Our Mission
The Budds Center for American Music Studies is devoted to the study, teaching, and performance of American Music with emphasis on the music from Missouri. Our mission is to contribute to the stature of the School of Music at the university as a Research I institution.
Summer Hours:
By Appointment Only
What We Do
- Present public programs connected to Missouri’s and America’s musical life
- Promote performances of Missouri and American music
- Support and engage in original research and performance projects addressing Missouri and American music
- Disseminate the results of such research through digital and printed publications and recordings
- Foster education in Missouri and American music through K-12 resources and local community engagement
- Manage and provide public access to a research archive of American music
Grant Applications
The Budds Center invites applications for project support. For full application guidelines, please visit the link below.
For a list of past funded projects and recipients, please visit the link below:
Teaching & Research Resources
Recordings
Recording, Virgil Thomson: Variations on Four Sunday School Tunes, performed by organist Hae Won Jang and the Michigan State University Chorale conducted by David Rayl. These arrangements by Missouri-born Virgil Thomson reconsider the traditional songs with modern variations for organ.
Recording, Virgil Thomson: The Shaped Note Hymn Arrangements, performed by the Michigan State University Chorale and conducted by David Rayl. These arrangements by Missouri-born Virgil Thomson celebrate shaped-note hymn tradition and connect to The Missouri Harmony (1820).
Recording, A Yuletide Offering: Carol Arrangement by John Cheetham, performed by the University Singers of the University of Missouri (R. Paul Crabb, conductor), Graduate Chamber Choir of Michigan State University (David Rayl, conductor), University Choir of the University of Iowa (David Puderbaugh, conductor), and Southern Chorale Chamber Ensemble of the University of Southern Mississippi (Gregory Fuller, conductor).
Books
Book, A Thematic Catalogue & Performance Chronicle of the Music of John Cheetham. Posthumously published, Michael Budds's catalog offers a reflection on Cheetham's performance and composition career as well as lists all works by the composer. All works are identified by incipit and annotated with fundamental information such as genre, medium, date of composition, grade of difficulty, duration, publisher, and comments from the composer himself or the performers who premiered his compositions. Available at the Mizzou bookstore.
Book, 200 Memorable Missouri Musical Moments: Commentary, Historical Photographs, & Video Clips [in honor of the Missouri State Bicentennial in 2021] A celebration of Missouri music and musicians in pictures, text, and sound! This recent publication is a chronological overview of significant people, places, events, and traditions unique to Missouri covering the years 1809-2019. Each "moment" includes a full-page photograph, commentary, and even a YouTube bibliography with links to relevant media. It is available in e-book format as well as a soft-cover book at the Mizzou bookstore.
Book, 100 Years of Music-Making at Mizzou: Facts and Memories of the Department/ School of Music at the University of Missouri from 1917-2017. This unique publication offers a comprehensive overview of the University of Missouri School of Music's rich, 100-year history in academic excellence. Its information spans from articles about the department's various ensembles, programs, and concert series, as well as entries regarding alumni, teachers, and staff. In addition to biographical information, the reader will find rosters of publications, discographies, and achievements contained within the book's 500 pages. Of a more personal note are the quoted memories from faculty and students caringly compiled by its editor, Michael Budds. Available at the Mizzou bookstore.
About
Michael Budds
Michael J. Budds (1947-2020) was a musicologist and esteemed professor at the University of Missouri who established the Budds Center in 2019. In addition to serving as the editor of the College Music Society’s series “Monographs and Bibliographies in American Music” and writing articles about American Music, he also authored several books, including the following:
- Jazz & the Germans: Essays on the Influence of "Hot" American Idioms on the 20th-century German Music (2003)
- Rock Recall: Annotated Readings in American Popular Music from the Emergence of Rock and Roll to the Demise of the Woodstock Nation (1993)
- Jazz in the Sixties: (1978 and 1990)
- 100 Years of Music-Making at Mizzou: (2018)
- 200 Memorable Missouri Musical Moments: Commentary, Historical Photographs, & Video Clips (in honor of the Missouri Bicentennial, 2020)
- Thematic Catalogue and Performance: Chronical of the Music of John Cheetham (published posthumously, 2021)
Current Leadership
Director
Dr. Megan Murph
Graduate Assistant
Aleyna Wilgermein
Graduate Reading Room Assistants
Brandon Sconce, Ward Francis
Board of Directors:
- Chair: Dr. David Rayl, retired Associate Dean & Director of Choral Programs (Michigan State University)
- Dr. S. Kay Hoke, retired Dean, School of Music (DePauw University)
- Dr. James Parsons, retired Distinguished Professor of Music History (Missouri State University)
- Dr. Libby Roberts, Assistant Professor of Music (Ashland University) and former Interim Director of the Budds Center
- Mackenzie Chosy, former Graduate Assistant of the Budds Center
- Dr. Judith Mabary, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Musicology (University of Missouri)
- Dr. J. Quentin Kuyper, Former Executive Director of the Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society (Georgia Regents University)
- Dr. William B. Bondeson, Professor Emeritus in Philosophy & Medical Ethics (University of Missouri)
- Dr. John Cheetham (deceased Professor Emeritus in Composition at University of Missouri)
- Linda Butterfield Cupp, Former Director of MU Direct: Continuing & Distance Education (University of Missouri)
- Alexander LaBrunerie (LaBrunerie Financial, Columbia, MO)
- Laura Perez Mesa (deceased Arts Advocate, Columbia, MO)
- Keith Schawo (CTFA, Central Bank of Boone County, Columbia, MO)
- Betty K. Wilson (Lawyer, Columbia, MO)