Western Carolina University School of Music

Western Carolina University School of Music Western Carolina University's School of Music provides student musicians with performance and recording experiences that prepare them for careers in music.

The WCU Piano Studio finished up their Spring semester in a big way with several successful performances on campus and t...
05/07/2026

The WCU Piano Studio finished up their Spring semester in a big way with several successful performances on campus and throughout the region. First, piano majors along with Dr. Lagrimas and Dr. Langer traveled to Black Mountain for a recital at the Givens Highland Farms retirement community. The piano studio also performed their annual Spring studio recitals in Coulter and in the beautiful Jackson County Public Library in downtown Sylva. All three recitals were well attended and provided a great way to connect with the community. Congratulations to our piano majors for their fantastic performances!

Please join us this Sunday, May 3rd at 5pm in the Western Carolina University Coulter Recital Hall. This performance is ...
04/27/2026

Please join us this Sunday, May 3rd at 5pm in the Western Carolina University Coulter Recital Hall. This performance is free and open to the public!

The Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 45th anniversary season with another star-studded lineup this summer, starting in June with the Pinchas Zukerman Trio. For their annual Spring Residency, they welcome the dynamic young Terra String Quartet, recent winners of the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, one of the most prestigious awards of its kind. They will play a 1-hour program of works by Haydn and Schubert as well as the NC premiere of a new Quartet by Seth Grosshandler. Come catch this rising star ensemble early in their career!

This Sunday, join us in the Bardo Arts Center as the Western Carolina Community Chorus, the WCU Concert Choir, and Artis...
04/22/2026

This Sunday, join us in the Bardo Arts Center as the Western Carolina Community Chorus, the WCU Concert Choir, and Artist-in-Residence Orchestra perform Felix Mendelssohn's masterwork, ELIJAH, at 3 p.m. This program is free and open to the public.

Adam Warnke has been appointed Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Western Carolina University. He is currently completing...
04/19/2026

Adam Warnke has been appointed Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Western Carolina University. He is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Colorado - Boulder, where he serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and will graduate in May 2026.

As a performer, Adam serves as Acting Principal Trumpet of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra and has performed with ensembles including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Boulder Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of the Rockies, Akron Symphonic Winds, and Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra. He has also participated in major summer festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and Texas Music Festival.

Adam received the Bernard Adelstein Prize in Trumpet upon graduation from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he completed his Master of Music degree. He earned second place in the International Trumpet Guild Orchestral Excerpt Competition (2024) and Chamber Competition (2025). He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.

An active educator, Adam maintains a private studio and has worked extensively with students throughout Colorado. He is passionate about developing strong fundamentals, musicality, and well-rounded musicianship, while helping students grow as both musicians and individuals. Adam and his wife, Lauren, will be moving to the Cullowhee area from Longmont, CO this summer.

Christina L. Reitz, Ph.D., Professor of Music, presented her research, "Making Medieval Music Relevant in the Contempora...
04/14/2026

Christina L. Reitz, Ph.D., Professor of Music, presented her research, "Making Medieval Music Relevant in the Contemporary Music Education Curriculum" on April 12, 2026 at the Texas Medieval Association Annual Conference at Rice University (Houston, TX). Dr. Reitz's presentation explored composer Joanna Hersey's compositions for low brass based on female Medieval composers, Hildegard von Bingen and Comtessa de Dia. Dr. Reitz's forthcoming article "Hildegard von Bingen: Hersey and Medieval Reconstruction" is scheduled for publication in the summer issue of the ITEA Journal (Journal of the International Tuba Euphonium Association).

WCU School of Music piano faculty member Dr. Leonidas Lagrimas recently served as a session presenter at the 2026 Music ...
04/06/2026

WCU School of Music piano faculty member Dr. Leonidas Lagrimas recently served as a session presenter at the 2026 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Conference in Chicago. This conference marked MTNA's 150th anniversary as the country's premiere organization for music teaching professionals.

Dr. Lagrimas partnered with Dr. Curtis Pavey of the University of Missouri to present "'Please Don't Make Me Play': Performance Anxiety Coping Strategies for the Group Piano Classroom," a session focused on addressing student performance anxiety in group piano through revised curriculum and assessment practices.

At the conference, Leonidas was also appointed to another term as an Editorial Board Committee member of American Music Teacher, the main journal of MTNA. There was also time for some sightseeing at the Art Institute of Chicago!

5 SOM students presented their academic research as part of the Research and Scholarship Celebration; The panel included...
03/26/2026

5 SOM students presented their academic research as part of the Research and Scholarship Celebration; The panel included Cris Lim, "The Physics of Clarinet Voicing: What Happens Inside a Musician's Mouth," Emmie Quillin, "Album for the Young: Schumann's Lasting Impact on Piano Pedagogy," Hannah Sagendorph, "Florence Price: Her Compositional Influence on the Black Chicago Renaissance," Jake Long, "You are at the Opera: Musical Alienation in Malloy's Great Comet of 1812," and Vincent Franklin, "Monsieur Croche: An Exploration of Claude Debussy's Critical Career." (Faculty sponsors included Drs. Thompson, Pratt, and Reitz) Photo Credit: Dr. Isaiah Feken

After 37 years of dedicated service to the Western Carolina University School of Music, Dr. Brad Ulrich will retire from...
03/26/2026

After 37 years of dedicated service to the Western Carolina University School of Music, Dr. Brad Ulrich will retire from his position as Professor of Trumpet. Throughout his remarkable career, Dr. Ulrich has taught more than 10,500 trumpet lessons, shaping generations of musicians through his guidance, artistry, and unwavering passion for teaching.

In addition to his extraordinary work in the studio, Dr. Ulrich has performed countless concerts and recitals—internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally—bringing his musicianship to audiences around the world and representing Western Carolina University with distinction. Although he is retiring from university teaching, Dr. Ulrich will continue his active trumpet performing career, maintaining a vibrant presence in the musical community.

At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, in the Coulter Recital Hall on the WCU Campus, Dr. Ulrich will be joined by Paul Merkelo (Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal) and Dr. Arthur Zanin (Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of Tennessee) for a special celebration honoring his legacy, his musicianship, and his profound impact on the Western Carolina University community. The pianists for this event will be Dr. Kevin Seal (Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville) and Dr. Leonidas Lagrimas (WCU Professor of Piano).

This concert is FREE and open to the public.

It was a great day at Mid-Atlantic Regional NATS at the University of Maryland! We had a total of 8 students sing, with ...
03/21/2026

It was a great day at Mid-Atlantic Regional NATS at the University of Maryland! We had a total of 8 students sing, with the following students winning their divisions:

Faculty Clarinetist Shannon Thompson and the Soluna String Quartet perform an evening of music for clarinet and strings ...
03/04/2026

Faculty Clarinetist Shannon Thompson and the Soluna String Quartet perform an evening of music for clarinet and strings on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. The concert opens with the masterful Quintet for clarinet and strings, K. 581, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and the second half of the evening is devoted to the lush Quintet by British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), who’s father was descended from African-American slaves. Although Coleridge-Taylor’s music was popular during his lifetime, this Quintet was not well-known until a few years ago. It’s now performed frequently, since the clarinet world has embraced it as one of the finest romantic pieces for clarinet and strings.

The Soluna Quartet is based in Asheville and Western North Carolina’s premiere string quartet. Members include violinists Mariya Potapova and Jonathan Urizar, violist Cameron Rehberg, and cellist Ashlee Booth. The quartet’s residency at WCU also includes a workshop on recording strings for students in the Commercial Music and Audio Production. Their residency is made possible through support from the WCU Visiting Scholar Program, the School of Music Artist-in-Residence Program, and the College of Fine and Performing Arts Dean’s Fund.

This free concert take place Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 7:30pm in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building on the WCU Campus.

Address

239 Memorial Drive , 253 Coulter Building
Cullowhee, NC
28723

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18282273256

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