Overture

The Concert Hall

The lower floor has been converted into practice rooms, the main rehearsal hall and storage areas for woodwind, brass, percussion and string instruments. The soul of the building, all that happens in the concert hall begins here. This is where students of every major spend hours practicing, rehearsing and communing. It is a home away from home, where alumnus Mike Manzano ’90 says he "quickly became a part of a vibrant social circle of band and singers." Although not in the physical center of the University, Houlihan-McLean is central to the cultural, social and educational life of the University community.

Etude

Wynton Marsalis H’96*, Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz musician, composer and educator, says, "It is important for Americans to have their own identity. Music gives us an identity, especially jazz which is America’s music. When you look at a Stuart Davis painting or listen to Charlie Parker play saxophone, or watch an Arthur Miller play, you’re living an important part of the American experience. We need a generation of leaders who understand why we must defend our country, a generation who will take pride in a culture and want to share it with others. Music is a means to do this."

The leitmotif of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is to provide students with performance experiences in vocal and instrumental ensembles, to encourage students to acquire higher levels of skill and knowledge in music, to provide opportunities to observe, listen to, interact and perform with outstanding and exemplary guest artists, and to enrich the spiritual, cultural and intellectual life of the University and the local community. Programming is diverse in nature: the repertoire is representative of a variety of musical styles, genres, periods and cultures. Concert choir, concert band, string orchestra, jazz ensemble, flute ensemble, string quartets, brass ensemble and chamber choir all offer students multiple opportunities to continue their musical pursuits and in some cases learn new instruments.

Mark Gould, former principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, faculty of The Juilliard School and The Manhattan School of Music, and guest conductor and collaborator with Performance Music, recognizes the importance of music education for non-majors: "The University’s series represents the best of a non-major program. The students perform professionally with an amateur’s delight for the love of music."

Virtuoso

Since 1984, the Performance Music program has provided its students and the community a truly unique event: the World Premiere Composition Series. Director Cheryl Y. Boga commissions original compositions for concert choir and concert band by world-celebrated composers, and the composers come to Scranton to conduct the final rehearsals and first public performances of their works. Since its inception, the series has brought together composers (Vaclav Nelhybel, Robert Kapilow, Joshua Rosenblum, Robert Starer, Lawrence Wolfe, Wycliffe Gordon, Josh Freilich and Ted Nash, just to name a few) and student musicians to work on pieces heard for the first time in the Houlihan-McLean Center. The magic of this collaboration rests in the students’ experience, as they learn directly from and with a composer how a composition is to be performed. For example, during rehearsals for the most recent World Premiere Series concert, Grammy-nominated composer Ted Nash explained that the origin of the lyrics of his choral piece, "Windows," was a love story between a New York City couple whose apartment buildings overlooked each other and each could see the other’s window on a rainy day. Most performers never have the opportunity to dialogue with a composer that University of Scranton students have each year.

The series is unique for the guest artist as well. Some of the composers are not experienced conductors and must learn how to direct the concert band and choir. Those who are conductors learn that non-music majors look to them more intently for direction than do professional musicians. The pieces Nash composed were his "first for either concert band or vocal choir." His blog sums up the surprise many of these professionals experience when working with University musicians: "There’s something about people who come to play because they love to, not because they have to."

There is a third component to this experience and that is the audience. The World Premiere draws anywhere from 400 to 600 people who have the opportunity to meet acclaimed composers and hear original works debuted by student musicians. The series may be the only one of its kind in the nation.

Maestra

At the center of Performance Music is its conductor/director, Cheryl Y. Boga. "Boga," as she is called by her musicians, is a 30-year University veteran, and has built Performance Music into the quality program that serves so many. She plans and executes close to 40 performances in an academic year, directs all of the musical ensembles, contacts guest artists, serves on University committees, volunteers outside of the University, guest conducts high school music festivals, sets up and offers masterclasses for college and high school student musicians, and travels to New York regularly to participate in masterclasses and observe rehearsals to continue her musical education. Her tireless dedication permeates her programming and her students’ attitudes.

Composer, conductor, commentator and author Robert Kapilow comments, "I have been involved with music at Scranton for over 25 years and have continuously been amazed by the excitement and energetic participation Cheryl Boga has been able to generate year after year. Though the University has no music major, Cheryl has still been able to enroll large numbers of students in an intense, high-level music program. Cheryl’s incredible support of new music and her ongoing relationships with living composers gives her students rare opportunities to be involved directly with musical creators, and her wonderful commissioning program allows students to participate in world premieres every year in a way that no other program I am aware of begins to approach. The music programs benefit not only the participating students, but the entire campus and community, and the wonderful concerts and guest artists she brings to the University further enrich the campus’s musical life."

Cheryl’s personal relationships with fellow artists and their subsequent involvements here have forged relationships with the University and helped generate four honorary doctorates: Vaclav Nelhybel H’85, Wynton Marsalis H’96, Wycliffe Gordon H’06 and Robert Kapilow H’09, all devoted supporters of music education.

Allegro

Another aspect to the program is the Performing Arts Series. Musicians of national and international renown come to and perform on the campus, allowing students and audiences the opportunity to experience acclaimed masters of a variety of musical styles and genres performing in a live concert setting. The New York Trumpet Ensemble, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars, The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, The Manhattan School of Music Brass Orchestra, The Wycliffe Gordon Quintet and scores of other nationally and internationally renowned artists have all performed here. Many of them, including The Wynton Marsalis Septet, have offered masterclasses for student musicians. The concert hall is always active, the pace is never slow, students, faculty and staff are always included, and the public is always invited free of charge.  

Opus

Performance Music at The University of Scranton is home to The Nelhybel Collection. Internationally renowned composer Vaclav Nelhybel was a popularly and critically acclaimed composer, conductor, teacher and lecturer throughout the world. He was also the inaugural composer/conductor for the World Premiere Concert Series in 1984, remaining musically involved at Scranton in a variety of ways throughout the rest of his life.

The University is now home to The Nelhybel Collection of more than 600 of his works, providing students, performers, researchers and teachers with access to the manuscripts and published compositions of this highly respected 20th century composer. The presence of the collection is unique to a university that has no music majors and Nelhybel’s influence is ubiquitous. For more information, visit www.scranton.edu/nelhybel

Coda

In 1996, jazz composer and musician Wycliffe Gordon presented what was perhaps the most unique commencement speech in the University’s history in that he performed rather than spoke: "My commencement speech was spoken in the language I speak the best. Cheryl’s program makes it possible for students to continue to speak a language that they love." In the Houlihan-McLean Center, the University and general communities have the opportunity to be immersed in the language of music