Philip Smith, principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic and future HHSOM professor, was honored on Saturday, July 5 in Avery Fisher Hall. The event, titled "A Celebration of Phil Smith," featured the New York Philharmonic's brass-and-percussion ensemble. Smith will be joining the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music this fall teaching trumpet as the William F. and Pamela P. Prokasy Professor in the Arts.

Starting in late June, WUGA-TV will air "Music in the Court of Catherine the Great," a concert featuring Hugh Hodgson School of Music musicians recorded last September. The event, which featured music from the court of Russia's longest-ruling female Catherine the Great, included excerpts from a famous Italian opera written for Catherine and a Russian opera written for—and by—her. The concert also served as a showcase for the inaugural appearance of UGA’s recently acquired fortepiano, a replica of Mozart’s own instrument.

On Monday, June 30, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music will present a series of teaching workshops as part of the 2014 Summer Educational Advancement for Teachers (SEAT) program. You are invited to participate, compliments of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, in these exciting presentations with our four nationally-recognized clincians.

Dr. Daniel Bara, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music, made his Carnegie Hall debut yesterday conducting the Masterworks Festival Chorus in a performance of Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli (“Mass in the Time of War”).

The ensemble, comprised of choirs from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Illinois, was joined by the New York City Chamber Orchestra and professional soloists, including UGA alumnus (BM Performance '97) Bryce Westervelt.

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music is proud to present Flutissimo! 2014. The event, designed as an intensive workshop to educate and inspire flutists, will hold three free recitals in Ramsey Hall which are open to the public: Monday, June 23 (7:15 pm), Tuesday, June 24 (7:15 pm), and Wednesday, June 25 (5:00 pm).

Each concert features members of the Flutissimo! faculty.

The University of Georgia Hodgson Singers, flagship choral ensemble of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, won both first prize and the Grand Prix Ave Verum at the prestigious International Choral Competition Ave Verum on May 24 in Baden, Austria. The four-day event featured performances by choirs from the United States, Italy, Hungary, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Austria, and the Philippines, each evaluated by an international panel of judges.

The 2014 International Tuba Euphonium Convention was held last week on the Indiana University campus. Several current and past students of UGA Tuba-Euphonium professor David Zerkel competed, to outstanding results.

Follow the University of Georgia Hodgson Singers on their new tour blog, Adventures in Europe with the UGA Hodgson SIngers. Students from the ensemble will be delivering personal accounts and updates as they travel across Europe on their way to the 2014 International Choral Competition Ave Verum in Baden, Austria. Tour stops include Prague, Salzburg, Baden, and Vienna!

You can view the blog by clicking here.

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music is pleased to announce that Brett Bawcum has been named Associate Director of Athletic Bands, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Georgia.

Congratulations to Christopher Leslie, who has been selected to perform with the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" this summer. Leslie, a DMA student at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, will present movements III and IV of Martin Ellerby's Euphonium Concerto.

The performances will be held on the steps of the United States Capitol building on June 19th and 20th in Washington, D.C. Leslie is a student of University of Georgia tuba-euphonium professor David Zerkel.