Elon > Music

Omri Shimron, assistant professor of music, will presented a lecture-recital on Oct. 23 at the College Music Society National Conference in Portland, Oregon. His presentation is titled "New Music from Israel: Metamorphosis II by Menachem Wiesenberg." The presentation combines performance demonstrations and analytical observations centering around the work's harmonic structure.

Todd Coleman, assistant professor of music and coordinator of the music technology degree program, is a guest composer at the 6th Annual UNCG New Music Festival this fall. Activities included a performance Sept. 29 at the UNCG School of Music Recital Hall featuring Coleman's transmedia art composition, "Exquisite Corpse," for amplified cello, multichannel layered video projection and surround sound digital audio. On Oct. 1 Coleman was a panel member at a roundtable discussion at the Weatherspoon Art Museum.

PreSonus, a manufacturer of professional audio recording gear, recently published a feature article on Elon's Music Technology program and the program coordinator, assistant professor of music Todd Coleman. The web article was published in an e-newsletter format, then added to the Presonus website. The article highlights strengths of the Music Technology program and discusses the recent acquisition and benefits of two StudioLive16.4.2 digital mixing consoles.

Associate professor of music Jon Metzger has received a Plus Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in recognition of his performances and the usage of his compositions over the past year. This is Metzger's 24th consecutive ASCAP Plus Award. Cited among others in this most recent annual review was Metzger's work on guitarist Baron Tymas' Insight at Midnight album and Metzger's new compositions Which Way Loose From Here and Did You Say We're Done.

Dr. Thomas Erdmann, Prof. of Music, had three 6,000+ word articles featured on the cover of the November/December 2009 issue of Saxophone Journal. They are on new smooth jazz saxophonist Eric Dairius, Brian Horner who is Professor of Saxophone at Austin Peay University and Owner of the artist booking/media firm Sound Artist Support, and Alex Kontorovich who is currently the Tamarkin Assistant Professor and National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mathematics at Brown University and a world touring saxophone expert on Klezmer music. Dr. Erdmann has now published over 125 journal articles.

Todd Coleman's music was performed recently at a Band and Orchestra Festival in Santa Monica, Calif. His music was included on the program between Mozart's Symphony No. 41 and Beethoven's Egmont Overture - good company with which to be listed. His music will also be performed on tour in New Mexico and northern Arizona with the Platinum Chamber Orchestra, a regional youth symphony conducted by David Littrell, University Distinguished Professor of Music at Kansas State University.

Elon Band Program Celebrates 100 Years!

Elon University's band program reaches a special milestone this spring with its 100-year anniversary. 100 years ago, Elon's band was established by incoming freshman Russell A. Campbell, who directed the small brass and percussion ensemble of about twenty students and faculty until 1912.

There is some evidence that small brass bands, common at the turn of the twentieth century, were active in and around Elon from the inception of the school, but Elon's band program wasn't officially organized in the Music Department until the spring of 1909 and conducted by student directors until 1950, when the first professional director was hired. This makes Elon's band program one of the oldest student groups on campus in the University's 119-year history.

Jon Metzger (Dir. of Jazz Studies) is at the Hacettepe University State Conservatory in Ankara, Turkey serving as a cultural envoy for the US Dept. of State's Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs Program assisting in developing a jazz studies program.

Matthew Buckmaster (Coord. of Music Ed/Prof. of Trombone & Low Brass) served as principal trombonist for the Classical Music Festival Orchestra in Eisenstadt, Austria and is now a Conn-Selmer Performing Artist.

Stephen Futrell (Dir. of Choral Activities) and Todd Coleman (Coor. of Music Technology) co-wrote and co-produced the theme music and audio CD for the Ever Elon Campaign.

Stephen Futrell presented sessions on vocal jazz and conducting at the LA MEA Conference in Baton Rouge and has been asked to serve as Jazz Choirs R&S Chair for the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association.

Omri Shimron (Coord. of Music Theory) performed a chamber music recital with David Peshlakai, principal cellist with the Kalamazoo Symphony, in January and presented a lecture-recital at the Southeast Chapter meeting of the College Music Society.

Todd Coleman had three of his compositions performed extensively both in the states and in international venues. In particular, his choral composition entitled Trees was performed in the Netherlands, Durban, South Africa and in Naples, Italy, and his composition for string orchestra entitled Adieu was performed more than 100 times, including at a number of All-State music festivals and competitions. These performances follow the premiere and subsequent performances throughout the country of Coleman's latest work for wind ensemble, Pulse, which was jointly commissioned by 12 universities.