Hurley School of Music

Centenary's Composer: James Eakin — Centenary Magazine

Check out this feature on Dr. James Eakin, Hurley's Theory and Composition professor, in the Centenary Magazine! Dr. Eakin has accomplished much in his career since his graduation from Hurley in 2000. We are so proud of all that he has achieved, and we're grateful that our students get to study with such an illustrious composer!

Centenary's Composer: James Eakin — Centenary Magazine It’s been a year of accolades for Centenary Associate Professor of Music James Eakin , who teaches music theory and composition at his alma mater while continuing an impressive professional career as a composer. Eakin’s choral work, : 15 tweets in 3 acts , was announced as the winn...

Hurley Percussuon Ensemble is getting ready to roll!!

Toi, toi to alumnus, Drew Echols, on his upcoming Magic Flute production!

Next Tuesday, December 6, Centenary's Percussion Ensemble will give their Fall Concert at 7:30pm in Anderson Auditorium. This program, directed by Mr. Chan Teague, is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Congratulations to our Centenary Suzuki Schools students who comprised much of LMEA’s All-State Orchestra in Baton Rouge!

Pictured:
Cal Alexander, Concertmaster
Vln. I: Noel Strange, Ivy Joseph, and Jai Koticha
Vln. II: Jessica Chu
Ass’t. Principal Second, Isabella Hamilton, John Thomas McGann
Viola: Grace Nida, Jeffrey Schneider, and Parker Hofman
with Condcutor Dr. Franck Diaz of Indiana University

Suzuki teachers Laura Crawford, Adrienne Gabriel, Elizabeth McShane, Charles Regauer, and Dan Santelices are so proud of you!!

The Wideman International Piano Competition is held each year at the Hurley School of Music and draws talented pianists from all over the world. This year's program includes concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Ravel, Schumann, Chopin, and more! We hope that you will consider joining us!

The event is free and open to the public on Friday and Saturday. Patrons attending the finale rounds on December 4 are encouraged to make a donation of $10 per person to help support the competition.

For the complete and updated schedule, please check the website: www.widemanpianocompetition.com

Pictured below is Dr. David Hobson at last weekend's Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA) Conference with three of our esteemed choral alumni: Ms. Rebecca Vacha (Choir Director at Airline High School), Mrs. Jennifer Jackson (Choir Director at Caddo Magnet High School), and Mr. Adam Philley (Assistant Professor of Voice and Choir at Northwestern State University). It's always lovely to celebrate great choral music with great friends!

Singers' Workshop in the Hurley School of Music presents their Fall Production, "Mixed Messages" which includes the operetta The Telephone by Menotti, and select musical theatre scene work in Anderson Auditorium.

"I picked the opera The Telephone because it's a comic opera that is in English, and very accessible for the audience. I also wanted the students to have the opportunity to learn how to navigate the soundscape of 20th Century music, and they are blowing their roles out of the water! The musical theatre scenes I selected all have some sort of 'mixed message' in them, just like in The Telephone, and I love to program based on a theme!" The class' professor and director of the program, Dr. Janani Sridhar, comments on the event, "It has been a real joy working with all the students, especially the incoming freshmen, and our Irish exchange student, Emma, on these pieces. We have had a ton of fun, and laughed a lot during this process. I think our performances of the double bill will be a grand time, and a wonderful evening of both opera and musical theatre repertoire! Fun fact: A number of our students have never done a show like this before, so it is very exciting!"

We hope you'll join us for one or both of these exciting performances!

Tune in to Red River Radio at 11am this morning to hear our very own, Tom Hundemer, talk about the upcoming Centenary Wind Ensemble concert!

Timeline photos

RAIN LOCATION UPDATE: Due to the threat of rain tomorrow morning, the Veterans Day ceremony will take place in Anderson Auditorium in the Hurley School of Music at 11:11 a.m. Parking is available on Woodlawn or in Lot 1.

Pictured below is Hurley senior Anna DiMaggio, whose lecture recital is tomorrow at 7:00pm in Anderson Auditorium. Check out our page for more details!

Anna DiMaggio is a current senior at Centenary studying Music Composition and Philosophy. She fell in love with composing in college and ever since then she has made it her purpose to study and create meaningful music. She noticed a gap in music history which she hopes to highlight in her lecture recital. Her passion for female composers has fueled her to start the non-profit organization United by Creation, which is dedicated to uplifting the voices of minority artists. She hopes to attend graduate school after Centenary.

Anna DiMaggio, a senior Composition major in the Hurley School of Music, will present a lecture recital in fulfillment of departmental honors entitled "The Creative Feminine Genius" at 7:00pm on November 11.

"Each one of the women in this program has lived a uniquely challenging life, but the one thing that connects them is their resilience and ability to create even in places where they are not wanted. I hope their stories and perspective broaden your conception of what feminine music is and what it truly takes to make your voice heard," DiMaggio comments. "I also want to take this moment to thank you for choosing to learn about these outstanding women. You are now a part of their success stories.”

Join us in congratulating Hurley's beloved professor of Theory and Composition, Dr. James Eakin, for his recent award of tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at Centenary College of Louisiana! Hurley is so lucky to have such an accomplished musician amongst our faculty!

Another exciting performance on Hurley's November schedule is the Centenary Youth Orchestra's Fall Concert on Monday, November 7th at 7:30pm in Anderson Auditorium.

The concert, featuring music from both classical and contemporary composers as well as a world premiere violin concerto by Centenary sophomore Dominick Benedetto, is free and open to the public.

The Hurley School of Music is looking forward to an exciting month of performances! Stay tuned with our social media pages for details about all of these wonderful concerts and programs!

Featured below are the lovely and talented vocal soloists for Camerata's upcoming performance of the Duruflé Requiem this Monday, Oct. 31!

A junior from Natchitoches, LA, Zane Harper studies psychology and music, and is also a violinist and pianist in the Hurley School of Music. After graduating he plans to pursue a career utilizing the unique blend of his majors.

Nina Guerrero is a Freshman Vocal Performance major from Dallas, Texas. Nina attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She has been a part of many productions such as “Beyonce the Musical” at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, ”An Oak Cliff Carol,” “Porgy and Bess,” and “Star Arts High,” to name a few. She has also studied voice with Gabrielle Gilliam, Julia Bullock, Andrea Wallace, Audra Scott, Janani Sridhar, and Jiles King. After she graduates, she plans to attend graduate school and work towards becoming a professional opera singer.

Keegan Tunstall is a junior Vocal Performance major in the Hurley School of Music and this year's Camerata Vice-President. After he graduates, he hopes to go on to a graduate program for voice and continue performing.

The concert will be held at St. Mark's Cathedral in Shreveport, LA at 7:30pm and is free and open to the public. We'll see you there!

Pictured below is Mr. Derrick Meador, who will be accompanying Camerata on organ during their Halloween performance of the Duruflé Requiem. Meador will also be performing César Franck's Prelude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 as part of the evening. Check out our event page for more details!

Derrick Meador is an organist and conductor based in Shreveport, Louisiana. He has been heard in many leading recital venues across the United States and Europe including the Świnoujście International Music Festival (Poland), National City Christian Church (Washington, D.C.), St. James Cathedral (Toronto, Ontario), and recent performances in Houston, Seattle, and Syracuse, among others. A champion of living composers, Meador has commissioned many works by New York-based composer Buck McDaniel. Since 2021, he has served as Organist & Choirmaster at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, where he leads an historic music program rooted in the Anglican choral tradition. Meador received his Master of Music degree from the University of Houston under Dr. Robert Bates, and the Bachelor of Music degree from William Carey University under Prof. Kathy Vail. He has also studied with Dr. Jeffrey R. McLelland, harpsichord with Dr. Matthew Dirst, and received private coaching from Dame Gillian Weir in London.

Happy ! In celebration of this magnificent medium, here are some photos from previous years of Spotlight on Opera, hosted at the Hurley School of Music!

We are so excited to welcome this program back to our campus next summer! They've got quite a season planned: Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, and Madama Butterfly are just a few of the exciting works to come!

Don't miss your chance to apply--full scholarships are available for some lucky Centenary students! Submit your audition today at spotlightonopera.com!



Spotlight on Opera & OPERA America

Join the Hurley School of Music and friends on Halloween Night at St. Mark's Cathedral as we listen to the lauded Centenary Camerata perform Maurice Duruflé's Requeim, Op. 9. Mr. Derrick Meador, organist at St. Mark's, will perform Cesar Franck's Prelude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 as part of the evening.

Dr. Cory Wikan, director of Camerata and Dean of the Hurley School of Music, describes the work, "Duruflé's Requiem is one of the truly exquisite requiems in the literature, built on ancient chant melodies that are ensconced in mid-twentieth-century compositional techniques that are both rich harmonically and subtly dramatic, a decidedly French approach to music. We will offer the chamber version, which consists of strings, percussion, harp, organ, and three trumpets. I work to explore a wide range of musical styles and genres so that our music majors are exposed to as much literature as possible during their study. Earlier last spring, the Centenary College Choir sang Brahm's Requiem, and it is instructional for our students to compare and contrast approaches to this genre, requiem Masses. The treble and baritone solos additionally offer the opportunity for our students to sing publicly with professional musicians, which is key for their training. We are thrilled that Mr. Meador will offer his talents to this collaboration."

This concert is free and open to the public. See you there!

📣 🎤Hurley alumni! We want to know: What is your fondest Hurley memory? 🎤 📣

Our students learned so much from Dr. Brooks during her residency. The performers were absolutely vibrant during the recital last Friday, and we are so proud of each one of them for the level of artistry they achieved!

Many thanks to Dr. Annie Brooks Stankovic for sharing her wealth of knowledge with all of us! We can’t wait to see how our students develop the skills they learned from her 🎶

Make sure to check out our events page so you don’t miss the next performance!

We learned so much from Dr. Brooks during her lecture on Deep Practice yesterday! If you missed it, you still have a chance to witness all of her and our students’ hard work in our culmination recital TOMORROW, Sept. 30 at 7:30pm in Anderson Auditorium. Admission is free! See you there!

Meet the illustrious Dr. Annie Brooks, our guest artist in residence this week!

You have three opportunities to witness her genius:

Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 4:00pm: Lecture on Deep Practice in the Hurley Music Building Room 201

Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30pm: Recital (featuring Centenary Students and Faculty) in Anderson Auditorium

Sept. 27-30: Open Coachings with Centenary Students (detailed schedule sent upon request) in Anderson Auditorium

Contact Dr. Janani Sridhar for more information at [email protected].

Our choral students are so excited for this collaboration! This is truly a performance you won't want to miss!

Centenary Suzuki School applauds international achievements of longtime student

Congratulations, Cal and Mrs. Crawford! The accolades keep coming!

Centenary Suzuki School applauds international achievements of longtime student Local violinist Cal Alexander recently won impressive prizes in two international violin competitions.