UIndy Music Department

08/03/2026

The life of UIndy Music Professor Emeritus, Harry Miedema, will be celebrated on August 15 at 6:00 p.m. at the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall of the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center. Harry was a renowned musician and educator with a storied career including gold and platinum records with the O'Jay's and national television appearances. Under his leadership, the UIndy jazz program grew exponentially and his influence continues on with numerous former students performing and teaching around the nation. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to support a Jazz Scholarship at the University of Indianapolis. Gifts may be made online at https://getinvolved.uindy.edu/give - please select “Other” in the designation field and enter “Jazz Scholarship.” Checks may be made payable to the University of Indianapolis, with “Jazz Scholarship” noted in the memo line. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/ellenton-fl/harry-miedema-12905848

07/29/2026

Our Music Education students are amazing!

The UIndy Collegiate National Association for Music Education (cNAfME) chapter earned national recognition for its commitment to professional development, advocacy, and student success. The chapter has received national honors at the annual National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) conference...

07/27/2026

Shaina Liv Lescano (’18) is the Orchestra and Mariachi Director at Belzer Middle School in the MSD of Lawrence Township. As the Indiana Music Educators Association (IMEA) Advocacy Chair, Shaina Liv participated in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Hill Day in Washington, D.C., in late June. Joining around 300 music education advocates to lobby legislators for crucial Title funding, she led the efforts for the Indiana delegation by coordinating congressional meetings and managing advocacy materials. At the state level, she looks forward to continuing to build IMEA’s advocacy network so Hoosier music educators are amplified at both the state and federal levels.

Immediately following Hill Day, Shaina Liv traveled to Denver, Colorado, to represent Indiana at the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly. This marked her first time serving on the leadership team since being elected to the NEA Resolutions Committee at the 2025 assembly. In this role, she helps shape the living document that governs the belief statements of the largest labor union in the United States. With the 2027 NEA Representative Assembly coming home to Indianapolis next summer, Shaina Liv hopes to see even more Greyhounds representing on the national stage!

07/20/2026

UIndy Choral Music Educators, Dr. Meredith Smith and Professor Joyce Click, hosted choral music educators from around the state at UIndy this June for the Indiana Choral Directors Association Professional Development Conference . It was a great opportunity to make new friends and reconnect with others while learning new repertoire and techniques!

06/26/2026

The Women's Executive Leadership Institute collaborative program which featured our UIndy jazz students was amazing. The world could learn a lot from how jazz musicians communicate and work together. Thanks to Dr. Mark O'Connor, Director of Jazz Studies, and students Brandon Vermillion, Ethan Grimes, Ethan Long, and Ezra Lee for their great performance and insights.

06/25/2026

The official post honoring Ethan Hacker, 2026 UIndy music education graduate!

05/26/2026

SPECIAL BROADCAST OF CLASSICAL BEAT TODAY!

Due to technical difficulties, the episode below was not broadcast on WICR. This episode featuring composition students from U Indy will be broadcast TONIGHT, Monday, May 25th at 7:00 PM.

On Monday on WICR at 7:00 on "Classical Beat," our host Joshua "Sock Joplin" Thompson dedicates the episode to the history and music of young, prodigious composers.

He interviews composition students from the University of Indianapolis to gain insight into what motivates young composers in the 21st century and how they find inspiration to carry the art form well into the future.

Student composers Caleb Ginsberg, Alex Gonzalez, Gene Contreras, and Harper Hyatt are in studio, and Bizet's Symphony in C and Mendelssohn's Overture to a Midsummer Night's Dream provide the soundtrack for what promises to be a fascinating and enlightening episode.

Pictured L to R: Harper Hyatt, Gene Contreras, Alex Gonzalez, Caleb Ginsberg, Dr. John Berners, Joshua Thompson

This episode of Classical Beat can be streamed at https://ow.ly/Y0QE50WxJzW on Monday, May 25th at 7:00 PM.

05/12/2026

Yesterday, Dr. Terence Mayhue, Dr. Brett Leonard, and Dr. Mark O’Connor joined Fox59 to share more about our upcoming summer camps and even treated viewers to a little jam session! 🎷🎵

Interested in joining us this summer? Check out our full list of camps here: https://news.uindy.edu/event-category/summer/

For additional information, email us at [email protected]!

04/29/2026

We’re proud to congratulate our very own Director of Music Therapy and Director of Student Services, Prof. Amy Foley, on her nomination for the 2026 UIndy Teacher of the Year!

Prof. Foley does so much for our department - she keeps everything running smoothly, leads with positivity, and is always one step ahead. Most importantly, she brings genuine care and thoughtfulness to everyone she works with, from students to faculty and staff.

This recognition is truly well deserved, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate her!

👏 Congratulations, Prof. Foley! 👏

04/25/2026

Join us TOMORROW for a Pop-themed UIndy Choir Concert! 🎶

LP Credit Available for Live Audience.