DMA student Sandy Yu-Hsuan Wang has won a competitive Government Scholarship to Study Abroad, administered by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Wang’s DMA thesis is “Rethinking Musical Coherence: Allusion and Continuity in Thomas Adès’s Solo Piano Works from The Exterminating Angels (2015–16).” Wang’s research supervisor is Professor Mark Anderson.
Elizabeth Petersen (MMus’25) with UBC Opera Ensemble performing Thunderstorm at the Sichuan Conservatory, China
In June, the UBC Opera Ensemble and UBC Opera alumni with director Nancy Hermiston traveled to Harbin Normal University as part of their China tour for a cross-cultural exchange. The ensemble presented Thunderstorm, Yu Cao’s Shakespeare-inspired masterpiece, with performances at the Daqing Opera House, the HNU Conservatory of Music, and at the Wuhou Campus of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu. The UBC Opera Ensemble most recently performed Thunderstorm in May 2024 at the Old Auditorium.
Dr. Graeme Langager with University Singers at the University of California
The University Singers, led by conductor Dr. Graeme Langager, took their voices on the road for a tour of California from May 6 to 11, 2025. Their concert stops included Glendale, San Luis Obispo, Huntington Beach, and wrapped up in Los Angeles. Along the way, the choir took part in workshops, choir exchanges, and campus visits. A special highlight was a visit to Chapman University for an exchange with their University Singers, directed by Dr. Stephen Coker—one of Dr. Langager’s mentors! They also visited the University of Southern California. The tour program featured a rich mix of music, from works by Penderecki, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Reena Esmail, Vytautas Miškinis, and Eric Whitacre, to pieces by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian composers, plus folk songs from Cuba, the Philippines, and the United States.
The University Singers and UBC Choral Union performed the Canadian premiere of Grammy and Oscar-winning composer, Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in November 2024.
“The piece is comprised of six movements in an overall arc depicting the Buddha's life and ultimate transcendence into Nirvana...Each tells its own story of various teachings and life experiences from the Buddha.”
The performance was a highlight for our students, who have enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions.
Susan Evans (MA, Music Theory) has earned a spot in both the Oxford and Cambridge music programs. Evans, who is 79 years old, is hoping to complete a master’s in philosophy in music theory with a particular focus in mid-20th century French composers, from either university. Evans is also a dedicated music teacher who has been inspiring and educating students in North Vancouver for over two decades.
Judith Valerie (DMA, Piano) was awarded with the PSI Public Scholar award. This May, Valerie also launched her podcast Who Is Heard? as part of her thesis project and PSI award. Who Is Heard? is a series of interviews with members of the Association of Canadian Women Composers such as Frances Balodis and Dr. Sarah Bassingthwaighte.
Linda Ruan
Linda Ruan (DMPS, 2nd year) received First Prize, and Hamilton Lau (BMus’24, MMus, 1st year) received Second Prize at the 48th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, announced on April 27, 2025. Ruan also won Best Performance of the Commissioned Work where poppies still bloom and fall by Rita Ueda. Ruan will embark on a cross-Canada tour in October and November 2025. Both are students of Professor Corey Hamm.
Dr. Leigh VanHandel (Chair, Theory Division) with Holly Bergeron-Dumaine
Holly Bergeron-Dumaine (PhD, Music Theory) received a UBC Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award in April 2025.
Holly is an outstanding TA, widely admired by students for her dedication, insight, and teaching excellence. The Killam Teaching Prize is awarded annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching.
MA Ethnomusicology student Shruti Ramani’s band Raagaverse were nominated for a Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group) for “Jaya”. Raagaverse is also nominated for a Western Canada Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year and Global Artist of the Year.
PhD Student Sherryl Sewepagaham
In April 2025, choral ensemble musica intima announced the launch of a new series of music composed by PhD Student Sherryl Sewepagaham. The series is called ᑭᓯᐄᐧᐯᐦᑲᐦᐊᒼ / kisiwîpêhkaham, which means “Splashing the Water Loudly”. Sheet music is available to purchase on musica intima’s in-house digital publishing shop, music printima.
In February 2025, Sewepagaham’s compositions Okâwîmâw Askiy (Mother Earth) & Picikîsksîs (Chickadee Chant) were featured on Ispiciwin (Andrew Balfour/Luminous Voices). Ispiciwin was nominated for a Juno Award for “Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble)”.
Sewepagaham also released the album Where Waters Meet with the Canadian Chamber Choir, in September 2024. This album is an “Indigenous/settler partnership built on friendship, deep respect and admiration, and the desire to communicate through our shared sung medium. It is a culmination of several joint projects in different regions of Canada over the course of many years.”
In July 2024 Sewepagaham was awarded the 2024 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship through the social sciences and humanities grant (SSHRC) for her proposal Nikamowin: Recapturing Song Practices with the Woodland Cree Language.
Sunny Wu, saxophone
Saxophonist Sunny Wu (BMus, 2nd year) received First Prize in the UBC Concerto Competition for his performance of Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da camera for Alto Saxophone & Orchestra. 1st runner up was pianist Linda Ruan who performed Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 and 2nd runner up vocalist Elizabeth Petersen (MMus’25) who performed Franz Joseph Haydn’s Scena di Berenice Hob. XXIVa10.
Jacques Lacombe, Jonathan Girard, Hamilton Lau, Daniel Tong, Lucy Moon
In September 2024, Hamilton Lau was awarded First Prize at the Robert and Ellen Silverman Piano Concerto Competition Gala Performance for his performance of Beethoven’s Concerto No.5 in E-flat Major Op.73. Second place went to Daniel Tong (BMus’21, MMus’25) for his performance of Beethoven’s Concerto No.4 in G Major Op.58 and third place winner Lucy Moon (BMus, 3rd year) performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Concerto No.1 in G Minor Op.25.
