This week brings us to the first faculty spotlight . . . on Dr. Bob Boury. Dr. Boury is composer in residence for both the Insitute and UALR, where he is a professor of Music Theory and Composition. Our students have been privileged to perform two world premieres of Dr. Bourys operas for young voices: Grandmother Spider and Seastruck. It is an incredible opportunity for young singers to have the chance to work directly with a composer on a piece written for them, especially with a composer of the caliber of Dr. Boury. Dr. Boury loves working with young people, and shared this from a recent experience: This summer I came to understand the healing power of music at a deeper level as I processed the experiences I had last Spring with the choir at Mount St. Marys. One of our alums at UALR passed away suddenly, leaving her high school choir at Mt. St. Marys grieving. The new director, also our alum, LaSheena Gordon asked me to help the choir recover from their grief though poetry and songwriting. Over several weeks, the students wrote their way through the five stages of grief as defined by Kubler Ross in her classic text, On Death and Dying. The choir only performed their poems and songs for one another as they felt the art that emerged was too personal to share on their Spring Concert. Gradually I came to agree. You can find out more about Dr. Boury in his full bio on chotardinstitute.org.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 19:19:33 +0000
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