SUU Music Faculty Prove That Those Who Can Do, Teach
Published: February 07, 2023 | Author: Kol Gibson | Read Time: 3 minutes
The Southern Utah University Department of Music will present its faculty recital, Abendmusik, on Monday, February 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. in the Thorley Recital Hall. This annual recital features the talents of several full-time and adjunct faculty members whose talents demonstrate the wide breadth of expertise within the department. This recital is free and open to the public.
It may be said that “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” but SUU’s music faculty are both premier performers and educators. With 14 full-time faculty and over 30 adjunct professors, the Music program offers undergraduate degrees in Instrumental, Vocal, and Piano Performance, Music Education, and Commercial Music, as well as graduate degrees in Music Education and Music Technology. The careful instruction and mentorship of students in these disciplines have produced hundreds of successful alumni who continue the faculty’s legacy by working and teaching in their respective fields.
Alongside the traditional solos and ensemble performances that will be performed, this year’s recital also features a large ensemble of faculty performing together, organized by the director of Graduate Music Technology, Dan Anderegg.
“Shortly after last year’s Abendmusik Recital, I began to envision what it might look like to have a large ensemble of faculty performing together,” says Anderegg, who helped found the Music Technology program in 2016. “I wanted our students to see us come together to make music in new ways and see examples of collaboration.”
Dan had originally desired to write something original which would incorporate each faculty member performing on their primary instrument, however, as the piece started coming together, he found that the piece’s real objective was to bring the faculty together and bond. He resolved to have the faculty come together and teach each other how to perform something different and new by incorporating crystal singing bowls, performers, and a clarinet.
He continues, “By removing every person from their comfort zone and not allowing them to play their primary instruments, I wanted to see what kind of experience we could create. Could we level the playing field completely or almost completely?”
The resulting art performance piece, Sotto Voce (Italian for “in a quiet voice”), is performed mostly with sounds and actions rather than traditional scales and pitches and tells a story from the Hebrew Bible where the voice of Deity was not found in the rushing wind, the earthquake, or the blazing fire, but instead, in a still, small voice.
“The SUU faculty have always enjoyed collaborating on our annual recital,” shares Dr. Lawrence Johnson, Chair of the SUU Music Department. “We consider this recital a gift to the community which has steadfastly supported us through all of these years and continues to do so, and for which we are extremely and forever grateful.”
The Abendmusik Faculty Recital is sure to be an exciting evening of music for all musical tastes. Don’t miss this exciting one-night-only concert featuring the SUU Music Department’s best-of-the-best! For more information about arts events at SUU, please visit www.suu.edu/arts.
About the College of Performing and Visual Arts
The College of Performing and Visual Arts (CPVA) at Southern Utah University comprises 41 academic programs including liberal arts (BA/BS) and professional (BFA, BM, BMEd) degrees in art, design, dance, filmmaking, music, and theatre. It includes graduate programs in the fields of arts administration (MFA, MA), music education (MME), and music technology (MM). More than 60 full-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 900 majors in the College. CPVA presents over 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year and is affiliated with the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA), Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the Center for Shakespeare Studies. Southern Utah University is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) making SUU the first public university in the state of Utah to be accredited by all four associations. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, visit www.suu.edu/pva.
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