News
Fromm Music Foundation Commission for Prof. Perez Velazquez
Professor Ileana Perez Velazquez has been awarded a 2015 commission by the prestigious Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University. The Fromm Music Foundation was founded by the late Paul Fromm in 1952. Since 1972, it has been located at Harvard University where it has operated in partnership with the Harvard University Music Department. Previous recipients include
Prof. Zachary Wadsworth “Battle-Flags”
Linking Brahms and Whitman On Nov. 15, 2015 the Choral Arts Society of Washington performed a composition by assistant professor of music Zachary Wadsworth at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The piece is an introduction to Brahms’ meditation on mortality, Ein deutsches Requiem, and is based on a
Chapin Hall Gala Reopening
Chapin Hall reopened on Friday, October 23, 2015 in grand style. To a packed house the Berkshire Symphony rechristened the 103 year old venue after months of renovation. Much has changed in the concert hall: beautifully painted and trimmed ceiling and walls, improved seating, ramped access to the stage, an attractive and functional stage extension, much improved lighting,
Music of Prof. Perez Velazquez in “Blood Wedding”
Prof. Ileana Perez Velazquez will have her latest work, an original score for violin, cello, percussion, voices, and electronics, featured in “Blood Wedding,” presented by the department of theatre at Williams. “Blood Wedding” was written by Federico García Lorca and is directed by Kameron Steele. The play runs October 15 – 17 in the CenterStage. For more
The Boston Globe reviews Williams Percussion Ensemble
On May 9, 2015 the Williams Percussion Ensemble presented John Luther Adams’s expansive and elemental Strange and Sacred Noise, a 70-minute immersion in the deep resonance of drums, gongs, marimbas, and sirens, performed around the reflecting pool of the newly redesigned central campus of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. Click here to read a review
Moo[sic] Cow Pastures in the Music Department
The end of the academic year brings serious contemplation of weighty matters: Should I go to grad school? Will that job come through? Will I make it? One project has captured student imaginations and has released some pressure—and a plague of puns! As part of the campus-wide “Ephs on Parade,” music majors have used photos of the department
Prof. Sheppard’s “Puccini and the Music Boxes” selected for “free access”
Prof. Sheppard’s “Puccini and the Music Boxes” has been published in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. The publisher selected the article to be available “free access” worldwide until February 2016. Click for free access
Music Lesson Courses Fee Eliminated
Starting Fall 2015, no student enrolled in music lesson courses at Williams will be charged anything beyond the College’s comprehensive fee. All students taking these courses will now receive a full subsidy so that their fee will be $0. With this major policy change Williams College has made even clearer its commitment to music education.
Judges Announce Winners of 2015 Student Soloist Competition
Faculty host Ronald Feldman and a panel of judges have announced the winners of the 2015 Berkshire Symphony Student Soloist Competition. In a three hour program open to the public, listeners were spoiled for choice as 15 of some of Williams finest student musicians took to the stage to present solo works to a grateful audience. Harpist
Jason Howland ’93 wins a Grammy
Jason Howland, a music major of the Class of 1993, has been honored with a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Jessie Mueller, principal soloist; Jason Howland, Steve Sidwell & Billy Jay Stein, producers (Carole King, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast) Jason Howland is a musical theatre composer, playwright,
Musical Garlands: Ragamala at WCMA
In this brief video, Professor of Music W. Anthony Sheppard sets the stage with an overview of Indian music
M. Jennifer Bloxam named Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Music
Professor M. Jennifer Bloxam has been named Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Music. This appointment is in recognition of continued excellent service to students, to department, and to the college. Herbert H. Lehman was a member of the Class of 1899, Governor and Senator of New York, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Williams
Oscar Winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez ’94
Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez ’94 and her husband/writing partner Robert Lopez joined Professor W. Anthony Sheppard to discuss and perform their song Let It Go and other music of the Disney blockbuster Frozen as part of Williams Alumni Weekend, June 2014. watch
Indian Music Performance Study at Williams
The Williams College Department of Music will offer Individual Instrumental Instruction courses (MUS 281-288) in both SITAR and TABLA starting in Fall 2014. More information The Department of Music welcomes Artist Associate Veena Chandra, a renowned sitarist and teacher, and Artist Associate Devesh Chandra, a virtuosic tabla player, to our faculty. Veena and Devesh Chandra
Chinese Music Performance Study Chinese Music Ensemble
Announcing the Williams College Department of Music’s new Chinese Music student ensemble! Come to the Department’s Open House in September for more information. The Department of Music will also offer Individual Instrumental Instruction courses (MUS 281-288) in Erhu, Yangqin, Zheng, Liuqin/Pipa, and Zhongruan starting in Fall 2014. More information The Department of Music welcomes Artist
The Songs of John Harbison on Video
If you couldn’t make it to our April 9 event featuring composer John Harbison, you can now enjoy a video recording of the entire evening. Harbison, together with a panel of the poets who inspired him, and music department Chair W. Anthony Sheppard discuss the process of setting poetry to music. The panel is composed
W. Anthony Sheppard on “Let It Go”
In this video, Professor Sheppard investigates how the musical, poetic, and cinematic elements work together to create the powerful impact of “Let It Go” in the Oscar-winning movie Frozen. The song was written by Williams College alum Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband Robert Lopez and received the Academy Award for Best Song.
2014 Berkshire Symphony Student Soloist Competiton Winners Announced
Winners of the annual Berkshire Symphony Student Soloist Competition were announced late on the evening of February 18, 2014 following the deliberation of the judges presiding over a competition involving 14 Williams College music students. In a three hour program open to the public, listeners were treated to some of the best that Williams has
W. Anthony Sheppard’s TEDx Talk
W. Anthony Sheppard, Department Chair and Editor of JAMS, recently delivered a TEDx talk based on his research entitled “Pop Orientalism: Tin Pan Alley to Taiwan Today.” In this talk, he considers musical representations of East Asians and of Asian music from the late nineteenth century to 2013, touching on examples from minstrelsy, to Katy
Vivien Shotwell ’03, Mezzo Soprano and Novelist
Mezzo soprano Vivien Shotwell ’03 is best known to our audiences at Williams as a singer, of course, but she is also receiving positive literary reviews. Her first novel, Vienna Nocturne, about an English soprano who falls in love with Mozart, is forthcoming this month from Ballantine Books and Doubleday Canada. Vivien appeared with us
