NIU Today

The NIU Steelband, under the direction of Liam Teague and Cliff Alexis, will presents its spring 2014 concert at 3 p.m. Sunday April 13, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the NIU Music Building. The event will commemorate the ensemble’s 40th year of existence and will be a celebration of the past, present and...

The Amicizia Trio will present “Incarnation,” a free concert of new works composed for violin, cello and piano, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in the NIU Music Building Recital Hall. The program will feature works by Zack Browning, Robert Fleisher, Tim Schirmer, Daniel Temkin and Durwynne Hsieh. Three of these compositions will be receiving...

Guest pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi will present a free concert titled “Here (and There): Music for Piano and Electronics” at 8 p.m. Friday, April 11, in the NIU Music Building Recital Hall. The program will feature works by composers Jeff Herriott, Tom Lopez, Phillip Schroeder, Brian Belet, Jim Fox and Ed Martin. Lopez and Martin,...

The Northern Illinois University Alumni Association invites alumni and friends Tuesday, April 1, to Jazz in New York City. The regional event begins at 7:30 p.m. with NIU’s Rosebud Jazztet at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, fifth floor of the Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle. Seniors and graduate students make up the award-winning Jazztet and are...

The Avalon String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the NIU School of Music, recently concluded a short tour of California, and performances at The Music Guild garnered a terrific review in Stage and Cinema. In the review, entitled “I Found my Love in Avalon,” Tony Frankel calls the Avalon Quartet “one of the most meticulously amalgamated ensembles...

The NIU Jazz Lab Band, directed by Rodrigo Villanueva, will perform two shows Tuesday, March 18, at the legendary Jazz Showcase in Chicago. Funds raised at the door will help the band produce its first live DVD, which was recorded in January at the Peoria Civic Center as part of the 2014 Illinois Music Education...

Liam Teague, head of steelpan studies and an associate professor in the NIU School of Music, has been named the 2014 Laureate in Arts and Letters by the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards For Excellence. Launched in 2005 by the ANSA McAL Foundation, the awards are the English-speaking Caribbean’s leading recognition program in arts, sciences...

Fanfare, please: Wednesday, Feb. 26, is “Horn Day” in the NIU School of Music. Noted horn soloist Larry Williams is the featured performer for the event. Horn Day also will feature NIU professors Thomas Bough and John Fairfield, along with the NIU Wind Symphony. All events are free. During the afternoon, participants will enjoy horn...

Dance, visual arts, theater and instrumental jazz are on the summer camp agenda at Northern Illinois University this summer. These six-day residential camps for junior and senior high school students are scheduled in July. Campers work with faculty, alumni and students and gain a greater appreciation for the life of an artist. Dance Camp is...

Marianne Kim, a graduate student of jazz piano in the NIU School of Music, is celebrating recent and pending publication of her arrangements. Already on the market is the recent “I Have Heard You Calling in the Night,” a piano solo collection including Kim’s arrangement of “In the Garden.” “Contemporary Hymn Stylings,” 10 piano solos...

Pianist Yao Lin traveled 6,600 miles from her native city of Beijing because she was offered a full scholarship and graduate assistantship from the NIU School of Music. But a short bike ride on campus left her unable to play the piano. Lin, known on campus as Lina, remembers hitting the ground and losing feeling in...

Advance purchase tickets are now available for an on-campus performance by world-renowned jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen, scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 Known for her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence, Cohen and her band perform on the Concert Hall stage in the NIU Music Building. The $20 concert ticket allows admission to two...