Explaining music's 'chill' effect on the brain and body

“Why is your music important to you? How much time do you spend listening to music per day? How many songs per day do you listen to? How important is your music to you?”

Undergrad's opera, 'La Tricot,' debuts Dec. 3

Patrick Braga ’17 spent a little more than a year working on his chamber opera, “La Tricotea (Opus 25),” which will premiere Dec. 3 with 16 student vocalists and instrumentalists.“This was a project out of my own passion for composition and to convince people that opera doesn’t have to be a boring ordeal,” said Braga, who was inspired by a music history course with Professor Judith Peraino and a Glee Club selection by Assistant Professor Robert Isaacs.

Yujin 'Stacy' Joo '16 wins Cornell Concerto Competition

Pianist Yujin "Stacy" Joo '16 won the 12th annual Cornell Concerto Competition Dec. 13 for her performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26, Mvt. 1, accompanied by Blaise Bryski. A chemistry and biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Joo has played piano for ensembles including the orchestra, wind symphony and a cover band.

Randel honored by American Musicological Society

Professor Emeritus of Musicology Don M. Randel was named an honorary member of the American Musicological Society (AMS) during its recent annual meeting in Louisville. This award is to given to scholars “who have made outstanding contributions to furthering the Society’s mission and whom the Society wishes to honor.”

Chorus, Glee Club realize dream of Latin American tour

After two years of planning and lots of help from alumni, 96 members of the Glee Club and Chorus spent three weeks singing and teaching in Guatemala and Mexico.

Humanities faculty tackle timely issues in ‘Big Ideas’ panels

Six panels of faculty from across various disciplines in Arts and Sciences will share glimpses of their latest research on topics as diverse as technology and humanitarianism in a series of “Big Ideas” panel discussions this semester.

Composer, emeritus professor Steven Stucky dies at 66

Faculty remember the "gentle yet powerful influence" of Steven Stucky, emeritus professor of music and Pulitzer Prize winner, who died this month at his home in Ithaca.

Asking questions of culture: media studies at Cornell

Media studies research and teaching at Cornell elaborates on traditional techniques of scholarship, bringing in new objects of analysis and combining disciplines. 

Transformative Humanities: Faculty reveal life-changing creative works

From Virginia Woolf to Debussy, faculty share the works that have impacted their careers and their lives during this series of lunchtime talks with students.

Roberto Sierra releases musical works in Spain

Congratulations to Roberto Sierra, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities and professor of music, on the international release of his new CD “Boleros & Montunos” in Madrid, Spain.

Students produce rarely staged 1606 opera 'Eumelio'

Resurrecting a 17th-century Italian opera whose sole musical source was incompletely notated was a challenge musicologist Neal Zaslaw and a group of students were happy to accept.What started as a spring 2015 seminar project was unveiled March 19-20 as an opera complete with Baroque instruments, Arcadian shepherds, hellish demons and classical statuary in the auditorium of Klarman Hall.

Music curriculum expands to reach students of diverse musical backgrounds

Through engaged learning activities, music classes are reaching out to a new generation of listeners.

Doctoral student honored with Carnegie Hall commission

Charles Peck is one of only four classical composers chosen to create a piece for the New York Youth Symphony's First Music Program.

Internationalization grants awarded to faculty

Twelve faculty-led projects, including six in Arts & Sciences, have been awarded approximately $213,000 under the Internationalizing the Cornell Curriculum (ICC) grant program.

Prof. Madrid wins humanities book award

Alejandro L. Madrid, associate professor of music, has won the 2016 Humanities Book Award from the Mexico Section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) for his most recent book, In Search of Julián Carrillo and Sonido 13 (Oxford University Press, 2015). The prize is awarded annually to an outstanding and original contribution to the study of Mexico in book-length academic monographs and works published during the previous year.

Library hosts camp on humanities and technology

At the Central New York THAT (The Humanities and Technology) Camp held in Olin Library, there were no official presenters, while participants voted on workshop topics and met in collaborative sessions.The informal structure suited the subject matter, since digital humanities is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field.

Patrick Braga: 'I want to continue writing innovative modern opera and make meaningful changes to urban policy. '

Patrick Braga

Economics, Music, Urban and Regional Studies

Sarasota, FL

Lauren Blacker: 'I found a way to incorporate music into my education.'

Lauren Blacker

Biology and Society

Chicago, IL

Sarah McDonald: 'The diversity and size of Cornell has expanded my worldview.'

Sarah McDonald

Music & English

Essex, CT

Music's Mayfest returns May 20–24

Cornell University’s Department of Music, under the artistic direction of pianists Xak Bjerken and Miri Yampolsky, will present its ninth springtime festival of world-class chamber music in Ithaca May 20–24. Mayfest will offer six intimate concerts in four inspiring locations: Cornell’s Barnes Hall, Klarman Hall, Lab of Ornithology, and the Carriage House Café.

Cornell Council for the Arts supports 40 new projects

The Cornell Council for the Arts (CCA) has awarded grants supporting 40 projects, many involving students and faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences, to be presented or performed during the 2016-17 academic year.

Student Awards for 2016

Students from throughout the college were honored recently for their accomplishments.

Tonia Ko wins BMI Student Composer Award

Doctoral student Tonia Ko was one of nine classical composers to win a Student Composer Award May 16 from Broadcast Music, Inc.  The awards are given to composers age 15-27 who are recognized for their superior musical compositional abilities. The students are awarded scholarship grants, which help them with their musical education.

CCA 2016 Biennial to focus on empathy

The Cornell Council for the Arts (CCA) 2016 Biennial, “Abject/Object Empathies,” will feature 12 new projects by invited artists, Cornell faculty members and students. Most of the works will be presented on campus between Sept. 15 and Dec. 22, all on the theme of the cultural production of empathy.