sonoritiesWINTER 2016 The News Magazine of the University of Illinois School of Music “Always Something New” Illinois Bands Enters a New Era campus news Published for the alumni and friends of the —Compiled by Emily Wuchner, associate editor School of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The School of Music is a unit of the College of A Nip Here, A Tuck There Fine + Applied Arts and has been an accredited institutional member of the National Association of You know how it is . a celebrity hits 40 and starts contemplating “having a little Schools of Music since 1933. work done.” Such is the story of the Music Building. A tireless performer since its birth Edward Feser, Dean of the College of Fine + in 1972, it has served (virtually 24/7) thousands of music and non-music students, Applied Arts Jeffrey Magee, Director of the School of Music faculty, staff, and joyful audiences over the years. Needless to say, the building was Emily Wuchner, Associate Editor starting to look, and feel, a bit worn. Joy McClaugherty, Assistant Editor Thanks to a grant from the University of Illinois Chancellor’s Fund and a match Lauren Coleman, Research Assistant from the College of Fine + Applied Arts, this summer kicked off a deferred mainte- Michael Siletti, Copy Editor nance program for the Music Building which included wayfinding, life and safety, Design and Layout by Studio 2D and much-needed cosmetic and user-friendly upgrades. Cover Photo by Justine Bursoni “Music is such an all-consuming passion, we sometimes overlook, or sacrifice, Front Cover: The jacket on the left belonged to the basic creature comforts,” Jeffrey Magee, professor and director of the School clarinetist John Van Fossen, who played in the of Music, said. “We’re excited to have this opportunity to create a landscape here Sousa Band from 1925 to 1930. The patent leather in the Music Building which is not only safe and functional, but is interactive and gloves belonged to John Philip Sousa, who used a inviting as well.” new pair of gloves for every show he conducted. The baton being handed to new Director of Bands A major challenge in recent years—accessing and maintaining a wi-fi connec- Steve Peterson was also Sousa’s. Sousa used the tion in SoM facilities—will be much less challenging now, thanks to a campus-wide baton, made out of walnut and bone, and gloves upgrade designed to accommodate increasing numbers of users with multiple devices. to conduct the UI Band in 1930. Special thanks to The Auditorium is also getting some much-needed tender loving care, with new Scott Schwartz and the Sousa Archives and Center high-tech LED lighting for energy savings which has a return on investment of six years. for American Music. Practice rooms on the third and fourth floors are receiving new hallway doors for UI School of Music on the Internet: safety and noise mitigation. And classrooms have been thoroughly refreshed with www.music.illinois.edu all new paint, wall carpet, desks, and white boards. Share your good news! Send photos and submissions to: [email protected] Music Building History 1972: Building opens 1984: Computer Music Project Contents construction CAMPUS NEWS ......................2 2005: CAMIL I renovation Creation/Construction of CELEBRATING GIVING ................6 CAMIL II FEATURE “ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW” ..7 2005: VAV, and web-based temp- FACULTY NEWS .....................14 control system work ALUMNI NEWS ......................26 2008: Retrocommissioning (upgrades to save on STUDENT NEWS .....................30 energy costs, heating, air IN MEMORIAM ......................34 conditioning, and ventilation GIVING ............................35 systems) results in reduced energy consumption of 29 percent 2015: Deferred maintenance program including wayfinding, life and safety, and cosmetic upgrades Joy McClaugherty Joy Other highlights UIUC Choirs ■■ Adding and upgrading life safety elements Premiere Work • Added a fire sprinkler system • Modernized fire alarm system by Spratlan • Added emergency enunciators throughout the building • Added auto-close fire doors Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis ■■ Renovating 1st floor and elevator lobby areas with new flooring, ceilings, and Spratlan held a week-long residency in sitting areas April 2014, which culminated in the • South Auditorium Lobby beautifying and comfort-enhancing upgrades world premiere of his cantata, Of War. • Main hallway outfitted with inviting seating areas featuring mobile device The concert featured the Chamber Singers, charging outlets Oratorio Society, Men’s and Women’s • Reception, copy center, and mailroom redesign Glee Clubs, and the University of Illi- • North Lobby embellishments nois Symphony Orchestra. Director of • Elevator lobbies on all floors redesigned to maintain visual cohesion and assist Choral Activities Andrew Megill didn’t with wayfinding rest his baton for the entire first half of the ■■ Wayfinding enhancements concert, which began with a portion of • Reconciled room and floor numbers to University standards Mozart’s Requiem before moving directly • Standardized door signs into Of War and concluding with the • Added two touchscreen wayfinding and announcement panels “Dona Nobis Pacem” of Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The second half of the program According to Chad Wahls, facilities manager and electronics specialist, “The featured Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis timing of these projects dovetailed perfectly with the Music Building’s need for Pacem. While on campus, Spratlan also increased safety and functionality along with environmental beautification. The end led a composers forum and lectured on result will excel on all levels.” advanced choral techniques. —Joy McClaugherty, assistant editor To see more pictures of the Music Building’s construction progress, visit: www.music.illinois.edu/sonorities-archive Marching Illini SoM Ensembles Featured on New CD Perform at Several School of Music ensembles Macy’s Parade and faculty members are featured on composer Augusta Read Thomas’s The Marching Illini made its Herald newly released CD, Astral Canticle Square debut at the Macy’s Thanks- (Nimbus Records). The album fea- giving Day Parade on Nov. 26. tures several world premiere record- The MI were one of the 10 bands ings and exhibits the talents of the chosen and tirelessly prepared its University of Illinois Symphony repertoire in anticipation of the Orchestra under the direction of parade. The 90-year-old parade Donald Schleicher, Women’s Glee attracts approximately 3.5 million Club conducted by Andrea Solya, live spectators and 50 million TV Jonathan Keeble (flute), J. David viewers. Harris (clarinet), Yvonne Redman (voice), and Julie Gunn (piano). Thomas held a residency at UIUC in December 2014 during which the tracks were recorded in the Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. A concert was also held in celebration of her 50th birthday. winter 2016 3 campus news Events Calendar Stay connected with all School of Music concerts and events! Visit our website at www.music.illinois.edu/events_and_performances Faculty Earn National for an up-to-date list of recitals, ensemble concerts, lectures, Recognition and Lyric Theatre productions. Assistant Professor Erin Gee (Composition-Theory) Students participate in the Gamelan received two major composition awards. In ensemble. March, she was one of two composers awarded the Charles Ives Fellowship by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which included a cash prize of $15,000. Gee was selected by an esteemed panel of committee members including Joan Tower, Mario Davidovsky, Stephen Hartke, and Stephen Jaffe. In May, Cryderman Lyn she was awarded the Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, which allows artists to continue their creative work in Italy. Gee, who joined seven to nine other artists to write in the fishing village Lyric Theatre Completes of Bogliasco (near Genoa), plans to continue work on her Mouthpiece series. Successful First Season Assistant Professor Michael Silvers (Musicology) The inaugural year of the Lyric Theatre @ Illinois was a resounding was the only University of Illinois faculty member success artistically, educationally, and financially. The season to receive a 2015 fellowship from the American included Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Franz Lehár’s The Merry Council for Learned Societies. His project, “Voices Widow, and Sondheim’s Into the Woods. The season ended of Drought,” is based on archival and ethnographic with a nearly 75 percent increase in ticket sales. The program research and explores how northeastern Brazilian welcomed two new faculty members, Sarah Wigley Johnson audiences have learned about the landscape and soundscape and Michael Tilley, who have helped lead outreach and edu- through music, and how environmental conditions such as cational initiatives. A highlight of the year was soprano Renée drought have shaped the creation, circulation, and reception Fleming’s visit and master class with students. This coming of a musical idiom called forró. season celebrates the life of Shakespeare and includes Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict (Much Ado About Nothing), Britten’s A Professor Christos Tsitsaros (Piano Pedagogy) Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate was named the 2014 Distinguished Composer (The Taming of the Shrew). Students will also participate in a of the Year by the Music Teachers National Asso- libretto and orchestral reading of Mohammed Fairouz’s new ciation. His winning composition, Three Preludes opera Bhutto, on the life of Benazir Bhutto. for Piano Solo “A Mythical Triptych,” was com- missioned by the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association and is published by Hal Leonard. The score was selected from 27 works entered into the blind competition. Tsitsaros performed the work at the MTNA National Confer- ence in Las Vegas in March. Darrell Hoemann 4 sonorities UI Alum Wins Grammy Fall 2015 Guest The Austin-based chorus Conspirare, under the direction of School of Speaker Music alumnus Craig Hella Johnson (MM ’85), won the 2015 Grammy To kick off the new school year, the School Award for Best Choral Performance for its album The Sacred Spirit of of Music invited David Cutler, author of Russia.