Skye van Duuren to Black Hills State University

Skye van Duuren has been appointed Assistant Professor of Music at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Dr. van Duuren has performed with the Lima Symphony, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Opera, Sonora Philharmonic Orchestra, Sierra Vista Symphony, and others. He enjoys an active commission schedule as a composer and his repertoire includes over one hundred works for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instrument, keyboard, and electronics, with performances around the United States and internationally. In addition, he is an active presenter and educator on subjects ranging from his own unique compositional innovations and theoretical writings to special performance topics, and his lecture engagements have taken him to the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, National Student Electronic Music Event, SPLICE III, and new music festivals and symposiums across the country. Dr. van Duuren earned advanced degrees in trumpet performance and composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Tennessee. His principal brass teachers include Michael Mergen, Alan Siebert, Philip Collins, Vince DiMartino, Catherine Leach, Edward Reid, and Moises Paiewonsky, with additional private instruction from Carl “Doc” Severinsen, Josef Burgstaller, Jason Dovel, and many others.

In his spare time, he enjoys bringing brass music into communities through the Bearcat Brass Band, an ensemble he founded to play in public spaces and schools, often accepting donations for local charities. (Source: Skye van Duuren)