School of Music

Recognitions, November 13

Music Grad Student Wins Research Award to Have KSO Play His Compositions

Assistant Professor Andrew Sigler works with graduate student Dennis Belisle.

At 46, in the midst of a successful career as a commercial musician, music director, teacher, and performer, Dennis Belisle decided to enroll in UT’s School of Music to pursue a new dream—being a composer.

He completed a bachelor’s degree in sacred music in spring 2018 and immediately began working on his Master of Music degree in composition degree with a theory pedagogy certificate.

Belisle graduates in December, and he’s wrapping up his studies on a very high note: members of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform his musical compositions during a special concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 15, at the Powell Recital Hall in the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center.

Belisle received the inaugural Robert W. Pedersen Memorial Research Award to fund the performance. Pedersen, a UT alumnus, left money to the university in an endowment earmarked “for awards for outstanding performance by students and/or faculty.”

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Variego Publishes Book on Mathematics in Music Creation

Jorge Variego, lecturer and adjunct assistant professor of music theory and composition, explores the connections between musical composition, science, and technology in his new book, Composición Algorítmica.

The book features a series of interviews with current composers such as David Cope, Roger Dannenberg, and Rodrigo Sigal, among others. Variego analyzes works from a perspective focused on different paradigms of composing, placing emphasis on the systems of rules, procedures, and instructions found within each system. He then explains and applies those systems in concrete examples.

Variego describes his book as, “address[ing] problems linked to historical evolution, analysis and the concrete application of algorithmic processes in musical composition.”

Variego was one of seven recipients of the 2017 Undergraduate Faculty Research Mentor of the Year Award. He received the top award in the Humanities division in the College of Arts and Sciences. Variego was also a pioneer in the field of interactive computer music, having created or performed a number of works for clarinet and electronics in the US, Europe, and South America.

Composición Algorítmica was published by Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, and is now available here.

CONTACT:

Raphael Rosalin (865-974-2152, rrosalin@utk.edu)

School of Music

News

Recognitions, June 16

David M. Royse, coordinator and associate professor of music education in UT’s School of Music, is one of nine music faculty members nationwide chosen to participate in the CMS-NAMM Summer Fellows Program for Music Faculty. The program is designed to introduce music faculty to professions in the music industry, giving them background to better prepare students for careers as 21st-century musicians.

Dillon Dunn, a fifth-year Architecture student, was recently awarded the 2017 Aydelott Travel Award for a study proposal titled “Architecture and Pilgrimage: Movement Through Time.” The prestigious scholarship will fund a summer-long journey to study architecture in four countries across Europe and Asia. Dunn’s winning proposal outlines plans to analyze four religious structures in as many countries, including the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy; the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Israel; Loro Jonggrang and Prambanan Temple Compound in Central Java, Indonesia; and the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima, Japan.

The Pulliam School of Journalism at Franklin College recently recognized Tanya Brown, executive director of marketing and public relations for the Haslam College of Business, with its Young Alumni Award. “Tanya’s academic ability, drive and work ethic were evident from the time she matriculated,” said Joel E. Cramer, division head for Pulliam. “The Pulliam School of Journalism Young Alumni Award was given in recognition of the realization of the promise Tanya exhibited as student. We are proud of her achievements and to have her representing Franklin College and the Pulliam School of Journalism.”

The Haslam Summer Scholars Research Awards granted 20 faculty members a total of more than $400,000 to pursue high-quality research in 2017. Now in its fourth year, the program has more than tripled in size since its inception. “These awards reward our faculty for recent performance and incentivize our top researchers to continue their great work,” said Charles Noble, associate dean for research and faculty and the Henry Professor for Business. “More and more, these summer research awards also are an expectation for faculty at top business schools.”

Recognitions

Recognitions, April 7

Shannon Spencer from the Office of Sponsored Programs was awarded the 2017 National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Travel Award. The Southeast Region of NCURA issues an annual $1,000 Travel Award to support a member to attend the region’s annual conference. These awards are issued through a competitive application process and awardees are selected based on service and contribution to the organization and professional development/institutional financial need. This is the first travel award the university has received from NCURA.
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Recognitions

Recognitions, March 3

Please send faculty, staff, and student recognitions to Erin Chapin (erin.chapin@utk.edu).

Kimberly Eck, director of Research Development, was featured in a pre conference cameo by the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP). She will be giving a presentation NORDP’s annual conference in May titled Research Development: Results from and Opportunities through a NORDP Approved Study. Register for the 2017 conference here.