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Student Composition Wins Statewide Competition Posted by: Mandi LeCompte / November 10, 2014 Image: Taylor Whatley, right, works with Prof. Greg Youtz on Whatley’s winning composition. (Photo: John Struzenberg ’16) November 10, 2014 Taylor Whatley’s Original Piece, ‘Fanfare Giocoso,’ Premieres at LUCO’s Season-Opener Seattle’s renowned Lake Union Civic Orchestra (LUCO)  opened its 20th anniversary season with pieces by Mozart, de Falla, Respighi—and Whatley. That’s Taylor Whatley ’15, a Music

October 15, 2014 Student Composition Wins Statewide Competition Taylor Whatley, right, works with Prof. Greg Youtz on Whatley’s winning composition. (Photo: John Struzenberg ’16) Taylor Whatley’s Original Piece, ‘Fanfare Giocoso,’ Premieres at LUCO’s Season-Opener By Valery Jorgensen ’15 PLU Marketing & Communications Student Worker Seattle’s renowned Lake Union Civic Orchestra will open its 20th anniversary season with pieces by Mozart, de Falla, Respighi—and Whatley. That’s Taylor Whatley ’15

Dr. Gina Gillie Recognized for Composition Posted by: Reesa Nelson / January 21, 2022 January 21, 2022 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 members. Dr. Gillie’s composition, “Mountain Ascent for Trombone Octet,” will premiere in a

Voyager 1 spacecraft as well as Carl Sagan’s prose reflecting on the image. In the photo, Earth appears as a single pixel – “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” For this project, Dr. Gillie collaborated with video editor and PLU student Zixuan Guo. We recently met with Professor Gillie to discuss this project. This is clearly a film and composition that have something to say about climate and care for the earth.  Yes, I think artists can provide critique and commentary on the state of the times in

PLU Wind Ensemble to Premiere Crowd-Commissioned Composition on Tour of Tennessee Posted by: Zach Powers / January 20, 2015 Image: [Photo by John Froschauer/PLU] January 20, 2015 By Zach Powers & Mandi BradyPLU Marketing & Communications and the School of Arts and Communication TACOMA, WA (Jan. 20, 2015)—The Pacific Lutheran University Wind Ensemble is heading South this month to perform four concerts in Tennessee. The tour includes performances in Nashville on Jan. 23 and 28, Chattanooga on

Multi-talented senior and composer TJ Wheeler ’22 views music as his vocation Posted by: vcraker / June 22, 2022 June 22, 2022 TJ Wheeler ’22 is a music composition major at Pacific Lutheran University. This semester, he was a valuable member of six music ensembles, including Choir of the West, Opera, Steel Band, Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and the PLU Ringers handbell choir. We talked with Wheeler about his experiences at and before PLU, and how he became such a talented musician.How

PLU Wind Ensemble: Musica Ignota Posted by: vcraker / November 18, 2021 November 18, 2021 The PLU Wind Ensemble performed the world premiere of Ingrid Stolzel’s “Musica Ignota” on October 9, 2021. Stolzel traveled to PLU to attend the premiere and work with the PLU wind ensemble and Professor of Music Edwin Powell in advance. A composition almost 1,000 years in the making, “Musica Ignota” is based on the 11th-century Medieval composer/mystic Hildegard von Bingen. It is profound for many reasons

Fall 2020 Masterclass Announcement Posted by: Reesa Nelson / September 4, 2020 September 4, 2020 The Department of Music is excited to announce some of our special lecturers and master class leaders who will work with music students in all areas including voice, instruments, and composition. This incredible group of professionals has been recruited by our dedicated faculty for the benefit of music students. While the COVID-19 pandemic has made some aspects of teaching and learning more

Horn & Fixed Media Premiere at Octave 9 in Seattle Posted by: Reesa Nelson / October 5, 2022 October 5, 2022 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 Carl Sagan’s prose reflecting on the image. In the photo, Earth appears as a single pixel – “a mote of dust

July 8, 2008 Face the Music Inevitably, worried parents will arrive on music professor Greg Youtz’s office doorstep after their child has announced they want to become a composer. “Now what?” the parents ask Charged with running the university’s composition program, Youtz usually succeeds in calming the parental fears during such visits. No, composing isn’t exactly a growth industry, but for those who are called to compose, there’s really no escaping the urge. “I tell the worried parents that