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Recent alumnus Kaleb Chesnic has already made his mark on flute repertoire by transcribing all three of Edvard Grieg’s violin sonatas. He shared with us how his debut recording with collaborative pianist and alumna Nathália Kato came to be.

In this edition of our monthly Dean’s Downbeat, John Davis reflects on our students’ successes, introduces new violin faculty—welcome, Alex Gonzalez!—and celebrates Susan Thomas’ BFA Excellence Award. Transcending pandemic burnout, “our faculty offer anchorage through their teaching excellence, and their wonderfully consistent artistic achievements as performers, composers and researchers,” he writes.  

“Even as we bear witness to loss and unknowable challenges with compassion and care, I see us rebounding with resilience again and again—undeterred in our shared quest for excellence, dogged in our pursuit to inform and influence what it means to be a successful, fulfilled creative artist in an increasingly diverse and interdisciplinary musical landscape.”

As part of a weekend honoring diverse women composers, join us for a full orchestration of “Seven Miniatures for Piano” comprising seven standalone pieces—each of which reveals different facets of Florence Price’s creative personality. ���������� student and alumni composers completed the orchestrations.

Discovering and playing the music of composers who have been historically marginalized is a wonderful educational experience for all students, regardless of gender or ethnicity, says Professor of Piano Pedagogy Alejandro Cremaschi.

Assistant Professor of Composition and Pendulum New Music Director Annika Socolofsky discusses her recent incentive prize and how she perceives her role as a composer, performer and educator.

As 2021 comes to a close and I reflect on my first year as Dean, I’m filled with gratitude for our College of Music family and all we’ve accomplished in a new and evolving hybrid learning environment. I’m especially proud of our progress to ensure an increasingly welcoming spirit within our beautifully expanded Imig Music Building.

The newly expanded Imig Music Building strengthens the college’s Musicians’ Wellness Program by better supporting students in navigating the often complex and multifaceted path of being a musician.

MarieFaith Lane, a current graduate student and Holiday Festival 2021 concertmaster, offers a first-person perspective on the spirit of this weekend’s community event.

“We have a strong foundation for DEI work and we’re seeing progress [...] but there’s more work—more positive disruption—ahead of us before we can claim ubiquitous inclusivity in our college’s culture, classrooms and curricula.”