Summer 2015 Quarter Notes

The School of Music celebrates the success of 70 Class of 2015 graduates with refreshments, music, and accolades June 12 at the School’s annual Grand Finale celebration.

Among the 30 undergraduates receiving music degrees in areas of specialty from throughout the school’s programs, about one third also earned degrees in other UW programs, including biochemistry, neurobiology, communications, psychology, political science, speech and hearing sciences, history, and biology.  Graduate students receiving degrees include 15 DMAs, four PhDs and 21 MM or MA degrees.

Graduating seniors claimed a number of prestigious distinctions. Senior Romaric Pokorny was named the UW Arts and Sciences Dean’s Medalist in the Arts, and seniors Nora Gunning and Mona Sangesland both were awarded the UW Libraries Research Award for Undergraduates, the first-ever music students to be awarded the honor.

Grand Finale attendees heard remarks from Organ Professor Carole Terry, along with graduating Jazz Studies and Improvised Music master’s student Raymond Larsen and undergraduate Mona Sangesland, who graduated with departmental honors along with earning a BM in Orchestral Instruments.

 Music was by Percussion Studies Chair Tom Collier and the school’s scholarship chamber group, Trio Andromeda, in the group’s farewell School of Music performance.

 The School’s 70 Class of 2015 graduates are among more than 5,000 students earning degrees from through the University of Washington.

The College of Arts and Sciences has named School of Music student Romaric Pokorny the 2015 Dean’s Medalist for the University of Washington arts division in recognition of his exceptional academic achievement at UW. The award is the University’s top student honor for undergraduates. Pokorny completed his degree studies earlier this year, earning a BM in viola performance.  A student of viola professor Melia Watras, Pokorny has been an active and engaged member of the UW music community,… Read more
Music students Nora Gunning and Mona Sangesland are recipients of the 2015 Library Research Award for Undergraduates, granted by University of Washington Libraries. The honors are awarded in three categories for outstanding student research produced during the previous academic year. Both students were recognized in the senior non-thesis category.  Gunning, who graduates this year with degrees in piano performance and history, was recognized for her paper “A Musi­cal Col­lab­o­ra­tion: the… Read more
University of Washington doctoral composition graduate Yiğit Kolat claimed one of the world’s top honors for young composers May 31 in Tokyo when he was named a top prizewinner in the Toru Takemitsu Composition competition.  Kolat was among four finalists whose works were performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in the finale of the annual competition, hosted by the Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation in memory of its late artistic director, Toru Takemitsu.  In keeping with the… Read more
The School of Music has named the Daana String Quartet its 2015-16 Scholarship Chamber Group.  The group-which includes Erin Kelly and Corentin Pokorny, violin; Alessandra Barrett, viola; and Sonja Myklebust, cello-placed first in the School of Music’s 2015 UW Strings and Piano Chamber Ensemble Competition. As the School’s official student scholarship chamber ensemble, the group will present two concerts at the School of Music during the 2015-16 academic year, as well as additional… Read more
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