Binghamton University Music Department

05/26/2026

05/15/2026

Sending off our graduating students last week at pur graduation celebration. Congratulations and welcome to our newest alumni, class of 2026. Go Bearcats!

05/13/2026

As the semester ends, we're proud that some of our graduate students have been chosen as Young Artists for the Prague Summer Nights Festival this June and July. They will get to perform major roles and work with other great performers. Go Bearcats!!

05/04/2026

The Music Department at Binghamton University mourns the death of recent alum, Joseph M. Kosik. He was a musician with an innate curiosity and resilience. Joe came to the music department in 2019, studied music composition with Daniel Thomas Davis and James Budinich, and organ with Bill Lawson, and was greatly involved in the choral music program. Joe received a B.A. degree in Music and Political Science in 2022 and returned to Binghamton to receive a Masters of Music in Composition in 2025. Working fluently across an impressive array of styles, he received performances from the Momenta Quartet, Hub New Music, Society for New Music, Modern Medieval Voices, and a number of student ensembles. Joe was an active organist and pianist in the region, including as organist for St. Patrick's Church in Owego and St. Mary of the Assumption in Binghamton. Joe’s music will continue to echo in the lives he impacted, a lasting reminder of a life lived with depth, passion, and artistry.

In honor of Joe’s life and his passion for music, a scholarship will be established to be given each year to a Susquehanna Valley graduate pursuing a degree in music. Donations can be made in his memory to: SV Dollars for Scholars, PO Box 382, Conklin, NY 13748 (please note "Joseph Kosik Music Scholarship" on memo line).

His family will receive family and friends on Tuesday, May 5th from 4-6 pm at J.A. McCormack Sons Funeral Home, 141 Main Street, Binghamton, NY. A Funeral Mass will be offered on Wednesday, May 6th at 10 am at St. Mary of the Assumption at 192 Court St, Binghamton, NY with a burial following at Saint Patrick's Cemetery on Irish Hill, PA.

For the full obituary follow this link: https://jamccormack.com/tribute/details/2542/Joseph-Kosik/obituary.html

04/24/2026

Limited tickets will be made available. Now is your last chance to see the Indigo Girls with our Symphony Orchestra!

After assessing weather reports for the coming days, the Anderson Center will NOT be opening the lawn for The Indigo Girls concert on Sunday, May 3. A limited number of tickets will be released at noon today, available in person at the Anderson Center Box Office or online at our website.

Don’t miss this opportunity to catch these legendary voices, performing live with the Binghamton University Music Department's University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jingqi Zhu!

04/16/2026

The Music Department is thrilled to welcome pianist Yaël Weiss, who will be joining our faculty this fall as Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music. Yaël has previously taught at Indiana University’s Jacobs Schools of Music, UC Santa Barbara, and the Heifetz Institute. She has performed at venues around the world including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bolshoi Hall (Moscow), and Wigmore Hall (London), as well as at festivals including Marlboro, Ravinia, City of London, Changwon International Festival (South Korea), and the Seattle Chamber Music Festival. She has appeared as soloist with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, Slovak National Orchestra, and the Brazil National symphony, among many others. The New York Times has praised her playing as “remarkably powerful and intense… [bringing] fine technique and musicianship in the service of an arresting array of music."

A strong proponent of performing and commissioning new music, Yaël’s projects include “32 Bright Clouds: Beethoven Conversations Around the World,” commissioning composers from 32 international areas of conflict. Each composer responds to the “peace motif” from Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and to one of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, offering a message of oneness and peace. She performs internationally with the Weiss-Kaplan-Stumpf Trio, with whom she has recorded the complete Beethoven piano trios and several recordings of music by American composers. Yaël records for Bridge Records, Toccata Classics, and Koch International Classics.

At Binghamton, Yaël will teach piano and coach chamber music, serving as Head of Piano and coordinator of both areas for the Music Department. Please join us in welcoming this extraordinary artist to our faculty!

To learn more about Yaël, her career, and her upcoming events, you can visit her website: https://www.yaelweiss.com/

Photo Credit: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

04/13/2026

Re/Sonic is a concert of new music for East Asian Instruments being given by Assistant Professor Hippocrates Cheng this Sunday, April 19th at 3:00pm in the Chamber Hall at the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts

Get your tickets now at: https://www.binghamton.edu/anderson-center/events-list.html

The Binghamton University Music Department will present a distinctive faculty recital, “Re/Sonic: New Music for East Asian Instruments,” showcasing original compositions by composer and instrumentalist Hippocrates Cheng. The program brings together Chinese, Japanese, and Korean instruments in ways audiences rarely encounter.

Cheng describes the concert as part of a broader initiative to expand both the repertoire and visibility of East Asian instruments in North America. “The goal…is to write new music for East Asian instruments, and…to promote the artists’ stories,” he said. “These instruments are not likely to play all together…yet they share so many commonalities in philosophy, aesthetics, and sound.”

The recital features nine instruments—three from each tradition—including the Chinese erhu and p**a, Japanese sho and hichiriki, and Korean daegeum and gayageum. While these instruments often appear within their own cultural ensembles, Cheng’s project intentionally brings them into a shared musical space. “You’ll hear some kinds of harmony… but also lots of collisions,” he explained, noting the interplay of different scales, tunings, and expressive techniques.

Read more at wskg.org/arts

Story by Bill Snyder / WSKG News
Photo credit: Binghamton University Music Department

04/13/2026

Caitlin's visit was absolutely fantastic! She continues to give back to Binghamton and the music department by coming to teach the next generation of music students. Go Bearcats!

Caitlin Gotimer ’15 sings on stages around the world and returned to Bing to share her journey! 🎶 https://bit.ly/CaitlinGotimer

03/09/2026

02/20/2026

Opening night of Postcard from Morocco by Dominick Argento is tonight.