Faculty Profile

Jennifer Blyth

Professor of Music (1997)

General Info
Course Info

Contact Information

blyth@dickinson.edu

Weiss Center for the Arts Room 325
717-245-1655
http://www.jenniferblyth.com

Bio

Jennifer Blyth’s performing schedule has taken her to twenty three states throughout the U.S. and internationally she has appeared as a concerto soloist and recitalist (solo and chamber) in Russia, South Africa, Canada, England, France, Iceland, Germany, Spain, Italy and Australia. Blyth has given lectures, masterclasses, open lessons and participated in residencies across four continents and has performed at venues such as Weill Recital Hall, Jordan Hall, Boston, Chicago Art Institute, Corcoran Gallery, Bang on a Can Series, Rachmaninoff Hall, Moscow, Kilbourn Hall, Rochester, the World Financial Center, Smith Memorial Hall, Urbana-Champaign and Steinway Hall, New York. She has worked with groups such as the Ying String Quartet, the Corigliano String Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, the Amernet String Quartet, the Lydian String Quartet, Awadagin Pratt, Barry Snyder, the Munich Chamber Orchestra and members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Strongly influenced by the intellectual and cultural institutions of Australia as a young student, Blyth discovered an active interest in contemporary American music while at Eastman School of Music. As a consequence she now dedicates a large part of her career to commissioning new works both as a soloist and chamber musician. Having premiered over twenty five new compositions, Blyth has worked with composers such as Augusta Read Thomas, Carter Pann, Pat Long, Kevin Putz, Robert Pound, Marc Pollard, Libby Larsen, Joan Tower, Ralf Gawlick, Peter Sculthorpe, Gerald Shapiro, Frederic Rzewski, Stefan Freund and Shulamit Ran. Her performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Commission, Australian Broadcasting Commission National Radio, Icelandic National Radio and the Australian Broadcasting Commission Television Network and she has recently recorded on the Musica Omnia label. Her principal teachers include Stephanie Coleman and John Roberts of the Conservatorium of Western Australia and Barry Snyder of Eastman School of Music. She completed her Master’s degree and Doctorate majoring in Performance and Literature at Eastman where she was also awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. Blyth is currently Professor of Music at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania.

Education

B. Mus., Western Australia Conservatorium of Music, 1990
M. Mus., Eastman School of Music, 1993
D.M.A., 1997

2023-2024 Academic Year

Fall 2023

FYSM 100 First-Year Seminar
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces students to Dickinson as a "community of inquiry" by developing habits of mind essential to liberal learning. Through the study of a compelling issue or broad topic chosen by their faculty member, students will: - Critically analyze information and ideas - Examine issues from multiple perspectives - Discuss, debate and defend ideas, including one's own views, with clarity and reason - Develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information, and - Create clear academic writing The small group seminar format of this course promotes discussion and interaction among students and their professor. In addition, the professor serves as students' initial academic advisor. This course does not duplicate in content any other course in the curriculum and may not be used to fulfill any other graduation requirement.

MUPS 111 Piano Class
Permission of Instructor Required No Additional Fee / May Not be Audited Introduction to piano technique and keyboard fundamentals in a group setting. Recommended for all students wanting to learn piano at Dickinson (including music majors) with little or no prior experience. Course content includes both group and solo playing, individual practice sessions, basic music notation, listening assignments, and required concert attendance.

MUPS 113 Jazz Piano (1st semester)
Permission of Instructor Required / Additional Fee Required Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 113 Piano (1st semester)
Permission of Instructor Required / Additional Fee Required Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 114 Jazz Piano (2nd semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 114 Piano (2nd semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 213 Jazz Piano (3rd semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 213 Piano (3rd semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 214 Jazz Piano (4th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 214 Piano (4th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 223 Performance Studies II
Permission of Instructor Required. Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 224 Performance Studies II
Permission of Instructor Required. Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUAC 245 Keys to Music 4:Desire/Discord
Drama, fantasy, desire, tragedy, the supernatural, and virtuosity take center stage in the evolution of chromatic harmony as Romantic composers move away from the elegant, formal, constraint of the Classical period. Larger-than-life imagination permeates the Western works of the 19th Century paving the way for the sounds now so integral to the film and cinematic world. Through critical reading and analysis we delve into serpentine chord progressions, endless melody and epic-scaled forms to unlock the principles behind the music of gods and demons, love and vengeance, desire and death, all of which inevitably push the major/minor system to the brink of dissolution. The course includes two fifty-minute classes of aural skills lab each week. Prerequisite: MUAC 126, placement exam, or permission of the instructor. Offered every fall semester.

MUPS 313 Jazz Piano (5th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 313 Piano (5th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 314 Jazz Piano (6th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 314 Piano (6th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 323 Performance Studies III
Permission of Instructor Required Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time (with the exception of Reading Day).

MUPS 324 Performance Studies III
Permission of Instructor Required Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 413 Jazz Piano (7th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 413 Piano (7th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 414 Jazz Piano (8th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 414 Piano (8th semester)
Additional Fee Required / Scholarships Are Available / May Not Be Audited Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 423 Performance Studies IV
Permission of Instructor Required Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

MUPS 424 Performance Studies IV
Permission of Instructor Required Students who register for Performance Studies courses (MUPS) must commit to their availability during the first Monday through Friday of Final Exam week, because the Final exams ("juries") for MUPS Courses take place each semester during that time.

Spring 2024

MUAC 126 Keys to Music 3
Many aspects of today’s music were shaped by principles of the Enlightenment. In this class, discover how those ideals transformed Western musical language in the 17th and 18th Centuries. We will examine the dualism of major and minor keys while learning how to arrange and string together harmonies. Studying music through discussion, analysis, critical listening and written exercises will augment your toolkit for composition and informed performance. The course includes two fifty-minute classes of aural skills lab each week. Prerequisite: 125, placement exam, or permission of the instructor. Offered every spring semester.