WSU appoints Norah Duncan IV as chair of music...

The College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University announces the appointment of Dr. Norah Duncan IV as chairperson of the Department of Music.

Norah Duncan IV is a professor of music in Wayne State's Department of Music. He earned an undergraduate degree at University of Detroit, a master of fine arts degree at Wayne State and a doctor of musical arts degree from University of Michigan.

"Wayne State University has a long legacy in music that is truly extraordinary," said College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts Dean, Matthew Seeger. "With this appointment, that legacy of excellence continues. Dr. Duncan brings innovative ideas about recruitment of students, excellence in education and programming and engaging performances."

Dr. Duncan is a multi-faceted musician. As an organist, he performed extensively in the United States and Europe. As a liturgical musician, he was music director for Detroit's Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament for nearly 30 years, planning and directing music for Archdiocesan liturgies and local parish celebrations. He is the second longest serving Roman Catholic cathedral musician in the country. One of his greatest achievements as a liturgical musician was as director of music for the 1987 Detroit visit of Pope John Paul II. With the Benedictine Monastery in Solesmes, France, Duncan established the Gregorian Institute of Detroit for the study of Gregorian chant. He presented papers on liturgical music at international congresses, clinics and workshops in Rome, Dublin and for the Diocese of Engu and the Archdiocese of Abuja, in Nigeria.

Duncan has been on the editorial review board for Oregon Catholic Press and was a member of the music review committee for a revision of Lead Me, Guide Me, the African American Catholic Hymnal. As a choral director, Duncan presented concerts under the Cathedral Cultural Series with the Archdiocesan Chorus and collaborated in concerts with the Wayne State University choral ensembles, the Brazeal Dennard Chorale ensembles and the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra. In 2004 and 2005 he directed the Michigan Youth Choral Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Professor Duncan is a recipient of the Award for Excellence for Musical Direction from the American College Theater Festival, Washington, DC; the Sr. Thea Bowman Award of the Archdiocese of Detroit; the Spirit of Detroit Award; the Mother Teresa Duchemin Award for exemplary community service; and is the first recipient of the Changing Lives Through Music award presented by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Nearing its centennial anniversary, the Wayne State Department of Music is a vital division of Wayne State's College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts. CFPCA serves 2,200 students majoring in 16 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs through the Department of Music, Department of Communication, James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History and Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance. Wayne State University, located in the heart of Detroit's Midtown Cultural Center, is a premier urban research institution offering more than 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 28,000 students.

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CONTACT: David Romas
CFPCA Information Officer
(313) 577-5448
ac2942@wayne.edu