Dean Fred Bronstein - Peabody Institute

Alumni
SUMMER 2014
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SOCIETY OF PEABODY ALUMNI
Dear Fellow
Peabody Alumni,
Greetings from Baltimore, where winter
appears to be (finally!) over.
As the seasons change, so are things
at Peabody changing. As many of you
already know, as of June 1, Peabody
has a new Dean, Fred Bronstein, replacing Director Jeffrey Sharkey, who has
moved on to new challenges in Scotland.
For those of you feeling a bit of a disconnect in that last sentence, it should be
noted that Hopkins is changing Peabody’s
administration to be more in line with all
of its other schools, with the head of the
school being the Dean. In addition to Jeff’s
departure, Dean Mellasenah Morris has
announced her retirement. Lastly (but
by no means nearly as noteworthy as the
previous two), I will be stepping down as
President of SPA on July 1, turning the
position over to my good friend Matt
Rupcich, who I know will do a tremendous
job in the coming years.
Looking even further into the future,
next year, 2015, will see our next Peabody
Homecoming, honoring the classes of
1964, 1965, 1974 and 1975. I hope that
many of you reading this will be able to
attend. We are still looking at possible
activities and welcome your ideas and
input. Anyone wanting to do so should
contact Debbie Kennison
([email protected], or 410-234-4673).
Looking back over the past few
months, winter has not been exactly idle.
In February, we honored Audrey McCallum
(BM ’60, MM ’67, Music Education, Piano)
with The Johns Hopkins University Alumni
Association Heritage Award for all that she
has done (and continues to do) throughout her life.
Also in February, we webcast a
Founder’s Day interview, via UStream,
between Ray Sprenkle (BM ’70, MM
’71, DMA ’79, Composition) and Leon
Fleisher. If you missed it, you can still
view it online at http://www.ustream.tv/
recorded/44325508.
As always, we love hearing from you,
whether it’s career news, family news, or
just plain new news. Keep those cards and
letters coming in (as they used to say),
have a great summer, and we’ll be back in
touch in the fall.
All the best,
Paul Matlin
BM ’70, MM ’72, Viola;
BS ’81 JHU School
of Business;
MS ’84, JHU School
of Engineering;
President, The Society
of Peabody Alumni
Insider Introduction:
Dean Fred Bronstein
It’s my pleasure to write to you with a small
introduction of Fred Bronstein. In the short
time we have spent working together in this,
my first season as Resident Conductor of the
St. Louis Symphony, I was immediately taken
by Fred’s calm, professional manner. He had a
strong vision of what he wanted to do to help
make the St. Louis Symphony family grow
and become stronger. This ability to balance
artistry, financial realities, and having a plan
as to how we could all get there together was
remarkable. His lunch time presentations
were always gracious and honest, giving the
entire orchestra and staff an understanding of
both where we were, and where we were going.
Fred is not a person of smoke and mirrors - he
knows his stuff and will answer any question
anytime. This is most refreshing.
position at Peabody. We had a chance to have
lunch and talk about the Conservatory, its
relationship to Johns Hopkins and the growing
opportunities that he sees for the future—but
most of all he was just glowing with happiness. He said he had been lucky enough to
have several wonderful jobs in his life, but this
is what he’d always really wanted to do—and
he ends up with the country’s oldest conservatory! Bravo!
What a wonderful match, and I know
that Fred’s passionate outlook will serve the
Peabody family well.
All my best wishes to Fred,
and for the future of this
prestigious conservatory
that has changed so many
lives,
Fred always attended the Family concerts
with enthusiasm and was very encouraging.
This sincere interest in education is what
made me so thrilled to hear about his new
Steven Jarvi
MM ’03, Conducting
About Dean Bronstein
Dr. Bronstein has been a highly successful chief executive of one of America’s major
symphonies, an accomplished pianist, and
a dedicated music educator. Most recently,
he was president of the St. Louis Symphony
and previously of the Dallas and Omaha
symphonies.
Bronstein was recognized in St. Louis for
increasing symphony attendance, ticket revenue, and philanthropic support. He introduced
innovative concert programming, returned
the orchestra to domestic and international
touring after long absences, initiated new
recording projects, and launched live performances on public radio. He led the creation of
a 10-year strategic plan, managed expenses,
and restructured the symphony’s marketing,
education, and community outreach.
As a performer, he toured for eight years
with Aequalis, a chamber group he cofounded with a focus on new American music,
innovative programming, and educational
outreach. That experience taught him the
entrepreneurial skills young musicians today
must develop.
Bronstein graduated from Boston
University in 1978 and earned a Master of
Music degree at the Manhattan School of
Music in 1982. He received his Doctor of
Musical Arts degree from the State University
of New York, Stony Brook, in 1987.
2014-15 Executive
Committee of
The Society of
Peabody Alumni
PRESIDENT
Matthew Rupcich (BM ’90, Music Education)
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT,
PRESIDENT-ELECT AND TREASURER
Elizabeth Berman (BM ’05, Oboe; BA ’05,
Romance Languages)
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT,
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Paul Matlin (BM ’70, MM ’72, Viola)
RECORDING SECRETARY
Darcy Crum Meadows (MM ’06, Voice)
MEMBERS
Judah Adashi (MM ’02, DMA ’11, Composition)
Carol Cannon (BM ’67, Voice)
Jackie Capecci (BM’87, Viola)
Serap Gray (BM ’96, MM ’99, Guitar)
Phyllis Harris-Stewart (BM ’67, Music Education)
Wilda Heiss (TC ’60, BM ’62, AD ’63, MM ’64, Flute)
Robert Hitz (BM ’82, Piano)
Braphus Kaalund (BM ’02, Trumpet)
Jamie Kelley (BM '99 Percussion)
Jungeun Kim (MM ’13, Musicology)
Peter Lee (BM ’06, MM ’08, Voice)
Audrey McCallum (BM ’60, MM ’67,
Music Education-Piano)
Casey Middaugh (BM ’07, Double Bass)
Britt Olsen-Ecker (BM ’09, Voice)
Rebecca Polgar (GPD ’95, MM ’97, Trumpet)
Ruth Rose (BM ’83, MM ’84, Piano)
Elizabeth Schaaf (’77, Voice)
Christine Rutt Schmitz (BM ’75, Voice)
Tracey A. Schutty (MM ’94, Flute)
Ian Sims (BM ’08, Jazz Saxophone;
MA ’10, Audio Sciences; JHU BS ’08, Electrical
Engineering; GPD ’10, Saxophone)
Above-Left: McCallum standing with her former
student Chester Burke, a current Peabody student
Above-Right: (left to right) Director Jeffrey
Sharkey, Audrey McCallum, SPA President Paul
Matlin, JHUAA Vice President Jay Lenrow
JHU Affinity Engagement Program
The Affinity Engagement Program and
Affinity Groups and Communities are a new
approach to building a stronger Hopkins community—from current students (Graduate and
Undergraduate) to alumni (around the world)
to current Homewood parents and friends of
JHU. The communities encompass all divisions, graduating classes, regions, and professions, and they reflect the remarkable diversity
that is Johns Hopkins.
Groups are created by bringing together
individuals with shared interests, backgrounds
or passions for the purposes of networking
and connecting, personal and professional
development and education, and information
and resource sharing. Each group’s working committee of volunteers craft and host
activities and events relevant to their focus—
for example, Federal Government or Arts,
Entertainment, Media and Entrepreneurship—
on a recurring basis.
Anyone with a connection to Hopkins is
welcome to participate, and, to date, the groups
have engaged more than 1,500 individuals. In
fact, that is where it gets exciting—the mix
of participants in the programs all coming
together from a wide variety of backgrounds
sparks positive and energetic interactions.
Affinity events and activities include face-toface events, but there is also a web platform
and various private social media groups where
one can participate virtually.
To check out current Affinity Groups and learn more,
please visit: http://alumni.jhu.edu/jhaffinities.
JHU Pride
JHU Pride is a new group for Johns Hopkins
LGBTQIA Alumni. Primarily an online
community at this point, alumni from all
divisions of Johns Hopkins are invited and
encouraged to join and be part of this community. For more information, please visit
the following:
http://www.facebook.com/JHUPride
http://www.twitter.com/jhupride
http://alumni.jhu.edu/lgbtpride
Johns Hopkins Heritage Award:
Audrey McCallum
On February 23, Audrey McCallum was presented the Johns Hopkins Heritage Award
by then Peabody Director Jeffrey Sharkey, Society of Peabody Alumni President Paul
Matlin and Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Vice President Jay Lenrow. Chester
Burke, a former student of Audrey’s and current Master’s Degree student at Peabody,
performed in her honor.
2
Wait – Why’d They Change the Name of That?
Two spaces on the Peabody campus have been officially renamed this year.
East Hall Is Now Joe Byrd Hall
Above: Elana Byrd
stands outside the
hall named for her
late husband
Right: Joe Byrd
(TC ’62, BM ’62,
Double Bass)
East Hall was created as part of the campus
renovation project completed in 2004. Peabody
desperately needed a rehearsal space for large
ensembles, so with the faith that musicians
must often have, the hall was created with the
hope that a donor would come along to support the effort. The detail and care taken in
its creation paid off. The space is now able to
serve many rehearsal and performance needs
and is the primary location of Jazz concerts,
making it the perfect place to honor alumnus
Joe Byrd.
The Jazz Department didn’t exist when
Joe Byrd (TC ’62, BM ’62, Double Bass) was
at Peabody. While studying classical music
and honing his skills on the double bass, he
played jazz clubs around Baltimore and joined
his older brother, guitarist Charlie Byrd, on
weekends in D.C. This led to a performance
career as a jazz bassist that spanned more than
four decades. He played at the White House for
presidents Johnson, Ford, and Carter and traveled to more than 100 countries as a goodwill
ambassador for the State Department. The list
of jazz luminaries with whom he collaborated
is long and includes Charlie Byrd; saxophonists Stan Getz and Coleman Hawkins; pianists
Teddy Wilson and Mose Allison; singer Jimmy
Witherspoon; and guitarist Herb Ellis.
Joe died on March 6, 2012, at the age of 78.
His widow, Elana Byrd made a gift in his memory that supports this hall and establishes the
Joe Byrd Scholarship in Jazz Studies. Elana
said, "Joe was so grateful for the education he
received at Peabody. He always felt lucky to
have such a long career doing what he loved,
and in his memory I am honored to be able
to help other young musicians start on that
path." Bridging the past to the present and
classical training to jazz, this new name is
very meaningful and a great addition to the
Peabody campus.
More Information About Joe Byrd Hall
Prior to the creation of this hall, the only space
big enough for the orchestra to rehearse was
the stage of Friedberg Hall. The refurbished
space had been two separate spaces on different levels; one was for book storage and the
other was a room for small ensemble rehearsals. The floor of the book room was lowered,
and the combined space is now large enough
for a full orchestra of 100+ musicians to
rehearse.
The renovation featured high-tech, superinsulated acoustics with direct audio and visual
hook-ups to the recording studio. During the
renovations, brick was removed to expose
cast-iron columns believed to have been
constructed after the Great Fire of 1904 as fire
protection for the building.
Near the back door of this room is where contractors discovered the private stash of Maestro
Gustav Strube, conductor and composer who
served on the Peabody faculty from 1916-1946.
He was well known for making home brew that
he shared with his friends during Prohibition.
The bottles found here were labeled “Wild
Cherry 1934” and “Big Blue Grape 1946.”
The New Building Is Now Austrian Hall
Seamlessly connected to historic Leakin
Hall, the “New Building” was also built on
faith and out of necessity. Several large gifts
made it possible to begin construction on the
much-needed space designed to house the
Arthur Friedheim Music Library, the Peabody
Archives, dance studios, practice rooms, classrooms and offices, but the remaining costs
were financed. Since its opening in 1990, a
portion of Peabody’s annual budget has been
dedicated to paying down this debt.
This story, however, starts way back in 1936
when Dr. Charles R. Austrian was elected a
Trustee of the Peabody Institute. He served
in this capacity until his death in June 1956.
His wife, Florence H. Austrian, was elected a
Trustee of the Peabody Institute in 1957 and
served until she died on December 13, 1979.
Their combined tenure as Trustees represents
43 years of continuous service to the Peabody
Institute. Minutes of the Trustee meetings
show them to be very involved in committee work and fully engaged in all aspects of
Peabody – he argued for increasing the salaries
of the teaching staff, and for honoring donor
intent and not allowing funds to be diverted if
they were gifts to a special area or dedicated to
a particular department; she was involved in
the decision to keep Peabody in Mt. Vernon,
the acquisition of the entire block, including
the creation of the dormitory facility, and the
creation of the American Conductors Project.
In addition to their extensive service, they supported Peabody financially throughout their
lifetime, and their son Robert made annual
donations as well.
Charles and Florence included Peabody in
their will, the payout of which would come to
the Institute when their son Robert passed
away. More than 25 years after Florence’s
death, Peabody received their unrestricted
gift of just under $4 million. Ultimately, it was
decided that this money would be used to pay
off the remaining debt on the New Building
and to rename it in honor of this family, who
loved the arts and supported this institution
with time, talent and treasure.
Master Classes 2013-2014
What Master Classes took place while you
were at Peabody? Share your stories by
sending them to [email protected] or
on the Peabody Conservatory Alumni facebook page! Here’s the list of Master Classes
from this year:
Manuel Barrueco, Guitar
Emanuel Borok, Violin
Leon Fleisher, Piano
Margo Garrett, Vocal Coach
Sponsored by the
Levi Family Foundation
Richard Goode, Piano
Sponsored by Edith Hall Friedheim,
in memory of Van Cliburn
Denyce Graves, Mezzo-soprano
Slawommir Grenda, Double bass
Roy Howat, Piano
Linda Mabbs, Voice
Drew Minter, Countertenor
Sponsored by the
Levi Family Foundation
Johannes Moser, Cello
Craig Mulcahy, Trombone
Marina Piccinini, Flute
Pepe Romero, Guitar
Goran Sollscher, Guitar
Dawn Upshaw, Soprano
Sponsored by the
Piero Weiss Fund
Nick Walker, Double bass
Gail Williams, Horn
Carol Wincenc, Flute
Lilya Zilberstein, Piano
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Hittman Residency
Ying String Quartet
Hittman Residency
3
Below: Korean students performing at
Shriver Hall on the Homewood campus
Korean Graduate Students Association Spring Concert
My name is Jungeun Kim, and I am an
alumna of the Peabody Institute, and currently working at the Library of Congress
as an archivist. As an advisor of The Korean
Graduate Students Association (KGSA), I
organized the Spring Inaugural Concert on
January 31st with other Korean graduate
students at the Johns Hopkins University.
The Korean student population at Peabody
has been significant for a very long time.
According to Peabody annual catalogs, the
first Korean students were enrolled in 1948.
Since the 1980s, the number of Korean students has soared to new heights, becoming
the largest foreign group in the 1990s. Since
the year 2000, Koreans have made up about
40% of Peabody's international population.
That means that today, about 1 out of 10
students at Peabody is Korean. It was the first
time that we have organized a concert like this
one, and we hope we can continue this legacy.
Jungeun Elle Kim
(MM ’13, Musicology)
Totenberg Project Archivist,
The Library of Congress
The Music Entrepreneurship and Career Center
The MECC website is regularly updated and provides a vast amount of information, search
tools, and services. MECC is also on Facebook, sharing job, grant, and other opportunities.
This year Director Gerald Klickstein brought an impressive and diverse selection of guest
speakers to the Peabody Campus including:
“How to Succeed in Music
Faculty Positions”
Dr. Jacqueline L. Mok, Senior Vice
President Emerita of the University
of Arizona
“What Every Musician Needs
to Know about Contracts”
Frank Morgan, an experienced
attorney in entertainment and
intellectual property law
“Building an Audience and
Career in Classical Music”
Elizabeth Sobol, President & CEO
of Universal Music Classics
“Succeeding as a Solo
or Chamber Musician”
Jason Belz, Director of Booking at
Kirshbaurm Demler and Associates
“Repertoire & Career Strategies
for 21st-Century Performers”
The Del Sol String Quartet
“Transformative Marketing
for Musicians”
Clint White, President and Co-Creative
Director at WiT Media
Above: Gerald Klickstein outside the MECC
with visiting Korean students
4
Class Notes
1940
Donald Waxman (TC ’49, Harmony &
Composition) was a composer-in-residence
at the 2013 New Music Festival of the Lynn
Conservatory. Last May, his former composition student Andrew Boss won the
Delillo Award for having written the most
outstanding composition of the year. In 1948
and 1949, while studying with Elliott Carter,
Waxman won a similar award, which was
then called the Gustav Klemm Prize.
1950
Vivian Adelberg Rudow’s (TC ’57, BM ’60,
Piano; MM ’79, Composition) recent performances include: Radio broadcasts: “MooGoo-Gipan Smash!;” Marvin Rosen’s 11th
Annual “Viva 21st Century” Marathon, WPRB
103.3FM Princeton, N.J.; “NO REST TOO!;”
NACUSA Web Radio hosted by John Winsor;
and Marvin Rosen’s student class special
project live about 3 American Composers,
“Viva 21st Century - International Edition
- Part 3, Classical Discoveries,” Princeton.
Live performances included: “I Will Bless
Thee,” commission from the Maryland
State Boychoir, Stephen A. Holmes Artistic
Director, a four minute lesson in the Festival
of Nine Lessons And Carols, December 15,
21, 22 21 at the Maryland State Boychoir
Center for the Arts, Baltimore; and February
22 “Call For Peace” for flute and prepared
tape, performed by Andrea Ceccomori at
Teatroinscatola, Roma.
Barrueco Collection: “Suite Nr. 1, BWV 1007”
by J. S. Bach, originally for cello transcribed
for solo guitar. The suite is in six movements and comes with Manuel Barrueco’s
fingerings.
1980
Carolyn (Ratley) Sienkiewicz (BM ’81,
Oboe) recently had two music book reviews
published online at The Washington
Independent Review of Books, “Mussorgsky
and His Circle: A Russian Musical
Adventure” by Stephen Walsh and “Mozart:
A Life” by Paul Johnson. Senior Book
Procurement Editor for the all-volunteer
Independent, Sienkiewicz is a freelance
writer and musician, currently co-principal oboe with the American Balalaika
Symphony. As a freelance writer, she wrote
about sailing adventures and nature encounters while living aboard a sailboat for eight
years.
1960
Scott Pender’s (MM ’85, Composition)
newly-revised Solemn Overture was premiered by Victoria Gau and the Capital
City Symphony on March 23, in D.C. At the
invitation of the orchestra’s principal harpist
and Peabody Preparatory faculty Anastasia
Pike (MM ’07, Harp), a large group from the
DC Chapter of the JHU Alumni Association
attended the concert. Solemn Overture was
originally commissioned in 1990 by Peter
Bay (MM ’80, Conducting) and the Annapolis
Symphony Orchestra. Scott’s piece, Tango:
Ms. Jackson Dances for the People is on pianist
Eliane Lust’s new album Entangoed. On
January 16, Peabody bassoon students of
Phillip Kolker performed Pender’s Five
Dances in Bethesda, Md., and on February
8, a premiere of Kimchi Dreams for two
clarinets and bassoon, was performed in
Bethesda, Md.
Hal Gary (BM ’68, Music Education) has
worked for several companies over the years,
including Maryland National Bank, Bank of
America, and Baltimore Gas and Electric,
in accounting and tax compliance. In 2002,
he took Early Out from BGE and spent a few
years working in contractual accounting and
payroll. Gary recently accepted a full time
job offer from an accounting firm owned by
a French parent company.
A new book by Elisa Koehler (BM ’87,
Music Education; BM ’87, Trumpet; DMA
’96 Conducting), “Fanfares and Finesse:
A Performer’s Guide to Trumpet History
and Literature,” was released on March 7
by Indiana University Press. The book is
described as “more than just a history of
the trumpet, this essential reference book is
a comprehensive guide for musicians who
bring that musical history to life.”
1970
A review of a new CD, Medea, by Peabody
Conservatory faculty artist Manuel
Barrueco (BM ’75, Guitar) was in the
January 2014 issue of Baltimore Magazine. It
was recorded with the Tenerife Symphony
Orchestra in the Canary Islands. A Q&A with
Barrueco about the commissioned piece by
Jonathan Leshnoff (BA ’95, Anthropology;
BM ’95, MM ’97, Composition) also appeared
in that issue. This piece was performed
by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on
January 9 and 12. Tonar Music released its
first sheet music publication in the Manuel
Pianist Andrew Cooperstock (DMA ’88,
Piano) and violinist William Terwilliger,
as Opus Two, performed music from their
upcoming CD Gershwin: Music for Violin
and Piano (Azica Records) at the New
York Library for the Performing Arts on
December 28. In the spring the duo toured
Peru under the auspices of the U. S. State
Department, and last fall they made a major
tour of the Midwest for Allied Concerts with
a multimedia program of American music.
Cooperstock is chair of the piano faculties
at the University of Colorado at Boulder and
Rocky Ridge Music Center.
Peabody faculty member Larry Williams
(BM ’88, GPD ’90, French Horn) performed
the world premiere of Concerto for Horn and
Wind Band at the Northern Illinois University
School of Music on February 26. The piece,
composed specifically for Williams by NIU
faculty member Dr. Thomas Bough, will
be recorded and included on the album,
Concertos for Brass: The Music of Thomas
Bough, released in May by Summit Records.
The 2014 Fort Worth Opera Festival, running from April 19 to May 11, included the
professional premiere of With Blood, With
Ink, by composer Daniel Crozier (MM ’89,
DMA ’94, Composition) and librettist Peter
M. Krask (MM ’91, Music Criticism), with
Audrey Babcock (BM ’00, Voice) performing the role of Maria Luisa.
1990
Mark Lortz (BM ’92, Percussion; MM ’07,
Music Education, Composition), director of
the marching band at Stevenson University,
was featured in a PressBox article highlighting the program he started in 2011. Since its
beginning, the marching band has grown
from 75 to 130 students, involving about 3
percent of the school’s population (the average size of a college marching band is about
1 percent).
Holly Mulcahy (BM ’94, Music Education;
PC ’94, MM ’96, Violin) has been appointed
the concertmaster for the Chattanooga
Symphony and Opera. She performed
Dvorak No. 6 with the orchestra last
November.
Preparatory faculty member Fatma Daglar
(MM ’95, GPD ’97, Oboe) performed as soloist in several recent performances, including
John Harbison’s Oboe Concerto with Frederick
Symphony in October; Richard Strauss’ Oboe
Concerto with the Istanbul State Symphony
Orchestra in November; and Lukas Foss’
Oboe Concerto with the Piedmont Symphony
in April. Daglar also taught at University of
Maryland this semester.
A new opera, On the Threshold of
Winter, composed by Peabody Faculty
member Michael Hersch (BM ’95, MM
’97, Composition) premiered at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music on June
25th. The opera featured Peabody
alumna and faculty performer Ah
Young Hong (BM ’98, MM ’01, Voice)
and was directed by longtime (recently
retired) Peabody Opera Department
Director, Roger Brunyate.
5
Meet Peabody Institute
Dean Bronstein:
FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 8:00 PM
Perigee Hall
Seo-Cho-Dong 1451-51
Seo-Cho-Ku
Seoul, South Korea
Alumni and Student Concert with
welcome from Peabody’s new dean,
Dr. Fred Bronstein, and reception
for alumni, students, parents, and
friends of Peabody
SUNDAY, JUNE 29, 3:00 PM
Soochow University
Concert Hall
Taipei City, Taiwan
Taiwan Alumni Association Concert
with Peabody faculty member
Professor Keng-Yuen Tseng as guest
artist and reception for alumni,
students, parents, and friends
with Peabody’s new dean, Dr. Fred
Bronstein
More regional events will be
planned for the fall. Make sure to
keep your address current with the
Constituent Engagement Office to
ensure you receive invitations to
events in your area.
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie performed
the German premiere of Michael Hersch’s
(BM ’95, MM ’97, Composition) along the
ravines on March 28. His new opera, On the
Threshold of Winter, premiered on June 25 at
the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Soprano
and faculty artist Ah Young Hong (BM ’98,
MM ’01, Voice) performed the new two-hour
work for one singer with the Nunc new
music ensemble.
Kendra Preston Leonard (BM ’95, Cello)
has been named the inaugural winner of
the Society for American Music’s Judith Tick
Fellowship. Kendra recently led a workshop
entitled “Scoring Disability Narratives” at
the 17th Annual Graduate Students in Music
Conference, hosted by City University of
New York in New York City. In addition,
she was an invited speaker at the recent
George Washington University symposium “Global Shakespeare: Mapping World
Markets & Archives.” She will be the scholarin-residence for the 2014 CUNY Graduate
Students in Music conference. Leonard has
also recently been named the American
Musicological Society’s representative to the
Coalition on the Academic Workforce and
serves as a mentor through the American
Musicological Society-Society for Music
Theory’s Music and Disability Interest
Group Support Network.
Chair of Peabody’s Music Theory department David Smooke (MM ’95, Composition)
has been selected as a recipient for the
Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance inaugural Rubys Artist Project Grants. Smooke’s
project is his composition, A Baby Bigger
Grows Than Up Was, an ensemble piece for a
baritone singer, bass clarinet, trumpet and
trombone that uses an alphabetical tale by
the Baltimore writer Michael Kimball as
inspiration. The piece was performed on
March 28, by Loadbang. Also on March 28,
6
Karl Larson performed Smooke’s Transgenic
Fields, dusk at Minot State University in
North Dakota. On April 11, Smooke began
his stint as a resident composer with the
Lunar Ensemble with a concert including
Some Details of Hell. On April 23, the Peabody
Wind Ensemble presented a new version of
Smooke’s toy piano concerto Nutshell Studies
of Unexplained Death, at Peabody.
Pia Bose (MM ’01, Piano) and Antonio
Pastor Otero were recently awarded the
second prize in the 18th International Piano
Duo Competition in Tokyo, Japan. The
Bose-Pastor Duo’s upcoming engagements
include a recital organized by The Iberian
and Latin American Music Society at St.
James’s Piccadilly in London, and recitals in
Brunei, Spain, and Switzerland.
The newest recording by the Serafin String
Quartet, with Lisa Vaupel (MM ’96, Violin),
was named one of the Top 10 Classical
Albums of 2013 by Philadelphia’s City Paper.
The disc, released by Naxos in July 2013, is
referred to as an “excellently performed
selection of early works by Philly’s own
Jennifer Higdon.”
In November 2013, Judah Adashi (MM ’02,
DMA ’11, Composition) gave the premiere of
his Inner City for piano and pre-recorded
audio; the work was commissioned by and
performed at the Walters Art Museum in
Baltimore. In April 2014, Lavena Johanson
(MM ‘13) premiered Judah’s my heart comes
undone for cello and looping pedal. This
August, Judah will be in residence at the
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, working on a large-scale choral commission featuring Washington, D.C.’s Cantate Chamber
Singers and Howard University’s Afro Blue.
The Poulenc Trio: Bryan Young (BM ’96,
Bassoon), bassoon; Preparatory faculty Irina
Kaplan Lande, piano; and Vladimir Lande,
oboe, won recent praise in the Washington
Post for an “urbane, agile and consistently
beautiful” concert at the National Gallery of
Art in Washington, D.C. The concert featured a multimedia work by Laura Kaminsky
and a guest appearance by violinist Anton
Lande (BM ’12, Violin).
Alexandra Gardner (MM ’97,
Composition), David Smooke (MM ’95,
Composition), Jacqueline Pollauf (BM
’06, Harp; MM ’07, Harp Pedagogy), Jennifer
Blades (MM ’97, GPD ’98, Voice), Megan
Ihnen (MM ’09, Voice), and Meng Su (PC
’09, GPD ’11, Guitar) were all recipients of
Maryland State Arts Council Individual
Grants this year.
Julian Gargiulo (MM ’97, Piano) presented
a concert at Carnegie Hall in N.Y. on January
12. The concert included the world premiere of Gargiulo’s Lost Sonata for Piano and
Trumpet with Conservatory faculty artist Joe
Burgstaller and the Flight of the iPhone for
solo piano. He performed in the 9th Water
Island Music Festival January 17–19, and two
charity concerts in Singapore, supporting
childhood education in December.
Dontae Winslow’s (BM ’97, MM ’99,
Trumpet) new CD, Enter the Dynasty, received
a positive review in JazzTimes. “Intimate and
accessible. Innovative, yet infused with tradition. This album invites multiple listens and
offers rich delight.” He performed with his
jazz band in New York City to premiere the
CD at The Iridium on February 18.
Washington Garcia (MM ’98, DMA ’03,
Piano) performed on three international
tours this year, two in China and one in
Italy. Garcia was the only Western artist to perform at the 2013 Arts Festival in
Xishuangbanna, China, for 3,000 people.
In Italy he was on the faculty of the
InterHarmony International Music Festival
and he served as a jury member in the final
round of the World Pianist Invitational held
at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C,
this summer.
2000
Daniel Trahey (BM ’00, Tuba, Music
Education) was a presenter at the 2014
Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Take A Stand
Symposium, held February 20-22.
A new orchestral piece by Angel Lam (MM
’03, DMA ’11, Composition; MM ’05, Music
Theory), Memories from My Previous Lives,
was premiered by Northwest Symphony in
Chicago on January 26. Her Color of the Mind
received its premiere on November 16. The
film and music are inspired by her original
story about a young girl seeking impressionist painting lessons from a painter. The piece
will go on to tour in the United States and
elsewhere, including Australia. Angel’s Empty
Mountain, Spirit Rain was performed on tour
with the Silk Road Ensemble and Yo-Yo Ma
again, celebrating their 15th Anniversary.
An article in the Baltimore Brew, “OrchKids
reap the rewards of practice, practice, practice,” spotlights instructor Russell Kirk
(BM ’05, Jazz Saxophone).
Soprano Natalie Conte (MM ’06, Voice)
and mezzo-soprano Kate Jackman (MM ’11,
Voice) made their Carnegie Hall debut on
January 13, with The Song Continues: Marilyn
Horne Master Class as part of Marilyn
Horne’s The Song Continues Festival.
On March 30, countertenor Peter Lee (BM
’06, MM ’08, Voice) and faculty artist Ah
Young Hong (BM ’98, MM ’01, Voice) performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Charm
City Baroque at Second Presbyterian Church
in Baltimore.
Peabody alumni, faculty, and students are
involved in Musicians of Mercy, an organization which presents concerts to raise
funds for various causes. Alumna Robin Fay
Massie-Pighee (GPD ’06, Viola), the organization’s founder, is featured in the video
about the group at abc2news.com.
Musicology faculty member Douglas
Buchanan (MM ’08, Composition, Music
Theory Pedagogy; DMA ’13, Composition)
will teach a course, “Music and Mythic
Meaning,” based on his doctoral thesis at
the Chautauqua Institute this summer. He
was a presenter at the Joint Conference held
by the Mid-Atlantic and Southern Chapters
of the College Music Society, in February
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
His presentation was titled, “Bach and the
Breath of God: Pentecostal Rhetoric in the
Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532.”
Ilya Dobrovitsky (BM ’08, Violin) was the
concertmaster for a USA-Japan Goodwill
concert with the New York Festival Orchestra
that was held on December 26, at the Isaac
Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall.
Soprano Annie Gill (GPD ’08, Voice)
appears as an opera singer in the season two
finale of House of Cards, currently available for streaming on Netflix. Annie and
tenor CURTIS BANNISTER (GPD ’10, Voice)
were among the ten finalists in the Rising
Star Emerging Performing Artist Award in
Howard County, Md.
Aaron Grad (MM ’08, Composition) performed at the Strathmore Mansion in
Bethesda, Md. on May 15. The concert
entitled “Old Fashioned Love Songs” featured countertenor Gus Mercante and Aaron
playing an electric theorbo, which Aaron
designed and built from scratch himself.
Aaron also performed in New York City on
May 11, and will perform in Seattle, Wash.,
on June 21.
Michael Summa (BM ’08, Composition)
won his second Guild of Temple Musician’s
Young Composer’s Award. This year, he
won for Hallel for Children’s and Adult Choir.
This is the 4th year in a row that a member
of the Peabody community has won the
Young Composer’s Award: Russell Nadel
(BM ’05, MM ’06, Composition) won in 2011;
Joshua Fishbein, who studied piano at the
Preparatory with Carol Prochazka, in 2012;
and Michael in 2013 and 2014.
Noble Jolley (BM ’09, Jazz Piano) was
named this year’s Best Pianist by the
Washington City Paper in The Jazzies: D.C.’s
Best Jazz in 2013.
2010
Amy Beth Kirsten (DMA ’10, Composition)
received The ASCAP Foundation’s 2013
Leonard Bernstein award on December
11. She was presented the award by Jamie
Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein’s daughter.
Christine Pulliam (MM ’10, Vocal
Accompanying) was the musical director
for Dramma per Musica’s new staging of
Handel’s Giulio Cesare—Julius Caesar: A Game
of Thrones. The performances took place at
the 133rd St. Arts Center in New York City.
On March 21, baritone Nathan Wyatt (BM
’10, MM ’12, Voice) performed the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Pleasure Ground with
the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as part
of the MusicNOW Festival.
Chelsea Buyalos (BM ’11, MM ’12 Voice) sang
the National Anthem at Camden Yards for
the Baltimore Orioles vs. the Seattle Mariners
game on Saturday, August 3. There were 35,231
people in attendance at the game.
William Davenport, tenor (BM ’11,
Voice), former student of Stanley Cornett,
won the Bel Canto Prize in the Opera
Orchestra of New York Agnes Varis Vocal
Competition. William is currently completing his third year at the Academy of Vocal
Arts in Philadelphia and is on the roster of
Encompass Arts Management.
La Bella e Bellicosa, a concert of Italian
Baroque music, was performed by Nola
Richardson (MM ’11, Voice), soprano;
Joseph Gascho (MM ’01, Harpsichord),
harpsichord; Amy Domingues (MM ’12,
Early Music), Baroque cello; John Armato
(BM ’06, Guitar; MM ’08, Lute), theorbo; and
Josh Cohen, Baroque trumpet on April 25,
at Grace & St. Peter’s Church, Baltimore and
April 27, at Church of the Ascension and
St. Agnes, Washington, D.C. Nola has been
accepted into both Yale University’s Institute
of Sacred Music and the School of Music’s
doctoral program.
A choral work of Jake Runestad (MM ’11,
Composition), Nyon Nyon, was performed by
the National Youth Choir at Carnegie Hall
on March 30. The piece was also performed
on April 6 by the Mt. San Antonio College
Chamber Singers. At the ACDA Western
Division conference on February 21, Brady
Allred and the Salt Lake Vocal Artists gave
the world premiere of Jake’s Alleluia, a work
they commissioned especially for this conference performance. He was also recently
featured on Minnesota Public Radio’s
“Composer Spotlight” series as a part of
their Classical Notes blog.
Contralto Diana Cantrelle (MM ’12, Voice,
Pedagogy) sang the role of Dame Quickly
in a concert version of Verdi’s Falstaff on
May 11 in NYC. She sang the role of Baba
(Madame Flora) in Menotti’s The Medium
with Lincoln Opera Players at Lincoln
University from March 13-16 and made
her debut with Opera Seabrook in January
singing the role of The Mother in Menotti’s
Amahl & the Night Visitors.
John Belkot (MM ’12, Composition), Joshua
Bornfield (MM ’13, Composition), and
Scott Lee (MM ’13, Composition) were three
of the four composers to receive Baltimore
Classical Guitar Society Composition
Commission Awards in celebration of the
BCGS’s 25th anniversary. The composers worked in close collaboration with the
Baltimore guitarist(s) selected to perform
the works in a concert on March 9.
Joseph Buono (BM ’13, Bass Trombone)
was the winner of the Eastern Trombone
Workshop’s National Trombone
Composition Competition. His piece,
Fantasy for solo trombone and trombone octet, was premiered at the Eastern
Trombone Workshop, March 19-22 in Fort
Myer, Va. In 2012, he won his division of the
Eastern Trombone Workshop National Solo
Competition, making him the first to win
both composition and performance competitions at the ETW.
Uncle Alex, a 20-minute opera composed by
Joshua Bornfield (MM ’13, Composition)
and librettist Caitlin Vincent (MM ’09,
Voice), was one of three pieces performed
as part of the Washington National Opera’s
American Opera Initiative program at the
Kennedy Center.
Mary Trotter (MM’13, Vocal Accompanying)
accompanied Metropolitan Opera baritone
Aaron St. Claire Nicholson, the new artistic director of Opera Coeur d’Alene, for a
series of fundraising concerts in November
and January, and will serve as Opera Coeur
d’Alene’s pianist for their summer cruise
series and for their September production
of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West. Trotter is
the recipient of a full tuition scholarship for
the SongFest summer vocal program at the
Colburn School in California this summer.
In Memoriam:
Christopher Lobingier
Christopher Lobingier, longtime, beloved member of the Peabody community, passed away
on April 9. Christopher grew up in the greater Pittsburgh area. He attended Carnegie Mellon
University, studying composition with Carlos Surinach and Nikolai Lopatnikoff. After earning a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1968, he studied music and composition with Mlle. Nadia Boulanger in
Paris. He returned to Baltimore in 1970, and enrolled in the Peabody Conservatory in 1973, studying music composition with Robert Hall Lewis through 1975.
In July 1978, he was hired as Peabody’s Record Librarian and remained at Peabody until his
retirement this past June 2013. Over those 35 years, Chris built and cataloged a collection of over
40,000 LPs, CDs, and DVDs.
In 1977, Chris composed the soundtrack to Desperate Living, a film by John Waters. In 1995, he
was commissioned to compose a work for the annual convention of the International Trumpet
Guild in Bangkok, Thailand, resulting in a world premiere. Chris’s music has also been performed at other locations in Thailand, in Paris (Notre Dame), Prague, Los Angeles, Washington,
and Baltimore, and at universities in Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.
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Please send your news, comments, ideas,
suggestions, and questions to:
PeabodyAlumni Office
1 East Mount Vernon Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-234-4673; fax: 410-783-8576
[email protected].
All Peabody alumni are also alumni
of The Johns Hopkins University.
Be sure to take advantage of this affiliation by
visiting www.alumni.jhu.edu.
SAVE THE DATE!
Peabody Alumni
Homecoming/Reunion
Activities
Friday, April 24 – Saturday, April 25
The Peabody Conservatory
Come back to campus and surround yourself with the musical activities of Peabody—sit in on a class or rehearsal, attend a recital or two,
hear the Peabody Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Fleisher and
catch up with Peabody folks from all eras. We’re still in the planning
stages, so send in your ideas!
Email: [email protected]
PEABODY OPUS 1
TACEA 2014 & Taiwan Chapter,
Society of Peabody Alumni Concert
Sunday, June 29, 2014, 3:00 pm
Soochow University
Concert Hall
Taipei City, Taiwan
The Taiwan Alumni Chapter will present the first Alumni concert, Peabody
Opus 1, at Soochow University. The new dean, Dr. Fred Bronstein, will
come from Baltimore for this very special event. This is a great chance to
meet with a lot of alumni and Peabody families in Taiwan.
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