Indonesian Gamelan: Reception and Unveiling

The Gamelan is here! The instruments will be unveiled at a special ceremony in the Acadia Art Gallery on Friday, November 21st at 7pm. These custom-built instruments were forged in the workshop of Pak Tentrem, on the island of Java, in the summer of 2008. The Gamelan will be on display in the art gallery until November 28th when the instruments will officially take up residence in the School of Music.

Special thanks to Ken Shorley and Heidi Kalyani for acquiring these instruments!

Welcome Assembly and Barbecue

School has been back for two weeks now so I hope everyone is settling in to their classes and most of the scheduling issues have been worked out. This year we have branched out our space to include some offices and teaching space in the Festival Theatre Building. Mark Hopkins, Patty Creighton, Jolene Buccholz, Chris Wilkinson, Jack Brownell, Curtis Dietz, and Mary Lee will all be teaching from there. As well, Conducting, Teaching Music through Band, Advanced Musicianship, and Post-Tonal Theory will meet in room 105 of the Festival Theatre Building for weekly classes. 

In my last post, I erroneously reported that our annual Welcome Back Assembly and Barbecue would be held on Friday, September 12th. Obviously this didn't happen. I apologize for those of you who made plans around this. To be honest, I didn't know anyone was actually reading this blog! The date set now is Friday, September 26th. We will begin with an assembly in Denton Auditorium and hopefully move outside for the barbecue.

I will be away on September 18-19 and Dr. Christoph Both will be filling in as Acting Director.

Welcome Back!

On behalf of the faculty and staff of the School of Music I want to welcome all new music students to Acadia and to welcome back all of our returning students! We have an exciting year lined up. Stay tuned to this blog for future announcements.

There will be an all-school assembly followed by a welcome barbecue for all faculty, staff, and students on Friday, September 12 at 5pm beginning in Denton Auditorium. Families of faculty and staff are also invited.

New Courses and Instructors

I am pleased to announce that Patricia Creighton will be joining the faculty as our new flute instructor. Sandra Britten has decided not to return next year and will be missed. Patty brings years of experience as a soloist, chamber musician, and principal flute for Symphony Nova Scotia. 

Music 3693 - Accompanying will be offered this year for the first time. Jennifer King, the staff accompanist, will teach the course. I encourage piano majors in particular to register for this course.

Music 4183 - Advanced Musicianship will also be offered for the first time. This year's course will concentrate on rhythm, metre, and musical time. Ken Shorley will teach the course and I encourage senior performance majors to register for this soon. There are still a few spots left.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that Mark Adam, Eugene Cormier, Claire Mallin, Paula Rockwell, and Ron Tomarelli have all received contracts as full-time instructors effective July 1, 2008. We are very pleased to welcome these five to the full-time ranks!

Jazz Fest

The Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax kicked off on Friday. This year's festival features performances by several SOM faculty. SOM percussionist Mark Adam will be performing with his duo The Barriomatic Trust on Wednesday, July 16 at Cathedral Church of All Saints. They will join the renowned Sanctuary trio, featuring SOM professor and cellist Christoph Both. Sanctuary will also perform with electro-acoustic improvisors V16 tonight at All Saints, and with SOM percussionist Ken Shorley and flutist/composer Derek Charke on Tuesday, July 15th. 

Mark Adam will also be performing with his jazz trio ERA tonight at the Holiday Inn Select Commons Room. Ken Shorley's world-fusion group Talambra will open for the world-renowned Arabic musician Simon Shaheen on Wednesday, July 16 at the Festival Tent. This is sure to be  great concert - I'll post a review if I can get tickets.

Recent Grad wins prestigious scholarship

Congratulations to 2008 graduate Greg Harrison for receving the Sabian/Pasic Scholarship to attend the Percussive Arts Society conference in Austin, Texas. There is only one annual scholarship awarded and this year it went to Greg. Greg recently graduated with Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion performance, studying with Mark Adam.

SOM people on national CBC

I want to congratulate Derek Charke for his interview on CBC's The National. It was a great profile of him and a good preview of the piece Tundra Songs. From the clips, the piece looks very exciting.

Also, congratulations to former Musical Theatre student Kyla Tingley who, as of last night, made it to the final 10 for the How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? competition on CBC.

The new website for the Acadia School of Music is up and running. Check it out at music.acadiau.ca

I want to congratulate Christoph Both for his successful tour of Russia with Sanctuary Trio and Derek Charke for the world premiere of Tundra Songs with the Kronos Quartet and Tanya Tagaq.

Also, congratulations to students Matthew Martin and Maren McLean for their impressive showing in the provincial finals competition. Matt won the senior guitar category and Maren won the senior brass category. Maren was recommended to compete at the 2008 National Music Festival finals in Edmonton, August 14-16.

Finally, former music theatre student Kyla Tingley will be competing on June 15th and 16th in the How Do you Solve a Problem Like Maria competition on CBC television. Good luck Kyla!

Welcome

Welcome to the Acadia School of Music Director's Blog. I will use this forum to post news and information about the Acadia University School of Music, its faculty, and students. Please check back frequently for updates.

Jeff Hennessy

Director

School of Music

Acadia University