Here's - VanderCook College of Music

Student Life
scholarly research project to their classmates in one of
two formats: Lecture/Recitals, where extensive history
and context accompanies a performance, or Lecture/
Demonstrations, presenting special subject matter in
a teaching-oriented atmosphere. Alumni events are
developed and planned at the Summer Alumni Board
Meeting, including the Distinguished Alumni Award
and next year’s Alumni Reception. But the month is
not all work: friends, faculty, and alumni converge on
the Links at Carillon Golf Course in Plainfield, IL, for
the annual TrusTEE Golf Open. This fun-filled event
benefitting the Great Teachers Scholarship Fund features
18 holes of championship golf, delicious dining,
and a wealth of raffle items. The first Graduate Concert
of the summer allows master’s degree students the
chance to let off some musical steam in the midst of
their residency.
JULY
A number of activities and benchmarks are funneled
into the final month of the academic year. A second
Graduate Concert is coupled with the Graduate Class
Fundraiser, an exciting night of performances and
contests sponsoring the graduating class’ gift to the
college (which is matched dollar for dollar by the
Alumni Association). The Graduate Band teams up
with the VanderCook Drum Circle for a Concert in
the Park at the Clarke House Museum in Chicago,
presented by Lakeside Bank to benefit the Parkways
Foundation. Years of preparation culminate in students’
Professional Teaching Portfolios, which are
reviewed this month to assess the understanding of
professional teaching standards, and their application
to teaching and learning. As classes and Written
Comprehensive Exams wind to a close, the final focus
is on the Master’s Projects Poster Session, where
graduate students’ research projects are displayed on
poster boards and presented to the public. For those
who only warmed up at June’s TrusTEE Golf Open,
the Quinlan & Fabish Maury Rhodes Classic offers
another day of golf in the sun, benefitting the Maurice
Rhodes Band Library Fund at VanderCook. Graduate
Commencement at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s
main hall is filled with exemplary performances
and overwhelming pride as master’s degrees and an
Honorary Doctorate are conferred. With the final Board
of Trustees Meeting, another year comes to a close,
allowing little time before the calendar “resets” and
the cycle of passionate students and music education
begins again.
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