Grad Student Wins National Parks Arts Residency

Andrew Jarema, a graduate student in the Department of Music pursuing the Master of Music degree with a concentration in Composition/Theory, has been named Artist in Residence by the National Parks Arts Foundation. Mr. Jarema's residency, in August 2019, takes place in Hawaii, where he will travel through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with a handheld recording device, capturing the park's natural sounds. These will then be electronically manipulated into a musical composition. The residency also includes a visitor engagement workshop, led by Jarema.

Jarema credits his studies with Associate Professor and composer Jonathan Anderson, which equipped him with the tools and skills to undertake this artistic project. Dr. Joshua S. Duchan, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Music, describes Jarema's work as "deeply engaged and spectacularly successful." He adds: "Since coming to Wayne State University, Andy has embraced his studies of all facets of music and immersed himself in all the department, the university, and the city of Detroit have to offer. In so doing, he has earned the respect of the faculty and his fellow students -- and clearly that of the National Parks Arts Foundation as well."