New Ensembles Expand Performance Opportunities
Velvet Brown grew up playing soprano bugle in a street band in Annapolis, Maryland, part of a family tradition. Her father played in a brass street band, and her grandfather drummed in a segregated U.S. Navy big band in the 1920s and founded a street band after serving in the Navy. This fall, Brown, a tuba faculty artist, is bringing the tradition to Peabody with the New Orleans Jazz Ensemble.
Summer Workshops Deliver Diverse, Digital Teaching Tools
The summer proved a busy time for many faculty members, with dozens participating in professional development opportunities aimed at strengthening their teaching skills.
Updating Peabody’s Campus
Fred Bronstein, dean of Peabody Institute, is looking at the historic campus in a whole new way. “In 2019, we took a fresh look at the strategic plan, and it was clear that we wanted to and needed to refocus on our campus,” Bronstein says.
Tuned-In Launches String Ensemble
This fall, the Peabody Preparatory’s Tuned-In program unveiled the Misbin New Directions Ensemble, its first student ensemble to focus on string instruments.
Hybrid Programs Offer Flexible Master’s Degrees
For the past five years, Joe Montcalmo, director of learning innovation and Peabody’s first employee in the instructional design field, and his tech-savvy department have been developing innovative online courses.
Front Porch Concerts: An Important Lifeline
Front porch concerts, which sprung up across the country during the first months of the pandemic, were nothing new for Robert Hitz (BM ’82, Piano).
Grasmick Leads Peabody Institute Advisory Board
Nancy Grasmick (PhD Ed. ’80, Education), who has long been an enthusiastic supporter of Peabody, has further strengthened her ties by assuming the role of Chair of the Peabody Institute Advisory Board.
Endowed Chairs Support the Missions of Dance, Vocal Studies, and Professional Studies
In 2017, danah bella came to the Peabody Institute to start a new undergraduate dance program. That first year, bella — who brought her background as a modern dancer who had performed in New York, Mexico, Italy, and more, and as an entrepreneur who founded her own dance company, d a n a h b e l l a DanceWorks, in 2004 — created the dance curriculum and traveled around the United States to recruit students.
A Bequest with Impact
Jill E. McGovern, PhD has made a $1 million commitment, including multi-year current-use pledges, to support The Annual Concert in Memory of Steven Muller and The Jill E. McGovern and Steven Muller Scholarship at Peabody.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Black Artists
Kaijeh Johnson, a senior Vocal Performance and Music Education double major, loves being at the confluence of his three passions: performance, education, and activism.