The Students page has been updated to reflect my teaching availability for the Spring 2012 semester. First-come, first-serve, but always feel free to email me if you have questions, comments, concerns, or would like to try to find another time that works (which is always a possibility).

I am on indefinite hiatus from the Knight News. Not much happened in Spring 2011 due to misinformation from the staff, and when the whole paper underwent restructuring, they dissolved the Entertainment section (and, incidentally, my column). Time constraints (internship, night classes) led to the official beginning of my hiatus this past semester. If/when I start writing again, I’ll post those up; until then, I’m essentially on-call for providing guidance to whomever is covering events in the music department.

Looking forward to the fresh start in a few weeks!

Cheers,
M

The music department is a long-standing tradition at Queens College, created within a year of the opening of the college in 1937. The music curriculum has had consistently high standards since its inception. Legendaries such as Saul Novak (who eventually helped create CUNY’s doctoral program in music), Leo Kraft, Sol Berkowitz, and others took the program and ran with it – these names are recognized by students not only for their accomplishments, but as the authors of textbooks the school uses! Originally named for Karol Rathaus, the department was renamed the Aaron Copland School of Music and moved into the new music building in 1991. (Copland liked the idea very much – see photo.)

The ACSM attracts students and faculty that go on to accomplish great things (as seems to be par for the college as a whole) and who maintain strong connections with the institution. Contributors of the “past” include Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-75). Dallapiccola was a composer, the first in Italy to model the work of post-tonal composers Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern as the style became more popular. After WWII his compositions became more widely known, and taught several semesters of composition at Queens College. One of the artifacts in the exhibit is a program showing that compositions by Dallapiccola, Berkowitz, Kraft, and Rathaus were performed, among others (including Gabriel Fontrier, another much-renowned composer and QC/ACSM alum/faculty member). Dallapiccola arranged his orchestral piece, “Piccolo musica notturna,” for wind octet, as per the commission of the Queens College Choral Society “in honor of the dedication of the Colden Center.” This same work will be performed by current students this fall to commemorate the display cases.

Continuing the tradition are today’s faculty members and students. Featured in the “present” display are such instructors as Maurice Peress, conductor of the Queens College Orchestra, who was an assistant to the world-renown composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. An original orchestral score is located in the display case, as well as works composed by Professor David Schober and of composer and theorist George Perle, who passed away in January of last year. In the academic study of music, publishing faculty such as Professors David Gangé and Mark Anson-Cartwright are featured on the covers of “Theory and Practice: Journal of the Music Theory Society of New York State (2007),” as well as Professor Emily Wilbourne “Journal of the American Musicological Society (Spring 2010).”

Quite fittingly, the “future” of the ACSM lies in the talents and dreams of our students. Snapshots of concerts, impromptu performances, and other events are made into vibrant collages that demonstrate student life. Compositions by recent graduates Joseph Prestamo (currently studying Composition at the University of Michigan) and Paul Kerekes (studying Composition at Yale University) are also out for show. Throughout the year, the music library will exhibit headshots of current students along with a personal statement of what they dream their contribution to music will be. At the end of the display, however, may be the most important piece of all: a mirror, and a small card underneath that says, “What will YOUR contribution be?” Appropriate, this writer thinks, to capture the spirit of the school. To enjoy all this and more, stop by and have a look!

Photo supplied by Rebecca Hyams, QC music library.

We want you to be able to enjoy these rich experiences. Most performances are completely free and easily accessible. LeFrak Concert Hall is located in the music building just outside the Corner Pocket. A good many even occur during Free Hour. For performances in other venues, such as Goldstein Theatre or Colden Auditorium, tickets are available at discount for those with QC ID (usually no more than five dollars!).

If your experience with classical music is limited, you’re in great luck: students at the Copland School include varied masterworks in their repertoire. In fact, even if you’ve only taken Music 001, you’ll still probably recognize some of the pieces being performed – and because almost all of the performances are by students, you might even get to see one of your classmates displaying his talents.

Want more information about what you’ve seen? Additionally, across the atrium from LeFrak Concert Hall is the music library, and any library patron with his QC ID can borrow musical scores, recordings, and other circulating material. Stay tuned for updates on the exhibits being featured in the new display cases!

The music department is home to clubs such as the Music Educator’s National Conference, the American Choral Director’s Association, and the Classical Singers Career Development Club. Their goals include furthering music education and helping to find and discuss hands-on opportunities to work in their fields.

The Student-Faculty Committee consists of five faculty members and five peer-elected students to address any concerns and improve the life of the Copland School’s community. They will be hosting a Hot Dog Barbecue/Welcome Day and orientation on Wednesday, 15 September during Free Hour, and can answer any questions that you have about the department.

So come one and come all. We look forward to seeing you fill the audience.

Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music houses performances from a broad spectrum of the musical fine arts.
Photo credit: QC.CUNY.edu

It’s been a long semester for all of us, so there haven’t been too many posts. All homework-y things have been sent by email to the lists.

Are you looking for something to do this summer? Why not…learn about music? Take a break, come back, and take a fun course or two — ranging from the greats of Classical yesteryear right up through the rock groups (yes, you read correctly: rock music! in a classical music school!!) of the 1960s in Britain. (We love you, yeah, yeah, yeah…)

For more information/to see a bigger, high-resolution PDF of the poster, click on the image below. You might also want to check out the Group and Like the Fan Page on Facebook!

Cheers,

M

First and foremost, plenty of things are happening at ACSM, but don’t be fooled – this message is for everyone, INCLUDING nonmusicians! The biggest thing that’s happening is that music courses are being offered over the summer. Please see http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queens-College-Summer-Music-Courses/289641638239?ref=mf for more information, but nonmajors can take some of these courses in place of MUS 001 or MUS 008 and fulfill that college-mandated core requirement. There’s some fun stuff in there for the rest of us majors, too – “from Bach to the Rolling Stones, and everything in between.”

This week in particular we have our Spring Orientation for all music majors – not just freshmen and transfer! We have tons to tell you – progress evaluations (yes, you must take them!), listening exams (the requirements have changed!), and lots of other things you don’t want to miss. (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=310815295497) Next week, there’s a music library book sale (Tuesday, 16 February in the Atrium; see http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=310815295497#!/event.php?eid=288217012476&ref=mf).

Musicamundana-specific, two class pages/lists have already been created and more are anticipated. Keep an eye out!

All best,
M

I believe that I am going to take honorable mention in the 1,001 project…I’ve been so busy preparing some things for school and other various and sundry things that there hasn’t been time to listen to one album a day, let alone four to five. Please continue to follow Jesse and Miranda at http://www.imagine82610.wordpress.com/ while I go do classical things. J I may occasionally post if I get a chance to hear one of the gems off the list.

On to lighter news! Last night/this morning I created a page for gigs that will allow one to subscribe to a mailing list to which other subscribers may post music gigs. I had my friends at ACSM in mind when one person asked me to find them a good accompanist, for this Monday – I frantically tried to reach perhaps nine of my colleagues (with a few more to go) before I got a response. Not that I dislike playing chamber music matchmaker, but I thought it would be nice if we could take out the middle man and reach more people more quickly. Also, the more people we sign up, the more gigs will be posted, which allows for a larger pool of instruments, too. Basically, I’m a fan of students helping students – usually students charge less as a tradeoff for experience – but as the site grows, this also allows for greater opportunities. That’s the vision, anyway. It may be some time before people see this tiny little hole-in-the-wall page and sign up, so please spread the word however you can!

And on a final note (punny, I know), something extramusical. It’ll be up for discussion among our team, but I’m considering creating a page where our residents can access necessary forms (because they often mysteriously go missing and we run out of copies), flyers, and other wonderful Summit things – in case they manage to miss the new, large, soon-to-be-brilliant-with-themes bulletin boards. This is completely tentative, but I’ll only post things if it flies with the rest of the RAs. If not, it’ll probably just be first-floor specific.

That’s all for right now – stay tuned!

All best,
M

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M