Manchester University Music Department

05/15/2024

Music brings people together ❤️🎶

05/13/2024

Appreciation post for our Handbell Ensemble! Thank you for sharing your music with us. Thank you for your willingness to volunteer, commit, and give your support!
These students are awesome! 🎶🔔

05/10/2024

Members of the Oak Leaf Brass rehearsing for Saturday's commencement ceremonies

05/09/2024

I know there's a lot going on this time of year, but you really don't want to miss this concert. This repertoire is fantastic!

05/08/2024

TONIGHT!

05/08/2024

What a wonderful Opera Today! Series of unveiling events!!! We started the day with a master class at Manchester University with clinician, Daniel Belcher and topped off the evening with a recital featuring Daniel with pianist Alexander Klepach and Q&A session (on the PFW campus) about this new professional opera company. Thanks everyone who attended! Stay tuned for more exciting events!

05/08/2024

The Manchester Symphony Orchestra concludes its 85th season with a concert honoring the wonder and beauty of nature. The Creatures Great and Small concert showcases MSO Concertmaster Elizabeth Smith in The Lark Ascending tone poem by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The concert also features Wood Notes by African-American composer William Grant Still, “And God Created Great Whales” by Alan Hovhaness and the Overture to “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss. It is 3 p.m. Sunday, May 12 at the Honeywell Center in Wabash.

05/08/2024

⭐️ Tonight at 7:30pm in Cordier Auditorium! We look forward to seeing you there! ⭐️

05/06/2024

We are looking forward to our next recital!
Senior and Contralto, Renae Walker-Zamora will be having her senior Voice recital on Friday, May 10th @ 7:00pm in the Wine Recital Hall. She will be assisted by Alan Chambers on piano.

⭐️ Meet Renae WZ ⭐️
Renae Walker-Zamora hails from Austin, TX. This month she will be receiving her Bachelors of Science degree in General Music and Educational Studies: counseling concentration. At Manchester, she has participated in A Ca****la choir & Chamber Singers, opera workshop productions, NAFME, religious life, theatre society and more! Renae is also a singer/songwriter and enjoys playing guitar and ukulele for her family & friends!

After she graduates, she will be attending Purdue University-Fort Wayne to begin working on her MA degree and board certification in Music Therapy MA, MT-BC!

05/05/2024

Ready or not, here we come....
Man, this groups sounds amazing!

05/03/2024

Join us THIS SUNDAY for our last ACC concert of the year! This one’s gonna be a special one. It will be a lovely gathering of current ACC members, alumni and friends! As well as a final farewell and celebration to our amazing conductor, Dr. Debra Lynn.

It will be a concert to remember!

Details below:
Sunday, May 5th, 2024
3:00pm
Cordier Auditorium, Free admission

05/01/2024

⭐️ Tonight at 7:30pm in Cordier Auditorium!! Come listen to some Jazz music done by some awesome performers. We look forward to seeing you there! ⭐️

05/01/2024

Congratulations to Senior and Cellist Benjamin Bolduc on a wonderful Cello Recital! Benjamin has been one of our busiest seniors this year. He has made so many accomplishments here at MU and we are so excited to see what the future holds for him!

Mr. Bolduc will continue his education at Ball State University. He will be going a Master’s of Music in Composition. He will also be teaching music theory there with a full graduate assistantship!

Keeping making great music, Benjamin! ✨🎶

04/30/2024

Congratulations to Senior and Mezzo Soprano Mackenzie Sheridan on a wonderful Voice Recital. We are grateful for everyone that came out to support in person and virtually!

Ms. Sheridan will continue her education at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, where she will begin her Master’s degree in Vocal performance.

We are so proud of her accomplishments and can’t wait to see what the future holds! ✨✨

04/30/2024

We are very excited about our next performance coming up next week!

⭐️ Grammy- Winning Baritone Daniel Belcher and pianist Alexander Klepach will be performing Debra Lynn’s song cycle “Your John Keats”. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 7th @ 7:00pm, Rinehart Recital Hall, PFW campus Fort Wayne, IN. ⭐️

We will also be giving more information about Dr. Debra Lynn’s new company “Opera Today!”, with a Q&A session afterwards. 🎶🎶

See ya there!

04/29/2024

This picture is of 3 Manchester University music students, past and present, doing great things! Kevin Friermood ('17), senior Daniel Cornett, and sophomore Abigail Oliver were selected to perform with the 2024 College Band Directors National Association Intercollegiate Band held at The Ohio State University, April 4-6.

Friermood ('17) is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cornett is a senior music education major, and Oliver is majoring in saxophone performance, and English!

04/29/2024

https://www.manchester.edu/about-manchester/Manchester-University-News/MU-news-page/news/2024/04/22/manchester-symphony-orchestra-celebrates-'creatures-great-and-small'-on-may-12

Find the latest news updates from Manchester University on MU News. Updated weekly to help you know what's happened, happening, and what is coming up next.

04/28/2024

What an entertaining evening! Congrats to Daniel Cornett on a wonderful clarinet recital! He has a bright future ahead! ⭐️🌟🎶

04/22/2024

We are looking forward to our next recital! Senior & Mezzo Soprano, Mackenzie Sheridan will be having her senior Voice recital on Sunday, April 28th at 3pm in the Wine Recital Hall. She will be assisted by David Hupp on Piano.

We hope to see you there!

04/22/2024

We are looking forward to our next recital! Daniel Cornett will be having his Clarinet recital on Saturday, April 27th at 7pm in the Wine Recital Hall. He will be assisted by Dr. Scott Humphries on Piano.

We hope to see you there!

04/22/2024

Thank you Dr. Judy Marlett and Dr. Pamela Haynes for a lovely recital! We enjoyed your performance featuring ✨Music of Women Composers ✨💙🖤💗

04/20/2024

Scott Workman, Guitar & Kelly Hornbarger, Flute put on a wonderful recital tonight! We enjoyed watching your performance 🎵💛🖤

Thank you for an entertaining evening!

04/18/2024

For Giving Day at Manchester University, I agreed to raise a few dollars by allowing my office to be ballooned! Always happy to help a great cause and great times!

04/18/2024

This Week's "Wednesday Warehouse" of gratitude celebrates the profound impact of Martin Katz' master classes. I had the very great honor of both singing and playing collaborative piano on two of his master classes during my undergrad years at William Jewell College. Martin Katz is arguably one of the greatest Collaborative pianists of all time, so it was particularly nerve-wracking to sing and play piano on these occasions.

I don't remember at all what I sang, interestingly; but I do remember two of the pieces I played : "Beau Soir" by Debussy and "Im Abendrot" by Schubert. The first time, Maestro Katz kindly acknowledged the difficulty of participating in one of HIS master classes as both singer and pianist, and he asked me which experience made me the most nervous. Without hesitation I replied : "piano - absolutely." The audience laughed a bit, and he began talking about pianists who don't see themselves as equals in the interpretive process and therefore do not invest themselves as deeply in preparation for collaborative work as they might for a solo piece. He spoke about the "Chamber Music" aspect of Art Song performances and how my nervousness was an indication of the responsibility I was placing on myself as a pianist. He said, "believe me singers, THIS is the type of pianist you should seek." His words meant so much to me! Mind you, these were technically "voice master classes" and geared toward the instruction of singers ; but Martin worked with singers and pianists as equal partners in a story-telling dialogue together. The Schubert piece I played (sadly, I don't remember the singer) had one of those piano parts that sounded (and looked on the page) far easier to play than it really was. It was an almost static piano part with big tall rolled left hand chords supporting a delicate countermelody in the right hand - and all in support of the sung tune. He took time to help me voice those chords in a shimmering, vibrant way that lended extra energy and forward motion to the whole performance. Not only did I improve, but by heeding his instruction I helped the singer improve. That master class was a total game-changer for me, not just as a pianist ; but also as a conductor, singer, musician, and composer.

This linked 12-minute video shows Martin Katz as clinician for a Carnegie Hall master class. He definitely works with the pianist as an equal partner, and really helps the singer become aware of the pianist's role in the story-telling. Watching this brought back a flood of memories from my own experiences at these events. Master Classes are golden opportunities for musicians. It really is an amazing experience to work with top caliber artists like Martin, who function daily on a higher musical plane than most of us can only begin to imagine. We just had a master class at MU this evening - our second of three for this academic year. I have made it a priority to provide at least one such opportunity for my students every year. I was astounded by how few students took the opportunity to attend and observe this rare event. So, I'm posting this as a reminder to all of you out there - that sometimes you are given a chance to rub elbows with greatness, but You have to be ready to recognize and grab those opportunities with both hands before they pass you by. Treasure and set aside time for the moments when extraordinary events become open to you. So many people moved heaven and earth to go see the eclipse last week because the opportunity won't present itself again for 20 years. It was a rare experience, indeed - but it had no real power to impact anyone personally. A human connection can and will do that, so let me encourage you to prioritize those possibilities for Yourself. You won't regret it, and it just might change your life.

Collaborative pianist Martin Katz coaches Soprano Emma McNairy and pianist Brent Funderburk on Debussy's "Spleen" from Ariettes oubliées.Visit http://bit.ly/...