewers from Argentina to Vietnam. This improved system not only showcases performers to their families, but also markets the school's level of excellence to a future generation of potential students. The entire streaming system demands the attention of only one operator, usually a graduate student. Not only does this provide a great opportunity for a resume, but it also replaces broadcast crews, trucks and support networks usually necessary to provide global coverage. 'Enter to learn, go forth by stream. It's our motto right?' Katseanes said. 'It certainly is our mission.' Streaming patrons have reported back on the success of that mission. “This streaming is wonderful beyond words. The production quality was excellent,” commented a patron. “I was a proud parent, tears in my eyes, thankful to be able to participate in such an intimate way.” Another patron looked towards what the future might bring. “The status of my children’s experience will rise exponentially,” he commented. “What a PR coup! Thank you for establishing a trend-setting positive example for higher education for the future. Lead on!” Faculty and staff at the School of Music are confident that this new system will drastically improve the way concerts are experienced outside of the home and raise the bar for other university's music programs. 'With its expansive capabilities, the new system is sure to be one of the most exciting things to come from the School of Music this year,' Katseanes said. 'We believe it will be the gold standard of university based concert streaming, and is another reason the BYU School of Music remains one of the country's premier music programs.' Live streaming of selected performances and their schedule is available at http://music.byu.edu/web-streaming-winter-2016/