Campus to Carnegie: Pacific Lutheran University Faculty Perform in NYC
Pacific Lutheran University is celebrating a significant moment in the arts as several esteemed faculty members are set to perform at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City this spring. These performances highlight PLU’s strong connection to one of the most iconic music venues…
Vocal Performance Major Caitlyn Babcock ’25 Awarded by the Presser Foundation
Pacific Lutheran University is proud to announce that Caitlyn Babcock is the recipient of The Presser Foundation’s 2024-25 Undergraduate Scholar Award. The award is designed to encourage and support the education of a music student who has achieved a high level of musical and academic…
Cassio Vianna Jazz Orchestra Releases “Vida,” A Tribute to Life’s Journey and Brazilian Heritage
Album art photographed in Copenhagen by André Barreto Pianist, composer, and PLU’s Director of Jazz Studies Cassio Vianna is set to release his highly anticipated album Vida on January 15, 2025. The new album features Vianna’s original compositions, brought to life by the Cassio Vianna…
PLU’s Director of Jazz Studies, Cassio Vianna, receives grant from the City of Tacoma to write and perform genre-bending composition
Pacific Lutheran University’s own Cassio Vianna , Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies , has been awarded a grant from the City of Tacoma. This grant, part of the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program (TAIP) , encourages artistic engagement in the city by…
PLU Music Announces Inaugural Paul Fritts Endowed Chair in Organ Studies and Performance
Beginning in Fall 2024, PLU will be welcoming Dr. Justin Murphy-Mancini as the Inaugural Paul Fritts Endowed Chair in Organ Studies and Performance . Murphy-Mancini began organ study at age 10, beginning his journey in church, “quite literally as soon as I was tall enough…
PLU’s Weathermon Jazz Festival to Feature Acclaimed Musician Aubrey Logan
The Pacific Lutheran University Department of Music and the Dick and Helen Weathermon Joyful Noise Endowment for Jazz Studies will host the PLU Weathermon Jazz Festival on Tuesday, March 21. The public is invited to the festival’s evening concert showcase featuring Aubrey Logan, the PLU…
Horn & Fixed Media Premiere at Octave 9 in Seattle
Professor of Music Dr. Gina Gillie recently premiered her first electroacoustic music composition at Seattle Symphony’s Octave 9. Titled “Pale Blue Dot for solo horn and fixed media,” the piece is inspired by the 1991 photograph taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft as well as…
Two Anniversaries, One World Premiere
Music Professor Emeritus Jerry Kracht (conductor, University Symphony Orchestra, 1967-2001) was ready and waiting to celebrate two significant anniversaries in the Department of Music at PLU: ready since 2013 when he composed Fanfare, Fantasia and Finale (On a locally familiar tune) , and waiting until…
Choir of the West, University Chorale, and University Wind Ensemble Spring Conference Appearances
Three PLU music ensembles will take their performances to venues near and far next month. Two vocal groups, Choir of the West and University Chorale, are traveling to Spokane to perform at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) 2022 regional conference. University Wind Ensemble is…
Dr. Gina Gillie Recognized for Composition
The International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC) announced that Dr. Gina Gillie, Pacific Lutheran University Professor of French Horn, is the winner of the 2022 Composition Competition. Submissions for the competition were received from around the globe and selections were made by a committee of IWBC…
PLU Represented at Jazz Education Network Conference
The Jazz Education Network Conference hosts thousands or people from around the globe every year, connecting jazz beginners, professionals, scholars and educators, and industry experts. In 2022, following safety guidelines, the conference was held in Dallas, Texas in early January. Dr. Cassio Vianna was invited…
Holiday Music Events
The end of the semester is always a busy period for our students. This year we’re grateful that we’re able to share our students’ hard work with the public with several live, in-person concert experiences in December. Keep reading for more information about what’s going…
A Magical PLU Collaboration: Songs for the Spring of Waiting
What do you get when you mix a poet, a composer, three musicians, and two editors? A fabulous collaboration between multiple School of Arts and Communication departments and faculty with South Sound poet and PLU alumna Josie Emmons Turner ! These artists came together as…
Springing Forward with Guest Artists
Spring is almost here. We just set our clocks forward an hour and throughout this semester students will have plenty of master classes to anticipate with an incredible variety of guest artists from disciplines. Keep reading to hear about the talented musicians, educators, and composers!…
Outdoor Opera Rehearsal
Opera students spent a sunny but chilly March afternoon rehearsing under a tent in Red Square for an upcoming production of Die Fledermaus on May 21-22. Because of the ever-changing nature of the global pandemic, we won’t know for several weeks if it will be…
Vocal Master Classes in Spring 2021
Dr. James L. Brown , Professor of Music and Chair of Vocal Studies has announced the list of vocal and musical talents who will be working with voice students during Spring Semester. The presenters will be: Audrey Luna , star soprano who set a world…
Harpsichord Donated to PLU Music Program
We are grateful to the family of Jeanette Pilgrim, who donated her personal harpsichord to the Music Department. This unique instrument constructed by Kenneth Bakeman in 1980 has two keyboards and a pedal division with painted motifs on the lid and soundboard. Instruments built by…
It’s Music to My Ears: Tips for Scholarship Applicants
We’re in a brave new world of all-online scholarship application and adjudication process. Students entering PLU in fall 2021 as a first-year or transfer student with an interest in Music can still apply for an Artistic Achievement Award. Read more in this blog post for…
Rhapsody in Zoom: Recap of Fall Master Classes
Online learning during the pandemic has presented multiple challenges to professors and students alike. But one of the shining diamonds to grow out of this pressured environment has been the creation of new opportunities for virtual master classes. Guest artists from around the state and…
Music Lessons in the Time of Corona
As we begin an unprecedented school year, our students and faculty have adapted to continue their study of music while practicing safety measures such as wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and rehearsing outside in the fresh air. Scroll through these photos to see how PLU…
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