UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance

09/04/2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Welcome Back graduate lunch today!

09/03/2026

We are so excited to welcome the to campus this week. We can't wait to see you perform, create, inspire and grow during your time at UMass!

09/01/2026

Musicologist Marianna Ritchey, who explores classical music in contemporary American capitalism through diverse lenses, is this month's Spotlight Scholar!

Musicologist Marianna Ritchey explores classical music in contemporary American capitalism through diverse lenses.

08/21/2026

Join us September 11-13 for "Music Without Royalties", the ninth iteration of the Five College New Music Festival!

The Department of Music and Dance at UMass Amherst provides a comprehensive education for its students through a combination of established and innovative pedagogical approaches, inspiring them to realize their full artistic potential while equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and experiences....

08/18/2026

We are excited to announce that Evan Angus MacCarthy is now Associate Professor of Music History!

MacCarthy earned a Ph.D. in historical musicology from Harvard University. His research focuses on the history of 15th-century music, late medieval chant, German music in the Baroque era, and 19th-century American music. He is published in the 19th-Century Music Review, the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Music & Letters, Renaissance Quarterly, Journal of Musicological Research, and other collections. His forthcoming book is titled Ruled by the Muses: Italian Humanists and their Study of Music in the 15th Century. He edited the plainchants for the final volume of the Magnus Liber Organi edition and wrote a series of liner notes for the first-ever recordings of works by Thomas de Hartmann (1884-1956). MacCarthy previously taught at West Virginia, Harvard and Boston Universities, College of the Holy Cross, and MIT. He served two terms as President of the New England Chapter of the American Musicological Society and is a co-organizer of the biennial UMass Bach Festival & Symposium.

08/06/2026

The cohort at this summer's Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival included lots of former and current students and faculty members!

From left: Junior staff: Ruth Tumplam MM '17, Junior program head counselor; counselors Kyle McDonough BM' 25, MM' 28, Nataliia Yermeichuk BM'27, Spencer Lee, BM '22, PPC '23

Students: Laura Krauss '29, Sarah Johnson MM '27,Ella Bilge '27, Madeleine Guillaumot MM'26

Resident Assistants: Allie Schumacher MM '26, Aidan Klingsberg BM '25, PPC '26, MM '28

Staff: Elizabeth Chang (faculty), Artistic Director; Frantz Kjoniksen BM '22, MM '24, PPC '25, Operations Associate; Amanda Stenroos MM '15, General Manager; Rose Baker MM‘22

Missing: Hyobi Sim, viola faculty and Joonyoung Rhee '29

07/28/2026

We are hiring!

A full-time Collaborative Pianist job is now accepting applications.

Title: Collaborative Pianist Executive Area: Academic Affairs College/School/MBU: Humanities & Fine Arts Department: Music & Dance Work Location: Amherst Schedule: Full Time Work Arrangement: Onsite Job Summary The University of Massachusetts Department of Music and Dance seeks a full-time C...

07/20/2026

We are thrilled to welcome Atla DeChamplain to the faculty as Lecturer of Vocal Jazz!

DeChamplain is a jazz vocalist, lyricist, and educator known for her compelling sound and sincere interpretations of jazz standards. A Connecticut native, she studied at the Hartt School and earned her Master’s from the University of Toledo, where she was mentored by the legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks. Specializing in vocalese—the art of setting lyrics to instrumental jazz solos—Atla is recognized for her original lyrics, expressive phrasing, vocal control, and authenticity on stage.

Alongside her husband, jazz pianist Matt DeChamplain, Atla co-leads a band that reimagines the Great American Songbook and presents original compositions. They have appeared at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (NYC), the Bop Stop (OH), the Provincetown Jazz Festival (MA), and the Monterey Jazz Festival (CA), among others. In 2015, Atla released her debut album Pause. A frequent clinician, Atla has previously taught at URI, and the Yale University Jazz Collective. She authors a blog for aspiring vocalists, and is working on a book about the art of vocalese.

07/17/2026

Congrats Jamie-Rose Guarrine!

A local professor’s new album aims to celebrate the beauty of New England through art song and bring hope to listeners. Jamie-Rose Guarrine, a soprano and professor of voice at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently released a new album called “Filled with the Light.” This album fea...

07/17/2026

UMass Dance Majors Ryan Carrigan ‘27, Alexis Chrebler ‘28, and Ariel Barniv ‘27 (pictured here with Jodi Arnhold) attended the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) Summer Intensive as 2026 Arnhold Summer Fellows. Over the span of three weeks, they explored the DEL framework through three workshops: DEL Essentials, DEL Dance for Early Childhood, and DEL Dance to Belong: An Embodied Dance History of 92NY. They focused on dance education for all ages, multidisciplinary storytelling, and creative movement sentence curriculums within a like-minded and supportive community.