News
Congratulations to the Class of 2025!
Join us in congratulating the School of Music’s Class of 2025!
We celebrate your successes and look forward to what’s next for you as our newest alumni. To those who received your degrees this spring, congratulations from all of us at the School of Music!
More photos are available on our Facebook page here.
Graduate Spotlight on David Eguiguren, BMus '25
David Eguiguren discovered his love of music at the age of four when his parents bought him a guitar.
Eighteen years later and more than 6,000 miles from his hometown of Quito, Ecuador, Mr. Eguiguren is graduating from Memorial University next week with a bachelor of music degree with a major in composition.
Read about David in this special feature in the MUN Gazette!
MUN Opera Roadshow premieres and tours Le Phare, a newly commissioned opera for young audiences
What happens when a lonely lighthouse decides to stop shining to make a new friend?
A School of Music-commissioned opera aims to answer just that.
Memorial University’s Opera Roadshow/Opéra en Tournée presented the world premiere performance of Le Phare, a new French-language children’s opera commissioned by the school’s Dr. Caroline Schiller and written by Québécois composer Laurence Jobidon and Ukrainian-Canadian librettist Maria Reva on April 29.
In May, the production took the story of light, friendship and teamwork to primary and elementary schools in the St. John's area and Central Newfoundland.
Read more about it in the MUN Gazette.
Hear an interview with members of the MUN Opera Roadshow on CBC Newfoundland Morning Show.
Sarah Comerford is the new Director of MUN Concert Winds beginning September 2025!
We’re thrilled to welcome Sarah Comerford to the MUN Bands team as the new Director of MUN Concert Winds, beginning September 2025!
An accomplished conductor, music educator, and flutist — and a proud Memorial University alumna — Sarah brings a wealth of experience and passion to the podium.
We can’t wait for our campus community to learn and grow under her leadership!
Sarah Comerford is a musician and music educator based in St. John’s, NL. She holds degrees in flute performance, music education, and instrumental conducting from Memorial University. Sarah teaches at Macdonald Drive Junior High, where she leads six ensembles, including concert band, string ensemble, and jazz band.
An active contributor to the local music community, she adjudicates festivals, coordinates the MUN Junior Band Camp, and chairs the Newfoundland and Labrador Band Association.
As a performer, Sarah sings with the award-winning Lady Cove Women’s Choir and plays flute and piccolo with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
Graduating BMus student Paige Sargent featured on CBC!
Paige Sargent, fourth-year voice performance major, recently stopped by the CBC Radio studio to speak about her experience at the School of Music the past four years, her diagnosis with cancer at a young age, and what's next as she continues her studies with a focus on opera performance.
Read Paige's CBC interview here or listen to her CBC WeekendAM interview here.
Paige graduates this spring with a Bachelor of Music degree with a Major in Performance. Congratulations, Paige!
Welcome Dr. Luis Achondo to the School of Music!
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Luis Achondo will be joining the School of Music as Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology and Musicology!
Luis Achondo is a music scholar who studies Latin American expressive cultures in contexts of violence and precarity. He holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Brown University and has previously held postdoctoral positions at Case Western Reserve University and Universidad Católica de Chile.
Read more about Dr. Achondo here.
Welcome to the School of Music!
Faculty member Dr. Christine Carter and alumna Dr. Gillian Morrissey recipients of 2024 President's Awards
Congratulations to faculty member Dr. Christine Carter and alumna Dr. Gillian Morrissey at the Centre for Social Enterprise on recently being honoured with President’s Awards from Memorial University!
Faculty member Dr. Christine Carter received the 2024 President’s Award for Outstanding Research for her work as a performing artist and scholar. A sought-after expert in performance psychology, Dr. Carter is one of the few active concert artists worldwide conducting research in the area, bridging the gap between research and current practice. In recognition of her influential contributions to performance and research, Dr. Carter was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2023.
The Centre for Social Enterprise team, including School of Music alumna Dr. Gillian Morrissey, received the 2024 President’s Award for Exemplary Employees: Champion of Innovation in recognition of their implementation of several “first of its kind” programs in NL, including the Social Ventures Incubator.
Congratulations to Dr. Carter and Dr. Morrissey!
Read more about the awards and the recipients in the Gazette.
Announcing the launch of the MUN Concert Winds!
This ensemble welcomes all members of the MUN community, including students from any major, faculty/staff (current or retired), MUN alumni, and advanced high school musicians. Prior band experience is required. The group is directed by Assistant Professor of Instrumental Conducting and Community Engagement, Dr. Dylan Maddix, and Master’s students in Instrumental Conducting, Carter Gaus and Owen Switzer.
Read all about the MUN Concert Winds in the MUN Gazette.
Hear Dr. Dylan Maddix speak with CBC Weekend AM about the MUN Concert Winds.
Find out more and register for the MUN Concert Winds here.
Dr. Karen Bulmer has been appointed dean of the School of Music
Dr. Karen Bulmer, who has acted as interim dean of the School of Music since June 2021, begins a five-year term effective Nov. 5, 2024.
“Dr. Bulmer is an experienced educator, administrator and performer with diverse experience at Memorial,” - Dr. Jennifer Lokash, provost and vice president (academic).
For more information, please visit the Gazette.
New Pilot Admissions Requirements for School of Fine Arts and School of Music Applicants
We are pleased to announce NEW pilot admissions requirements to our Bachelor of Music program! All applicants to the School of Music must first meet the general admission requirements for Memorial University. Interested in applying but don't meet Memorial University's general admission requirements? Starting with fall 2025, applicants to the School of Music's Bachelor of Music program may be able to take advantage of modified admission requirements through a new pilot admissions process.
Visit here for more information. Any questions? Email us at music@mun.ca.
Congratulations to Music and Business #MUNGrad2024 Erin Lee!
Congratulations to #MUNGrad2024 Erin Lee! Erin is graduating this fall as part of the first cohort of the joint bachelor of business administration and bachelor of music program (now bachelor of commerce and bachelor of music joint degree program). Read all about it in the Gazette!
“I want to keep music and art and creative expression in my life… there is a dire need for musicians and artists to have proficient business skills in today’s world. I’m proud there is such a trailblazing degree program in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Read all about how this unique program, the only one of its kind in Canada, has helped Erin discover her purpose, which she hopes will make a positive change in the world.
School of Music alumni win 1st Place in 2024 Young Canadian Composer Awards!
Congratulations to School of Music composition alumni Gavin Fraser and Robert Humber on winning First Prize in SOCAN Foundation’s Young Canadian Composer Awards!
Gavin Fraser won 1st Place in the Large Ensemble category for the piece “for dappled things”.
Robert Humber won 1st Place in the Chamber Orchestra category for the piece “into air”.
Congratulations to you both from all of us at the School of Music!
For more information and a complete list of winners, visit socanmagazine.ca.
School of Music alum Duncan Stenhouse named one of CBC Music's Top 30 Classical Musicians under 30, 2024 edition
Congratulations to School of Music alum Duncan Stenhouse on just being named one of CBC Music’s Top 30 Canadian Classical Musicians under 30! Duncan holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from Memorial University with a major in Performance and a minor in Composition. He is currently a member of Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio.
We have had several current students and alumni recognized on this list in the last few years! Current MMus student Olive MacPhail made CBC Music’s Top 30 list in 2023, alum Stephen Eckert in 2022, and alum Ben Diamond in 2021.
Congratulations, Duncan, on this well-deserved recognition! Visit the CBC Music page for a full list of recipients this year.
Congratulations to our 2024 East Coast Music Award-winning faculty!
Congratulations to School of Music faculty members Andrew Staniland and Florian Hoefner on your East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Award wins this past weekend!
Andrew Staniland took home the 2024 ECMA Award for Classical Composer of the Year award for Blackwood Sketches, featured on Kate Read’s album After.
Florian Hoefner’s project with Daniel Oore, Flying Pooka!, won the 2024 ECMA Award for Instrumental Recording of the Year for their album The Ectasy of Becoming.
Musicology Student Cameron Bennett's Research featured on CBC News
Cameron Bennett, a BMus Musicology student graduating this Spring 2024, recently spoke to CBC about his graduating essay: “I Bet You Think About Me”: Taylor Swift, Illusory Intimacy, and the Economization of Fandom.
Cameron’s essay asks a very timely question: how has Swift developed a persona and a fan-artist relationship which has led to the illusion of intimacy between her and her fans, and in what ways has Swift been successful in economizing this relationship? His paper analyzes two recent examples of Swift’s intimate fan relationship in action: The Eras Tour and the re-recording project.
Watch CBC's interview with Cameron here.
Introducing the first graduating class of Memorial University’s Joint Music and Business Degree program!
Introducing the first class of students graduating with a joint Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Memorial University!
Left to right: Erin Lee, Clare Follett, Matthew Fillier, Stephen Flynn, and professor Dr. Gillian Morrissey. Missing from photo: Hugh Hunt.
This five-year joint Music and Business degree program began accepting students in the 2019-20 academic year and the inaugural graduates of this program presented their capstone project last week in the course Music Business in Practice.
Music Business in Practice is a course taken by students in the final year of the joint Music and Business program. It allows students to develop and explore business pathways and opportunities in the music industry through project based, experiential learning.
Dr. Harris Berger Renewed as Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ethnomusicology
In a recent funding announcement by the Government of Canada, Dr. Harris Berger was renewed for another five-year term as a tier 1 Canada Research Chair in ethnomusicology, one of Canada’s highest academic honours. Congratulations, Dr. Berger!
“The renewal of Dr. Berger’s position is a crescendo in the realm of ethnomusicology and folklore studies within Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Without the CRC’s support, many of my projects would have been difficult or impossible to pursue. It also supports graduate students here at Memorial. It will allow the university to continue to recruit and retain the very best young minds in the discipline.”
Read more about the work Dr. Berger is doing as director of MMaP Research Centre in the MUN Gazette here.
Inter-campus collaboration: Grenfell, St. John's theatre and music students produce full-scale opera
An interdisciplinary, multi-campus collaboration between Memorial University students will soon bring a “magical” opera to life.
Our opera and chamber orchestra programs will premiere their production of Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 1:30pm in D.F. Cook Recital Hall.
Read about how the opera came together thanks to a cross-campus collaboration between School of Music and Theatre at Grenfell students in the MUN Gazette here.
Congratulations to the School of Music alumni who are nominated for 2024 JUNO Awards!
Congratulations to the School of Music alumni who are nominated for 2024 JUNO Awards!
Bekah Simms (BMus ’12, BMus Ed ’13) is nominated for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) for Bestiaries, Cryptid Ensemble.
Duane Andrews (MMus ’17) is nominated for Children’s Album of the Year for The Swinging Belles’ Welcome to the Flea Circus.
Sarah Comerford (BMus, BMus Ed ’02, MMus ’14) is nominated for MusiCounts Teacher of the Year.
Congratulations on your well-deserved nominations!
Hear an interview with these nominees and 2023 JUNO Award winner and faculty member Florian Hoefner on CBC Radio's The Signal on March 19, 2024 as they talk about the JUNOs, teaching, and the love of music learning.
Florian Hoefner's Juno statuette arrives at School of Music!
Dr. Christine Carter elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists
One of our faculty members has been given one of Canada’s highest scholarly honours! Congratulations to Dr. Christine Carter on being elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (RSC)!
In addition to being an acclaimed clarinetist and recording artist, Dr. Carter is an expert in performance psychology and one of the few active concert artists worldwide conducting research in the area.
Read all about Dr. Carter and three other researchers from Memorial University to have recently received this honour in the Gazette.