Ruby Ngo 22 (left) and Professor of Music Jennifer Blyth.
Learn the story behind an unlikely May 9 performance
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
This is the story of a professor, a student and a tradition that wasn t likely to happen during a pandemic year. The professor is Jennifer Blyth, and the student is Ruby Ngo ’22, a pianist who majors in music and quantitative economics. The tradition is Dickinson’s spring Concerto Competition/Orchestra Concert, which includes a solo performance by the winner of the fall Concerto Competition this year, that s Ngo.
Performances are degree requirements for music majors like Ngo, and during the past year, Dickinson’s music department has found creative ways to safely make solo and small-group performances happen. But could the Dickinson musicians pull off a much more complex, full-orchestra event during a pandemic? At the end of a challenging year for ensemble musicians, music educators and students everywhere, and for this student-so