Volume XVII - March 2023

FROM THE CHAIR

When the snow abates and the temperatures warm up (even a little!), we know that the busy concert season is upon us. We are excited to share some of the highlights of this year with you and invite you to experience the wonderful programs in the coming months featuring our tremendous students and faculty! Thank you, as always, to all of the supporters of our NEIU Music and Dance family. You are a part of making these dynamic and vital programs accessible to our students and community. 


Dr. Christopher Owen

Acting Chair, Department of Music and Dance

NEIU WIND ENSEMBLE FEATURES TWO GUESTS FROM WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT

Earlier this week, the NEIU Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Travis Heath, presented an evening of repertoire for wind band including Robert Ward's Prairie Overture, Clare Grundman's Concord, Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, Vincent Persichetti’s Psalm for Band, and John Philip Sousa's By the Light of the Polar Star. Music Education major Patrick Feehan conducted the ensemble in Concord. Multi-faceted performer Jeff Wade also made his second appearance with the NEIU Wind Ensemble as the narrator in Lincoln Portrait. Jeff’s performance career has included radio, stage, film, and various recorded settings. He is also the inimitable Office Administrator for the Department of Music!


You can hear the NEIU Wind Ensemble next on Tuesday, April 25 with special guest trombonist Marshall Gilkes.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Chloe Guerra presents at NCUR @ UW-Eau Claire 2023

In April 2023, NEIU Music student Chloe Guerra will be presenting at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Eau Claire, WI. This conference will bring together over 4000 students from across the country to present papers, posters, readings, and performances, all by undergraduates. We are thrilled for Chloe to represent NEIU’s Department of Music and McNair Scholars Program and she has offered this reflection on this specific work and her experience here at NEIU overall:


"I am so excited to be presenting at NCUR with my McNair cohort and it is an honor to represent the NEIU Music Department in April! My research project is titled, "A Teacher Resource Guide to Latinx Composers and Contexts Incorporating Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) Unit Plans and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy." This resource guide investigates the significance of culturally relevant pedagogy, and analyzes the sociohistorical, musical, and pedagogical worth of four social justice themed choral pieces that pertain to Latinx contexts using CMP Unit Plans for secondary level music education. It is my hope that this research sparks conversations of social justice in music classrooms for the next generations of learners.


McNair has been such a huge part of my education here at NEIU and that's all thanks to my amazing faculty mentor, Dr. Christopher Owen. Especially as a first generation college student of color, I would never even considered graduate school or conducting research if it weren't for the conversation Dr. Owen and I had while making boomwhackers one day. Now, I am presenting at this conference, and will be presenting my research here at NEIU as part of my Senior Project Recital on Friday, April 28 at 5:00pm in the Recital Hall. I wish to extend my thanks to Dr. Katherine Petersen as well for helping me put together an incredible recital that illuminates the significance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and it is because of these mentors and resources that I will be able to walk across the commencement stage in May."

NEIU CHOIR & ORCHESTRA PRESENT

ROSSINI'S STABAT MATER

Friday, April 14 at 7:30pm

Queen of the Apostles Church, 2330 W Sunnyside Ave

Free and Open to the Public


Northeastern Illinois University’s Choir and Orchestra join forces to present Gioacchino Rossini’s exciting Stabat Mater for orchestra, choir, and vocal soloists in the warm acoustic of Queen of Apostles Church in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. After a long career as an operatic composer, Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini ventured into the world of liturgical music to fulfill a commission from a Spanish councillor. Much like Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem composed over thirty years later, the Stabat Mater was a topic of great debate as it straddled the division between secular and sacred styles. Rossini brings the expanded dramatic musical forces of his early romantic era to bear on this most historical of texts.

NOBLE HONOR MUSIC FESTIVAL RETURNS!

Last month, the NEIU Department of Music was thrilled to host over 100 students and faculty from the Noble School Network for the 2023 Noble Honor Music Festival. Over the course of two days, students from over a dozen different schools worked together in choral, instrumental, and orchestral settings and had the opportunity to perform for an appreciative audience of family and friends. This is the latest in the ongoing collaboration between the Noble Schools Network and the NEIU Department of Music, and the first such event since the beginning of the pandemic. The challenges of the pandemic brought on the need for innovation in all aspects of our lives, including music and education. And, while we have all developed new skills to support the online learning that was necessary, that experience has only made it more clear how meaningful it is for us to make music together. Plans are already in the works for the 2024 Festival!

ELYSE J. MACH AWARDS CONCERTO COMPETITION WINNERS

On the evening of February 2, NEIU Music students performed in the Recital Hall for a panel of esteemed musical professionals and an excited audience. In addition to a tremendous evening of music, the panel of judges selected three winners:


Naomi Schrank, violin

MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219

I. Allegro aperto


Julie Soroko, mezzo soprano

MOZART Ch'io mi scordi di te? ... Non temer, amato bene, K. 505


Mohammad Abdelrahman, piano

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

I. Moderato


Congratulations to our winners and to everyone who participated! Each winner will be awarded a cash prize and invited to perform their selection with the NEIU Orchestra on Thursday, May 4 at 7:30pm in the NEIU Auditorium.

LOOKING AHEAD!

STAY IN TOUCH!


Stay in touch with the NEIU Department of Music on facebook and youtube (click on the icons below) or visit us at neiu.edu/music anytime. Prospective students can share their information with us using this form and anyone can sign themselves up for our newsletters here. You can also visit NEIU's online Arts Calendar any time.


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