Professors Birr, piano, and Hougham, voice, traveled to Germany to perform at Rathaus Schöneberg in Berlin on May 25. The program of German and Spanish Art Songs, and American Musical Theater and Spirituals, was very well received by an enthusiastic audience.
They also presented master classes at the Leo Kestenberg Hochschule in Berlin. Birr taught a class for high school pianists while Hougham worked with high school singers, coming together to perform joint singer/pianist collaborations. Photos of the performance and masterclasses are available here.
Diane Birr, Associate Professor, piano. D.M.A., Eastman School of Music; M.M., Indiana University Bloomington; B.S., University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. An active faculty member, she is involved in a number of professional and educational organizations.
Diane Birr is also a member of "Troica", a trio that includes other Ithaca College faculty colleagues. The trio draws on existing repertoire and has helped create a body of new works for this combination and released their first CD recording last June. In July 2010, Troica was invited to perform at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Sydney, Australia.
In Spring 2008, she was in residence at the Ithaca College London Center, and she is currently teaching and performing as a summer faculty member at Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, CO. She recently served on the MTNA Board of Directors as MTNA Eastern Division Director, and is a Past-President of the New York State Music Teachers Association.
Brad Hougham, Assistant Professor, voice, joined the Ithaca College faculty in 2006. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in performance with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan, a Professional Studies Diploma in singing from Mannes College of Music, and a Masters Degree in performance from Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, The City University of New York. He completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 2008
Primarily a recitalist, he has presented solo recitals throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. He sang in the chorus at the Metropolitan Opera for eight seasons and appeared as a soloist in many notable venues, including Avery Fisher Hall, The Music Center at Strathmore, Merkin Hall, and Brooklyn Academy of Music.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20120628163201816