Recent Awards (list from the past decade)
Archive of previous newsletters
December 2023 Newsletter
Alumni News |
||
 |
Glenn Smith (DM ’74) Retires from George Mason University After 47 Years of Service and Artistry Dr. Glenn Smith received a Doctorate in Music from Indiana University. He composes music for healing and for therapeutic applications. He created and currently directs George Mason University’s Undergraduate Minor and Graduate Certificate degree programs in the Music for Well-Being Program. He is the founder and director of George Mason University’s Healing Arts Ensemble, Smith is also a certified Reiki Master Practitioner who has dedicated his life work to music composition, sound healing and teaching. In addition to being a prolific composer in a wide variety of musical styles and genres, Smith has more than 55 years of experience as a university professor. He frequently gives lectures, seminars, and workshops on music and sound healing. |
|
|
|
||
 |
Recent Performances for Patrick Holcomb (MM ’21) In June, Patrick Holcomb was one of six composers selected as finalists for the ARTZenter Emerging Composers Completion Grants program. The initial round of grants supported his composition of This City Was Once an Ocean for chamber orchestra. After a workshop and a public reading with conductor Eric Dudley and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Holcomb was selected as one of three winners. The piece was subsequently premiered by Eric Dudley and SFCMP in September. In addition, the 1925 silent documentary Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life, along with Holcomb’s recent score, was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in October and November. Holcomb composed the score after receiving the 2019/2021 Jon Vickers Film Scoring Award, and the recording features Jacobs School of Music students and dulcimer soloist Malcolm Dalglish. |
|
|
|
||
 |
Tyler Taylor (DM ’20) Receives Copland House Residency Award Tyler Taylor was one of 10 recipients of the Copland House Residency Award. From 11/20 to 12/31 Taylor will work on a flute concerto for Adam Sadberry, a distinguished performer and educator who was featured in the Washington Post’s “23 for ’23: Composers and performers to watch this year”. This residency comes on the heels of his month long residency at the I-Park Foundation where Taylor wrote his first string quartet called “Little Mercies” – an 18 minute, single movement work inspired by Jon Cherry’s exhibit of photographs by the same name. The piece was premiered at 21c Museum Hotel as part of the conclusion of the Louisville Photo Biennial and will be performed again on 12/9. |
|
|
|
||
Student News |
||
|
|
||
 |
Cooper Wood Wins 2nd Place in Twisted Spruce Composition Competition First year DM student Cooper Wood was awarded 2nd place in the 2023 Twisted Spruce Composition Competition for his Three Little Preludes for guitar. This contest is part of the Twisted Spruce Online Symposium, a week-long series of classes and professional networking opportunities which culminates in the pairing of composer/guitarist duos to produce a new work for solo guitar. His collaborator Audrey Oden was awarded 4th place (tied) in the guitar portion of the competition. For more, visit Cooper’s website here. |
|
|
|
||
 |
Kian Ravaei December Performances This month, Kian Ravaei’s work Pluck for string orchestra will be premiered by Northwest Sinfonietta. The performances will take place in Seattle, WA on December 16 and 17. Additionally, the Tower Quartet will perform Ravaei’s Family Photos on December 8 and 10 in Fresno, CA. |
|
|
|
||
 |
Trevor Zavac’ Music Choreographed by the Indianapolis Ballet Indiana University alumnus Eli Diersing (BSOF 2022) choreographed Trevor Zavac’s 8 Thoughts for Solo Piano for the Indianapolis Ballet’s New Works performances (Nov. 2-5, 2023) at The District Theater in Indianapolis. Each of the one minute miniatures in the collection was choreographed for a solo dancer, with the full company joining in the longer first and eighth movements. The piece was the third collaboration between Diersing and Zavac; prior collaborations include the Spring 2022 Student Choreography Showcase at IU and Indianapolis Ballet’s New Works performance in November or 2022. |
|
|
|
Faculty News |
||
 |
Don Freund Ballet, Chaconne premiere and UIndy concert YouTube links Three YouTube postings highlight Don Freund fall performances. IUBallet staged a stunning production of choreographer Christian Claessens’ Autumnsongs Ballet to Don Freund’s piano trio (instrumentalists onstage, but off camera — but it’s a glorious video!) Freund conducted the IU NME in the premiere of his Soul Chaconne, with tsunami. Freund spent a weekend in residency at the University of Indianapolis, ending a with a recital of six of his works performed by U of I faculty and members of the Indianapolis Symphony. |
|
|
|
Upcoming Events(* Starred events involve IU composition faculty and/or students) |