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![Novelist Michael Smith talks with Lawrence students during a songwriting class.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2024-03/Songwriting_3.jpg?h=b75901c5&itok=qiGOzSIG)
Lawrence University students in a songwriting class are writing music to be considered for an upcoming film adaptation of a Michael Farris Smith novel. The author met with the students in Harper Hall.
![Musicians perform on the Memorial Chapel stage during the 2021 festival.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2022-07/DecodaMileOfMusic3_202208%281%29.jpg?h=4656bb00&itok=_6NCubpa)
The Decoda Chamber Music Festival will be held at Lawrence from July 24 to Aug. 5. It will include instruction for 30 students as well as a series of public performances by faculty and students.
![Wen-Lei Gu poses with her violin on Main Hall Green.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2022-06/WenLei%20Gu_202206%20%281%29.jpg?h=3b841809&itok=46hRkZsO)
Violinist Wen-Lei Gu brings brilliance to the classroom and the performance stage. The music professor has performed on some of the world's most iconic stages while maintaining a deep love of teaching.
![Andrew Mast poses for a portrait on Main Hall Green.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2022-02/Andrew%20Mast_202201%20%281%29.jpg?h=ac17efad&itok=f2V1g2R4)
Andrew Mast stepped up to organize the January recital that helped launch the year-long 175th celebration. He did so in part because he has been fascinated by the school’s rich history ever since he arrived on the Conservatory faculty in 2004.
![Michael Murphy, surrounded by instruments and recording equipment, plays the electric guitar.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2021-12/MichaelMurphy_202111.jpg?h=6f2162ab&itok=IztsAcLQ)
Conservatory student Michael Murphy '23 flexes his musical talents as he performs with multiple local bands while working toward his B.M.A.
![Close up of mallet and sheet music used during Sambista rehearsal.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2021-10/101321_PercussionStudio_31.jpg?h=4e96e7a3&itok=bUfR1c5G)
Lawrence University has reframed its bachelor of arts in music (B.A.Music) major to make it more open-ended in a student’s pursuit of whatever slice of the music world that interests them, a change the dean of the Conservatory sees as liberating.
![Tashi Litch playing mandoline onstage](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2021-12/bluegrass-Tashi%20%281%29.jpg?h=84775e3d&itok=Q1itpjI7)
Lawrence University's Bachelor of Musical Arts (B.M.A.) degree is open to students pursuing any genre of music and allows students to receive a liberal arts education while studying music.
![The front of Main Hall is seen after a recent snowfall.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2022-03/MainHall_202201%20%281%29.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=8OShpGPh)
![Erin Lesser](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2021-05/Erin_Lesser-2-new-768x673.jpg?h=cde6f2ba&itok=3CvbckzK)
Lesser was asked to participate in The Boccaccio Project, an artistic collaboration in which 10 commissions of new music would be shared with the world.
![Jose Encarnacion is greeted by applause](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_16_9/public/2021-07/a-Jose-grad.jpg?h=6799306c&itok=jtXG03dG)
Erin Lesser and Jose Encarnacion receive awards for teaching in the Conservatory of Music. Marcia Bjornerud receives award for scholarship in geosciences.