KENNESAW, Ga. | Jan 1, 2017

STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS - January 2017

Eric Ramos and Jakari Rush

• Composition majors Eric Ramos and Jakari Rush wrote music segments for the latest KSU promotional video, Kennesaw State University: The Wise Choice, and are duly acknowledged in the credits. 

Students of Doug Lindsey

• Performed at the Trumpet Festival of the Southeast
• Ensemble selected to the competitive semi-final round at the National Trumpet Competition

Nicole Hamel

• Nicole Hamel was accepted to present at the 31st Annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Memphis, April 6-8, 2017. Her presentation is called “The Hero of Hyrule: Musical Topics in the Legend of Zelda,” which examines how the interaction of musical topics correlates to the hero’s journey described in Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). She was selected amongst over 4,000 submissions.

FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS - January 2017

Charles Jackson

• In March, Charles Jackson will serve as an organizing chairman for the Music for All/ Bands of America National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, IN. 
• Also in March, he will serve as the Brass Adjudicator for all Middle School Bands at the GMEA District 12 LGPE. 
• June 26 through July 1, he will serve as a guest speaker/clinician for the directors track at the Music for All Summer Symposium at Ball State University. 
• July 9 through 12, will serve as a guest speaker/clinician for the directors track at the Western Carolina University Summer Symposium. 
• In November 2017, has been invited to serve as the conductor of the Buncombe County Middle School All County Honor Band in North Carolina.

Doug Lindsey

• Doug Lindsey was recently elected president of the Georgia Brass Band. Will perform Duo Recital in Maryland - will also give several masterclasses in the region’s Performance at the Maryland Music Educators Association.
• Will adjudicate the graduate solo division at the National Trumpet Competition

Cory Meals

• December 2016:
  • Along with Anita Kumar (University of Washington), Cory presented a clinic entitled “It CAN Be Done: edTPA, Performing Ensembles, and YOU!” at the 70th Annual Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. The Midwest Clinic is an international conference for instrumental music education that routinely hosts over 17,000 teachers, conductors, students, professional musicians, and industry professionals representing all 50 states and over 30 countries.
  • Cory’s peer-reviewed article, “Autonomy without Anarchy: Peer Interaction, Learning, and Musical Growth in the School Ensemble” was published in Vol. 2, No. 1 of Praxis: The Electronic Journal of the Sam Houston State University Center for Music Education. Click here to read the article
• January 2017
  • Along with Anita Kumar (University of Washington), Cory presented a session entitled, “It CAN Be Done: edTPA, Performing Ensembles, and YOU!” at the 2017 Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference in Athens, GA.

Leah Partridge

• Leah Partridge sang the title role in L'arbore di Diana by Spanish composer Martin y Soler with the Minnesota Opera. This was the American premiere of a piece written in 1787 with a libretto by the famous Mozart librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte.
• Leah Partridge presented a vocal masterclass to students at the University of Minnesota on January 24.

Laurence Sherr

• Laurence Sherr’s Sonata for Cello and Piano–Mir zaynen do! has been performed in several international events thus far this season.
  • Kristallnacht Holocaust Commemoration Concert, Wellington, New Zealand, November 2016.
  • The Best of Chamber Music - The Cello in Song, Eden-Tamir Music Center, Jerusalem, Israel, December 2016.
  • The Music of Resistance and Survival Project, Lecture by Dr. Sherr with a live performance of the sonata, Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem, Israel, December 2016
• While in Israel, Sherr also pursued research in archives at Yad Vashem and the Ghetto Fighters House Museum.
• Sherr and his Sonata were featured on the January 13 radio program Performance Today, the most widely heard classical radio program in the US. The broadcast can be played directly from the PT page until 13 February 2017. (Click here to listen - Hour 2, Sherr profile and composition information: 14:13–15:26 and 39:20–40:01; Cello sonata performance: 15:27–39:20)

Christopher Thibdeau

• Christopher Thibdeau has been invited as a Master Teacher with the Atlanta Music Project (AMP). As a Master Teacher, Christopher will work with select AMP teaching faculty to address specific aspects of their teaching and/or conducting. This professional development opportunity is made possible by a PlayUSA grant from Carnegie Hall.

Debra Traficante

• Kansas State University Concert Band Clinic Conductor
• Guest conducted KSU Wind Ensemble, Alpharetta High School 
• Music Major Clinic at GMEA 
• Guest conducted KSU Wind Ensemble, GMEA

Ben Wadsworth

• Played organ at Ascension Lutheran Church on Sunday, January 1.
• Developed new course: Theory Seminar. It focuses on theory pedagogy; all 9 students will go into theory II and Aural Skills II courses this semester and team-teach.
• Began research with Josh Little on Michael Giacchino’s film scores (Leitmotivs).
• Recruited faculty to present at South Central Theory Society meeting in March.
• Helped develop a graduate student workshop on Schubert for the South Central Society annual meeting.
• Recruited Theory IV students for a summer section of Form and Analysis for 2017.
• Lined up three high schools to teach theory and recruit.
• Taught an AP Theory class on form at Sequoiah High School in Canton (1/17).
• Recruited for Music BA at Woodland HS.
• Taught an ear training lesson and recruited at Wheeler HS.
• Taught a lesson on form and recruited at Sequoiah HS.
• Redesigned placement guidelines for written theory on KSU’s website.