Nataley Davis | staff writer

“The Dean’s List” is a concert apart of the Bluff Concert Series, where the dean of the music school hosts performances for faculty members.

When Steve Groves, the director of music engagement, events and marketing at the Mary Pappert School of Music, first started working for the series during its tenth year, he said the audience sizes consistently ranged from 75 to 100 attendees. But the recital hall was almost completely full on Sunday, with approximately 240 people in attendance.

On Sunday, the first performance of the year in the series took place at PNC Recital Hall on campus. It marked the beginning for season two of an installation in the series called “The Dean’s List.”

The idea behind the concert is for music school faculty and guest musicians to perform with the dean of the music school, David Allen Wehr.

Although this is only season two for the Dean’s List installation, the Music on the Bluff Series is a long-standing tradition for the school.

At the time the program began, Wehr approached the previous dean, Dr. Edward Kocher, to bring in guest musicians to the music school and perform for the community.

Kocher, who was dean for 25 years, was present at the performance on Sunday and reflected on how the program has grown since then.

“This has become a very sought after destination on four Sunday afternoons,” Kocher said. “It’s a real tribute to Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit that we’ve been able to do this for over two decades, and it’s still going strong.”

Groves said that a prominent feature of the concerts is an audience largely made up of faculty, colleagues and students.

Sydney Kaczorowski, a teaching assistant at the music school, said that the concert series helps foster a closer environment for the community.

“It’s a place where we can all convene, especially because sometimes departments are off in their own lands, or students are separated from the professors,” Kaczorowski said.

Each performance highlights the music of a different artist.

The concert on Sunday, entitled “Completely Copland,” showcased the music of Aaron Copland, an American composer who faced criticism during the Cold War Era for his supposed Communist beliefs.

A talk with Dean Wehr and Benjamin Binder, Chair of the Musicianship Department at the school, was held beforehand in which they discussed the history of Copland’s work, including the political implications of his time and how it influenced the music.

“They didn’t like the composer, they didn’t like the politics so they wouldn’t play his music,” Wehr told the audience.

The first performance was Copland’s composition entitled “Nine Poems of Emily Dickinson” Meghan DeWald Althouse, music school faculty, performed the vocals and Binder played piano.

Throughout the concert, other staff and guest musicians performed Copland’s work.

Music school professors Anoush Tchakarian and Kevin Lee Sun, presented a work called “Two Selections from Rodeo” a piano piece that features two pianists playing at the same time.

Tchakarian, who has participated in the concert series three times, said that performing in the intimate space of PNC Recital Hall has been a rewarding experience.

“I think communicating with people during the performance, which this chamber music actually gives you an opportunity to do, that’s much more valuable to me as a musician than performing on the big stages,” she said.

Finally, to close out the concert, music school staff and members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gathered to play an orchestral piece entitled “Appalachian Spring Suite” The orchestra was made up of 13 musicians playing instruments ranging from piano to flute to bassoon.

After the performance, a reception was held for performers and attendees to talk and enjoy refreshments.

Reflecting on the success of the concert, Groves said that a unique feature of the Dean’s List Series is for music students to see their professors in action.

“You see a lot of these communities come together in this room,” he said. “You see the students that are taking lessons with the people that are on stage watching their teachers do what they’re teaching.”

Nataley Davis can be reached at davisn5@duq.edu