Festivals and Events
The Department of Music offers exciting music festivals throughout the year, bringing to campus hundreds of talented high school students and their directors to work with the world’s leading composers, conductors, ensembles, performers and scholars. These festivals are listed below in order of their appearance on the academic calendar.
Other Events
March 23-24, 2024
This festival is a three-day event, including a concert by the featured guest composer, a concert featuring outstanding works for faculty soloists and ensembles, a concert of works by Christopher Newport student composers, and lectures and individual composition lessons by the guest composer. A special feature of the festival is a competition for high school student composers, including a performance of the winning work.
Christopher Newport University is proud to present the High School Composition Competition, a prestigious competition for outstanding high school composers. The first-place prize is $500, and the winning composition will be performed on March 23, 2024, by the Faculty Brass Quintet as part of Christopher Newport University’s Contemporary Music Festival. The second-place winner will receive $250, and the third-place winner will receive $100. All winners will receive a recording of their piece as performed by the CNU Faculty Brass Quintet. The adjudicators include composition faculty Dr. Seung-Hye Kim, Dr. Kelly Rossum, Dr. Maxwell Tfirn and CNU’s chapter president of the Society of Composers, Inc.
The International Symposia for Emerging Conductors (ISEC) is a series of workshops held regularly throughout the world to enhance the studies, skills and cultural awareness of young conductors, including Christopher Newport students.
ISEC programs offer students daily podium time with an ensemble, instant feedback from highly experienced educators, clinics on topics determined by the host directors, and activities that enhance the participants’ knowledge and appreciation of the music and culture of the host country.