Westminster music professor to deliver Henderson Lecture

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Dr. Daniel E. Perttu, Westminster College associate professor of music theory and composition and chair of the School of Music, will present the 2019-2020 Henderson Lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Witherspoon Room of the McKelvey Campus Center.

Perttu, whose scholarly and creative activity focuses on music composition, will discuss his creative process as a composer.

As the lectureship nears, Perttu is composing a viola concerto for internationally-acclaimed violinist Brett Deubner, who has performed as a concerto soloist with more than 70 orchestras on four continents. Perttu will present his process in a manner that is suitable for an audience of non-musicians.

Perttu plans to use the funds from the lectureship to travel to locations where his music is being performed and to conferences where he can network with conductors in hopes of organizing future performances of his music.

Perttu, who joined the Westminster faculty in 2008, earned an undergraduate degree from Williams College, two master’s degrees from Kent State University and a doctoral degree from The Ohio State University.

The Henderson Lecture was founded by the late Dr. Joseph R. Henderson and his wife, Elizabeth, to encourage and recognize original and continuing research and scholarship among Westminster College faculty, and to afford the opportunity for faculty to share their learning with the academic community.  Dr. Henderson was a professor of education emeritus at Westminster, having served as chair of the Department of Education and as director of the Graduate Program.

Each year, Westminster faculty members may nominate themselves or others to receive the lectureship, which includes a stipend to support a specific research project.  A faculty committee chooses the winner.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Daniel Perttu at 724-946-7024 or perttude@westminster.edu.

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