Musicology + music theory
For Professor of Musicology Robert Shay, the many mysteries of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” are too important to ignore. His critical edition of the English composer’s score provides fresh answers to a number of questions.
Venezuelan Andres Orco is a DMA guitar student in our Thompson Jazz Studies Program with a special interest in advanced rhythm and meter in jazz; as such, he’s also pursuing a Certificate in Music Theory. “Through the certificate program, I received a multidisciplinary education that I think has made me a more well-rounded musician and educator.”
For first-year PhD student Laura Klein, a visit to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire, inspired “The Jane Austen Playlist: Love and Music of Regency England.” On Feb. 25, Klein will capture the essence of Austen’s six major novels in a dramatized performance.
It was a busy fall for the American Music Research Center (AMRC)! One of the many efforts underway is the Soundscapes of the People project. Two ¶¶Ňő¶ĚĘÓƵ Boulder PhD students—Lydia Wagenknecht and Ben Cefkin—
New master’s student Julia Sills—a teaching assistant in the College of Music’s theory department—is researching popular music with a special focus on harmony and rhythm. “I believe music that is relevant to modern popular culture should have a space in academic literature.”
¶¶Ňő¶ĚĘÓƵ has announced newly designated distinguished professors—the highest honor bestowed upon faculty. Among the four awardees affiliated with the ¶¶Ňő¶ĚĘÓƵ Boulder campus is the College of Music’s Professor of Musicology Rebecca Maloy.
“Rather than mourn what we have lost, try to find new, different ways of music making. I tried to take this as an opportunity to create long-term curriculums with student-centered projects, and this was a great way for students and myself to interact with music in new, safe ways.”
Curiosity drives Lydia Wagenknecht, a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology and recent recipient of a Fulbright Research Award. “I care that my research will help us understand something in a more broad-based way that we didn’t understand before,” she says.
“While there’s no playbook for the unprecedented and the unknowable, by channeling collective despair into collective creativity, we become artistic entrepreneurs, contributing to society in impactful ways.” In this year-end reflection on triumphs over turmoils, Dean Davis offers his perspective on music as essential to human betterment.
"Everything is connected—my artistry, my scholarship, my dissertation research and my activism in the immigrant community.”