Music making at the School of Music continued throughout Autumn Quarter 2020 with faculty and students discovering unexpected upsides to new safety protocols and distancing measures.
The composer John Luther Adams thrived in northern Alaska for decades, where the sun is barely visible on the horizon for four hours a day. One January, he wrote, “It doesn’t matter how cold it is. We’re moving toward the light.” As we move out of 2020 and into 2021, our university and School of Music know we are moving toward the increasing light of the each day and the eventual release from the restrictions that have allowed us to proceed as safely as possible throughout most of 2020.... Read more
Anne Searcy and Frederick Reece, Music History; Carrie Shaw, Voice; and Jordan Anderson, Double Bass join the School of Music faculty in Autumn Quarter 2020.
Anne Searcy, Music History
Anne Searcy joins the faculty of the School of Music in Autumn 2020 as an assistant professor in the Music History program. She was formerly an assistant professor in the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. She... Read more
by Peter Kelley
UW News
A series of ballet tours between the United States and the then-Soviet Union from 1959 to 1962 sparked love of ballet on both sides, but also some misunderstanding, UW music assistant professor Anne Searcy writes in her new book, “... Read more
School of Music students and alumni report recent academic appointments, performances, career milestones and other notable achievements.
Alumna Julia Tai (’10 DMA Orchestral Conducting) was recently appointed Music Director of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra and Chorale. A student of the late UW conducting professor Peter Erös, Tai was selected from among five conductors vying for the position with the Western Montana ensembles. Since completing her UW doctoral studies, Tai co-founded (with... Read more
Honors, accolades, research highlights and other news from the School of Music faculty.
Geoffrey Boers, Choral Conducting
The UW professor of choral conducting developed a summer workshop series for music educators, “Keep Our Choirs Singing,” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series of three multi-day workshops was designed to equip choral directors to run rehearsals in a virtual environment. Dr. Boers also recently taught concepts at the Washington American Choral Director... Read more
Sylvia D. Jones is earning degrees in Music Education and Voice at the School of Music, studying over the past three years with voice instructors Cyndia Sieden and Carrie Shaw and performing as a member of Chamber Singers, the University Chorale, and the UW Gospel Choir. She is on target to graduate in Spring 2021 with a BM in Music Education and BA in Voice.
Why did you select the University of Washington for your degree studies?
My family has a Husky legacy, so I always wanted to come to UW... Read more
Students and faculty at the School of Music performed and studied music in Autumn 2020 with some dramatic modifications to format and staging. With nearly all classes held online, music students worked and studied from around the globe but also in some specialized settings on the University of Washington campus.
On-campus rehearsals for the school’s large choir and instrumental ensembles in Autumn Quarter required stringent safety protocols developed in tandem with state and UW guidelines, the... Read more
By Emma SilversteinSchool of Music Constituency Relations Officer
Bruce Miller, a retired long-time University of Washington staffer, was introduced to classical and symphonic music early. He began taking piano lessons when he was young but never felt he was talented as a musical performer and decided to discontinue his lessons. “I was exposed to classical, orchestral music as a child and fell in love,” Miller says. “I am not ‘musical,’ but I took piano lessons when I was... Read more
By Emma SilversteinSchool of Music Constituency Relations Officer
James Widener Ray always had a particular fondness for the arts; as a teen, Ray became invested in photography, visual arts, and music. Even more than creating art, Ray was passionate about providing other artists the opportunity to freely create their own works. It wasn’t until his mother passed away in the 1980s that Ray was able to realize his life-long dream of owning an art gallery and supporting local... Read more
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