National Music Museum
Music Museum Introduces New Galleries
On Aug. 28, the National Music Museum reopened its doors to reveal seven new galleries on their first floor. Scott Lawrence, Chair of the Board of Trustees, has been a part of the process since it began. “We are so excited about this event,” Lawrence said. “It’s seven years in the making, and there’s been […]
Special exhibition open at National Music Museum
The National Music Museum (NMM) is featuring a new special exhibition called, “Gamelan: A Way of Life.” The exhibition opened March 25 and will be up until October of this year. Deborah Reeves is the curator of woodwinds and education at the NMM and curated this exhibition. Reeves said the instruments included in the Gamelan […]
Minnesotan artist shares songs and stories with USD
Dennis Warner, a singer-songwriter from Minnesota, performed at the National Music Museum (NMM) on Feb. 17. Warner is from Clearwater, Minnesota and came to USD for his Friday performance. Warner said he likes to play and write positive music because he recognizes how powerful music is and how it affects people. “I believe both from […]
The National Music Museum hosts Jake Blount
The National Music Museum (NMM) began its spring 2022 concert schedule by hosting Jake Blount, a banjo and fiddler player as well as a singer and ethnomusicologist, who specializes in blues, bluegrass and spiritual music as well as traditional music of African Americans and Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands. Blount said that he began […]
Dwight Vaught accepts position as director of National Music Museum
For years, Dwight Vaught has dedicated his career to studying and embracing the music field. He knew that music and the arts were going to be a big part of his life’s journey, and he continues to follow that course as he embarks on his next journey: the director of the National Music Museum (NMM) […]
LaCognata reassigned to National Music Museum
Starting Jan. 1, the National Music Museum (NMM) will have a new person assisting with collections. John LaCognata, director of bands for the Fine Arts Department at USD, is moving to the NMM to assist with transitioning collections from Julian Hall and the South Dakota Union back to the museum. LaCognata conducted the symphonic and […]
National Music Museum reopens for the first time in three years
The National Music Museum in Vermillion closed its doors for renovations in fall 2018. After three years, the museum is now letting patrons back in to see the completed west portion of the museum, including a temporary exhibit space and a performance hall. Michael Suing, the interim director of the National Music Museum, said the […]
Mentor and mentee reunited for USD Low String Studio concert
The USD Low String Studio is the first concert to play in the National Music Museum’s renovated amphitheater on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. Professor Sonja Kraus, the cello and double bass instructor at USD, has invited her former instructor from Indiana University, Professor Emilio Colón, to play with the Low String Studio. “I met […]
Amplified opening at the National Music Museum
Two local Yankton guitarists performed on Sept. 10 in the new Janet Wanzek Performance Hall to kick-off the “NMM Live!” concert series at the National Music Museum. Guitarists Mike Hilson and Jay Gilbertson started playing together almost 34 years ago after they met at a music shop in Yankton. They performed in multiple bands together and played a […]
Editorial: Don’t forget the National Music Museum
The National Music Museum (NMM) closed for expansion Oct. 7, 2018 and USD students, faculty and visitors alike have patiently waited for the reopening since. With plans to reopen in the late spring of 2022, There is a chance that an entire class of USD students will not have the opportunity to see the museum […]