photo by Clare Keogh

EUGENE, Ore.—(May 6, 2013)—The University of Oregon Chamber Choir has placed first in a major international competition.

On Saturday, May 4 the Chamber Choir, the most select ensemble in the university's eight-choir choral arts program, competed in the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition at the Cork International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland. The festival is renowned as one of Europe's most prestigious choral arts events.

The competition's judges awarded the Chamber Choir a score of 92.67%, surpassing local favorites New Dublin Voices. That ensemble's score of 90.11% was the second highest among the competitors.

The UO Chamber Choir was one of eleven ensembles competing in a field of thirty choirs (hailing from seventeen countries) that auditioned, and was the sole representative of the United States. The choir competed with a set featuring both sacred and secular repertoire spanning 400 years, sung in seven languages, with styles as varied as Italian madrigals to bluegrass-influenced gospel, from composers including Monteverdi, Schütz, Debussy, Sydney Guilaume, and Eric William Barnum.

The competition was conducted in Cork's beautiful City Hall, known to choral enthusiasts the world over as one of the most acoustically perfect venues in Ireland. Leading up to the competition, the Chamber Choir also presented concerts in Dublin, Kells, and Loughrea.

The Chamber Choir is under the direction of UO Professor Sharon J. Paul. Comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, the Chamber Choir specializes in a cappella music from the sixteenth through 21st centuries. In April 2011, the Chamber Choir won top honors in two categories at the 12th International Choir Festival held in Tallinn, Estonia. In addition, the choir has performed by juried audition at state and division conferences for the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education.

Sharon J. Paul is professor of music, chair of vocal and choral studies, and director of choral activities at the University of Oregon, where she teaches graduate courses in choral conducting, repertoire, and pedagogy, and conducts the Chamber Choir and University Singers ensembles. She earned her DMA in choral conducting from Stanford University, an MFA in conducting from UCLA, and a BA in music from Pomona College.

Dr. Paul served as artistic director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus from 1992 to July 2000. Dr. Paul has presented interest sessions at national and international music conferences. She appears frequently as adjudicator, clinician, and honor choir director throughout the United States.

photo by Andre Havard

Juan Eduardo "Ed" Wolf	Dr. Rodney Dorsey

The University of Oregon School of Music and Dance is pleased to announce the hire of two new tenure-track faculty members.

Starting with Fall term 2013, Dr. Rodney Dorsey and Juan Eduardo "Ed" Wolf will join the SOMD faculty. Dorsey will be director of bands, conductor of the UO Wind Ensemble, and a member of the conducting faculty. Wolf will enter as an assistant professor of ethnomusicology.

Dr. Dorsey is currently the associate director of bands at the University of Michigan, and conductor of the Michigan Youth Band and the Concert Band. Previously, Dorsey was on the faculty at DePaul University and Northwestern University. He attended Florida State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education, and Northwestern University, where he earned his master's and doctor of music degrees in conducting.

Wolf is currently completing his PhD in folklore and ethnomusicology at Indiana University, where he also earned his master of arts. Over the past two years Wolf has taught introductory courses in ethnomusicology, folklore, and Latino history, as well as an upper-level class on the history of U.S. immigration offered through the Latino Studies Program.

EUGENE, Ore.—(April 3, 2013)—Oregon fans disillusioned by the Ducks being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament after making it to the Sweet Sixteen may want to dust off their garb of green and gold. There's another UO team that needs their support.

On May 4, the award-winning University of Oregon Chamber Choir, the most select ensemble in the university's eight-choir choral arts program, will compete in the annual Fleischmann International Trophy Competition at the Cork International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland.

The UO Chamber Choir is one of only eleven ensembles competing, from a field of thirty choirs (hailing from seventeen countries) that auditioned, and is the sole representative of the United States. Leading up to the competition, the Chamber Choir will present concerts in Dublin, Kells, and Loughrea.

Happily for hometown fans of choral music, the Chamber Choir will present their tour program in a public concert on April 25 at 8 p.m. in historic Beall Concert Hall on the UO campus. The one-hour performance features sacred and secular repertoire spanning 400 years, sung in seven languages, with styles as varied as Italian madrigals to bluegrass-influenced gospel, from composers including Monteverdi, Schütz, Debussy, Sydney Guilaume, and Eric William Barnum.

Tickets for the April 25 concert in Eugene are $7 general, $5 for students and seniors, available at the door or in advance from the UO Ticket Office in the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Avenue, 541-346-4363 or tickets.uoregon.edu.

The Ireland trip will be the Chamber Choir's second international tour. In April of 2011 the ensemble toured Estonia and Finland, competing in the Tallinn International Choral Competition, where they took top honors in the Renaissance-Baroque and Chamber Choir categories.

"After the wonderful experience the Chamber Choir had singing in Estonia in 2011, I wanted a similar kind of opportunity for them to hear lots of good choirs from all over the world," said UO Chamber Choir conductor, Professor Sharon Paul.

"The singers really bring their 'A game' when they know that they have auditioned into a competition, and that they will be getting feedback from an international panel of judges who are well respected choral musicians," Paul continued.

"This is what I am most looking forward to—watching our students evolve through this process."

SOMD Assistant Professor Frank M. Diaz is gaining national attention from science and psychology research media outlets for his research exploring how mindfulness meditation may enhance both music engagement and performance. The study drawing so much attention appeared recently on the the journal Psychology of Music’s website, and will appear in print in their forthcoming issue.

In his study, Diaz had 132 participants listen to a 10-minute excerpt of Giacomo Puccini’s opera "La Boheme" after listening to a 15-minute recording of a segment produced by the Duke University Center for Mindfulness Research.

Overall, 97 percent of the participants had either one or several moments of flow or aesthetic response. Of the 69 subjects who engaged in mindfulness, 64 percent thought the technique had enhanced their listening experience.

More information on Diaz’s research and methods can be found on Around the O, Science Daily, PsychCentral, and Compelling Wellbeing.

Sean Fredenburg
Concertino da Camera pour Alto Saxophone by Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) Fredenberg played saxophone and was accompanied by Svetlana Kotova.

Clarissa Osborn
Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Osborn played clarinet and was also accompanied by Svetlana Kotova.

Kelly Quesada
Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op.104 by Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) Quesada played cello and was accompanied by Ednaldo Borba.

Nattapol Tantikarn
Piano Concerto No.1 in Eb Major by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Tantikarn played piano and was accompanied by Julia Lin.

Dance

Karen Kohn Bradley ’77 is Associate Professor of Dance and Director of Graduate Studies in Dance at the University of Maryland.  She is a Certified Movement Analyst in Laban Movement Analysis and is on the Board of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City.

Music

Since 1991, Dr. Margaret Quackenbush ’76 has been the president and executive director of the Hochstein School of Music and Dance in Rochester, NY. Hochstein is a private community art school founded in 1882. It offers dance and music classes to community members from 5 to adult.

EUGENE, Ore.—(Dec. 6, 2012)—Lori Kruckenberg, an associate professor of musicology at the University of Oregon, has been awarded the prestigious Noah Greenberg award by the American Musicological Society.

Kruckenberg and her co-recipient, Michael Alan Anderson of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, accepted the award on Nov. 3 at the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society in New Orleans.