Stepping back one hundred years, 1921 began a halcyon period in US history. It was the decade of Prohibition, flappers, and speakeasies, all deftly captured by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Great Gatsby. The dominant design style was Art Deco during an artistic era influenced by Dada, Expressionism, and Surrealism. On Broadway, Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake’s Shuffle Along became the first all-Black hit musical. And in social dance, the Charleston originated in Harlem dance halls before taking the nation by storm. 1921 also saw the founding of UNC Greensboro’s School of Music.
But 1921 is as much a terminus for the early history of music at the University as it is the founding date for the School of Music. When the University first began as the State Normal and Industrial School for women in 1892, Charles McIver and the Board of Directors believed that a modest music education would be useful for future teachers. Thus, a Department of Vocal Culture was part of the curriculum, and music was one of the original eight subjects taught along with English, history, mathematics, natural sciences, ancient and modern languages, industrial art, and physical culture.
The Department of Instrumental Music followed in 1899 with a focus on piano and violin performance, and an “infant orchestra” was introduced during the 1900-1901 academic year. In these early years, both the Department of Vocal Culture and the Department of Instrumental Music were primarily self-subsidized. Aside from faculty salaries, the state invested little money in the arts. Music was categorized as a special type of instruction, and vocal and instrumental students were required to pay an extra $20 and $40 in fees, respectively.
The popularity of music study increased at the State Normal and Industrial School, and in 1901, it began to offer a music concentration within the Normal curriculum. The first Bachelors of Music degree was offered in 1907 by the “Department of Music,” which combined the previous vocal and instrumental programs. By 1912, a 125-voice chorus of students had been formed, and in 1921 the Department of Music reorganized itself as a School of Music. Two buildings for study and performance soon followed: the Music Building (now Brown Building) in 1925 and the UNCG Auditorium in 1927.
This year we are celebrating the School of Music’s 100th anniversary (1921–2021) with the world premieres of seven newly commissioned works. The School of Music has launched a centennial website, including information about the celebration, a historic timeline, and featured stories. For over a century, this community of artists, performers, composers, and scholars have prepared students for meaningful careers in music. And while commemorating this 100th milestone, we also look forward to the School of Music’s second century of musical excellence, scholarship, and community engagement!
Sincerely,
bruce d. mcclung, Dean
College of Visual and Performing Arts
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SEVEN WORKS COMMISSIONED FOR CENTENNIAL |
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The School of Music Centennial Celebration will include the world premieres of seven newly commissioned works composed specifically for the School’s students and faculty.
The compositions pay tribute to UNCG’s roots as an institution for women and the diversity of the student body, and will provide substantial new works to the repertoire.
Read below to hear what the composers shared about what inspired their works.
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STEVEN BRYANT
“Given the occasion for these works, a celebratory mood was clearly required, so
I searched for textures and motives that felt
that way to me. I read through the UNCG
Alma Mater and ended up selecting a line as the title for one of the works—‘A Chorus Loud and Strong.’ I hope the audience walks away feeling energized and enthralled. I love eliciting a visceral response with my music, so I hope
that occurs in at least a few of the listeners.”
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JOCELYN HAGAN
“‘Standing Side by Side’ is inspired by many things but probably, most importantly, the joy in performing music again. Being able to stand side by side with other singers, to make beautiful sounds, and to communicate with the audience is a luxury I don’t think anyone will take for granted again. This work is also a practice in acknowledging gratitude. We are happier human beings when we make time to recognize the things we are grateful for.”
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JAMES LEE
“My work ‘Solar Testimonies: Symphony for Band’ is inspired by various aspects of the history of UNCG, its student traditions, and various elements of the Civil Rights Movement in Greensboro. The symphony is organized in four movements, which include the titles ‘Dreams and Traditions,’ ‘Collegial High-Jinks,’ ‘and they asked, How Long?,’ and ‘by the word of their testimony.’ If the audience listens carefully, they will be able to hear a quote of a prominent song that was sung during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
I am hoping that the audience will be moved by the musical journey that tells a story of aspirations, perseverance, and overcoming obstacles.”
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HILARY PURRINGTON
“Two things really inspired ‘as firmament to fin’—the Centennial and the students themselves. A few years back, I worked with Dr. Kevin Geraldi (Professor of Conducting) on my piece ‘Extraordinary Flora.’ The students performed it beautifully, and I was astounded by the talent and artistry of the musicians here at UNCG. I wanted to write a piece to showcase their strengths. I also wanted to compose an uplifting, forward-looking work to celebrate and honor the spirit of this milestone. This will be the first work of mine that I’ve heard live and in person since the start of the pandemic. I can’t begin to describe how excited I am and can’t imagine a more special way to return to music.”
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ROBINSON FAMILY FUND BRINGS JAZZ ARTIST
CAMILLE THURMAN TO GREENSBORO
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For two weeks this month, students in the School of Music’s Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program will be able to study with composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Camille Thurman—an artist who is quickly becoming one of the standard bearers of jazz. The residency is made possible by the Robinson Family Fund, established by Ward Robinson (’19 PBC Jazz, ’10 MPH) and Pamela Pittman.
Professor of Double Bass Steve Haines says the gift and the residency will help the Jazz Studies program make great strides in the diversity of the student experience:
“We could not have done this without the generosity of the Robinson Family. Ward and Pam gave us a significant gift to be used to battle inequity and inequality, and to bring special people like Ms. Thurman here to inspire our students. It’s critical that students get to rub elbows with the very best performing artists in the world. Often relationships are formed, which are of mutual benefit to our students. Guest artists help reinforce what the students are learning from the professors here.”
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JAZZGIRLS DAY
November 13, 2021
12:00-5:00 PM
Concert @ 7:30 PM
Tew Recital Hall
Camille Thurman, Saxophone and Vocals
Ariel Pocock, Piano and Vocals
Sarah Gooch, Drums
Sinclair Palmer, Bass
JAZZ HONORS DAY
November 21, 2021
1:30 PM
Tew Recital Hall
Ensemble I
Directed by Chad Eby
UNCG Honors High School Jazz Band
Directed by Steve Haines
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ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES
Nicoletta Moss (’20 MM Instrumental Conducting) was named a national finalist and awarded an honorable mention in the Orchestral Conducting Division of The American Prize 2020–2021 Competition in the Performing Arts.
William Ledbetter (’19 BM Miles Davis Jazz Studies) has landed a role in the United States Navy Band Commodores in Washington as a bassist, the first African American to do so. Navy Band Master Chief Musician Greta Loggins said about his audition, “Ledbetter had an amazing and memorable performance.” Read more here.
Callie O’Buckely (’18 BA Arts Administration) has been appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association in New Mexico. Read more here.
Erin Bone Steele (’03 BA Drama) served as guest artist and director for the fall production of Blue Stockings at Loyola University of Maryland and is a company member of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company where she will be co-directing A Christmas Carol to close out 2021.
Rebecca Wade (’03 BM Music Education) is Orchestra Director at Atlanta International School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Cassandra Williams (’03 BA Theatre) is directing Langston Hughes’s Black Nativity at the Barn Dinner Theatre in Greensboro. Cast members include Mya Brown (Assistant Professor of Theatre), Seania Burnett (Freshman BFA Musical Theatre Major), Trevor Neal (Junior BFA Musical Theatre Major), and Alana Walker (Freshman BA Drama Major). The production runs from November 13th to December 14th.
Meredith Summerlin Barnes (’91 BFA Dance Performance and Choreography) is the
Founder and Director of DanceArtTheater, and will produce Transformations, an annual dance performance including works by professional companies and dancing artists throughout the Washington, DC area, on November 20th at 7:00 PM. DanceArtTheater is a professional dance company with a mission to inspire, to encourage, and to enlighten students and audiences through dance and strives to contribute a unique voice to the dance community. Read more here.
Alumni News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clip service.
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2021-2022 ALUMNI EVENTS
Invitations to CVPA alumni events will be forthcoming by email, so make sure we know
Charlotte | January 28, 2022
Atlanta | January 30, 2022
Asheville | March 2, 2022
Los Angeles | March 6, 2022
Raleigh | Spring 2022, Date TBD
CVPA alumni events will follow all public health protocols at the time of and in the location where they take place. Adjustments to the schedule will be made as necessary.
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FACULTY/STAFF NEWS & NOTES
Barbara Campbell Thomas (Associate Professor of Painting, Printmaking, and Drawing) will exhibit a new group of ten paintings in a solo exhibition at Hidell Brooks Gallery in Charlotte. The exhibition is titled Rhythms for Transport.
Hannah Grannemann (Assistant Professor, Arts Administration) is writing a blog called Row X about arts audience experience on the website ArtsJournal.com. Her first post was called “insightful” by Andrew Recinos, President & CEO of Tessitura Network, Inc., and “wonderful” by Melissa M. Young, Artistic Director of Dallas Black Dance Theater. It has been shared through a weekly digital newsletter at Disney Live Entertainment. Read the blog here.
Teresa Heiland (Associate Professor of Dance Education) provided four movement workshops at USC Columbia Department of Theatre and Dance on the creative use of Motif Notation and Laban Movement Analysis, storytelling using Language of Dance©, Effort Qualities in performance, and embodying styles of the 1845 ballet Pas de Quatre.
Andy Hudson (Assistant Professor of Clarinet) was featured with Ensemble Dal Niente, Chicago’s premiere new music ensemble, for a performance and educational residency at Washington University in St. Louis.
Kelley O’Brien (Assistant Professor in New Media and Design) and students from ART 344: Digital Darkroom have their work on display in the Portico Lobby of the Jackson Library. What Is Truth is a collection of “zines” created by the students using images photocopied from books in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives. Each “zine” unfolds to reveal a full-page 11" x 17" color version of its cover collage and is the result of a project that had students engage with a range of physical library spaces, material objects, and analog technologies in order to break out from the comfortable familiarity of the algorithm-mediated virtual environment. Read more here.
Rachele Riley (Assistant Professor of New Media and Design) will be showing an installment of her multimedia imaging, code, mapping, and writing project World Wide Water in 1708 Gallery’s 14th annual InLight exhibition in Richmond, Virginia. The exhibition takes place November 12th and 13th at Great Shiplock Park, Chapel Island, and nearby sites along the Virginia Capital Trail and Low Line in Richmond. This outdoor, two-night exhibition features artwork that embraces light and sound through sculpture, installation, and performance. Read more here.
Kailan Rubinoff (Associate Professor of Musicology) was an invited speaker at the Early Music in the 21st Century conference hosted by the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, the Netherlands in October. Rubinoff’s talk was “Professionalizing Historical Performance: The Past and Present of Early Music at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.” Read more here.
Leah Sobsey (Assistant Professor of Photography) had her work Swarm collected by the Duke Raleigh Hospital for its permanent collection. Swarm is a group of blue butterflies that lead from the front of the building to the courtyard at the Hospital’s new South Pavilion.
Joan Titus (Associate Professor of Musicology) is an editor for Musicology Now and has recently launched her roundtable “Sounds of Social Justice.” This roundtable offers a variety of perspectives from scholars and artists on music, sound, and social justice today. Each piece, published over the course of 2021, allows us to contemplate how people engage the global concept of social justice through specific cultures and media. Her first contribution—an interview with composer Yvette Janine Jackson about her new radio opera The Coding—was released in July with additional contributions forthcoming. Visit the site here.
Faculty/Staff News & Notes are compiled from self-submissions
and from the University’s news clip service.
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NOVEMBER CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
For a complete listing, visit vpa.uncg.edu
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SPRING LINEUP FOR
UNIVERSITY CONCERT AND LECTURE SERIES
As a special offer, you can receive a 10% discount if you purchase tickets
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CLOSING SPOTLIGHT
A flutist practices by the lily pond in the Elizabeth Herring Memorial Garden.
Dedicated on October 2, 1999, the Garden was a gift to the School of Music from
Dr. William B. Herring, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus (UNCCH).
The Herrings were early members of the Musical Arts Guild and supported many Greensboro arts organizations. Through the Garden, Dr. Herring found a way to
combine his late wife’s two loves, singing and flowers, in an everlasting tribute.
CVPA fondly remembers Dr. Herring who passed away on October 17, 2021.
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The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) e-Newsletter is published eight times a year in September, October, November, December, February, March, April, and May.
The Newsletter is emailed to CVPA alumni, faculty, staff, students, patrons, and donors. Please feel free to forward your copy, and anyone who would like their name to be added to our distribution list can contact us via uncgarts@uncg.edu.
The e-Newsletter is edited by Terri Relos, Director of Marketing and Alumni Engagement. Archived issues can be found in the “News” section of the CVPA website. To submit Alumni News & Notes, please use this form. For Faculty/Staff News & Notes, use this form.
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100 McIver St, Greensboro, NC 27412-5010
Tel: 336-334-5789
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