Spring semester is in full swing at the Kent State University Glauser School of Music! Check out what our School of Music faculty and students have been up to so far this semester:
Associate Professor of Music Janine Tiffee is participating in University of Trinidad and Tobago’s Advanced Pan Fellowship Programme during Spring 2024.
Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor Bobby Selvaggio recorded his 12th record as a band leader for Hidden Cinema Records. The album will be released in April.
Associate Professor of Clarinet Amitai Vardi performed as a substitute musician with both The Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra during the 2023-24 season.
Kent Golden Flashes were well represented at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference in Columbus, OH February 1-3, 2024:
- Theo Lovinski, from the studio of assistant professor of music composition Adam Roberts, represented KSU as a selected composer. Theo’s saxophone quartet performed in the reading sessions where his music was featured.
- BethAnn Hepburn, Ph.D. student in music education, presented "General Music Jump Start: Clap Your Hands & Stomp Your Feet!"
- Laura Wiedenfeld, Ph.D. student in music education, participated in the Graduate Research Roundtable "Finding My People: Value Creation in an Orff Schulwerk Level One."
- Lisa Heinrich, Ph.D. student in music education, presented "Kindergarten Music is my Superpower."
- Laura Weidenfeld and Jacob Gibson, Ph.D. students in music education, presented research poster sessions.
- Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor Bobby Selvaggio led the JECO Jam Session Friday night of the conference.
- Instructor of Trumpet Dr. Amanda Bekney performed with the Athena Brass Band.
- Assistant Professor of Music Education Dr. Herbert Marshall presented "An MLT Approach to Functional Harmony-Patterns and Audiation."
- Dr. Bryan Helsel, Ph.D. ’19, presented "Create a Recording Class with Little or No Budget," "The Culture of Technology and Hip Hop" and "Creative Music Making: A Multitude of Music Tech Projects.
- Dr. Jennifer Greene presented "Music Theory + Music Technology = Studio Music."
Professor of Oboe Danna Sundet has had recent graduates successfully earn positions in performance and education:
- Paul Converse, ’22, won the oboe position with the Navy Fleet Band and is now stationed in Rhode Island.
- Opal Curry, ’20, ’21, was appointed as music faculty for the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, Ohio.
- Ian Daugherty, ’20, from suburban Chicago, is the principal oboist of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
- Scott Little, ’19, was recently appointed Head of the Copley High School Choir Department in Copley/Fairlawn.
Tiago Silva, Master of Music Performance student who studied with Associate Professor Amitai Vardi, recently won the principal clarinet position with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Minas Gerais in Brazil.
Assistant Professor of Voice Lara Troyer is singing the lead role in Jake Heggie’s opera “Two Remain” in Melbourne, Australia with the Nightingale Opera Theatre.
Director of the School of Music, Dr. Sarah Labovitz, who is currently serving as the national co-chair of the Music Education committee for the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), is presenting "A Think Tank: Our Role in the Future of Music Education" at that the CBDNA Eastern, Southwestern, and Northern/Northwestern Division Regional Conferences during the Spring 2024 semester.
A core part of life at the Glauser School, KSU offers nearly 200 public events every year. These events include concerts, recitals, masterclasses, clinics, and the annual Open House. Check out our events page to learn more!