| Stony Brook University (Stony Brook, NY) expects to increase its ability to compete for outstanding graduate students interested in its internationally renown Department of Music, thanks to a newly endowed scholarship and fellowship fund established by Long Island philanthropists and community leaders Erwin and Freddie Staller and their family. The $1.7 million dollar endowment will initially fund scholarship/fellowship awards for graduate students in the Department of Music’s Performance Program, beginning with students enrolling in the 2008 fall semester. Stony Brook’s Department of Music, known for its “conservatory training in a university setting,” is unique in its balance and strength in all areas of musical study – performance, music history and theory, ethnomusicology (the study of non-Western music) and composition. While placing an emphasis on 20th and 21st Century music and chamber music, the department encourages projects and studies which transcend disciplinary boundaries. “Stony Brook has one of the preeminent Music programs in the country, and we wanted to help make it more accessible to students who might not otherwise be able to afford to advance their education and training,” says Mr. Staller. “We want the program to attract the most talented students it possibly can.” With a combined discography of well over 600 commercial recordings, Stony Brook’s internationally renowned faculty has performed on every major world stage. Faculty members have accumulated an array of awards that include multiple Grammy Award nominations. The Emerson String Quartet, Stony Brook University’s Quartet-in-Residence – “America’s greatest quartet,” according to TIME magazine – has received eight Grammy Awards. Other faculty members have received multiple prestigious honors and awards and are represented with hundreds of books, articles, and compositions. Department alumni teach at leading institutions in the U.S. and around the world and many graduates have attained great success as concert and recording artists. Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny believes the endowment will have an immediate impact on the Music program. “This endowment will not only enable Stony Brook to recruit outstanding student performers, it will also further elevate the stature of an already remarkable program and department,” said President Kenny. “Freddie, Erwin and the Staller family are generous with their time, energy and resources, and we are extremely grateful for their longstanding involvement with Stony Brook.” “The creation of the Staller Endowment couldn't come at a better time,” said Emerson String Quartet Violinist, Philip Setzer. “With many other top music schools being tuition-free or moving in that direction, the endowment will enable Stony Brook to compete in recruiting the highest level of talent available. This helps immeasurably to insure that the Music Department at Stony Brook remains among the best in the world.” |
| SOURCE: The Stony Brook University New York Department of Music Press Release |
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