Posters from the archives of Feed Me Weird Things (2017-present) have taken over the outer windows of the Rita Benton Music Library, a welcome and colorful distraction from winter’s untimely return this week. These posters, the work of Dylan Marcus McConnell, showcase just a fraction of the 70+ artists that have been programmed on the series and encompassContinue reading “Feed Me Weird Things: Celebrating the contributions of the late Chris Wiersema”
Category Archives: Exhibits
BAND 141: an exhibit celebrating the history of the Hawkeye Marching Band
This Fall, come to the Voxman Music Building for BAND 141, a look at the Hawkeye Marching Band. Director Eric Bush donated a significant collection of materials from the Band’s history including photographs, drill charts, papers, scrapbooks, uniform pieces, audio and video recordings, and other memorabilia to the Rita Benton Music Library in 2020. TheContinue reading “BAND 141: an exhibit celebrating the history of the Hawkeye Marching Band”
Dimitri Mitropoulos’ Music Library: From New York to Iowa and Back Again
On November 21, the New York Philharmonic Archives opened a new exhibit about Greek conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896-1960) in the Bruno Walter Gallery at Lincoln Center. The exhibit focuses on Mitropoulos’ tenure as music director of the Philharmonic (1949-1958), but also explores major themes of his overall career. Exhibit items include correspondence, photographs, and manyContinue reading “Dimitri Mitropoulos’ Music Library: From New York to Iowa and Back Again”
EXHIBIT: 95 [YEARS OF] THESES
In 1923, department chair Philip Greeley Clapp established graduate studies in music at the University of Iowa, and in 1924/25, the first students concluded their course of study with the submission of musical compositions and documents as theses. Over the last 95 years, Iowa graduates have submitted musical works, performing and critical editions, historical andContinue reading “EXHIBIT: 95 [YEARS OF] THESES”
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into H. S. Perkins’s The Nightingale
William Oscar Perkins and Henry Southwick Perkins, The Nightingale: A Choice Collection of Songs, Chants and Hymns, Designed for the Use of Juvenile Classes, Public Schools, and Seminaries; Containing Also a Complete and Concise System of Elementary Instruction (Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1860) by C. A. Norling Advertised in University catalogues as providing “peculiar advantages toContinue reading “Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into H. S. Perkins’s The Nightingale“
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into the SUI concert of Copland compositions, March 5, 1958
State University of Iowa Orchestra concert of Copland compositions, March 5, 1958Represented by original concert program and picture of Himie Voxman and Aaron Copland from the composers 1958 visit to Iowa City by Jenna Sehmann On March 5, 1958, Aaron Copland attended a concert by the State University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra as an honoredContinue reading “Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into the SUI concert of Copland compositions, March 5, 1958”
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into the Music of Maria Schneider
JCL Features the Music of Maria Schneider (2000) by Toni LeFebvre On April 26, 2000, Johnson County Landmark, the premiere big band of the University of Iowa, featured the music of band leader, John Rapson, and award-winning American jazz composer, Maria Schneider. Programmed were three pieces from Schneider’s 1994 debut studio album, “Evanescence” – “Wrigly”,Continue reading “Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into the Music of Maria Schneider”
STUDENT EXHIBIT: In Our Lives: The Beatles Yesterday and Today
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT IN OUR LIVES was designed in the Fall 2018 offering of Donna’s “World of The Beatles” course. Participating students studied her materials–donated in Donna’s name to the Rita Benton Music Library–and worked together to flesh out the different themes that now define their multimedia, multidirectional account of the enduring legacy of TheContinue reading “STUDENT EXHIBIT: In Our Lives: The Beatles Yesterday and Today”
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into Ernst Krenek
The University Orchestra Performs Ernst Krenek, November 17, 1965 by Lisa Mumme Can works composed in the United States be considered American if they draw on European styles? When does an immigrant – and his art – become American? The November 17, 1965 University Orchestra program offers one opportunity to consider how these questions canContinue reading “Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into Ernst Krenek”
STUDENT EXHIBIT: Exploring Our Sounds: Traditions of American Music Making at the University of Iowa
What is American Music? What does the idea of “American” music making mean for different University of Iowa artists and audiences? In what ways have University of Iowa musicians, audiences, conductors, critics, and historians contributed to the musical identity of the United States? In what ways might they do so in the future? The students ofContinue reading “STUDENT EXHIBIT: Exploring Our Sounds: Traditions of American Music Making at the University of Iowa”