music – Page 2

Tyshawn Sorey MA '11, who joined Wesleyan's faculty this fall as assistant professor of music, has been awarded a fellowship—better known as a "genius" grant—from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The announcement was made Oct. 11. The fellowship is a "$625,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative and creative individuals as an investment in their potential," according to the MacArthur website. Fellows are selected based on "exceptional creativity," "promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments" and "potential for the Fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work." (more…)

Next time you’re seeking a caffeine fix in Starbucks, keep your ears open for a song by J.R. Rhodes ’90. Hers is a haunting alto voice—with a throatiness and rich, emotional depth reminiscent of Joan Armatrading—and the song, in a minor key, “Your Pillow,” was the first single released from her album I Am, due out Nov. 3. A music major at Wesleyan and a singer/songwriter since then, Rhodes had released three albums previously: Elixir (2011), Afriqueen Stare (2003) and Songs of Angels (1999). The high-profile single placement, however, is something entirely new. “A career in music can definitely be…

Inspired by Fete de la Musique (also known as World Music Day), the sixth annual The MASH festival on Sept. 9 highlighted Wesleyan's student music scene, with multiple stages on campus featuring everything from a cappella ensembles to student, faculty and alumni bands. Stages were set up at Foss Hill, outside Olin Library and North College. More than 20 groups and soloists performed at Wesleyan's The Mash including Bonanza, Good Morning CT, McCleary McCleary, MEG, Saint Something, Jal, The Basukes, Smokin' Lilies, Jess Best '14, Prometheus, New Group, Gabe & Brien, Savannah Jeffreys '18, Johnny Gilmore '18, Anna Savage '18, Quasimodal, Sloane Peterson, ethereal whoosing, The Purple Windsounds,…

The Mattabesset String Collective is a five-piece Wesleyan-affiliated acoustic ensemble playing an eclectic mix of bluegrass, blues, folk, mountain, country and rock, all in a string band style. The group’s name, Mattabesset, is the Algonquian name for the region that became Middletown. “Since our music reaches back into history, we thought it was appropriate. We were attracted to the term collective because it suggests the egalitarian nature of our enterprise,” said band member Marc Eisner, dean of the Social Sciences Division, the Henry Merritt Wriston Chair in Public Policy, professor of government, professor of environmental studies. The band performed July 29…

Tyshawn Sorey MA '11, assistant professor of music, is called a "preternaturally talented multi-instrumentalist who has built a career in the territory between standard definitions" in an extensive profile in The New York Times. "In some circles, he’s thought of as a jazz drummer; in others, he fits in more as an avant-garde composer," the article says of Sorey, who is about to release his sixth album, "Versimilitude." The article discusses Sorey's background, from his modest upbringing in Newark—where his public schools offered little in the way of arts education and his father "helped foster his affinity for music"—to his study…

Only two years out of Wesleyan where they met, Hana Elion ’15 and JJ Mitchell ’15, the duo who are Overcoats, have enjoyed several markers of success this spring. While both Elion and Mitchell describe the formation of the band as something that “just sort of happened,” Elion adds that a career in music seemed like “a faraway dream that I didn’t expect to happen in reality.” But it is. Their debut album, Young, released on April 21, 2017, is what they consider work-in-progress since their graduation, The title, they say, reflects the album's emotional content: the confusion and wonder of the recent college…

“Wait, turn that up! What is that song?” If you've ever watched a commercial that became more significant the second you heard a song you just had to hear again, chances are Jonathan Hecht ’04—founder of Venn Arts—was behind its discovery. His interest in pairing music with picture was inspired by the Paul Thomas Anderson film Boogie Nights: "I realized how different some of the musical selections were, but how they all fit together to create a sound and musical character for the film.” He began to wonder if he could create a career out of this observation—which became Venn Arts,…

It turns out that Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 is not the only Wesleyan alumnus presenting history through the sounds of hip-hop. Just upstream from Wesleyan, in Amherst, Mass., Michael Lawrence-Riddell ’98 has worked to bring hip-hop music from the stage into the classroom with the help of several other Wesleyan alumni. So far, this middle school language arts teacher has written and recorded more than a dozen original songs, each intended to engage students while offering context and analysis of literature and history. Some historical topics mentioned in his work include the Harlem Renaissance, Hurricane Katrina and the Stono Rebellion. His…

University Professor of Music Sumarsam and several PhD students and alumni recently presented papers at the 4th Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music Study Group on the Performing Arts of Southeast Asia (ICTM PASEA). The symposium was hosted by Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia, from July 31 to Aug. 6. Sumarsam presented a paper titled, "Religiosity in Javanese Wayang Puppet Play," and demonstrated puppet movements. (more…)

The Los Angeles Times offers a preview of "Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides, a new dramatic oratorio composed by Neely Bruce, the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, which has its world premiere Jan. 23 at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. The piece tells the story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a diplomat and little-known Portuguese hero to many thousands of Jews during World War II. In June 1940, nearly 120,000 refugees fleeing from Nazi persecution amassed down the road from the Portuguese consulate in Bordeaux, France. Though Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar issued a vehement directive to deny…

Graduate Liberal Studies will present a special concert and open session of the course Monk and Mingus: The Cutting Edge of Jazz with Jazz Ensemble Coach Noah Baerman, Nov. 30 in Russell House. Baerman will perform on piano, accompanied by bassist Henry Lugo, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Private Lessons Teacher Pheeroan akLaff on percussion. The first hour of the class (6:30-7:30 p.m.) will be a discussion, demonstration and Q&A session, followed by a performance of music composed by and associated with Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus. Attendees interested in learning more about Graduate Liberal Studies are encouraged…

Wesleyan's "Music at the Russell House" series concludes with a free concert by the Connecticut-based jazz quartet Stanley Maxwell at 3 p.m. March 1 in the Russell House. The group plays music that blends tight arrangements with intricate group improvisations. The concert at Wesleyan will feature acoustic arrangements of original tunes from the past decade, including several world premieres. Stanley Maxwell features the CFA's Press and Marketing Director Andy Chatfield on drums, Mark Crino on bass, Eric DellaVecchia on alto saxophone, and Evan Green on piano. The group has built a grassroots name for themselves at colleges and festivals throughout…

Assistant Professor of Music Sorey MA ’11 Wins MacArthur “Genius” Award

“Your Pillow”: Starbucks Selects Single by Rhodes ’90

6th Annual The MASH Highlights Wesleyan’s Music Scene

Faculty/Staff Band Mattabesset String Collective Performs

Sorey Is ‘Obliterating the Lines,’ According to New York Times Profile

Elion ’15, Mitchell ’15 of the Overcoats Release Album

Hecht ’04 Finds the Irresistible Music for Commercial Clients

Lawrence-Riddell ’98 Brings Hip-Hop To Classrooms As Mr. El-Are

Sumarsam, PhD Students, Alumni Present at Symposium

LA Times Features New Dramatic Oratorio by Neely Bruce

GLS Presents Jazz Concert, Open Course Session, Nov. 30

Jazz Quartet Stanley Maxwell to Perform World Premieres March 1 at Russell House