NEWS & UPDATES
March 17, 2025
| | |
Special Issue of Music Theory Online, Co-edited by Assistant Professor Anna Yu Wang, Features Documents in 12 Languages | A recently released special issue of Music Theory Online titled Music Theory in the Plural, co-edited by Assistant Professor of Music Anna Yu Wang, includes twelve translations of music theoretical source documents from nine languages that are underrepresented in music academia: Bulgarian, Igbo, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Sinhala, and Spanish. For each translation, the editors commissioned a peer scholar who works on a similar music theoretical topic to write a cultural or linguistic commentary that places the translated source in conversation with a broader musicology discourse. By weaving together translation and scholarship, the special issue of the journal aims to generate new threads in global music theory. |
Composition Faculty Donnacha Dennehy's Piano Concerto Performed by LA Philharmonic
The LA Philharmonic concluded a performance on January 28, 2025 with Professor Donnacha Dennehy's piano concerto, Limina. A description of the piece appears below:
"In this new piece, Limina, the interaction between the soloist and so-called mass occurs in a leaner chamber context. Written originally for British American pianist Eliza McCarthy, each movement transcends the threshold initially established for it: Head, Chest, and Nervous System (which starts right in the gut in this instance). The idea of transcending a threshold is kind of essential to the whole piece on many levels in fact, as is the creation of them in the first place." —Donnacha Dennehy
|
Associate Professor Rob Wegman Featured as a Guest Editor the Journal of the Alamire Foundation | Associate Professor Rob Wegman was recently featured as a guest editor for a special issue of the Journal of the Alamire Foundation titled "The Life and Afterlife of Jacobus: Author of 'Speculum musicae'," centering on music theorist Jacobus de Montibus. When his treatise Speculum musicae came out, sometime in the 1330s, it was the largest opus on music theory ever written by far, comprising seven volumes of trade paperback size. Professor Wegman published a translation of volume 7 nine years ago. The special issue of the journal features two articles by Bonnie Blackburn and Professor Wegman, who also wrote the introduction of the issue. The journal is available in hard copy at Mendel Library (ML265.J687), and online as an open access publication. |
|
UPCOMING AT
THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
| |
Sophomore Information Session | April 8, 2025
WHEN: Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
WHERE: Woolworth Lobby
WHAT: Join faculty and staff for an informal social to learn more about studying Music at Princeton. Special guest: Director of Electronic Music and Princeton Laptop Orchestra, Jeff Snyder, will perform a short set.
| |
Lunch with the Chair |
April 21, 2025
WHEN: Monday, April 21, 2025 from 12:00-1:30 PM
WHERE: Prospect House
WHAT: Music students are invited to join our department chair, Dan Trueman, for lunch at Prospect House! You won't want to miss this chance to meet in a small group of other students from the Music Department, to get to know one another, share your thoughts and ideas about the music student experience, and ask any question that’s on your mind.
Please fill out this Lunch with the Chair form if you are interested in joining or to let us know that you’re interested in a future opportunity. If we have more students interested than spots available, we will do a lottery, and your spot/participation will be confirmed in email correspondence from the Music Department.
| | |
Assistant Professor Nathalie Joachim World Premiere of Sound On at the New York Philharmonic
New York Times writer, Seth Colter Walls, featured Assistant Professor Nathalie Joachim on her upcoming performance at the NY Philharmonic on May 22, 2026.
"Earlier this season, I found Joachim’s recent cello concerto to be a highlight of the Philharmonic’s programing. Next spring, the orchestra will bring her back for a world premiere. While details are slight regarding what exactly Joachim will be presenting at her Sound On show, we do know that she will be joining the performance. Considering her skills as a flutist and a vocalist, that’s a tantalizing prospect." —Seth Colter Walls
| |
Professor Simon Morrison's Tchaikovsky's Empire (2024) reviewed in The New Criterion
Professor Simon Morrison's 2024 book, Tchaikovsky's Empire: A New Life of Russia's Greatest Composer, was recently reviewed in The New Criterion by Robert Steven Mack. An excerpt appears below:
"In his new biography Tchaikovsky’s Empire: A New Life of Russia’s Greatest Composer, Simon Morrison presents a fresh narrative, conducted with analytic integrity and restraint, that deals with the man as an artist first and foremost. Morrison’s Tchaikovsky is complex and often cantankerous, to be sure, but far from the morbid caricature we might have expected. Morrison parses out the way in which Tchaikovsky’s output was influenced by imperial, nationalistic, and social allegiances, leaving us with an impression of the breadth of influences that helped to shape the great composer’s career." —Robert Steven Mack
| | Voyage to the End of Sound with Francine Kay | |
On February 25th, performance faculty member Francine Kay played a solo recital in the prestigious 'Salle Bourgie' in Montréal, as part of their 'Outstanding Pianists' Series.
The concert was reviewed by Christophe Huss in the main paper, Le Devoir. A quotation translated into English appears below:
"Francine Kay is one of those rare and precious artists (Lupu in the past, Kolesnikov or Grosvenor today) who attract you into worlds and almost hypnotize you... The end of the recital is truly blessed by the gods, with an ideal Chopin 1st Scherzo, between a bewitched presto con fuoco-agitato in the style of “Scarbo” (Gaspard de la nuit) and a weightless lunar molto piu lento." —Christophe Huss
| | | | | Graduate Student Francisco del Pino Releases New Album | |
On February 28th, Francisco del Pino released The Sea, a new album in collaboration with vocalist Charlotte Mundy and Notice Recordings.
"The Sea is a fine example of a beautiful exchange between composer and performer, with Francisco del Pino’s precise and rhythmically intricate compositions brought vividly to life by Charlotte Mundy’s clear, subtly emotive and powerful voice."
| | | Pittsburgh Philharmonic Premiers Graduate Student Hannah Ishizaki's New Composition | The Pittsburg Philharmonic recently premiered Spin, a new composition by graduate student Hannah Ishizaki on February 21, 2025. Ishizaki, who grew up in Pittsburgh, remains the youngest woman to be programmed by the orchestra with her compositional debut in 2017. Read more about Ishizaki's history with the Pittsburgh Philharmonic below. | | | |
Princeton University Concerts presents: Do-Re-Meet Speed Dating
WHEN: Sunday, March 23, 2025, 1:00 pm
WHERE: Maclean House, Princeton University Campus
Click here for Do-Re-Meet tickets
| | |
Donna Weng Friedman Masterclasses series presents Misha Amory, viola
WHEN: Sunday, March 23, 2025, 2:00 pm
WHERE: Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall
Click here more information about the masterclass
| | |
Princeton University Concerts presents: Thomas Dunford, Lute
WHEN: Sunday, March 23, 2025, 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm
WHERE: Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall
Click here for Thomas Dunford tickets
| | |
Princeton University Concerts presents: Live Music Meditation with Thomas Dunford, Lute
WHEN: Monday, March 24, 2025, 12:30 pm
WHERE: Princeton University Chapel
Click here for more info about the Music Meditation
| | |
Princeton Sound Kitchen presents Barbara White & Riley Lee
WHEN: Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 8:00 pm
WHERE: Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall
Click here to learn more about Riley Lee
| | |
Princeton University Concerts presents: Mitsuko Uchida
WHEN: Thursday, March 27, 2025, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall
Click here to for Mitsuko Uchida tickets
| | |
Instructions for Declaring a Music Major | |
Process for declaring a music major:
- Declare "Music" as your intended major on the Registrar's website between March 27 and April 14, 2025.
- Complete your Department Academic Planning Form (DAPF) in TigerHub between March 27 and April 11, 2025.
|
Nominate a Student for the Joseph Pucciatti Prize for Community Engagement in the Arts | |
Last year, in honor of longtime Trenton Central High School (TCHS) Orchestra director Joseph Pucciatti, the Department of Music has established a new prize: the Joseph Pucciatti Prize for Community Engagement in the Arts. The prize is awarded annually to a graduating Princeton University senior whose love of community, artistic imagination, and passion for mentorship—all qualities embodied by Pucciatti—have expanded access to the arts.
Trenton Arts at Princeton is now collecting nominations for the 2025 Pucciatti Prize. The deadline is Friday, April 4.
|
Minor in Music Enrollment Requests Open for Classes of 2026 & 2027
Modeled on our major, students in this program pursue work in two areas: topics usually explored in hands-on ways, such as composition, improvisation, theory, analysis, and electronic music; and the scholarly study of music, from music history and theory to cognitive science and ethnography.
There are no prerequisites for entering the program. Students who wish to pursue the minor in music simply need to complete a brief request form (found here) to declare their intention and share some information for review by our Director of Undergraduate Studies.
If you need any assistance to request enrollment, meet with the DUS, or have other questions about the Minor in Music, please contact Katie Baltrush (KBaltrush@princeton.edu).
|
Auditions for Admission to the Minor in Music Performance will be held April 3, 2025 | |
Our Minor in Music Performance provides a framework for students to pursue immersive study in vocal/instrumental performance alongside their work towards their majors. All Princeton undergraduate students in their 2nd year of study are eligible to apply. Admission to this particular minor degree program is by audition, and admitted students will begin formal work towards the degree in Fall 2025. For more details about the curriculum and auditions for this program, please visit the Music Department website and the Princeton University Undergraduate Announcement.
If you are interested in being considered for this degree program, please find detailed information about eligibility, audition repertoire and application requirements on the Minors in Music page of the Music Department website and submit application materials and sign-up for an audition time at this link. This is also found on the Minors in Music page of the website, under the Application Process section.
Note that applicants are required to provide their own accompanist, if one is needed for their audition.
If you need any assistance to apply, schedule an audition, or have other questions about the Minor in Music Performance, please contact Katie Baltrush (KBaltrush@princeton.edu).
| Apply to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance by April 25, 2025 | |
Trinity Laban is the UK's first conservatoire of music and dance. Formed in 2005, Trinity Laban combines the tradition of two leading music and dance centers: Trinity College of Music and Laban. Trinity Laban offers a unique and intense experience incorporating innovative education and training in performing arts. This program fosters a collaborative environment and a thriving community of musicians with ample opportunity to perform. Students attending the fall program will enroll in Trinity Laban's Jazz program and take the third year curriculum consisting of Principle Studies (one-on one music lessons or small ensemble projects), Academic Studies (practical classes on improvisation and composition or music history) and Electives. During the semester students will have three performance weeks as well as other opportunities to perform in various venues in London.
Apply with audition tape ASAP, and no later than April 25, 2025 to be considered for Fall 2025.
| | |
Musicology Colloquium Series presents: Kara Yoo Leaman
Kara Yoo Leaman is an independent music theorist, visiting scholar at Mannes School of Music, and a co-founder of the Dance and Movement Interest Group of the Society for Music Theory. Her lecture will examine forms of choreographic musicality in George Balanchine's ballets.
WHEN: Thursday, March 20, 2025, 1:30 pm
WHERE: Murphy Dance Studio
Click here to learn more about the colloquium with Kara Yoo Leaman
| |  |
Composition Colloquium Series presents: Lou Sheppard
The graduate Composition Colloquium Series presents a lecture and workshop by interdisciplinary audio, performance, and installation artist Lou Sheppard.
WHEN: Thursday, March 27, 2025, 4:30 pm
WHERE: Woolworth 102
Click here to sample a book chapter by Lou Sheppard
Click here to learn more about the colloquium with Lou Sheppard
| | Department Facts & Figures | |
Theater Performance & Audition Co-curricular Classes with Sam Gravitte '17 and Yuval Boim
The Program in Theater & Music Theater welcomes back alum Sam Gravitte ’17 (Wicked on Broadway) and theater faculty member Yuval Boim to offer a combination of bespoke coaching and class-format lectures. Classes will include workshops on Acting Through Song, On Camera Audition techniques, and a special day of Wicked original Broadway choreography. Open to Princeton students. Drop-in classes; no registration needed.
March 17 — Acting Through Song with Sam Gravitte
March 24 — On Camera with Yuval Boim
March 31 — On Camera with Yuval Boim
Click here to learn more about co-curricular classes with Sam Gravitte and Yuval Boim
| | |
Hip-Hop Techniques and Foundations
This co-curricular class series, curated and taught by dance program alum Liam Lynch ’21, develops a diverse understanding of foundational techniques in street and club dance. With an emphasis on physical techniques, the class exposes dancers to a multitude of dance styles including hip-hop, house, and popping. Through the sessions, students will understand the basic techniques of street dance and will also be challenged to synthesize elements of groove, musicality, texture, footwork, and personal expression in their own individual improvisation. All experience levels welcome. Classes are free and open to Princeton students, faculty, and staff. No advance registration required, just drop in! Ellie’s Studio, Lewis Arts complex
March 22, 3:00-4:30 PM — with Kinen the Gridwalker
March 29, 3:00-4:30 PM — with Caitlin Marks
| |
Macbeth in Stride, a musical by Whitney White
What’s the story that framed you before you were even you? Macbeth in Stride, by Obie Award-winning theater artist Whitney White, employs the musical styles of rock, pop, gospel, and R&B to investigate some of the most familiar narratives of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play.” The musical preserves the madness, mystery, and macabre while infusing its own twist of irony, indulgence, and introspection, some so commonplace, we’ve forgotten to treat them as narratives at all. The show asks: What does it mean to be a woman? A Black woman? And what happens when the one thing she desires is power? At times inhabiting Lady MacB’s perspective, Woman interrogates love, ambition, and power in a high-energy and interactive concert-style performance. Joined by the Witches as singing collaborators, the work explores what it means to try to change a story whose end is already predetermined and has been lived a thousand times before. Directed by Princeton senior Layla Williams. Content Advisory: The production mentions blood and murder.
WHEN: April 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12, 8:00 pm
WHERE: Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center
Performances are open to the public; tickets required.
Buy tickets through McCarter here
| | |
After Noon Concert Series
The After Noon Concert Series is a weekly opportunity for the Princeton Community to enjoy performances at the Princeton University Chapel by various local, national, and international organists. These half-hour concerts showcase the flexibility of the magnificent Skinner/Mander Chapel organ. Each visiting organist rehearses and performs, bringing forth a different voice and character from the organ.
Thursday, March 20, 2025, 12:30-1:00 PM
Princeton University Chapel
Kerry Heimann, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Trenton, NJ
Thursday, March 27, 2025, 12:30-1:00 PM
Princeton University Chapel
James D. Hicks, Califon, NJ
Thursday, April 3, 2025, 12:30-1:00 PM
Princeton University Chapel
Mina Choi, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ
Click here for more info about the After Noon concert series
| |
Requiem: Sublime Music of Sorrow and Hope
The Princeton University Chapel Choir and orchestra present W. A. Mozart’s beloved Requiem, paired with Robert A. Harris’s moving organ work “Elegy for the Time of Change.” With Nicole Aldrich, Director of Chapel Music, and Eric Plutz, University Organist.
WHEN: Saturday, March 22, 2025, 7:30-9:00 PM
WHERE: Princeton University Chapel
Click here for more info about Requiem in the Chapel
| | |
Jan Kraybill in Concert
Grammy-nominated organist Dr. Jan Kraybill brings a thrilling program to the Chapel’s magnificent Skinner/Mander organ.
WHEN: Friday, April 4, 2025, 7:30-9:00 PM
WHERE: Princeton University Chapel
Click here for more info about Jan Kraybill
| |
From Mendel Music Library: Path of Miracles & Princeton University Chamber Choir Resources
Princeton University Chamber Choir will be performing Joby Talbot’s 21st century choral masterpiece, Path of Miracles at Richardson Auditorium on March 27 at 7:30PM. Click the link below to browse recordings, scores, and other resources by this composer, including the featured piece to be performed.
Joby Talbot resources
| | |
SMArts Annual Showcase
Join Trenton Arts at Princeton for a joyous celebration of our Trenton and Princeton University students participating in the Saturday Morning Arts program, featuring performances by Trenton Youth Dancers, Orchestra, Singers, and Theater! This event is free and unticketed.
WHEN: Saturday, April 12, 2025, 2:00-3:30 PM
WHERE: Lewis Arts Complex Forum
Click here for more info about the SMArts Showcase
| |
When Pages Breathe: The Greatness of Gatsby | March 31-April 3, 2025
The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater, in collaboration with Princeton University Library, presents When Pages Breathe, a series of events that celebrates bringing good books to life through adaptation for the stage and screen. This year’s series focuses on the 100th Anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American classic The Great Gatsby.
Panel—The Greatness of Gatsby
March 31, 6:30 PM
Chancellor Green Rotunda
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and former Princeton Hodder Fellow Martyna Majok and Executive Director of American Repertory Theater Kelvin Dinkins, Jr. (Princeton Class of 2009) discuss Majok’s book for the new musical Gatsby, An American Myth, with music by Florence Welch and Thomas Bartlett that had its world premiere in May 2024. Moderated by Professor of Theater Stacy Wolf, one of America’s foremost scholars on American musical theater. Also includes a performance by Tony Award-nominated writer and actress Sharon Washington. Pre-panel reception at 6 p.m. This event is presented in collaboration with the Library’s celebration of The Great Gatsby at 100, a suite of on- and off-campus programming inspired by the library’s significant Fitzgerald and Gatsby-related holdings. The panel is free and open to the public. Registration required through the Library. Register for The Greatness of Gatsby
The Actor’s Exploration of Classical Text
April 1, 7:00 PM
Drapkin Studio at Lewis Arts complex
An event with Tony Award-nominated playwright (Best Book of a Musical for New York, New York) and actress Sharon Washington. Free and open to University community, no registration required.
Producing Shorts from Literature
April 1, 8:30 PM
Drapkin Studio at Lewis Arts complex
Award-winning director and producer Chuck Schultz and playwright/actress Sharon Washington present a masterclass on the creative process of bringing books to life. Free and open to University community, no registration required.
Screening—When My Sleeping Dragon Woke
April 2 at 7:00 PM
Drapkin Studio at Lewis Arts complex
Director Chuck Schultz and Sharon Washington screen their film When My Sleeping Dragon Woke, a documentary on Washington’s life from a young girl exploring library shelves to a 2023 Tony-nominated playwright. The film is a powerful reminder that creativity can flourish in the most unexpected places. Free and open to the public, no registration required.
The Great Gatsby by Literature To Life
April 3 at 5:00 PM
Drapkin Studio at Lewis Arts complex
Literature to Life, a performance-based literacy program that presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of American literary classics, presents a full performance of Kelvin Grullon’s theatrical adaptation of The Great Gatsby performed by Bryce Foley and directed by Grullon with music by A.J. Khaw. Free and open to the public, no registration required.
| | Please submit any event or news you would like to share with the Department of Music students, faculty, and staff in future iterations of the Synthesizer. | | |
Our Company | Contact Us | FAQs | Privacy Policy |
| | | |
