When Terell Stafford was a young and budding trumpet player, he was told he might have a problem. The way in which he applies his mouth to his mouthpiece—what is referred to as his embouchure by those in the profession—is crooked. “One teacher said, ‘If you can’t play right in the center you won’t be able to play past the age of 25,’” Stafford said. Still, his love for the trumpet never faded, and he continued to frequent clubs, taking in as much music as possible. Then he received guidance and encouragement from jazz greats like Wynton Marsalis and Clark Terry, and...

On March 20, the Temple University Symphony Orchestra and Choirs returned to the Kimmel Cultural Campus for the first time since 2019 to perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 under the baton of guest conductor Kensho Watanabe. As part of the annual concert event, Boyer College presented its 2022 Boyer College Tribute Award to music therapy alumna and visiting professor Tamsen Ann Ziff, BYR '16. The evening was marked by a very special surprise performance by internationally renowned soprano Renée Fleming, a friend of Ziff's who was thrilled to join us in honoring her. Fleming...

Dear Boyer Community, It is with incredible sadness that I share with you that Florence Brown Palmore passed away on Saturday, February 26. We were informed two weeks ago that her health had been gradually improving. Since then, however, she became ill again and her condition declined very rapidly. Her family was with her at the end to provide her comfort and peace. More information about final arrangements will be shared as they are available. Until then, please keep Florence’s family in your thoughts.   Florence dedicated so much of her life to the students,...

On Jan. 24, Fareed Simpson-Hankins, BYR ’19, ’21, premiered his video series, Second Line Bebop, on YouTube. Of the public’s positive reaction, he said, “I don’t think people were expecting it to be what it was, which is a good feeling for jazz musicians, as we don’t like to be predictable.” The video series highlights the cultural parallels between Philadelphia and New Orleans with a focus on jazz music. It was the culmination of research that Simpson-Hankins conducted with support from a $10,000 stipend granted through the Presser Graduate Music Award. Only graduate...

Boyer College of Music and Dance presents its Third Annual Keyboard Department Festival, January 28 - February 6, 2022. These events are free and open to the public. This year's Festival will feature faculty and students from the Department of Keyboard Studies in a series of recitals celebrating music by Iberian and Latinx composers. All performances will take place in Rock Hall Auditorium (1715 N. Broad) except for January 31, February 2 and February 6 as noted. Masks are required to attend, regardless of vaccination status. Festival Schedule Friday, January...

American musicologist and performer Steven D. Zohn will receive the Georg Philipp Telemann Award on March 27, 2022 at a ceremony in Magdeburg, Germany. The winner of the 2022 Telemann Award has been associated with Telemann’s birthplace Magdeburg for many years as an active participant in international scholarly conferences, as an editorial board member and editor of the Telemann edition and as a member of the executive committee of the International Telemann Society. Zohn’s writings on Telemann have appeared in leading journals and reference works. In addition...

Boyer College mourns the loss of Dr. Kariamu Welsh (1949-2021), who was a beloved professor of dance at Temple University for 30 years before retiring in 2019. Welsh notably created the Umfundalai technique (Kiswahili for "essence" or "essential"), which she described as “a contemporary African dance technique that comprises its movement vocabulary from dance traditions throughout the diaspora.” She was an author and editor of seminal works on Afrocentricity and Black movement traditions, including her well-known 1997 publication Umfundalai: An African Dance Technique....

Album Features Heavy Hitters Christian McBride and Joey DeFrancesco Available September 10 via BCM&D Records January 19, 2020, bears a bittersweet tinge in Terell Stafford’s memory. On one hand, Temple University’s Director of Jazz and Instrumental Studies recalls that day with a great deal of pride and celebration, as the Temple University Jazz Band took top honors in the inaugural Jack Rudin Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center.  That same night, however, Stafford received the sad news that the legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath had died at the age of...

The second album by the chamber music consort from the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University draws from a pool of talent across the Philadelphia region.    New York, NY – August 10, 2021 – On August 20, BCM+D records will release No Strings Attached: Percussion Music by Marc Mellits from the Philadelphia Percussion + Piano Project, recorded at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. Anchored by the Boyer College’s Artistic Director of Percussion Phillip O’Banion, the rotating chamber ensemble seeks to underscore the variety and...