Since 2019, the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder College of Musicā€™s annual Persevering Legacy events have showcased works by women composers, including those from historically marginalized groups. This yearā€™s concert and master class are no different.

Student soloists and ensembles are encouraged to select works from the ā€”housed in our American Music Research Center archivesā€”comprising compositions by Black women composers.

This year, the concert will feature 11 different actsā€”including the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder Chamber Singers led by Director of Choral Activities Coreen Duffyā€”presenting compositions by Connie Converse, Reena Esmail, Florence Price, B.E. Boykin and our previous Genevieve McVey Wisner lecturer Gabriela Lena Frank, among others. 

ā€œPersevering Legacy is an opportunity for students to research composers or pieces that may be entirely new to them and then present those works, broadening their scope,ā€ says Alexis McClain, director of community support + programming, who helps facilitate Persevering Legacy. ā€œOur audiences also benefit, experiencing music thatā€™s not often programmed.ā€

Alumnus  (DMA ā€™92, composition)ā€”son of the late Helen Walker-Hill and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walkerā€”will lead a master class for Persevering Legacy participants, working through the pieces theyā€™ve selected and offering his unique background, knowledge, insight and passion for the collection based on his directly personal connection.

ā€œIā€™ve watched the collection unfold from close proximity for a number of years and love every aspect of the master class,ā€ he says. ā€œI love the music. I love getting in touch with the students who are discovering this music, often for the first time. And really, this keeps my mom alive for me because itā€™s not just my motherā€™s work, but a lifeā€™s work.ā€ 

Walker says playing new and largely unfamiliar pieces is helpful to students in their music careers as it allows them to apply their creativity and artistry in perhaps unexpected ways. 

ā€œWe spend most of our music education studying the guys that are the Mount Rushmore of classical music. The thing is, thereā€™s a lot of baggage that comes with this defaultā€”not only are you trying to nail the notes, but there are all these expectations that have been dictated by performers who preceded you,ā€ says Walker who recently released a satirical new book, ā€œ.ā€

ā€œSo, if youā€™ve got these underrepresented composers, not only have you found them or are championing them, but you have to make these decisions,ā€ he adds. ā€œYou have to develop your own internal tradition and use your creativity. It's more than you and impressing your audience thatā€™s at stake, it's making a case for someone who could still be lost to history after you're done performing that nightā€”and that is a really worthy challenge.ā€

Join us for the  on Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. and the preceding  with Gregory Walker on Tuesday, March 4 at 2 p.m., both in the Chamber Hall (S102), Imig Music Building.

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ā€œArt is possibility, expression is potential.ā€

Thatā€™s according to , the Pulitzer Prize-winning DinĆ© composer, musician and sound installation artist slated to deliver the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder College of Musicā€™s annual  Genevieve McVey Wisner lecture on Feb. 26. In his wide-ranging and ambitious oeuvre, Chaconā€”a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Albuquerque, New Mexicoā€”has tackled themes ranging from colonization to displacement to questions of environmental stewardship and conservation.

The myriad media heā€™s chosen to explore these themes reflect a spirit of creative exploration. His Pulitzer Prize-winning work, ā€œVoiceless Mass,ā€ is an ensemble work composed specifically to be performed in any space of worship with high ceilings and pipe organ. ā€œSound Ladderā€ is a sound installationā€”debuted in 2024ā€”that features a sequence of 16 pine planks hung from ceiling to floor; for this work, Chacon collaborated with members of the BĆ„l Nango family, a SĆ”mi family of reindeer herders and land guardians.

Chacon has built instruments and explored new ways to present sound. Heā€™s paired his compositions with visual cues and physical components, and drawn upon the very land surrounding his compositions to convey his messages.

ā€œI think art is there to show that we can all think in different ways, we can all dream in ways we didnā€™t know we could,ā€ Chacon explains. ā€œWeā€™re in danger when we become narrow and exclude possibilities.ā€ That philosophy is part of the lure of Chaconā€™s upcoming visit to Boulder. Working firsthand with students and offering novel perspectives about the possibilities of self-expression reconnects the artist to his own commitment to learning and growth; the chance to explore his work and style with developing musicians and artists holds its own unique appeal.

ā€œPart of my interest in giving lectures and visiting universities is to share my work and offer music students insights into ways that music doesnā€™t have to be on the stage,ā€ Chacon says, also reflecting the College of Musicā€™s universal musician approach to achieving our mission. ā€œIt can be presented in different mediaā€”performance art, sound sculpture, as film or video. I am really interested in sharing my different tactics with students.ā€

The concept of place plays a large role in Chaconā€™s work and one of the pieces heā€™ll detail in his lecture is located in the United Arab Emirates in a ā€œghost villageā€ that was originally assigned to a tribe of nomads by the government. ā€œBeing that theyā€™re nomadic people, they did not move in. These houses are being taken by the desert,ā€ Chacon explains. 

ā€œIā€™ve collaborated with these individuals and musicians to record their songs,ā€ he adds, noting that the ultimate effect of the installation is that ā€œit sounds like their music is moving through these houses and into the desert.ā€

Itā€™s an immediacy that Chacon stresses in his approach to music. While heā€™s a classically trained composer and musician, heā€™s careful not to undervalue the importance of the indefinable elements of the art formā€”the aspects of music that canā€™t necessarily be conveyed in a classroom, studio or textbook.

ā€œI do feel like Iā€™m continually learning,ā€ says Chacon . Iā€™m always seeking out the best media that an artwork should take. Iā€™m constantly researching new technologiesā€”experiencing exhibitions, artists and concerts. 

ā€œIā€™m still a big fan of being able to see musicians play, even more so than listening to recordings. I think live music is not only an obligation or responsibility, but itā€™s something that is wonderful to do, as a member of an audience.ā€

Even as he tackles weighty questions in his work, Chacon also finds power and joy in the ability to createā€”a boon he looks forward to sharing during his residency. ā€œNo matter what our occupation or how we spend our daily lives, we should be conscious of the work we can do to improve upon justice and the way we treat each other.ā€
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Join us for the College of Musicā€™s annual Genevieve McVey Wisner Lectureship* featuring Raven Chacon on Feb. 26 at 11:30 a.m., Chamber Hall (S102), Imig Music Building. On Feb. 27 at 9:30 a.m., Room NB185, Imig Music Building, Chacon will be part of a panel discussion, ā€œSituating your soulā€™s work in a hegemonic sphere.ā€ Both events are free and open to the public. 

Raven Chaconā€™s residency is made possible by the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder American Music Research Center, the College of Musicā€™s composition department and the collegeā€™s Diverse Musiciansā€™ Alliance. 

*Having graduated from Western University in Kansasā€”an historically Black collegeā€”with her first bachelorā€™s degree in 1922, Genevieve McVey Wisner became the first Black graduate of the College of Music in 1940 with a bachelorā€™s degree in music education, followed by a masterā€™s degree in 1944 at age 42.

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Among the American Music Research Center (AMRC) collections, hidden gems exist around every corner: Colorado history, music legends, big band ephemera, silent film scores, letters from Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder founders and more. In our new seriesā€”Gems of the AMRC collectionsā€”we aim to spotlight their content and the stories of the people behind them.  

Our first deep dive explores the  comprising folders of photos captured by the legendary Colorado rock ā€™nā€™ roll and folk music photographer. 

wasnā€™t music at all, but a chance to capture the president at the time: Dwight D. Eisenhower. ā€œSince I was such a little kid, all the photographers let me stand in the front. To me, those photos are amazing because at 14, I could tell that I already had the eye and the way to compose the picturesā€”plus they were really sharp and in focus.ā€

From there, Fong (Mktg. ā€™70) continued to take photos and started his own photography business after graduating from Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder. ā€œI did everything from bar mitzvah photographs to portraits to weddings,ā€ he recalls. ā€œThe biggest break came when KFMLā€”the underground radio stationā€”ended up three blocks from my studio. I went down there and made a deal with them: ā€˜Iā€™ll take photographs of the artists and give them to you for your advertising and you do radio commercials for me.ā€™ That was a big deal because thatā€™s when I met all of the record guys.ā€ MORE

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At the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM), students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. Most recently, the ECM awarded $5,820 in artist assistance grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects including:

Josie Arnett
ā€œIā€™m really picky about which pieces I release on streaming platforms because Iā€™m 20 and need to be able to write really bad music ā€¦ and then release the things that I really love,ā€ says Josie Arnett, an undergraduate composition student. 

ā€œLast fall, I got the opportunity to write a saxophone quartet piece for a group that travels all over the United States. I was really happy with the piece and really proud of it, so I reached out to a faculty member who set me up with the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder graduate saxophone quartet.ā€

Working with the Sanitas Saxophone Quartet, College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison and a mixing artist, Arnett recorded the piece for projected release on streaming platforms this summer. The ECM grant helped pay the artists and distribution fee.

Arnett says she learned a lot about how to interact in a professional recording setting and enjoyed collaborating within the College of Music. ā€œItā€™s been fun to work with people that have a lot of energy, positive attitudes and are just really excited about what they do,ā€ she shares.

Alice Del Simone
At the end of May, DMA student in voice performance and pedagogy Alice Del Simone was part of a workshop presentation at the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia titled ā€œLegato Then and Now, Vibrato Edition: A Close-Up of What Happens Between the Pitches in the Classical Bel Canto Tradition.ā€ 

ā€œThe workshop offered a toolbox of exercises for how to teach the type of legato singing that was happening at the end of the 1800s, beginning of the 1900s when we started to have recordings available,ā€ Del Simone says.

ā€œIt was my very first time presenting at a conference where there are often hurdles for a young academic to get an invitation to present. Iā€™ve been lucky that Iā€™ve been able to work with a group of people who are more prominent in the community than myself.ā€

During the symposium, Del Simone stayed at the conference hotel, partially funded by her ECM grant. 

Zachary Howarth
Zachary Howarth, a DMA student in jazz studies, will go on the road this summer to record music in studios in Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Howarth also hopes to perform this music live in venues across Colorado and Nevada. 

The project will involve a contemporary jazz quartetā€”trumpet, piano, bass, drumsā€”writing and recording the music. The ECM grant will help the project get off the ground by assisting with studio fees, production costs and travel expenses. 

ā€œThe opportunity to write, record and play music with such high-level artists is invaluable to my collaborative research in compositional tendencies in contemporary jazz mediums and fully improvised music,ā€ Howarth says. 

SeaJun Kwon
SeaJun Kwon, also a DMA student in jazz studies, likes writing compositions that push the boundaries of jazz music including ā€œAvant Shortsā€ā€”10 etudes exploring micro tonalities and rhythmic concepts that arenā€™t commonly used in jazz compositions. 

Kwon plans to compose these etudes and begin recording them over the summer, using a microphone setup funded by an ECM grant. 

ā€œI thought Iā€™d write a bunch of super short compositions that focus on different ideas to develop myself and provide my community with these resources,ā€ Kwon says. 

By keeping them brief, he hopes to make the compositions more accessible and useful for his community. 

ā€œPeople are really busy, there are so many things that you have to do and also so many distractions,ā€ Kwon says. ā€œI think these short compositions put less pressure on peopleā€”they can work on them for 10 minutes and still learn from them.ā€ 

Er-Hsuan Li
Er-Hsuan Li graduated from the College of Music in May with a DMA in piano performance. In April, he held a concert featuring the world premiere of John Clay Allenā€™s ā€œā€ concerto for piano and strings along with Dmitri Shostakovichā€™s Piano Concerto No. 1.

ā€œIt was a very fun event,ā€ Li says. ā€œEven though it was off-campus, it was really Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲthat made this possible because thatā€™s how we connected.ā€

Many Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder musicians participated including conductor and Associate Director of Orchestras Renee Gilliland, composition alumnus John Clay Allen, Anna Kallinikosā€”whoā€™s majoring in trumpet performance and minoring in businessā€”and the majority of the 18-member orchestra. The ECM grant assisted Li with compensating the performers and renting the venue.

ā€œI had performed in front of an orchestra only once before when I was a high schooler,ā€ Li recalls. ā€œSo it was really special for me thatā€”after 13 yearsā€”I got to do this again professionally. And I would like to think that I am a better musician now compared to then!ā€

Ethan Stahl
When Ethan Stahl discovered Nkeiru Okoyeā€™s music, he knew heā€™d found something special. ā€œI loved her music so much that I began working on it for one of my degree recitals,ā€ he says. ā€œEventually, it became evident that I had enough material to create a lecture recital.ā€

To prepare, Stahlā€”whoā€™s pursuing a DMA in piano performanceā€”interviewed Okoye about her music. ā€œWe talked on the phone for a few hours and in that conversation, she proposed the idea of writing a piece for me to add to one of the sets of piano pieces that I was studying.ā€ The ECM grant helped fund Okoyeā€™s contribution.

Okoyeā€™s music is already part of the American Music Research Centerā€™s Helen Walker-Hill Collection; her upcoming composition will be added to the collection.

ā€œOkoye is extremely novel in the world of piano composition,ā€ Stahl adds. ā€œIā€™ve never heard piano music that is similar stylistically to hers.ā€ 

Natalie Trejo
Artist Diploma student Natalie Trejo competed in the finals for the Austin Flute Societyā€™s Young Artist Competition in Aprilā€”and the ECM grant helped her get there. 

ā€œI submitted the preliminary recordings back in January. From there, they selected three finalists to perform in the live final round in Austin, Texas,ā€ Trejo says. ā€œIt went really well. I ended up getting third but I was very happy with how I played and I was not nervous at all.ā€

Trejo performed Chen Yiā€™s ā€œMemoryā€ for solo flute and Frank Martinā€™s ā€œBalladeā€ for flute and piano. 

ā€œI love doing competitions because I get to learn new repertoire, meet new flutists, make connections and get to know the other finalistsā€”itā€™s very important and humbling, but still encouraging,ā€ Trejo says.

Jonathon Winter
Another spring 2024 graduate, Jonathon Winterā€”who earned a DMA in violin performanceā€”recorded four pieces to be compiled into an album titled ā€œOrigin: Music by Women of the Americas.ā€ The pieces are ā€œkoā€™u inoaā€ by Leilehua Lanzilotti, ā€œScratch the Surfaceā€ by Dana Kaufman, ā€œString Poeticā€ by Jennifer Higdon and ā€œSueƱos de Chambiā€ by Gabriel Lena Frank.

ā€œI picked some fiendishly difficult music to play but it was so worth it,ā€ Winter says. ā€œI learned so much about preparing for recordings and what that actually entails.ā€

Winter worked with pianist and Postdoctoral Lecturer Barbara Noyes, as well as Kevin Harbison to record all four pieces over the course of seven months. Winter will continue the project over the summer with the goal of finding a label to disseminate the recordings.

Congratulations to all grant recipients and our thanks to this yearā€™s adjudicators: College of Music staff member Kathryn Bistodeau, Music Advisory Board member Laurie Hathorn and University of Denver entrepreneurship faculty member Neil Pollard. 

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Tallman moved to Boulder from Colorado Springs, struck by how tight-knit the College of Music is. ā€œI just love the community here,ā€ she says. ā€œI have really enjoyed getting to work with fellow students and build strong relationships with other people. 

ā€œI think it makes us much better musicians when we know people on a personal level because music is such a personal thing.ā€

Alongside performing, Tallman leveraged the College of Musicā€™s business offerings: Sheā€™ll graduate with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance as well as a Music Entrepreneurship certificate and business minor. ā€œI like having a balance of tangible resultsā€”like working in the nonprofit worldā€”and very subjective results, like playing music. I like having both. I think itā€™s a nice balance.ā€

Business courses empowered Tallman to build practical skills for potential future entrepreneurial ventures. ā€œFor the music entrepreneurship capstone, Iā€™m working on studio materials for when I want to start a private studio,ā€ she says. ā€œI think thatā€™s really important. 

ā€œThere are so many aspects of that, like setting up an LLC and payments and all these nitty-gritty thingsā€”Iā€™m really glad that I have the tools and resources to learn those kinds of things now.ā€

Tallmanā€™s future goals also include playing chamber music and working in the nonprofit sector. She explains, ā€œI want to work for a nonprofit that does outreach to make arts more accessible in schools. I actually had a personal experience with thatā€”in fifth grade through middle school, the arts were not funded by my school. I think itā€™s important that kids have arts experience.ā€

Next year, Tallman will continue her journey in both performance and managementā€”sheā€™s starting a masterā€™s program in music and arts management at Colorado State University. ā€œIā€™m super excited!ā€

Congratulations to Madison and all of our winter 2023 and spring 2024 graduates!

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ā€œA lot of students shared with me that they hadnā€™t participated in many networking events and that networking seems stressful,ā€ Brock says. ā€œI got a lot of feedback that it felt like it might be overly transactional or anxiety-inducing to go up to people and introduce yourself.ā€

Those conversations were the inspiration behind Musical Dialogues, a networking event hosted by the ECM that aims to connect students with each other and with musicians from across the Front Range. Among others, participating music professionals include Colorado Symphony members Nicholas Tisherman and Carolyn Kunicki. 

Musical Dialogues follows the framework of a formal networking event, down to the dress code: business formal. ā€œThis is a really unique opportunity for students to experience what some of these more formal events are like and for them to engage with musicians from a variety of spheres,ā€ Brock says.

Musical Dialogues exemplifies the ECMā€™s mission to equip todayā€™s music students with the skills and tools they need to create sustainable careers in the arts. Brock explains, ā€œBy attending an event like this, students are developing some of the networking skills that they will very likely be using in their careers. 

ā€œAlso, so many career opportunities come as a direct result of the relationships that have been built over the years and the more that students can get the opportunity to connect with one another and musicians from outside of the university, the more theyā€™ll be able to then build on those relationships and develop those opportunities for one another later on.ā€

The event is partially funded by the Dr. C.W. Bixler Family Foundation. ā€œI am extremely grateful that the ECM has been given this opportunity through the generosity of the Bixler fund,ā€ Brock says. Bixler Foundation funds support faculty projects that elevate and enrich the College of Music experience. 

To the potential attendees, Brock says to come with an open mind. ā€œThereā€™s really space for everyone in terms of musical interests and in terms of career goals. Oftentimes, networking can feel like this prescribed, formulaic thing and really itā€™s just about leaning into who you are, bringing your own authentic self and developing connections with other musicians.ā€

Musical Dialogues will be held on April 10, 2024 from 5-8 p.m. at .

Photo: A recent ECM networking event in Grusin Lobby (credit: Marilyn Brock).

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Historically, minority groups have been overlooked in classical music performance. Since 2019, the College of Musicā€™s Persevering Legacy projectā€”with support from the ā€”aims to bring such underrepresented artists into the spotlight.

On March 7, will showcase the talents of more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate students in a celebration of women-identifying composers from around the world. Selected from more than 20 submissions, the program will include works for bassoon, saxophone, French horn, trombone, violin, viola, piano, voice and electronic sounds in various combinations and featuring a range of musical styles. 

Professor of Piano Pedagogy Alejandro Cremaschi has been coordinating the annual Persevering Legacy event and chairing the selection committee for the last six years. ā€œIā€™ve always been interested in promoting and disseminating works by composers in underrepresented groups in the classical music field,ā€ he says. 

Cremaschi and Assistant Professor of Composition Annika Socolofsky comprised this yearā€™s Persevering Legacy selection committee.

Many of the works to be performed come from the American Music Research Centerā€™s including music by Black women composers such as Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Margaret Bonds, Florence Price and Mary Watkins, according to Cremaschi. ā€œThe program also includes a solo piano work by undergraduate composer Josie Arnett, to be performed by another undergraduate, Holly McMahon,ā€ he adds. 

Cremaschi further notes his excitement to discover how many students are interested in performing often neglected works. ā€œThe Persevering Legacy project is among the most successful DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives of the College of Music, creating awareness, excitement and engagement among our students and faculty for exploring amazing works that would otherwise be collecting dust,ā€ he says. ā€œPersevering Legacy concerts also create support around the women and women-identifying musicians and composers in our college.ā€

As part of this yearā€™s Persevering Legacy event, alumnus Gregory Walkerā€”son of the composer George Walker and Helen Walker-Hill, a pianist and musicologist who specialized in the music of Black womenā€”will present a master class on March 5, 10:50 a.m.-12:20 p.m. (C125). Walkerā€”a violinist, composer and American Academy of Arts and Letters Fellowship recipient, among other distinctionsā€”is professor of music and entertainment studies at Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲDenver.

for Persevering Legacy on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Imig Music Building, Chamber Hall (S102).

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Oā€™Neil Jonesā€”a third-year DMA student in choral conducting and literature at the College of Musicā€”is bringing those sounds to Boulder. 

Jones has created the first statewide Jamaican Choral Music Symposium, Feb. 22-25, to elevate the history, language and musical elements of Jamaican choral music through direct interaction with natives of the country. by the University Singers who are based at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. The group, now led by Franklin Halliburton, will appear here thanks to a $25,000 Roser Visiting Artists Program grant awarded to Jones. Halliburton is a key figure in furthering Jamaican choral music as a genre, having worked with choral conductor-composer over some 20 years prior to his passing.

ā€œThis music is a major part of who we are,ā€ stresses Jones. ā€œJamaicans know this music, but they donā€™t know who wrote it.ā€ A native of Montego Bay, he grew up singing those songs in church, noting that Jamaica has 1,600 churches, the largest per-capita number of any country in the world. ā€œThe music was not being preserved, beyond simply being performed,ā€ he explains. Indeed, while there were sacred songs being sung all over the island, most were never written down or were notated in different versions. 

Today, Jonesā€”whoā€™s also the 2023-24 recipient of the Susan L. Porter Memorial Fellowshipā€”is advancing one of the goals of our American Music Research Center by bringing the choral music and culture of his island home to a wider audience this month, including the participation of area high schools and the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder University Singers, Chamber Singers and Treble Chorus. He also hopes to publish the music of Jamaican choral composers. 

Primary among those is a major force in Jamaican choral musicā€”and a pivotal figure in the lives of both Jones and Halliburton: Noel Dexter (1938-2019). ā€œHeā€™s the reason Iā€™m here,ā€ says Jones. ā€œHe was my mentor, he gave me my first voice lesson and he taught me how to conduct.ā€ Their bond began in 2009 and continued until Dexterā€™s death.

Dexter sent Jones on a journey of discovery that led him to Boulder. Since Jamaica had no serious conducting program, he encouraged his young student to enroll at Mississippiā€™s Alcorn State University where another of Dexterā€™s former students had been teaching. Jones obliged, then continued his studies at the University of Southern Mississippi. Eventually, he met Assistant Professor of Voice Andrew Garland at a national singing competition at Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder. ā€œĀ鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲallowed me to accept Professor Garlandā€™s invitation to continue studying voice while actively pursuing a career in conducting,ā€ Jones says. 

In 2021, he settled in Boulder, although Jamaica remained close to his heart. ā€œIn preparing my conducting recitals, I included one song by Mr. Dexter to honor his memoryā€”from there, the zeal to bring more of his music to the world was ignited,ā€ he adds.

The Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder College of Music presents at Macky Auditorium on Feb. 25, 2024.

Photos: Oā€™Neil Jones (top); Noel Dexter (right). 

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Brock is a PhD candidate at Denver University, pursuing a degree in business administration. She also teaches classes in DUā€™s entrepreneurship program. Previously, Brock earned two music degreesā€”a bachelorā€™s in vocal performance from Pittsburg State University and a Master of Arts in musicology from DU. 

ā€œOne of the things I tell my students frequently is how important it is to network and build relationships,ā€ Brock says. ā€œThatā€™s how I came to be at the ECM. A friend of mine told me about the job and connected me with Jeff Nytch. From there, I did an interview and got the job offer the next day!ā€

In her current position, Brock works with students in classes, and runs events and workshops as the center director. ā€œThere are a few different pieces to this role,ā€ Brock explains. ā€œThere are the courses I teach, looking at music business, careers and entrepreneurship.

Brock says her goals for the ECM are to continue the momentum already in place and to use her connections to bring lessons about the broader music industry to our students. 

ā€œI love to provide opportunities for students to learn in the classroom, or in workshops, things that I had to learn the hard way,ā€ she says. ā€œAnother goal for me is to develop as much collaboration as possibleā€”within the College of Music, with other parts of campus, or even with guests that we have coming in this year. I also want to ensure that diverse voices are represented and that Iā€™m creating a space where regardless of identity or background, students feel safe and feel a sense of belonging within the ECM.ā€

In fall 2023, Brock helped bring many guests to campus as part of the ECMā€™s Learning Lunch series: Informal chats about the business and administrative sides of the music industry. She also set up open house workshops about networking and worked with a local photographer to bring free headshot opportunities to students.

ā€œItā€™s rare that you would have a dean who is willing to take not one but two mornings to speak to a class, and I think thatā€™s a really amazing reflection of the College of Music,ā€ Brock says. 

Brockā€”who will be with the College of Music through the spring semesterā€”has plans for even more guests, workshops and Learning Lunches. ā€œI want to give students the opportunity to learn as much as they can to support their own individual goals and find what drives them, what their passions are and how they can then support what theyā€™re wanting to do with their music degrees.ā€

Photo credit for session photos: Kathryn Bistodeau

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is a Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder alumna, a flutist and now the artistic operations manager at the . She graduated from the College of Music in 2019 with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance and an Arts Administration micro-credential. The College of Music recently caught up with Fischer to ask about her current job and her time at Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder!

Why did you choose the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder College of Music for your degree?

From the moment I listened to Professor of Flute Christina Jenningsā€™ Rochberg album, I was enthralled (and still am!) with her sound. I had simply never heard a flute sound like that and knew immediately I had to study with her. Then it sealed the deal when I learned all of the holistic offerings that Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder provides. I knew early on that I wanted to attend a school with a conservatory feel but still had the wealth of opportunities that a large institution can offer. I remember being so excited at the start of each semester picking out my classesā€”early music ensemble, Impressionism and Expressionism theory class, French, orchestral excerpts class with Brook Ferguson of the Colorado Symphony, Alexander Technique, fundamentals of audio recordingā€”such a breadth of options!

When you think of your time at the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder College of Music, is there an experience that stands out?

As a total flute nerd, my weekly highlight was flute studio class where I refined my skills of critical listening, giving and receiving feedback, and performing under pressure. I learned so much from the graduate students in particular who were outstanding mentors. The close proximity to the Colorado Symphony was another major highlight, as was the access to the Colorado Flute Association. I was also very involved with chamber music throughout my entire degree and some of my favorite memories are late-night rehearsals preparing the Poulenc Sextet. We somehow convinced what felt like every instrumental faculty member to coach us and it was an incredible experience.

Who were the faculty members that had an impact on you?

I was lucky to work with many of the stellar faculty at the College of Music. One of the most special parts of the college is the close-knit community and low student-to-faculty ratio that allows you to seek out opportunities for collaboration. Of course I credit so much of my development to Professor Jenningsā€”she shaped the way I approach music and flute playing and also taught me the importance of developing a strong community, as evident in the ā€œfludioā€ (flute studio) who are some of my closest friends.

Other faculty highlights were working with Joan Braun and SoYoung Lee in the arts administration certificate courses. It was so influential to work with and learn from women in leadership roles. My time with them helped motivate me to pursue my interests beyond just performance. And of course I have to mention studying with Margaret McDonald and working with the incredible collaborative piano department, chamber music coachings with NicolĆ² Spera, developing my ensemble skills in the Wind Symphony with Don McKinney, the weekly career workshops with Jeff Nytch at the Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM) ā€¦ the list goes on.

The current dean of the College of Music, John Davis, has a vision for the college that includes developing what he calls universal musicians. This means developing multiskilled, multifaceted musicians with a broader education to help them in their future careers. Why is this important in a musical career?

Developing a holistic skillset is a necessary requirement in the current musical landscape. Pursuing a broad education actually helps you specialize because it gives you opportunities to explore and discover what is best suited to you. A degree in music at a well-rounded institution such as Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲBoulder gives you transferable skills for many different career paths. Your life will take many twists and turnsā€”and when youā€™re first starting college itā€™s impossible to predict the trajectory of your career. The collegeā€™s ECM, Diverse Musiciansā€™ Alliance, Arts Administration micro-credential and working in the box office at Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲPresents opened up the world of arts administration for me. Through these offerings, I learned about internships at summer festivals and ultimately found a rewarding career path fitted to my unique skill sets and complimenting my training and background in performance.

What are you up to now?

I work in the artistic operations department at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. My role is focused on supporting our annual eight-week summer festival and year-round programming, and includes coordinating the logistics of our guest artists, creating the festival schedule and helping put on over 120 master classes, concerts and competitions each summer. Itā€™s a very fulfilling jobā€”I love getting to know so many different musicians and supporting their artistry. When you work ā€œbehind the scenesā€ of any organization, you realize just how many details go into everything.

I had such an amazing undergrad and am so grateful for my time in Boulder. I miss the Flatirons, the farmers market, but mostly the community at the College of Musicā€”I canā€™t wait to visit! ā€˜Sko buffs!

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