Department of Music

Jazz St. Louis has presented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Prince Wells, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music, with the inaugural 2022 Clark Terry Jazz Ambassador Award. The award celebrates the legacy of St. Louis’ own, jazz legend Clark Terry.

The award underscores Wells’ distinction as a mainstay of the St. Louis jazz community through his life’s work as a musician, band leader, activist, community leader and p...

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2022 Bi-State Honor Band Festival will take place April 30-May 1 in Dunham Hall on the Edwardsville campus. The event is one of the most important outreach activities in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music and the most important for the band area.

Having been a part of the department for more than 25 years, the festival aims to offer a two-day honor band experience for high school students in the greater St. Louis area. Parti...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Friends of Theater and Dance (FOTAD) will present its annual Dinner Theater fundraiser on Tuesday, April 19.

Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by an exclusive preview of “Rent” produced by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Departments of Theater and Dance and Music. This will be the final rehearsal and an opportunity to be the first to see the show.

"We are looking forward to the 2022 FOTAD Dinner Theater,” said Oti...

SIUE College of Arts and Sciences’ professor emerita and pianist Ruth Slenczynska signed landmark record deal in January 2022, after celebrating her 97^th birthday. She is the last surviving pupil of composer-pianist Sergei Rachmaninov.

Slenczynska’s album, My Life in Music, explores the music of Chopin, a composer who had a heavy influence on the young pianist’s childhood.

According to her memoir, Forbidden Childhood, Slenczynska was made to practise ...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Marta Simidtchieva, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music, will present an evening of Bulgarian music with Miroslav Hristov, professor of violin at the University of Tennessee, and Ilia Radoslavov, professor of piano at Illinois Wesleyan University, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12 in SIUE’s Dunham Hall Theater. The evening will feature works by Bulgarian composers and the world premiere of a piano trio, &#822...

Kindermusik with Ellen Singh, an early childhood music program run through SIUE’s Suzuki program in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Top Program by Kindermusik International.

The international award recognizes excellence in program development and outreach. An article posted by Jill Moon on Tuesday, Sept. 21 in The Edwardsville Intelligencer details the program’s success under its dedicated leader. Read the article here.

 Photo: A child enjoys a Kindermusik c...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumnus Officer John Cavanaugh is retiring from the Air National Guard on August 7. A retirement flag will be flown in his honor at Korte Stadium.

Cavanaugh earned his bachelor’s in music education in 1998. He was a band teacher for five years before joining SIUE’s Police Department. Inspired by his parent’s love for aviation and music, Cavanaugh decided to pursue a career with the Air National Guard, where he serves in a band unit. He...

As local school districts adjust schedules and suspend certain instructional areas due to challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Suzuki Strings Program is ensuring developing string musicians can pursue their training and fulfill their love for music by offering a new String Bridge program.

The String Bridge program will bridge the gap caused by the suspension of music ensemble programs for the 2020-21 academic year. String Bridge classes wil...