OU School of Music

05/21/2026

Congratulations to current Freshman voice and music education major, Kailyn Smith, for winning the High School Honors: Outstanding Soloist award for Downbeat magazine! Downbeat is "the premier American music magazine dedicated to jazz, blues, and improvised music. Often referred to as 'the Bible of jazz'". The student music awards are considered one of the most prestigious awards in jazz performance and music education and considered a "Grammy award for student musicians". Kailyn won the soloist award for her performance of "Don't Lose Sight" with the OkCDA All-State Jazz Choir in January 2025, directed by Dave Barduhn, choir teacher-Diana Carter.

05/20/2026

This past weekend 🎓🌟🎉

We are so proud of all School of Music students who graduated and we can't wait to see where their next chapter leads!

A huge SHOUTOUT to the commencement band🎶 Music makes memories and an impact for all 10 OU commencement ceremonies, so we could not have a graduation without the musicians.

05/20/2026

A huge congratulations to Dr. Karathanasis! The International Computer Music Association has awarded his composition for Aulos and Live Electronics the ICMC 2026 Best Music Award in the professional category. This is one of the highest international distinctions in the computer music field, and his piece was selected from among 480 music submissions from around the world.
Dr. Karathanasis had a successful performance at the Hamburg conference in Germany and has been invited for a short residency to perform the piece at SUNY Stony Brook this September.

05/19/2026

The OU School of Music is exceptionally proud of DMA composition alum, Kyle Vanderburg, who earned the North Dakota State University 2025-26 Peltier Innovation in Teaching Award! This prestigious award honors faculty members who demonstrate innovative teaching practices that significantly enrich the learning experience of NDSU students. Dr. Vanderburg's accomplishments and teaching is inspiring the next generation of musicians. Congratulations!

05/15/2026

Congratulations to all OU School of Music 2025-2026 graduates! 🎉🎓

05/14/2026

OU Piano has had a wonderful year of guests and student achievements. Concerts and masterclasses included those of Connor Chee, Gabriela Montero, and Xiting Yang, pedagogy residencies with Alejandro Cremaschi and Chee-Hwa Tan, and an interactive workshop event with Jennifer Snow. Student presentations have occured at the MTNA National Conference, Collegiate Symposium, and upcoming GP3 Conference by students Anna Dunbar, Lynnae Hurst, Katie Larson, and Holden Meech. On campus, Beri Chung was a winner of the OU Concerto Competition, and the MTNA Collegiate Chapter presented a Lunar New Year concert in collaboration with the Share Grow Association and the OU Chinese Program. The OU Piano Experience and Piano Pedagogy Masterclasses brought local students from the central Oklahoma to perform and engage with our faculty and graduate students. DMA documents have been successfully defended by Gui Lopes Correa, Yasmin Fainstein, and Qishan Shi, and doctoral workshops presented by Anna Dunbar, Yuru Ma, and Savannah Self. Other guests to campus included Courtney Crappell, Chris Fisher, Chris Madden, Simon Mulligan, Alexandra Nguyen, and Adrienne Park. And, to top it all off, OU Piano is now an All-Steinway School. Congratulations to our program for an AMAZING year!

05/11/2026

What an honor! We are so excited for OU Graduate Flute Ensemble to perform at the National Flute Association.

🎶✨ We have some incredibly exciting news to share! ✨🎶

The OU Graduate Flute Ensemble has been selected to perform at the National Flute Association Convention in Portland, Oregon this August 2026 — one of the most important events in the flute world, and a huge honor for us. Being invited to perform at this convention is not only an amazing artistic opportunity, but also a meaningful step in our professional development as performers, educators, and future leaders in music.

We’re so proud to represent the University of Oklahoma on a national stage and share the work we’ve poured our hearts into. This opportunity truly means the world to us. 💛

To help make this trip possible, we’re raising $2,900 to support travel and convention expenses. Every gift, no matter the amount, helps us get closer to Portland, and every share helps spread the word.

If you’re able to support us, we would be deeply grateful:
👉 https://ffnd.co/TsYa4h

Your support helps us take part in an experience that will shape our growth as musicians and allows us to represent OU at one of the most significant flute events in the country.

Thank you so much for cheering us on and believing in what we do — it means more than we can say.

05/05/2026

New Horizons Presents: "Expressions of Artistry" a Chamber Recital
coached by Mackenzie Waddell, Adam Hutcherson, and Zoe McDowell

Monday, May 11th at 7:00pm in Pitman Recital Hall, Catlett Music Center

This event is free admission and will be live-streamed here:
https://www.ou.edu/finearts/music/live

05/04/2026

May the 4th be with you from SoM front office!🌓🌠☄🌟

We would also like to say farewell to Neil Whyte and Eric Walschap. Thank you both for your years of dedication to OU School of Music. We will miss you!