Music Department Faculty Member Receives 17th Consecutive Award For “Works that have Prestige Value”

Published: March 01, 2018

Professor Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols of the Music department at Queensborough Community College has received an award from The American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP + PLUS) for her cycle of compositions, recordings, and performances in 2017. This is the 17th consecutive ASCAP award for Professor Bukvich which recognizes "...writer members ...whose works were performed in unsurveyed media, as well as writer members whose catalogs have prestige value."

“Much of my work takes place at the crossroads of genres where the possibility for new musical languages always exists. This is exciting to me. By utilizing electronic and acoustic instruments, and by experimenting with various sound design techniques in the recording studio, I often travel the roads less taken. It is gratifying when the work's adventurous spirit gets recognized,” said Professor Bukvich-Nichols. "Even though I am relatively new on the campus, the students at Queensborough have already inspired me with their talent and dedication. I found an astounding richness of cultures and ideas here that go hand-in-hand with my hybrid sound. I teach my students to be open, to 'think through sound', to define, empower and uplift themselves with music uniquely their own, and to create culture as they go."

Professor Bukvich–Nichols is currently one of the peer-reviewers of a book on electronic dance music out of UK (Routledge Publishing). She is also working on releasing and promoting a new solo record. “I look forward to both projects. I intend to share them, and so much more, with my students in the coming months."

Bukvich-Nichols specializes in an art-rock tinged blend of classical, avant-garde, world and experimental music for dance, film, and the concert stage. Integrating cutting-edge technology with tuning of her own design and her classical training, Bukvich has emerged as an uncommon figure on the New York music scene. As an artist with exceptionally wide range, and a passion for innovation, she has worked with distinguished instrumentalists such as Martha Mooke, Tony Levin, Mari Kimura, Rob Schwimmer, and Ha-Yang Kim, among many others. Her sound draws from the energies of the places she has lived in - Addis Ababa, Edinburgh, Boston, New York City, and Sarajevo.

Bukvich-Nichols holds a Bachelor's degree in both Musicology and Composition from Sarajevo University’s Music Academy in Yugoslavia, and an M.F.A. in Integrated Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. She is a member of several national and international associations including GrammyPro, New York Women Composers and The Society of Women in TeCHnology (SWiTCH).

Photo credit: Robert Herman

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