Gregory W. Yasinitsky, Meyer Distinguished Professor of Music, has earned the 2007 Marian E. Smith Faculty Achievement Award a
nd will deliver WSU’s 2008 Distinguished Faculty Address during the March 28 Showcase luncheon.
nd will deliver WSU’s 2008 Distinguished Faculty Address during the March 28 Showcase luncheon.The Smith award recognizes unusually significant and meritorious achievement in teaching during the academic year, including successful and innovative performance in instruction.
The speaking honor recognizes the work of a faculty member whose achievements in research, scholarship and teaching place that person in the front ranks of his or her discipline.
A WSU faculty member since 1982, Yasinitsky is a world-renown composer, performer, teacher and scholar of music. More than 140 of his musical works have been published by top companies and his compositions are performed around the world.
In addition to his contributions as a composer and saxophonist, Yasinitsky has led the WSU jazz studies program to national prominence. It is typical for his students to receive professional recognition and awards and to be invited to perform at prestigious events.
He is acclaimed for his melodic imagination, sophisticated harmonies, rhythmic invention, clarity of orchestration and innovative treatment of form. His compositions have had a significant impact on global jazz education.
Talk about creativity
Greg Yasinitsky’s Distinguished Faculty Address will be titled “Where Did That Come From?”
Greg Yasinitsky’s Distinguished Faculty Address will be titled “Where Did That Come From?”
“It’s about creativity in general, but since I’m a composer, it’s about creativity in musical compositions,” Yasinitsky said. He’ll talk about how he creates a song, and guest musicians (either faculty colleagues or students) will perform segments of his compositions.
Yasinitsky and colleagues who comprise Jazz Northwest also will be performing at the Showcase recognition banquet. If it all comes together, he said he’d like to compose a song especially for the awards banquet and talk about that during the address as well.
