Immediately following a faculty recital, Tuesday, November 16, by the NIU School of Music’s internationally acclaimed classical guitarist An Tran, an AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) faculty and staff reception will be held in the lobby of the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building. The reception is sponsored by the Asian American Resource Center, the Office of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Asian American Certificate Program. The reception is open to the public.
The recital begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall (next to the Concert Hall) and Tran will be performing music from Vietnam and around the world. The recital is free of charge thanks to a sponsorship by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. The reception will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Michelle Bringas, director of the Asian American Resource Center said like a lot of events these days, this one had been in the works for a long time. “The four sponsoring units wanted to host an AAPI faculty staff and student reception pre-pandemic but weren’t able to do so,” she said. “An Tran’s guitar recital seemed like the perfect synergistic opportunity to support a fellow colleague and host this reception immediately following the recital.”
Vernese Edghill-Walden, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and chief diversity officer at NIU said, “It is an honor to be a co-sponsor for the AAPI reception and we look forward to An Tran’s recital. In person community events like this are important and have been a joy to be a part of after the many months since the pandemic. I look forward to reconnecting with faculty, staff and students.”
Tran is based in Chicago and has won 13 international and awards. he has been praised for his “gorgeous playing” and “flawless technique” by the KnoxTNToday, and received many accolades for his dynamic artistry including being hailed as a “Vietnamese guitar virtuoso” by Austin Classical Guitar.
JOAQUÍN RODRIGO: UN TIEMPO FUE ITALICA FAMOSA Live at Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, May 2018, Northwestern University
An Tran joined the faculty in the School of Music in 2020. An Tran started learning the guitar at the age of eight with Vietnamese guitarist Nguyen Hai Thoai. Afterward, he received his musical training at the Vietnam National Academy of Music studying with guitarist Vu Viet Cuong. He received his B.A. in Music and the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from North Park University, studying with Julie Goldberg and Tom Zelle and his Master of Music along with the Southeast Asia Studies Fellowship from Yale University, studying with Benjamin Verdery.
Currently a Dorothy and Carl Johnson endowed Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Northwestern University studying with Anne Waller, An continues to transcend boundaries with his music.
Several ensembles from the Northern Illinois University School of Music will be performing on the Community Stage at this year’s DeKalb Corn Fest. The Community Stage is located in the newly renovated (and air conditioned!) Egyptian Theatre. There is no entry fee and the concession stand and bar will be open.
Banda NIU is a new ensemble at NIU that honors the tradition of the great bandas of the western Mexican statae of Sinaloa. The most popular subgenre of regional Mexican music, Banda relies solely on an instrumentation of wind instruments (unlike Mariachi and Noteño) featuring brass, clarinets, percussion and singers. Banda NIU will kick off the Community Stage performances at 5 p.m., Friday, August 27 at 5 p.m.
NIU World Music Ensembles will perform at 2 p.m., Saturday, August 28.
The NIU Steelband plays at 12:30 p.m., Sunday, August 29, followed by Projeto Arcomusical at 1:15 p.m.
Here’s the full schedule of performances:
Friday, August 27, 2021 5:00 PM – Banda NIU
5:45 PM – Ovation Performing Arts Studio 6:30 PM – Jon Babin
7:15 PM – Huskie Hunks
8:00 PM – Jazz in Progress
Saturday, August 28, 2021 11:00 AM – Cohesion
11:45 AM – Stage Coach Players
12:30 PM – Sycamore/Rochelle Performing Arts Academy
1:15 PM – DeKalb High School Band
2:00 PM – NIU World Music Ensembles
2:45 PM – Dimensions Dance Academy 3:30 PM – CCT
4:15 PM – Ethan Larson
5:00 PM – Live Wire Brass
Sunday, August 29, 2021 11:00 AM – Kishwaukee River Boys Traditional Jazz Band
11:45 AM – Just For Kix DeKalb
12:30 PM – NIU Steelband
1:15 PM – Arcomusical
2:00 PM – Northern Illinois Dance Center
2:45 PM – Beth Fowler School of Dance
3:30 PM – NIU STEAM Demo Show
What year did you start working at NIU?
I started working at NIU in 2004 when I was still an ABD (all but dissertation).
Where is your hometown? Where do you live now? I grew up in a small town nearby Hsinchu City in Taiwan. I live in DeKalb now.
Where did you attend college and what degree(s) have you earned? I attended the music department at Soochow University in Taipei, where I received my BFA degree in music in 1993. I came to NIU as a graduate student in 1995 and earned two Master of Music degrees, one in Piano Performance (1997) and the other in Music Education (1998). I went on to pursue doctoral study in music education at Arizona State University, and I received my doctoral degree in 2007.
What do you like about working at NIU? NIU has most of the resources I need to develop my career in higher education. The support I’ve received from professional staff, administrators, and my colleagues who I have worked with is beyond my expectation. I’ve also had many opportunities to work with serious learners, both graduate and undergraduate students, to help them develop their career, which is absolutely rewarding throughout my time here.
What advice would you give to students currently attending NIU? Take advantage of what the faculty can offer. Challenge the faculty in a positive way! For me, teaching is learning, and I am all about embracing challenges from my students because I believe that each of my students is unique, and it will keep me motivated and wanting to learn more from each of them.
Tell us about a research or engaged learning project you have led. I am interested in children’s singing games and am intrigued by how effectively children learn from each other in play. I have conducted several research projects, including one sponsored by the Fullbright Foundation in 2016-17, to study Javanese children’s singing games in various historical contexts. Specifically, I look into the sociocultural functions these singing games play in child development in Indonesia. I plan to expand this project to study singing games of various Asian cultures, such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
What do you hope students take away from your class?
What I want for my students to take away from my class is a learning habit that allows and motivates them to learn anywhere and anytime. What I teach content-wise in the classroom setting is limited, so I am always hopeful that my students will learn beyond the course materials and will transcend their learning to a higher level where they would become their own teacher to improve themselves day after day even after they are done with school.
What is your favorite campus event? I enjoy most attending School of Music concerts. Sometimes I go watch football or basketball games. I would also attend cultural events, such as Southeast Asian Cultural Night.
What is your favorite memory of NIU? Going to football games with my students. Seeing many of my students play in the Huskie Marching Band always excites me! Hosting many concerts and world music festivals in the School of Music is always a fond memory as well!
Who has influenced your professional path? Dr. Kuo-Huang Han, my predecessor, was always there when I needed his guidance in getting myself ready to teach at NIU when I first started here in 2004.
What did you want to be when you were growing up? Are you currently doing it? If not, what changed your path? I was hoping that I would become a diplomat because when I was younger, I always dreamed about traveling around the world as a grown-up, and I really enjoy learning different cultures somewhere out there. Although I did not pursue this “dream job,” I have managed my study and my career so that I can constantly learn something new about world cultures and can travel as much as I could as an academic. Being able to promote cultural understanding through music, which is a big part of my job, makes me feel that I am somewhat a cultural ambassador as well.
Are you a member of or hold a position within a professional organization? If so, what organization? What is the purpose of that organization and how does being part of this organization benefit you in your role at NIU? I am a member of several important professional organizations in ethnomusicology and music education, such as the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM), International Society for Music Education (ISME), and National Association for Music Education (NAfME). The primary purpose of these organizations is to network with other academics like me and to improve myself to be up to date in teaching and scholarship.
In addition to being a member, I currently serve on the Editorial Board for ISME’s International Journal of Music Education, and am on the Advisory Board for NAfME’s Music Educators Journal. I review approximately six to eight manuscripts annually for them. Through this process, I make myself familiar with current research and practical trends in music education not only in the U.S. but also the world.
I think being part of the organizations and holding a position within them helps me to demonstrate to our students that learning and teaching are a life-long process and that there are always people out there that you can benefit from if you are willing to learn.
What do you do to relax or recharge? I travel a lot during breaks, and sometimes I would align the trip with professional engagements. Being able to visit different places and people always gives me “fresh air” that is so enjoyable! And I go to the movies often to indulge myself at a space and time that would take me out of my work routine. A two-hour treat to allow my imagination to go wild is an effective way to recharge.
What year did you start working at NIU?
