Faculty Spotlight
Prof. Marica Tacconi was one of 20 scholars invited to present at the International conference, “San Miniato and the Mark of the Millennium” held in Florence (in May 2018) to mark the 1,000 anniversary of the founding of San Miniato...
Joanne Rutkowski, Emerita Professor in music education, was inducted into the Hall of Honor of the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association for a lifetime of dedication and passion to the field of early childhood music. The...
Congratulations to voice faculty member Jennifer Trost who, along with accompanying graduate students, has been named as a finalist for the 2017-18 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music/college division....
Music technology professor Mark Ballora provided sonifications that were used in the planetarium show "Mickey Hart Presents Musica Universalis," which was presented at the Hayden Planetarium in New York’s American Museum of...
Penn State Director of Concert Bands Dennis Glocke will conduct the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) 2018 All-National Honor Band in Orlando, FL on November 25-28. The nation’s most elite high school musicians will vie for...
Congratulations to music history professor Charles Youmans who has received the College of Arts & Architecture's 2018 Award for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring.
Congratulations to Mark Ballora, who has been asked to present a workshop at the 2018 “Moogfest,” held May 17-20 in Durham, NC.
“Moogfest” is a festival produced by the Moog Synthesizer company, synthesizing music,...
Congratulations to music education professor Ann C. Clements, who has been named the recipient of...
Congratulations to music education faculty member Darrin Thornton on the recent publication of Marginalized Voices in Music Education edited by Brent C. Talbot, published by Routledge Books. Thornton is the author of Chapter Three,...
Congratulations to music technology professor Mark Ballora, who is the co-recipient of two $50,000 interdisciplinary seed grants awarded by the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) and the Gulf Research Program. These...
Theory professor Vincent Benitez's research will be featured in the Penn State Alumni Association's City Lights program on June 8, 2017 at the Paley Center for Media in New York City. Benitez will speak on "The Beatles' ...
Congratulations to Professor Anthony Leach who has been awarded the 2017 Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award by Chorus America. This national annual award honors the life and achievements of educator, conductor, and arranger Brazeal Dennard b...
Mark Ballora gave a “lightning talk” at the Blue White Science Expo in April 2017. Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, seventeen researchers from a broad array of disciplines gave short talks explaining their...
Congratulations to violin professor James Lyon who has received Penn State's 2017 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, named after Penn State’s seventh president, honors excellence in teaching at the...
Congratulations to Christopher Kiver who has received Penn State's 2017 President's Award for Engagement with Students. The award is given to a faculty member who goes beyond his or her responsibilities to engage and encourage students in...
Professor of music technology Mark Ballora participated in a program in the DC Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER) series at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. on March 16, 2017. His presentation was titled “Seeing with...
Congratulations to music education faculty member Darrin Thornton for his election to the Steering Committee of the the MayDay Group. The MayDay Group is an international think-tank of music educators which aims to identify, critique, and change...
Congratulations to Timothy Deighton who has been named the 2016 recipient of the American Viola Society's "Maurice W. Riley Award." Started in 1993, the award recognizes distinguished contributions to the viola in teaching,...
Congratulations to Kim Cook who is a recipient of the University's 2016 Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement. The medal was awarded at a luncheon on April 21. Faculty Scholar Medals are given to honor the contributions of...
Marica S. Tacconi, professor of musicology and associate director of the School of Music in the College of Arts and Architecture, has been awarded the 2016 President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration.
The award is given...
Congratulations to Jennifer Trost, who has been named as the recipient of the 2016 College of Arts and Architecture Award for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring. The award is the result of a nomination process including recommendations written...
Congratulations to Dr. Clements, who has been selected as co-chair, with Brent Gault of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, of the 2017 Mountain Lake Colloquium for Teachers of General Music Methods. The Mountain Lake Colloquium...
Congratulations to Vincent P. Benitez, whose essay entitled “Thoroughbass as Pedagogy in the Teaching of Improvisation in Undergraduate Music Theory Courses” was published in the recently released book titled Improvisation and...
Professor Dan C. Armstrong recently appeared as an invited performer and guest conductor for a special "Celebrate Marimba" festival and concert held at Kutztown University. The event marked the 80th anniversary of the 100-piece...
Mark Ferraguto will deliver the inaugural Work-in-Progress Lecture at this year’s meeting of the Haydn Society of North America, held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society, November 12-15 in...
Congratulations to Kim Cook who will be recording premieres of new works for solo cello, and cello and piano, by by Paul Reale for Naxos. She will be joined by piano faculty member Christopher Guzman for...
Congratulations to Professor Vincent P. Benitez for receiving a subvention grant from the Society for Music Theory (SMT). The grant supports his research on Messiaen's birdsong notebooks at the Département de la Musique, Bibliothèque...
James Lyon will perform at the sixth biennial conference of the Mozart Society of America at Tufts University (MA) on September 12, 2015 in collaboration with Matthew Hall (fortepiano) and Elizabeth Lyon (cello).
The conference theme is...
Associate professor Ann Clements will travel to England in September 2015 to present her research at the "Designs for eLearning Conference" hosted by the University of London.
Clements will be joined by Penn State colleagues...
Ann Clements is an invited presenter at the 2015 Texas Music Educators Association conference, held in San Antonio February 11-14. Clements will give four presentations at this large conference which typically draws over 26,000 attendees. The...
Congratulations to Vincent P. Benitez who has been asked to give the keynote address of the Spring 2015 meeting of the New York State/St. Lawrence Chapter of the American Musicological Society. Benitez will present "Messiaen and...
Congratulations to Mark Ferraguto on the December 2014 release of Music and Diplomacy from the Early Modern Era to the Present, a book he co-edited with collaborators Rebekah Ahrendt and Damien Mahiet. The...
Congratulations to tuba/euphonium professor Velvet Brown, who plays tuba in the Stiletto Brass Quintet. The quintet and its members have been named as a Buffet Group Artist Ensemble. The announcement and a profile on Professor Brown appears in...
Congratulations to Marica Tacconi, whose essay about the illuminated choirbooks of Florence Cathedral (Il Duomo) was published in the new book Make a Joyful Noise: Renaissance Art and Music at Florence Cathedral (...
Kim Cook traveled to Porto Alegre, Brazil on October 2-10, 2014. During her visit, she gave a recital, presented a masterclass, and performed a Haydn concerto with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul...
Ted Christopher, Artistic Director of Opera Theatre, directed the Cincinnati Opera Outbound tour of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance in October 2014. The tour, which featured a reduced version of the beloved comic opera,...
Congratulations to Norman Spivey, who became the president of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) on July 9, 2014.
Founded in 1944, NATS is the largest professional association of teachers of singing in the world with...
Dr. Darrin Thornton served as the instrumental adjudicator and clinician for the 76th Annual New Glasgow Music Festival in Nova Scotia, Canada. A collaboration between the Federation of Music Festivals of Nova Scotia and the Federation of...
Music Technology professor Mark Ballora participated in Penn State Polar Day on April 19, 2014. He and New Media graduate student Matt Kenney presented sonifications of Antarctic ice measurements. Using sound, they created renderings of ice...
Congratulations to Mary Saunders, whose voice pedagogy program "Bel Canto Can Belto" is featured in an article of the March 2014 "Classical Singer" magazine....
Congratulations to Lynn Drafall for being named the 2013 recipient of the American Choral Directors Association's Elaine Brown Award. It was presented to her by Penn State Professor Emeritus D. Douglas Miller during the organization's...
Congratulations to Dick Bundy on being named as a 2013 Penn State Alumni Fellow. He received the honor at a ceremony occurring October 16.
The Alumni Fellow program is administered by the Penn State Alumni Association in cooperation with...
Mark Ballora provided sonifications of scientific data that were used on "Superorganism," the latest album from Mickey Hart, ethnomusicologist and former Grateful Dead percussionist. He previously provided sonifications for Hart on his...
O. Richard Bundy was featured in the Centre Daily Times on Sunday, September 1 in an article titled "Steeped in Tradition:Director Bundy keeps Blue Band Marching to Cadence of Excellence."
Marica S. Tacconi, professor of musicology and assistant director for research and graduate studies in the School of Music, was honored with a 2013 Achieving Women Award from the Penn State Commission for Women.
The Achieving Women Award...
Congratulations for being named the winner of the 2013 National Flute Association’s “Convention Performers Competition.” Professor Seidman will perform in a concert of newly published music at the association’s...
Congratulations to Dr. Fitzgerald for receiving the 2013 Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award.
These annual awards publicly recognize specific teachers by spotlighting their extraordinary...
Congratulations to Professor Lusk for receiving the 2013 College of Arts and Architecture Award for Outstanding Teaching.
In addition to his work as the applied trombone instructor, Lusk conducts the Trombone Choir and serves the school as...
Congratulations to Professor McKee for receiving the 2013 College of Arts and Architecture Award for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring.
McKee is an adviser for the school's liberal arts degree, a program that appeals to a diverse...
Mark Ballora has co-authored an article discussing sonification and using music to study the universe that is currently appearing in the Huffington Post. Ballora is an associate professor of music technology, teaching courses in music technology...
Congratulations to Professor Spivey on his election to the office of president-elect of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).