Hip Hop Degree

The creative use of available technology, the tenacity to build audiences and create a market in the absence of commercial support, and a deep engagement with the cultural and material lives of the people performing and listening to the art—the evolution of hip-hop from its creation in Afro-Caribbean, Latino-Caribbean, and Black neighborhoods in the Bronx and Queens in the early 1970s into the global enterprise it is today is marked by the innovative, entrepreneurial, and creative expertise that all performing artists in the 21st century need. Recognizing that its strengths align in many ways with this distinctly American art form, the Peabody Institute—America’s first conservatory, which continues to refine and reinvigorate its curriculum to prepare performing artists for the future—announces the first-ever Bachelor of Music in Hip Hop program.

The program was developed and will be led by composer, producer, beatmaker, pianist, and professor Wendel Patrick (above left), with Grammy Award-winning rapper and songwriter Lupe Fiasco (above right) joining as a distinguished visiting artist, and additional faculty to be announced. Hip-hop students at Peabody will benefit from the resources and strengths of the industry-leading Music Engineering and Technology (MET) programs and the Conservatory’s long history of excellence in performance training, alongside the robust business acumen cultivated as part of the Breakthrough Curriculum.

The application deadline for this exciting new degree program has been extended to January 24, 2025. Email peabodyadmissions@jhu.edu for an application link and additional information.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed wonderful holidays with family and friends.

As we prepare for the launch of the spring semester, we are already focused on selecting our incoming class for fall 2025. With February auditions right around the corner, a big task lies ahead. We have seen an unprecedented number of applications this cycle that amounts to a 19% increase overall, ranging from a 10% increase in undergraduate applications to an increase of 55% for our Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree program. This is no doubt due in part to Peabody’s dramatic increase in investment in financial aid over the last year that has included meeting full need without loans for qualified undergraduate candidates and, most recently, offering full-tuition scholarships to DMA candidates during the degree’s required two-year residency period. These new initiatives, along with Peabody’s world-class faculty and the institute’s innovative, 21st-century focused Breakthrough Curriculum, are certainly driving increased applications, which is expected to translate to even more selectivity, higher yield, excellence as always, and greater-than-ever access for the most qualified candidates regardless of financial means.

Each new class brings renewed energy and inspiration to the Peabody campus. I know it will be an exciting challenge for our faculty and admissions team as they begin the process of auditioning and selecting the next cohort of future Peabody alumni. Good luck to all our applicants and see you soon! 

Sincerely,

Sunday, January 12, 8:00 pm EST

John Coltrane’s deeply spiritual 1965 recording A Love Supreme is one of the most revered jazz records of its era, and his son Ravi Coltrane celebrates the album’s 60th anniversary performing the suite at Roulette in Brooklyn featuring a round-robin of contemporary jazz musicians, including Melissa Aldana, James Brandon Lewis, Sam Newsome, Angelica Sanchez, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Nasheet Waits, Peabody faculty artist Allison Miller, and more. Tickets are available online.

Sunday, January 12, through Sunday, January 19

Faculty artist Amit Peled’s Mount Vernon Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra of string players, travels to the Florida panhandle for the Emerald Coast Music Alliance’s 2025 Festival, curated by festival artistic director Alon Goldstein (GPD ’95, MM ’96, Piano). The festival offers free concerts and educational programs to its Northwest Florida community, and for this tour the MVV ensemble includes Mafalda Santos (MM ’22, Cello), current DMA student Natalia Vilchis (MM ’21, Cello), Lindsey Choung (MM ’22, Cello), and current undergraduates Adrian Bostian and Marlon Florez. For more information and schedule, visit the festival website.

Thursday, January 16, 7:30 pm GMT

Faculty artist and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Artistic Director of Ensembles Joseph Young (AD ’09, Conducting) makes his debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on a program that includes Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Three Dance Episodes from On The Town alongside Samuel Barber’s Essay No. 2 and Preparatory alumnus Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring guest soloist Chloë Hanslip. The concert takes place at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and tickets are available online.

Friday, January 17, through Sunday, January 19

Baltimore-based ensemble Mind on Fire, co-founded by Allison Clendaniel (BM ’14, Voice) and James David Young (DMA ’14, Composition), presents the world premiere of Nobody is Ever Missing, a new opera by composer Tim Holt (DMA ’18, Composition) based Catherine Lacey’s novel of the same name. The performers and musicians include Heather Morrison (MM ’22, Voice), Cameron Falby (BM ’19, Composition), current graduate student Kayleigh Sprouse, TJ Callahan (MM ’24, Historical Performance Voice), Peter Kibbe (BM ’12, Cello), Stephanie Ray (MM ’12, Flute), and Jenny Tscheulin (MM ’18, Clarinet), among others. Tickets are available online.

Sunday, January 19, 4:30 pm EST

Mezzo-soprano Taylor Hillary Boykins (MM ’14, Voice) opens her 2025 concert season with this recital and Evensong for the Feast of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at St. David’s Church in Baltimore, where faculty artist Douglas Buchanan (MM ’08, Composition, Music Theory Pedagogy; DMA ’13, Composition) is the Director of Music. The program includes works by Margaret Bonds, Kathryn Bostic, and Xavier Montsalvatge, and the free concert will be livestreamed via the church’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

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Peabody Notes highlights select off-campus performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody events page.

Sahun Sam Hong

Pianist Sahun Sam Hong (GPD ’15; MM ’17, Piano), a CUNY Queens College Aaron Copland School of Music faculty member, was recently named a Steinway Artist, joining a distinguished roster of performers. Hong is a co-founding member and co-artistic director of ensemble132, and performs with the group at a number of its 2025 events.

Judith Ingolfsson

Violin Professor Judith Ingolfsson was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the Minister of Culture of France, a distinction awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the cultural sphere. Her Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel, with pianist Vladimir Stoupel, performs and champions lesser-known 20th-century composers and works.

Fabian Leung

Current undergraduate Fabian Leung, a student of Kevin Puts, was named one of three winners in the orchestral category of the 2024 National Young Composers’ Challenge for his When Indigo Grew Atop a Cloud. The piece will be performed by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in April. Last year, Leung claimed first prize in the ensemble category of the 2023 Challenge for his Preservation of Adolescence.

Ebonie Pierce

Peabody Preparatory faculty artist and Tuned-In alumnus Ebonie Pierce is a member of the Teaching Artists Training Institute’s (TATI) 2025 Lab Cohort. Since 2020, TATI has engaged more than 350 teaching artists across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada to be better equipped to support the underrepresented students and communities with which they work. Faculty for the 2025 TATI cohort includes Sister Cities Girlchoir artistic director Alysia Lee (MM ’06, Vocal Performance).

Ryan Zhou

Baritone Ryan Zhou, a student of Preparatory Voice Chair Madeleine Gray, was one of eight high-school classical singers named a 2025 YoungArts National Winner with Distinction by the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists. Zhou started singing with the Peabody Children’s Chorus when he was 10 and is currently in his second year of the Preparatory's Vocal Performance Academy.

Big & Lovely

In 2022, faculty artist Allison Miller was invited to perform with the University of North Texas’ celebrated One O’Clock Lab Band, and the collaboration was such a success that Miller and One O'Clock Lab Band director Alan Baylock decided to record a selection of Miller’s own works. Big & Lovely (Royal Potato) features eight of Miller’s originals arranged for the dynamic, high-energy big band and is available to purchase online.

CCI/Sessions, Vol. 6

The Brooklyn-based Unheard-of//Ensemble’s recent CCI//Sessions, Vol. 6 release from its Collaborative Composition Initiative workshops in San Antonio, Texas, includes current DMA candidate Zachary Bell’s (MM ’24, Composition) “Zur Rosenzeit.” Vol. 6 is available to stream or purchase online.

The Great Glad Tidings Tell: Carols from Copley Square

Audio engineer Téa Mottolese (BM ’20, Saxophone and Recording Arts and Sciences; MA ’21, Acoustics) recorded and David Brian Sexton (BM ’19, Voice; BM ’20, Recording Arts) mastered the recordings for the Choir of Trinity Church Boston and Trinity Brass Ensemble’s The Great Glad Tidings Tell: Carols From Copley Square (Acis Productions), which debuted atop Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums at No. 1 —and No. 4 in Classical Crossover—its release week in December.

Love Songs from a Third Floor Walk-Up

Soprano Julia Johnson and composer/pianist Raphael Fusco perform Fusco’s song cycle Love Songs from a Third Floor Walkup, a candid consideration of the ups, downs, annoyances, and compromises experienced by a young couple living together. Librettist and researcher Caitlin Vincent (MM ’09, Voice) wrote the text, and cycle was released online.

Navajo Nation USA: A Legacy of Uranium Between the Sacred Mountains

Composer and current undergraduate Michael Begay’s works, as well as works by MacArthur Fellow Raven Chacon and students in the Native American Composers Apprenticeship Project (NACAP), were used in the documentary Navajo Nation USA: A Legacy of Uranium Between the Sacred Mountains, which is currently available to stream online.

Night-Time in the Fourth Trimester

Sheet music for this comic song cycle about the chaotic days—and nights—of new motherhood by composer Jodi Goble and librettist Caitlin Vincent (MM ’09, Voice) is available to purchase online (for soprano and mezzo-soprano); a read-along score is available on YouTube featuring soprano Laura Strickland (MM ’06, Voice).

Songs About Buildings and Moods

The PBS program Songs About Buildings and Moods uses performance and storytelling to explore spaces, and the first episode of the second season includes a commissioned work by composer Ledah Finck (BM ’16, MM ’18, Violin), which the Bergamot Quartet—Finck, Irène Han (MM ’18, Cello), Amy Huimei Tan (GPD ’20, Viola), and Sarah Thomas (BM ’17, MM ’19 Violin)—performed in the George Peabody Library. Audio production was done by David Wetzel (MM ’99, Computer Music). The episode, which includes an interview with Finck, is available to stream online.

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