Alumni news

Congratulations to all Fall 2011 prize winners!

In April 2011, CU College of Music alumna Beth Rosbach (MM Cello Performance 2004) started a new Colorado based conductorless string chamber orchestra called Sphere Ensemble. The inspiration for the group came from a self-conducted performance by the string sections of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Just in time for Halloween, hear CU composer Hunter Ewen’s spooky Monster Party performed by the CU violin studio on the Pendulum Series! Hunter Ewen wrote this piece for the whole violin studio. The piece was inspired by the monster drawings of artist Stefan Bucher. The performance was complete with costumes, dancing, ear-piercing screams, and violin faculty covered in makeup. If you don’t have time to view the whole video, skip to around 10:10 when the monsters dance.

The College of Music is participating in the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) – a one-of-a-kind survey that explores the lives of arts alumni nationwide. After three years of field testing, SNAAP is launching its first national survey of arts graduates this Fall with many institutions nationwide. All College of Music alumni have received an invitation to participate in this on-line survey, as long as we have a valid email address. The survey closes November 7, 2011.

A year after Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano revealed the contents of the 1910 Macky Auditorium time capsule, the contents of a new memo to posterity are being finalized.

Founded by Jennie Dorris (MMus’05), Telling Stories is a concert series that draws on a cast of 100 classically trained freelance musicians and writers who want to make chamber music and literature “a little more fun and a lot less stuffy.”

The CU New Opera Workshop (CU NOW) returned June 22-25 with an exciting new program of workshop-style performances featuring commentary from the composers. The workshop opened June 14 with a sold-out recital by CU voice alumnus Ashraf Sewailam.

The Keyboard Department had a highly successful 3rd annual Keyboard Day on March 12, 2011. The audience included local teachers and students, and we spent the day exploring various aspects of keyboard playing and getting to know one another.

On April 25, University of Colorado President Bruce Benson today announced Creating Futures, a $1.5 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign, the most ambitious in university history, which will benefit people, programs and places across CU’s four campuses.

n April 8, 2011, the College of Music hosted the first CU Invitational Orchestra Festival. The festival involved the participation of three orchestras from Boulder High School, and orchestras from Legacy High School, Lakewood High School and Cherry Creek High School.