UNC Charlotte Music

🎓 // Will Wiand, B.M. in Music with a concentration in Instrumental Performance and a minor in Communication Studies, was offered a graduate assistantship at Boise State University!

Will will be studying at Boise State and working as the graduate assistant for the Blue Thunder Marching Band.

"I hope to become the best trumpet player I can to either win a job or continue on to a Doctorate," he shares. "I'm very excited to continue my work in arts administration with the marching band!"
"UNC Charlotte has provided me many opportunities to work in arts admin, and Dr. Eric Millard has been an incredible teacher and mentor," he continues. "I wouldn't be half the trumpet player I am now without his guidance."

Congratulations, .w!

It's OPENING NIGHT of the departments of dance, music and theatre's production of "Cabaret!"

You won’t want to miss this hit musical set in 1920s Berlin, where a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes audiences to forget their troubles at the Cabaret.

Join us April 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 18-19 at 2 p.m.! ➡️ https://charlotteboxoffice.universitytickets.com/

The Department of Music at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Diogo Carvalho as an Assistant Professor of Music Entrepreneurship and Technology.

Dr. Carvalho will join our faculty to support the development of a visionary, interdisciplinary curriculum focused on the intersection of music, business innovation, and technology. This newly created position represents a strategic investment in the future of creative careers, fostering collaboration across the College of Arts + Architecture and the Belk College of Business.

His work embodies the "visionary scholar and educator" profile sought for this role, bringing a diverse expertise in electroacoustic, concert, popular, jazz, and Brazilian music. An award-winning composer whose works have been performed globally, Dr. Carvalho has deep experience in electroacoustic music, guitar performance, and entrepreneurship which includes creating and maintaining multiple international music festivals - including the newly established Austin (TX) Game Music Festival.

Dr. Carvalho will lead courses in music entrepreneurship, technology, and industry while assisting in the College’s development of a cohort of entrepreneurially-minded students prepared for the modern music sector. His work is intended to enhance and further the Music Department’s ties to Charlotte’s vibrant cultural community and national arts networks. Please join us in welcoming him to our Department, University, and City.

"We were singing through people's pain, through people's stories, through history." — Sam Mayo-Tinoco

Earlier this year, Charlotte musicology professor James A. Grymes published “Partisan Song: A Holocaust Story of Resilience, Resistance, and Revenge” (Citadel Press / Penguin Random House), telling the story of Moshe Gildenman — a Jewish Ukrainian engineer and amateur musician who became a partisan leader after his wife and daughter were murdered by the N***s. Somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 Jews escaped N**i ghettos and camps to fight as guerrilla resistance fighters. Gildenman was one of them.

The book's musical heart came from an unlikely discovery: a small songbook that Gildenman had carried in his coat pocket throughout the war, preserved at Yad Vashem in Israel. "Of all the things," Grymes said, "this is what he carried." The songs inside, many in Yiddish, hadn't been heard in decades.

Among the 16 Charlotte students who brought this story to life is Matthew Johnson, a UNC Charlotte Belk College of Businesss grad student and baritone who grew up in Budapest — a city where Holocaust memorials are prevalent. "The history is apparent there every day," Johnson said. And yet, like many, he knew nothing of the Jewish partisans until he began learning their songs.

Grymes arranged several of those partisan songs for our University Chorale. To get the Yiddish right, the music department brought Binyumen Schaechter, director of the Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus to campus to coach the students. He said the students "now have a better understanding of Yiddish pronunciation than the singers in many Jewish choruses that I've heard."

For student Jylian Taylor, the workshop was a turning point: "That was when it clicked for me. I could really put the words to the meaning."

The program was performed in Feb. at Temple Beth El in Charlotte and in March at the Center for Jewish Historyy in NYC. Johnson served as the soloist, embodying the voice of "Uncle Misha" himself.

The audiences gave standing ovations, and afterward came up to the students with deeply personal stories — parents who were partisans, fathers who survived ghettos. One woman from Gildenman's own village said her father had known him personally — and that she understood every word the students sang.

Johnson said he was "dumbstruck" by the response. "It's so personal to them, and yet it's so much bigger than any of us."

Tonight, as we observe Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we are grateful to everyone who works to ensure that history is never lost 🕯️

🔗 https://brnw.ch/21x1yFK
📸 by Amy Hart, Toby Schuetze and Hanna Wondmagegn

TWO WEEKS until CoAAPalooza!!! 🚚🎨🎉⁠

Celebrate the end of the semester with your peers in CoA+A with an afternoon of arts activities led by student organizations, games, student performances and, of course, free food!

Participating student organizations include , , .mag, , , , , , .clt49 x , , , , , , , , , , the Society of Urban Design Students and the Dance Department Advisory Group.⁠

Food truck ticket reminder: Tickets are for CoA+A majors only. Visit our check-in tables in the back of Robinson Hall the day of the event to claim yours with your student ID.

We'll see you Thursday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Arts Quad!!!

Our Department of Music voice faculty put on a wonderful Faculty & Friends Concert the other week!

The March 24 Faculty & Friends concert showcased faculty Sequina DuBose Winston, Brian Arreola, Susan Gouthro, Monica Hunter, and Christina Pier, with pianist Claudio Olivera.

They performed a program of arias, songs, and song cycles, including Richard Strauss's profoundly moving "Four Last Songs" and the evocative "Mirabai Songs" by John Hairston, featuring dance professor Kaustavi Sarkar.

What a great evening!

📸: Katherine Pacheco

We did it! 💚 Thank you to all who supported us and helped build student scholarships this !!

Because of you, we were able to... ⤵️

🌟 unlock a generous $3,000 gift from Brent and Amy Sparks' Shared Blessings Project with 49+ gifts to performing arts scholarships

🥁 triple the gifts made to the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band thanks to alumni couple Gene '73 and Vickie '71, '82 Johnson who matched all gifts 2 to 1 up to $10,000!

🏛️ get all gifts to the David R. Ravin School of Architecture scholarship fund matched dollar for dollar up to $2,000 thanks to proud Niner parents Carl and Allison Ravin

Thank you for building Charlotte together!

Just 15 more gifts unlocks a $3,000 reward for our Performing Arts Scholarships Challenge 💚
This , a total of 49 donations to our performing arts scholarships (dance, music and theatre) will unlock a $3,000 gift from Brent and Amy Sparks' Shared Blessings Project.

A gift of any amount helps our talented students to pursue their passion. Consider making a gift before ends at 2 PM today to help us unlock this challenge gift!

🔗: https://brnw.ch/21x1gPJ

Be sure to select either dance, music or theatre in the dropdown fund menu.

Niner Nation Gives is underway! You can contribute to the success of music students by supporting scholarships right now.
This year the College of Arts + Architecture has received a generous challenge gift to help us fund more futures! A total of just 49 donations to our performing arts scholarships during this Niner Nation Gives campaign will unlock a $3000 gift from Brent and Amy Sparks’ Shared Blessings Project, with $1000 directly to music scholarships.
Join our campaign with a gift of any amount! Thank you!
https://ninernationgives.charlotte.edu/giving-day/112727/donate?des=762920&dept=112770

"My favorite thing about the Music Department is how talented everyone is! Not only are our professors incredibly skilled and supportive, but my peers amaze me every day with their talents, knowledge, and enthusiasm."

Amelia Andrews, B.A in Music with a concentration in Choral/Music Education '27, is this week's spotlight!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲?
I am really looking forward to teaching in any capacity! I am planning on being a high school choir director, but as long as I’m involved in music, I know I’ll be happy.⁠
⁠
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀?⁠
I am a soprano section leader in the University Chorale, and have volunteered for the school for NATS competitions!⁠
⁠
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻?⁠
I really love listening to music and watching movies! I have a pretty big CD collection and have started on my movie collection recently.