NEWS & UPDATES
November 21, 2025
| | The Beat: News from Our Music Community | | |
On Wendy Heller's Newly Published edition of Cavalli's Veremonda, l’amazzone di Aragona
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A new edition of Cavalli's Veremonda, l’amazzone di Aragona edited by Wendy Heller, Scheide Professor of Music History and Director of Undergraduate Studies, represents a major scholarly and artistic achievement, emerging from more than two decades of renewed global interest in seventeenth-century Venetian opera. Having first studied the work in her doctoral dissertation, she undertook the unusually challenging task of producing a critical edition from the opera’s sole surviving manuscript—a notoriously messy source filled with cross-outs, paste-overs, and multiple compositional layers. Her work required not only textual decisions but also detailed musical reconstruction, making the opera newly performable for opera companies worldwide.
Wendy's edition illuminates Cavalli’s creative process, corrects long-standing misconceptions about the opera’s performance history, and brings to light one of the period’s few operas to grapple directly with Christian–Muslim conflict. Her scholarship has already supported major performances: Princeton’s excerpted presentation in 2023, Yale’s full staging in 2024, and an earlier production at the Schwetzingen Festival in Germany in 2016.
| | Spring 2026 Courses are Live! | |
The Music Department offers a wide range of Spring 2026 courses across musical cultures, history, creation, and performance.
Students can explore everything from opera, jazz, Russian music, and post-1945 modernism to new courses on Confucian and Daoist musical thought and music in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Creative and practical classes include theory, counterpoint, composition (MUS 210*), music production, and live electronic performance, with advanced workshops in electronic music (MUS 316*) and composer-performer practice (MUS 329*).
Performance opportunities span chamber ensemble (MPP 208), vocal literature (MPP 214*), choral conducting (MPP 216*), steel band (MPP 231*), West African drumming, and jazz arranging (MUS 261*).
* = permission of instructor required.
Learn more about our Spring 2026 course offerings
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Professor of Music, Simon Morrison, was one of two winners of the Reginald Zelnik Book Prize for his book Tchaikovsky's Empire: A New Life of Russia's Greatest Composer (Yale University Press)
Read the citation here.
| Jamie Reuland wins the Lewis Lockwood Award from the American Musicological Society | |
Assistant Professor of Music, Jamie Reuland, wins the Lewis Lockwood Award from the American Musicological Society for her book, Music and the Making of Medieval Venice.
"The Lewis Lockwood Award honors each year a musicological book of exceptional merit published during the previous year in any language and in any country."
| Anna Yu Wang Receives Society for Music Theory Award | |
We are thrilled to announce that Music Theory in the Plural, guest edited by Assistant Professor of Music, Anna Yu Wang, for Music Theory Online, has been awarded the SMT Citation of Special Merit.
The committee noted that they were "especially impressed by the breadth and innovative format of Yu Wang's collection of diverse translations paired with commentary from other scholars. This exciting collection has the potential to generate future scholarship that will be truly transformative in the field."
| Matt Cline '27 and Sophia Varughese '26 Win New Jersey Jazz Society Scholarship | Congratulations to Matt Cline ’27 and Sophia Varughese ’26, recipients of the New Jersey Jazz Society Scholarship Award. They were recently honored at a ceremony and concert in Madison, NJ. Jazz performance faculty member Ted Chubb also performed with the house band and served as one of the judges—a wonderful showcase of the talent within our Music Department! |
Princeton University Art Museum Opening
The Music Department and Princeton University Concerts were thrilled to be involved in the grand opening of the Princeton University Art Museum!
| Photo: Cellist Maurice Neuman '28, center, and other faculty and students playing as participants meditate around them. Photo Credit: Amelia Carneiro Zhu '28 | |
On Saturday, November 1, at 9AM, Princeton University Concerts (PUC) presented one of their acclaimed Live Music Meditation events in the Princeton University Art Museum's Grand Hall.
"Starting the morning with a PUC Live Music Meditation at the new Princeton University Art Museum, breathing in music played by the Music Department faculty and students of the Richardson Chamber Players, felt perfect. I think participants left the experience ready to view the art and explore the new building with a grounded and open mind. The experience continued to resonate as I viewed the spectacular new museum. We thank all who shared in this special moment with us." - Marna Seltzer, PUC Director
| Music Minor Chloe Lau '27 playing the harp during the Princeton Art Museum Preview | |
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s gorgeously mesmerizing first opera has both focus and a thematically expansive view of a moment in medieval history.
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Sarah Kirkland Snider’s first opera, based on the life of Hildegard of Bingen, recently finished its premiere run on Sunday in Los Angeles and presented by Los Angeles Opera.
Originally, the Princeton Atelier course, “Hildegard: Creating an Opera,” brought Snider and conductor Gabriel Crouch, Professor of the Practice and Director of Choral Activities at Princeton, together with students to help develop the eight lead vocal roles of the opera and to create their own works based upon the musical language and vocal style of Hildegard, a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. This final class presentation then showcased both student-created works and scenes from Snider’s opera, with a small ensemble conducted by Crouch and directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer with projection design by Deborah Johnson.
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Our new Staff Spotlight series celebrates the people whose work, creativity, and dedication keep our department thriving.
Michael (Mike) Langley
Technical Support Manager
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What are your main areas of focus in your role?
ML: Aside from day to day troubleshooting various computer issues for the members of the Music Department, I spend a great portion of my time developing systems to help improve operations within the department. I enjoy taking time to listen to what people are working on and try to help create sustainable solutions, rather than quick fixes.
Tell us a fun or little-known fact about yourself!
ML: Growing up, I did not like computers. I didn't want anything to do with them and certainly did not think that they would be such a major part of what I do for a living. I guess this was meant to be!
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Princeton Livestock Exchange Concert
WHEN: Dec. 2, 2025, 7 pm
WHERE: CoLab, Lewis Arts Complex
Learn about Princeton Livestock Exchange
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Jazz at Princeton presents Small Groups A and Z
WHEN: Dec. 3, 2025, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall
Learn about Jazz Small Groups A and Z
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Peter Sellars, Director (Princeton University Concerts)
WHEN: Dec. 3, 2025, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall
Learn about Peter Sellars
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Balan: An intimate concert of new grooves by the Princeton University African Music Ensembles
WHEN: Dec. 7, 2025, 7 pm
WHERE: Lee Rehearsal Room, Lewis Arts Complex
Learn about AME Concert
| | Playhouse Festival of New Works: Submission Deadline | |
Attention all Princeton Composers and Performers! Submissions are now being accepted for the first annual Playhouse Festival of New Works.
Are you interested in developing your craft as a musical theater writer or performer? If so, consider applying for the Playhouse Festival of New Works, a new part of the LCA season designed as a workshop for underclass writers and performers. The festival will take place in the Wallace Theater on May 1 and 2, 2026.
Selected writers will have the chance to workshop up to 12 minutes of material with students from the theater minor/across campus and the Playhouse Ensembles performing and rehearsing their work. Feedback will come from monthly workshops throughout the year and panel discussions/faculty and guest feedback during the festival itself.
Submission Deadline: December 7, 2025, by 11:59 PM (ET)
ADMISSION: Open to Princeton students
Learn more about the Playhouse Festival of New Works.
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Mendel Library Thanksgiving Hours
Wednesday 11/26: 9am–3pm (early closing)
Thursday 11/27: Closed
Friday 11/28: Closed
Saturday 11/29: Closed
Sunday 11/30: 3pm–9pm (normal hours resume)
For a complete schedule of library hours, please visit https://library.princeton.edu/hours
Music Research Help from Your Librarian
Your Music Librarian, Lisa Read, is here for you! She can help you discover new music for performance; search for books, articles, and archives; and become a citation expert. Email her (lisaread@princeton.edu) or book an appointment.
| | | Around the Corner: Campus Collaborations | |
Tony & Grammy winner Heather Headley comes to McCarter Friday, Nov 21
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November 21, 2025
7:30 pm
Matthews Theatre
Faculty and Staff 15% off with pu partner benefits - use code PRINCETON26
Students FREE with Passport (code PUTIGER)
Learn more about McCarter's Concert
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Philip Glass Ensemble at McCarter this Saturday, Nov 22
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November 22, 2025
7:30 pm
Matthews Theatre
Faculty/Staff: 15% off with code PRINCETON24
FREE for students with code PUTIGER
$35 for anyone under 35! Code 35TIX
Learn more about McCarter's Concert
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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.
12:30-1:00 pm
December 4 – Drew Kreismer
St. John’s Episcopal Church
Ramsey, NJ
2026
Learn more about After Noon Concert Series
| | | A Yuletide Feast for Organ and Brass | |
University Organist Eric Plutz is joined by Timberdale Brass in a concert highlighting Christmas music for brass quintet, organ solo, and combined forces. The program will include several opportunities for the audience to join in singing Christmas carols.
December 8, 2024
2:30-3:30 pm
Princeton University Chapel
Learn more about A Yuletide Feast
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McCarter Theatre: Emmanuel Ax Concert and Preshow Talk with the MUS Department
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Emmanuel Ax, Fri, February 6 at 7:30 pm
Scholar's Insights - Preshow talk at 6:30 pm
Learn more about the performance from experts. Curated in partnership with The Department of Music at Princeton University.
Eight-time GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax is renowned for his poetic temperament, deeply felt interpretations, and unparalleled virtuosity. Whether performing a timeless sonata or premiering a new work, his artistry reflects a profound love for music and its power to inspire. As The NY Times declares, Ax’s performances are “never less than spellbinding.”
A favorite of Princeton audiences, Ax first performed at McCarter in 1981 and continues to captivate with his masterful musicianship.
| | | 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. | | |
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