Making Appearances

Some notable moments from 2018-19 captured only small glimpses of the full spectrum of musical activity under way at the School of Music over the past academic year.

The School of Music’s Welcome Barbecue got Fall Quarter 2018 off to a proper start, with burger aficionado David Alexander Rahbee, the UW’s director of orchestral activities, rating his meal a solid “ten.” (1). Fall Quarter Ethnomusicology Visiting Artist Ganesh Rajagopalan performed with his UW students and special guests in his December 2018 concert at the University’s Jones Playhouse (2, 3). Other fall performance highlights included a forward-thinking set at Meany Theater by the UW Modern Band and a mainstage concert of music by Brahms, Schubert, and Fauré performed by the Campus Philharmonia Orchestras, led here by graduate conductor Mario Alejandro Torres (4, 5). The Fourth Wednesday Concert Series launched in January with a performance by UW Music students in the Allen Library atrium. The ongoing lunchtime series co-hosted by the School of Music and UW Libraries continues in 2019-20 (6). Professor Steven Morrison accepted parting gifts and best regards last spring from Music Ed colleagues Patricia Campbell and Christopher Roberts and his graduate students from Music Education prior to departing the UW for a new role at Northwestern University (7, 8). An innovative melding of music and technology hosted by the School of Music and the DXARTS Art + Brain Lab enabled patients of neurologist Thomas Deuel to collaborate with professional musicians using their own brainwaves and the novel brain-computer interface known as the Encephalaphone (9). An epic choral-orchestra undertaking in spring quarter put Professor Geoffrey Boers on the conductor podium at Meany Hall for a massive performance of Britten’s War Requiem involving UW Orchestra and Combined Choirs as well as dozens of musicians from multiple community organizations. (10). The UW Music Class of 2019 flooded the stage of Brechemin Auditorium during the School’s Grand Finale celebration (see page 26) (11). Students from the UW Vocal Theatre Works staged Philip Glass’s Hydrogen Jukebox with modern, minimalist flair (12).