IU
Jacobs School of Music
Office of the Dean

FROM THE DESK OF THE DEAN

As we approach the halfway point of the spring semester, I wanted to provide each of you an update about what is happening at the Jacobs School of Music.  

Performance Highlights in February

The spring semester is always busy for a school of music, but the month of February has been an exceptional time. The opening opera for the semester was a magnificent production of Osvaldo Golijov’s opera, Ainadamar, with sets by LA-based visual artist Gronk. This opera, which synthesized Spanish, Cuban, and Middle Eastern musical idioms, was utterly incredible. We were honored to host Maestro Golijov on campus for a residency before the opening. He expressed how remarkable he found the students at Jacobs for their boundless curiosity about music. The opera leveraged not only the Voice Department, the Opera faculty, Collaborative Piano, and the talented production team, but also the Ballet students, the Audio Engineering staff and students, Musicology, and others. It was a tour de force for Jacobs.

The next week, we were thrilled to host the legendary Count Basie Orchestra at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The 88-year-old group was directed by Scotty Barnhart and included the last vocalist hired by Basie himself, Carmen Bradford. The opportunity to have the band stop in Bloomington came up suddenly, and the Jazz Studies Department jumped at the chance. The Buskirk was packed with a joyous and energetic audience of all ages. Without our knowledge, the university’s Swing Dance Club was in attendance and danced in the aisles throughout the entire 90-minute set. In addition, the band worked with department chair Tom Walsh’s big band and had some time to tell magnificent stories of working with Count Basie himself. This was an event that will not soon be forgotten by those in attendance.

The Concert Orchestra, with guest conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, and the Audio Engineering and Sound Production Department presented the 1985 movie Back to the Future in the Musical Arts Center the weekend after that! Both showings with a live, full orchestra were all but sold out. The chance for the school to present a movie is both energizing for the entire IU community and the town of Bloomington, and a strong pedagogical opportunity for our students. By learning to play with a click track, they develop a skill set that will transfer to orchestral pops concert work as well as studio work for film, television, and video games. In addition, the Audio Engineering students learn skills in live sound reinforcement and more. What is maybe the best part is hearing a packed MAC audience sing along to songs from the ‘80s and seeing so many school-aged children in the hall, many of whom were seeing a live orchestra for the first time. 

Finally, the end of the month brought a meeting of the American Handel Society to campus, organized by Associate Professor of Music (Musicology) Ayana Smith. The conference opened with the Howard Serwer Memorial Lecture, given by Professor Nathan Link (Centre College), and included two days of academic panels and two performances: a concert by the IU Baroque Orchestra (Historical Performance Institute) and the Paul Traver Memorial Concert.

The breadth and scope of the performances and events at the Jacobs School of Music are simply unparalleled in the life of a music and ballet school in the United States. We continue to be honored that so many of you join us regularly for the concerts, recitals, lectures, panel discussions, and other events. For those of you who cannot join us in person, you can tune in to our live-streamed events at IUMusicLive!. There you will also find a repository of previous events for your viewing pleasure.

Faculty and Student Highlights

The work of Jacobs faculty and students continues to be at a world-class level. We were thrilled that three faculty members received 2023 Grammy nominations: Denson Paul Pollard, Michelle DeYoung, and Jiji Kim. Congratulations to Professor of Music (Bass Trombone) Pollard, who won for Best Opera Recording (DVD) for Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones with the Metropolitan Opera. Further, Associate Professor of Music (Music Theory) Julian L. Hook’s book, Exploring Musical Spaces: A Synthesis of Mathematical Approaches, was published by Oxford University Press in 2022. This volume is a massive (nearly 700-page) and comprehensive summary of mathematical approaches to music theory, accessible to readers without advanced mathematical knowledge. The monograph represents the culmination of decades of research in mathematical music theory and will be a crucial resource for both students and faculty going forward. 

In addition, we are delighted by the new recordings, including those from Professor of Music (Collaborative Piano) Kevin Murphy and Professor of Music (Audio Engineering and Sound Production) Konrad Strauss for Légende: Concours for Oboe and Piano, with oboist ToniMarie Marchioni (University of Kentucky), and NOTUS, directed by Professor of Music (Choral Conducting) Dominick DiOrio, for its What is Ours: Music for an America in Progress album, featuring Roger Roe, English horn, and Associate Professor of Music (Audio Engineering and Sound Production) Jamie Tagg. 
  
We are equally proud of our students, of course, among them: Young Sun Choi, for winning first prize at the Rina Sala Gallo Monza International Piano Competition; Heejin Kim, for being named winner of the Yuko Hayashi Memorial First Prize at the Boston Bach International Organ Competition; and Historical Performance soprano Brett Umlauf, who is spending this year as a Fulbright Fellow on joint-country research in Greece and Turkey. Kudos also to Nicolette van den Bogerd, who spent fall semester as a visiting scholar at Warsaw University's Musicology Institute, among many other recent accomplishments, including as a contributor to the book Grief, Identity, and the Arts: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Expressions of Grief.
 

Financial Update

The financial position of the school remains on plan for the year. Enrollment is up almost 4% over spring 2022, and credit hours this semester are up almost 5% over spring 2022. The Music in General Studies Department, with offerings to non-Jacobs undergraduates, alone is teaching more students this semester than they have since 2010, up more than 300 students since fall. 

The IU Jacobs School of Music has made significant strides toward its 2022-23 fundraising goal of $10 million. In fact, as we enter the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, we have just surpassed $9 million in philanthropic commitments. Some highlights include a $1 million gift from the Georgina Joshi Foundation to provide a new sound system for the Musical Arts Center stage. This new, state-of-the-art sound system will connect to the incomparable Georgina Joshi Recording Studio, creating an incredible resource for not only students of the Audio Engineering and Sound Production Department, but all students, faculty, and patrons. The project completion is currently scheduled for the fall of 2024. 

Additionally, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music (Musicology) Peter Burkholder and his husband, Doug McKinney, have made some phenomenal philanthropic gestures for the benefit of the students and faculty of the Musicology Department. We are grateful to Peter, who has not only continuously provided philanthropic support of his own but has worked with the faculty and the Development Office to engage multiple constituents in their own philanthropic endeavors.

We also want to mention and extend our gratitude to members of our IU Jacobs School of Music Dean’s Advisory Council. Frank Graves, chair, and David Jacobs, development chair, created a matching grant challenge for the council membership. Their combined philanthropy exceeded $400,000 and provided funding for existing and new initiatives that will benefit Jacobs School of Music students, faculty, and staff. These outright gifts make an immeasurable difference in our annual activity, and we couldn’t possibly be more grateful to our dedicated donors and constituents. 

We also want to thank those who have taken the time to work with our Development Office to include the Jacobs School of Music in their estate planning. During this fiscal year, we’ve worked with donors to document over $5.5 million in newly established planned gifts. Such resources will create much-needed scholarships and fellowships as well as faculty and programmatic support. 

I am humbled by our incredible relationship with our philanthropic constituency. Through their efforts, they will help us grow and thrive into our next 100 years. Their generosity allows us to keep our future in our hands so that we may continue to lead the way in impactful student recruitment and retention, world-class faculty and facilities, exemplary performances, and relevant music education programming. My sincere thanks to all our donors, and to our faculty, staff, and students who steward them and their generosity every day.

Facilities Update

Our stable financial position has allowed the school to engage in some facilities updates that are of high priority. During the summer of 2022, it became clear that the controller system in Ford-Crawford Hall and Auer Hall was no longer functional, and in need of replacement. The lights and the system were replaced during the winter break and first weeks of the spring semester, at a cost of $800K. In addition, due to a generous gift from the Georgina Joshi Foundation, which honors the vision of Georgina Joshi and Louise Addicott Joshi, we are thrilled that the sound system in the Musical Arts Center will be replaced during the summer of 2024. 

Other projects in the planning or execution stage include sound and lighting enhancements to the beloved 036 and 040 rehearsal spaces in the MAC, upgrades and maintenance of the rigging system in the MAC (allowing us to safely hang sets, lighting, and the orchestra shell), and exploratory work on what enhanced lighting in the MAC would look like. Also, in May, we will be releasing about 50 new practice rooms to our students, providing much-needed space for chamber groups and individuals to rehearse.

Jacobs Academy

The Jacobs Academy is in high gear preparing for our summer programs. There are many wonderful options for pre-college students, including the return of the Summer Music Clinic (now in its seventy-sixth year!), Summer String Academy, Piano Academy ,  College Audition Preparation, Saxophone Academy, Organ Academy, and Ballet Summer Intensive. New programs for pre-college include the Classical Saxophone Institute. Many of our year-round programs continue during the summer, so we look forward to lots of music-making by young visitors on our campus this summer.

We also have several new adult programs that will debut this summer. The Pacifica Quartet and Professor of Music (Viola) Atar Arad are inaugurating the Professional String Quartet Studies program, which will bring two professional-level young string quartets to campus to study and perform. The Schola Cantorum offers opportunities for both adult and pre-college students to immerse themselves in sacred music. The Kodály Institute and the Retreat for Violin and Viola Teachers will continue providing high-quality pedagogy for teachers worldwide. For adult amateurs, we offer two exciting programs: the Music and Creativity Weekend and the New Horizons Summer Strings Retreat. And if you prefer to experience Jacobs from your home computer, it's not too late to sign up for the new online course Leonard Bernstein: The Man, The Mission, The Music. It is an amazing opportunity to learn about one of the most iconic musicians of our time. 

Visit the Jacobs Academy website for more detailed information on each program. We hope to see you this summer as a participant or at one of the many performances that will result.

Strategic Planning Update

The strategic planning work continues to move forward on time. On January 6, more than 135 members of our community gathered in the Musical Arts Center to learn more about the financial realities the school and the university are facing from the IU Bloomington Provost, Rahul Shrivastav. After also hearing from distinguished arts administrator Thomas Morris, former CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra and artistic administrator of the Ojai Festival, about current realities of the classical music performance sector, discussion was held on the future of the Jacobs School of Music. Among those in attendance were approximately 75 faculty, 47 staff members, and 10 students. 

Upon reviewing the major themes derived from the fall 2022 strategic planning survey and the Town Hall, the Steering Committee formulated 10 working groups engaging faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Dean’s Advisory Council members to develop key objectives and strategies in those areas while considering financial and structural implications for each. Deliverables are due from the working groups by mid-March and will go back to the Steering Committee for evaluation and prioritization. A draft of the plan will be circulated to faculty by the end of the semester for review and comment. The Jacobs leadership team will then work to develop strategies and timelines for implementation of priorities throughout the summer of 2023. The finalized plan will be delivered in August 2023. 

In all, hundreds of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the school have been involved in this inclusive process. We look forward to the direction this work will provide for the school over the next five years. Updated information about the work and deliverables may be found on our Strategic Planning website. 
 

Student Wellness

The Health and Wellness Committee kicked off spring semester with Snack in the MAC. The event provided the opportunity for students to socialize while enjoying a quick bite to eat. The committee used this time to distribute free ear protection to students who didn’t get a chance to pick it up during the committee’s Hearing Health Initiative in October. The Hearing Health Initiative prompted approximately 100 students to schedule hearing exams through IU Speech and Hearing, which collaborated with the committee.
 
The first-ever Wellness Week took place February 6-10. Daily sessions included:
  • Time Management & Work/Life Balance. Led by Anthony Guest-Scott (Ph.D. Student Academic Center)
  • Injury Prevention 101: Basics for the Musician’s Body. Led by Alyssa McPherson (Jacobs Athletic Trainer and Academic Specialist) and Katie Hook (Jacobs Athletic Trainer Graduate Assistant)
  • Nutrition On-the-Go for Artists. Led by Katie Shepherd (Assistant Director of Nutrition Programming and Outreach) and Mary Huck (Nutrition Programming and Outreach Intern)
  • Mindfulness as a Bridge to Mental Health. Led by Frank Diaz (Jacobs Associate Professor (Music Education))
  • Injury Prevention 201: Stretch, Strengthen, and Posture. Led by Alyssa McPherson and Katie Hook
 
On March 8, the Health and Wellness Committee sponsored How We Go On: Generations After the Holocaust, a town hall on the Holocaust and how antisemitism affects those in the arts today. The panel discussion was moderated by Rabbi Sue Laikin Silberberg (IU Hillel) with guest panelists Arthur Fagen (Professor of Orchestral Conducting), Avishay Hayut and Phillip Barr (Generations After), and Yoav Hayut (Jacobs student). 

The committee has worked with the administration to create a space for students to relax, hang out, and catch up. As a result, the MAC Gathering Space in the mezzanine is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Update

The Jacobs School of Music continues to invest in an environment that is equitable and inclusive of all peoples. It is our belief that we are all responsible for engaging in this work and for providing learning and working spaces that are welcoming to all members of the community. Throughout this academic year, we have had the opportunity to work with Crystal Sellers Battle of the DIEMA Consulting Group several times. She has met with faculty search committees on unconscious bias and is leading emotional intelligence training for the leadership team. Her engagement will culminate in a climate assessment. In addition, Sachet Watson, director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity + Access at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, led four Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Justice Institutes for Jacobs faculty and staff during the summer and fall. 

Students report that being able to see themselves in those who are faculty and guests at Jacobs is very important. The Diversity and Equity Committee, co-led by Javier León, ethnomusicologist and director of the Latin American Music Center, and Daniel Duarte, lecturer in music in guitar, has been working throughout this year to identify concerts with composers and themes of diverse backgrounds. In addition, through a realignment of institutional funds, it has been able to provide funding for visiting scholars and artists with diverse backgrounds to come to campus for talks, master classes, and recitals. 

“With a growing and more diverse student body, it is crucial for the Jacobs School of Music to strive to be a place that values and supports the growing number of diverse voices that form a part of the musical world today. Jacobs’ new initiatives and funding opportunities designed to highlight the contributions of composers, performers, and music scholars from diverse backgrounds is a great example of its ongoing commitment to further the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said León.

Opera Theater 2023-24 Season Updates

We would like to make several announcements regarding the 2023-24 opera season. The season will feature six titles: The Merry Widow (Lehár), La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart), Roméo et Juliette (Gounod), An American Dream (Perla), Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Sondheim). We are very pleased to announce that the cast, chorus, orchestra, and crew of our production of Roméo et Juliette will travel to Indianapolis for two performances at Clowes Hall, following the two opening performances in Bloomington at the Musical Arts Center.

We do want to draw attention to a change in the schedule of performances next season. For the past several years, there has been a slow but steady change in the environment in which IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater operates, and it has become challenging to accommodate all of the activities and provide all of the resources our students in their various programs require while providing a safe and healthy work environment for our production staff. Recognizing this, we have decided to schedule one weekend of performances for each opera production next year instead of two (with the exception of the Gounod, as noted above).

Each title will be double-cast, and each cast will experience two full dress rehearsals with the orchestra and one performance (instead of two full dress rehearsals and two performances, as the case has been in recent years). The total number of roles available to students will remain the same, and those students who earn a place in a mainstage production will have the opportunity to learn and perform a role from beginning to end several times. But the reduced number of total performances will provide the breathing room and space in the calendar necessary to allow the school and Opera Theater to dedicate full attention to each opera and to the other activities occurring in the MAC.

The number of opera titles, and total performances of each, have fluctuated quite a bit over the years. We do not expect next season’s schedule to reflect a model to be used every season, and we will always work to maintain the flexibility needed to serve our students in an ever-changing environment. Our goal is to provide the best training available, for the most students possible, under the aegis of IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater, and we have some exciting training and performance opportunities beyond the mainstage of the MAC in the works for next year and beyond. (More on those opportunities soon!)
 
 
Abra K. Bush
David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean
email musdean@iu.edu
phone number 812-855-5541