Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Kutztown University's Jazz Ensemble I has been honored by the DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards with the Outstanding Performance Award in the category of Undergraduate Jazz Ensemble College Performance. The DownBeat Student Music Awards recognize the top jazz ensembles at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Nine judges evaluate the participating groups based on several performance criteria including overall sound, proper interpretation, improvisation, creativity, intonation, phrasing and dynamics. The honorees are selected from a competitive pool in which winners must demonstrate a distinct voice in addition to technical proficiency. The DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most prestigious awards in jazz education. Since its founding in 1976, hundreds of musicians, music educators and music industry professionals received their first international recognition as DownBeat Student Music Award winners. This is the 10th win for the KU Commercial Music program but the first for the Jazz Ensemble. Other winners in this category were Vanderbilt University and University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Kutztown Universty students in the Department of Communication Design won awards at the 2022 Graphis New Talent Annual Showcase.

Kutztown University is set to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. Presented by Distinguished Concerts in International New York (DCINY), the Kutztown Chamber Players will perform Mediterranean-inspired music by Greek composer Dinos Constantinides at 8 p.m., Monday, Sept. 30. Constantinides' work has been performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. KU will perform his work alongside members from the Louisiana State University School of Music. Kutztown University's own Chamber Players are conducted by KU orchestra director Dr. Peter Isaacson. Performing faculty members Dr. Maria Asteriadou and Kurt Nikkanen have given their students firsthand, real-world experience in preparing for this event. Alongside an array of international artists, Kutztown musicians shine in their involvement; their participation is a testament to the talent, skill and dedication at Kutztown University. "I hope this concert helps to raise awareness in musical circles that KU has an excellent music department where students are given outstanding musical training and exceptional experiences," Isaacson said. "I'm very excited to have the opportunity to perform in such an esteemed venue." The concert provides an opportunity to enrich students with real world experience. "This performance will give our students positive exposure to the professional world of performing - away from the academic setting at KU," Issacson said. "From this project, they have already grown from working with Professor Nikkanen and Professor Asteriadou. They will gain further insights from hearing other performers at this concert and the ways in which they approach the music of Constantinides."

The Kutztown University Rock Ensembles have announced their audition results for their Rock Ensemble I, II and III groups for the 2019-2020 year. For the past two years, Rock Ensemble I has been named by DownBeat Magazine as one of the premiere undergraduate ensembles of its kind. Under the direction of professor Kevin Kjos, KU Rock Ensembles respect the tradition of American rock and soul music while looking to the future to give the students who play and sing in these groups an all-encompassing view of the American musical style that took over the world. Students perform music from the rock genre and all its subcategories: indie, funk, soul, rhythm and blues, folk, country and more. During the past year, the ensembles have performed music as far ranging in style as Belinda Carlisle, Thank You, Scientist, The Main Squeeze, Queen, The Beatles, Tower of Power, Living Color and more. Through participation in the Rock Ensembles, student musicians get a taste of the real world and the music they will be asked to play and create in the commercial marketplace. With the guidance of their professors, students learn to write their own arrangements for a band with full rhythm sections, horns and multiple vocalists, prepare their own parts based on recordings and charts and record and perform at a professional level. Rock Ensemble I records at least twice an academic year and produces an annual CD (or CDs). The recordings are recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by professional sound engineers Steve Jankowski and Johannes Lang and KU students. Full roster with instruments and sections can be found here. For more information, visit the KU music ensembles website.

The Kutztown University Jazz Ensembles have announced their audition results for their Jazz Ensemble I and II groups for the 2019-2020 year. Under the direction of professor Kevin Kjos, KU Jazz Ensembles have had the opportunity to perform with and receive clinics from many of the greats in jazz performance and education including the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, the Count Basie Orchestra, Randy Brecker, Steve Wilson, John Riley, Tim Hagans, Scott Wendholt, Bob Mintzer, Michael Philip Mossman, Brent Wallarab, Scott Lee, Allison Miller, Mike Davis, Fred Sturm, Bob Baca, Tom Walsh, Steve Houghton, Ray Drummond, Bruce Barth, Cyrus Chestnut, Jeff Hirschfield, Bill Reichenbach and many others. The Jazz Ensembles will rehearse throughout the fall semester leading up to their fall performances. Jazz II is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, Schaeffer Auditorium. Jazz I is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 5, Schaeffer Auditorium. Listen to their recordings on Soundcloud to hear some tracks from the Kutztown Jazz Ensembles! Full roster with instruments and sections can be found here. For more information, visit the KU music ensembles website.

Kutztown University students Rob Pallett and Ike Okorji won first place in the "Berks' Got Talent" competition held at Reading Area Community College. It is the first time KU has won the competition in its 10-year history. Best friends since their freshmen year, Okorji and Pallett, performed vocals and on guitar to defeat musicians and performers from Albright, Alvernia, Penn State Berks, Penn State Schuylkill and RACC. Both are frequent participants at Open Mic Nights, KUsic and other talent shows.

The Kutztown University Visual Arts Program (KUVA) has been invited to participate in the 39th annual Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) Craft Show, held Nov. 12 - 15 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Kutztown is one of only four colleges in the country and the only public school invited to participate. This is the fourth consecutive year KU has been invited to attend.

Kutztown University's music department will host Piano Palooza on Monday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Georgian Room of Old Main. The concert will feature pieces for one and two pianos as well as multiple musicians on each instrument. It will include works by Brahms, Debussy, Faure and Chasins. In addition, the concert will feature the premiere of a unique work written by KU music student Colin Shecktor.

Members of Kutztown University's choral program will perform Mozart's Solemn Vespers (Vesperae solennes de confessore) on Monday, April 13 at 8 p.m. in Carnegie Hall, New York. The singers will join nearly 200 from colleges and universities across the country. They will be accompanied by the New York City Chamber Orchestra.

The Kutztown University Department of Electronic Media won two Crystal Pillar Awards at the Mid Atlantic regional Emmys Sept. 20 in Philadelphia, Pa. KU received four nominations from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for the Crystal Pillar, the award given to colleges and universities. There are eight college and university production categories. KU swept the Live Sports Production category and received two nominations in the Arts and Entertainment category.

Kutztown University student Charles Hanlon will screen his hour-long documentary "Travel Magic" on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. in room 120 of the Sharadin Arts Building. The screening is free and open to the public.

The Kutztown University chapter of the National Broadcasting System was named Model Chapter of the Year for excellence in service and their high level of achievement and activity. KU also brought home the Grand Prize in the Video Promotion category for their 2013 Kutztown University Football promo.

The Kutztown University Women's Center and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance will present a student production of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" on Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21 in room 218 of the McFarland Student Union Building. All proceeds benefit Berks Women in Crises, Turning Point of Lehigh Valley and the 2014 V-Day International Spotlight: One Billion Rising for Justice.