About

Ph.D., musicology, Brandeis University
M.F.A., musicology, Brandeis University
M.S.M., choral conducting, University of Notre Dame
M.Mus., voice performance, Stony Brook University
B.A., music, University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Zen Tadashi Kuriyama, Ph.D., is a musicologist, choral conductor, and singer who currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the College Choir at Bates College. One of the last protégés of conductor and interdisciplinary artist Carmen-Helena Téllez, Zen’s cross-disciplinary scholarship engages with the fields of musicology, Jewish studies, Christian sacred music, liturgical theology, affect theory, and performance. His scholarship has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, and he is a frequent guest/pre-concert lecturer. Before coming to Bates, Zen was Assistant Professor of Music History at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. 

Publications 

Monograph-length publications

Kuriyama, Zen. “Englishness, Jewishness, and the English Sound: Gerald Finzi and the English Musical Renaissance.” PhD Diss, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2024.
[ISBN: 9798384049999] (Committee: Emily Frey, Susan Youens, Laura Jockusch) 

Book Chapters

“RESIGNATION and Virgil Thomson’s Hymns from the Old South.” Christian Sacred Music in the Americas. Ed. Andrew Shenton & Joanna Smolko. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. (peer reviewed) 

Articles and Essays

“Gerald Finzi and the English Musical Renaissance.” The Finzi Journal. Ed. Martin Bussey. The Chapel (UK), Cheshire, December 2019. [ISBN 978-0-9538288-7-6] (peer reviewed)

Critical Edition Work

Manuscript-to-software notation input and proofreading for critical editions of Sebastian Knüpfer’s vocal-orchestral works, published by the American Institute of Musicology. Editorial board for edition: Peter Wollny, Mary Frandsen, & Paul Walker. Summer, 2018 & 2019. (peer reviewed)

Invited Lectures, Talks, & Masterclasses 

“Considering Matthew Shepard.” Pre-concert lecture. Department of Music, Rhodes College (Memphis, TN). April 27, 2025.

“Fauré’s Requiem: Death in the Light of Eternity.” SUNY Schenectady School of Music, Schenectady, NY. November 20, 2024.

“It was a poem first: towards a more effective pedagogy in the teaching of art song.” National Association of Teachers of Singing — Maine Chapter, Annual Festival. Bates College, Lewiston, ME. November 9, 2024.

“Fauré’s Requiem: Death in the Light of Eternity.” Harvard Catholic Forum/Harvard Catholic Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. November 7, 2024. 

“Finzi, Thorpe Davie, and St Andrews.” University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK. February 11, 2023. 

“Gerald Finzi and the Art of English Song.” School of Music at Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN. Two-Day Residency (lecture, lecture recital, workshop, and masterclass). April 13 & 14, 2021. 

‘“Dear Ceddie,”: Discovering Gerald Finzi through his correspondence with St Andrews’ Master of Music, Cedric Thorpe Davie.” University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK. October 9, 2019. 

“Gerald Finzi and the English Musical Renaissance.” St Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. February 4, 2019. 

Collegiate Guest Conducting (beginning Fall 2024, to coincide with Bates appointment)

SUNY Schenectady School of Music Chorus (Dir. Joseph Han), November 2024.

Guest Clinician (beginning Fall 2024, to coincide with Bates appointment)

Maine Gay Men’s Chorus (Dir. Nate Menifield), annual retreat, November 2024.

Professional Singing Engagements (beginning Fall 2024, to coincide with Bates appointment)

Professional singer (invited), Rhodes Choral Collaborative (Rhodes College, Memphis, TN), Considering Matthew Shepard (Dir. D. Jason Bishop), April 2025.

Professional singer (invited), Cathedral Church of Saint Luke, Portland, Maine (Dir. Christian Clough), December 2024.

Cantor, Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul, Lewiston, Maine. October 2024.

For full CV, see below:

Zen Kuriyama, CV