During the Fall 2018 term, Dr. Sarah Suhadolnik worked with students from two of her courses to create exhibits grounded in locally-oriented research. Designed in collaboration with music librarian Katie Buehner, both exhibits are now open at the Voxman Music Building and feature companion websites hosted through the Rita Benton Music Library blog.

Exploring Our Sounds: Traditions of American Music Making at the University of Iowa

What is American Music? What does the idea of “American” music making mean for different University of Iowa artists and audiences?

In what ways have University of Iowa musicians, audiences, conductors, critics, and historians contributed to the musical identity of the United States? In what ways might they do so in the future?

The students of the Fall 2018 offering of the graduate musicology seminar in American music invite you to consider these questions as they relate to the place of American music in the past, present, and future of the University of Iowa School of Music.

The “Exploring Our Sounds” exhibit, which is on display throughout the Spring 2019 semester on the first floor of the Voxman Music Building, showcases our responses to these questions. Throughout the semester, we will be posting on the objects and themes of this exhibit in greater depth.

In Our Lives: The Beatles Yesterday and Today

In Our Lives was designed in the Fall 2018 offering of Donna Parson's “World of The Beatles” course. Participating students studied her materials–donated in Donna’s name to the Rita Benton Music Library–and worked together to flesh out the different themes that now define their multimedia, multidirectional account of the enduring legacy of The Beatles that stretches across each fin.

The exhibit design is a tribute to the rich learning experiences Donna created for University of Iowa students, and a preview of the valuable learning experiences her collection will support for years to come.