"The more I can understand music, the better writer I can become... If I’m able to learn how to create emotion with words, film and music, I can become a better storyteller all around." - Derrick Pennix Jr. '25.

The Department of Music is delighted with a story penned by Jill Kimball and published by Brown regarding our MUSC 0550 course, Theory of Tonal Music. Kimball spoke with some of the students, including Pennix (quoted above) and Kshitij Sachan '22, as well as the instructor of one of the sections of the course this semester, Professor Eric Nathan.

Associate Professor Eric Nathan has been named a recipient of a 2021 commission from The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation at the Library of Congress. His work, "Opening," was co-commissioned by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the inaugural performances at the Bradley Symphony Center. The premiere performance will be broadcast nationally on PBS television on December 17, 2021. You can view an excerpt of "Opening" from the upcoming broadcast here: https://www.pbs.org/video/milwaukee-symphony-excerpt-opening-18qv29/