By Steve Fyffe
A professor who helped put the University of Oregon on the world’s musical map will have his legacy live on thanks to a former student’s $1 million gift establishing a faculty chair in his name.
The Edmund A. Cykler Chair in Music will receive an additional $1 million in matching funds from the Presidential Fund for Excellence, created last year by UO president Michael Schill with a $50 million gift from an anonymous donor.
Talk to John Billingsley for a bit and you’ll quickly learn that the 1976 UO graduate has a lot of strong opinions, and an even stronger passion f
February 12, 2016—The UO Special Collections and University Archives Blog has published an article covering Nellie Louise Franklin, a University of Oregon music student who was the first documented African American woman to graduate from the university.
January 27, 2016—The group’s October 2015 debut album, The Clearing, has a very special connection to the School of Music and Dance; Grasso’s original composition “Boundless” is dedicated to former SOMD Dean Anne Dhu McLucas.
Three Venues, Four Concerts, Five Guests Artists, and Six World Premieres for the Delgani Quartet
September 24, 2015—A UO dance education leaves its mark on graduates—just ask the members of the TRANSForm Dance Collective, an ensemble founded by eight successful alumni living in different parts of the U.S.
September 15, 2015—Alumnus Sean Jacob Turner has set a Guinness World Record for the highest elevation for a performance by a freestanding tuba soloist.
A recent alumnus ruminates on the power of music
May 22, 2015—On January 16, 2015, the SOMD hosted a reception at the Hilton in downtown Eugene to honor Oregon-based SOMD alumni, and to celebrate the annual conference of the Oregon Music Education Association.
May 19, 2015—SOMD alumna Alison Bjorkedal (BMus ‘03), along with her colleagues in the Los Angeles-based new music Partch Ensemble, was awarded Best Classical Compendium at the 57th annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2015.
