Wykoff Receives Opus Award
By Marisa Gilbert
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Dr. John Wykoff, assistant professor of music theory & composition at Lee, was honored this summer with the Opus Award at the Missouri Choral Director’s Association (MCDA) annual conference in Jefferson City, Missouri.
The Opus Award is presented annually by the Missouri Choral Director’s Association (MCDA) for an outstanding original choral composition. It must be an original work that exemplifies the highest standards of choral music composition. The recipients are nominated by MCDA members and selected by an award panel. Wykoff was chosen for the 2016 award for his 12-minute work, “Panis Angelicus,” for string quartet and choir.
“It was very gratifying to have my work recognized in this way,” said Wykoff. “So much new music seems to come from a preoccupation with fleeting effects—the surprise chord, the dazzling texture, the entrancing rhythm. As a composer who is still concerned with things like finely-honed craftsmanship and the harder questions of form, it was encouraging to see a work like ‘Panis Angelicus’ appreciated.”
Wykoff joined Lee faculty in fall 2011. He received his doctorate in music composition from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, his master’s degree in music composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, and a bachelor’s degree in music and philosophy from Covenant College. Prior to coming to Lee, Wykoff taught at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College. He has also composed works for solo piano, small ensemble, voice, choir, orchestra and more, and was awarded the George Perle Award from Queens College for music composition.
The MCDA is a state chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), which is a nonprofit music-education organization whose mission is to inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy.
For more information about the Missouri Choral Director’s Association and its awards, visit MCDA. For more information about the American Choral Directors Association, visit ACDA.
