From the Director
Our final issue of Quarter Notes for the academic year includes a selection of Spring Quarter highlights and news of recent achievements and accomplishments of School of Music students and faculty. Long-awaited renovations of the Music Building are now under way, and our excellent Class of 2026 graduates are taking their next steps into the career world or further study. In the concluding weeks of this busy academic year, I extend my thanks to all in our community. Your contributions are meaningful and important, whether you are student, faculty, staff, audience member, alumni or other member of our extended community. Thank you for being part of what we do here at the School of Music.
--Joël François Durand, director, School of Music
The School of Music celebrated its Class of 2026 on Friday, June 12 with the school's annual Grand Finale celebration, featuring student and faculty remarks, a chamber music performance by violinist Grace Pandra (BM Strings; BA Accounting); cellist Ignacio Tejeda (PhD, Mathematics), and pianist Andrew Vu (BS, Biochemistry/Chemistry; BA, Mathematics) recognition of graduating students, and a reception in the School of Music Fishbowl. Associate Director Ted Poor welcomed graduates…
The first major renovations to the University of Washington Music Building since its 1951 construction got under way in mid-June 2026.A major overhaul of the School’s in-house concert hall, Brechemin Auditorium, enhancements and improvements to the School’s common areas, and second-floor HVAC upgrades are among the major elements of the project, slated for completion in March 2027.LMN Architects served as prime consultant and lead design team for the renovations; general contractor is…
Doctoral student Chiao-Yu Wu and undergraduate Leo Freedman have been selected as members of the 2026 Husky 100. Awarded to undergraduate and graduate students making the most of their UW education in and out of the classroom, the honor is bestowed upon students who’ve been highly engaged in their communities while completing their degree studies. The School of Music honorees were selected from among 734 applicants from 72 unique majors (and double majors) and graduate degree programs from…
The School of Music was well-represented at the 28th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium held on campus on May 15, with three presentations in the performing arts category by School of Music students. Hosted by the UW’s Office of Undergraduate Affairs, the symposium encompassed a day of presentations, design showcases, and performances demonstrating the breadth and depth of undergraduate research at the UW and in its local communities. The eight performing arts presentations, held in the…
A spring quarter sabbatical in 2025 provided the time and space for Professor Giselle Wyers to complete and debut parts of "The Lips of the Sky," a multi-movement choral work that premiered at Carnegie Hall in May 2026 in a performance presented by MidAmerica Productions. Wyers took the title and text from a poem by Nicomedes Suárez-Arauz, a poet from the Amazonian region of Bolivia, discovered while wandering the poetry stacks at Suzzallo Library in Spring Quarter 2024, and subsequently…
Among the outstanding and highly engaged students selected for the University of Washington's 2026 Husky 100 cohort was School of Music Class of 2026 graduate Chiao-Yu Wu, a doctoral piano student of Robin McCabe selected from hundreds of applicants for the recognition. Chiao-Yu speaks of music as a “powerful tool for connection, healing, and community” and puts into practice that ethos through teaching, performing with university and community ensembles, and playing at hospitals, senior…
School of Music student Leo Freedman graduated in June 2026 with bachelor’s degrees in International Studies and Ethnomusicology and a minor in Environmental Studies. He was selected In April from among 734 applicants for the Husky 100, students who have been highly engaged in their communities on and off campus while completing their degree studies. Following Commencement, he graciously sent answers to our emailed questions while on a post-graduation international backpacking trip. …
School of Music students and alumni report recent appointments, performances, honors, and achievements.Rachel Reyes (’26 DMA flute) is the 2026 winner of the National Flute Association Graduate Research Competition. She presents her dissertation, “Musikang Pilipino: The Development of Western Music in the Philippines and Select Contemporary Works,” at the annual convention in Portland, Oregon in August 2026. In more good news from the flute studio of Donna Shin, Xinyi Liu (…
School of Music faculty report recent performances, travels, honors, appointments, transitions, presentations, and more. Joël-François Durand, CompositionHis wind quintet, "Musica fict(iv)a, Six pièces et deux interludes, pour quintette à vent," commissioned by the Chicago Wind Project was premiered at the Check Out, Chicago, on April 19, 2026. The group recorded the piece on the following day in preparation for a new CD to come out under the Kairos label, later this year.Robin McCabe,…
David A. Wood, former longtime UW librarian, died peacefully in Seattle, WA on October 1, 2025, at the age of 90.Born on April 24, 1935 in Concord, New Hampshire, he began his study of music and piano at the age of six, in the youth program at the New England Conservatory and continued through high school. He attended the University of New Hampshire (BA), Harvard University (MA), and Simmons College (MS).David’s career began at Harvard University as Music Librarian (1960-77). He came to…