VCUarts Music

🎶 Catch Doug Richards, founder of VCU’s Jazz Studies Program, and his innovative jazz orchestra live! Featuring the stunning vocals of Laura Ann Singh, this 17-piece ensemble will bring bossa nova, samba, and jazz classics to life. The orchestra will perform selections from his most recent album “Through A Sonic Prism.”

Come hear why Richards was hailed by the famed music critic Martin Williams as “the most original writer for big band since Gil Evans.”

The performance will take place September 20th at 7:30 PM in the Singleton Center (922 Park Ave). Tickets available now! 🎷

https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/43567511/through-a-sonic-prismthe-music-of-antonio-carlos-jobim-richmond-sonia-vlahcevic-concert-hallsingleton-center-for-the-performing-arts

🎶 Exciting News! 🎶 We’re thrilled to announce a partnership between the VCU Music Department and Spectre Percussion! This partnership aims to expand VCU Music’s outreach while providing Spectre Percussion with new resources 🌟

Dr. James Wiznerowicz of VCU Music shares, “This partnership is a fantastic opportunity for our students and faculty to engage with leading artists and expand our musical horizons.”

Ryan Scott, Spectre Percussion’s program director and VCU alum, adds, “I’m incredibly excited to reconnect with VCU and continue pushing artistic excellence together. We can’t wait to see what amazing experiences this will bring!”

Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting journey! 🎵✨

Cool down and catch up! ☀️Join us for a FREE Ice Cream Sandwich Social on Monday, August 19th at 2 PM at the Concert Hall Stage

Special thanks to Dr. Chris Hansen for his outstanding worksop with the wonderful Lake Braddock Middle School Choir under the direction of Sara Coleman.

Sorry for being so slow to post this - congratulations to all of our VCU graduates and special thsnks to VCU Music alumnus an recent Grammy winner who shared an amazing Commencement messsge

We are excited to announce that our second annual "Music Major for a Day" program will be taking place on Wednesday, April 3. The event is for prospective high school students to come and see what it would be like if they attended VCUarts Music for college!

Attendees will get to participate in master classes, band rehearsals, orchestra sessions, choir rehearsals, a chance to meet our faculty and student, and more!

Anyone interested in attending can fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScE1WGPM-_SCUE1waP00ryZV05Xb7D1QdoIzoAA0x1Zq6369Q/viewform

A wonderful concert tonight by the VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Appomattox Governor's School Band!

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble is performing next Wednesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. They will be joined by special guests from the Appomattox Governor's School!

Tickets are $5.00 for VCU Students and $10.00 for general admission. Tickets can be bought using this link: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/80579842/vcu-symphonic-wind-ensemble-concert-richmond-sonia-vlahcevic-concert-hallsingleton-center-for-the-performing-arts

Another Grammy winner from VCU Music. Congratulations to the Imani Winds with VCU Music Alumnus Kevin Newton on French Horn. The Imani Winds have also played on our Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Music Concert Series.

Piano students of Drs. Magda Adamek and Sonia Vlahcevic are performing on November 16 at 5:00 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. Students will perform works by Copland, Bach, MacDowell, and others.

This performance is free for all to attend and open to the public!

The VCUarts Music Symphonic Wind Ensemble and University Bands, conducted by Professor Duane Coston, will perform on November 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. They will be joined by special guests Jonathan Borja and Larry Cauley, as well as professors Tabatha Easley and Marcus Grant!

Tickets are $10.00 for general admission and can be purchased using the link in our bio or by visiting https://www.vcumusic.showclix.com

Jonathan Borja enjoys a varied career as a performer and educator. Dr. Borja is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse where he teaches flute and music history, and where he was awarded the Excellence in Research Award from the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities in 2023. He has been a member of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra since 2019. Dr. Borja holds three graduate degrees from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance (Doctor of Musical Arts in Flute Performance, Master of Music in Flute Performance, a Master of Music in Musicology) and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Principia College. Before coming to the United States, he studied at the National Conservatory of Music in his native Mexico City. His teachers and mentors include Marie Jureit-Beamish, Mary Posses, and María Esther García.

Photography by Monica Escamilla.

Come out and see VCU Jazz Orchestra Celebrating Women Jazz Composers on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. They will perform works by Maria Schneider, Patty Darling, Melba Liston, Mary Lou Williams, and Carla Bley.

VCU Students attend for free with valid VCU ID. General Admission tickets are available for $10.00. Tickets can be purchased using the link in our bio or at https://vcumusic.showclix.come

Our award winning Opera is excited to present Opera on the D List, Part Deux: Scenes of Death, Deception, and Debauchery this weekend! The performance will feature works by Bizet, Cimarosa, Delibes, and more!

Shows will take place on Saturday, November 11 at 5:00 p.m. and again on Sunday, November 12 at 4:00 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. Both are free to attend and open to the public!

Check out this Fall Piano Newsletter that Piano Area Coordinator Magdalena Adamek created!

You can also check out a digital version of it here: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFvANDgDaY/y26MROOoz1D4FYasURcYfA/view?utm_content=DAFvANDgDaY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

VCU Music Professor Tabatha Easley will be performing a Faculty Recital on Wednesday, September 27th at 7:00pm at the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. Professor Easley will be joined by fellow Professors Magda Adamek, Justin Alexander, Kayla Hanvey, Susanna Klein, Sheri Oyan, Rex Richardson, Molly Sharp, Dimitrije Vasiljevic, Ross Walter, plus alums Anamarie Diaz and Jeremy McEntire.

This event is free and open to the public. You can watch this event online at go.vcu.edu/concerthall

Flute & Friends Faculty Recital by Tabatha Easley | VCUarts VCU Music Professor Tabatha Easley will be performing a Faculty Recital on Wednesday, September 27th at 7:00pm at the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. Professor Easley will be joined by…

Professor of Jazz Piano, Dimitrije Vasiljevic, will be performing at VCU Music for the first time! Professor Vasiljevic's music has been described by All About Jazz as “iridescent and captivating, a cascade of weaving twists and turns.”

The concert will take place on September 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts and is free/open to the public to attend.

Don't miss the this Sunday, September 10 at the Singelton Center for the Performing Arts!

They will be hosting a free Masterclass at 11:00am, it's open to the public and anyone can attend.

Then at 3:00pm they will be performing as part of our Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concert Series. They will be performing works by Turina, Rachmaninoff, Perello, and Dvorak! Tickets are available for $35.00 and can be purchased using this link: https://www.showclix.com/events/1320

Welcome to the Neave Trio!!!

As we wind down the summer season and approach the start of a new academic year, we have some VERY EXCITING news to share!

We are beyond thrilled to finally reveal that we will be the first-ever Ensemble In Residence at in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to serving as Ensemble In Residence, we will also be joining the piano, cello and violin departments, respectively. We are truly honored to step into this new role and take part in this exceptional academic and artistic institution and community. The environment of excellence in every department at is beyond inspiring and we couldn’t be more proud to call our new home.

If you are a student in search of your next academic and musical steps, come study with us! Link in bio or below

https://arts.vcu.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/

VCU Opera will be having auditions for the Fall Semester on Wednesday, August 23rd from 3-5:30 in the James W. Black Music Center Recital Hall. There is a sign up sheet on the Voice Bulletin Board in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts around the corner from the Music Office. You must sign up for an audition slot. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Kenneth Wood - [email protected]

Dr. Ross Walter and a fellow VCU Arts faculty Bohyun Yoon of Craft/MTerial Studies left this morning with 5 students to travel to Detroit Michigan to perform on low brass with special attachments for a musical laser light show!! Innovation at its best!!

If you weren't able to attend our departmental graduation ceremony last week, here's a couple of photos from the event!

We want to wish a huge thanks to Jessica Harika for giving our commencement speech!

Congratulations again class of 2022-2023!

We can't believe the school year is almost over and that graduation this week! Even though you graduate and move on to bigger things, you never stop being part of the Music family!

So today we wanted to highlight some recent Alumni who are going to grad school!

Jonathan Carr was accepted into Carnegie Mellon's and Manhattan School of Music's M.M. Programs for Voice Performance.

Jasmin Ward was accepted into the masters program at Northwestern University, The Manhattan School of Music, and The Juilliard School.

Current student and soon to be Alum, Ally Yablonski is going to the University of South Carolina for her Masters of Music in Choral Conducting program.

If you've graduated or are graduating from the program and ever have exciting news to share, don't hesitate to reach out!!

Don't forget, our Opera will be performing Mozart's The Magic Flute tomorrow, April 28, at 7:00 pm in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts!

In honor of Professor Melanie Day's upcoming retirement and dedicated tenure to the Opera, the performance will be free to attend!

We hope you’ll mark your calendars, because the award-winning VCU Opera, together with the VCU Symphony, will present this classic fairy-tale opera on FRIDAY, APRIL 28 at 7 pm and SUNDAY, APRIL 30 at 4 pm. Due to the pandemic, VCU Music has been offering all departmental ensemble concerts for FREE with OPEN SEATING----so there is NO need for TICKETS! Just come out and let us transport you far away from your everyday worries for two hours!

One of the greatest operas ever written, Mozart's timeless classic "The Magic Flute" concerns the search for truth and reason, love and enlightenment. As an allegory or fairy tale, this thoroughly delightful opera follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno on their quest to rescue Pamina. With an intriguing mixture of ancient Egypt combined with symbolism from Freemasonry, Mozart’s masterpiece thrills us with childlike simplicity, emotional complexity, dark foreboding and hilarious comedy! We promise to take you on a wonderful journey as you experience the talents of our terrific music students and some VCU Music alumni as well.

Best wishes,
Melanie
Director, VCU Opera

Tonight Professor George Stoffan (clarinet) will be performing a Faculty Recital for the first time since joining our staff!

Professor Stoffan will be accompanied by Professors Magdalena Adamek (piano) and Molly Sharp (viola).

The performance will take place at 7:30 in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts and is free to attend!

Earlier this week we gave out our Outstanding Achievement Awards to several deserving graduating Seniors!

Outstanding Achievement in Music Eduation: Caroline Gryer

Outstanding Achievement in Service: Anna Mitchell

Outstanding Achievement in Performance: Minjee Jang

Excellence in Music: Christopher Kim

Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship: Carson Longacre

Tomorrow is our Spring Choral Concert: Voices of the Water and we wanted to showcase some of the singers you'll see there: Jack Harper, Alano Riso, Morgan Jones, and Robert Merriman!

The performance will be at 7:00 p.m. in the Singleton Center for Performing Arts and is free to attend. We hope to see you there!