Happenings
There’s always something exciting happening at the College of Music! Stay informed and get to know our community through our accomplished students, alumni, faculty, supporters and college leadership.
Recent news
Dean’s Downbeat
Innovation as a collaborative act
Greetings “from the road” where I’ve been engaged in two accreditation site reviews for the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) as well as a trio of October conferences: From hosting the National Association of Music Executives at State Universities (NAMESU) Annual Meeting right here on our campus and at the new Limelight hotel to the 61st Annual Conference of the International Council for Arts Deans (ICfAD) in Santa Fe, New Mexico to the College Music Society (CMS) National Conference in Spokane, Washington this week where I’ll be interacting with other deans and senior arts administrators engaged in public service and mentoring. Everywhere I go, I enjoy representing the unique achievements, aspirations and opportunities of our College of Music; along the way, I’ve been struck by the supportive camaraderie and timely shared learnings among my counterparts.
As noted by American theatre and opera director Anne Bogart, “We have been discouraged to think that innovation can be a collaborative act” and yet it’s exactly that—a collaborative act—that’s at the heart of institutions like ours.MORE
of the Dean’s Downbeat,
a regular communiquéfrom Dean John Davis.
Noteworthy media mentions
Two to tango: Study shows dancers’ brains sync up as they move together (May 4, 2026, CU 91Ҹ Today)
Co-authors of a new study—including our Assistant Professor of Music Technology Grace Leslie—have discovered that, when dancers are in tune with each other, their brains may sync up, helping them move as one.
(May 1, 2026, Daily Camera)
Our Assistant Professor of Contemporary Music India Carney will sing backup vocals for singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo during a performance on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.
(March 2026, The Spectator)
It’s all change at the Takacs Quartet, as their cellist and founding member Andras Fejer is retiring after 51 years.
