Nyssma conference
Johnson served two terms as the editor of the International Journal of Music Education: Research, the research publication of the International Society for Music Education. Since his arrival at The University of Kansas, Johnson has taught courses in Instrumental Conducting, Teaching Instrumental Music, Managing Behaviors in the Music Environment, Psychology and Acoustics of Music, and Research Methods in Music Education and Music Therapy. Johnson, Professor of Music Education and Music Therapy, is currently the Chair of the Music Education and Music Therapy Department and Director of the Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas. NYSSMA Composition/Improvisation Committee ChairĬhristopher M. NAfME Council for Music Composition Chair Learn more about NYSSMA’s composition/improvisation program here. You can watch a video of the New York All-State String Orchestra performing the first movement of Theofanidis’s Visions and Miracles here. The conference also has an unusual dedication to living music–it makes the music of our time as relevant and exciting to the experience of these young people as the most standard of repertories. He said: “It is hard to overstate the energy at the NYSSMA conference–there was a wonderful combination of the electric energy of youth, and the thoughtful and dedicated energy of the many educators–it was a really wonderful experience. What a difference in the sound this made! What an experience this was!”ĭr. What could inspire the students more than to be involved in the performance of a piece by a world-famous composer WITH HIM/HER THERE! Our experience with Chris Theofanidis was outstanding as he told us he was seeking something very positive after finishing several pieces that were darker emotionally. Hagy had this to say about the experience: “NYSSMA not only provides students of its all-state ensembles the opportunity to perform music of living composers by programming it and renting the music, but it also hires the composers to come to the rehearsal process and speak to the students and directors about the reasons behind the piece, the intentions of the notations, and answer any questions about the piece. The students and conductor were enthusiastic about the opportunity.ĭr. Theofanidis attended two rehearsals of the orchestra, working closely with Dr. David Hagy, performed the first movement of Dr. The New York All-State String Orchestra, under the direction of Wake Forest University’s Dr. Theofanidis, performed by SUNY-Fredonia Professor Dr. The two NYSSMA student composition concerts featured solo piano movements by Dr. Theofanidis taught New York’s award-winning student composers in Composition Coaching Workshops and in the Young Composer Seminar. The acoustical echo created solely by means of instruments is fascinating.” He teaches at Yale University.Īt the NYSSMA All-State Conference, Dr.
The New York Times has described his music as “… lyrical, exotic soul-searching.
Louis, Detroit Symphonies, and many others. Theofanidis’s music has been performed by many leading orchestras from around the world, including the London Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Moscow Soloists, the National, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. New York’s award-winning student composers and All-State String Orchestra members had the opportunity to work with distinguished Composer-in-Residence Christopher Theofanidis at the All-State Winter Conference held by the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) in December 2013.ĭr.