February 2025 Newsletter


Alumni News
		Tedrow Writes Fanfare for Presidential Inauguration and Recent Performances Alex Tedrow (MM ‘23) was selected to write the official Inaugural Fanfare for the historic U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Herald Trumpets (one of the only ensembles in the world of its kind) to be performed at the upcoming Presidential Inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 20. Patterned after traditional British fanfare trumpet ensembles, the Herald Trumpets serve as the official brass fanfare ensemble to the President of the United States, premiering a new work specially written for every Inauguration. The Inauguration caps the end of a very busy season for the Army Band, where Tedrow participated in the organization’s support for President Jimmy Carter’s State Funeral. These two high-profile events come following the band’s annual American Holiday Festival (featuring a new Tedrow arrangement of “Winter Wonderland”) and a new music recording session with the U.S. Army Band Chamber Players where Tedrow conducted Paul Novak’s prisms and mirrors, the winning piece in the Army Band’s annual Composition Competition.

		Kian Ravaei (MM ’24) New Release Ecstasies, a piece for flute and electronics performed by Benjamin Smolen, is now available on all streaming platforms. A virtuosic rave fantasia, Ecstasies stretches the boundaries of electronic dance music, exploring different musical invocations of ecstasy.

		Faculty/alum Podgursky’s music featured on soundtrack to new documentary Composer Jeremy Podgursky’s pieces, As a Spell, Against Falling Objects (or How I Learned to Love Gravity) and Zero Gravity Tea Ceremony, are featured in the soundtrack to the award-winning documentary A Photographic Memory. It has been screened in dozens of film festivals across the US, as well as the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and South America. The film is about a woman connecting to her deceased mother through their shared love of photography and journalism. A Photographic Memory was just awarded the “Truer than Fiction” award at the 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards and is in the process of securing commercial distribution.

Student News
		Did I Hear Dare? Releases 2nd Album Founded in Columbus, OH in 2018, Did I Hear Dare? is an alternative rock band featuring current DM student Cooper Wood on lead guitar and background vocals. The group’s eponymous sophomore effort was released on January 24th, 3 years after their debut full-length Runnin’ Late. In addition to his guitar and vocal work, Wood also produced the album and wrote two original songs for the project, arranging the other six tracks with his bandmates. The album, along with all previous releases from the band, are available on all major streaming services, and a multi-part documentary covering the past and present of the group is available on YouTube.

		Caleb Endres (BM ’27) wins second place in MTNA National Composition Competition In January, Jacobs composer Caleb Endres was awarded second place in the Young Artist category of the Music Teachers National Association Composition Competition for his String Quartet (2 cellos), “To the Skies“, which was premiered last February by an undergraduate quartet of Jacobs musicians.

		New Streaming Releases & Upcoming Performances from Sy Anderson At the end of December 2024, Sy released his debut original single, “Rain in December”, a chill, lo-fi track to match the winter season, which you can stream now wherever you listen to music. Additionally, this past Friday, along with his colleague, Gabriel Priem, Sy launched a brand-new podcast titled the “S-Rank Supports” podcast; the show is focused on video games and the gaming industry, covering a wide variety of topics, reviews, and discussions on video games as a creative medium. You can check out the podcast wherever you listen now! Sy’s recent work for speaker and live electronics, Meaning, has been selected to appear at the 2025 Electronic Music Midwest Festival at Kansas City Kansas Community College, running on April 4-5, 2025. The piece was premiered in April 2024 on the Spring CECM concert, and Sy will be making the journey out to the festival, along with several other students in the CECM whose pieces have also been selected, to perform Meaning at the festival.

		*Daroo Lee’s Cheoyongmu* to be Performed at Hamilton International Contemporary Music Festival** Daroo Lee’s chamber work Cheoyongmu (2022) has been selected for performance at the Hamilton International Contemporary Music Festival in Ontario, Canada, on February 22. Inspired by the traditional Korean dance of the same name, the piece blends cultural heritage with contemporary techniques, reflecting Lee’s distinctive compositional voice. The festival provides a platform for diverse and innovative works, creating an opportunity to share Cheoyongmu with an international audience.

Faculty News
		Upcoming Premiere of P.Q. Phan’s Violin Concerto The IU New Music Ensemble, under conductor David Dzubay, will give the premiere of P.Q. Phan’s Violin Concerto (sinfonietta version) with Kyung Sun Lee as violin soloist. The concert will be held on February 6 at 8:00 pm in the Auer Hall.