The University of Washington suffered a profound loss on February 1 with the sudden death of School of Music Director JoAnn Taricani. The longtime Music History professor had been experiencing health concerns in recent months but remained highly engaged to the very end in her work at the school and in the UW community, which she had served in multiple capacities since her arrival at the University in 1980.
Word of Taricani’s passing was shared with School of Music faculty, staff, and…
University of Washington Professor Joël-François Durand has been named interim director of the School of Music in the wake of the unexpected death on Feb. 1 of former director JoAnn Taricani. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dianne Harris announced the appointment on February 2 in an internal email to School of Music faculty and staff.
“The College leadership is committed to ensuring that the School of Music has strong unit-level leadership during this time of transition,” Harris wrote. “We…
School of Music students and alumni report recent academic appointments, performances, career milestones and other notable achievements.
Voice student Sophia Parker, soprano, a senior who studies with Thomas Harper, sang the role of “Sandmännchen” in a live, professional production of Englebert Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel in Wichita, Kansas in December 2021. In early March she was the soprano soloist in a performance of Ēriks Ešenvalds’ "Only in Sleep,”…
Honors, accolades, reviews, new appointments, research highlights, publications, and other news from the School of Music faculty.
Patricia Shehan Campbell, Music Education and Ethnomusicology
Patricia Shehan Campbell (Music Education and Ethnomusicology) was invited by the American Federation of Teachers to write on music education for American Educator (Spring 2022). The first article on music since 2007 to appear in this widely read journal, “Bonding through Music” offers…
Winners of the 2022 UW Concert Competitions have been named following three divisional competitions held in February at the School of Music.
Strings competition winner is Hannah Chou, violin, who performed the first movement of the Korngold Violin Concerto. Alternate is Dalma Ashby, violin, who performed the first movement of Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto #2. Adjudicators for the competition were Brendan Shea, concertmaster of the Boise Philharmonic, and Susan Gulkis Assadi, principal…
Harpist Rafael Ángel Aparicio (1934-2022), who served twice as Visiting Artist in Ethnomusicology at the University of Washington, died on February 10th, 2022, in Caracas, Venezuela. The cause was COVID-19. Known as “Uña de Diamante” (diamond fingernail), Aparicio was a virtuoso in the Venezuelan tradition of musica llanera, or joropo. He was born in San Juan de Payara, in the state of Apure, one of 11 children in a musical family. His family ensemble, Grupo Hermanos Aparicio…
Jazz Studies Chair Cuong Vu answers questions from UW News reporter Misty Shock Rule on the state of music education, working with UW music students, and his work with the late rock musician David Bowie in this Q and A from the January 12, 2022 issue of UW Notebook. …