2024 CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference
February 29 - March 2
The University of Memphis
WELCOME MESSAGES
Robert Ambrose, CBDNA Southern Region President
Greetings CBDNA and NBA Southern Division Colleagues. We hope you will consider joining us for the 2024 CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference at the University of Memphis. Hosts Albert Nguyen and William Plenk and their staff have been working diligently to create an outstanding event for you.
This year's conference will feature twelve outstanding performing ensembles, invigorating lectures, and a keynote address by renowned composer Viet Cuong. We hope to see you in Memphis!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at robertambrose@gsu.edu
Robert J. Ambrose, President
CBDNA Southern Division
Corey Spurlin, NBA Southern Division Chair
Welcome to Memphis and the 2024 CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference. I look forward to interacting with colleagues and witnessing inspiring performances and presentations. Thank you to CBDNA for continuing the collaboration with NBA and to Robert Ambrose and Albert Nguyen for their great work. I also offer my sincerest appreciation to NBA and CBDNA members who served on performance selection committees. Thank you all for your attendance, and I hope you enjoy the conference.
Corey Spurlin
Auburn University
NBA Southern Division Chair
Download the 2024 CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference program >>
KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND RESIDENT COMPOSER
Viet Cuong
Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the music of American composer Viet Cuong has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Eighth Blackbird, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Albany Symphony, PRISM Quartet, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundreds of performances worldwide. Passionate about bringing these different facets of the contemporary music community together, his recent projects include a concerto for Eighth Blackbird with the United States Navy Band. Cuong also enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds that feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His works thus include a snare drum solo, percussion quartet concerto, and double oboe concerto. He is currently the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence and the Pacific Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence. He serves as an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Cuong holds degrees from Princeton University (MFA/PhD), the Curtis Institute of Music (AD), and Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM).