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Among the many notable accomplishments of College of Music faculty in recent months, we’re pleased to share these highlights:
 

Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Margaret Berg co-authored an article with alumna and Westminster High School band teacher Megan Lewin (MA ’18) that includes core reflection applications for in-service music teachers. The article—“Stress-reduction strategies for music teachers”—was published in the September 2023 Music Educators Journal. Berg also has a chapter titled “Fostering care through core reflection” in the new Oxford Handbook of Care in Music Education, edited by K. Hendricks. 

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Associate Professor of Bass Susan Cahill guest starred on —her third time on the program. 

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Teaching Professor Peter Cooper conducted master classes in Germany (Berlin, Stuttgart and Leipzig)—made possible, in part, by the Dr. C.W. Bixler Family Foundation Faculty Initiatives Fund. 

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Professor of Piano Andrew Cooperstock was inducted into the prestigious Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Astoria, Queens, New York, followed by a tour of the historic Steinway factory. A Steinway pianist, Cooperstock has performed on six continents and recorded a critically acclaimed series of American music albums—notably the complete solo piano works by Leonard Bernstein (Bridge, Deutsche Grammophon). 

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: Dusinberre’s new book— (University of Chicago Press)—focuses on four composers, discussing their lives and what “home” might mean to them ... and to Dusinberre himself, having lived in England and the United States. , a conversation between Dusinberre and London-based violinist and writer Joseph Edwards. 

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Associate Professor of Viola Erika Eckert received a award. 

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Assistant Professor of Voice Andrew Garland—along with College of Music colleagues Javier Abreu, tenor; Jeremy Reger, piano; Margret McDonald, producer; and Kevin Harbison, engineer—earned third place recognition for their album “El Rebelde”: Gabriela Frank | Dmitri Shostakovich in the, among the many contests of The American Prize. As well, Garland made his Boston Symphony Orchestra (Holiday Pops) debut singing Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols” and he’ll be teaching several courses on the for which he is a launch artist. 

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Professor of Trumpet Ryan Gardner was named president of the International Trumpet Guild. 

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The College of Music’s Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Associate Director of Orchestras Renee Gilliland, was selected as a national finalist in the as part of The American Prize (National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts). 

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Associate Professor of Music Education Leila Heil was selected to participate in the CU system’s Excellence in Leadership Program. 

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Robert Hill’s laboratory for thought: Recently retired Professor of Harpsichord Robert Hill reflects on his career, the College of Music’s universal musician mission and the academic community as “a formalized laboratory for thought.” 

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: Washburn University’s music and theatre departments hosted the 2023 Kansas Music Teachers Association State Conference featuring the Professor of Piano David Korevaar as the conference guest artist.
More: (Classical CD Reviews)—Korevaar and the Carpe Diem String Quartet garnered this well-earned review of their newly released CD—including the world premiere recording of Luigi Perrachio’s Piano Quintet. 

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Assistant Professor of Music Technology Grace Leslie—flutist, electronic musician, scientist and 2024 RIO Faculty Fellow—directs the ATLAS Brain-Music Lab, ����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ’s interdisciplinary institute for radical creativity and invention. Learn more about Leslie’s groundbreaking research focused on the nexus between music, technology and neuroscience.
More: (Designing Interactive Systems 2023); : ATLAS PhD students Ruojia Sun and Althea Wallop, supported by Assistant Professor Grace Leslie and Professor Ellen Do, presented SoniSpace at the DIS conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

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Composition professor applies entrepreneurship to the arts: In this feature story, Professor of Composition Jeffrey Nytch—who directs the College of Music’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music and who was recently awarded a MacDowell Fellowship—considers the application of entrepreneurial principles as essential to his creative practice.
More: Nineteen Arts & Humanities projects awarded grants to advance scholarship, research and creative pursuits—A new ����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ Research & Innovation Office (RIO) program provided nearly $100K in combined funding to 19 projects that span disciplines, including Nytch’s Concerto for Contrabassoon and Orchestra project; Boulder Phil’s ‘Visions of a Brighter Tomorrow’ shines light on the Boulder Star and its 75 years of illumination (Daily Camera) 

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Austin Okigbo—associate professor of ethnomusicology and interim director of the American Music Research Center—co-authored the interdisciplinary book “.” Ubuntu is an African philosophical tradition that embodies the ability of one human being to empathize with another. 

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The U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band has named Professor of Composition Carter Pann the winner of its “Mach 1” contest—a composer commission competition that fosters collaboration with civilian composers. Pann will work with the band over the next year on a new composition for brass quintet. 

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Associate Professor of Music Education Kelly Parkes has a book under contract with Taylor and Francis publishers—The Applied Studio Model in Higher Education: Critical Opportunities and Perspectives—to be published in summer 2024. 

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Costume Coordinator/Designer + Shop Manager Ann Piano received a award. 

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In Dean Birkenkamp’s book “The Many Worlds of David Amram: Renaissance Man of American Music” (2024), Hugh Ragin—College of Music jazz studies lecturer—contributed the essay “Now is the time as creative manifestation of consciousness” (Chapter 22). 

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honoring Colorado’s outstanding music educators. Jazz Studies lecturer Paul Romaine, who has served on our College of Music faculty since 2005, received the 2023 award. 

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Assistant Professor of Composition Annika Socolofsky—a composer and avant-folk vocalist who explores colorful corners of the human voice—released her album “Don’t say a word” (New Amsterdam Records),. Additionally, the release of her second solo album” in collaboration with the ~Nois Saxophone Quartet—is a celebration of queer joy and defiance. Socolofsky’s original three-song cycle riffs on the familiar nursery rhyme “sugar, spice, and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of,” questioning gender roles and rejoicing in the beauty of queer self-expression and empowerment. 

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Associate Professor of Guitar Nicolò Spera’s CD——was released by Albany Records, also featuring Professor of Flute Christina Jennings. 

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Faculty Exhibition: 2023 celebrated the creative work of ����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ faculty whose scholarship and teaching are grounded in an art making practice—including Michael Theodore’s project exploring interrelated media. Theodore, at our College of Music, conducts ongoing experiments with AI.
More: Nineteen Arts & Humanities projects awarded grants to advance scholarship, research and creative pursuits—A new ����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ Research & Innovation Office (RIO) program provided nearly $100K in combined funding to 19 projects that span disciplines, including Theodore’s Fine-Tuning the Future project. 

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