Music faculty member accepts prestigious summer postion

Dennis Hirst, a faculty member at Utah State University, has accepted a summer position as the associate director of the Heifetz International Music Institute.

Hirst, a recently promoted associate professor in the department of music at USU, will spend his summer in Wolfeboro, N.H., adding to his experience as an arts administrator. From May to August, Hirst will take a break from his responsibilities as a music professor and director of the Wassermann Piano Festival to assume his duties at the Heifetz Institute.

The Brewster Academy is home to the institute and is located in New Hampshire, set on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in an area known as the oldest summer resort in America. The Heifetz Institute was founded and is headed by Daniel Heifetz, a prominent violinist. The institute provides an intensive musical experience and is a talent- and skill-based festival. Admission is based on those criteria, not the ability to pay tuition. It is a professional training festival.

“This will be a significant change for me,” Hirst said. “With the Wassermann Festival, I’m pretty much a one man-band. At the Heifetz Institute, there is an impressive list of faculty, and I’ll have a support staff.”

Hirst hopes to return to USU in the fall with increased administrative skills and many valuable contacts.