At this yearâs commencement ceremony, in addition to honoring the newest class ofÌęmusic Forever Buffs, Jon Kull and Tia Fuller will be fĂȘted as distinguished alumni of the College of Music, as Joseph Negler, namesake of the Joseph Negler Endowed Chair in Music, is recognized for his contributions to the college.
Jon Kull (BA '85, MA '89)
Jon Kullâa self-employed composer and orchestrator in greater Los Angeles whose studies at CU focused on piano performance and compositionâhas contributed to some.
âIn mechanical terms, orchestration involves assigning the parts of an already-written composition throughout the orchestra,â he says. âIn practice, orchestration also requires a certain sensitivity and mindfulness to the composerâs preferences and the requirements of the film.
âYouâre there to serve the composerâs music, to honor and reflect the composerâs intentâbut thereâs always the opportunity to put a little bit of yourself into it, too.â
Continues Kull, âItâs pretty common these days to have several orchestrators on a composerâs team and Iâve been very fortunate to work in that capacity for a number of excellent composers.â Indeed, Kull was among a crew of orchestrators that worked with James Newton Howard and James Horner on scores for familiar blockbusters, including âTroy,â âAvatarâ and âThe Amazing Spider-Man.â
Additionally, Kull is lead orchestrator for Douglas Pipes, whose output includes terrific scores for movies such as âMonster House,â âTrick âr Treatâ and âKrampus.â
âThose were all a lot of fun!â says Kull, fondly recalling the inspirations and influencers at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”âand his subsequent completion of a film scoring program at the University of Southern Californiaâthat propelled him on a career path he loves.
Kull describes James Newton Howard as âan excellent composer with a great gift for blending traditional orchestral elements with electronic texturesâ and credits the late Richard Toensingâprize-winning composer, accomplished conductor and erstwhile College of Music faculty member, serving as professor of composition and director of the then-Electronic Music Studioâfor being the first âto open my earsâ to such new sound textures and possibilities.
âI remember Richard asking his class to keep a journal of the music we were listening to,â Kull says. âI was really serious about the assignment and very honest in writing down what I was listening to at the time. He validated my choices, but kindly encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone. His perspective and willingness to take risks continue to inspire me.â
So much soÌęthat Kull also remains active as a composer himselfâincluding a new film score for the 1921 Buster Keaton comedy, âThe Goat,â commissioned and performed live-to-picture by the Dallas Chamber Symphony in 2016.
Kull says heâs thrilled to return to the College of Music this spring and to be included among an impressive roster of distinguished alumni. âItâs humbling and itâs a great honor for me.â
Tia Fuller (MM '00)
As for Aurora nativeÌęTia Fuller, âbeing at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” served as such a strong foundation for me,â she says. âNot only in terms of my education, but also musically, artistically and spiritually.â
The accomplished sax player recalls a visiting clinician at the College of Music encouraging students to write down what they wanted to accomplish in life and where they saw themselves in 10 years. âHe asked us to expand our thinking beyond just our professional goals to also include our creative and artistic goals, our relationship goals, our financial goals and so onâin short, to consider every aspect of life,â says Fuller.
âI wrote down several things and when I looked at that list 10 years later, Iâd hit about 98Ìępercent of what I wrote down. Iâm blessed that my investment in the College of Music helped me to become really clear about what I wanted in lifeâand to achieve my vision for my life abundantly.â
Specifically, Fullerâborn to jazz musicians Fred and Elthopia Fuller, also educators and administrators for Denver Public Schoolsâbalances the worlds of performance and education as a touring artist and full-time professor at the Berklee School of Music.
âGetting my masterâs at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”, honing in on jazz pedagogy and performance, really brought it all together,â says Fuller, who has since toured with the all-female band backing R&B celeb BeyoncĂ© and played in venues spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and, of course, the United States. She also performed as featured soloist with BeyoncĂ© for former President Obama at the White House, and sheâs appeared on a number of TV showsâincluding The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today Show, Good Morning America, BET Awards, American Music Awards, Total Request Live and the 2010 Grammy Awards.
âThe College of Music turned out to be a safe space to learn different modes of teaching and to develop my own way of teaching,â she adds, specifically noting the lasting influence of Professor of Jazz Studies and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Operations John Davis. âHeâs a master of teaching and leading big bands, which Iâm now doing on a regular basis.â
Concludes Fuller, âWhen I think of the College of Music, I remember little things, too. I even remember the smell of the hallways, which takes me way back to my summers participating in Mile High Jazz camps. Iâve always feltâand still feelâvery supported by the College of Music.â
The dynamic saxophonist has been featured on the cover of Saxophone Today, Jazz Education Journal and JazzTimes Magazine. Sheâs also received numerous other awards and accolades, including winning Downbeat Criticâs Poll âRising Starâ two years in a row for soprano sax, alto sax and flute.
Joseph Negler
Joseph Negler earned a degree in physics at Marist College and is a veteran of the United States Army.ÌęHe came to șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” in 1965 to help establish and staff the IBM șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” plant.Ìę After his career with IBM, Negler became involved in a number of startup companies, including Xertex Technologies, which was a spinoff company of the Robert and Beverly Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Leeds School of Business.ÌęA jazz enthusiast, Negler has generously contributed to student scholarships at the College of Music, where he participates in the Adopt-A-Student ProgramÌęand created the Joseph Negler Endowed Chair in Music.ÌęHe currently serves on the Music Advisory Board and the American Music Research Center Board.
is Thursday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. in Grusin Music Hall.