Jazz septet earns national DownBeat Magazine award
The Herbert Gussman Jazz Septet at Cornell has been recognized with a DownBeat 2026 Student Music Award in the category of Small Jazz Ensemble/Combo - College/Undergraduate Outstanding Performance.
Buzzing in: Gilmer turns trivia love into a Jeopardy! moment
Laurel Gilmer of Cornell University’s College of Arts & Sciences competed on Jeopardy! May 12, showcasing trivia expertise after a rigorous audition process. The music department events director highlighted preparation strategies and contestant experience on the iconic quiz show.
Merrill Scholars honor mentors who inspired them
Cornell University honored 31 Merrill Presidential Scholars May 19, recognizing academic excellence and mentorship. College of Arts and Sciences senior Carolina Aguilera-Garza and peers celebrated influential teachers and Cornell mentors shaping leadership, scholarship, and public impact.
Twenty-three Receive Awards Recognizing Excellence and Impact
Several Cornell College of Arts and Sciences graduate students and one faculty member from the college were honored with 2026 Graduate Excellence and Impact Awards. Presented May 13, the awards honor leadership, service and mentorship.
Faculty excellence in teaching and advising honored with 2026 awards
Cornell’s College of Arts & Sciences honors the winners of its 2026 teaching and advising awards. Faculty members Nicole Giannella, Karola Mészáros and Landon Schnabel stand out this year, earning major awards for excellence; many instructors and teaching assistants received recognition, as well.
'A&S teaches you how to be curious'
Isaac Dorio is majoring in music and anthropology
Mayfest, Cornell’s international chamber music festival, returns May 15-19
After a two-year break, Cornell University music faculty are bringing back Mayfest from May 15-19 in Barnes Hall. The event will feature music from Bach to Kurtág, including works by Arensky, Dvořák, Puccini, Brahms and a new commission by Cornellian Joseph Phibbs, a tribute to his teacher, Steven Stucky.
Listening party to celebrate music professor’s improvisational album drop
Violinist Ariana Kim, faculty member in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences explores improvisation in pieces from classical to folk traditions in her new album, “(un)common thread,” which will drop from Saffron Soul Records May 26. A May 3 listening party will celebrate the release.
Gamelan concert highlights Thai royal anthem
At Cornell University, Christopher J. Miller and Parkorn Wangpaiboonkit present Thai-inspired gamelan music in Klarman Hall’s Groos Family Atrium on April 26, marking Wangpaiboonkit’s arrival as assistant professor.
Ask an ambassador: The first-year music experience
Student Ambassador Alexandra Hui, Class of 2029, describes finding mentorship and belonging in Cornell Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.
Flamenco artists featured on Concert Series April 11
The Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series at Cornell University closes its 2025-26 season with renowned company Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana at Bailey Hall during a performance on April 11 at 7:30 p.m. The event features QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), a new work by dancer/choreographer Patricia Guerrero, featuring an original live score by Francis Gómez.
Admitted Class of 2030 seeks real-world impact
Cornell admits the Class of 2030 emphasizing real-world impact, enrolling 5,776 students from 102 countries. At Cornell University, the diverse cohort reflects the land-grant mission and applied learning goals across multiple colleges.
Misfits find a home – and a history – in the ongoing story of punk
A new book by Judith Peraino, professor of music in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences, explores the outsider spirit of punk music and culture. "We're Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from CBGB to Gilman and Beyond" draws upon Cornell University Library’s archive of punk-related material.
Renowned pianist Sir Stephen Hough plays Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series
In the concert, Hough will play an imaginative program that includes works by Schubert, Brahms, Schoenberg, Beethoven and a suite from "Mary Poppins."
Events honor the legacy of composer Steven Stucky
The Department of Music is honoring the late Steven Stucky, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and beloved Cornell professor, with a series of concerts.
Pianist, composer Tigran Hamasyan plays Dallas Morse Concert Series
Released on Feb. 6 via Naïve Records, Hamasyan's album "Manifeste" marks a new chapter for one of the most visionary artists working at the intersection of jazz, progressive rock, and global music.
Composer Michael Abels, famous for work on Jordan Peele films, to visit March 6-7
Events include film screenings, panel discussions and a concert by the Barbara & Richard T. Silver Wind Symphony.
Weiss and Provost awards honor outstanding faculty
Four faculty from A&S have been awarded Cornell’s highest honors for graduate and undergraduate teaching.
Garifuna Collective featured on Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series
Rooted in the Afro-AmerIndian heritage of communities along the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, Garifuna music blends West African rhythms, indigenous Carib influences and the Arawak language.
Fossiles to fortepianos: The Hill's 'mini-museums' and collections
The next time you visit Ithaca, check out exhibits on Chimes history, astronomical instruments, historical keyboards and so much more
In Praise of Sage Chapel, East Hill’s beloved house of worship
Built in an era when the University was under fire for being nonsectarian, it offers respite from a bustling campus.
‘Songs In Flight,’ inspired by Cornell-based project, earns Grammy nod
Based on poems by A&S alumna Tsitsi Ella Jaji, M.A. ’06, Ph.D. ’08, the songs by Shawn Okpebholo bring to life individual stories preserved by the Cornell-based Freedom on the Move project.
Vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant featured on Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series
Salvant, a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy Award winner, is an artist celebrated for bringing historical depth, dramatic flair, and exceptional musical insight to jazz standards and original works.
Combining humanities and tech for research gains
An interdisciplinary project is sparking collaborations among those interested in digital approaches to the study of history, languages and culture.
Commemorating composer, pianist, pedagogue Louise Farrenc Nov. 14-15
The two-day event features performances of Farrenc’s chamber music on historical instruments, a reimagining of the salon culture in collaboration with the Johnson Museum of Art, and scholarly presentations.
Cornell composer’s work featured in upcoming Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series event
A new work by Cornell alum Zachary Wadsworth DMA ’12, will premiere this weekend in three concerts, including one at Cornell’s Bailey Hall.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to perform with violinist James Ehnes Oct. 26
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with violin soloist James Ehnes will perform a program entitled “Postcards from Paris” in the next Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series (DMCCS) production of the 2025-26 season.
‘The Keyboards Strike Back’: concert sequel set for Oct. 9
Cornell faculty and graduate students unleash a genre-bending program across seventeen keyboard instruments, from the delicate whisper of the clavichord to the analog punch of the Roland Juno-60.
Music Oct. 2-5: Homecoming concerts and historical keyboards
Cornell orchestras, vocal ensembles and the Center for Historical Keyboards plan performances.
Ethnomusicologist Martin Hatch, professor of music emeritus, dies at 83
Martin F. Hatch Jr., Ph.D. ’80, professor of music emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Aug. 23 in Ithaca, New York. He was 83.
Le Vent du Nord plays Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series Sept. 20
A leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement, Le Vent du Nord will perform in the first Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series (DMCCS) on Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall.
New Faculty: Parkorn Wangpaiboonkit
Parkorn Wangpaiboonkit, Music
New Faculty: Igor Santos
Igor Santos, Music
2025 Nexus Scholars talk about academic growth, transformation
Ten students who participated in this summer's Nexus Scholars Program share their stories..
Modern theory of music perception posited by 1700s potter
A new book by Carmel Raz focuses on the work of John Holden, an 18th-century potter who also wrote an influential treatise on musical theory.
Festival celebrates pianos in history, history in pianos
Musicians, scholars and instrument makers will gather at Cornell Aug. 5-10 for Forte | Piano 2025: Crafting Soundscapes, a conference and festival exploring dimensions of historical keyboard practice from performance and scholarship to instrument making and listening.
Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series announces 2025-26 Season
The season will include explorations of timeless classics, as well as concerts highlighting new frontiers in music.
‘End of a hopeful era’: Cornell expert reflects on Wilson and Stone legacies
The deaths of Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys, and funk and soul pioneer Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, mark the end of a pivotal era in music, says professor Judith Peraino.
From posters to precedent, humanities scholars showcase their research
Projects spanned topics from Confederate cemeteries to Korean textiles.
Gift creates new Dallas Morse Coors Concert Series at Cornell
A $2 million gift from the Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts will rename the Cornell Concert Series and allow it to continue its efforts to bring world-class musicians to campus.
Music professor named new director of Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity
Roger Moseley, associate professor of music, will begin in the new role July 1.