News
Dr. Karen Bulmer has been appointed dean of the School of Music
Dr. Karen Bulmer, who has acted as interim dean of the School of Music since June 2021, begins a five-year term effective Nov. 5, 2024.
“Dr. Bulmer is an experienced educator, administrator and performer with diverse experience at Memorial,” - Dr. Jennifer Lokash, provost and vice president (academic).
For more information, please visit the Gazette.
New Pilot Admissions Requirements for School of Fine Arts and School of Music Applicants
We are pleased to announce NEW pilot admissions requirements to our Bachelor of Music program! All applicants to the School of Music must first meet the general admission requirements for Memorial University. Interested in applying but don't meet Memorial University's general admission requirements? Starting with fall 2025, applicants to the School of Music's Bachelor of Music program may be able to take advantage of modified admission requirements through a new pilot admissions process.
Visit here for more information. Any questions? Email us at music@mun.ca.
Congratulations to Music and Business #MUNGrad2024 Erin Lee!
Congratulations to #MUNGrad2024 Erin Lee! Erin is graduating this fall as part of the first cohort of the joint bachelor of business administration and bachelor of music program (now bachelor of commerce and bachelor of music joint degree program). Read all about it in the Gazette!
“I want to keep music and art and creative expression in my life… there is a dire need for musicians and artists to have proficient business skills in today’s world. I’m proud there is such a trailblazing degree program in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Read all about how this unique program, the only one of its kind in Canada, has helped Erin discover her purpose, which she hopes will make a positive change in the world.
School of Music alumni win 1st Place in 2024 Young Canadian Composer Awards!
Congratulations to School of Music composition alumni Gavin Fraser and Robert Humber on winning First Prize in SOCAN Foundation’s Young Canadian Composer Awards!
Gavin Fraser won 1st Place in the Large Ensemble category for the piece “for dappled things”.
Robert Humber won 1st Place in the Chamber Orchestra category for the piece “into air”.
Congratulations to you both from all of us at the School of Music!
For more information and a complete list of winners, visit socanmagazine.ca.
School of Music alum Duncan Stenhouse named one of CBC Music's Top 30 Classical Musicians under 30, 2024 edition
Congratulations to School of Music alum Duncan Stenhouse on just being named one of CBC Music’s Top 30 Canadian Classical Musicians under 30! Duncan holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from Memorial University with a major in Performance and a minor in Composition. He is currently a member of Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio.
We have had several current students and alumni recognized on this list in the last few years! Current MMus student Olive MacPhail made CBC Music’s Top 30 list in 2023, alum Stephen Eckert in 2022, and alum Ben Diamond in 2021.
Congratulations, Duncan, on this well-deserved recognition! Visit the CBC Music page for a full list of recipients this year.
Congratulations to our 2024 East Coast Music Award-winning faculty!
Congratulations to School of Music faculty members Andrew Staniland and Florian Hoefner on your East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Award wins this past weekend!
Andrew Staniland took home the 2024 ECMA Award for Classical Composer of the Year award for Blackwood Sketches, featured on Kate Read’s album After.
Florian Hoefner’s project with Daniel Oore, Flying Pooka!, won the 2024 ECMA Award for Instrumental Recording of the Year for their album The Ectasy of Becoming.
Musicology Student Cameron Bennett's Research featured on CBC News
Cameron Bennett, a BMus Musicology student graduating this Spring 2024, recently spoke to CBC about his graduating essay: “I Bet You Think About Me”: Taylor Swift, Illusory Intimacy, and the Economization of Fandom.
Cameron’s essay asks a very timely question: how has Swift developed a persona and a fan-artist relationship which has led to the illusion of intimacy between her and her fans, and in what ways has Swift been successful in economizing this relationship? His paper analyzes two recent examples of Swift’s intimate fan relationship in action: The Eras Tour and the re-recording project.
Watch CBC's interview with Cameron here.
Introducing the first graduating class of Memorial University’s Joint Music and Business Degree program!
Introducing the first class of students graduating with a joint Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Memorial University!
Left to right: Erin Lee, Clare Follett, Matthew Fillier, Stephen Flynn, and professor Dr. Gillian Morrissey. Missing from photo: Hugh Hunt.
This five-year joint Music and Business degree program began accepting students in the 2019-20 academic year and the inaugural graduates of this program presented their capstone project last week in the course Music Business in Practice.
Music Business in Practice is a course taken by students in the final year of the joint Music and Business program. It allows students to develop and explore business pathways and opportunities in the music industry through project based, experiential learning.
Dr. Harris Berger Renewed as Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ethnomusicology
In a recent funding announcement by the Government of Canada, Dr. Harris Berger was renewed for another five-year term as a tier 1 Canada Research Chair in ethnomusicology, one of Canada’s highest academic honours. Congratulations, Dr. Berger!
“The renewal of Dr. Berger’s position is a crescendo in the realm of ethnomusicology and folklore studies within Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Without the CRC’s support, many of my projects would have been difficult or impossible to pursue. It also supports graduate students here at Memorial. It will allow the university to continue to recruit and retain the very best young minds in the discipline.”
Read more about the work Dr. Berger is doing as director of MMaP Research Centre in the MUN Gazette here.
Inter-campus collaboration: Grenfell, St. John's theatre and music students produce full-scale opera
An interdisciplinary, multi-campus collaboration between Memorial University students will soon bring a “magical” opera to life.
Our opera and chamber orchestra programs will premiere their production of Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 1:30pm in D.F. Cook Recital Hall.
Read about how the opera came together thanks to a cross-campus collaboration between School of Music and Theatre at Grenfell students in the MUN Gazette here.
Congratulations to the School of Music alumni who are nominated for 2024 JUNO Awards!
Congratulations to the School of Music alumni who are nominated for 2024 JUNO Awards!
Bekah Simms (BMus ’12, BMus Ed ’13) is nominated for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) for Bestiaries, Cryptid Ensemble.
Duane Andrews (MMus ’17) is nominated for Children’s Album of the Year for The Swinging Belles’ Welcome to the Flea Circus.
Sarah Comerford (BMus, BMus Ed ’02, MMus ’14) is nominated for MusiCounts Teacher of the Year.
Congratulations on your well-deserved nominations!
Hear an interview with these nominees and 2023 JUNO Award winner and faculty member Florian Hoefner on CBC Radio's The Signal on March 19, 2024 as they talk about the JUNOs, teaching, and the love of music learning.
Florian Hoefner's Juno statuette arrives at School of Music!
Dr. Christine Carter elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists
One of our faculty members has been given one of Canada’s highest scholarly honours! Congratulations to Dr. Christine Carter on being elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (RSC)!
In addition to being an acclaimed clarinetist and recording artist, Dr. Carter is an expert in performance psychology and one of the few active concert artists worldwide conducting research in the area.
Read all about Dr. Carter and three other researchers from Memorial University to have recently received this honour in the Gazette.
School of Music Student Anna Mercer one of ten students in Canada recognized as a 3M National Student Fellow
A Memorial University School of Music student has been recognized as a 3M National Student Fellow by The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
Anna Mercer, from Coley’s Point, N.L., is the second student from Memorial University to receive the fellowship, and the first one since 2014.
The 3M National Student Fellowship honours up to 10 full-time diploma and undergraduate students at Canadian post-secondary institutions who demonstrate outstanding leadership in their programs and in their lives beyond their academic experience.
“I am honoured to have received the 3M national student fellowship award as an undergraduate student of Memorial University,” said Ms. Mercer. “This achievement would not have been possible without the knowledge and skills I have gained through the education and experiences provided by this institution. I am incredibly proud to represent Memorial University and look forward to using the skills I have learned here to pursue a successful career.”
Read more about it in the MUN Gazette.
Jazz Studies Professor Florian Hoefner wins JUNO Award!
Congratulations to our Jazz Studies Professor, Florian Hoefner, on his Trio winning the 2023 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group) for the album Desert Bloom.
Well deserved! Congratulations, Florian, from all of your students & colleagues at the School of Music!
#MusicAtMemorial alumna Bekah Simms also took home the JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year! Congratulations, Bekah!
Congratulations and best wishes to the Music at Memorial nominees at the JUNO Awards!
School of Music faculty, staff, and alumni amongst 2023 ECMA nominees
Congratulations to all the 2023 East Coast Music Award nominees including those in the School of Music community!
Our jazz professor Florian Hoefner is nominated for Instrumental Recording of the Year and Jazz Recording of the Year.
Our composition professor Andrew Staniland is nominated for Classical Composer of the Year and Classical Recording of the Year.
Duo Concertante, made of up faculty members Timothy Steeves and Nancy Dahn, is nominated for Classical Recording of the Year.
Alumna Jing Xia (PhD Ethnomusicology 2022) is nominated for Global Recording of the Year and Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year.
The Kubasonics, featuring alumni Maria Cherwick (MMus 2017) and Matthew Hender (BMus 2008), are nominated for Global Recording of the Year and Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year.
Alumnus Duane Andrews (MMus 2017) is nominated for Jazz Recording of the Year.
Alumna Michelle LaCour (BMus 2013) is nominated for Live Sound Engineer of the Year.
Alumna Mary Beth Waldram (BMus 2011) is nominated for Artist Management of The Year.
The School of Music's Marketing Advisor Danielle Hamel and her project It Could Be Franky is nominated for Electronic Recording of the Year.
Congratulations to all of the talented musicians, composers, and industry professionals in our community!
Retired faculty member Dr. Douglas Dunsmore appointed to the Order of Canada
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Retired Music at Memorial faculty member and former Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Douglas Dunsmore, has been appointed to the Order of Canada for his “leadership as a choral conductor and music educator, and for his significant contributions to prominent provincial and national music organizations!”
Dr. Dunsmore left an indelible mark on the School of Music before retiring in 2013, including the development of our graduate program in choral conducting. Among his many roles in the choral community, Dr. Dunsmore was the inaugural director of the Bruneau Centre for Excellence in Choral Music, a founding director of Growing the Voices: Festival 500, and the founding director of the Philharmonic Choir of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. He is currently serving the local choir community as the director of choirs at Gower United Church and director of the Anchormen Barbershop Chorus.
On behalf of your colleagues, students and choristers from your years here at the School of Music, congratulations Dr. Dunsmore on receiving one of our country’s highest honours!
Read the full list of 2022 appointees to the Order of Canada here.