Part of a special feature celebrating student success during spring convocation. You can join the celebration by following @MemorialU on Twitter, MemorialUniversity on Instagram and liking the Memorial University of Newfoundland page on Facebook. Well wishes will be projected in the Arts and Culture Centre prior to each ceremony and can also be seen at www.today.mun.ca. 

Bill Brennan will walk across the stage at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre on Friday, May 29, during spring convocation to collect his master’s degree.

Mr. Brennan has worked hard during the past three years to complete a master of music degree in instrumental conducting. Under the supervision of Dr. Jason Caslor, Mr. Brennan has successfully completed the program with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

“The work that I accomplished during this program has been beyond my expectations,” said Mr. Brennan. “And with that, the conferring of the degree in the convocation ceremony is going to be very special for me.”

Mr. Brennan completed a bachelor of music degree from the University of Toronto in 1985 and returned to his hometown of St. John’s in 2002. He had originally planned on taking only one master’s course at Memorial University, but was encouraged by Dr. Maureen Volk, associate dean of Memorial’s School of Music at the time, to enrol in the program full time.

“Bill is a wonderful musician who came to the masters in instrumental conducting from an already established and successful career as a jazz musician, composer, and percussionist,” said Dr. Ellen Waterman, dean, School of Music.  “He has made enormous contributions to the School of Music over the years, as the director of the MUN Jazz Band, a percussion instructor, and most recently, the director of our Indonesian gamelan ensemble. His stellar achievements as a graduate student are indicative of his overall approach to his art. He is intensely curious and dedicated to musical communication.”

Throughout his graduate career, Mr. Brennan has received a variety of awards and scholarships, including the University Medal for Academic Excellence in an All-Course Master's Program, the F.A. Aldrich Graduate Award 2013-14, the JUNO Legacy Graduate Scholarship in Music 2013-14, the William H. and Bertha Baird Memorial Scholarship 2014-15 and he was named a Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies 2014-15.

“I thoroughly enjoyed going back to school and digging deeper into music and its meaning,” said Mr. Brennan. “I worked very hard and I found the experience to be engaging and truly inspiring. My professors also inspired me, and they cared deeply about the reasons I was at Memorial. I learned a huge amount from them.”

Mr. Brennan demonstrates his passion for music not only within his academic studies but also within the university and the community. He also works professionally as a performer, record producer, musical arranger and musical director/conductor in St. John's. He has conducted for a variety of Tada Entertainment productions, and has been musical director for Artistic Fraud Theatre, Theatre St. John's and Spirit of Newfoundland Productions.

“I am very excited about attending convocation,” said Mr. Brennan. “I would like to thank my supervisors and professors for their continued support, and also my wife for her generosity and encouragement over the past two-and-a-half years. Being a graduate student at Memorial was a great experience. To walk across that stage in such prestigious company, both on and off the stage, is going to be very cool.”