A comprehensive presidential arts initiative designed to “unleash imagination and creativity” at the University of Michigan was announced today by President Mark Schlissel. A working group of arts leaders on campus, including Dean Dave Gier, will collaborate with all parts of the university in creating the initiative. According to Schlissel, a two-year startup phase will…

Jessye Norman, MM ’68 (voice), Sc.D.Hon ’87, died on September 30, 2019, in New York at the age of 74. Norman was one of the world’s most celebrated performing artists, acclaimed for her performances in a wide range of leading roles with the world’s premier opera companies, in solo recitals, and in concerts of her…

School of Music, Theatre & Dance’s Ji-Hyang Gwak, a DMA student in Piano Performance, won the $10,000 First Prize at the High Point University Piano Competition in North Carolina, on Saturday, September 7. She performed a recital of Beethoven, Schubert, and Carl Vine as one of three finalists, chosen from a very strong field of…

Gil Scott Chapman (MM ‘16 Improvisation; BFA ‘13 Jazz Studies) has a fantastic summer gig. His day begins with a mile-long walk. Along the way he passes tourists – LOTS of tourists – walking, biking, and riding in horse-drawn carriages. He walks because there are no cars. Gil is one of a small number of…

In June 2020, Professor Yizhak Schotten (viola) will be awarded the American Viola Society (AVS) Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Contributions to Viola Performance and/or Teaching.  Since 1997, this extremely prestigious award has only been bestowed to 13 viola professionals. The award committee cited Schotten’s strong legacy of teaching excellence, his important recordings (notably his Viola 1919: Hindemith, Clarke,…