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FEATURED NEWS
Elaine Alvarez (BM ’02
/ MM ’04) recently sang for Maestro Ricardo Muti, who
then engaged her to be soloist in the Rossini Stabat Mater
for a tour this summer of Italy, Greece, and Spain. Elaine’s
unexpected debut last year with Chicago Lyric brought reviews
such as: "Luminous" (Chicago
Sun-Times), "Conveying lyric pathos seems to come
as naturally to Alvarez as breathing” (Chicago Tribune),
and “Elaine Alvarez rendered Mimì with an ample,
buffed-bronze soprano. . . she displayed a lissome, floated
top. . . Her portrayal was, moreover, compellingly characterized,
subtly naturalistic and fully drawn . . . an intelligent,
musically satisfying performance” (Opera News).
[posted 3/25/08]
The June 2007 issue of Downbeat
magazine included many mentions of alumni in a variety of
articles, awards, ads, and interviews. Some of those include:
Stefon Harris (BM ’95 / MM ’97),
D.D. Jackson (MM ’91), Jane
Monheit (BM ’99), Liam Sillery
(MM ’04), Chris Potter (MM ’92),
Jason Moran (undergraduate studies ’95–’97),
and Scott DuBois (BM ’00 / MM ’02).
A feature entitled “25 Trumpeters to Watch” included
Ambrose Akinmusire (BM ’05),
Taylor Haskins (MM ’96), and Philip
Dizack (BM ’07). We also salute the recent
grads from the Jazz Arts Program, of whom five were winners
in Downbeat’s annual competition: Josh
Paris (MM ’07), Remy Le Boeuf
(BM ’07), Pascal Le Boeuf (BM ’07),
Lars Dietrich (MM ’07), and
Donald Vega (MM ’07).
The July 2007 issue of Opera News
might have well been named the “Manhattan School of
Music Issue” for all the connections. Dolora
Zajick (MM ’83 / honorary doctorate ’02)
and Elizabeth Batton (graduate studies ’95–’98)
were joined by current student Krysty Swann for a cover story
entitled Alumni Report, offering a “multi-generational
perspective of a student singer’s life at Manhattan
School of Music.” Dawn Upshaw (MM ’85)
and Elaine Alvarez (BM ’02 / MM ’04)
were given much ink in the On the Beat section, and
Dolora Zajick (again), Georgia Jarman
(MM ’99), Susan Graham (MM ’87),
and Lauren Flanigan (graduate studies ’81–’84)
were quoted in Surviving Bad Advice.
MSM alumni dominated the 2007 Thelonious
Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. The winner of
the 2007 competition and a $20,000 scholarship was Ambrose
Akinmusire (BM '05) with second place going to Jean
Caze (BM '04), who received a $10,000 scholarship.
Other semifinalists included Philip Dizack
’07, Josh Evans ’07, Nadje
Noordhuis ’05, and Charles Porter
’03. The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition
is regarded as the most prestigious jazz competition in the
world. The panel of judges included Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert,
Terence Blanchard, Hugh Masekela (undergrad
studies, '60–’64), Clark Terry, and Roy Hargrove.
Three contestants were selected from a group of ten outstanding
young jazz trumpet players (six of whom are MSM alumni) following
the semifinals of the competition, which were held on October
27 on the UCLA campus. In addition, the famous Kodak Theatre
in Los Angeles held its first major jazz concert ever on October
29, as celebrities, entertainment executives, business leaders,
and musicians converged onstage to pay tribute to one of the
greatest jazz musicians of all time, legendary music icon
and 10-time GRAMMY® winner Herbie Hancock
(special studies '61). Furthermore, the Thelonious Monk Institute
of Jazz established the Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award,
which will be given each year to a person who has used their
passion and influence for the greater good of society and
mankind. Producer and friend Quincy Jones presented Hancock
with the inaugural award saying, “Over the course of
his career Herbie Hancock has not only changed the world of
music, he has used music to change the world.” |
Welcome to our Alumni News Highlights page, consisting of recent
activities and accomplishments of our former students in the college
division, submitted in the past few months. (To read archived news
items, dating back to 2004, click
here.) The information on these pages has been submitted directly
to us by individual alumni and/or their publicity representatives.
These listings are organized under the last year each alumnus/na
attended the School and shows the degree program(s) in which they
were enrolled. There is also a section honoring the memory of those
alumni and faculty who have passed away in the last few years.
1950s | 1960s
| 1970s | 1980s | 1990s
| 2000s
In Memoriam
Class
Notes Archive (2004 – 2006)
Send us news: Alumni should submit
and share their Class Notes with other alumni through our new Online
Alumni Community; register now by clicking
here.
[Latest updates posted on this page: March 25, 2008]
1940s
Ludmila Ulehla (BM ’47 / MM ’48) has
had two chamber works published by TrevCo Music, Unrolling a
Chinese Scroll for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon, and Wild
Geese for Viola and Bassoon. [posted 3/25/08]
1950s
John Cannon (BM ’52) has had the premiere
of his orchestral tribute to Christopher Reeve, entitled Dauntless
Knight, given by the Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by
Precollege faculty member James Sadewhite. [posted 12/1/07]
Joseph Wilder (BM ’53), pictured, was named
a 2008 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, an honor awarded
to “living legends, those who have made exceptional contributions
to the advancement of jazz.” [posted 3/25/08]
Nancy Bloomer Deussen (BM ’53 / MM ’56)
has had many of her works performed this season, including American
Hymn and Regalos (Hilo Symphony Orchestra in Hawaii);
Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano (American Chamber Ensemble in
Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and the International Alliance
of Women in Music conference in Bejing); and A Silver, Shining
Strand and Regalos (Winchester Symphony Orchestra
in California). [posted 3/25/08]
Kenneth Lane (undergraduate studies, ’51–54)
performed his concert, entitled "Heroes," at the New Life
Expo this spring at the New Yorker Hotel. [posted 3/25/08]
Lynn Strongin (undergraduate studies, ’56–59)
is an American poet who now lives and writes in Victoria, British
Columbia. Her poetry has most recently been published in Artlife,
IRIS, and the Italian publication Storie. [posted
3/25/08]
Frances Walker-Slocum (undergraduate studies,
piano) has authored an autobiography entitled A Miraculous Journey,
recently published through Author House. Ms. Walker Slocum tells
the story of “how one Black woman survived a fire in early
childhood managing to stay alive and rise to the top of her profession
[as a concert pianist and professor at Oberlin Conservatory] despite
insurmountable physical odds.” [posted on 12/5/2006]
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1960s
Michael Abene (undergraduate studies, ’59–61)
has joined with colleague and fellow alumnus Richard Sussman to
co-author a textbook, Jazz Composing and Arranging in the Digital
Age, to be released by Oxford Press in 2009. The book combines
traditional techniques of writing for small and large jazz ensembles
with computer-based compositional tools such as notation and sequencing
software; there will be a companion website with audio and software
examples. [posted 3/25/08]
Adolphus Hailstork (BM ’65 / MM ’66)
has had his Symphonies nos. 2 and 3 released on the Naxos label,
performed by the Grand Rapids Symphony. Hailstork is artist-in-residence
at Old Dominion University in Virginia. [posted 12/1/07]
Rupert Holmes (undergraduate studies 66–67)
wrote the book and contributed lyrics for Curtains, the
John Kander and Fred Ebb musical, which is playing on Broadway.
[posted 12/1/07]
Patricia Guthrie (BM ’66 / MM ’69)
has had her first novel, a romantic suspense, In the Arms of
the Enemy, released by Light Sword Publishing. Her next work,
Water Lilies Over My Grave is scheduled for publication this
year. [posted 3/25/08]
Joseph Rescigno (MM ’69) has recently celebrated
his 25th year as artistic advisor and principal conductor of the
Florentine Opera Company in Milwaukee. He conducted Carmen
at New York City Opera in October and November. [posted 12/1/07]
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1970s
Anthony Scelba (BM ’70 / MM ’71) is
a professor and music department chair at Kean University in New
Jersey; he is also director of its concert artist program, which
he founded and where he frequently performs. [posted 12/1/07]
Charlotte Miller Sylvia (MM ’71) has been
winning composition prizes in the New Haven area; she also performed
her songs at Connecticut’s Festival of Arts and Ideas this
past summer. [posted 3/25/08]
Michael Feves (BM ’73 / MM ’74) has
recently co-authored and published A Cellist’s Companion:
A Comprehensive Catalogue of Cello Literature, the first of
this scope. [posted 3/25/08]
Michael Philip Davis (MM ’76) has recently
been seen on public television in The Classic Kurt Weill and
American Jewish Composers in Classical Song, as well as in
a Kurt Weill concert in San Francisco and Anton Coppola’s
opera Sacco and Vanzetti in Tampa. He is resident stage
director of the California Opera Association and made an acclaimed
directing debut at Virginia’s TodiMusicFest with The Tragedy
of Carmen. [posted 12/1/07]
George Manahan (BM ’73 / MM ’76) conducted
several productions at New York City Opera this season as their
music director, including Richard Danielpour’s Margaret
Garner, which the New York Times described as “a
supple, shimmering and, during the frequent bursts of propulsive
music, articulate performance.” [posted 3/25/08]
Mercedes Alicea (MM ’77) organized a touching
memorial last November at Columbia University’s St. Paul’s
Chapel for former faculty member Rose Bampton, attended by several
alumni. [posted 3/25/08]
Judith Blazer (BM ’77) appeared in the Broadway
production of LoveMusik for a limited engagement at the
Biltmore Theater this summer. [posted 12/1/07]
Elliot Goldenthal (BM ’77 / MM ’79)
has composed the score and arranged some 33 Beatles songs for the
current Sony Pictures release Across the Universe, a film
by Julie Taymor. [posted 12/1/07]
Robert Bonfiglio (MM ’79) performed his
debut as harmonica soloist this last season with the Pittsburgh
Symphony, National Symphony at Kennedy Center, Orchestre Symphonique
de Quebec, Orquesta Sinfonica de Principado de Asturias, and the
Bochumer Symphoniker. [posted 3/25/08]
Barbara Curialle Gerr (BM '78 / graduate studies,
piano) is delighted to announce that she has begun the three-year
teacher certification program at the American Center for the Alexander
Technique in New York City. [posted on 1/24/07]
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1980s
Fred Bronstein (MM ’82) has taken over as
President and CEO of the St. Louis Symphony, having led the Dallas
Symphony for the past five years. [posted 3/25/08]
Fung Ho (MM ’82) is currently serving as
Music Director and Conductor of the Olympia Philharmonic and Olympia
Youth Orchestras in San Gabriel, California. [posted 3/25/08]
Isabella Eredita-Johnson (BM ’81 / MM ’82)
is the director of a successful series in Northport, Long Island,
called “Opera Night,” which presents up-and-coming vocalists
and promotes the art of singing. [posted 3/25/08]
Jinny (Hwei Jin) Liu (MM ’82) is chair of
the music department at Taipei National University of the Arts and
principal flutist of the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra. [posted
12/1/07]
Dr. Lynne Aspnes (DMA ’83) has been appointed
associate dean and professor of harp at the College of the Arts
at Arizona State University, in a new position created for her.
[posted 12/1/07]
Paul Brantley (BM ’83) has had several compositions
premiered recently: the Goliard Ensemble premiered Looks of
Love on tour; Brantley premiered One Door for solo
cello in NYC; soprano Amy Blake Synatzske premiered Divan
in France; the Left Bank Ensemble premiered Mandorla for
two cellos at the Kennedy Center; the experimental group Ethel premiered
Divers at Joe’s Pub and the Winter Garden in NYC; baritone
Alexander Hurd premiered Rilke Sonnets on the Concerts
in the Heights series; the Excelsior Brass Ensemble premiered Service
Music at St. Bartholomew’s in NYC; and the MSM Symphony
gave the NYC premiere of Brantley’s On the Pulse of Morning,
a setting of Maya Angelou’s inaugural poem conducted by Kenneth
Kiesler. [posted 12/1/07]
Neil Semer (BM ’83) is teaching singing
in New York, Toronto, Paris, Berlin, Dresden, Cologne, and Frankfurt.
His Summer Vocal Institute in Germany is in its twelfth year and
his students are singing in major houses around the world. [posted
3/25/08]
Dolora Zajick (MM ’83 / honorary doctorate
’02) recently sang Amneris in Houston Grand Opera’s
production of Aïda and appeared in the title role
for Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans with the Collegiate
Chorale and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall.
[posted 12/1/07]
Lauren Flanigan (graduate studies ’81–’84)
added a seventh world premiere opera to her repertoire in June when
she took on the title role in Fort Worth Opera’s production
of Frau Margot, an opera by Thomas Pasatieri. [posted 12/1/07]
Saul Davis Zlatkovsky (MM ’84) is founder
and artistic director of Performing Arts Traditions, which produced
the Harp Music Festival of Philadelphia this May, honoring the centenary
of esteemed former MSM harp faculty member, the late Lucile Lawrence.
[posted 12/1/07]
Dawn Upshaw (MM ’85), pictured, has been
awarded a $500,000 grant by the MacArthur Foundation for “breaking
down stylistic barriers and forging a new model of a performer who
is directly involved in the creation of contemporary music.”
[posted 3/25/08]
Richard Sussman (MM ’85) has joined with
colleague and fellow alumnus Michael Abene to co-author a textbook
on Jazz Composing and Arranging in the Digital Age, to
be released by Oxford Press in 2009. The book combines traditional
techniques of writing for small and large jazz ensembles with computer-based
compositional tools such as notation and sequencing software; there
will be a companion website with audio and software examples. [posted
3/25/08]
Emmy Chen (MM ’86) teaches piano at Shih
Chien University and Taipei National University in her home country
of Taiwan. [posted 3/25/08]
Valentin Schiedermair (BM ’85 / MM ’86)
was appointed Visiting Professor of Piano at Shenzhen University
in China and has toured parts of Asia performing and giving master
classes. [posted 3/25/08]
George Robert (MM ’87) has been appointed
director of Lausanne Conservatory’s new jazz department, after
leading the Swiss Jazz School in Berne for 11 years. He is also
continuing to lead an international performing career and has been
signed to Blue Note Records. [posted 12/1/07]
Dmitry Rachmanov (DMA ’89) has joined the
music faculty of California State University–Northridge and
been appointed chair of the piano department. [posted 3/25/08]
Robert Auld (BM ’89) is a freelance audio
engineer whose work is frequently heard on National Public Radio.
A specialist in audio restoration, he was presenter of historical
programs at the 2007 Audio Engineering Society convention. [posted
3/25/08]
Gennady Filimonov (BM' 84 / MM '85, violin) is
a member of the Seattle Symphony and is first violinist of odeonquartet.
"This young, vibrant group has made a Kronos-like commitment
to a 20th century music all over the artistic map," (Seattle
Weekly) and recently opened the Earshot Jazz Festival along with
Wayne Horvitz and jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. The ensemble was
recently featured on Chamber Music America's website. [posted 1/24/07]
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1990s
Shuler Hensley (BM '90), pictured with co-star
Roger Bart, is currently starring as "The Monster" in
Mel Brooks' new musical,Young Frankenstein, on Broadway.
Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote: “the production
does offer confirmation of the distinctive, very different talents
of Sutton Foster, Shuler Hensley and Andrea Martin. And Shuler Hensley
(Judd in the most recent Broadway revival of “Oklahoma!”)
is terrific, turning Frankenstein’s monster into the most
human character onstage… what really makes it fly is Mr. Hensley’s
evocation of the monster’s pleasure in what he’s doing.
This big galoot of a mannequin is being seduced by the singular
joys of musical comedy and loving it. For the first and only time
in the show, so are we.” [posted 03/25/08]
Thomas Michael Allen (MM ’91) recently appeared
on European TV singing with Cecilia Bartoli at the Zurich Opera
in Handel’s Semele conducted by William Christie.
Other appearances last season included performances with the Chicago
Symphony, National Symphony (Washington D.C.), Opera Monte Carlo,
and Netherlands Opera. He can be heard in a recent Virgin/EMI release
of Purcell’s Divine Hymns with William Christie and
Les Arts Florissants. [posted 3/25/08]
Pierre Charvet (graduate studies, ’89–’91)
has created a new television show in France about classical music.
He writes and hosts Presto!, a weekly, primetime show with
millions of viewers. [posted 3/25/08]
Kimilee Brant (MM ’92), pictured, appeared
as Princess Ida in January as the New York Gilbert &
Sullivan Players opened its 2008 season at City Center. Anthony
Tommasini of the New York Times wrote: “Kimilee Bryant
brought a plush soprano voice and lovely presence to the title role.”
March has Kimilee singing The Phantom of the Opera’s
Carlotta in Texas, California, and Canada. [posted 3/25/08]
Victor Kioulaphides (DMA ’92) had his Canzona
premiered in Madison, Wisconsin, by mandolinist Carlo Aonzo and
guitarist René Izquiero, on their tour of the Midwest; the
final performance of this tour featured the New York premiere at
BargeMusic in March. [posted 1/24/07]
Erika Sunnegardh (BM ’92) sang the final
scene of Richard Strauss’ Salome this season with
the Swedish Radio Symphony, Myung Whun Chung conducting, followed
by her first staged Salome at the Florentine Opera. She
also appeared at the 2008 Salzburg Easter Festival in a production
of Wagner’s Die Walküre conducted by Sir Simon
Rattle. [posted 3/25/08]
Barron Coleman (MM ’93) organized a benefit
gala concert at Manhattan Center, hosted by actress Lynn Whitfield,
for Opera Noire of New York, which he co-founded. [posted 3/25/08]
Deborah Loach (BM ’93) recently won a percussion
position with the Mobile Symphony in Alabama. [posted 3/25/08]
Richard Graber (MM ’93) has recently won
a position with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra as assistant principal
percussion. [posted 3/25/08]
Ruth Ellis (BM ’91 / MM ’93) has recently
sung in New York, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, as she tours with
fellow alumnus Scott Holden in a program called “Sing a New
Song.” Based in Utah, Ruth has founded the Ruth Ellis Vocal
Academy, where she teaches private lessons, master classes, and
three children’s choirs. [posted 3/25/08]
Susan Deaver (BM ’75 / MM ’76 / DMA
’94) was the conducting coach, with on-screen credit, for
actor Freddie Highmore in the film August Rush. [posted
1/24/07]
Brian Register (MM ’94) has been added to
the roster of the Emerging Artists Program sponsored by the Wagner
Society of Washington, D.C., who will sponsor him in learning and
performing the works of Richard Wagner under the personal tutelage
of Evelyn Lear. [posted 3/25/08]
Gail Archer (DMA ’95) received the following
review by the New York Times in January: “While it
may seem rash to make the claim so soon, a survey of Messiaen’s
organ music performed by Gail Archer is sure to be among the year’s
highlights, to judge by the initial installment... Ms. Archer’s
well-paced interpretation had a compelling authority. She played
with a bracing physicality in the work’s more driven passages
and endowed humbler ruminations with a sense of vulnerability and
awe.” [posted 3/25/08]
Kristjan Järvi (BM ’95) inaugurated
the Grafenegg Music Festival in Austria last summer as conductor
of the Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich in a concert
that featured soprano Renée Fleming. Larry L. Lash of MusicalAmerica.com
wrote: “The Tonkünstler, the orchestra-in-residence,
enjoy the leadership of Järvi, who can be credited with collaborating
with Fleming on the adventurous opening program (broadcast live
over ORF)…Järvi and his home band could not have selected
better vehicles to demonstrate their versatility.” [posted
3/25/08]
Robert Selvaggio (MM ’95) recently had his
new CD, Unspoken Dialogue, released by Playscape Recordings,
of which Downbeat magazine wrote, “the arrangements
make the difference… music that’s thoughtful, slyly
subversive.” [posted 3/25/08]
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch (MM ’96), pictured,
is CEO and founder of MUSICJUSTMUSIC™,
a worldwide aggregator and digital distributor with offices in New
York and Munich, which allows their artists to sell digital audio
content on over 350 online and mobile music sites in 58 countries.
As a Steinway Artist, he appeared in a solo concert of original,
improvised works at New York’s Steinway Hall in November of
2007. [posted 3/25/08]
Greg Wramage (BM ’94 / MM ’96) was
awarded the American Opera Project’s Mark Adamo Chair in Composition,
which will allow him to work with Adamo on works to be premiered
by AOP. [posted 1/24/07]
Salvatore Di Vittorio (BM ’97) is founder
and conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, which had its
debut at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in October. He has also
joined the Manhattan School of Music Alumni Council. [posted 1/24/07]
Jason Moran (undergraduate studies ’95–97)
was named a United States Artists Fellow in a program to “nurture,
support, and strengthen the work of America’s finest living
artists.” Moran premiered his latest work IN MY MIND:
Monk at Town Hall 1959 in October, a multimedia performance
co-commissioned by Duke University, the San Francisco Jazz Festival,
Chicago Symphony Hall, and the Washington Performing Arts Society.
In a review of recent performances at the Village Vanguard, the
New York Sun called him “one of the Big Boys,”
“a major pianist,” and “brilliant.” [posted
3/25/08]
Misha Piatigorsky (MM ’97) has released
a new CD entitled Uncommon Circumstance. He appears as pianist and
musical director for singer Mark Murphy and can be heard on the
major motion picture soundtracks of four releases: Chaos Theory,
Pretty Persuasion, RX, and Danika. [posted
1/24/07]
Paul Beck (BM ’98) has begun his sixth year
as assistant librarian of the Metropolitan Opera. He has also joined
the Manhattan School of Music Alumni Council. [posted 1/24/07]
Frances Duffy (MM ’98) is principal harp
of the area orchestras of Wheeling, Allentown, Hudson Valley, and
Altoona. [posted 1/24/07]
Angelo Favis (DMA ’98) has had his second
CD, Philippine Treasures, Volume 2, released on the VGO
label. He has also recently received tenure at Illinois State University.
[posted 3/25/08]
Justin Hines (MM ’98) was appointed mentor/teacher
for the Academy, a new program of Carnegie Hall, Juilliard, and
the Weill Music Institute; he is also both principal percussionist
and education consultant for the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas.
[posted 1/24/07]
Brandon Jovanovich (graduate studies ’97–’98)
was announced recipient of the 2007 Richard Tucker Award. [posted
1/24/07]
Jane Monheit (BM ’99) has released her seventh
album, entitled Surrender, her first on the Concord Music
Group label. [posted 1/24/07]
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2000s
Matthew Burns (MM ’00) has returned
for a fifth season to New York City Opera, where he sang Masetto
in Don Giovanni. Other season highlights include Martín
y Soler’s Una Cosa Rara at Opera Theatre of Saint
Louis; Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Grand Rapids,
Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Orchestra, Colline in La Bohème at Boston Lyric
Opera, and his Dayton Opera debut as Don Basilio in Il barbiere
di Siviglia. [posted 3/25/08]
Kirill Gerstein (BM ’99 / MM
’00) appeared as piano soloist with the Houston Symphony in
September, performing Liszt’s Totentanz and Rachmaninoff’s
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. [posted 1/24/07]
Aaron McDonald (MM ’00) has
been appointed principal timpanist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
[posted 1/24/07]
Simon O’Neill (MM ’00) made his Metropolitan
Opera debut this season as Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walkure,
having first sung the role in the new Ring Cycle at the Royal Opera
House, Covent Garden. Reviews describe him as “the star,”
“an exemplary Siegmund,” “a towering presence,”
“a turbo-charged tenor.” [posted 3/25/08]
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Viviane Hagner (Postgraduate Diploma ’00),
pictured, made her New York Philharmonic debut in January, performing
the Mendelssohn Concerto under the baton of Maestro Maazel; the
New York Times called it “a winning performance”
and said she “brought an appealing flexibility to the solo
line, as well as focused intonation and a sound that was consistently
large and projected well without seeming weighty or excessively
sugared. Her reading of the Andante was a picture of melting beauty,
and in the fast outer movements she played with the kind of virtuosity
that makes things sound easier than they are.” She was featured,
before her debut, in a New York Times article, where Allan
Kozinn wrote: “she has the goods: confident phrasing, rhythmic
precision, a flexible and sometimes appealingly earthy tone, all
the speed you could want and the maturity to use it expressively.”
[posted 3/25/08]
Sungji Kim (PS ’01) won second prize in
the 2008 Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition in Maryland; first prize
at the 2007 Paul Robeson Vocal Competition in Washington, D.C.;
and second prize at the 2007 Little Italy Soprano Competition in
New York. [posted 3/25/08]
Rolando Garza Rodriguez (MM ’01) was selected
for Mexico’s National Youth Award, the highest that the government
gives to an outstanding young citizen. His recent projects include
the Basel Opera Theater (assistant music director), Atelier of the
Opera National du Rhin (assistant conductor), the Schwetzinger Festspiele
in Germany, the Acanthes Festival in Belgium, and his recent conducting
debut with
Le nozze di Figaro in Bourgas, Bulgaria. [posted 1/24/07]
Stephen Slater (BM ’01) has recently been
offered a position in the horn section of the Jerusalem Symphony.
He worked as a performer/teaching artist with the ensemble Tales
& Scales, putting on performances combining music, theater,
and dance for family audiences and giving over 200 performances
while traveling
the United States. [posted 1/24/07]
Nancy Chang (BM ’00 / MM ’02) has
been appointed to the violin section of the Florida Philharmonic.
[posted 1/24/07]
Rafal Jezierski (BM ’02) has been appointed
by Maestro Loren Maazel to the post of principal cellist with the
Palau De Les Arts Reina Sofia Orchestra in Valencia, Spain. [posted
1/24/07]
Jennifer O’Loughlin (MM ’02) made
her Salzburg Festival debut this summer singing Susanna in Le
nozze di Figaro. [posted 1/24/07]
Mateusz Wolski (BM ’99 / MM ’01 /
PS ’02), pictured, has recently been appointed concertmaster
of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in Washington state. He has also
joined the Manhattan School of Music Alumni Council. [posted 1/24/07]
Chaerim Kim (BM ’03) was invited to join
“The President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber
Orchestra in November 2007 as a violinist. Staff Sergeant Kim is
performing regularly at White House State Dinners, receptions, and
other functions, as well as with the Marine Band and Marine Chamber
Orchestra in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. [posted 3/25/08]
Stephen Jacobsohn (MM ’03) has been promoted
to manager of artistic administration for the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra. [posted 1/24/07]
Matthew Worth (PS ’04 / MM ’03) is
singing this season in the New York Festival of Song, in Die
Zauberflöte (Papageno) with Lyric Opera of Kansas City,
Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) with Opera Naples, and
in Carmina Burana with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and
the Baton Rouge Symphony. As a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center
last summer, he sang Guglielmo in Così with James
Levine conducting. Matthew is the recipient of a 2007–08 Sullivan
Foundation Award. [posted 3/25/08]
Conor Nelson (BM ’03) has been appointed
Assistant Professor of Flute at Oklahoma State University. In addition,
he was the first wind player ever to win the grand prize at the
WAMSO Young Artist Competition, which will give him the opportunity
to appear as soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra. [posted 1/24/07]
Amy Shoremount-Obra (BM ’01 / MM ’03)
was recipient of a 2007 Metropolitan Opera Education Fund Grant
and has been added to the 2007–08 artist roster of the Metropolitan
Opera. [posted 1/24/07]
Adam Ward (BM ’03) is in his second season
singing countertenor with Chanticleer, the professional all-male
chorus, and will be giving over 100 concerts this year around the
world. [posted 1/24/07]
Elaine Alvarez (BM ’02 / MM ’04),
pictured, recently sang for Maestro Ricardo Muti, who then engaged
her to be soloist in the Rossini Stabat Mater for a tour this summer
of Italy, Greece, and Spain. Elaine’s unexpected debut last
year with Chicago Lyric Opera brought reviews such as: “Luminous”
(Chicago Sun-Times), “Conveying lyric pathos seems
to come as naturally to Alvarez as breathing” (Chicago
Tribune), and “Elaine Alvarez rendered Mimì with
an ample, buffed-bronze soprano. . . she displayed a lissome, floated
top. . . Her portrayal was, moreover, compellingly characterized,
subtly naturalistic and fully drawn . . . an intelligent, musically
satisfying performance” (Opera News). [posted 3/25/08]
Brenda Earle (MM ’04) was a finalist in
the 2007 Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition held in Washington,
D.C. Brenda has also recently become a member of the Manhattan School
of Music Alumni Council. [posted 1/24/07]
Rohin Khemani (MM ’04) has been accepted
into the teaching artist roster of Young Audiences New York for
the 2007–08 academic year. The percussionist’s show,
created with fellow alumnus saxophonist Max Wild
(MM ’04) and entitled “East Meets West Music as a Universal
Language,” takes elementary school children on a fun, educational
journey through the world of music. [posted 1/24/07]
Roland Barber (MM ’05) has been awarded
a Chamber Music of America New Works Grant, providing funding to
write and present new compositions in the coming year. [posted 1/24/07]
Gabriel Katz (PS ’05) has been appointed
to the double bass section of the KZN Philharmonic in South Africa.
[posted 1/24/07]
David Morris (MM ’05) has been appointed
to the cello section of the New World Symphony in Florida. [posted
1/24/07]
Alexandre Moutouzkine (MM ’03 / PS ’05
/ Artist Diploma ’06) placed third and was awarded $15,000
in the 17th biennial Cleveland International Piano Competition this
summer. He was also awarded the Beethoven Prize (of $2,000), for
his “Waldstein” Sonata. In the finals, Moutouzkine performed
Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concert with the Cleveland Orchestra
in Severance Hall. [posted 3/25/08]
Melissa Wegner (MM ’05) sang the premiere
of David Bruce’s Piosenki, a work written for her,
at Carnegie Hall as part of the Weill Music Institute’s “Composer
and the Voice” workshops at Carnegie Hall. This summer she
appeared in Bard SummerScape’s production of Zemlinsky’s
Der Zwerg. [posted 1/24/07]
Pascal Archer (MM ’06) has been appointed
principal clarinetist of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic.
[posted 1/24/07]
Kristin Ezell (MM ’06) made her professional
New York debut at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall through the Osvaldo
Golijov and Dawn Upshaw Workshop for Composers and Singers in April
2007, where she performed the world premiere of Scenes
by Johannes Lauer. Ms. Ezell was awarded a full scholarship to be
one of the eight members of the inaugural graduate vocal program
at Bard College Conservatory of Music under the artistic direction
of MSM alumna Dawn Upshaw. This past March, Kristin created the
role of Narrator 1 in the world premiere of David Bruce's opera
A Bird In Your Ear, which was commissioned by Bard Conservatory.
[posted 4/02/08]
Bill Morris (MM ’06) has been appointed
to the bass section of the Louisiana Philharmonic. [posted 1/24/07]
Louis Reed (MM ’06) has been appointed to
the trumpet section of the New World Symphony. [posted 1/24/07]
Kyle Saulnier (MM ’06) debuted his group,
Awakening Orchestra, at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln
Center in March. He has also written the underscoring for episodes
of the TV program Hunter & Hunted on the National Geographic
Channel. [posted 1/24/07]
Pedro da Silva (BM ’99 / MM ’01 /
DMA ’06) was recently promoted to Affiliate Professor of Composition
at Long Island University and continues to teach at New York University.
He contributed to the film scores of Richard Temtchine’s How
to Seduce Difficult Women and the Sundance documentary Tijuana
nada más, and can be heard playing guitar on the track
of Be Kind Rewind. [posted 3/25/08]
Emily Albrink (MM ’06 / PS ’07) sang
Despina in the Tanglewood production of Così fan tutte
last summer under the baton of James Levine; the New York Times
called her “delightful and vocally strong and versatile.”
She was just accepted into the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist program
at Washington National Opera for 2008–10. Next season, Emily
will make her Carnegie Hall debut in Osvaldo Golijov’s chamber
opera Ainadamar with Dawn Upshaw and the Orchestra of St.
Luke’s, conducted by Robert Spano. [updated 3/25/08]
Jean-Olivier Bégin (MM ’07) has received
a College TV Award in the Best Composition category for the original
music of Operated by Invisible Hands, a short film written
and directed by Nicole Brending. The presentation was made in Los
Angeles this March before representatives of the motion picture
industry. [posted 3/25/08]
Pablo Sáinz Villegas (Artist Diploma ’07)
is currently on an extensive tour as winner of the Parkening International
Guitar Competition, performing with such ensembles as the Lexington
Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony, South Bay Chamber Symphony,
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Symphony, and Petrobras Symphony
in Rio de Janeiro; he has also given important recitals in Musikverein
in Vienna and Spivey Hall in Atlanta. [posted 3/25/08]
Jie Wang (BM ’05 / MM ’07) is a recent
recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award.
Her full-length opera, Nannan, was chosen by New York City
Opera for the 2007 VOX: Showcasing American Composers Festival,
making her the youngest composer ever to be given that honor. [posted
3/25/08]
Micah Young (BM ’07) has recently made his
Broadway debut as pianist/conductor of Spring Awakening
and is also subbing on keyboards for Mamma Mia and piano
for Chicago. [posted 3/25/08]
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In Memoriam —
Alumni and Former Faculty
(since January 2006)*
Ardyth Alton (member of the cello faculty from
1969–2005) passed away in February 2008. She also taught at
the Juilliard School. Dean of Faculty Richard E. Adams writes: “A
gifted and active cellist, Ardyth made over one thousand appearances
as a chamber musician. As a dedicated teacher, she was much beloved
by her students and colleagues as well.”
Jerome Ashby (orchestral horn faculty, 1991–2007)
lost a courageous battle with prostrate cancer on December 26, 2007.
He became the Associate Principal Horn of the New York Philharmonic
in 1979, and joined the MSM faculty as a founding teacher of the
Orchestral Performance Program faculty in 1991. Vice President Richard
Adams write: “He will be missed by so many of us in our community
as a great artist, enlightened teacher and as a friend of profound
dignity and integrity.”
Giampaolo Bracali (member of the faculty since
1970) passed away on December 16, 2006. Vice President Richard E.
Adams, writes: “His contribution to the musical and pedagogical
life of Manhattan School of Music will resonate well into the future.”
Mr. Bracali had taught at the School since 1970, joining the composition
faculty in 1972. There was a memorial service for Mr. Bracali on
Sunday, January 21, 2007 at the Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew
in Manhattan.
Walter Engel (undergraduate composition studies,
1973 – 78) passed away on April 1, 2007. Jill Sagarin writes:
“It is just like Walter to have been born on All Souls Day
and leave us on April Fool's Day (it was also Palm Sunday, but he
would have liked for us to remember him on April Fool's Day). He
certainly made a feast out of a life that could have been otherwise.
He made that feast from the recipe that only he could have concocted,
full of sweetness, hurnor, caring, high expectations, stubbornness,
love and a desire to feed everyone who came to his home. Walter
was proud to call people from many different walks of life his friend.
Regardless of where you are from or how he had met you, he touched
you smack dab in the middle of your heart with those big brown eyes
that bored into you. Those were the eyes that blinked his words,
that took everything in, that told jokes, that cursed, that conveyed
his anger and frustration, that touched the essence of you and that
told you, with no words needed and in no uncertain terms, that he
loved you and that you were free to love him. He succumbed to heart
failure due to pneumonia after a short illness; he was comfortable
to the end…We are asking that any gifts be in the form of
contributions to the music festival that bears his name — The Walter
Engel Festival of Young Performers." Walter told us for an
Alumni News feature published in 2000: “My time at MSM was
enriching. Music means so very much to my everyday survival in a
wheelchair-bound life. I know that attending MSM helped me overcome
this new life of mine. I was honored to walk through those marble
corridors with such intense musicians. Asking myself which people
really made a difference in my existence on this planet is a daily
ritual, and I constantly think of some extraordinary MSM faculty
members: Ludmila Ulehla, Nicolas Flagello, Giampaolo Bracali, Earl
Carter, Daniel Rice, and George Manahan, to name a few. MSM was
full of gorgeous sounds to me. Unfortunately, after a short but
sweet conducting career, I suffered a brainstem stroke. I am now
without a voice. My communication system is done with my eyes; letter
by letter, I form a word, then I construct a sentence. MSM ignited
and kindled a flame that enables me to build paragraphs of my life.
My visual art and haiku continue to be on exhibit and the festival
I run for young performers is celebrating a ninth season. I am ever
so grateful for the MSM experience!”
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Maxwell "Max" Roach
(undergraduate studies, 1950 – 1952 / Honorary Doctorate,
1990) passed away on August 16, 2007. He was 83. Peter Keepnews
wrote in the New York Times: “[Roach was] a founder
of modern jazz who rewrote the rules of drumming in the 1940’s
and spent the rest of his career breaking musical barriers and defying
listeners’ expectations.” Mr. Roach’s partnerships
ran the gamut of 20th-century innovators and included artists in
a variety of fields including: Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, Sam
Shepard, Alvin Ailey, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis,
Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Donald Byrd, Charles Mingus, Oscar
Brown Jr, Abbey Lincoln, Cecil Bridgewater, Kit Fitzgerald, George
Ferencz, and the Uptown String Quartet. Mr. Roach has been credited
with the development of the form of jazz that came to be known as
bebop. In 1972, he became one of the first jazz musicians to teach
full time at the college level when he was hired as a professor
at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He was the first
jazz musician to receive a “genius grant” from the MacArthur
Foundation. Concerned with the political issues of his time, he
told Down Beat magazine after the release of his album
We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, “I will never again play
anything that does not have social significance… We American
jazz musicians of African descent have proved beyond all doubt that
we’re master musicians of our instruments. Now what we have
to do is employ our skill to tell the dramatic story of our people
and what we’ve been through.” Manhattan School of Music
awarded Mr. Roach an honorary doctorate in 1990.
Jeffrey Schlegel (undergraduate studies, 1970–1975,
horn) passed away in Sanfa Fe, Argentina, on October 8, 2007. The
obituary placed in the New York Times by family and friends,
read: “Born in New York, Jeff was a beloved friend and colleague,
an exceptionally gifted musician, and teacher. Principal Horn: Orquesta
Sinfonica Provincial de Santa Fe; Orquesta Sinfonica de Entre Rios;
Banda Sinfonica de la Policia de Santa Fe; Banda Municipal de la
Ciudad de Santa Fe. Jeffrey is survived by his children Gabriel,
Jonatan, Jennifer and step-son Diego of Santa Fe; sisters Stephanie
Manning of Davis, CA, and Sully Bonn of Newton, MA; and many loving
friends and colleagues on both continents. He will be remembered
for his love of music, his wit, generosity and free spirit. Jeffrey
will be grievously missed by all who knew him and we will celebrate
his memory as he will continue to live on in our hearts.”
A Times Guest Book will remain online for a full year (click
here for access). Friend and colleague Howard Heller (Class
of 1973) tell us: “Although Jeff had been gone for so long,
he remained in touch with a few of us here in New York and he left
a lasting impression on all who knew during his time at MSM and
while living in his apartment on Claremont Ave.”
Ralph A. Schwartz (MM 1975, trumpet) of St. Louis
Park, Minnesota, died August 13, 2007, after a sudden illness. He
was 56. Born in Havre, Montana, Mr. Schwartz grew up in nearby Big
Sandy. His extraordinary musical talent was evident early and he
received many music awards while in high school. He graduated with
music degrees from St. Olaf College, 1973 and Manhattan School of
Music, 1975. He remained in New York City working as a professional
musician until 1982 when he moved to the Twin Cities continuing
as a respected freelance trumpeter. Ralph was preceded in death
by father, Robert and brother, Richard. He is survived by children,
Melani and Kyle; former wife, Patti Arntz; mother, Evelyn; brothers,
Robert Jr. and Bruce and sister, Sondra. Please visit and sign a
tribute page set up by family and friends. (Information courtesy
of Steven Sako ’78)
Dorothy Stone (BM ’80, flute) died on Morch
7, 2008. Chris Pasles of the Los Angeles Times wrote: “Dorothy
Stone, an award-winning composer and virtuoso flutist who in 1981
co-founded the new-music ensemble the California EAR Unit, has died.
She was 49. Stone was found dead March 7 by police at her home in
Green Valley, Calif. No foul play is suspected, said her father,
Jerome J. Stone of Kingston, Pa. Results of an autopsy are pending,
he said. Dorothy Ann Stone was born June 7, 1958, in Kingston. She
earned a bachelor's degree in music at the Manhattan School of Music
in New York, where she studied with Harvey Sollberger, and a master
of fine arts degree at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia.
While at CalArts, she also studied composition with Stephen "Lucky"
Mosko, Mel Powell, Leonard Stein and Morton Subotnick. She and Mosko
were married in 1989. During her performing career, Stone premiered
solo works throughout the U.S. and Europe, and was showcased on
National Public Radio and WGBH's "Art of the States" program.
She also built a special electronic system for her solo flute composition,
"Wizard Ball," which received a Freeman Composition Award
as well as prizes from the International League of Women Composers
and the ARS Electronica festival in Brussels. She recorded for Cambria,
Crystal, New Albion and other labels and played on Subotnick's Voyager
CD-ROM, "All My Hummingbirds Have Alibis," which was written
for her and members of the EAR Unit. Her New World Records solo
album, "None but the Lonely Flute," includes works composed
for her by Milton Babbitt and Mosko, who wrote all of his flute
music for her. Other composers who wrote for her include Rand Steiger,
William Roper, Ann Millikan and Louis Andriessen. She and Mosko
directed the U.S. premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Sternklang"
for the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival in 1984. Mosko died at
their Green Valley home in 2005 at age 58. The couple had no children.
In addition to her father, Stone is survived by her mother, Dorothy
B. Stone of Kingston; and two brothers, Jerome E. Stone of Kingston
and Donald G. Stone of Mountain Top, Pa.”
Elias Tanenbaum (faculty member from 1971–2001)
died on Thursday, January 10, 2008, in New Rochelle, New York, after
a long illness. Mr. Tanenbaum was the founder of the Electronic
Computer Music Studio at Manhattan School of Music. He composed
over 140 works in all idioms, including music for concert, jazz,
theater, television, ballet and electronic and computer music. His
music has been performed extensively throughout this country, Europe
and Japan and recordings of his music can be found on Albany, New
World, MMC and other labels.Born in 1924 in Brooklyn, New York,
Elias Tanenbaum studied trumpet at an early age and played with
many jazz bands. He volunteered for the U.S. Army in World War II,
and lost his right leg above the knee in Southern France in 1944.
After being awarded a Purple Heart, he received a Bachelor’s
from the Juilliard School of Music in 1949, and an M.A. from Columbia
University, all on the G.I. bill. Besides music, he loved art, movies,
reading, cooking, politics and comedy. He lived in New Rochelle,
New York from 1959. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, pianist
Mary Tanenbaum, his brother Ray, two children, David and Jacob,
and three grandchildren, Zachary, Simon and Nicky.
Walter Turnbull (MM '68 / DMA '84, voice) who
founded the Boys Choir of Harlem, passed away on March 23, 2007.
As reported on www.1010wins.com: The Boys Choir of Harlem has announced
funeral arrangements for their founder, Dr. Walter J. Turnbull.
The wake will be held on Wednesday, March 28 from 2 p.m.until 8
p.m. at the Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church on West 123rd Street.
An additional viewing will be held Thursday, March 29 from 1 p.m.
until 3 p.m. and the funeral service will begin at 4 p.m. Here is
a profile reprinted and excerpted from a commemorative brochure
published at the time of Dr. Turnbull’s being awarded the
5th annual Heinz Award: “Dr. Walter Turnbull receives the
Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities for his creation of the Boys
Choir of Harlem, an innovative program using music to educate and
motivate inner city children to become disciplined, confident and
successful adults. Dr. Turnbull himself has traveled a long and
difficult road. From the fields of the South where he chopped cotton
as a child, to graduating with honors in classical music and vocal
performance from Mississippi's Tougaloo College, Dr. Turnbull eventually
settled in New York City where he hoped for a career as an opera
tenor. But that professional ambition was sidetracked when he took
a job teaching music in Harlem to support himself. There he discovered
that despite the lure of the streets and unstable home lives, "music
caused kids to focus." Thus, the idea for the Boys Choir of
Harlem was born. It began 30 years ago, when he gathered 20 youngsters
in the basement of Ephesus Church. The Choir moved from being a
performing ensemble for church services to one presenting concerts
and recitals in public venues. Dr. Turnbull's infectious enthusiasm,
his dedication, and his relentless enforcement of discipline paid
handsome dividends. With its repertoire of Bach chorales, Mozart,
spirituals and hymns, the Choir quickly became the pride of the
area. And, just as important, it grew, actively reaching out to
the community, opening auditions in local elementary schools, and
providing academic tutoring and counseling to its members and their
families. By the end of 1979, both a touring choir and the Girls
Choir of Harlem had been established. The desire to prove that children
from Harlem could succeed academically propelled Dr. Turnbull to
create the Choir Academy of Harlem, opened in 1986 as an on-site
school serving grades 4 through 8 ... Dr. Turnbull specializes in
more than cultivating the love of music in children, he is equally
dedicated to turning lives around. He and the Choir give at-risk
youths a chance to succeed, an opportunity many of them might never
have had without Dr. Turnbull's love and commitment. Most are from
single-parent households receiving some type of government assistance.
But the Choir teaches these youngsters to walk with pride and to
hold their heads high, regardless of their circumstances. Dr. Turnbull
has commented, "It's not just about the Choir. It's about discipline.
It's about feeling good about yourself. That's hope." It is
this spirit, combined with Dr. Turnbull's commitment to his craft,
which has transformed a church basement dream into an international
success. The path that long ago diverted him from his personal ambitions
as a singer has led him instead to create an institution that elevates
the art of song, while inspiring hope and pride in young people
who otherwise might have none.”
* NOTE: for obituaries before 2007, please visit our Archives
page.
______________________________________________
Research, editing, and/or proofing assistance:
John Blanchard
Susan Meigs
Gina Taglieri
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