The NIU New Music Festival celebrates its fourteenth edition with two evenings of music October 26-27. The festival...
Music Archives
Huskie Spotlight: Kijuana Duplessis, ’28, Music Education
Kijuana Duplessis is a music education major and member of the NIU Steelband from Antigua and Barbuda, who says, "I...
Composer Alex Shapiro to work with NIU music students during season-long residency
Alex Shapiro, an accomplished composer of acoustic and electroacoustic works, has formed a unique partnership this...
Steelband and Huskie Marching Band to add on course musical flavor to 2018 Corn Classic 10K
The 38th annual DeKalb Corn Classic 10K race has a new route, part of which goes right through the NIU campus, and on-course entertainment, which includes the world-famous NIU Steelband and the bigger and better Huskie Marching Band. The race's new route begins in...
School of Music celebrates 100 years of Bernstein
The celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of famed American composer Leonard Bernstein a number of NIU School of Music groups will be incorporating his work into some of their fall concerts. The NIU Concert Choir and University Chorus will perform Chicester...
Avalon String Quartet to perform series of concerts at Roosevelt University’s Ganz Hall
The Avalon String Quartet, the artists-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University School of Music, is moving its annual Chicago series of concerts to Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University for the 2018-2019 season. Described by the Chicago Tribune as "an ensemble...
The secrets behind the biggest Huskie Marching Band in years
When you think of college football, inevitably you picture a crisp fall day full of changing leaves and bright sunshine, tailgating fans and players running onto the field with glistening helmets. But it's not just what you picture, it's what you hear. College...
In the news: School of Music’s Kelly Langenberg named Education Director of Chamber Music on the Fox
Kelly Langenberg, Applied Faculty in French Horn in the NIU School of Music has been named the Education Director of Chamber Music on the Fox. Chamber Music on the Fox is a world-class classical chamber music series serving Elgin and the greater Fox Valley region,...
School of Music’s Greg Beyer joins Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition’s brand new Grossman Ensemble
Greg Beyer, NIU Professor and Director of Percussion Studies has been selected as a member of the newly formed Grossman Ensemble, part of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition (CCCC) at the University of Chicago. The CCCC was founded just last year, and in...
School of Music’s Beyer and Fleisher part of CD tribute to composer-percussionist Michael Manion
NIU School of Music Professor and Director of Percussion Studies Greg Beyer and retired School of Music faculty member Robert Fleisher are featured on "Long Roll: A Tribute to Composer-Percussionist Michael Manion" by Albany Records. The release features a solo...
Founders Memorial Library exhibit on cellist Raya Garbousova
A new exhibition on world renowned, Russian-born cellist Raya Garbousova has opened at NIU's Founders Memorial Library. Garbousova taught in the NIU School of Music from 1979 to 1991. Garbousova was one of the first women to play the cello, and she was an...
In the news: Northern Star profile on retiring NIU School of Music Associate Professor Fareed Haque
NIU Associate Professor of Music and world-renowned guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque is retiring from the university. NIU's student newspaper, Northern Star profiled Haque and talked to him about his future plans. NIU gem to walk new path Thursday, May 3 - Batul...
NIU Concert Choir and Philharmonic to perform Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Sunday, April 29
The NIU Concert Choir and Philharmonic are joining forces to present J.S. Bach's final great achievement, the Mass in B Minor, Sunday, April 29. This is a rare opportunity to hear what critics and historians have hailed as not only Bach's greatest work, but one of...
NIU’s Jui-Ching Wang and the value of children’s singing games
A series of coincidences led NIU Associate Professor of Music Jui-Ching Wang to Indonesia to witness firsthand the value of traditional children's singing games. At the beginning of her tenure in NIU's School of Music, Wang found herself directing the school's...
School of Music’s Liam Teague to receive NIU Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professor honor
Liam Teague, Northern Illinois University Professor of Music and Chair of Steelpan Studies has been selected as a Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professor. The award was created in 1982 to recognize faculty excellence in teaching, research,...
NIU Wind Ensemble to perform April 19 with special guests
The NIU Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Ronnie Wooten, wraps up their concert season with a concert Thursday, April 19 at 8 p.m. in the Boutell Concert Hall in the Music Building on the main NIU campus, with special guests. The concert will include the men of...
Eddie Gomez Trio live at NIU
The NIU School of Music offers a unique opportunity to attend a concert by one of the most accomplished jazz musicians in the business. The trio, led by the multiple Grammy Award winning Eddie Gomez, is performing in an all-school convocation, Monday, April 23 that...
Fox Valley Brass Band to perform with NIU Wind Symphony, April 23
The brand-new Fox Valley Brass Band, part of the Fox Valley Music Consortium, will perform in concert, April 23 with the NIU Wind Symphony at 8 p.m. in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building on NIU's main campus in DeKalb. Tom Bough, Professor of Music at...
NIU Steelband spring concert features steelpan virtuoso Victor Provost
The world-famous NIU Steelband's 2018 Spring Concert is Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m., featuring an eclectic blend of music styles, and a special guest artist. The NIU Steelband, under the direction of NIU Professor of Music and Director of Steelpan Studies Liam Teague,...
April showers bring lots of concerts
During the academic year there are always lots of School of Music concerts, but April is always the busiest month, and this year is no exception. Check out all of the great music you can hear, in person or via webcast over the next few weeks. Boutell Memorial Concert...
NIU Jazz Orchestra Concert featuring Fareed Haque, April 12
Join the NIU Jazz Orchestra for its Spring Concert, Thursday, April 12 at 8 p.m. at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building on NIU's main campus in DeKalb. The Jazz Orchestra is directed by Reggie Thomas, and they will be joined by modern guitar virtuoso,...
Former Vermeer Quartet violinist to perform, NIU students can attend for a discount
World-renowned violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi will perform with Camerata Chicago, April 6 and 7, and NIU Students can attend either performance at a 40% discount. Shumuel, Camerata Chicago's artistic advisor, is the former first chair of NIU's famous Vermeer Quartet. He...
Estonian composer lauds NIU’s Gregory Barrett in Germany
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (hailed as the most-performed composer world-wide for the past seven years) congratulates NIU School of Music faculty member Gregory Barrett following performance of Barrett’s arrangement: Jean Sibelius “En Saga Septet,” at Arvo Pärt...
Steelpan in The Last Jedi influenced by NIU’s Liam Teague
A distinctive part of the soundtrack for Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the steel drum on the music that played during the movie's scenes on the planet of Canto Bight. That influence, it turns out, can be traced back directly to NIU's Liam Teague, Professor of Music...
NIU’s Avalon String Quartet to perform at Lakeside Arts Park, March 11
NIU's award-winning Avalon String Quartet is performing at Lakeside Arts Park at the Dole, March 11 at 3 p.m. The concert is part of the NIU School of Music Showcase and Guest Performance Series, a series of concerts by NIU groups at Lakeside Arts Park. Tickets for...
NIU Concert Band Festival, March 2-3
The world famous Phantom Regiment, the Rockford, Ill. based drum corps, presents the annual NIU Concert Band Festival, March 2-3 on the NIU campus at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building. High school and middle school concert bands from all around the...
NIU racks up recognition at Elmhurst College Jazz Festival
The NIU Jazztet and NIU Jazz Orchestra performed at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival, February 24 and both groups received praise from adjudicators and several individual NIU students received outstanding recognition awards at the festival. For the NIU Jazztet...
March 4 choirs concert part of Alumni Association’s Experience NIU
Experience NIU by attending the Music Choral Concert, Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m. in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building on the main campus in DeKalb. In addition to being one of three choral concerts at NIU this spring, the performance is also part of...
School of Music presents Karlheinz Stockhausen’s POLES
The NIU School of Music presents a guest flute and electroacoustic recital of Karlheniz Stockhausen's POLES, Tuesday, February 20 in the Recital Hall at NIU. Camilla Hoitenga and Taavi Kerikmäe will perform and be joined by NIU Professor Phillip Sink. The...
Chamber Choir to perform a showcase at Lakeside Arts Park
The NIU Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. Eric Johnson, will perform a showcase concert, Sunday, February 18 at Lakeside Arts Park At The Dole, 401 Country Club Road in Crystal Lake at 3 p.m. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased online prior to noon, February...
Steelpan in Education book review
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday published a review of the NIU Press book "Steelpan in Education - A History of the NIU Steelband" in their February 8 edition. The reviewer, BC Pires, while not a fan of the book's title, clearly enjoyed the book and the stories within. ...
School of Music’s – Forward, Together: A Concert in Tribute, Feb. 10
As part of Northern Illinois University’s series of remembrance events to mark the passage of ten years, and honor the lives of five students lost on February 14, 2008, the School of Music presents Forward Together: A Concert in Tribute. The concert will be held...
“Fading Expressions” a Electroacoustical and Video Faculty Recital, Feb. 6
The School of Music at NIU presents "Fading Expressions" an electroacoustic and video recital, Monday, February 6. The concert features pieces composed by NIU Composition Faculty Phillip Sink, D.M., and Brian Penkrot, PhD, and the concluding piece is an...
NIU’s Avalon String Quartet in concert Jan. 30
NIU’s world-class Avalon String Quartet will perform works of Shih-Hui Chen, Shostakovich and Beethoven, Tuesday, January 30 at 8 p.m. Admission is free of charge. The concert is the first of four this year for NIU’s quartet-in-residence, and will be held at the...
School of Music’s Clarinet Cornucopia festival Feb. 17
Every year since 2002, the Northern Illinois University School of Music has presented a day-long festival for clarinet players with a different theme. The 2018 Clarinet Cornucopia festival features “The French Belle Époque’” with guest artists Stefan Harg, clarinet...
School of Music’s Willie Pickens remembered as mentor to generations of jazz students
Willie Pickens, Applied Artist in the NIU School of Music, passed away in New York City on December 12. He was 86. Pickens taught jazz piano and jazz studies at NIU. Over the years, he was an important influence on many students who went on to become successful...
School of Music hosts Winter Horn Fest, Feb. 2
The Northern Illinois School of Music presents the 2018 Winter Horn Fest Friday, February 2, in the Music Building on the main campus. This day-long event offers programming focused on high school horn players and will address challenges, issues, and concerns that...
NIU School of Music at JEN – Dallas 2018
The Northern Illinois School of Music will be well represented at the Jazz Education Network's annual conference in Dallas, Tex., in January. NIU Music faculty are serving as clinicians at several sessions, and the NIU Jazz Ensemble "Supersax Project" is performing....
New Music Festival organizers receive kudos from Augusta Read Thomas
Augusta Read Thomas, Founder and Director of Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition at The University of Chicago was a guest of the Seventh Annual New Music Festival at NIU. Thomas is one of the most revered and honored composers of of this era. She gave a...
Jazz Ensemble packs a lifetime of experiences into 10 days in Mexico
Ten days, 10 students, seven performances in seven different venues, three master classes, leading a jam session at an international music festival and a lifetime of experiences. That's what the NIU Jazz Ensemble encountered on a whirlwind tour of Mexico...
Watch: School of Music’s Yuko Asada featured on Japanese TV show
Ever wonder what specific parts of NIU look like to the world? The TV show Gutto Chikyubin features stories that connect Japanese parents with children who live outside of Japan, and a recent episode features Yuko Asada, NIU Musical Instrument Technician, who, along...
Nov 19 NIU Steelband performance highlighted by book signing
For more than 40 years, Northern Illinois University has been home to the world-famous NIU Steelband, and they will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 19 in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the NIU Music Building. Northern Illinois University Press has released a...
Music alum continues the legacy of “The Baker’s Dozen”
For School of Music alum Scott McCullagh, the decision to set up a scholarship was equal parts honoring his past and securing the future. McCullagh was part of a unique experiment in curriculum development at NIU when he arrived on campus in the fall of 1966. "I was...
Why wait until December to carol?
The NIU School of Music's Concert Choir got everyone in the holiday spirit with a little caroling. The holiday was Halloween. Here they are paying a visit to Dean Paul Kassel's office in the Music Building. Pardon the shaky video, but enjoy the...
Seventh NIU New Music Festival Nov. 1-3
Join the NIU School of Music for the Seventh NIU New Music Festival, Wednesday, November 1 through Friday November 3 in the Music Building on the campus of NIU. Wednesday, November 1 Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, 8 p.m. New Music at NIU Thursday, November 2 Boutell...
Arcomusical under consideration for 2018 Grammy Award
Arcomusical, a sextet of Afro-Brazilian berimbau musical bows, directed by NIU Professor and Head of Percussion Studies Gregory Beyer, is on the ballot for consideration for the 2018 Grammy Awards in the category of Best World Music Album. Arcomusical's album,...
Cor Cantiamo Presents: Vocal Tapestries, Oct. 22
Cor Cantiamo, an NIU Ensemble in Residence, will present their fall concert, Sunday, October 22 at 3 p.m. in the NIU Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. Cor Cantiamo is a professional 24-voice chamber choir that works to bring world class artistry to the DeKalb community...
NIU alum Jim Roberts tells percussion students the best instrument is ‘right between your ears’
More than 30 years after he graduated with a Master of Performance from the NIU School of Music, Jim Roberts was back on campus for a visit, interacting with NIU students and faculty and reflecting on how his time here guided his career. Roberts is an accomplished...
NIU welcomes Yale Whiffenpoofs, Oct. 9
For anyone anxiously awaiting the release of "Pitch Perfect 3" in December, the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group will perform at NIU, Monday, October 9 at 8 p.m. in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building. Admission...
Cor Cantiamo receives support from Wurlitzer Foundation and DeKalb County Community Foundation
Cor Cantiamo, ensemble in residence at the NIU School of Music, has recently received significant grants from three local organizations. Cor Cantiamo received $7,500 from the Wurlitzer Foundation, and $2,000 from the DeKalb County Community Foundation. These funds...
Avalon String Quartet opens season Oct. 3
NIU’s world-class Avalon String Quartet will perform works of Joseph Haydn, Dmitri Shostakovich and Franz Schubert, Thursday, October 3 at 8 p.m. Admission is free of charge. The concert is the first of four this year for NIU’s quartet-in-residence, and will be held...
Geof Bradfield’s “Yes…and music for nine improvisers,” Thursday, Sept. 21
Composer, saxophonist, and Associate Professor of Jazz Studies for NIU's School of Music, Geof Bradfield will premiere a new commissioned work for nonet: “Yes, and...music for nine improvisers," Thursday, September 21 at 8 p.m. at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the...
In the news: NIU Steelband featured in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper
The NIU Steelband is literally world famous, and continued proof of that is a feature that ran in the Thursday, September 14 edition of The Guardian, a newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. The article features Liam Teague, Professor of Music and Head of Steelpan Studies...
NIU Steelband headlines 30th Anniversary Chicago Sinfonietta
The NIU Steelband will kick off the 30th Anniversary season of Chicago Sinfonietta with concerts Saturday, September 16 and Monday, September 18. Take a trip to the Caribbean with NIU’s Steelband. Fall in love with the stunning athleticism of Chicago’s own Cerqua...
Fareed Haque on Chicago Tonight
School of Music Professor Fareed Haque was on WTTW's Chicago Tonight Thursday in a wide-ranging interview on the ever evolving nature of music and how that influences his style of guitar playing. Haque appeared with fellow guitarist Goran Ivanovic for the discussion...
Join the NIU Steelband
The NIU Steelband is dedicated to demonstrating the versatility and profundity of the steelpan, the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, and you can join them in three different ways. Join the World Steelband (NIU Steelband) by enrolling in MUSE 272/672,...
NIU alumni appear with Zeshan B. on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
NIU School of Music alumni Stu Mindeman (keyboard) and Greg Ward (saxophone) performed with Chicago singer Zeshan B on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, August 11. The group performed the George Perkins classic "Cryin' in the Streets."
Organ students explore two major instruments in Chicago
On Friday, July 14 students of James Russell Brown from NIU and the Music Institute of Chicago met in Chicago to play and explore two of the largest organs in the midwest. The morning session was at Holy Name Cathedral's immense Flentrop organ, and the afternoon was...