ECU’s School of Music announces new director
J. Christopher Buddo will assume the directorship of East Carolina University’s School of Music June 1.
Buddo, who currently serves as associate dean for administrative affairs and director of the division of ensembles at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, will be the first permanent director of the school.
He received his bachelor’s degree in music from James Madison University and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa. He has taught at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., the University of Northern Iowa and the Birch Creek Summer Music Festival.
“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to work with great faculty, a fine staff and talented students,” Buddo said. “We have exciting times ahead.”
As a musician, Buddo is the principal bass of the Waco Symphony Orchestra. He performs with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and is a former member of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra, the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra and the Bedford Springs Music Festival.
He has produced three videos in the “10 a Day, The Orchestra Series” on bass performance techniques. He is the principal and founding conductor of the Waco Symphony Youth Orchestra and has directed the Iowa City Youth Orchestra.
“I was very impressed with Dr. Buddo during his campus interview and was delighted that the School of Music faculty and the search committee were equally impressed,” said Jeff Elwell, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “When I called his supervisor at Baylor he told me that we were ‘getting the best young music administrator in the country.’ I believe that Chris will be able to lead the School of Music to great prominence.”
The School of Music offers a comprehensive music program with undergraduate and advanced degrees that include performance, Suzuki pedagogy, music education, music therapy, theory and composition.
The school’s 242 undergraduate students, 69 graduate students and 60 full time faculty members produce more than 100 concerts, recitals and festivals annually.