The Illinois Brass Band, a group made up of 30 volunteer musicians dedicated to bringing British-style brass band...
Music News Archives
NIU Hosts Summit on Urban Music Education, Oct. 28-29
The Northern Illinois University School of Music is hosting a Summit on Urban Music Education, Friday, October 28 and...
10th Anniversary NIU New Music Festival to feature two guest alumnae composers and several special guest performers
The NIU New Music Festival celebrates its tenth year with three consecutive evenings of music November 2, 3, and 4,...
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 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...
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 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...
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...