Often, we think of music as entertainment. We go to a concert, enjoy familiar tunes and go home hopefully feeling at least as good as when we arrived. However, for me, music has the potential to bring one into the realm of the unknown, closer to the unknowable, and finally, to a state of grace.
Don Wright Faculty of Music
Future of performing arts health
Leon Fleisher’s focal dystonia. Pete Townshend’s hearing loss and tinnitus. Julie Andrews’ vocal strain and subsequent failed surgery. These world-class musicians had devastating, potentially career-ending, health problems related to their occupation abound.
The Merry Widow opens Friday
A battle of the sexes and a battle of wills: both set against the initial stirring winds of war. Franz Lehar’s frothy Merry Widow is given new resonance set just before the First World Ward in the latest Don Wright Faculty of Music’s production Nov. 16-18.
Adventure changes student’s heart, attitude
She was living in a hostel on a beach in Sydney, Australia with only $12 to her name. This wasn’t exactly the plan Kelsey Vicary had in mind following her Bachelor of Music degree from Western.
Carnegie Hall performance nets student honour
Worrying more about finishing an essay on time than finishing first in a competition, Cindy Zhang didn’t realize her name had been called from the podium at Carnegie Hall.
Student drops a beat on hip-hop careers
All things considered, hip-hop music, as a genre, is still relatively new – both in popular culture and in academics.
Music Wall of Fame honours diverse collection of alumni
Elaine Adair, Christopher Montgomery and Gerald and Marlene Fagan lead an all-star lineup of alumni to be inducted into the Don Wright Faculty of Music Alumni Wall of Fame at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Great Hall.
You don’t have to fall in love to write a great love song
Frazer Mac (BA’10) has a winning formula for songwriting. And last week, it nabbed the Popular Music Studies alumnus the Best Electronic artist title at the Toronto Independent Music Awards (TIMA).
Country music stardom beckons student
Genevieve Fisher is no stranger to the country music scene.
Johnston: More than soothing a savage beast
Another summer’s innocence stolen by hatred and violence.
Trudel to raise Western baton
Alain Trudel’s early days as a young musician in a community band would define a career dedicated, in many ways, to young musicians. And it’s that passion for connecting youth to music the maestro hopes to bring to Western.
Professor goes from stage to ‘battlefield’
On Friday, Kim Lundberg will play piano in a concert in London. On Saturday, he will play a war chief at Fort George National Historic site. Admittedly, it’s not a typical weekend.
New Horizons commemorates War of 1812
Commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the Don Wright Faculty of Music New Horizons Band will represent Western at a band camp expected to draw musicians from across North America to celebrate the occasion.
Master class plays a ‘key’ role
Home to Canada’s only piano technology program, Western plays host to an all-star cast this weekend for a master class in tickling, tuning and teaching the ivories.
Western professor brings old treatises to life
The term ‘bel canto’ gets bandied about by singers and historians, but often with no real meaning.
Operatic academy takes to Western stage
Young singers from around the world are ready to share their talents by staging 25 scenes from operas at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 25 and 26 in the Paul Davenport Theatre, Talbot College.
Richardson takes place as guest conductor
Western’s Colleen Richardson was guest conductor of the 2012 National Youth Band of Canada, an ensemble of 53 musicians, aged 16-21, which gathered in Manitoba last week for a time of learning, performing and lifelong memories.
New duets dawn thanks to support
String quartets are a dime a dozen, or a quarter a quartet perhaps. The opportunity to hear violin and viola duets is a rarer experience. London audiences will have the chance 8 p.m. Thursday, April 26 in von Kuster Hall at Western’s Don Wright Faculty of Music.
Alumna eyes Juno Award – UPDATED
Western’s Don Wright Faculty of Music alumna Kerri Ough, BMus’03, and her Good Lovelies mates are up this weekend for a Juno Award in the Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Group category.
Special Juno honour for alumnus
Gary Slaight, BA’73, president and CEO of Slaight Communications and founder of Slaight Music is the 2012 recipient of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, given by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.