School of music

School Notes: School of Music
July/August 2017

José García-Léon | http://music.yale.edu

Willie Ruff retires after 46 years

Professor Willie Ruff, who joined the School of Music faculty in 1971 having earned his bachelor of music and master of music degrees from YSM in 1953 and 1954, respectively, retired at the end of the 2016–17 academic year. It was Ruff who, in 1972, a year after returning to the school to join the faculty, brought 40 jazz greats to Yale for a historic
jazz convocation. With pianist Dwike Mitchell, over the course of nearly 60 years, Ruff brought the art form to audiences around the world. Ruff received YSM’s prestigious Samuel Simons Sanford Medal in 2013 and was recognized in April 2017 with New Haven’s City Spirit Award. In May 2017, Yale president Peter Salovey presented Ruff with the prestigious Nathan Hale Award, and YSM dean Robert Blocker named the jazz office in the school’s new Adams Center for Musical Arts in Ruff’s honor.

YSM student awarded Soros Fellowship

Tubist Joseph Guimaraes ’18MusM received one of 30 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. The fellowships support the graduate studies of immigrants and children of immigrants. “I am both hopeful and confident that this lifelong platform will afford me the network needed to achieve my goal of national music-education reform in the United States,” Guimaraes, a native of Recife, Brazil, said.

Pianists participate in major competitions

Four YSM pianists participated at two of the world’s most prestigious classical music competitions. Yevgeny Yontov ’14MusM, a current doctor of music candidate, and Szymon Nehring, who in the fall will enter YSM’s artist diploma program, participated in the 15th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. Alumni Sun-A Park ’16ArtA, ’17MusAM, and Rachel Cheung ’13MusM participated in the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Nehring won the Rubinstein competition, at which Yontov was a finalist, and Cheung was a finalist at the Van Cliburn competition.

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