≡ Menu

Stacy Garrop’s Composer Blog

It’s a wrap on year 1 of my residence!

I came to Champaign-Urbana twice in April, and after a flurry of activities, my first year of being Composer-in-Residence with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra is now complete! It has been a very exciting year, filled with great experiences in a range of places throughout the Champaign-Urbana region. What did I do during the year? 6 [...]

Roundup of a busy residence week!

  I had a wonderful residence week back at the end of February! Here’s a roundup of my activities: CUSO performed three movements of my Mythology Symphony on their March 2nd concert. In preparation, I attended rehearsals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. These led to a wonderful concert in Foellinger Great Hall in the Krannert Center at [...]

Educational Events at Elementary & Middle Schools

In early February, I spent several days in the Champaign-Urbana region doing education outreach for schoolchildren as part of my Composer-in-Residence activities. A brass quintet consisting of members of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra came with me to Urbana Middle School, Westview Elementary School, and Stratton Academy of the Arts (an elementary school). At each school, [...]

November Residence Week Wrap Up

I had a very busy week in the Champaign-Urbana region! Here's what I was up to: I had a wonderful two-day residence at Illinois State University. Activities included three workshops (one for freshman music majors, another for a music business class, and a third on my own music), four 1-on-1 composition lessons with ISU's graduate [...]

CUSO RESIDENCE WEEK: NOVEMBER 14-17

I’ll be back in the Champaign-Urbana region this week for several Composer-in-Residence educational activities. Here’s what I’m up to: I’ll spend the day in the city of Normal, working with lots of music students who attend the university. First, I’ll give a talk called For Freshman Only, which I created especially for… you guessed it… [...]

Illinois Wesleyan University Residence Wrap Up

As part of my Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra's Music Alive residence, I spent the past few days at Illinois Wesleyan University. I gave a seminar to composition students on the business of being a composer, taught composition lessons, and rehearsed my works with students and faculty. The highlight of the residence was their New Music Café [...]

Brief Residence at Illinois Wesleyan University

This week, I will return to the central Illinois region for a two-day residence at Illinois Wesleyan University! I will teach composition lessons and give a seminar to student composers about the business side of being a composer. Also, my Tango Gardél for solo piano (in homage to the Argentine singer Carlos Gardél) and my [...]

A busy residence week in Champaign-Urbana

I had a wonderful time in Champaign-Urbana this past week! I took lots of pictures while on the trip, several of which are below; these will give you a sense of what this first full week of my contained: University of Illinois - Champaign Urbana I spent a day teaching composition lessons to individual students, [...]

CUSO Residence Week: October 3-7

I’ll be in Champaign-Urbana from Tuesday, Oct. 3rd through Saturday, Oct. 7th for several Composer-in-Residence activities! Here’s what I’m up to: I’ll be teaching lessons to four composition majors. Then I'll give an 80-minute seminar for all of their student composers on the business of being a composer, as well as play some of my [...]

Three Audience Questions Answered!

After our Sept. 6th Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra’s LEGENDS Chamber Concert, in which I was officially welcomed to the Champaign-Urbana community in my new role as Composer-in-Residence of the orchestra, several inquisitive audience members asked me an assortment of questions. I realized shortly afterward that three particular questions came up quite frequently over the course of [...]