Music

Music major Matthew Rasmussen ‘20 will play the Weber Bassoon Concerto with the Solano Symphony Orchestra. He is one of three winners of the orchestra’s 2019 Young Artist’s Competition. Matthew is the principal bassoonist in the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra and studies with UC Davis lecturer in music David Granger.

Two versions of a miniature opera by Ryan Suleiman, a doctoral student in music composition and theory, and Cristina Fríes, who earned an M.A. in creative writing from the English department, will have performances in Sacramento, Berkeley and San Francisco this month.

“Bones of Girls,” a 40-minute piece, will have its first fully-staged production by the Rogue Music Project in Sacramento Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the CLARA Auditorium.

In addition to teaching horn and the concert bands at UC Davis, lecturer in music Pete Nowlen is director of the Rancho Cordova’s Civic Light Orchestra called “Symphony d’Oro.” Through this orchestra he builds on local connections.

Graduate student Ryan Suleiman’s short opera Moon, Bride, Dogs will be performed twice in a partnership with Bay Area new music ensembles EARplay and West Edge Opera called “Snapshot.” His opera is written to a libretto by UC Davis graduate student in creative writing Cristina Fríes and was premiered at UC Davis in May 2018 by the Brooklyn Art Song Society along with five other pieces for

The Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship for a minority graduate study in musicology for 2019 was awarded to UC Davis music graduate student Serena Yang. She is the first UC Davis student to earn the Brown fellowship from the American Musicological Society.

UC Davis Associate Professor of Music Mika Pelo is one of fifteen composers who has been awarded a 2019 Fromm Music Foundation commission. The foundation seeks to strengthen composition and to bring contemporary concert music closer to the public. In addition to the commissioning fee, a subsidy is available for the ensemble performing the premiere of the commissioned work.

Distinguished Professor of Music Anna Maria Busse Berger was elected an honorary member of the American Musicological Society (AMS) at their 2019 meeting in Boston. According to the AMS By-laws, Honorary and Corresponding members of the AMS are those scholars “who have made outstanding contributions to furthering its stated object and whom the Society wishes to honor.”

The American Musicological Society has given its annual award for a book in the category of teaching to UC Davis Professor of Music Carol A.

UC Davis Professor of Music Kurt Rohde has been appointed the new Artistic Director of the Composers Conference. The Composers Conference, guided for nearly 50 years by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Mario Davidovsky, who recently passed away, offers a unique opportunity for emerging composers, professional musicians, amateur chamber players, and conservatory-level instrumentalists and singers.

UC Davis Lecturer Rita Sahai has received a gold medals by the Global Music Awards for one of her songs, “Incessant Time—Samaya Nirantar,” from her recent album, Samaya Anubhuti—The Experience of Time. She was recognized in World Music and Female Vocalist categories.