The Department of Music and Dance in the School of Fine Arts presents the KU Wind Ensemble on Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. at the Lied Center of Kansas. This concert is part of Festival of the Arts, a month-long celebration dedicated to Murphy Hall's 50th anniversary, and will feature a work written by conductor and KU alumni, David Holsinger.

The Department of Music and Dance in the School of Fine Arts presents the KU Symphony Orchestra/KUSO on Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center of Kansas.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Murphy Hall, KU alumni William Lane and Bill Booth will teach a master class and perform at a recital on Monday, April 7, 2008. The recital begins at 7:30 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall and is free and open to the public.

The KU Department of Music & Dance presents the University of Kansas Clarinet Festival on Sunday, March 9, 2008, from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. This event will take place in Swarthout Recital Hall, Murphy Hall.

The University of Kansas Department of Music & Dance is pleased to present a recital featuring the low brass works of Rodger Vaughan, a KU alum and renowned composer, originally from Pretty Prairie, Kansas. This recital will be presented by members of the KU faculty, KU music students and members of the Fountain City Brass Band of Kansas City, and is a part of the Murphy Hall 50th anniversary celebration.

A group of students from Kansas University's Department of Design will travel to central Mexico in January to study and explore design and architecture.

In a collaboration between the School of Fine Arts and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the works of three Department of Art faculty members are on display at the Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB) on KU's Lawrence West Campus.

Joyce Castle, professor of voice at the University of Kansas, is featured on the new release “Flesh & Stone: Songs of Jake Heggie,” a recording of Heggie’s works that includes “Statuesque,” the song cycle commissioned by KU for Castle.

Twyla Tharp’s Torelli headlines the University Dance Company’s 2007 fall concerts. Tharp came to national prominence with her choreography for the films Hair and Amadeus and the Broadway shows Singing in the Rain and Movin’ Out.

KU's Murphy Hall celebrates its 50th birthday this school year, as the Music and Dramatic Arts Building on the campus of the University of Kansas was dedicated on November 10, 1957. The Department of Music & Dance and Department of Theatre & Film will present a year-long series of activities to celebrate the students, faculty and staff who have occupied its halls and rooms.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Murphy Hall, the Department of Music & Dance and Department of Theatre & Film will present a symposium on November 9-10 entitled "Musical Theatre in 1957."

Robert Horton, a 2003 School of Fine Arts graduate with a DMA in organ performance, recently won 1st place in the 5th annual Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition in Kaliningrad, Russia, on September 7.