From the Director
This issue of Quarter Notes marks the conclusion of a busy quarter and calendar year at the School of Music. In this issue, along with updates from our students, faculty, and alumni, we recognize School of Music friend Paul Soder and the important difference he continues to make for UW strings students with his gifts to the Pauline and Paul Soder Memorial Scholarship. We learn about the work of the School of Music Student Advisory Council to improve the environment of our school and advocate for UW music students. And we hear from School of Music violin professor Ron Patterson, retiring this month after 26 years of preparing UW strings students for life beyond the university, whether they were destined for careers in music or otherwise. My thanks to all of you for your contributions to the School of Music in so many ways this past year. As we take a brief break to wind up 2025, I wish you a peaceful and healthy new year!
--Joël François Durand, director, School of Music
When violinist Ron Patterson joined the School of Music faculty in 1999, he was wrapping up 20 years as concertmaster of the l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, reporting directly to Prince Rainier of Monaco. His 35-year professional career had included concertmaster positions with orchestras and chamber orchestras in Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, and St. Louis, and his formal violin studies were with the great Russian violinist Jascha Heifetz. He had performed throughout the… Read more
A small and dedicated group of School of Music students are carrying on the work and mission of the School of Music Student Advisory Council (SOMSAC), formed in 2020 by UW music students to provide a voice for students and their concerns.Meeting each Friday in the School of Music Fishbowl, the group engages in ongoing projects related to improving the School of Music environment and spaces for students as well as community outreach endeavors intended to serve the greater Seattle community.In… Read more
School of Music friends Roger and Jane Soder have recently created enhanced opportunities for UW strings students with generous contributions to the memorial scholarship honoring Roger's parents that the couple first established in 2008. Since its creation, the Pauline and Paul Soder Memorial Scholarship has helped financially needy and musically promising students at the School of Music continue their UW educations. Directed to supporting undergraduate or graduate students studying viola… Read more
School of Music students and alumni report recent appointments, performances, honors, and achievements.Taro Kobayashi (’14 BM, Classical Guitar Performance; BS, Physics), former student of Michael Partington, completed a doctorate in music at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom in January of 2025. He officially graduated with a DPhil (PhD) in Music on July 19, 2025. He dedicated his doctoral dissertation to the late UW Music History Professor JoAnn Taricani. “I know she… Read more
School of Music faculty report recent performances, honors, appointments, presentations, and more. Michael Brockman, saxophoneFaculty artist-in-residence Michael Brockman was featured on the cover of the November 2025 issue of Earshot Jazz magazine as he prepares to “pass the torch” to new leadership of the Seattle Jazz Repertory Orchestra, which he co-founded with drummer and educator Clarence Acox and has led for the past 30 years. Three finalists for the next artistic director… Read more
School of Music alumna Jiannan Cheng (’14 MM, Wind Conducting) was recently appointed assistant conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. A former student of Timothy Salzman who also serves as music director of Orchestra Concordia, she will lead select summer, family, and community concerts with the Baltimore Symphony in the 2025-26 season.Recognized for her artistry combining technical precision with musical insight and emotional depth, Jiannan is the recipient of a number of… Read more
With "University of Washington Soundscape," ethnomusicology and international studies major Leo Freedman has created an audio experience of the UW campus. Continue reading on UW College of Arts & Sciences News
School of Music Professor Emeritus George Bozarth died on October 31, 2025 in La Conner, Washington. A noted musicologist whose areas of research focused on the life and music of Johannes Brahms as well as studies in early music, he was an instigator and founder of several notable chamber music series as well as a collector and curator of historical keyboards.An eminent Brahms scholar and a lifelong supporter of the American Brahms Society (ABS), Professor Bozarth was a founder of the ABS in… Read more
School of Music alumna Cindy Beitmen (MM, Vocal Performance), a significant and much-beloved figure in the Bay Area early music community, died on April 15, 2024 of metastatic colon cancer. Beitmen earned a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Washington in the early 1990s, performing and studying under the tutelage of Margriet Tindemans, singing with Margriet’s Collegium and the Medieval Women’s Choir. While in Seattle, she also performed as soloist with the Seattle… Read more
School of Music alumnus Liam Near died in late July, 2025 in a drowning near Bremerton, Washington. A gifted educator and multi-instrumentalist admired for his skill in working with young children, Near graduated from the UW School of Music in 2020 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. In addition to his involvement with many groups and ensembles at the School of Music, he was a member of the Husky Marching Band sousaphone section from 2016-2020. After graduation from the UW,… Read more