Music in the Air - CUA Magazine - The Catholic University of America

A Violinist Who Plays
for Presidents
MUSIC
Photo: Sumner Dilworth
Photo: Michael Zagaris, Oakland A’s staff photographer
Air
By Katie Bahr
Courtesy of The University of Tampa
During his years as a professional musician,
Peter Wilson, M.M. 1995, D.M.A. 2007,
has had many opportunities to perform for
Washington’s elite. He has played violin at
the White House during four presidential
administrations. He played at the funerals of
Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. And he once
performed a violin solo during a Christmas
Eve service for President George W. Bush’s
family at Camp David.
As a longtime member of “The President’s
Own” United States Marine Band, Wilson has
performed in some of the most exclusive spaces
in Washington, including the Pentagon, the
Department of State, and the president’s private
quarters in the White House. He has played
alongside singers like Rosemary Clooney,
Johnny Mathis, Trisha Yearwood, Beyoncé,
Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson.
A particularly thrilling moment for Wilson
was participating in a 21-piece orchestra
backing up Stevie Wonder at a special Library
of Congress concert in 2009. At the time,
Wonder was premiering a new classical
composition, “Sketches of My Life.”
From CUA to the
Met and Beyond
A musician never knows when his or her big
break might come. For Harolyn Blackwell,
B.M. 1977, M.M. 1980, her chance came
while she was finishing her master’s. She landed
an audition in New York City in front of iconic
American composer Leonard Bernstein for the
25th anniversary revival of West Side Story.
Blackwell so impressed Bernstein with her
audition that she was personally selected for
the role of Francisca and the understudy for
Maria. She toured with the show for two and a
half years and, as Francisca, sang the haunting
classic “Somewhere” from the orchestra pit
during the final scene each night.
“I had auditioned for several productions
of West Side Story in D.C. and was never
selected, but that’s okay,” Blackwell said. “I
always believe there’s a bigger plan and in this
case, the bigger plan was to do West Side Story
on Broadway. Everything just came together
at the right moment. Being in West Side Story
was a dream that finally came true.”
That successful role laid the groundwork
for Blackwell’s career. In the years since, she
has made a name for herself as a worldrenowned opera singer and Broadway star.
After her work in West Side Story, Blackwell
continued her vocal studies as an apprentice
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
As the music school prepares to celebrate
50 years, The Catholic University of
America Magazine pays tribute to its
alumni. They grace Broadway stages,
sing for presidents and popes, play the
organ at Sunday Mass, and teach the
joy of making music to students of
all ages. Accomplished musicians,
conductors, composers, vocalists, and
scholars around the world credit
Catholic University for the music they
make. Here are four stories from
among the thousands who studied at
Ward Hall.
16 The Catholic University of America Magazine
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Rush
in the
“I’ve been a fan of Stevie Wonder for so
long and getting to be in close proximity to him
and playing the world premiere of this music
was just a holy cow moment,” Wilson said.
Wilson noted that during his years of study
at Catholic University, he gained innumerable
technical and conducting experiences that
will aid him for the rest of his life. In 1993 he
had the opportunity to travel to Rome with
the CUA Symphony Orchestra to play for
Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Later, while
studying for his doctorate, he spent several
years as resident conductor of the orchestra,
where he learned all about the logistics of
managing and conducting.
“That kind of experience is extraordinarily
rare for students,” Wilson said. “It was an
amazing opportunity for me to be in a performance setting as a conductor.”
Today, in addition to his work in the Marine
Band, Wilson is the conductor for the
Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra and the
Richmond Philharmonic, both in Virginia. He
also performs in a violin and bass duo, Bridging
the Gap, and as of this fall, teaches violin at
James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
This varied and exciting career is one that
Wilson says he feels lucky to have. Grateful
for his good fortune, he says that some of his
favorite performances are those where he
feels like he is giving back. Last year, he
volunteered for several months with
MusiCorps, an organization that provides
music lessons to wounded warriors at Walter
Reed National Military Medical Center. He
also plays in the Marine Band’s country
group Free Country, which occasionally gives
concerts for veterans.
“You see these guys with missing arms and
legs in wheelchairs and yet they are thrilled to
be there and thrilled to be honored,” Wilson
said. “They’re singing along with us and you
get wrapped up in it. Yes, it’s a job for us, but to
be able to give something back to them, you
can’t put a price tag on it.”
“One of the things that has helped me is having an
open mind and taking risks to try different things.
… Very often what seems like a narrow opportunity
can open up 15 avenues to do something else. Don’t
just dismiss something because you don’t think it’s
part of your path.”
— Peter Wilson
Fall 2014 17
with the Chicago Lyric Opera Young Artists
Program. In 1983, she was selected as a finalist
for the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions, one of the highest recognitions a
young vocalist can achieve.
Since then, Blackwell has performed around
the world with many internationally respected
opera companies and festivals, including the
Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco
Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival, Aix-enProvence Festival, the Teatro Colón de
Buenos Aires, the Seattle Opera, the Opéra
de Nice, De Nederlandse Opera, and the
Canadian Opera Company. She has appeared
in several productions at the Metropolitan
Opera and starred in the Broadway revival of
Candide in 1997.
Looking back on her career, Blackwell sees
how her experiences at CUA paved the way for
her professional achievements. While studying
in the music school, Blackwell performed in
many productions, including The Golden Apple,
Wonderful Town, and L’Elisir d’Amore. She also
sang in the Cardinalaires, a University show
choir organized to perform at events around
the city. She remembers many professors who
inspired her, including Linda Mabbs, Elaine
Walter, and Cyrilla Barr. Blackwell also worked
closely with the Department of Drama, and
professor Toby Barbara Orenstein.
“The professors I had at Catholic University
were excellent professors and the school gave
me the opportunity to perform,” Blackwell
said. “There were several alumni singers performing at the Metropolitan Opera and bringing
more recognition to the School of Music.
Although they were several years ahead of
me, their successes demonstrated to me that I
could strive to become a professional singer
with hard work and dedication to my craft.”
When she reflects on her years on stage,
Blackwell says there are many performances
she remembers with pride, including her first
night in West Side Story on Broadway and
singing her first role at the Metropolitan Opera
as Pousette in Manon. She sang for Pope John
Paul II twice — during World Youth Day in
Denver in 1993 and for his 80th birthday at
the Vatican — and she performed during a
powerful concert following Sept. 11, 2001, at
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts in Washington.
18 The Catholic University of America Magazine
“What I really enjoy is singing and communicating to my audience the beauty of great
music whether it is opera, art songs, oratorio,
musical theatre, or the American song book,”
she said. “If I can touch someone’s life and
make their day better, that’s what makes
performing so worthwhile and rewarding.”
“Go and find the opportunities to perform. You learn
so much from being on the stage. The best way to
hone your craft as a singer, as a performer, as a young
artist is by performing. Also, don’t be afraid to try
something new. It is by opening yourself to new experiences that you will grow and learn the greatest lessons
about yourself and your life.” — Harolyn Blackwell
Education and
Performance in
Harmony
Only days into his freshman year at The
Catholic University of America, Haig
Mardirosian, B.M. 1969, M.F.A. 1970,
D.M.A. 1972, learned there was an organist
needed at the adjoining National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception. The son of an
accomplished musician, Mardirosian had
grown up in a musical home playing piano
and studying the organ, so he quickly
jumped at the opportunity.
“I started as a freshman playing on the new
organ (which had just been installed in 1965)
on a weekly basis,” Mardirosian said. “There
I was, at 18 years old, playing one of the largest,
most important instruments in the country
— an experience I wouldn’t have found anywhere else.”
That first job soon led to another job as
the assistant organist at the Cathedral of Mary
Our Queen in Baltimore, where Mardirosian
began working while still an undergrad. As
he continued his education at CUA, he began
accepting more gigs and soon developed a
network of musical connections within the
Washington region.
After he earned his doctorate, Mardirosian
was playing in a church when a singer in his
choir asked if he would be interested in
teaching a course in conducting at American
University. Mardirosian took the job and,
two years later, applied for and was offered a
full-time position as assistant professor. What
started as one class turned into a 33-year career
at American University, during which time
he kept moving up in the administrative ranks.
Eventually he became dean of academic affairs
and senior vice provost.
In addition to this work at American
University, Mardirosian began writing music
reviews in the 1970s. He wrote for the
Baltimore News-American, Forecast, The
American Organist, The Diapason, the Journal of
American Organ Building, and Fanfare, and had
his own opinion column in The American
Organist.
Five years ago, Mardirosian accepted a
position as professor and dean of the College
of Arts and Letters at the University of Tampa,
in part because he wanted to be closer to his
musical roots. Though his work has taken
him far into the world of academic administration, Mardirosian still thinks of himself
as a “purebred musician” first and foremost.
He practices for hours daily and has more
than 20 commercially available recordings to
his credit. This year he conducted a program
of Mozart concertos with the Florida
Orchestra and played a number of other
concerts, including one at St. Paul’s Cathedral
in Pittsburgh in October. Next June, he will
play at the Annual Convention of the
Association of Anglican Musicians.
After playing in recitals and festivals and
making recordings and broadcasts around the
world, Mardirosian said some of his favorite
moments have been the small performances
— the time he played midnight Mass at a
small parish in the inner city of D.C., for
example, or the years when he played at the
Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington
and his audiences included homeless people
looking for shelter.
“For some people, that unintentional little
moment of music might be one of the best
moments of their day,” he said. “Many times
I’ve heard back from people years later that
some trivial moment or performance of mine
was somehow transformational or important
to them. That makes all the hours of practice
worth it.”
Looking back on his years in D.C.,
Mardirosian said he enjoyed watching the city’s
arts scene grow and develop. One of the leaders,
he believes, was Catholic University.
“I witnessed in that time the remarkable
period of growth for the artistic life of D.C.
and the role of CUA at the forefront of that was
incredible,” he said. “Having been there for
that period of time and witnessing it, I realize
what a great thing it was for the city and how
lucky I was to have been a part of that.”
“People are looking for predictable outcomes, like if
they do specific things they will have success in their
career, but we learn from making mistakes and trying
new things. The common element in my life is that
the next chapter is unpredictable. You have to be
courageous and just take the next step and engage.”
— Haig Mardirosian
A Teaching Career
Gone Global
After six years of studying music at The
Catholic University of America, Jessie Huang,
D.M.A. 2012, found herself teaching piano
in a most unusual locale — a prestigious
international school in the Himalayan
mountains of Uttarakhand, India, an area
known for its cold weather, high altitude, and
amazing views.
“Every day when I opened the door of my
home, I could see the clouds in front of me,”
Huang said. “I felt like I was teaching piano
in a cloud.”
Spurred on by a passion for piano and a sense
of adventure, Huang got a job working at the
Woodstock School, a boarding school with
students and faculty from around the world.
For two years, she taught individual and group
piano classes for grades three through 12 and
organized the music for school productions.
Huang, who is originally from Taiwan, said
she enjoyed immersing herself in the Indian
culture, but also liked working with faculty and
students from all over the world.
“Can you imagine a school in India, but
it’s an international community?” she said.
“It was really amazing. Ninety percent of the
faculty were from Western countries and I
was the only teacher from Taiwan.”
After two years of living and working in
India, Huang was ready for her next challenge.
Since June, she has worked as a piano teacher
at the Afghanistan National Institute of
Music (ANIM) in Kabul. In her new post,
she teaches piano, chamber music coaching,
and ear training.
Life in Afghanistan is not easy. Because of
security concerns, Huang is not allowed to
travel independently. Sometimes she has trouble
communicating because of the language barrier.
Still, Huang said she enjoys working at a
school that offers free education for those
who need it. At ANIM, education is open to
boys and girls who pass an audition, including
some students from orphanages. While the
school emphasizes music, the curriculum
prepares students to pursue careers in many
fields around the world.
“The students in Afghanistan are very
motivated because they know they are lucky,”
Huang said. “They know they are blessed to
learn music so they don’t take it for granted.
They always ask for extra lessons.
“To be able to teach piano in this school
makes me think that, ‘Wow, this is a meaningful job,’” Huang said. “I might not be the
most famous pianist, but I know I’m doing
something to help people, to help the
community through music, and to help show
love and courage to the students, and that is
really powerful.”
Though Huang doesn’t know how long
she will stay in Afghanistan, she said she
hopes to continue teaching piano her whole
life. She was inspired to do so by her professors
at CUA, including Marilyn Neeley, who passed
away in 2007.
“She was my first piano teacher at Catholic
University,” Huang said. “She already had cancer
and she was very sick, but every day she
insisted on coming to school and sitting in
front of the desk to teach me. Her love and
her contribution to music education really
inspired me.”
Other influential professors for Huang
include Ralitza Patcheva, who “became a
mentor and a friend,” and Ivo Kaltchev, the
head of the Piano Division who is “always
accessible to students looking for help.”
“I really appreciate the faculty at CUA
who are not just my teachers, but also my
friends and family,” Huang said. “Their love
and their approach to teaching help students to
become better people, even after they
graduate.”
“Life is always unexpected. I never thought I would
go to India and I never thought I would go to Kabul.
The only thing I can say is to live day by day.”
— Jessie Haung
Fall 2014 19
50 Years of Excellence
Rich Legacy, Bright Future
For 50 years, the Catholic University School of Music has been a training ground for musicians, scholars,
composers, and educators. Below are some of the greatest moments in the history of the music school.
F
1965
1967
1970
1973
The School of Music is established out of the preexisting Department of Music. John Paul is the first dean.
The music building is formally named Ward Hall, in
honor of benefactress Justine Bayard Ward.
Professor Robert Ricks conducts the University Symphony
Orchestra in its first concert at Carnegie Hall in New
York City.
The University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform
at The Kennedy Center in Washington in the first of a
long series of annual concerts, which continue until
1995.
1977
1979
1982
1984
World-renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich receives
an honorary doctorate from CUA. He returns the
following year to conduct a master class and spends his
sabbatical year at the University from 1983 to 1984,
conducting a sold-out student concert at DAR
Constitution Hall.
The University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
performs for Pope John Paul II when he visits the
University campus.
The University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
perform the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s
cantata Muero porque no muero, commissioned by the
Discalced Carmelites, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew
the Apostle in Washington, D.C. A companion piece is
later commissioned and premieres in 1991.
The School of Music is named the Benjamin T. Rome
School of Music after a CUA alumnus, trustee, and
generous benefactor. The same year, the Latin American
Center for Graduate Studies in Music opens.
1987
2000
2006
2008
In celebration of CUA’s 100th anniversary, the music
school community takes its first trip to Rome and Vatican
City, where 107 students perform for Pope John Paul II
inside his private apartment. Subsequent trips occur
in 1993 and 1999.
The music school celebrates 50 years of teaching music
on campus with year-round celebratory events on and
off campus, including a return performance at The
Kennedy Center.
Then dean Murry Sidlin takes students to Terezin, Czech
Republic, to perform his acclaimed Defiant Requiem,
which honors prisoners of the Terezin concentration
camp.
Seventeen singers are chosen to perform for Pope
Benedict XVI during his visit to the University.
20 The Catholic University of America Magazine
or the past 50 years, the School of Music at The Catholic University of America
has been “the preeminent center for music studies, performances, and research for
Catholic universities in the United States,” says the school’s dean, Grayson Wagstaff.
With its strong Catholic emphasis, the school has trained generations of musicians
for the Church, Catholic school educators, and countless performers, artists, and scholars
who have achieved great success in the secular world. As the school kicks off its
yearlong anniversary celebration, Wagstaff hopes alumni, current students, their families,
and Catholics from across the United States will come together to celebrate the school’s
legacy and accomplishments.
“Our alumni are all over the world and we have such phenomenal alumni who
represent the quality of the University,” Wagstaff says. “They are special whether they
are performing at the Metropolitan Opera or volunteering at their local parishes
because both of these represent how powerful a force music can be in people’s lives.”
Over the course of the next year, the school will mark its anniversary with special
concerts and events, highlighted by a return to the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts with a full program by the CUA Symphony Orchestra and Choruses
on Sunday, April 12, at 8 p.m. The jubilee year will begin with a performance by the
National Symphony Orchestra in Catholic University’s newly refurbished Hartke
Theatre on Jan. 12, as part of the “NSO In Your Neighborhood” series in Brookland.
In the future, Wagstaff says he would like to see the music school continue its role
as a center of musical excellence within the Catholic Church, educating students from
across the United States and the world, while growing as a resource for local schools
and parishes in the greater Washington, D.C., area. In addition to its Catholic focus,
the school has long emphasized Latin American music through its Latin American
Music Center for Graduate Studies, which promotes and celebrates Ibero-American
music. In order to continue providing the best education for CUA students, Wagstaff
says the school will need to invest in improved facilities and scholarships, musical
instruments, and technologies to educate students for a changing world.
“The 2015 celebration is just a stop on the way to the 100th anniversary and a
reminder that the music school will continue to be a central part of the University,
helping to promote Catholic University in the United States and internationally for
years to come,” he says.
For a complete list of the music school’s anniversary events, including locations,
dates, and ticket information, visit music.cua.edu.
Fall 2014 21