What's New in Higher Education

Version française...

Flash version here.

Faculty of Music of Laval University

22-year-old Andrei Feher, new conductor of the Symphony Orchestra
Andrei Feher has become the conductor of the Laval Faculty of Music’s Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Romania, the 22-year-old is defined by his enthusiasm and his energy. He will serve as assistant conductor in residence at the OSQ until 2015.

Western University – Don Wright Faculty of Music

Music building to undergo 25 million dollar renovations
New plans to renovate the Won Wright Faculty of Music’s building have been undertaken. Originally designed to accommodate 400 to 500 students, the Faculty currently has 700 students enrolled. The renovations total 25 million dollars and should be completed by 2015.

Royal Conservatory

Online Music Program for Pre-School Children
In 2013, the Royal Conservatory launched an online learning program for children before they start school. The Conservatory hopes to have 50,000 children registered by 2018. The program was launched with the help of the Thomson family’s 5 million-dollar donation. As part of the Conservatory’s Smart Start program, the online course will require a subscription and will be promoted to childhood educators and parents.

The University of Ottawa School of Music

New Faculty Members
Soprano Christiane Riel and violinist Yehonatan Berick joined the School of Music on July 1, 2013.

UBC School of Music

Centennial Celebration of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring
To mark the centennial of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, 105 musicians gathered to create UBC’s largest orchestra. It was the first time the Rite of Spring was performed by student musicians in Western Canada, and hundreds had to be turned away.

McGill University – Schulich School of Music

Golden Violin Competition: 1st International Student wins
The winner for the year 2012-2013 is French violinist Baptiste Rodrigues, who is the first international student to win the competition since its inauguration. McGill’s Golden Violin award was donated by businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich in 2006. The Golden Violin, which is a gold plated metal sculpture, is on display at the Marvin Duchow Music Library. The prestigious scholarship grants 20,000 dollars to a promising violinist, which is the largest scholarship of its kind for music students across Canada.

Concordia University

Launch of the Graduate Certificate in Creative Practices in Technical Production for Live Performance
The Graduate Certificate in Creative Practices in Technical Production for Live Performance has been launched in 2013. The hybrid program is an interdisciplinary program between the theatre, dance and music departments. Students coming into the program are called to become “Renaissance” producers by weaving their skills as creators and technicians in light, sound, video or music production.

INMS renamed to Major in Music
Concordia University’s former program “Integrative Music Studies” (INMS) has been renamed Major in Music in 2013. The new Major in Music has transformed some elements of the former program but retains its integrative approach. New courses added to the program include: Electronic Orchestration, Songwriting I and II and Transdisciplinary Creation.

Laptop Orchestra CLOrk: Second Collaboration for its 2nd year
The Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk) was created in January 2011. Their Facebook page indicates that it includes 20-25 laptop performers directed by Eldad Tsabary and their motto is: “music first; technology follows”. They previously collaborated with University of Calgary’s NuNuLO orchestra. In 2013, the orchestra joined forces with McMaster Cybernetic Orchestra collaborated for the MusicAcoustica, the annual music festival of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

University of Sherbrooke

The benefits of classical music for patients in intensive care
The Music Project, led by researcher Olivier Lesur and his team at the University of Sherbrooke, is a clinical study looking for links between music and medicine. They have discovered that mechanically ventilated and intubated patients who were hospitalized in intensive care units needed less medication and experienced much less stress when listening to classical music. The study showed that listening to music whose rhythm is similar to the heart rate can lower the need for analgesics and sedatives.

The École de Musique Vincent D’Indy

Music Composition Programme
The École de musique Vincent-d’Indy has created a new programme: Instrument and creation (classical or jazz) for students interested in musical composition. Starting in Fall 2014, this course will teach musical composition as well as recording studio techniques and how to use creative software. Students will learn how to link their compositions to animated films, documentaries and video games. This course joins other existing programmes: Instrument and performance, Instrument and sound management, and Singing and Acting.

Translation by David-Marc Newman