Explore, perform, connect at the Granoff Music Center

On behalf of everyone in the Department of Music, I invite all students, faculty and staff to come be part of the rich and diverse musical community at the Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center. Through our events, classes, ensembles, private lessons and our extensive community music offerings, we offer opportunities to encounter music from the ancient past to the present day and from the far corners of the world to our neighborhoods next door.

The lovely Distler Performance Hall is one of the best places in Boston for listening to music. The concert season starts Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. with a special performance by the Carolina Chocolate Drops, described by The Guardian as "antique jug band tunes with swaggering hip−hop attitude." For tickets, come to the Music Center Box Office. While you are there, pick up a concert calendar for information on the many upcoming concerts and recitals in classical, jazz and world music by our ensembles made up of talented students from across the university, as well as our new Granoff Music Fund professional series, which includes performances by noted soprano Christine Goerke, the Philadelphia Orchestra group Intercultural Journeys and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

We also have free community concerts most Sundays at 3:00 p.m., as well as a new series of informal Quarter Past Noon Recitals, including an Oct. 20 performance featuring faculty pianist Gregg Pauley and a violin and piano recital on Nov. 17 by Sarita Uranovsky and Hisako Hiratsuka. Most events are free or cost very little; check the calendar for information about tickets.

The Granoff Music Center has resources available to anyone in the Tufts community, including practice rooms, many with pianos, some with practice amps, available whenever the building is open (Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday, 7 a.m. to 12 midnight; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 midnight and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m.). Bands can reserve room 24, which has a drum set and amplifiers. The department offers lessons on a wide range of instruments in almost every style of music; students taking lessons or those in ensembles have access to other spaces and equipment.

No matter what your musical interests are, you will find relevant scores, recordings, journals and books at the Ruth Lilly Music Library, along with a knowledgeable staff to get you started. Our computer lab has 12 work stations with some of the latest music software.

We have an outstanding faculty in music history, ethnomusicology, theory, composition and performance. Last year there were more than 3,000 enrollments in music courses and ensembles, with courses for non−majors, majors and graduate students exploring rock music, jazz, the blues, classical music, music of Africa, music of the Middle East, music technology, early music, music theory, film music, opera, composition, music and gender, Javanese Gamelan, gospel choir, Klezmer and many other styles. Many of our courses fulfill multiple distribution requirements. Everyone is invited to take part in our many colloquia, workshops and conferences, which start this year with a masterclass on the Zimbabwean Mbira on Oct. 15 and a colloquium on the music of the French avant−garde composer Olivier Messiaen on Oct. 18.

Our Community Music Program reached over four hundred children and adults last year. Offerings include Saturday music classes for children and teenagers, weekday evening classes and ensembles for adults, guest workshops with community musicians, and Saturday Family and Children's Concerts. There are many opportunities for students to become involved through outreach activities to local schools and by assisting with the classes. Fall classes begin on Sept. 25, with applications due Sept. 15.

You can find out more about all of these programs and many other musical opportunities by visiting the department or through our webpage at http://as.tufts.edu/music. If you would like to join the regular "This Week in Tufts Music" e−mail blast, sent every Monday during the school year, please send an e−mail to jeffrey.rawitsch@tufts.edu.

We hope to see you soon at the Granoff Music Center!

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Joseph Auner is a professor of music. He is also the chair of the Department of Music.