Conductor and actor Damon Gupton thrives on a unique dual career. In the pantheon of performing artist hyphenates, “actor-conductor” is undoubtedly a club with few members. But that hasn’t stopped Damon Gupton from making it work. Gupton (BM ’94, trombone and music education) has been a guest conductor with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the Cleveland…

Dean Kendall reflects on 10 years of successes, challenges, and growth as he concludes his final year as SMTD dean. In May, at the conclusion of the 2014-15 academic year, Dean Christopher Kendall will step down after serving two consecutive five-year terms as dean, the current U-M limit. Under Kendall’s leadership, SMTD has experienced marked progress,…

What is a quintessential “Michigan experience”? For many, it’s that initial thrill of seeing the Michigan Marching Band enter the stadium…the stirring pride of hearing a U-M ensemble perform “The Victors”…the buzz of excitement in a packed Hill Auditorium that precedes the start of the annual Collage Concert. The fact is, a large number of…

Like many School of Music, Theatre & Dance students, Henry Nettleton, a musical theatre junior, chose U-M based on the faculty. While in high school, he attended SMTD’s “MPulse” summer program for musical theatre, run by Department of Musical Theatre chair Brent Wagner. “I was astounded at Professor Wagner’s scholarship and specificity, and his attention…