Closing Out CMS’ Fourth Season and Looking Ahead to the Fifth
by Dr. Sean Dowgray, CMS Faculty Organizer and Term Assistant Professor of Music
The Circumpolar Music Series concluded its 4th season at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ in April. This year included seven amazing events, many of which incorporated a first-time initiative of some kind. Let me explain:
In August, CMS kicked off the fall semester with a portrait concert of Craig Coray’s compositions. This included ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ students and faculty as well as musicians from the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Fairbanks community. This event was the first collaborative effort between the Music & More Series and the Circumpolar Music Series, both of which are in their 4th year!
Lena Nenaber, violin; Dorli McWayne, flute; Renee Muir, clarinet; Dr. Michael McConnell, saxophone; Charly Akert, cello; Troy Irish, timpani; Dr. Sean Dowgray, director; Craig Coray, composer
In October, Wildshore New Music returned to Fairbanks as part of their annual tour of ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ featuring works by their composer-in-residence, Eve Beglarian. Beglarian composed The Light is Always Changing for the group which they premiered as part of this tour. The piece is inspired by Beglarian’s trips to ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ during her collaboration with Wildshore. Wildshore New Music will perform this program again at the Roulette in June (The Light is Always Changing: Wild Shore New Music Presents Works by Eve Beglarian - Roulette). This concert also featured ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ faculty and students, music students from West Valley, and community musicians in a joint performance of Beglarian’s work, Did He Promise You Tomorrow? demonstrating an intensely collaborative spirit through new music.
Composer Eve Beglarian joins musicians on stage during Wildshore New Music’s October return to Fairbanks.
In November, CMS partnered with the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Percussion Ensemble and the Iñu-Yupiaq Dance Group to partake in a performance in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of the Percussive Arts Society International Convention’s 50th Anniversary. First, - a piece that brought together 150 musicians consisting of students, faculty, and industry professionals from around the world. JLA's Inuksuit is inspired by the Arctic (he lived in ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ for 36 years), therefore, having the performers collaborate with Iñu-Yupiaq was a considerable step forward in informing and broadening the understanding of Arctic lands and its peoples for these international performers. The above link shows the Inuksuit performers dancing alongside Iñu-Yupiaq as part of their invitational at the event’s dress rehearsal. Following this, the Iñu-Yupiaq Dance Group opened the 50th Anniversary performance at White River State Park, followed by a performance of Inuksuit, featuring the members of the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Percussion Group. This year also marks Inu-Yupiaq's 30th anniversary! I'm glad we could celebrate this anniversary by joining them in their first performance outside the state of ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ!
Members of the Iñu-Yupiaq Dance Group with the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Percussion Group at the White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana
The Circumpolar Music Series returned in the spring semester to provide a number of lectures for ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ students and Fairbanks community members. In February, Zachary Milliman visited to present his ongoing research on the King Island Christmas (1999) theatrical oratorio and settler colonial appropriation. Milliman is currently the chair of the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Native Studies Department at the University of ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Anchorage. In March, Professor of folk song at The Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Dr. Susanne Rosenberg gave a stunning lecture on the history, sound and performance techniques of the traditional Scandinavian herding call known as kulning through video examples, discussion and live vocal demonstrations. Dr. Rosenberg joined us from Sweden via zoom, marking CMS’s first successful international presentation. We are looking forward to offering more online lectures in future seasons!
Dr. Susanne Rosenberg alongside students from the music department’s Explorations in Music class
In early April, CMS closed out its season with two compelling events as part of the department’s ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Native Music course offering. The first featured the return of Craig Coray, who lectured on singing practices, in particular, conjuring songs and how they are represented in the Nondalton repertoire. Last but not least, members of the Iñu-Yupiaq Dance Group visited the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Native Music course to discuss a number of topics pertaining to ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Native music. Most notably, specific meanings in their own songs, creative practices and opportunities within their dance group, as well as important history surrounding the group and its past and present members.
Zachary Milliman presents to the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Native Music course
While this summary primarily highlights the new initiatives CMS took this year, I am also thankful for the ways in which we continue to develop long term connections and relationships. CMS is a powerful outlet for ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ students (both music and non-music). This series allows for important experiences and interactions between students, scholars, and artists, both in the form of special events but also within the context of our department course offerings. CMS is a critical piece in providing students the opportunity to engage with knowledgeable and accomplished professionals while also exposing them to a wide range of perspectives in the arts.
I hope for those reading, you have witnessed a CMS event firsthand. But if not, I wholeheartedly invite you to make it a to-do in next year’s offerings. We have great offerings lined up for the Fairbanks community and look forward to sharing those details with you as we approach the 2026-2027 academic year. All CMS information will be made available on the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Circumpolar Music Series webpage. Thank you to our attendees and supporters over the past four years. We are very excited for our 5th Anniversary Season in 2026-2027!
ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ the Author
Dr. Sean Dowgray is a classical percussionist specializing in modern and contemporary music. Dowgray is a proponent of creative collaborations which has resulted in recent musical works by Daniel Tacke (Vorrücken and einsamkeit), Josh Levine (Shrinking world/expanding and Les yeux ouverts) as well as new chamber works by Justin Murphy-Mancini (Sic itur ad astra and A Song of Grecis.) and Lydia Winsor Brinadmour (As if, sand). In the recent past, Dowgray has collaborated closely with composers including Jürg Frey (Garden of Transparency), Christopher Adler (Strata), Ioannis Mitsialis (Machine Mode), Lewis Nielson (Where Ashes Make the Flowers Grow and NOVA), and James Wood (Cloud Polyphonies). As a soloist, Dr. Dowgray has focused extensively on works that stretch the technical and expressive capabilities of both instrument and performer. This includes the work of Jason Eckardt, Josh Levine, Daniel Tacke, Salvatore Sciarrino, Lewis Nielson, David Lang, Christopher Adler, Brian Ferneyhough, Luciano Berio, Richard Barrett. Dowgray has been featured as a soloist at the Oberlin Percussion Institute, the Percussive Art Society International Convention (PASIC), the WasteLAnd New Music Series, Harvard’s Institute for Advanced Learning, the University of Arizona, the SoundON New Music Festival, and Eureka! Musical Minds of California. As a creative practitioner, Dowgray has focused recently on his project, WHEN for mixed ensemble set to premiere in 2025. He recently completed the interdisciplinary collaboration, In A Time of Change: Boreal Forest Stories featuring artists and scientists. As part of this collaboration, Dowgray created the work Moving Through the Boreal Forest in partnership with Maïté Agopian (light and shadow work) and Daryl Farmer (poetry), Associate Professor of English at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ. Dr. Dowgray is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy where he studied with John Alfieri, the Oberlin Conservatory (B.M.) where studied with Michael Rosen, the University of ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Fairbanks (M.M.) where he studied with Dr. Morris Palter, and the University of California San Diego (D.M.A) where he studied with Steven Schick. In Dr. Dowgray's dissertation, Time Being: Percussion as a Study of Time, he presents an analyses of new and rarely heard works for and with percussion through theoretical frameworks of time study from authors including Jonathan Kramer, J.T. Fraser, Edward T. Hall, and others. Recent notable performances include John Corigliano's percussion concerto, Conjurer with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Lewis Nielson's Lengua Encubierto for solo percussion at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC).