Denison University Music Department

Congratulations to President’s Medalist Erica Lynn Elefson - A double major in chemistry and music performance!
The preeminent criterion for receipt of a President’s Medal, which was established in 1985, is academic achievement.
In addition, candidates must embody some combination of the following: service to the community, contribution to the arts, enlargement of the community’s global perspective, athletic fitness and achievement, leadership ability and contribution to community discourse.
Erica Elefson is a “scholar-artist” who embodies the breadth and depth of a liberal arts education. Her faculty describe her as capable of traversing disciplinary boundaries with ease.
A leader in the DU Wind Ensemble since her first semester, she is also a gifted percussionist and winner of the 2024 Concerto-Aria Competition. Her artistry reached an international stage, representing Denison in South Korea and collaborating with conservatory students in Poland. Locally, she fosters community and spirit through her band, DOGHOUSE. Read full story at https://denison.edu/campus/awards/wh/161682

Collegium Musicum of Ohio and the Denison Symphony Orchestra present a concert featuring music by Prokofiev, Brahms, Stravinsky, and Strauss. Denison faculty featured on the program include guest conductor Philip Rudd and pianist San Sung Aum.

This event is free and open to the public and will take place at First Community North, 3777 Dublin Rd., Columbus. Tickets are not required.

A holiday serenade from Philip Rudd and the Denison Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops—one of our favorite traditions! 🎶✨

Being serenaded with "Happy Holidays" by our orchestra director, Philip Rudd, is a highlight of the holiday season! Another highlight is our Denison Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops concert - one of our favorite traditions! #artsatdenison #denisonproud

Final concert of the semester: American Roots Concert
December 12, 7PM
Swasey Chapel
Free, tickets not needed

What a difference 50 years can make!

The Denison University American Roots Ensemble, directed by Adam Schlenker, celebrates the 50th anniversary of J.D. Crowe and The New South’s landmark album "Rounder 0044" while looking back another 50 years to explore the roots of stringband and early country music from 1925.

From the first million-selling country hit, “The Prisoner’s Song” (1925), to the groundbreaking sounds of Rounder 0044 (1975), the concert traces a half-century of musical evolution — and shows how much (and how little) has changed since.

Summer TUTTI High School Performing Arts Camp
June 20-28
This week-long camp offers talented high school dancers, musicians, and theatre-makers a chance to deepen their skills while collaborating with professional artists, ensembles, and peers from across the country.
Applications are OPEN, https://summertutti.denison.edu

'Opera comes off its pedestal'
Students from studio instructor Emily Noël’s opera ensemble meet twice a week to practice their pieces and learn opera singing. Many students don’t have much previous experience in opera.

The aim of this ensemble — the only one of its kind on campus — is to teach students that opera doesn’t need to be an inaccessible, hard-to-reach performance art.

You have an opportunity to see Denison’s Opera Workshop perform a selection of short scenes from Mozart’s operas in an intimate, studio-style setting on November 20, 7PM, in Burke Recital Hall, Eisner Center.

Read the full story, written by Abbie Greenleaf '27, at

Opera comes off its pedestal | What's Happening | Denison University On Nov. 20, Denison’s Opera Ensemble will perform a selection of Mozart songs.

Faculty Spotlight | Bryon Stripling
We're excited to announce renowned musician Byron Stripling’s appointment as Professor of Practice in the Music Department leading the trumpet studio.

Stripling rose to fame as lead trumpeter and soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Thad Jones and Frank Foster and has played and recorded extensively with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, in addition to The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall Jazz Bands.

Stripling is also an accomplished conductor and since his Carnegie Hall debut has conducted many of the nation’s top orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Detroit and Toronto Symphonies and is currently Artistic Director and conductor of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh and Milwaukee symphonies.

Educated at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, one of Stripling's greatest joys is to return, periodically, to Eastman and Interlochen as a special guest lecturer.

We're excited by all the ways Stripling’s artistry and experience will shape Denisonians for years to come!
.stripling

🎹 From rediscovering the piano to composing his own concerto, Rumi Kang ’26 is turning an ambitious dream into music.

For Rumi Kang ’26, composing a piano concerto is a ‘natural next step’ | Article | Denison University Rumi Kang ’26 is challenging himself to write a piano concerto. It’s tedious but rewarding work aided by award-winning composer Professor Ching-chu Hu.

The Denison Music Theatre minor, open to students in any major, provides a grounding in the fundamental principles of the music and theatre arts as well as an opportunity to explore how the disciplines come together in both conventional musicals and productions that combine music and theatre in new and innovative ways. The Music Theatre minor is designed not only for performers but also for students interested in dramaturgy, directing, composing, dance, history, and criticism, as well as costume, stage, lighting, and sound design. Minors will gain a historical perspective, an appreciation of aesthetic form, and the tools to perceptively question their fundamental assumptions about the relationship between music and theatre. At Denison we value the role of the liberal arts in helping students make connections across disciplines; this program is designed to spark collaboration and innovation in this interdisciplinary way. Our goal is to provide students with engaging creative experiences and to prepare them for postgraduate pursuits in Music Theatre as well as for lives as active supporters of the arts. For more information visit denison.edu/academics/music-theatre Video credit: Molly Mickley, mollymickley.com #artstatdenison #denisonproud