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Competing against 86 other choirs from countries across the globe at a world-famous music festival in Wales, the School of Music's A Capella chamber ensemble earned high awards in all four categories it entered.

Congratulations to Clayton Parr, our director of Choral Activities, and his 15 students for their wonderful success at the Llangollen International Musical Festival. A Cappella won second place in the categories of Chamber Choirs, Youth Choirs and Folk Song Choirs. It won third place in the Folk Song Group category. The student choristers appeared on BBC television and radio and collaborated with a dance group from the nation of Georgia.

Since its creation in 2003, A Cappella has performed chamber choral works from the Renaissance to the present day as well as folk-influenced music from around the globe. One of the program's primary goals is to develop student leadership within the ensemble, a task it has accomplished with aplomb. If you would like to view A Cappella's award-winning performances at Llangollen, visit http://www.llangollen.tv/en/groups/depaul-a-cappella

The international recognition at Llangollen is just the latest feather in the cap of DePaul's distinguished School of Music. In May, I had the pleasure of attending a stunning performance in Orchestra Hall of the School of Music's Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Professor Cliff Colnot.

In his commentary afterward on WFMT, critic-at-large Andrew Patner said: "This is not just a learning orchestra; this is a proving orchestra. This is an orchestra that, at least for this concert and from what I've heard about the other concerts, can give at the level of many a professional orchestra and certainly beyond other youth orchestras."

I certainly agree. I would like to invite Dean Don Casey, the faculty, staff and students of our outstanding School of Music to take a deep bow for their long-standing dedication to excellence in musical performance and academic study. In my book, they are second to none.