As part of the continuing expansion of the music department, Gerard Yun will join the faculty next fall as the new director of choral studies and assistant professor of music. Yun is currently an associate professor of music at Southern Utah University.
The hiring of Yun follows the addition of Rufus Jones as the new director of orchestra last month and marks the addition of a second tenured-track professor in the music department.
Yun declined an offer from Scripps College to teach at Georgetown. According to Yun, the characteristics of Georgetown which attracted him were the quality of the students and faculty, the location, and the opportunity to help build and improve the music department. Yun has directed numerous choirs and orchestras throughout the country and studied conducting in both Stuttgart and St. Petersburg.
The addition of the two professors will allow Georgetown to have a music major by 2005.
According to Chris Grodecki (COL ’05), president of the Georgetown University Concert Choir, one of the most attractive qualities of Yun is his enthusiasm and energy.
“During our interview with him, he made a great effort to actually get to know each person on the choir board and ask about what we wanted for the group,” Grodecki said. “He made a connection which only served to enhance the astoundingly fresh and exciting rehearsal session he had given the night before.”
One of the main goals of Yun is to enhance the level and repertoire of the Concert Choir.
“My first step will be to make the Concert Choir the centerpiece of choral activity on campus,” Yun said. “It will be a place to gain high level ensemble skills and develop a deep understanding of various subjects through the music. That means we’ll be working on all kinds of music utilizing a variety of performance approaches.”
Associate Professor and Director of Music José Bowen predicts even greater changes for the Concert Choir in terms of its size and reputation.
“[I anticipate] a bigger, better, more diverse repertoire, tours, CDs,” Bowen said. “I think Professor Yun really wants to build a national program here.”
Grodecki expects an increase in the stability of the Concert Choir as a result of the hiring of a tenure-tracked professor. During the past two years the choir has had three different directors. The current director, Professor Jeanne Kelly, is an interim director. The addition of Yun will give the choir the availability and commitment which it previously lacked.
In addition to directing the Concert Choir, Yun will teach Diatonic Harmony in the fall. He is also looking to add a new course for the spring which will examine the ethical issues in adapting, arranging and performing music from outside the western tradition.
Besides being a skilled conductor, Yun is also a skilled instrumentalist, experienced in the shakuhachi, a Japanese vertical bamboo flute, and many Native American flutes. Yun has played the shakuhachi in concerts throughout the country as well as on national television. Yun anticipates teaching classes and holding workshops for those interested in learning more about this instrument.
According to Bowen, Yun’s ability to be both a scholar and a performer of music is an attribute which Bowen hopes to emphasize with the continuing expansion of the department. In addition, Bowen stated that Yun’s experience with music outside the western tradition will help correlate the music department with the international reputation of the university.
Grodecki also emphasized the need for the music department to coincide with the standards of other academic departments at the university.
“I’ve seen how Georgetown’s reputation as a world-class institution brings with it an assumption that it has an equally great music program,” Grodecki said. “In this respect, I hope that Dr. Yun will bring legitimacy to this assumption and help build a music program that matches the prestige of a university like Georgetown.”
Prior to the decision to hire Yun, all candidates for director of the Concert Choir were required to conduct the choir at a rehearsal. Students filled out questionnaires and were also given the opportunity to have lunch with the candidates.
The selection committee, organized by the Program in Performing Arts, recommended Yun to College Dean Jane McAuliffe.