This week at the College of Music: Faculty + staff edition - May 2, 2024

Louis Saxton named Spring 2024 Outstanding Graduating Senior: At the College of Music’s commencement ceremony on May 9, we look forward to celebrating the remarkable accomplishments and indelible impact of undergraduate cellist Louis Saxton! Congratulations to Louis and all our fantastic graduates in the Class of 2024!

By faculty vote, congratulations also to Outstanding Junior Nathaniel George, music education—choral; Outstanding Sophomore Ruby Anderson, musical theatre; and Outstanding Freshman Corvina Graham, flute performance!

• What the Class of 2024 wants you to know: Explore words of wisdom from some of the many talented and innovative CU Boulder students who are graduating and starting their next adventures—including several of our graduating Music Buffs!
• Graduating DMA student shares College of Music experience, future plans: When Joy Yamaguchi graduates from our College of Music next week with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, the work she started here will continue. “Completing this degree has helped me realize my strength and solidify my focus as a multifaceted artist,” she shares.
• The CU Boulder Center for Humanities & the Arts has announced its Engaged Arts & Humanities Cohort for 2024-’26—including Nicholas Felder who’s currently earning a Doctor of Musical Arts in music composition at our College of Music! In partnership with the CU Boulder Office for Public & Community-Engaged Scholarship, the program helps graduate students apply the tools of their academic disciplines, interests and lived experiences to develop community-engaged projects. 
• At the College of Music’s commencement ceremony next week, we’ll welcome esteemed music educator Joshua Russell back to campus to present him with the College of Music’s 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Award! 
• In more alumni news, the American Academy of Arts and Letters named Michael Fiday (BM composition ’83) a recipient of its 2024 Awards in Music which acknowledge composers as artists who have arrived at their own voice. 
• The U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band has named our Professor of Composition Carter Pann the winner of its “Mach 1” contest—a composer commission competition that fosters collaboration with civilian composers. Pann will work with the band over the next year on a new composition for brass quintet.
• We’re excited to welcome Lillian Gordis as assistant professor of harpsichord! “I look forward to building a diverse and thriving early music community, and attracting students from far and wide to our program at the College of Music,” she shares. 
• CU Boulder students lead middle school musicians to success: Learn how our Middle School Ensembles program matches the desire of young musicians to gain advanced ensemble experience with the need for classroom experience among future music teachers.  
• CU Boulder jazzes up graduation tradition (Daily Camera): Our College of Music has created three new versions of the traditional 1901 Pomp & Circumstance theme to play at graduation—in Latin jazz, New Orleans funk and big band swing styles. John Gunther, director of our Thompson Jazz Studies Program, and John Davis, dean of the College of Music, discuss the project. 

• Commencement 2024: The university commencement website prepares our graduates, their families and guests; the College of Music commencement webpage provides day-of details of our college’s recognition ceremonies and other festivities.
• Stay current with the College of Music in our online newsroom.
• Preview, download or print CU Presents digital programs—performances, student recitals + past programs.
• Questions? Check out Buff Info, CU Boulder’s centralized point of contact for information and resources.