Sonorities 2023

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sonorities

The News Magazine of the University of Illinois School of Music

Music Education at Illinois

Preparing Teachers for Today and Tomorrow

Letter from the Director Published for the alumni and friends of the School of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The School of Music is a unit of the College of Fine and Applied Arts and has been an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music since 1933.

Kevin Hamilton, Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts Jeffrey Sposato, Director of the School of Music Nolan Vallier, Editor Design and layout by Studio 2D On the cover: Photos of the Music Education Area by Darrell Hoemann

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Submit online at music.illinois.edu/sonorities

Co n ten t s LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 CAMPUS NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 CELEBRATING GIVING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ADMISSIONS UPDATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS MUSIC EDUCATION AT 120: AN EVOLVING LEGACY . . . 10 PASSING THE BATON: MEET THE NEW DIRECTORS OF BAND AND ORCHESTRA. . . . . . 18 FACULTY NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 ALUMNI NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 IN MEMORIAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 G IVING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Dear Friends of the School of Music:

D

uring the last weekend of April 2022, the School of Music celebrated its 125th anniversary by doing what we do best— making great music. Audiences got their choice of ten concerts, ranging from jazz and lyric theater to choral, orchestral, and band music. And of course, there was birthday cake!

In this issue of sonorities, you can read all about the anniversary celebration, and you can also learn about the arrival of six new permanent faculty members to the School this fall. These include Carolyn Watson, who joins us as the new director of orchestras, and Kevin Geraldi, who comes to us as only the seventh director of bands in U of I’s history! Additionally, we are excited to have new hires in clarinet, music education, music theory, and violin, each of whom brings new ideas and energy to School.

As the School looks back 125 years, we realize that our future will necessarily be very different from our past. We will, of course, continue to honor our history. But we also recognize that what our students need to be learning, and who their audiences will be, is changing rapidly.

Over the past four years, the faculty and staff at the School of Music have been engaged in a process of re-envisioning our programs to better prepare our students and serve our state. Our overriding goal has been to create opportunities and improve access. One way we have been doing this is by revising our music education curriculum, and you can read about these changes in a feature article in this issue.

What do I mean by creating opportunities and improving access? Four things: Many of our graduates will go on to performance or teaching careers, but some will want to choose a different path. We want to ensure they’ve received an education that opens the door to an array of music career options after graduation.

■ Our students are fortunate to receive their musical training at a world-class research university that offers all of its undergraduates a terrific liberal-arts education. We need to ensure that they are able to take full advantage of this.

■ The School of Music has a moral, civic, and professional responsibility to embrace the diversity of both the state of Illinois and the musical world. To do this, we must remove those barriers that have historically prevented us from enrolling musically talented students who received alternative types of training—those who sang in church choirs, who played in high-school band, who have amazing ability and drive but didn’t have the benefit of private lessons or special summer camps.

■ And while we will continue to celebrate the classics from Bach to Brahms, we need to expose our students and our audiences to fantastic new and newly rediscovered works by composers of color and women.

■

Faculty and students have a large role to play in this transformation, but so do alumni and donors. I am deeply grateful to the many alumni who share the belief that the School needs to evolve if it is to stay vital, even if it looks a little different from the School they attended. And I am equally appreciative of the donors who have provided critical philanthropic support in helping the School to invest in these changes.

I hope in reading this issue of sonorities, you will be as inspired as I have been by what we are accomplishing. And if you have questions about what you can do to help the School, please be in touch. I’m at music-director@illinois.edu, and I would love to hear from you. Thank you!

Sincerely, Jeffrey Sposato, Professor and Director

campus news

Cake was served at the reception of the SoM’s 125th Anniversary.

Photo by Scott Schwartz

In a series of concerts that took place between April 29 and May 1, 2022, the School of Music celebrated its storied past and heralded a new era of great music-making. The celebration began Friday, April 29 with the Concert Jazz Band performing in the Studio Theatre of the Krannert Center.

The following day featured performances of Haydn’s “Little Organ Mass” by the University Chorus; U of I’s Jazz Vocal Ensembles, directed

by Barrington Coleman; a duo recital by Meg Freivogel and Salley Koo; a collaboration between the UI Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Singers, and Oratorio Society in a performance of Brahms’s Requiem, which featured soloists Courtenay Budd and Nathan Gunn; Stephen Taylor’s arrangement of Four Spirituals, performed by Ollie Watts Davis and the Jupiter String Quartet; and The Repertory Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Professor Jim Pugh. After the Saturday evening concerts, students, faculty, and audience members celebrated with cake in the lobby.

Performances on Sunday included the Illinois Wind Symphony and Wind Orchestra, directed by Stephen and Beth Peterson; the Freshman Showcase of the Lyric Theatre; the Jazz Combo Concert II; and Barrington Coleman conducting the Campus and Community Chorus, 10 Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited, a musical portrait of and tribute to Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Photo by Stephen Burian

Concerts Celebrate the School of Music’s 125th Anniversary

Jim Pugh conducts the UI Jazz Band in a dress rehearsal in Smith Hall.

Salvatore Martirano Composition Award Winners Announced

Photo by Scott Schwartz

The School of Music was pleased to honor three accomplished composers:

A chorus comprised of the UI Chamber Singers and Oratorio Society rehearses Brahms’s Requiem.

Timothy Roy, “dans les dents de la guivre” for harp, multichannel electronics, and lighting (First Prize) ■ Emre Sihan Kaleli, “Adjacent rooms, a part of a labyrinth” for chamber ensemble (Second Prize) ■ Tomasz Skweres, “Event Horizon” for chamber ensemble (Third Prize) ■

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Alumnus Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, a former choral-conducting DMA student who is now the artistic director of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, was among the winners of the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance at the 2022 awards ceremony. He and his choir were nominated for Mahler: Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand), conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The album featured the Los

Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the National Children’s Chorus, the Pacific Chorale, and the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, which was led

by Malvar-Ruiz. Donald Nally (DMA ’95) and Craig Hella Johnson (MM ’85) were both nominated in the same category for their work on, respectively, the albums Rising (with The Crossing) and The Singing Guitar.

Photo by Andrea Solya

University of Illinois Choral Alumni at the Grammys

Craig Hella Johnson and Fernando MalvarRuiz at the 2022 Grammy Awards

Inaugural Cohort of Scholars Travel to Cambridge University for Study Abroad Led by Professor Stephen Fairbanks, the inaugural cohort of Illinois-Cambridge Scholars traveled to England this past July to study at the University of Cambridge, the preparations for which have been in the works since 2019. During the four-week music residency, undergraduate and graduate music students engaged in research and classes, ranging from historical perfor-

mance practice to musical interventions for dementia. Each of the scholars received one-on-one tutelage from a Cambridgebased supervisor.

The students were at Girton College, a constituent college of the university noted for its history of gender equality. One student observed, “It is an incredibly powerful feeling to be studying in a place that from the beginning has fought for women’s education.”

During the residency, the students gave a concert at the University Church of Great St. Mary’s, performing for an enthusiastic audience of several hundred people. The members of the 2022 cohort of IllinoisCambridge scholars included: Amy Chen, Matthew Fonda, Huilin (Blair) Guan, Nalini Krishnan, Sarah Kwilecki, Logan Lenahan, Lizzy Mazzolini, and Nalini Krishnan.

Professor Stephen Fairbanks pictured with the inaugural class of Illinois-Cambridge Scholars.

Smith Hall Turns 100 Completed in 1922, Smith Hall turns 100 years old this year. Since its opening, the building has undergone four major remodels (1930, 1953, 1999, and 2013). The most recent $5 million renovation, begun in 2013 and completed in 2019, focused on the façade, the third-floor practice rooms, the wood framed windows, the Memorial Room, and the Recital Hall. In addition to structural and cosmetic renovations, the building was made handicap accessible through the installation of new ramps and handrails. Since its reopening, Smith has hosted a variety of classes, lectures, and concerts.

The completed renovation was featured in the 2020 edition of sonorities.

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The Memorial Room of Smith Recital Hall

Jonathan Keeble Receives National Flute Association Distinguished Service Award Throughout the 50-year history of the National Flute Association (NFA), only 15 flutists have ever received a Distinguished Service Award. Professor Jonathan Keeble has joined this elite community. Keeble will be honored for his work as a performer and educator at the Association’s 2023 national convention in Phoenix, AZ. The youngest recipient of this award in the association’s history, Keeble’s transformative leadership has placed the NFA at the forefront of associations of its kind throughout the world.

Beginning in 2006 with his appointment as the 2008 NFA Convention Program

Chair, Keeble was deeply involved in determining the vision and strategy for the NFA. With his election as president elect in 2008, he inherited “a most difficult and delicate situation,” according to Katherine Borst Jones (Ohio State University). Zart Dombourian-Eby (Seattle Symphony) notes, “While many had seen the necessity for change in the NFA, no one, until Jonathan, had the strength of conviction, character, and leadership to actually carry out the actions necessary to move forward.

Many key figures in the field have even gone so far as to say he saved the NFA. I am in total agreement with them.”

Scott Schwartz Receives the Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation Scott Schwartz, Archivist for Fine and Applied Arts and director of the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, was honored by the American Bandmasters Asso­ ciation (ABA) as the most recent recipient of the Edwin Scott Schwartz Franko Goldman Memorial Citation. Named for the ABA’s first president, the Edwin Franko Goldman Citation honors those without membership in the ABA who have provided service to the interest of bands in America. Receiving his nomination from former Director of Bands Stephen Peterson, Schwartz was chosen for his extensive public service, educational outreach, and public programming at the Sousa Archives. Previous recipients of the award include composer Meredith Wilson (1964), President William Jefferson Clinton (1994), and composer John Williams (2020).

Jonathan Keeble

Marching Illini Perform in Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade More than 300 mem­ bers of the Marching Illini traveled to Dublin to perform in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. In addition to performing in the parade, the band made a week-long tour of Ireland, visiting the Titanic Museum in Belfast, the Cliffs of The Marching Illini Perform in front of Moher near Galway, Kilkenny Castle. and Kilkenny Castle.

This marks the Marching Illini’s seventh performance within the parade, since it became the first college marching band asked to perform in 1995. The band was previously asked to perform at the “Aer Lingus College Football Classic” in 2021, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.

More Campus News on page 31

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cel ebrating giving

by David Allen (BM ’92, MM’94, BME ’96), Director of Advancement

Making an Impact Through Illinois Summer Youth Music Following two summers of presenting Illinois Summer Youth Music in a hybrid virtual format, we were pleased to present ISYM this summer, complete with overnight stays, at our Illinois residence halls. While many have enjoyed and benefited from nearly 75 years of exciting and educational ISYM experiences, we want to make ISYM available to all who wish to attend. We keep our tuition as low as possible for these on-campus, weeklong musical experiences. Still, some of our most interested and deserving middle- and high school-aged youth are unable to attend without some financial assistance. As one ISYM participant noted, “[It was] one of the best experiences of my life. I want to go to UIUC and being able to stay on campus and have a daily schedule gave me a very real insight to college life, especially at my dream college! Thank you so much for the opportunity!”

A participant in the jazz program noted, “I absolutely loved all the classes that were provided! My combo meshed wonderfully, and my director was fabulous. I most enjoyed the opportunities to grow as a musician and the top-notch professors and counselors who were able to help me.”

We have launched a strong, new effort to build our ISYM Scholarship. The ISYM Summer of Giving allows those who appreciate and want to help make outstanding musical experiences on our inspiring campus available to those who will benefit the most. One parent of a participant said, “Thank you

for providing this opportunity for students! Thank you, also, for providing scholarship opportunities to increase access.”

Our ISYM leadership has already had the opportunity to share many scholarships with summer participants. But we need your help to provide the positive impact that the SoM faculty and staff want to make. Please consider making a financial gift through the ISYM Summer of Giving. Our immediate goal is to reach 73 gifts, representing ISYM’s 73 years of providing music education to young students. For the first $10,000 raised, every dollar will be matched 2 to 1 due to generous gifts by Barbara and Terry England as well as the Meredith Music Foundation.

Gifts can be made online by using your smart phone camera to activate the QR code below. You can also use the enclosed remit card if you would like to mail your donation.

Remembering Reid Alexander

Remembering James Keene

The Reid Alexander Scholarship Fund reached endowment level this year. The fund supports the Piano Pedagogy area through scholarships and program funding. Additionally, the piano lab in the Music Building has been named in Professor Alexander’s honor.

Reid taught at the School of Music from 1981 to 2015 and was also a very proud Illinois alumnus (BM ’72, MM ’73).

Last year we established the James F. Keene Illinois Bands Commissioning Fund to honor the career of Professor Keene, who served as the fourth director of bands from 1985 until 2008. Former Director of Bands Stephen Peterson played a key role in creating this fund to celebrate Professor Keene’s dedication to the band tradition and band repertoire. To read more about the incredible career of James Keene, please refer to the in-memoriam section of this magazine or visit the Illinois Bands Newsletter at the following link: www. bands.illinois.edu.

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Reid Alexander (1949–2015)

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Connecting with WILL/Illinois Public Media Due to a couple of generous donations from Barbara and Terry England and Herbert Lasky, the John Frayne Graduate Student Classical Music Work Experience Fund was created. This fund provides financial support for a SoM student to work with WILL radio on its classical music programming. Graduate student Julia Escobar was selected as the first recipient for this financial support and role. In honor of WILL radio personality John Frayne, this exciting new collaboration has already led to some exciting opportunities for connections between our School of Music and WILL/Illinois Public Media. Since her appointment, Julia Escobar has curated

Julia Escobar appeared on Prairie Performances.

her work live on the radio and on the WILL website. Julia is particularly proud of her program, “the Fantastic Flute,” which premiered on the Prairie Performances series in November 2021. This special program can found at the following link: go.illinois.edu/Julia.

Michael Udow Honors Professors Siwe and McKenzie through the Smith Music Legacy Scholarship Project

Valerie DeCasas Farag Achievement Award Established In memory of Valerie DeCasas Farag (MM ’66), this new award will provide financial support to outstanding graduating SoM students studying voice a n d /o r p i a n o.

The award was established by Dr. Shawki Farag (MS ’63, PHD ’67). Shawki and Valerie met while in graduate school at UIUC. ThroughValerie DeCasas out their lives Farag (1940–2016) together, the couple lived in many places world­wide. Everywhere they settled, Valerie shared her passion for music by teaching students and even establishing music programs where they did not previously exist. Both Valerie and Shawki taught together at the American University at Cairo, where Valerie played an important role in establishing the music program. A similar award, also in Valerie’s honor, exists at the American University at Cairo.

Dr. Michael Udow (BME ’71, MM ’75, DMA ’79) honored his former percussion professors Thomas Siwe and Jack McKenzie (1930–2010) through the Smith Music Legacy Scholarship Project.

Udow notes, “In addition to my desire to help future music majors through scholarship support, I saw this as a way to share Michael Udow how much I value my education in percussion and composition from the University of Illinois. Two professors who had a profound impact on me were Thomas Siwe and Jack McKenzie. In addition to carrying on the legacy of the Illinois percussion program, they had an incredibly strong influence on my life in music.” Two new plaques honoring Siwe and McKenzie now appear on the doors to percussion studios 10 and 14 in Smith Memorial Hall.

On the new Scholarship Project, Thomas Siwe said, “Mike is a talented musician and a wonderful person. His successful career as a percussionist has encompassed the areas of performance, composition, and pedagogy. I am honored that he has gifted the School of Music in my name, a New plaques honoring Thomas Siwe and Jack McKenzie were installed in Smith Hall. gift that will enable others to pursue their musical dreams at Illinois.”

To learn more about this ongoing scholarship program, please contact Director of Advancement David Allen.

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publ ic engagement

by Stephen Burian

The highlight of the past year undoubtably has been the return of Illinois Summer Youth Music to full in-person programming. Over 650 students and 27 unique programs were included. Having the buzz of energy on campus again was refreshing to say the least.

Other programs, including the Illinois Summer Harp Class, the All-Illinois Junior Band, the Illinois Bach Academy, and Illinois Summer Piano Institute also returned to in-person modes this year. The All-Illinois Junior Band gave a terrific performance in Foellinger Auditorium under the able baton of Barry Houser. The bands will return to the Great Hall in January John Dee conducts the summer double reed studio at ISYM. under the direction of our new Director of Bands Kevin Geraldi—who was once an ISYM camper himself!

After a two-year delay, The Illinois Bach Academy fulfilled a mission to study and perform J.S. Bach’s monumental St. Matthew Passion.

Last year the Illinois Community Music Academy added private lesson instruction in voice and guitar to our existing piano and string offerings.

This year we have added instruction in flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, and percussion. We expect to continue adding to ICMA offerings in the coming years.

It isn’t easy to reboot a program, even the venerable ISYM. After a hiatus of two years, the healthy enrollment of so many returning programs is truly heartening. We remain committed to expanding access to our existing programs, while also finding ways to connect with new audiences.

In the past decade, we have added five entire programs—Composition, Intro and Advanced Music Technology, Hip-Hop, and Rock Band—each of which focus on students as creators of music. Hearing one of the student composers speak at the final concert about how he had found his peer group of fellow creators was inspiring. Even more exciting is that we were able to offer over $50,000 in scholarship grants to about a quarter of ISYM participants in 2022. We hope you will consider giving to the ISYM Scholarship and Support Fund as we continue expanding our reach in the ISYM students learn to make oboe reeds. next year. For more information about the ISYM Summer of Giving and for information about how you can donate, please see page 6.

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admissions update

by Angela Tammen

The 2021–2022 application cycle was challenging. Due to the rise of the omicron variant, the School shifted all January and February auditions and interviews to a virtual format, prioritizing the safety of our applicants, faculty, staff, and students.

With warmer weather, the campus and the College of FAA began offering in-person visits to admitted students. One such inperson event provided by the SoM was “FAA Experience Day.” Offered on April 9th, the event featured live performances by Jae Hyun Moon and Kevina Lam, Rudolf Haken, the Solideo Quartet, the Briar Schlenker Trio, and Eli Fieldsteel. Faculty and staff enjoyed this opportunity for in-person recruitment, but also maintained a healthy portfolio of virtual recruitment options for students.

Aside from the continuing challenges The Solideo Quartet performing Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K. posed

by COVID, the 2021–2022 application 575 at FAA Experience Day; from left to right: Joshelle Conley (violin), Heather cycle marked the first year that the UniBeckman (violin), Jun Hyuk Lee (cello), William Satterfield (viola). versity accepted the Common Application for undergraduate programs. The Common Application allows applicants to apply to several institutions through one application. As expected, the inclusion of the Common Application increased the SoM’s application numbers dramatically, yielding an especially competitive freshman class.

At the graduate level, many of the School’s most talented applicants received campus-level fellowships. In total, the SoM recruited two Illinois Distinguished Fellows, two Distinguished Graduate Fellows in the Humanities and Arts, three Graduate College Fellows, and one Aspire Fellow. Additionally, the SoM awarded 15 additional incoming students with endowed music fellowships.

As we turn our attention to recruiting the fall 2023 class, the Music Admissions office is offering daily music facility tours and virtual information meetings. Prospective applicants are encouraged to set up meetings and lessons with faculty during their visit to campus. Faculty are actively arranging workshops and masterclasses across the state and country. We are looking forward to meeting all the future music applicants!

Eli Fieldsteel performing Impulse Curve on Lightmatrix at FAA Experience Day.

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University of Illinois Music Education at 120 An Evolving Legacy

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

COMP I L ED BY B RI D G E T S W E E T

Music education students in the program’s “Differentiating Music Instruction” course.

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T

he music teacher preparation program at the University of Illinois began in 1902, 120 years ago. Since that time, thousands of people have entered the music education profession with an Illinois teaching degree while a robust number of faculty members have fostered, challenged, and reconceptualized the music education program in response to the larger world. As Alma Mater tells us, “To thy happy children of the future, those of the past send greetings.” What follows is a snapshot of the work we proudly do each day through perspectives of current students, alums, and colleagues with whom we have shared valuable and powerful experiences.

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Aaron Knight (MME) and Nathan Waterson (BME) in discussion during “Differentiating Music Instruction.”

BME students Lucy Yockey and Ray Zepeda discussing multilingual learners in “Differentiating Music Instruction.”

Continuing a Legacy of Innovation The area of music education embraces and evolves traditions, as well as establishes new perspectives and approaches to music teaching and learning. Our music education students and graduates engage in the important histories of our field, as well as the emerging practices.

“

Our education philosophy here at Illinois is deeply rooted in the goal of striving to nurture amazing musicians.

What changes, even year to year, is the creative delivery and pedagogy of our methods. I have experienced asynchronous, project-based, traditional discussion, lecture, lab, and countless other course experiences in my time as a teacher candidate that have reminded me that these varied experiences are also my tools. My home tradition of wind band has fundamental roots that are the foundation for the band tradition, but I have learned that some traditional ways of delivering that information can be updated—particularly in ways that support student creativity, passion, and musicianship. These new ways of delivery build a strong community and cultivate an environment of growth and excellence. The way that the Marching Illini runs changes from year to year simply because the personnel changes—our fundamental traditions are steadfast, but the enthusiasm and pedagogical approaches are constantly evolving. The student-centered approach to music education at Illinois has reminded me that change is growth, growth is due to change, and that teaching music is, in and of itself, a lifelong commitment to bettering myself and the people around me.

—Katie Pierce, current undergraduate music education major

”

“

I graduated in 2009 with my undergraduate degree in music education. I was given incredible opportunities to practice, teach, and conduct choral music at a high level. I was lucky to work with key mentors who lifted me up and saw things in me that I did not see myself. I had professors who helped me grow exponentially as a musician, educator, and leader. My life was changed in those four years.

Just under a decade later, I found myself back at the University of Illinois, but this time with an entirely different music education faculty. I admit, I felt a bit worn down in my personal direction, motivation, and larger purpose upon entering this program. I was doing things in the field that were considered to be the ‘right’ things but still struggled to feel that the work was enough. I entered my graduate studies in search of answers. Instead, I walked away with more questions: Who am I doing this for?

What model of choral music and music education am I emulating?

Where do I see our field headed?

Who am I in all of this?

How can I help?

Once again, my life was changed. This new, curious mind of mine was exactly what I needed. I began to consider new ideas and strategies. I reflected on the beautiful traditions

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Students learning about vocal production in “Music Teaching in Ensemble Settings.”

in our field but also started to recognize the disparities and inequalities that exist. I could finally process the incredible education I had received from both my undergraduate and graduate studies. I recognized the importance of melding beautiful traditions with a forward trajectory for music education. I began to understand that music can be created to better serve and further humankind, rather than what often seems the other way around.

I now serve as an assistant professor and the director of choral activities at Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, IL. My studies at UIUC have given me so much academic and musical knowledge to support my work here. Additionally, I bring humanity, leadership, and grace to the best of my ability as well. After all, I had some professors who demonstrated the very best of these traits during both my undergraduate and graduate studies. The incredible students of Elmhurst University now receive parts of that important education I once received. I know that without my experiences at UIUC, I would not be doing the important and progressive work I am now to create our own beautiful and powerful traditions with the Elmhurst Choirs.

—Professor Sarah Catt, director of choral activities, Elmhurst University, alumna of BME and MME programs

“I recognized the importance of melding beautiful traditions with a forward trajectory for music education.”

FACULT Y PROFILE S

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Claire Baranyk (BME) and Vada Marshall (BS, special education) exploring ways of adapting instruments for local elementary students in “Differentiating Music Instruction.”

Bridget Sweet, Ph.D., associate professor of music education Bridget Sweet’s expertise is adolescent choral students. She has worked with middle and high school choirs as a teacher, clinician, researcher, and AllState conductor, as well as written the books Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond and Thinking Outside the Voice Box: Adolescent Voice Change in Music Education. Additional research interests include [assigned at birth] female and male adolescent voice change, musician health and wellness, intersections of LGBTQ+ topics and the music classroom, as well as intersections of motherhood and academia. She is a Licensed Body Mapping Educator through the Association for Body Mapping Education.

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Adam J. Kruse, Ph.D., associate professor of music education Adam Kruse teaches courses related to technology and popular music and his scholarship focuses on Hip-Hop music and culture. Kruse is co-director of the University’s Summer Hip-Hop Camp and a team member on the Hip-Hop Xpress project. The creative, critical, and community-engaged nature of his work have earned Kruse numerous awards and grants from the U of I and from national music and education organizations.

Recently, he was the recipient of the College’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching (2020) and a Campus Distinguished Promotion Award (2021), and the Hip-Hop Xpress earned the Campus Excellence in Public Engagement Award (2021).

Photos by Adam Kruse

Emma Perisho (BME) in “Introductory Music Education Tech” and Javi Vasquez (MME) in “Music in Adolescence” working with students from Franklin Middle School in Champaign.

Connecting Communities Music education students are connected to PK–12 classrooms and the broader community in many ways, from classwork and clinics/workshops to camps and extracurricular experiences. We have revitalized the service-learning course that directly supports the surrounding communities, and we teach students about fostering connections between their future music classrooms and communities. The ISYM Hip-Hop Camp serves as an exemplary model of the kinds of community ecosystems we encourage our students to develop.

“

Let me start by saying, I am an incredibly proud Illinois music education alum twice over. I can assuredly say my BME and MME studies at UIUC have shaped and guided my career as a music educator.

I grew up in Oblong, IL (population 1500), two hours south of Champaign-Urbana. There were less than 200

Mike Vecchio, Ph.D., lecturer in music education M i ke Ve c ch i o h a s wo rke d w i t h instrumentalists of all levels, from beginning bands to community bands.

Having previously taught music in the public schools of New York and the northern suburbs of Chicago, he researches the role of creativity in large instrumental ensembles, specifically how teachers can foster creative musical agency among their students through activities involving improvisation and collaborative composition. As a euphonium player, he has been a member of the Northshore Concert Band and the Chicago Brass Band and has taught brass lessons to students ranging from elementary to collegiate players.

students in my high school. I was active in choir and band (the only music classes offered) and fortunate to have a music teacher who created a classroom culture and community that welcomed and valued all students.

My music teacher challenged us to work hard and create the best art possible. This is why nearly one third of the

Stephen Fairbanks, Ph.D., assistant professor of music education Stephen Fairbanks joined the University of Illinois music education faculty in 2018 as a strings specialist. His research explores the phenomenon of cultural transmission in education, specifically focusing on the ethical dilemmas which can arise when classical music is promoted as a medium for social justice. Stephen holds several directorships within the School of Music, including director and conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, co-director of the Paul Rolland String Pedagogy Workshop, and founding director of the Cambridge Summer Music Residency. Stephen holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

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Photo by Darrell Hoemann

“I then stepped foot onto campus at UIUC. I was overwhelmed by the plethora of opportunities, most of which I had never heard of before, including my first time watching an orchestra!”

Stephen Fairbanks conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra.

FACULT Y PROFILE S

school was in the choir at the time. Students like to be valued and challenged.

I then stepped foot onto campus at UIUC. I was overwhelmed by the plethora of opportunities, most of which I had never heard of before, including my first time watching an orchestra! I started my BME studies with the choral emphasis, while also staying connected to band by playing in the Marching Illini Drumline. After taking the middle school general music course, I became very interested in the idea of teaching outside of the ensemble, an idea I had never considered before. So, I added the general music emphasis to my degree and was inspired to start a summer hand-drumming program in my hometown for over 100 students. I also completed an independent study

Pete Shungu, MAT, teaching assistant professor of music education Pete Shungu’s areas of expertise include youth empowerment, community building, teaching multilingual learners, and Hip-Hop music education. He is trilingual (English, Spanish, French) and has taught a variety of subjects, including music, ESL, service-learning, and Hip-Hop emceeing, on both the high school and university levels in several different locations, including Champaign, IL; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; and Colima, Mexico. Born in New Jersey to a father from the heartland of Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and a mother from the heartland of the US (Kansas), he is a trumpet and piano player, and an award-winning Hip-Hop MC and spoken-word poet. He is also the bandleader of Champaign-Urbana-based group Afro D & Global Soundwaves, a seven-piece ensemble that performs a blend of jazz, funk, soul, and socially conscious Hip-Hop.

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course, where I developed curricula and taught music to two-year-olds at the Child Development Laboratory on campus. I student-taught at Glenbard East High School in the Western suburbs of Chicago, where the auditorium seats 1600 people. Yes, that is 100 more people than were in my entire hometown! These amazing learning experiences only happened because my professors valued me and what I had to offer the field, challenging me to try things outside of my comfort zone.

After student teaching at Glenbard East, my cooperating teacher retired, and I was hired to replace him. Five years later, I was hired as the Fine Arts Department Chair, running the choral program. I then decided to go back to get my MME. I was excited to go back to Illinois, but the entire

Donna J. Gallo, Ph.D., assistant professor of music education Donna Gallo taught K-6 general/choral music in Virginia and Connecticut prior to her career in higher education. She was also on faculty at Westminster Choir College where she taught courses on elementary music, choral pedagogy, and critical pedagogy. At Illinois, Donna teaches courses on differentiating music instruction, music in childhood, teaching young singers, curricular perspectives on music education, and research. Donna’s public engagement includes collaborations with music educators in Champaign Unit 4 school district in which she facilitated professional development and partnerships related to creative music making and songwriting. Many of these projects were funded by grants from the university and other professional organizations. Gallo has published her research on professional development, musical creativity, and children’s singing in various music education journals and is currently on the editorial board of the Music Educators Journal.

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Donna Gallo leading a discussion in the graduate course “Curricular Perspectives on Music Education.”

faculty was new to me. While I initially wasn’t sure what to expect, my experiences in this degree program have been the most formative experience in my career thus far.

I was absolutely valued, and I was absolutely challenged.

This program gave me the space I needed to think about things that I frankly didn’t make the time to think about within my traditional day-to-day rehearsal. The courses helped me to think more broadly about my role as an administrator as well, refocusing my energy toward the needs of my students. As part of my capstone project, I created a course proposal for Hip-Hop production, which I then took to our Board of Education and introduced into our daily curriculum. This course has reached hundreds of students who had not previously taken a music course, and it is now being taught in three of our four high schools. I could have never imagined teaching Hip-Hop prior to my MME; yet, I can’t imagine not having this course, and other courses like it, as a part of our curriculum in Glenbard HSD 87. It is a part of the fabric of what we do. I owe that to the music education faculty at Illinois, who valued me and my potential, challenged me to ask hard questions, and encouraged me to seek solutions to them. For this, I am extremely grateful.

Following my MME program, I continue to actively collaborate with the music education students and faculty at UIUC. My Illinois music education story continues today and will continue throughout my career. I value the work that my alma mater is doing, and I challenge them to continue to look forward and consider how to best prepare the music educators of the future. It is only fair that I value and challenge those who have done the same for me! That relationship is how our profession truly makes an impact on all students.

”

—Brandon Catt, chair of the Fine Arts Department and director of choirs, Glenbard East High School, alumnus of BME and MME programs

Cultivating Creativities Music education students expand their own creative capacities and develop a variety of approaches for facilitating creative work for others, both during and beyond their academic programs.

“

The University of Illinois Music Ed program inspired me to explore the endless ways of cultivating creativities within my own musical journey and the ways I facilitate creative work for others. I am most grateful for the Illinois music education faculty who supported me in all facets of my learning while I was a PhD student in the program.

They empowered me to pursue research topics based on my curiosities. As someone who developed an interest in musical creativity and fostering creativity in others, I was allowed to choose courses and projects that supported my research interests. I also felt blessed to be surrounded by faculty members who valued musical creativity, and they facilitated experiences that nurtured the creative potential for their students. Because of the supportive environment and creative culture that was cultivated by the University of Illinois Music Ed program, I am confident to share that I was in the perfect place to delve into my musical creativity research and work.

—Dr. Mindy Park, cellist and music education professor, University of WisconsinStevens Point, PhD alumna

”

“

I am fortunate to have had the experience to work with the Illinois music education faculty as both a student and community partner.

My undergraduate and graduate experiences impacted my personal and professional lives in unimaginable ways. I

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Photo by Darrell Hoemann

Photo by Darrell Hoemann

BME students Kaitlyn Kowalski and Yanni Ovalle performing in the Philharmonia Orchestra.

began my studies with little formal music literacy training and only the music experiences provided to me by my hometown, public school. Not only was I able to gain all the things I needed to be successful in any music classroom, I was encouraged to be creative and imaginative. My experiences performing in multiple ensembles, observing and teaching in real classrooms, and making connections between myself and the faculty set me on a path towards success and leadership in my career. My graduate studies reconnected me with like-minded teachers and reinvigorated the way I engage with my ensembles and general music classes alike.

As a community partner, I am encouraged by the opportunities current students have to connect with in-service teachers as they prepare for their experiences in music teaching and learning. As students step into my classroom, they connect the work from their university learning through engagement with real students. This is an unmatched experience that transforms great students into exceptional teachers.

—Shawn Kimbrel, music education teacher, Jefferson Middle School, alumnus of the BME program and current MME student

”

“Not only was I able to gain all the things I needed to be successful in any music classroom, I was encouraged to be creative and imaginative.”

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Huilin Guan (MME) and Lingxi Zhao (DMA) discussing an article in “Curricular Perspectives on Music Education.”

“I was encouraged to dismantle and re-examine my prior assumptions about teaching and learning”

“

Before I began my doctoral studies at Illinois, I believed I had a strong research trajectory as well as a firm teaching philosophy. Within the first week of coursework, I was encouraged to dismantle and re-examine my prior assumptions about teaching and learning. I began to re-orient and broaden my research interests, seeking new approaches to the act of teaching music. By the time I defended my dissertation, I learned to play the ukulele, produced my own Hip-Hop music, explored DJing, studied with internationally renowned scholars, coordinated a band practicum experience, mentored dozens of student teachers, and presented and published research at national and international levels.

My research and teaching are now centered on place.

The classroom and community context and the people within it are just as important as curricular content. Illinois helped me understand the diversity of teaching contexts that exist throughout the country. Through this diversity, I see opportunities for a variety of musical experiences that can be created for schools and communities to generate musical understanding and creativity. Illinois gave me the curiosity and courage to continue to explore these possibilities—be it wind band, Hip-Hop and dance music, or something I have yet to learn more about!

—Dr. Jonathan Schaller, assistant professor, music education, Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, PhD alumnus

”

Photo by Nolan Vallier

Photo by Lamont Holden

Adam Kruse recording a student at ISYM Hip-Hop Camp.

Bridget Sweet leading a discussion on capstone inquiry projects during the summer session course “Research in Music Education.”

From left to right, Jaime Escatel, Bridget Sweet, Cate Schmittle.

Centering Culturally Responsive Teaching The music education faculty are leaders of culturally responsive teaching at the University of Illinois, and are recognized as such by the School of Music, the College of Fine and Applied Arts, and the Council on Teacher Education. Our coursework and scholarship is intentional about this work, and our critical and socially conscious practices are a hallmark of the program.

“

As a white-presenting Hispanic educator, who has taught exclusively in diverse communities across the greater Chicago area, everything I do in my classroom centers around the importance of culture. Whether celebrating the cultures of my students, exploring cultures through vocal music, or building cultural competence for students of vastly differing backgrounds, culturally responsive teaching is paramount to my educational philosophy.

When I decided to go back to school for a graduate degree, I knew I needed to enroll at a school that shared this belief.

Illinois has been the perfect fit for me to further explore this crucial part of my philosophy and research interests.

The faculty at UIUC are not only leaders and champions of culturally responsive teaching in their institution and their local community, but they are also leaders in the field of music education nationally. I cannot speak highly enough of the faculty’s critical consciousness, and the intentional design of the coursework and scholarship across every class offering. Culturally responsive practices and underpinnings permeate throughout the entire area, making it a true hallmark of the music education experience at Illinois. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to pursue my graduate degree at Illinois.

—Roland Hatcher, choral director, Alan B. Shepard High School, current Summer MME student

W

e are a music education faculty with expertise in band, choir, orchestra, Hip-Hop, technology, early childhood, creativity, musician wellness, multilingual education, teaching neuro- and physically divergent students, conducting, community building, and much more. We are active researchers and publishers as faculty of an “R1” research institution where we connect and apply our cutting-edge scholarship to our curricula and community engagement. We are regularly found in PK–12 music classrooms, at conferences, and on stages across the country as we teach, research, conduct, produce, create, discuss, listen, and imagine throughout the stratums of the music education profession. We are honored to be part of this important land-grant institution and we are so proud to be connected to you.

I-L-L!

”

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Passing the Baton

BY N O LA N VA LLIE R

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F

or the first time in the School of Music’s (SoM)127-year history, two new large-ensemble directors have joined the faculty at the same time in August: Carolyn Watson as the director of orchestras, and Kevin Geraldi as the director of bands. As the two conductors begin establishing their own marks upon the SoM, sonorities interviews them and looks back at the illustrious histories of the band and orchestra programs.

Mandolins and Violins: A Brief History of the UIUC Orchestras The first orchestral performance at UIUC occurred in 1874 during a celebration of the University’s seventh anniversary.

The student-led group consisted of three violins, one bass, three horns, and two pianos; they performed selections from Ferdinand Hérold's opera Zampa.1 For the next two decades, this make-shift orchestra formed and disbanded based on student needs, with student conductors leading the ensemble.

The SoM, founded in 1895, did not immediately begin offering orchestra as an ensemble. Rather, interested string students could join C.W. Foster’s University Mandolin, Banjo, and Guitar Club, a student ensemble that performed from the mid 1890s to the early 1910s. The first official orchestra was formed two years later in 1897, with SoM Director Walter Howe Jones at the helm. Jones was the first Professor of Music hired by the University, teaching organ, piano, history, and theory in his first year.

Howe’s 25-member ensemble met sporadically, performing alongside the Oratorio and Choral Society and accompanying student productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operas.2 Following Walter Howe Jones’s departure from Illinois in 1903, the orchestra was led by SoM Director Frederick Locke Lawrence, who established UIUC as a premiere institution for music education.3 Lawrence’s orchestra included music education majors, non-majors, and townsfolk.4 Lawrence also led the first concerts in Foellinger Auditorium, which was constructed in 1906. To celebrate its grand opening, Lawrence invited the Theodore Thomas Orchestra to dedicate the space.

The Mandolin, Banjo, and Guitar Club in 1895.

After Lawrence left in 1907, Charles Henry Mills took on the role of orchestra director. Due to the challenges of administrating the budding school, Mills relied heavily upon the assistance of A. Austin Harding, eventually hiring a full-time director to replace himself in 1912.

This conductor, Edson Murphey, led the orchestra through the first World War, and scheduled the first guest artist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Walter Unger, to perform with the UI orchestra in 1915.

In 1921, Murphey was replaced by A. Austin Harding just as SoM students and faculty were beginning to relocate to the newly constructed Smith Hall. Harding performed the dual role of director of bands and orchestra for nearly a decade. By all accounts, the orchestra flourished under Harding’s leadership, averaging more than 70 members annually.5 SoM Director Frederick Stiven took the stage in 1931. He was known for reorienting the program, allocating funds for student members to receive assistantships. Stiven’s students were expected to perform three concerts per year, a number that more than doubled in subsequent years.6 In 1935, Stiven took a sabbatical that extended into retirement, and a new orchestra director was selected from among the faculty.

Walter Roosa, who was hired as instructor of violin in 1925, led the orchestra until 1947 when he was replaced by

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John Kuypers with the Concert Orchestra and members of the Walden Quartet, ca. 1948

Bernard Goodman, director of orchestras (1950–1974)

SoM Director John Kuypers.

Igor Stravinsky (1949) and Kuypers joined the SoM after Kuypers was instrumental in establishing Aaron Copland (1950). To serving as the chair of the manage the additional Music Department at Cornell the SoM’s presence within the Festival of ensembles, Kuypers hired University. Kuypers dreamed Contemporary Arts. the first assistant director of of establishing the SoM as orchestras, Paul Rolland, in an internationally renowned 1947. Rolland would go on school; he sought to achieve this dream by strengthen- to become one of the most important string pedagogues ing the orchestra program. His first act expanded the in the nation, developing The Teaching of Action in String orchestra into three ensembles, dividing students into Playing instructional film series. the Sinfonietta, the Concert Orchestra, and the Repertory Following a series of arguments with the dean of the Orchestra. Before coming to UIUC, he also persuaded college, orchestral leadership fell to Bernard Goodman in the members of the Walden String Quartet, the quartet- 1950. Under Goodman, the orchestra program established in-residence at Cornell, to relocate to Illinois. Kuypers the first annual concerto competition in 1951. Like Kuypers, believed that a resident quartet should serve the needs of Goodman invited renowned composers and conductors, the University, and, as such, he required that the quartet’s including Paul Hindemith (1951) and Leopold Stokowski members perform within two of the newly established (1952). In 1956, Goodman and Rolland founded the first orchestras; this inevitably led to tensions between the Violin Camp at ISYM.8 In 1960, Goodman also became the Waldens and Kuypers.7 Director of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Kuypers was instrumental in establishing the SoM’s pres- the first professional community orchestra in the area.9 ence within the Festival of Contemporary Arts, a biennial Goodman worked alongside assistants Lyman Starr, festival that featured perforCharles Delaney, and John mances of newly composed Garvey. After receiving funds works by Harry Partch, Ernst Paul Rolland . . . would go on to become from the U.S. State DepartKreneck, and Jan Meyerow- one of the most important string ment in 1963, Goodman and itz among many others.

Delaney took the orchespedagogues in the nation, developing Kuypers also solicited the tra on an 18-week tour of assistance of several renown The Teaching of Action in String Playing Central and South Americomposers to guest conduct ca.10 Giving 48 formal coninstructional film series. the orchestra, including certs, the String Quartet, the

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Woodwind Quintet, the Brass Ensemble, the Percussion Ensemble, and the String Orchestra performed in a variety of international venues. During the opening concert of the KCPA in April 1969, Goodman conducted the University Orchestra in Benjamin Britten’s Spring Symphony.11 In 1974, a national search was conducted for a new director, and Paul Vermel was selected. During his first years at UIUC, Vermel conducted several operas with the Illinois Opera Theatre, including Amahl and the Night Visitors, Die Fledermaus, Fidelio, and La Bohème. Vermel’s first year also saw the founding of the UI Russian Folk Orchestra, an ensemble led by violist John Garvey Paul Vermel, director that consisted of balalaikas and of orchestras domras. Vermel and Garvey collabo(1974–1994) rated on several occasions, including a 1981 UI Symphony concert that featured Emanuil Sheynkman (mandolin). In 1980, Jack Ranney was hired as assistant. Ranney was predominantly known for his role in directing ISYM from 1982 to 1991. In 1986, Ian Hobson founded Sinfonia da Camera, the area’s first professional chamber orchestra.

In 1995, Donald Schleicher took over for Vermel as director of orchestras, a position he would hold until 2021. Under Schleicher’s baton, the UI Symphony Orchestra premiered works by Steven Stucky, Anna Clyne, Joan Tower, and Andrew Norman.

They also performed several orchestral and operatic masterworks including Mahler Symphony No. 5 (2004) and Symphony No. 4 (2009), Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 12 Donald Schleicher, (2006), Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande director of (2000), and Mozart’s Le nozze di orchestras (1995–2021) Figaro (2001). During his time at Illinois, Schleicher was invited to conduct the Illinois All-State Honors Orchestra on several occasions. In 2018, Schleicher was invested with the Daniel J. Perrino Chair in Music for his work in the music education and orchestral divisions and for his work in establishing undergraduate scholarships. Following Schleicher’s retirement in 2021, William Eddins became interim director of orchestras.

“Creating a Diversity of Repertoire”: A Conversation with Carolyn Watson In Fall 2022, Carolyn Watson joined the School of Music as director of orchestras and associate professor of music.

Originally from Australia, she has been in the U.S. for nine years. In addition to this role, Watson serves as music director of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra (IN) and is principal guest conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra.

What do you bring from your past conducting experiences to this position?

Well, it’s been a journey; though it certainly hasn’t been a linear one. Relatively speaking, I came to conducting quite late after spending some years as a violinist and as a pedagogue. In addition to my professional conducting work, I’ve led orchestral programs at Interlochen Arts Academy, Texas State University and the University of Kansas, so I guess I also have a lot of institutional experience. I’m excited about the direction of the SoM here at UIUC, where it’s headed and what that means I’m potentially able to do as director of orchestras. For example, I’m working on bringing William Barton, a composer and didgeridoo virtuoso over from Australia in March to solo with the UI Symphony Orchestra in an orchestral program built around the music of Indigenous and Native peoples around the world. I’m guessing that not a huge number of collegiate orchestras would likely lead with that kind of programming. As such, I’m interested in creating unique opportunities to showcase a diversity of quality orchestral experiences, alongside modeling for students multi-faceted career trajectories and portfolio careers, something which has been my experience. Embracing that, with all of its challenges, intricacies, and various tangents, and ultimately being able to share that with our students, that’s exciting.

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What sorts of repertoire are you considering?

What are you passionate about?

the rehearsal process of collaborating with people. Opera productions tend to take a longer period of time during With respect to my taste in repertoire, I guess it’s a little which you are able to cultivate relationships with your like my taste in life in that I consider myself predominantly collaborators. I enjoy this process of working with and eclectic and able to enjoy most anything. I particularly like connecting with people. Certainly, I would love to do more cross-collaborative, interdisciplinary doing new pieces because they see sorts of things outside of the SoM, me learn, grow, and develop; I enjoy with Theatre, with Dance, and more learning together with a group. With “I am really looking broadly throughout the university. In UISO for example, we are currently my previous positions, I’ve done all forward to being involved working on the Webern Passacaglia.

I’ve never done the piece before. I with Lyric Theatre, as they sorts of really, really fun educational, outreach, and interdisciplinary kinds know of it and have heard much about have invited me to lead of concerts, which have proven very it, of course, but I’ve never actually successful, and I’d like to try similar done it before. I’m putting the Pas- one of their productions.” sorts of projects here. sacaglia on a program with Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations. Fabulous pieces of music, both of them, but they probably have never been on a program together. Ever. These are paired with Elgar’s Enigma Variations; another piece by Purcell arranged by Britten, the Chacony in G Minor, so there’s obviously a tie-in there. I am excited by programs like this, which have a central, underlying theme that somehow connects the music. I feel that my role as a conductor is about facilitating those kinds of connections for both our students and our audiences.

For me, good music encompasses a lot of different types of music. We are also planning a World Music concert centered around folk music, Indigenous folk music, that is. William Barton, our didgeridoo soloist, will perform the solo in a piece by Peter Sculthorpe that’s based on an [Australian] aboriginal chant. We’re also planning to do Huang Ruo’s Folk Songs for Orchestra, Valerie Coleman’s Umoja, Chavez’s Sinfonia India, as we celebrate world musics as performed by an orchestra. So, a real diverse array of music styles, influences, and composers, but again, the program is conceived around a central theme.

With your interest in opera and theatre, are you considering any collaborations between other areas of the SoM to create different types of musical opportunities?

Most definitely! I am really looking forward to being involved with Lyric Theatre, as they have invited me to lead one of their productions. I am still, as you can imagine, finding my feet as to what that all is potentially going to look like!

The thing I think I love most about opera and theatre is

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Where do you see the program headed?

Fantastic question to which I’m not sure I have the answer yet. Firstly, with respect to the kind of educational experiences we offer via the sorts of repertoire I am programming now and have in mind for the future, I’d like to think that we will be a role model for collegiate orchestras nationwide, with respect to the diversity of the orchestral experience. In terms of the other aspects of the program, the Philharmonia, the Illini Strings, we are working to forge distinct identities for each of those groups. I’m hoping to provide a variety of different kinds of performance experiences . . . like working with Illini Strings on perhaps doing some different kinds of presentations, outdoors, flash mob-esque etc.

Do you think there are opportunities for chamber music within the orchestra program?

Yes! A lot of orchestral music is, in fact, chamber music and I believe students perform better when they bring that mindset to an orchestral rehearsal. One of the pieces—the Chacony by Purcell arr. Britten—on the first concert is a strings-only work, and I’m actually not planning on conducting it because I want them to approach it as a chamber ensemble, something I feel is fundamentally important.

Very often in my programming I’ll select a piece to feature the winds, or a brass fanfare, or something for the percussion, and/or a strings-only piece because I find once we break into those constituent groups, we can really sort of hone and work such that it benefits the whole group.

From “University of Illinois March” to “Illini Anthem”: A Brief History of the UIUC Bands The earliest band performance at UIUC occurred in 1868. The Illinois Band initially “provided musical support to the Military Department.”12 This ensemble was led by a series of student conductors. When the SoM was founded, conducting duties fell to Walter Howe Jones and then to Frederick Locke A. Austin Harding, Lawrence. In 1905, Lawrence solicited director of bands A. Austin Harding, a junior cornetist (1906–1948) and in engineering, to take the reins of orchestra director (1921–1931) the band area.

As a 27-year-old director, Harding refocused the band’s goals, shifting it from a marching ensemble to a concert ensemble. This decision was made in deliberation with both John Philip Sousa and Edwin Franko Goldman, whom Harding had contacted after becoming director.

Harding remained in close contact with both Sousa and Goldman throughout his tenure at UIUC, serving with them as treasurer and eventually president within the Board of Directors of the American Bandmasters Association beginning in 1929.

This same year, Sousa composed the University of Illinois March, touting Harding’s ensemble as the “world’s greatest college band.” Sousa was so impressed with Harding’s management of the band, that he donated the entirety of his civilian band library to UIUC. Harding utilized Sousa’s rich collection of music within Concert Band, 1st Regimental Band, and 2nd Regimental Band concerts.

Several of Harding’s students and protégés went on to become renowned directors, including Frederick Fennell, William D. Revelli, and Glen Cliffe Bainum, among many others. One, Ray Dvorak, became the SoM’s first assistant director of bands in 1926.

Mark Hindsley arrived at UIUC in 1934, becoming the second assistant director of bands. After serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force during WWII, Hindsley returned to UIUC in 1948 to serve as interim director of bands. Hindsley became director of bands two years later. Hindsley is Col. Mark Hindsley in most noted for his contribution to wind front of the Concert band repertoire, arranging more than Band, 1957 75 orchestral works for band. Under

Hindsley, student membership expanded rapidly. The SoM hired Everett Kisinger and Guy Duker, who directed the marching band, to share the conducting load. Five years into his directorship, Hindsley oversaw the construction of the $870,000 Harding Band Building, the first building in the nation constructed for a collegiate band.

After Hindsley retired in 1970, a national search was conducted, and Dr. Harry Begian, who had previously conducted at Wayne State and Michigan State, was hired. Enrollment in the bands surged during the Begian era; the SoM began offering Large Symphonic Band, Small Symphonic Dr. Harry Begian, Band, and Concert Band as a result. director of bands Begian was assisted by Eldon Oyen, (1970–1984) Harvey Herman, and Gary E. Smith, whose innovative routines are still performed by the Marching Illini. In 1971, women were accepted into the marching band for the first time. Initially, women were only allowed to participate in the flag corps and a trumpet fanfare ensemble. After the first female performer was turned away from rehearsal in September 1971, several stories appeared within the Daily Illini that doubted the administration’s ability to create an equal space for women.

By the following year, however, the 175-piece marching band included more than 30 female members in both the flag corps and the marching ensemble, and this number would continue to grow.

In 1985, James Keene, a student of William D. Revelli— who was a student of Harding—became the director of bands. Keene founded the Wind Symphony as the top student ensemble and began recording a series of albums with this ensemble. During his time, Keene commissioned more than 30 new works. The Illinois Band Alumni Association was also formed during Keene’s tenure. Keene was assisted

by Ken Steinsultz, Peter Griffin, and Tom Caneva.

Following Keene’s retirement in James Keene, 2008, Dr. Abel Saldivar Ramirez became director of bands the interim director of bands for the (1985–2008) 2008–2009 academic year. He was Continued on page 25

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“Building Bridges”: A Conversation with Kevin Geraldi Kevin Geraldi joined the SoM in Fall 2022 as director of bands and associate professor of music. A native of Elmhurst, IL, Geraldi was previously the Director of Instrumental Ensembles at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Tell us about yourself: I am an Illinois native. I grew up in the Western suburbs of Chicago, in Elmhurst. My dad was a middle school band director in the nearby town of Westchester for 46 years. Some of my earliest “How do I take memories are of going to his this historically concerts, and I remember going to his school when phenomenal I would have a day off and organization and he would have to teach and grow it to the next I’d go and hang out in the band room. I really got to see stage?” first-hand the work he was doing, the impact it made on those students’ lives, how he could take something he knew and cared a lot about and transmit it to other people to get them to care about it. That was really formative.

I taught at UNC Greensboro for the past 17 years before coming here. My position at UNCG really evolved over that time. When I started out, I was associate director of bands, doing conducting classes, teaching graduate students in conducting, and starting the mixed-chamber ensemble program, a one-per-part sinfonietta type of ensemble.

That evolved pretty quickly, and I became director of orchestras in my third year, and later director of instrumental ensembles, leading the overall program. The last 14 years of my time at UNCG was this multi-faceted role of band and orchestra leadership. It’s a really good place and I enjoyed living and working there, but now it feels like I’ve come full circle. I’ve come back to Illinois after being gone for quite some time.

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With your experience in both bands and orchestra, do you plan on creating opportunities for collaboration between the two areas?

I plan to talk with Carolyn Watson about this, because this was something I did at UNCG. I found that the ability to rehearse the orchestra on Monday and the wind ensemble on Tuesday, and so forth, was really stimulating, musically and creatively. I got to do opera, I got to premiere pieces on both sides of the proverbial aisle. It was great. . . .

So, there is room for collaboration here, and there seems like there is momentum for that kind of bridge building. So much of what I want to accomplish has to do with building bridges: between the Harding Band Building and the Music Building, or with other programs on campus and in the community that are already there, but may need to be reinforced, or newly created. I don’t want to prejudge what that might mean here, but I’m fortunate to have had that experience in the past.

As a graduate of ISYM, how do you plan on contributing to the program?

I’m certain that the first time I was on campus for any length of time was the summer after I was in seventh grade, when I came to ISYM. I sat in the Harding rehearsal room with my baritone and played in the junior high camp band. I still remember playing on the stage of the Great Hall, walking out and thinking, “Where am I?” It was an other-worldly experience to play in there. . . . I have a lot of experience with administering summer music camp programs from my time at UNCG. I’ve had some preliminary conversations about ISYM to learn about how the program has evolved, which is what I have to do first. ISYM is at a transition point coming through the pandemic, so I’ll do my best to assist, consult, help recruit students, spread the word about the value of the program, and so forth.

What is your vision for the program?

There is an incredibly deep and strong historical tradition here. That’s really what I’m thinking about: how do I take this historically phenomenal organization and grow it to the next stage? A lot of the initial effort will be towards reinforcing and building bridges. I’m really happy that so many of my colleagues from the SoM will be performing as soloists with the Wind Symphony. Just something as simple as that, which is actually not that simple because of the geography of our facilities makes a big impact on our students. I’ve had a number of discussions from

students in the musicology area about writing program notes for our concerts, there is also some effort toward giving pre-concert lectures. There have always been ties between Illinois Bands and music education programs around our state, which we are working to strengthen even further. As we move the program forward, the more we can be connected technologically to the outer world through the streaming of our events, the archiving of our events, the curation of our YouTube channel, will raise the profile of our extraordinary program to another level.

For nearly 150 years the Illinois Bands have been a leader in the band medium in general and new music in particular. We will continue leaning into that, investing our resources in a diverse range of ground-breaking composers for projects that will mean a lot to the School and to the students that get to perform those pieces in all of our concert ensembles. It’s about giving as many students as possible a depth of experience.

You commissioned a number of new works at UNCG; are there any standout collaborations you had with a particular composer? What are you planning on commissioning in the future?

I have a long-standing partnership with several composers, who are also great friends. The first is Joel Puckett, who is on the faculty at Peabody. We will perform one of his pieces, Shadow of Sirius, with Jonathan Keeble as soloist in February. I’ve premiered at least two of his pieces and collaborated on performances of several of his other pieces, and recorded at least three, if not four of his pieces. Steven Bryant is another composer I’ve worked with; he taught for a time on the faculty of UNCG. I’ve commissioned and performed his pieces frequently as well. The most recent commission, of which Illinois was on the consortium, is a work by James Lee III, who teaches at Morgan State University.

We’ll perform his piece Solar Testimonies: Symphony for Band in November. One of the pieces in the pipeline is

by Jennifer Higdon. I had a meeting yesterday about work for soprano and wind ensemble by Christopher Cerrone. There are other composers I'm close with, including Hilary Purrington, that I want to be sure to get into the pipeline soon. I’m really pleased about how that wide range of composers is growing to represent who our students are and the variety of ways in which we view the musical world.

A Brief History of the UIUC Bands, continued followed by Robert Rumbelow, who served from 2009 to 2014. Following Rumbelow’s departure from the University, Linda Moorhouse served as interim director until Stephen Peterson was hired. During this rapid period of transition, a host of assistant and associate directors worked with the bands, including Dr. Roby George (2008–2010), Barry Houser (2011– ), Jesse Leyva (2012–2013), and Elizabeth Stephen Peterson, Peterson (2015–2022). During this time, director of bands Dr. Moorhouse, who now serves as (2015–2022) the associate director of the School of Music, became the fifth band director at UIUC to serve as president of the American Bandmasters Association.

Under Steve Peterson’s baton, the band program continued to develop in its long tradition of excellence, performing nationally within major venues like Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. Commenting upon this tradition while connecting with current students, the Marching Illini collaborated with Music Technology Professor Lamont Holden to create an updated Hip-Hop fight song for the University Bands called “Illini Anthem.” As the bands look to the future, creating opportunities for innovation and collaboration remain central goals.

1 Albert Dale Harrison, “A History of the University of Illinois School of Music, 1940–1970” (EdD Diss., UIUC, 1986), 53.

2 Ibid.

3 Ann L. Silverberg, A Sympathy with Sounds: A Brief History of the University of Illinois School of Music to Celebrate Its Centennial (Urbana: School of Music at the University of Illinois, 1995), 18.

4 Ibid.

5 Harrison, “A History of the Illinois School of Music,” 54.

6 Ibid.

7 Harrison, “A History of the Illinois School of Music,” 127-128.

8 “Illinois,” American String Teacher 6, no. 3 (Fall 1956): 10.

9 W.J. Roberts, “Early History of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony,” Online at https://cusymphony.org/mission-history/.

10 Harrison, “A History of the Illinois School of Music,” 262.

11 Silverberg, A Sympathy with Sounds, 95.

12 Peter James Griffin, “A History of the Illinois Industrial University/ University of Illinois Band, 1867–1908” (EdD Diss., UIUC, 2004), 1.

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fac u lt y n ew s n e w hir e s Matt Chiu (Theory/Com­ position) will be defending his dissertation at the Eastman School of Music (NY) in Aug. 2022. Prior to arriving at UIUC, he earned music theory degrees from the University of Connecticut and Boston University. Chiu is interested in computational approaches for music analysis. He has presented papers nationally and internationally, publishing on topics related to machine learning methods for harmony and scales, the perception of pop and folk musical melodies, vocal delivery in punk and emo, and music-language analogs.

Iura de Rezende (Clarinet) has appeared as a per­form­ ing artist in venues through­ out the U.S., South America, and Europe, including per­ formances with the Basel Symphony Orchestra (Switzerland) and the Neues Orchester Basel. Rezende has collaborated with many notable composers, including George Rochberg and Gualtiero Dazzi, and performers, including Antonio Meneses, cello, and Jacob Katsnel­son, piano. Prior to arriving at UIUC, Professor Rezende was the principal clarinetist at the Neues Orchester Basel (Switzerland) and Professor of Clarinet at the Federal University of São João del Rei (Brazil). As a scholar, he is interested in clarinet repertoire and music performance. In 2020, he won the FUNARTE Respirate prize for his video recording of the Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet Op. 115.

Kim Fleming (Bands) comes to Illinois from the University of Michigan where she recently completed her DMA in Wind Band Conducting. Prior to Michigan, Fleming taught high school band in Wauconda, Illinois and middle school

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band in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. In these roles, she directed curricular concert bands, conducted musical pit orchestras, and co-directed athletic band programs.

In 2019, the Illinois Directors of Student Activities recognized her as an Outstanding Activity Advisor for her work with high school students. In addition to teaching, she is an active guest conductor and clinician. Her research has led to presentations at state and national conferences, including the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium and the Instrumental Music Teacher Educators Colloquium. Fleming earned her MM in Wind Conducting from Northwestern University and her BM in Music Education from Ithaca College.

Kevin Geraldi (Bands) begins his appoint­ment as director of bands and associate professor of conducting at the Univer­s ity of Illinois in the fall of 2022. His responsibilities include conduct­ing the internationally renowned Illinois Wind Symphony, guiding the graduate program in wind conducting, and provid­ing administrative leadership for the university’s comprehensive and historic band program.

Previously, Geraldi served as director of instrumental ensembles and professor of conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he joined the faculty in 2005. At UNCG, he conducted the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Casella Sinfonietta, led the graduate program in instrumental conducting, taught undergraduate conducting, and guided the instrumental ensemble program. He has held additional faculty positions at Lander University in Greenwood, SC, and in the public schools of Westchester, IL. Salley Koo (Violin) joined us as assistant professor of violin, after serving as a visiting artist for the past year.

Koo previously taught at Adelphi University (NY) and

Montclair State University (NJ). She has performed internationally as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, appearing recently at Tanglewood, Ravinia, and the Kimmel Center. She is regularly invited to perform as a guest artist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Knights.

Hannah Rudy (Bands) holds a BME from the University of Georgia; an MM in Wind Band Conducting from the University of Colorado, Boulder; and a DMA in Wind Band Conducting from the University of Oklahoma. She previously served as the assistant director of bands at Kennesaw State University (GA) and the assistant conductor for concert ensembles at the University of Oklahoma.

Peter Shungu (Music Edu­ cation) comes to UIUC from Central High School in Champaign, where he has taught for three years.

Shungu’s areas of exper­tise include teaching multi­lingual learners, youth empowerment, community building, and Hip-Hop music education. He is trilingual (English, Spanish, French) and has taught a variety of subjects, including music, ESL, service-learning, and Hip-Hop emceeing. His teaching engagements have included both high school and university levels and have taken place in several different locations, including Champaign, IL; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; and Colima, Mexico. Born in NJ to a father from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a mother from KS, he is a trumpet and piano player, an award-winning Hip-Hop MC, and spoken-word poet.

He is also the bandleader of ChampaignUrbana-based group Afro D & Global Soundwaves, a seven-piece ensemble that performs a blend of jazz, funk, soul, and socially conscious Hip-Hop.

r e tir e m e nt s and departures FAC U LT Y

Elliot Chasanov Timothy McGovern Stephen G. Peterson Elizabeth B. Peterson Gabriel Solis Heinrich Taube S TA F F

Aaron Bui Jennifer Gavel Kimberly Johnson Gina Moton Chad Wahls

Jonathon Smith (Music­ ology) holds a BA in music performance from Lander University (SC), an MM in musicology from the University of Tennessee, and a PhD in musicology from UIUC. His dissertation explores the shifting spaces of Sacred Harp singing with particular focus on imagined and real ruralness, Celticism, race, and sexual identities. He has presented papers at the Society for American Music, the Society for Ethnomusicology, the International Council for Traditional Music, and the Southern American Studies Association among other conferences. Smith was the first graduate student Chimesmaster for the Altgeld Chimes on the campus of UIUC. Mike Vecchio (Music Education) comes to UIUC from the University of Michigan, where he recently completed his PhD in Music Education. There, Vecchio taught courses in music education, while conducting the Michigan Youth Symphonic Band and the University of Michigan Band Alumni Association Concert Band. Vecchio’s dissertation focuses on creative

musical activities within instrumental ensembles and the development of creative musical agency. He is a contributing author for the upcoming book Musician Focused Curriculum and Assessment, 2nd Edition (GIA). He previously taught for eight years in the public schools of New York and the northern suburbs of Chicago. He holds a BME from Ithaca College, as well as an MME and MM (Euphonium Performance) from the University of Michigan.

Carolyn Watson (Orches­ tras) holds a PhD in performance from the University of Sydney (Australia), where she studied with Imre Palló.

In addition to her current position at UIUC, Watson is principal guest conductor of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and music director of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra (IN).

Prior to arriving at Illinois, Watson conducted with the Cape Symphony, Monash Academy Orchestra (Australia), Traverse Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and the Kansas City Ballet.

She has conducted at Des Moines Metro Opera, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Dallas Opera among other Opera companies. In 2017, she was one of six conductors selected for the Hart Institute for Women Conductors. In 2015, she earned American Prize for Orchestral Performance with the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra (MI).

Douglas Yeo (Trom­ bone) Clinical Asso­ ciate Professor of Trombone Douglas Yeo was appointed to the UIUC faculty in 2022. Prior to this appointment, he was a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2012, served as professor of trombone at Arizona State University from 2012 to 2016, and has taught at Wheaton College (IL) since 2019. A graduate of Wheaton College and New York University, he is the author of five books—including Homer Rodeheaver and the Rise of the Gospel Music

Industry (University of Illinois Press, co-authored with Kevin Mungons) and An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player (Rowman & Littlefield)—has released seven solo recordings, and has given masterclasses and recitals on five continents. In 2014, he received the International Trombone Association’s highest honor, the ITA Award.

fac ult y updates Christina Bashford (Musi­ cology) finalized the manuscript of her book Violin Culture in Britain, 1870– 1930: Music-making, Society, and the Popularity of Stringed Instruments (under contract with Cambridge University Press) and gave a number of invited presentations associated with this project, including an online colloquium at the University of York (UK) in Oct. 2021 and an in-person talk at the Midwest Victorian Studies Association’s annual conference in Richmond, IN, for which she was the Jane Stedman Memorial Plenary Lecturer. In fall 2021 she was elected to a second term as President of the North American British Music Studies Association and subsequently oversaw its first hybrid conference in Jul. 2022. On campus, she took on the role of NASM Self-Study editor in preparation for the School’s upcoming reaccreditation process and officially joined the UI research team contributing to the Internet of Musical Events digital humanities (international) project.

Donna A. Buchanan (Musi­ cology) published a review of Wild Music: Sound and Sovereignty in Ukraine, by Maria Sonevytsky (Wesleyan University Press,

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fac u lt y n ew s 2019), in Slavic Review. She presented a paper, “Sound as Sociocosmic Activism: Musically Mitigating COVID-19 in 2020 Bulgaria,” at the Society for Ethno­ musicology meeting in October. With the Society’s Special Interest Group for European Music, which she co-chairs, Buchanan developed a public webpage of informational resources on Ukrainian music. In Apr. she organized a multi-sited event, “For Ukraine: An Artistic Tribute,” to benefit humanitarian organizations assisting those impacted by the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Co-sponsored by the SoM and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center, this event featured poetry recitations by the Ukrainian Student Association and performances by the Altgeld Chimes (directed by musicology PhD student Michael Brous­ sard), the Hip-Hop Collective (co-directed

by Professor Rudolf Haken and Will Patterson), and Buchanan’s Balkanalia ensemble, featuring alumna vocalist Elena Negruta (MM ’14). The Spurlock Ethnographic Museum and MPAL also hosted exhibits of Ukrainian artifacts, spearheaded

by REEEC, Buchanan, and graduate students in her Introduction to Ethnomusicology seminar, to complement the tribute.

Carlos Carrillo (Com­ position Theory) became one of twelve composers selected to compose a new work in the Classical Commissioning category of Chamber Music America in September 2021. As a part of this grant, Carrillo is actively composing a new work entitled Four Walls within a project called Musica Poetica for the Third Coast Percussion ensemble of Chicago, a leading ensemble that has premiered many new works of music for percussion quartet. This past Feb. Carrillo was selected from among 130 applicants as a finalist for Parma Recordings and Sphinx Organization’s Equitable Recording Project. His work Will the quiet times come will be performed

by Thomas Mesa and Michelle Cann in a

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new album. Other finalists included on the recording are Andrea Casarrubios, Kevin Day, Sebastain Quesada, and Mario Oyanadel.

perform as a soloist in Wilmington, DE this Nov. 2022; and will work with members of the Atlanta Symphony next Jun. 2023 at the Serafin Summer Music Festival.

Ollie Watts Davis (Voice, Black Chorus) shared her recital “Toward Justice and Shared Humanity: Art Song of Black Americans as Lens, Language, Vision, and Hope” at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Convention; East Tennessee State University; Salisbury University; and the Generation Venetian Arts Society (FL), honoring Dr. Mary McCleod Bethune. She appeared on WILL’s Classical BTS Special and coordinated the “Sence You Went Away” concert, recognizing the 20th anniversary of Sep. 11, 2001. She directed the fifth Black Chorus at ISYM, served as guest conductor for the Illinois Music Educators Association Conference All-State Chorus, and gave the lecture “The Music of Black Americans as Art, Aesthetic, and Activism” at Moody Bible Institute and the inaugural Progressive Chicago Resident Intern program. Professor Davis is an Alumni Honoree in the new Illinois Campus Instructional Facility. She also received the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated Pearls of Wisdom Award.

Donna Gallo’s (Music Edu­ cation) collaborations with community song­writers and local educator Emily Kuchen­b rod (MME ’21) resulted in an article entitled, “’Can I Sing You My Song?’ Songwriting in Elementary Music with Community Artist Mentors,” published in the Music Educators Journal (Mar. 2022). Donna was invited to write a chapter entitled “Video Analysis as a Catalyst for Developing Music Educators’ Creative Music Making Practices” for the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Creativities in Music Education (anticipated Dec. 2022). She conducted the ILMEA District 2 Junior High Festival Treble Ensemble in Nov. 2021 and was invited to present a virtual PD session on creative movement for DuPage County music educators in Mar. 2022. In Jul., Donna co-presented a paper with colleague Adam Kruse in a presidential session at the International Society for Music Education virtual conference on the topic of in-service music educators engaging with Hip-Hop culture.

John Dee (Oboe) recorded two new world premieres written and dedicated to him by composer Andrew Lewinter. He recorded an Oboe and String Quartet with the Jupiters and a Trio for Oboe, Horn, and Piano with his colleagues, Bernhard Scully and Casey Robards. He was an invited soloist at the HighlandsCashiers (NC) Music Festival this summer and also enjoyed the re-opening of our ISYM as director of oboe during pre-college week. He will serve as Principal Oboe of the Sinfonia da Camera and ChampaignUrbana Symphony again this season; will

Rudolf Haken (Viola, Elec­ tric Strings) authored a 5000-word feature article on the University of Illinois Electric Strings program for the fall 2021 issue of the Journal of the American Viola Society. In Jul. 2022 Haken served on the faculty of the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp in KS. In Aug. 2022, Haken took 18 students from the Electric Strings Ensemble and Hip-Hop Collective to Germany for a 10-day concert tour in conjunction with the Bayreuth Young Artists Festival. Haken leads the world’s only degree program in electric strings at UIUC, offering Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral, and Artist Diploma degrees.

fac u lt y p u bl i cat i o ns and r ec or di ngs Homer Rodeheaver and the Rise of the Gospel Music Industry (University of Illinois Press, 2022) by Douglas Yeo and Kevin Mungons Clinical Associate Professor of Trombone, Douglas Yeo, published two books this past year; the first of which, co-authored with Kevin Mungons, is a groundbreaking biography of the trombonist and gospel musician Homer Rodeheaver. Rodeheaver grew up at the turn of the century in rural Ohio and began a career as a door-to-door salesman, selling hymnals to and playing trombone for his potential customers. Rodeheaver began marketing his trombone playing, performing on regional revival circuits, and eventually joining Billy Sunday’s traveling evangelist services. By World War I, he had become one of the most popular evangelical revivalists. According to Robert F. Darden on Christianity Today, “Mungons and Yeo elevate their contribution [to the University of Illinois Press’s Music in American Life series] with meticulous detail and research; a penchant for finding fascinating, revealing stories and anecdotes; and a sparkling, highly readable prose style that’s all too rare in most academic books.”

An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) by Douglas Yeo In a book that explores his long-time interest in low brass musical interests, Douglas Yeo has created a dictionary that includes over 600 entries on low brass instruments, instrument builders, instrument parts, performers, teachers, and compositions as well as 125 original visual images by Lennie Peterson. MD Jenkins, writing for Choice Reviews, notes, “Yeo made a particular effort to highlight women, African Americans, and persons of color who contributed in important ways to low brass. All in all, a fine review of low brass instruments... Essential.” David Stern wrote the following review in the International Trombone Association Journal, “This is an excellent first step for reference or research. There are exhaustive references to outside sources for further study and the 13-page bibliography is perhaps the most comprehensive resource available. This is one of the books that should be on every teacher’s shelf and in every academic library.”

Mark Tremonti Sings Frank Sinatra (Janus Music Records, 2022) featuring Joel Spencer Guitarist and vocalist Mark Tremonti, known for his role as lead guitarist of the band Creed, has released a jazz album of 14 tracks, featuring the surviving members of Sinatra’s touring band with Professor Joel Spencer on drums. As Tasha Brown of Distorted Sound notes, “...what comes as a wonderful surprise is the extent of Tremonti’s vocal range. Shifting seamlessly through octaves, his delivery boarders on perfection, prompting us to rewind the track at one point in particular so we can drink it in once more.” In an interview with The Music Room’s Tony Keefer, Mark Tremonti noted, “‘My Way’ was the last song we tracked... There were no charts for it. It was just us jamming. And then Jeremy jumps on the piano, and Joel jumped on the drums...And I’m happy with where it turned out.” Proceeds from the album will go towards the National Down Syndrome Society.

Lamont Holden (Music Te c h n o l o g y ) a n d Jarrel Young released a video production of their rap/Hip-Hop fight song, “Illini Anthem.”

The video can be found on the SoM website and YouTube. Holden taught his MUS 499 Music Monetization course in collaboration with DJ Burn One. In the class, students learned how to create, market, and sell sample packs and beats to artists. At ISYM this summer, Holden co-taught the Hip Hop Camp with Adam Kruse, allowing students to take the stage at the Canopy Club.

Jonathan Keeble (Flute) was named the National Flute Association’s 2023 Distinguished Ser vice Award Winner. As the 15th winner of this distinction in the NFA’s 50-year history, Keeble will be feted at the 2023 convention in Phoenix, AZ. During the summer of 2022, he gave the world premiere/presentation of Richard Prior’s kinna for shira banki with Ann Yeung as the Aletheia Duo at the American Harp Society’s 60th-anniversary national conference. The duo was featured in full concert at the NFA’s 50th-anniversary national convention in Chicago, IL, where Keeble also appeared as a panelist and ensemble member, including at the NFA’s final Gala Concert. Keeble continues his relationships alongside world-renowned artists at Madeline Island Chamber Music, Aria International, and as a guest artist at flute festivals around the country. As a soloist at Ecuador’s Festival Mitad del Mundo, Keeble joined flutists from throughout the world celebrating the festival’s 30th anniversary.

Charles McNeill (Jazz Saxophone) performed with, produced, and/or recorded for the following: “A Tribute to Chick Corea” Salem, VA; Zvonimir Tot,

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fac u lt y n ew s guitarist, with Balkan music and strings from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s Michael Brecker/Jaco Pastorius Tribute; with Tito Puente Jr. at The House of Blues; the Steve Allee Big Band; the U of I Jazz Faculty at Midwest Clinic; the Metropolitan Area Youth Jazz Orchestra; the Walter White Allstar Big Band; the Mineral College Jazz Ensemble with Gregg Bissonette; at JEN Conference 2022 in Dallas, TX; with the Keokuk Big Band; The International Jazz Day “Tenor Titans Concert;” with bassist Christian McBride during his residency; the Heritage Ensemble; the UNO Jazz Camp in Omaha, NE; the St. Charles Community College Jazz Camp; the Justin Haynes Project; and the Italian Jazz Recording Company for various projects involving drummer Billy Cobham, bassist Jeff Berlin, and guitarist Mike Stern.

Charlotte Mattax Moersch (Harpsichord, Musicology) gave several performances during the 2021–2022 season, including a continued collaboration with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (PA). Notable concerts included an appearance as concerto soloist in J.S. Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in G Minor, BWV 1058 and concerts with the world-renowned guitarist Eliot Fisk. At UIUC, she directed and performed with Concerto Urbano in concerts featuring works by underrepresented composers, Pergolesi’s Sabat mater, and others. Professor Moersch expanded her “Vernissage Project” of solo harpsichord videos with pieces by 17th-century composers Chambonnières, L. Couperin, D’Anglebert, and Jacquet de la Guerre, tuning different temperaments to illustrate the expressive qualities afforded by each. Finally, she celebrated the 300th anniversary of François Couperin’s third book of harpsichord works in a solo recital at the Berkeley (CA) Early Music Festival, where she also performed in a Bach Jamboree honoring the

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tercentenary of Bach’s first volume of his Well-Tempered Clavier.

Janice L. Minor (Clarinet) was featured at the International Clarinet Association conference in Reno, Nevada and was invited to present at the 76th annual Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference, the world’s largest instrumental music education conference, drawing approximately 17,000 attendees annually to Chicago from all 50 states and as many as 40 countries.

Casey Robards (Piano Pedagogy) conducted Puccini’s La Bohéme at the Bay View Music Festival and Heggie’s Three Decembers at South Bend Opera. She was a conducting participant in the Opera in the 21st-Century Program at Banff Centre. Robards premiered Anthony Patterson’s Gloria with the National Chorale and gave recitals with Karen Slack, Ollie Watts Davis, Sara Fraker, LaToya Lain, Kenneth Overton, Bernhard Scully, John Dee, Meg Freivogel, and Daniel McDonough.

Robards was invited to present four sessions at the NATS National Conference and led a session called “the Sacred in Opera” at the NOA national conference.

She was a guest resident artist for the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and gave masterclasses for Indiana University, South Bend and Eastern Tennessee State University. She adjudicated the 2022 NSAL piano competition, which was held in Urbana.

Bernhard Scully (Horn) was made a member of the UI Global Academy, allowing him to travel to Bolivia and Sierre Leone to research the relationships between music, technology, literature, and indigeneity. While in Bolivia, he studied

music by the Aymara people, performed in the Orchestra Criolla Musica de Maestros, had his international jazz debut at Thelonius Jazz Club in La Paz, and performed a concerto and chamber music with members of the Bolivian National Symphony. His work in Bolivia was part of a larger project to help the Aymara people in the face of climate change, which has been devastating to their communities.

As artistic director of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp, Bernhard oversaw a highly successful camp, returning once again to in-person instruction this summer. He once again performed a summer of chamber music with his colleagues in the North Country Chamber Players (NH).

Jerold Siena (Voice) appears in “A Conversation with Jerold Siena” in the May/ Jun. issue of The Journal of Singing. This interview, co n d u c te d b y L e s l i e Holmes, touches on the serious and sometimes comical occurrences that have taken place within Siena’s long, international career. Part two of the conversation will appear in the Jul./Aug. issue.

Joel Spencer (Jazz Drums) performed on seven recording sessions with internationally known vocalist/ guitarist Mark Tremonti, of the famed rock group Creed. The sessions produced the recording Mark Tremonti Sings Frank Sinatra, released in May 2022 on Janus Music Records. Tremonti and the studio ensemble have scheduled performances in Orlando (FL) and a concert appearance in London at Indigo at The O2. In Aug. 2022, Spencer performed at the Ravinia Festival with pianist Lee Musiker in a dedication to the artistry of Stephen Sondheim entitled “Saturday in the Park with Sondheim.” In addition, Spencer served as performerclinician with the UI Jazz Faculty at the

Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in Dec. 2021, and as the guest artist at the Evanston Township High School Jazz Festival in Feb. 2022. Spencer continues to serve as an Endorsement Artist for Gretsch Drums and Zildjian Cymbals.

Bridget Sweet (Music Edu­ cation) is now a licensed body mapping educator with the asso­c iation for Body Mapping Education.

She headlined conferences in KS, ND, IL, and MI, presenting on music education research, adolescence, and Body Mapping. She presented “Ungdomsstemmen: den ærligste stemmen; The adolescent voice: The sincerest voice” as the keynote for the Voicing Dialogues 2.0 [Virtual] Conference, Nord University, Bodø, Norway. At the 35th world conference of the International Society for Music Education, Sweet co-presented “Community choirs as empowering spaces for individuals with disabilities” with Dr. Elizabeth Parker of Temple University (PA) and “Motherhood and Academia: Visions of Gender Equity in Higher Education” with Dr. Kate Fitzpatrick of the University of

Michigan. Sweet conducted the Junior Mixed Chorus for ILMEA Districts 3 and 5, and the OK Junior High SSAA All-State Choir. She was an invited professor for the 2022 summer music education graduate program at the University of Southern Maine.

Christos Tsitsaros (Piano Pedagogy) conducted a Hal Leonard Corporation online clinic called “Jump Start Your Summer of Teaching,” featuring his compositions Five Summer Pieces for Piano Solo (Hal Leonard, 2021) and Sea Diary (Hal Leonard, 2018). In Jun., he gave a televised interview and performance for the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation series “Cypriots of the World.” His latest publication Five Summer Pieces for Piano Solo received a rave review in The American Music Teacher.

He also gave an online lecture-recital on the life and work of Frédéric Chopin for Pace University (NY) and adjudicated the 2021 Russian Music piano competition organized by the Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle (WA).

Ann Yeung (Harp) presented her research on Henriette Renié at the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Wales.

The first of her series on Renié’s feminist agency and awareness was published in the World Harp Congress Review. She was a featured artist at the IV Festival of Strings in Puerto Rico. She gave the world premiere/presentation of Richard Prior’s kinna for shira banki with Jonathan Keeble as the Aletheia Duo at the American Harp Society 60thanniversary national conference. The duo was featured in full concert at the National Flute Association’s 50th-anniversary national convention. In honor of alumna/ benefactor Roslyn Rensch’s passing, her biographical article with Charles Lynch was republished in The American Harp Journal. She adjudicated virtual international harp competitions in Hong Kong and Singapore and was the USAIHC Ruth Inglefield Competition Contest Jury President. She gave masterclasses at Indiana University and Arizona State University and moderated the USAIHC Composers Forum.

campus news Awadagin Pratt Premieres “Black in America” at UIUC This fall, renowned pianist Awadagin Pratt presented his film Awadagin Pratt: Black in America. The silent film was performed with live music with students from the SoM. As an autobiographical narrative, the film focused on the impacts and contexts of his repeated experience of being stopped by police. The presentation also included the 11-minute film, Historie(s) des Noires, A Visual Experience by Alrick Brown and edited

by Rachel Brown. After the presentation, Professor Casey Robards joined Lou Turner and Pratt on stage to discuss the work.

Awadagin Pratt rehearsing in Smith Recital Hall

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al u mn i n e w s 1950–1959 Charles E. Musgrave (MME ’56) is continuing in his role as conductor of the Desert Brass Band of Phoenix, AZ at 89 years old.

Composed of 35 retired musicians, conductors, and music professors aged 65 to 90, the British brass band has performed 12 to 15 concerts annually since 1997. A documentary film about the ensemble, A Jewel in the Desert, is currently being created by Hollywood producer and director Mary Apick. The film suggests that mature musicians from local communities can effectively perform challenging pieces. The film will be released in spring 2023 and presented on PBS.

1960–1969 Alan C. Davis (BA ’64) was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for more than 50 years of safe operation of an aircraft by the FAA. Ron Fink (BME ’60, MM ’61), professor emeritus of music at the University of North Te x a s , h a s b e e n reminis­cing of his years at UIUC. He recalls being booked as a high school drummer by the Johnny Bruce agency in Champaign. Soon after, Fink played in Dick Halleman’s band the summer of his high school senior year. He was drawn to UIUC because it was the first university in the country to offer a major in percussion. He played in the Marching Illini, concert band, symphony orchestra, and the inaugural jazz band, led by John Garvey. Fink recalls playing alongside many greats, including Johnny Rinaldo, Dale Hamilton, “Punchy” Atkinson, Ralph Marterie, Forrest Buchtel Jr., Cecil Bridgewater, and Ron Dewar, among others.

During his time at UIUC, he was the major chairman for the Memorial Union program Jazz-U-Like-It.

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Eugene A Gratovich (MM ’65) has been elected to the Shevchenko Scientific Society, a Ukrainian-American music and art honor society. He has recorded an album called 20th Century Ukrainian Violin Music on the Orion label. He has also recorded Tapestry for the Yevshan label to celebrate one thousand years of Christianity in Ukraine. Gratovich was chairman of the string department at DePaul University (IL) and head of the graduate violin department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

He has retired from the Butler School of Music (TX). He is currently teaching private students and performing with the Austin Symphony Orchestra.

1970–1979 Thornton Cline (MS ’77) is celebrating his ninth number one hit song, “There Will Come a Day,” which was recorded by two-time Dove Award artist, Billy Gaines. Cline’s song, co-written with Nashville songwriter Lacie Carpenter, reached number one for four weeks on the Euro Indie Network Top 100 charts and has remained in the Top 40 for 20 weeks. Cline’s songs have reached the top on Billboard and other charts too.

Last year, Cline was inducted into the Tennessee Songwriter’s Association International Songwriters Hall of Fame.

His 36th published book, Who’s Teaching Who, will be released this year with Vertu Publishing. Cline teaches music at Welch College (TN).

Lynne Denig (MM ’77) served as chair of the certification committee that offers training in Paul Rolland String Pedagogy.

The online training involves players and teachers worldwide and is staffed by both former students of Paul Rolland and graduates of the program.

For more information see: hepaulrollandstringpedagogysociety.com.

Michael J. Kowalski’s (DMA ’79) article “The Praxis of Practice” will appear in the fall 2022 issue of Salmagundi. His piano and electronics work, Water Music with Ichiyanagi Mix, provided the sound environment for artist Florence Neal’s installation, As Águas do Futuro, at Columbus State University (GA) in Sep. 2021. In Aug. 2021, he collaborated with percussionist Allen Otte in a new version of his How to Compose Yourself, a 1994 tribute to composer Salvatore Martirano. Kowalski and Otte also collaborated in Music as Image and Metaphor, a 41-minute set of musical responses to 40 graphic art works, which is scheduled to run at the Kentler International Drawing Space in Brooklyn, NY for the 2022–2023 season. This follows successful runs at the Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus, GA and the George Ohr Museum in Biloxi, MI. Maggi Payne (MM ’70) received the 2022 SEAMUS award for her body of electroacoustic and electronic music compositions. The 2022 SEAMUS Festival, held at Western Michigan University, presented three of her works: Coronal Rain, 2020, and Through the Looking Glass. Her Through the Looking Glass was also streamed by the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology on Earth Day this past year. She presented Through Space and Time at the Music from the Fault Zone Festival at Mills College (CA). This work has been streaming on Bandcamp since February. Her 8-channel work, Immersion—Bay Area Soundscape, was presented at the Surround Sound Salon Series in San Francisco last Dec. Her work Heat Shield was presented at Ohio University last Nov. and at the 39th Annual International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music General Assembly in Sep. 2021.

Lynn Bogen Sanders (BS ’76) became a Global Blue Ribbon Ambassador and made Chicago into the third Blue Ribbon City in the world. Sanders has honored over 1000 people through Blue Ribbons Worldwide, a nonprofit focused on uniting humanity through the power of love. On Jul. 27, 2022, Sanders was privileged to honor the Grammy-winning and internationally acclaimed Soul Children Chicago, a youth gospel choir led by Whit Whitman, by serving as a speaker at their 40th anniversary meeting. As a speaker a n d sto r y - m a r ket i n g coa c h , h e r appearances have resulted in major donations, increased memberships, and expanded exposure for many organizations.

The founder and CEO of Difference Makers Media, Sanders’s story was featured in the international best-selling anthology Gifts to the Universe: Women that Lead.

Josef Sekon’s (DMA ’75) composition The Aptos Sound Project was premiered by the Santa Cruz Symphony under the direction of Maestro Danny Stewart on Apr. 30, 2022. It was performed again on May 1, 2022 and was well-received by both the public and press.

Ramona M. Wis (BS ’87) is professor of music and Mimi Ro l l a n d E n d owe d Professor in the Fine Arts at North Central College in Naperville, IL. Her article “Breath, Boyd, and Being: A Yoga-Inspired Choral ‘Practice’” appeared in the Oct. 2021 mental health focus issue of The Choral Journal. In Jul. 2022, Wis completed her certification as a Brain Longevity® Specialist through the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation. This researchbased certificate program focuses on yoga and integrative medicine for brain health and healthy aging, diet and nutrition, stress

management, exercise (physical and mental), and spiritual fitness. Wis’s certification focusses on developing brainhealthy lifestyle habits in college-aged students and connects with her work with both choral ensembles and her recent honors seminar, “Yoga On and Off the Mat: Practice, Principle, and Leadership.”

1980–1989 Daniel Adams (DMA ’85) presented two papers, “Non-Western Music at the 1 9 0 1 Pa n - A m e r i c a n Ex p o s i t i o n : C u l t u ra l Inclusion or Patronizing Exploitation?” at the College Music Society national conference and “Four Drums, One Player: The Artistic and Pedagogical Merits of Unaccompanied Concert Tom-Tom Solo” at the College Wind and Percussion Instructors’ national conference, in Oct. 2021. Adams’ Trio One Eight Zero for flute, cello, and piano was released on the album KAPH in Athens, Greece by Phasma Music. His composition Elusive Rounds for glockenspiel duo has been released by Bachovich Publications. The world premiere of his chamber orchestra piece, Hibernal Shadow, was performed by the Texas Chamber Symphony, conducted by Kaleb Benda.

Anton Armstrong (MM ’80) is a 2022 recipient of the UIUC FAA Legacy Award.

The Legacy Awards recognize college alumni and friends who have demonstrated courage, curiosity, and passion in their work. Additionally, in Jun. 2022, he was elected to a 3-year term as chair of the National Board of Chorus America. Chorus America is the national advocacy, research, and leadership development organization that advances the choral field. Finally, in Sep. 2022, Armstrong began his 33rd year as Tosdal

Professor of Music at St. Olaf College (MN), artistic director of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, and conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, marking him as the longest tenured conductor in the ensemble’s 110-year storied history.

John D. Bell (MME ’81) recently completed his 10th year at Northwest Missouri State University, where he is an artist-in-residence, conducts the Wind Symphony, and teaches a variety of instrumental music education courses. He is also the director of the Kansas City-based North Winds Symphonic Band. Prior to his appointment at NMSU, John taught instrumental music in MO public schools for 30 years. Ensembles under his direction received consistent superior ratings at state festivals and performed at regional, national, and international music conferences and festivals. John is a recipient of the Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Band Director Award, the MoASTA Outstanding Collegiate Educator Award, the MMEA Outstanding Music Educator Award, and the Northwest Award of Excellence. During his tenure at NMSU, the Wind Symphony performed at music educator conferences in MO and NE, receiving small college exemplary status by CBDNA through peer review.

Phil Bohlman (MM ’80, PhD ’84) published the book , Wolokolamsker Chaussee (Bloomsbury 33/3), in autumn 2021. The Festschrift in his honor, Encounters in Ethnomusicology (edited by Michael A. Figueroa, Jaime Jones, and Timothy Rommen; LIT Verlag), appeared in summer 2022. He delivers the Charles Seeger Lecture at the 2022 Society for Ethnomusicology national conference in New Orleans.

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al u mn i n e w s James Crowley (BM ’86) completed a composer residency at the University of Iowa, where he taught a composition seminar, mentored doctoral composition students, and oversaw the world premiere of his composition L’Extase Langoureuse for soprano and chamber orchestra. Other recent activities include the world premiere of his Tarantella for marimba at the Berklee College of Music (MA), the completion of a commission from the Racine Arts Board for the Racine Concert Band (WI), and a retrospective concert of his music presented by Mansfield University (PA).

Crowley is professor of music and chair of the Music Department at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside.

Glenn Dewey (BM ’87) retired from “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra on Nov. 30, 2021, after 28 years of service. He has accepted a position as an assistant professor of double bass at Oklahoma State University.

Steve Everett (DMA ’88) presented a lect u re - p e r fo r m a n ce “Music and the Human Condition” with Italian pianist-conductor Stefano Miceli for the Greenwich, CT Arts Council series “Music and Conversations” on May 6, 2022. The lecture discussed the cognitive benefits of sound and music, examining the ways music functions on social, psychological, and cultural levels.

Everett is currently provost at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

His co-presenter, Stefano Miceli, is a Steinway Artist and president of the Fondazione Nuovo Teatro Verdi in Brindisi, Italy.

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Robert Fleisher (MM ’76, DMA ’80) remains actively involved in performance. Recordings of his music have appeared on seven CDs since retiring as coordinator of music theory and composition at Northern Illinois University in 2014. During the first half of 2022, his Six Little Piano Pieces (2018) were performed by Minato Sakamoto during the Boston New Music Initiative’s “Prismatic Congruency” video concert series; his electroacoustic Parallel (1968/2022) was premiered during the international “Earth Day Model” Telematic Festival; and his electroacoustic miniature, Loretto Alfresco (1970/2009), was sponsored by NACUSA’s Sounds New chapter, receiving 29 performances in a dozen states. In Nov., three of his works will be included in a CD on Neuma Records, and, in Dec., Fleischer’s toy piano miniature, Bach (for Jan), will be premiered by David Bohn as part of the virtual Vox Novus “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” series.

Stephen Griggs (BMA ’83) was named associate producer on the Impulse! release of John Coltrane – A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle. Griggs found the lost recording while creating an inventory for a tape collection belonging to the late saxophonist and educator Joe Brazil. The release has been named Historical Recording of the Year by DownBeat Magazine. Griggs will also accept an award for the album presented by the Jazz Journalists Association on Sep. 11, 2022.

Craig Hella Johnson (MM ’85) and his choral ensemble Conspirare received a Grammy nomination for The Singing Guitar on the Delos label. The album was a collaboration between the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Texas Guitar Quartet, and the Austin Guitar Quartet, featuring world premiere performances/recordings

by composers Nico Muhly, Kile Smith, Reena Esmail, and Craig Hella Johnson.

For Johnson and Conspirare, this is their 10th nomination. In 2015, they received a Grammy for The Sacred Spirit of Russia.

John Leister (BM ’82) was appointed as the new high school band director at the Montclair Kimberley Academy (NJ) in Jan. 2022. He played drums and percussion for an album with the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra in collaboration with producer Judy Sherman in Nov. 2021. John toured in MI, PA, NJ, KS, and NE with Paragon this year. He continues to freelance in New York City with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

A member of the PAS Education Committee, John published an article for the PAS “Rhythm! Scene” and created five instructional videos for the PAS Classroom.

John was thrilled to catch up with Tom Siwe, his percussion teacher, at the PAS Convention in Nov. 2021.

Kathleen Loughran Merwin (BM ’82) teaches from her private studio in Hudson, OH. Merwin serves on the board of Western Reserve Music Teachers Association, the local association of Music Teachers National Association. She earned MTNA’s designation of Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in 2016, and in 2021 was named Ohio MTA State Certified Teacher of the Year. Merwin accepted the award at the state conference in Oct. 2021.

Deborah Nemko (BM ’87) was recently awarded a Marion and Jasper Whiting Fellowship for her project, “A Study of the Musical Life of Camp Westerbork, 1939– 1945: The Cabaret and the Will to Live,” which is scheduled to be completed in 2023. In the early stages of her research, she discovered that her former mentor

and noted Professor Emeritus of Musicology, Alexander Ringer, was a member of the Westerbork Camp Orchestra that performed these cabarets. The funds from the Whiting Fellowship will enable her to travel to the Netherlands to conduct research in the Westerbork archives.

Ultimately, she will produce recreated scenes from one of the cabarets for a contemporary performance. Nemko was also awarded a grant from the Musicians Club of Women to record piano works by the suppressed and forgotten WW-II era Dutch women composers, Rosie Wertheim and Johanna Bordewijk.

D’Walla Simmons-Burke (MME ’84), director of choral and vocal studies at Winston-Salem State University (NC), will conduct the Inaugural HBCU Carnegie Hall Mass Choir on Apr. 9, 2023. The choir will perform Rosephanye Powell’s “The Cry of Jerimiah” with Powell as guest narrator/soloist.

Andre Thomas (DMA ’83) was named associate artist of the London Symphony Orchestra.

As associate artist, Thomas will create his own programs in collaboration with the Orchestra, diversifying repertoire and adding to the quality of the organization.

Thomas conducted his first of three concerts in May and will be conducting a mix of gospel and symphonic works Oct. and Nov. 2022.

Jerry Young (MME ’78, EdD ’80), professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, published A Practical Guide to Studio Teaching in Higher Education: Training for, Obtaining, and Succeeding in Applied Music Positions in collaboration with co-author Scott Watson (Kansas University). The text is available through GIA Publications of Chicago.

1990–1999 James Bohn (MM ’93, DMA ’97) released the album ME7ROPOL17AN 7RANSPOR7A71ON AU74OR17Y under the pseudonym Darth Presley on all major streaming platforms. On the album Bohn performs as a multi-instrumentalist on bass harmonica, electric cello, fretless bass guitar, pedal steel guitar, synthesizer, theremin, and trombone.

Thomas Erdmann (DMA ’91), director of orchestras at Elon University (NC), had five articles published. His article “Aaron Copland’s Emblems: A Theoretical/ Formal Analysis” was published in Notes from the Podium; the other five were published in The International Trumpet Guild Journal.

Ken Goodman (BME ’93) has been appointed music director of the Rockford (IL) Wind Ensemble for the 2022–2023 season. The ensemble was founded in 2002 and is comprised of talented musicians from the greater Rockford area.

The RWE rehearses from Sep. to Apr. and performs four concerts a year. Goodman continues in his role as director of bands at Sycamore High School (IL), a position he has held since 1999.

Christine Isley-Farmer (DMA ’91) has published three books in her Boomer’s Tales series for children. Her debut book in the series, Finding My Yip, was named finalist in the 2021 American Writing Awards in the Children’s Fiction category. Book two, A Hard Nut to Crack, was chosen finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards in the Children’s Chapter Book category.

Her third book, Camp Resound, was recently released in June. The six-book series will be completed in 2023.

Jim Kollias (MME ’96) was awarded second place in the Youth and High School Division of Orchestral Conducting by the American Prize. He is starting his 34th year in teaching and 18th year at Beckman High School (CA) where he is the visual and performing arts department chair.

He also ser ves as the secondar y instrumental music lead for the Tustin United School District.

Laurie Matheson (DMA ’98) compiled two anthologies on Black American Music (1600–1945 and 1945–2020) from the University of Illinois Press’s catalog of books and journals in American music. The two volumes of Music in Black American Life, published spring 2022, highlight the richness and variety of Black music making, from enslavement to Hamilton, representing genres from Black folk music and rural string band practices to spirituals; Classical to blues and gospel; and jazz to R&B and Hip-Hop. Featuring introduction from Sandra Jean Graham and Tammy L. Kernodle, this project celebrates anniversaries of the Press’s book series Music in American Life (50 years) and African American Music in Global Perspective (15 years), and of the journals American Music (40 years) and Black Music Research Journal (40 years). Matheson is currently the director of the UI Press, as well as the sponsoring editor for its Music in American Life series.

Gary A. Morales-Rodríguez (MS ’81, EdD ’90) serves as director of the music department and coordinator of the graduate program in music education at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, San Germán, where he has been professor of music since 1990.

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al u mn i n e w s Thomas Priest (EdD ’97) recently performed his compositions entitled, Reminiscent Rains for bassoon and marimba and The Forest for the Trees for two bassoons and two marimbas, at the International Double Reed Society national conference in Boulder, CO.

2000–2009

Dustin D. Seifert (MME ’98), department chair and director of bands at Eastern New Mexico University, became a member of the American Bandmasters Association in Mar. 2022.

Kristina Boerger (BME ’89, MM ’92, DMA ’00) performed with Concordian Dawn as the featured soprano soloist in a concert of troubadour songs presented by Gotham Early Music Scene in Manhattan. She appeared in Minneapolis in concerts of Venetian-style polyphony, which were developed in collaboration between Incantare and The Mirandola Ensemble. With La Grande Bande, she sang in a reconstruction of music from the consecration of the Puebla Cathedral at the Cathedral of New Ulm (MN). In 2022, She joined the faculty of Choral Chameleon’s Summer Institute (NY), coaching young conductors and singing in the concert premieres of ten works, which were produced during the festival by several rising composers.

Dawson Weber (BM ’96) is currently displaying postcards from his artwork, Postcard from Algiers (2016– ), within the exhibition We Write to You About Africa at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Weber’s series, thus far comprising over 90 cards, depicts a wide range of contemporary scenes across Africa, including busy city streets, large-scale construction projects, modern government buildings, airports, stores, and factories.

These images counter the conventional African tourist postcards found in the West.

Weber also worked with the UMMA to produce a small selection of cards for museum visitors. The ongoing exhibit opened in fall 2022.

Jackie Wiggins (EdD ’92) is distinguished professor emerita and founding director of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Oakland University (MI). She recently received a Fulbright Specialist grant to teach a graduate course at Levinsky College of Education in Tel Aviv in winter 2023. She also published an article, coauthored with a former student, in a special issue of the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education dedicated to the music education of African Americans entitled, “Music learning as life in an African American family: The story of Charlie Gabriel in New Orleans.”

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R. Scott Barnas (BS ’94, MME ’05) was a 2022 recipient of the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award, sponsored by Quinlan & Fabish Music Company. He is currently the band director for the Washington Quadrant in Joliet (IL) Public School District #86.

Kyong Mee Choi (DMA ’05) became the interim dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University (IL). Choi is professor of music composition and had served as director for the music composition program. During her 16 years at RU, Choi has spearheaded countless collaborations to support students’ academic and artistic success.

Choi developed the Music and Computing program with the College of Arts and Sciences at RU. She brings a crossdisciplinary background to the interim dean role, with experiences as a composer, visual artist, painter, organist, and poet with degrees in Chemistry, Korean literature, and Composition. She has won prestigious awards and grants, including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial

Foundation Fellowship, the Robert Helps Prize, and the Aaron Copland Award. With her leadership expertise and collaborative spirit, CCPA anticipates innovative and robust programs in a dynamic environment.

Michael Fanelli (BM ’68, EdD ’01) was a panel member of “Five Generations of String Pedagogues,” chaired by Stephen Fairbanks at the 2022 American String Teachers Conference and the Paul Rolland Pedagogical Workshop. Additionally, he presented a biographical lecture of Rolland’s life, teaching, and pedagogical theories. He also presented alongside Renata Soares Caseres (DMA ’22) in a session called “Fundamentals of Paul Rolland’s Double Bass Pedagogy” at the UIUC Rolland Workshop.

Mike Fansler (EdD ’09) and his colleagues at Western Illinois University released a chamber album entitled, As the Fireflies Watched, this past December. The album includes a companion piece to Stravinsky’s Octet and will be performed at the 2022 Midwest Clinic by Fansler and WIU colleagues.

Thomas Forde (BM ’05) has taken his performing skills in the opera world and translated them into a new career as a learning & development leader for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Fortune 200 company JLL. Thomas uses his experiences in opera, theatre, and television in this new role. He often opens his sessions by singing and discussing his career in opera!

Ingrid Gordon (DMA ’00) is the founder and director of the New York-based new music ensemble Percussia.

In Jul., along with harpist Susan Jolles, Gordon recorded a duo album of commissioned works for Celtic harp, Orff xylophone, and other small percussion instruments. The album will be released under the title Plucked and Struck.

William Michael Helmcke (BME ’01) completed his 700-page PhD dissertation in music theory, “Structure and Meaning in Fryderyk Chopin’s Polonaises,” at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The dissertation proposes the H-E-L-MC-K-E hermeneutic to decode Historical, Extra-musical, Linguistic, (intra)Musical, Correlational, Kingdom-of-Poland-related/ Polish, and Era-specific meaning in Chopin’s polonaises. This work represents the culmination of Helmcke’s work as a Fulbright Scholar (2011–2013) at the University of Warsaw. Earlier, in 2022, Helmcke ended his work as an item writer and editor with Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson in Hadley, MA. At Pearson, Helmcke built upon the education he received at UIUC, singlehandedly writing thousands of questions that appear on standardized music teacher certification tests, practice tests, and study guides used throughout the U.S. From Apr. to Aug., Helmcke taught ear training and music theory at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Germany.

Julia Jamieson’s (MM ’02) latest harp ensemble composition, B a d H a i rc u t , wa s premiered in Jun. at the Illinois Summer Harp Class. Jamieson also led a workshop at the event. In Sep. she will join the Cleveland Chamber Symphony as principle harpist for two concerts at their Neo-Sonic Fall event. In Oct. she will perform Mozart’s concerto for flute and harp with Amanda Pond and the Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra. She was commissioned to arrange a harp trio version of “Amazing Grace;” the premiere will take place in Nov. in Berkeley, CA. Ben Jones (BA ’06) toured in 2022 with a solo cabaret show titled Ben Jones: Love Songs. With musical direction by legendary

conductor/arranger Ron Abel, Ben Jones sang songs from Broadway to pop, examining all aspects of love, temptation, infatuation, obsessions, and heartbreak.

Featuring music from Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, Tom Waits, Jason Robert Brown, and Lerner & Loewe, Jones dazzled audiences with touching and hilarious renditions of their favorite songs.

Peter Kenagy (DMA ’09) was promoted to the rank of professor at Berklee College of Music. He also released an album featuring a 25-minute composition for solo piano after E.B. White’s Stuart Little, which was performed by jazz pianist Carmen Staff. Kenagy has been performing with his Music for Jazz Nonet, which enjoys a monthly engagement at the Mad Monkfish in Boston.

Luis E. Loubriel (DMA ’05) recently published Arnold Jacobs: His Artistic and Pedagogical Legacies in the 21st Century, which was co-authored with Michael Grose.

Other contributors include members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra.

The book traces the evolution of Jacobs’s pedagogical method for brass instruments through the contemporary performance practice and teaching of his former pupils.

Kyle Rhoades (BME ’07) organized, hosted, and co n d u cte d t wo l a rge symphonic bands at the annual conference for the Pride Bands Alliance.

Rachel E. Scott (BM ’05), associate dean for information assets at Illinois State University, was awarded a University Research Grant to investigate open access in music publishing and teaching. Scott and her co-investigator have shared initial findings at the annual

conferences of NASIG, the Music Library Association, and the joint meeting of the Digital Libraries for Musicology and the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres.

The complete findings have been accepted for publication in Notes: The Quarterly Publication of the Music Library Association under the titles “Music Scholars and Open Access Publishing” and “’Having a Textbook Locks Me into a Particular Narrative’: Textbooks and Open Educational Resources in Music Higher Education.”

Daniel Teadt (BM ’98, MM ’00) is featured on the newly released album Spirits in Bondage: The Complete Songs of Benjamin C.S. Boyle on Parma Records. This season he will also be premiering works

by Gilda Lyons and William Payn, as well as performing Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder.

J.R. Trimpe (MME ’02) released his debut album, Burning Valhalla, under the TMP record label. Trimpe performs all parts on the album, both instrumental and vocal. Burning Valhalla is available in both digital and physical formats.

Audra Ziegel (MM ’08) presented performances at both the 2022 MidAtlantic Flute Convention in Washington, D.C. and the 2022 National Flute Association annual convention in Chicago. She performed move it by Carlos Simon and Hush of Nightfall by Anthony Green, both unaccompanied extended-technique works by award-winning Black, American composers. Audra joined the faculty of the Peabody Preparatory at Johns Hopkins University (MD) in Sep. 2021, where she maintains a large studio of private students.

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al u mn i n e w s 2010–2019 Chanah Ambuter (MM ’15) enjoyed the fullf l e d ge d ret u r n o f musical opportunities!

Some of her most memorable moments this year include being the sole musician for several weddings, performing during high-profile corporate gatherings, playing at memorable venues like the Detroit Zoo Butterfly house and Henry Ford Museum, collaborating on duets, participating in ethnically/religiously-oriented services, accompanying community carols, negotiating virtual performances sponsored by local libraries, and of course, returning to retirement homes and providing residents with opportunities to hear live music. In mid-Jun. 2022, Chanah was interviewed by Voyage Michigan, an online magazine celebrating small businesses in Michigan, about her experience as a harpist and her perspective on what the future might hold for musicians as business-people. Chanah continues to explore the versatility of the harp in the modern era, both as a soloist and as a collaborator. She teaches from her home studio.

Katie Beisel Hollenbach (PhD ’18), assistant director for admissions and lecturer at the University of Washington School of Music, recently signed a contract with Oxford University Press to publish her research on American popular music and youth in the 1940s. Tentatively titled The Business of Bobbysoxers: Cultural Production in 1940s Frank Sinatra Fandom, the book will examine the ways in which celebrity following, popular music culture, and fan productivity illuminate the lives of World War II-era female youth. Her research also appears in the Journal of Popular Music Studies and Music and the Moving Image.

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James Blachly (MM ’13) held an artistic residency at Montclair State University (NJ) in addition to his duties as music director of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. While at MSU, Blachly focused on the works of Jessie Montgomery, conducted a concert of the music of Arvo Pärt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was invited to conduct at the League of American Orchestras conference in Los Angeles, and made his New York Philharmonic debut on a Young People’s Concert in Mar. 2021.

Stephen Boyer (BM ’14) stage directed, choreo­ graphed, designed, and per­formed in nine productions, including a world pre­m iere musical at the Timber Lake Playhouse in 2021. Boyer has previously worked with the Goodman Theatre; the Writers Theatre; Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, which included the Pre-Broadway shows Six and The Notebook; the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire; Music Theatre Works; and TimeLine Theatre Company, where their production of the Jeff Award-winning revival of Terrance McNally’s Master Class received such praise as “utter perfection,” “a performance that defies description,” and “powerful.” They also sing weekly at Holy Name Cathedral, a position they’ve held since graduating in 2014.

Justin M. Brauer (BME ’14, MM ’16) accompanied Illinois Theatre’s world premiere workshop production of The Neverland by playwright/director Madeline Sayet and composer Ed Littlefield.

His freelance music preparation work included music production for Children’s Musical Theatre San Jose’s The Lightning Thief as well as copy-work for Curtis Institute of Music’s (PA) Mercy, an opera/ film based on Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito.

He continues to serve as assistant director of strategic engagement for UIUC. Hyunjung Choi (DMA ’11) was appointed artistic director for the C h u n c h e o n I n te r­ national Early Music Festival in Korea. She will hold this position until 2023.

Ellen Denham (DMA ’16) continues to ser ve as professional assistant professor of music at Texas A&M University, Corpus C h r i st i . S h e re ce n t l y directed the world premiere of Olivia’s Ocean, a children’s opera based on her original libretto with music by Ross C. Bernhardt. The work was sponsored by the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. Denham also served as stage director for Amahl and the Night Visitors for Music On Site, Inc. in Dec. 2021 and Rinaldo for Red River Lyric Opera in summer 2022.

Matthew Dixon (DMA ’14) became the music director for the Parkland College (IL) Concert Band in 2021. This past summer Dixon’s business, MADBone, Inc., was a vendor at the International Trombone Festival in Conway, AR. Dixon was invited to give a lecture about the MADPipe at next year’s Big Twelve trombone conference, which is being held at Texas Tech University. The MADPipe is based on the mouthpiece lead pipe system he developed while working on his DMA at UIUC. Natalie Douglass Grana (BME ’10, MM ’12) pub­ lished a book entitled, A Singing Approach to Horn Playing, which was released

by Oxford University Press in Jul. 2022. The book develops a fun­da­ mental sense of pitch that is essential to playing the horn through singing activities

inspired by the Kodály Method. Exercises begin with simple songs, progressively including musicianship tasks and standard horn repertoire. Grana completed a Fulbright Grant at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Conservatory in Hungary in 2016 and specializes in solfège training for brass instrumentalists.

Jacob Gross (BME ’10) completed his Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Boston university. he was also selected as the new Head Band Director of Westview Middle School, part of the Pflugerville Independent School District, in Austin, TX. Jancie Harris (DMA ’16) recently accepted a position as public engagement coordinator in the Office of the Chancellor at UIUC, where she supports the work of the Campus Community Compact to Accelerate Social Justice and other public engagement programs. Programs under her facilitation focus on key areas such as accessible technology, community relations, community health, economic development, inclusive education, and workforce development in Champaign County. She also maintains an active career as a freelance horn player in Central Illinois.

Matthew Honda (BA ’14) completed his internal medicine residency at Loyola University (IL) Medical Center and started his Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at Loma Linda University (CA) Medical Center.

Rebecca Johnson (DMA ’10), assistant professor of flute at Eastern Illinois University, released her debut solo recording, Songs for the Imagination, in Oct. 2021. She also presented at six national or international conferences in 2022. Her ensemble, Trio Village—which includes alumnae Cara Chowning (DMA ’14) and

Elizabeth Sullivan (DMA ’14)— performed at the International Double Reed Society and National Flute Association conferences.

She continues to serve as the vice president of the National Flute Association, and will become the organization’s president on Nov. 1, 2022.

Aaron Kaplan (BM/BME ’11, MM ’13) is completing his 10th year as orchestra director at Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South High Schools (IL). In addition, he conducts the Preludio Orchestra at the Music Institute of Chicago and the Sinfonia Orchestra at the Elgin Youth Symphony.

As artistic director of the JAM Orchestra, he conducted the successful concert “Marvelous Moments: The Music of Stephen Sondheim” in Jun. 2022 and “Dr. Seuss at the Opera” in Oct. 2022 with fellow UIUC alums Desiree Hassler (DMA ’11) and Colleen Bruton (BM ’19). This past year, Kaplan also directed theatrical productions for the Blank Theatre Company, the Skokie Theatre, Big Deal Productions, and the Metropolis Centre for the Performing Arts. This past Jul., he returned to UIUC to conduct the ISYM Junior Orchestra. Illini Student Musicals, a group he co-founded as a student, celebrated its 10th anniversary in Nov. 2022.

Shan Kazmi (MME ’15) served as head counselor for ISYM camps during summer 2022. After a three-year hiatus with a completely new team of counselors, ISYM hosted over 500 resident and commuter campers, participating in pre-college, jazz, piano, band, chorus, orchestra, rock band, musical theatre, Hip-Hop, and music technology camps. Shan was an ISYM camper for six years. He later served as a counselor at UIUC from 2013–2015.

Genevieve Knoebel (BME ’12) has been invited to serve as a the featured composer for the 2023 Vielklang Festival in Tübingen, Germany. Her works for electric and acoustic strings will be performed by leading European chamber groups.

Stevee (Bellas) Libert (BME ’15) was named the assistant principal of student life at Mundelein High School (IL), where she previously taught choir for seven years. Her role will be dedicated to the academic, social, and developmental growth of students. She will be responsible for clubs and activities, student services, the Wellness Center, problem-solving teams, and summer school.

Emily Malamud (BME ’13) is currently a resident physician in Child Neurology at Stanford Children’s Health in Palo Alto, CA. She graduated with her medical degree from Wake Forest School of Medicine (NC) in 2022, where, for the past three years, she also served as the music director and conductor of the Triad Area Medical Orchestra of Winston-Salem, NC. Matthew Muñeses (MM ’13) released his sophomore album, Noli Me Tángere, an explo­ration of his Filipino heritage told through the lens of the eponymous novel by the Filipino Hero/Revolutionary José Rizal. This project featured many of Chicago’s most outstanding musicians, including: Zubin Edalji (BM ’09, DMA ’14), Clark Sommers, Dana Hall, Stu Mindeman, and MacArthur Genius Fellow Miguel Zenón. This project was partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, South Arts, and the Puffin Foundation.

Alex Munger (MM ’18) joins the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University (TX) as an artist teacher of opera studies in fall 2022. He completed his training with the Houston Grand Opera Studio in spring 2022.

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al u mn i n e w s Justin Peters (BM ’15) independently released his debut solo album, Kinesthetics, in Feb. 2022. All music was composed, performed, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Justin. The album is available to stream and download at justinpeters.bandcamp.com.

Pierre Long Tao Tang (MM ’16, DMA ’19) presented his clinic, “From Bach to Ticheli: Performing Transcriptions of Choral Repertoire Authentically in a Band Classroom,” at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles international conference.

Ryan Prendergast (MM ’15) taught as a lecturer in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin during the 2021– 2022 academic year. In fall 2022, he will join the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University as an assistant teaching professor in the Schools of Music and Drama. He presented at the national meetings of the American Musicological Society (2021), the Mid-America Theatre Conference (2022), and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (2022).

He has articles and chapters forthcoming in the Richard Strauss Jahrbuch and the edited volume Karl Böhm (1894–1981): Studien zu Biographie, Werk und Rezeption.

Loucine Topouzian (BM ’19) spent the summer performing the role of Selena in Jake Heggie’s opera If I Were You with Nightingale Opera Theatre. She earned her MM in voice and opera performance from Northwestern University (IL) and is currently pursuing a career in opera while composing her own music. In Nov., she released her first original song, “Far Away,” and in Aug. 2022 she released her single, “Too Much to Say.” In Sep., Loucine will appear as the Plaintiff in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury and understudy for Leonora Braham in the world premiere of Kingsley Day’s Six Characters in Search of Gilbert and Sullivan with the Chicagobased company The Savoyaires. She is excited to sing the starring role in George Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle with First Coast Opera this fall.

Elizabeth Sullivan (DMA ’14) was promoted to associated professor of oboe with permanent tenure at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte in spring 2022. Sullivan continues to perform at national and international conferences, often in collaboration with fellow alumnae Rebecca Johnson (DMA ’10) and Cara Chowning (DMA ’14) in their group, Trio Village. Recent per­for­mances include the International Double Reed Society convention, National Flute Association conference, and recital performances at various universities in the Southeast.

Moria Tunison (DMA ’19) presented “Creating a Meaningful Studio Class for a Small Studio” at the 2021 National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors conference. She served on the International Clarinet Association’s College and Pre-Professional Engagement Committee and has recently accepted the Music Scheduling Specialist position at the Jacobs School of Music (IN).

Justin Vickers (BM ’11, DMA ’96) published Benjamin Britten in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2022) in the new Composers in Context series. He also went to contract with CUP

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as editor and contributor of “Elizabeth Maconchy in Context.” Vickers hosted the 10th Biennial Conference of the North American British Music Studies Association at Illinois State University, 21–24 Jul. For the Conference’s opening concert, he sang the premiere of Colin Matthews’s new song cycle, Six Chinese Songs, written in memory of the tenor’s father, John E. Vickers (1942–2017).

Alleya Weibel (BA/BM ’17) performed in the UK band D26 for Indian Idol star Pawandeep Rajan in his arena tour, including a soldout performance at Wembley Arena. Earlier this year, she recorded a string feature on the song “Paint the Town Green” for Irish rock band The Script for their acoustic series. Weibel has continued touring with The Urban Soul Orchestra for its Classic Ibiza tour and a Christmas show at The Royal Albert Hall in London. Weibel also joined the viola section for The Ignition Orchestra at Kew The Music, in association with Garage Classical with DJ Spoony and So Solid Crew.

J. Michael Weiss-Holmes (MM ’06, DMA ’12) con­ tinues as professor of saxophone at the Bower School of Music & the Arts at Florida Gulf Coast University and as program director of woodwinds and artistteacher of saxophone at Roosevelt University (IL). Weiss-Holmes was recently involved with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s performance of the Kaddish Symphony by Leonard Bernstein, conducted by Marin Alsop, which was taped for a PBS special. He has been performing as the principal saxophonist of the Chicago Symphony since 2013 and will be joining them for their upcoming 2022–2023 tours.

Jennifer Elaine Wiggins (MM ’17) is going into her fifth season as an artist-inresidence with Opera Carolina. After covering the role of Grandma in the premiere of Douglas Tappin’s I Dream during the 2021–2022 season, she is now the cover for Mariah in Porgy and Bess for the upcoming 2022–2023 season.

His efforts as scholar-in-residence anchor the company’s educational offerings by employing the tools of “public musicology” to prepare audience members for a heightened understanding of the operas when they attend the live performances.

He will continue in this position during the 2022–2023 season with the newly renamed company, now called Opera Baltimore.

Ka-Wai Yu (DMA ’11) has completed his seventh year teaching at Utah Tech University, where he is currently associate professor of music. His recent performances include recitals at the University of Utah and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This year, he will perform Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra, and will be featured at the Blue Sage Center for the Arts (CO) and the Center for the Arts at Kayenta (UT). This past summer, Yu taught at the Saarburg Music Festival in Germany, and both the Mountain Springs Music Festival and Intermountain Suzuki String Institute in Salt Lake City.

He will direct the seventh Cello Festival of Southern Utah, which he founded. Active as a scholar, he recently co-presented with art historian Brittany Rancour about 12th–17th century European women artists. He completed his two-year term as President of the Utah Chapter of ASTA.

Joshua Zink (MM ’08) was named a 2022 Emerging Leaders Award winner by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Zink joined a group of seven teachers, who received the award. The biennial grant recognizes teachers with no more than 10 years of teaching experience.

Aaron Ziegel (PhD ’11) presented nearly 15 hours of lectures related to the works performed by the Baltimore Concert Opera during their 2021–2022 season. As scholar-in-residence, his three series of lectures explored the historical and stylistic contexts, composer biographies, and musical analyses of Rossini’s Il barbere di Siviglia, Menotti’s The Medium, and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.

2020–2022 Whitney Ashe (DMA ’20) has been appointed director of jazz studies and assistant professor of jazz studies at Western Illinois University.

Carolyn Bocherding (DMA ’22) accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of composition at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory (OH) in spring 2022. A student of Eli Fieldsteel, Bocherding will begin her appointment this fall.

Andrew J. Buckley (MM ’22) premiered three newly com­ missioned pieces for clarinet and piano and a piece for clarinet, piano, and cello. These four clarinet commissions constitute Buckley’s debut professional album, Where We Go Next,

which was recorded in conjunction with KCPA in Mar. 2022. The composers featured on the album include Daixuan Ai, Genevieve Cecile, Tyler Kowal, and Christian Quinones.

Collaborators include Chanmi Lee, piano, and Briar Schlenker, cello. Featuring the outstanding new music of these young composers keeps with Buckley’s artistic vision of establishing new compositional voices within the canon of clarinet solo and chamber music repertoire. Andrew’s debut album will be released for streaming this coming fall. For more information please visit www.abuckleyclarinet.com.

Andrew Danforth (MM ’22) was named one of three finalists in the National Jazz Trombone Soloist competition of the American Trombone Workshop this past spring.

Becca Frederick (MM ’22) was recently hired as adjunct professor of horn at Alma College (MI). This fall, she also accepted a fellowship at Michigan State University, beginning her doctoral work. On the side, she is studying hearing loss and prevention among musicians and is finding ways to provide richer concert experiences for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Visit beccafrederickhorn.com/hearingconservation to join the cause and get a free hearing test!

Jose Gobbo (DMA ’20) has released four albums since Sep. 2021, three of which featured his original music. The albums include The House Trio performing Live from Home, Chip Stephens Organ Trio performing Transgressions, The Gobbo/ Start Quartet performing Ride of Springfield,

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al u mn i n e w s and Gobbo performing Allerton Park Suite.

Gobbo was selected as artist-in-residence at Allerton Park in Monticello, IL for spring 2022, which culminated in the recording of a solo guitar album inspired by his threeweek residency. He toured many major American cities this past year, including: New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

Josh Graham (DMA ’22) accepted a full-time instructor of percussion position at the University of Northern Iowa. In the past musical season, he premiered works

by Jessie Montgomery, Marta Ptaszynska, and Perry Goldstein at the Ear Taxi Festival, Polish Consulate of Chicago, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.

Natalia Łastowiecka (BM ’22) published research article entitled, “Singing in Different Performance Spaces: The effect of room acoustics on vibrato and pitch accuracy,” in collaboration with Professor Yvonne Gonzales Redman, Pasquale Bottalico of the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and Joshua Glasner of Clarke University (IA). The paper appears in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and was an interdisciplinary effort.

Ralph Lewis’s (DMA ’21) time as the 2020–2021 Composer-in-Residence with the Oberlin Arts and Sciences Orchestra culminated in per-reviewed selections of his commissioned Live-to-Zoom Orchestra “Straight Into Tangles” at New Music Gathering; The Arc Project Online Festival; and College Music Society’s Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Conferences. Lewis presented versions of his dissertation, “Aaron Cassidy’s Second String Quartet: Resilient Structures,

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Indeterminate Localities, and Performance Practice,” at eight conferences, including Society of Composers national conference and CMS Great Lakes. Lewis’s community engagement composition program, All Score Urbana, presented its fifth year of local and regional participants’ works with performances by Mike McAndrew, Shaylyssa Alexander, Thereza Lituma, and Michaela Wright. Additionally, Lewis presented on composition and community engagement at Heidelberg University (OH); the University of Maryland, Baltimore C o u n t y ’s Tea c h i n g C o m p o s i t i o n Symposium; and Johnny Reinhard’s “Microtonal University” online courses.

Mike Minarcek (DMA ’21) began serving as adjunct professor of percussion at Sinclair Community College (OH). He has continued an active profile in per­f or­ mance and scholarly research throughout the pandemic. He premiered Ralph Lewis’s (DMA ’21) convenient words/exactly lost, for percussion on As If Radio’s Longform Broadcasts and Radiophrenia Glasgow in Scotland. He also premiered Irish composer Dave O’Mahony’s Overlapping Voices in a Funeral Home Reception Room as part of the around-the-world Earth Day Art Model event. Much of his research currently centers on developing ways of U.S.-based percussion students to learn, embody, and honor global music traditions.

Currently, Minarecek is collaborating with UIUC Dance Professor Sara Hook on her work Dick and Janes, and he just recorded Occam’s Razor by Selena Ryan.

Justin McAdara (DMA ’20) was recently appointed assistant professor of music at Middle Georgia State University. In addition to teaching Arts Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Arts Management, McAdara will be conducting both the Jazz and University Bands.

Daniel McCarthy (DMA ’22) was recently appointed visiting lecturer in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at UIUC. They will also teach as Visiting Lecturer in the Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Georgia State University. In Jun. 2022, McCarthy was one of four violists chosen to participate in the National Arts Centre Orchestra Mentorship Program, where they performed alongside members of the NACO, received individualized training, and prepared for a career in orchestral music. In fall 2022, their forthcoming article, “Queering Abuelita: Reconciling Loss through the Speculative,” will be published by Departures in Critical Qualitative Research.

In Nov. 2021, they presented the lecture, “Considering Topics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Music Classroom,” at Miami University, intro­ducing undergraduate to key concepts from queer and feminist theories while considering how to bet support, engage with, and advocate for students from queer and marginalized backgrounds.

Noël Wan (BM ’14, DMA ’20) became the Gold Medalist of the 2022 U.S.A. International Harp Com­petition, out­per­forming 44 contestants from 20 countries in four-rounds of competition. Wan was also awarded the prize for best performance of a new work in Stage III of the competition. The triannual competition, now in its 12th edition, is one of the most prestigious international competitions for harp. This fall Wan will join Florida State University as assistant professor of harp and entrepreneurship.

stud e n t n e w s Samantha Lampe, a PhD student in musicology, won the AR Editions Award for most outstanding student paper at the American Musicological Society’s Midwest fall chapter meeting. Her paper was titled, “To Dream: The Civil Rights Movement’s ‘Impossible Dream’’ and explored a Broadway hit song that became an anthem for racial justice.

Owen Meldon, a sophomore in composition, released his second album, Professor Quigley 2, which he calls “the pure antithesis of its predecessor: a deep dive into the beautiful, chaotic world of facing the future and reflecting on the past.” Utilizing several facilities at the University of Illinois, including the EMS Studios and Smith Recital Hall, Owen expanded his horizons by recording in spaces outside of the basement where he recorded his first album. The album features electric violinist and DMA student Chuck Bontrager on “VHS” and a dozen members of the University of Illinois Steel Band, led by Ricardo Flores, on a cover of George Michael’s song “Freedom ’90.”

Four Graduate Stu­ dents in the String Area presented at the American String Teachers Association national Conference in Atlanta, GA in Mar. 2022. Renata Soares Caseres (DMA ’22) presented “The elephant in the Room: Addressing the Double Bass in the (Clockwise from upper-left): Mindy Heterogenous String Park, Min Jung Kim, Renata Caseres, Classroom.” Mindy and Rebecca Kasdan Park (PhD ’22) co-presented “Democratizing Music Education: Four Generations of String Pedagogues in Conversation” with Professor Stephen Fairbanks. Min Jung Kim presented “Biometrically-informed String Lessons for All: Revisiting Paul Rolland’s Principles of Bowing.” Rebecca Kasdan, a DMA student, presented “Hidden in Plain Sight: String Quartet Pedagogy and Its Invisible Presence in Higher Education.

Sydney Weiler

Ellie Pierzina

Heather Swartz

Abby Grace

Brynna Paros

Peiyao Cheng

The UIUC Flute Studio experienced several student successes this past year. Artist Diploma candidate Noah Livingston attended the Aspen Music Festival. DMA candidate Peiyao Cheng won the 2022 Krannert Debut Artist competition.

Sophomore Abby Grace attended Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina. Graduating senior Ksenia Polyarskaya was awarded a Fulbright as an English Teaching Assistant at Kokshetau State University in Kokshetau, Kazakhstan. DMA candidates Julia Escobar and Brynna Paros won first prize in the 19th-Century Chamber Music division of the Charleston International Music Competition. Sydney Weiler, a senior, won the 2022 National Flute Association Collegiate Flute Choir competition, performing alongside some of the best college flutists at the recent national convention in Chicago. Ellie Pierzina and Heather Swartz, sophomores, were invited as soloists with the Capitol City Band in Madison, WI.

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stud e n t n ew s stud e n t a w ard a nd c o m pet i t i on wi nner s 2 1 S T- C E N T U R Y P I A N O COMMISSION COMPETITION Carolyn Bocherding, composition Ming Chai, piano ALBERT AUSTIN HARDING AWARD Scott Patrick Augustine Joshua Dolney A ARON HILBUN MEMORIAL SCHOL ARSHIP IN MUSIC Vincent Chang ANDREW GEORGE DE GR ADO PIANO SCHOL ARSHIP Chang Jiang BR ASS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Jerry Min Kyle Mesa B R O N Z E TA B L E T S C H O L A R S Christine Breeden Jordan Brosius Sarah Castle Vincent Chang Sydney Hoel Lydia Walsh-Rock C A R O LY N J O Y C E M I T C H E L L D A V Y MUSIC SCHOL ARSHIP FUND Naomi Niekerk

DR. MICHAEL E. EWALD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Andrew Hunter EDMUND C. WILLIAMS AWARD Jamal Brown Andrew Buckley Bailye Hendley E D M U N D P L A S Z YC Z Y KO W S K I MEMORIAL SCHOL ARSHIP FOR EXCELLENCE IN MUSIC Ksenia Polyarskaya EDWARD KROLICK STRING SCHOLARSHIP Eliza Haddon Madeline Noga Jessica Zhang ELIZ ABETH MEIER FR AUENHOFFER MEMORIAL AWARD Natalia Łastowiecka ELIZ ABETH MEIER FR AUENHOFFER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Elizabeth Meyer

CHANCELLOR’S SCHOL ARS Ryan Cabildo Lydia Walsh-Rock

F R A N Z J O S E P H H AY D N SCHOL ARSHIP IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE Nathan Hollis Matthew Reeder

CHIP DAVIS/MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER OCHESTR A AWARD Stella Childs

FR ANZ LISZT PIANO FELLOWSHIP IN HONOR OF EDWARD AND LOIS R AT H Jooae Cheon

CL AR A ROLL AND PIANO COMPETITION George Siegle

FR ANZ LISZT PIANO SCHOLARSHIP IN HONOR OF E D W A R D A N D L O I S R AT H George Siegle

DANIEL J. PERRINO SCHOOL OF MUSIC SCHOL ARSHIP Kathryn Pierce DONNIE HEITLER JA ZZ SCHOLARSHIP Jonah Larsen DORIS VANCE HARMON SCHOLARSHIP Anastasia Curtis DOROTHY A . AND CL AUDE R. L ANGFORD KEYBOARD FELLOWSHIP Fenella Theodore DOROTHY HORTON SCHOLARSHIP Christine Breeden DR. CHARLES LEONHARD D I S S E R TAT I O N R E S E A R C H AWARD Mindy Park

GREGG AND JEFF HELGESEN FELLOWSHIP Andrew Danforth G U Y M . D U K E R I N S T R U M E N TA L M U S I C E D U C AT I O N A W A R D Noah Livingston GUY M. DUKER SYMPHONIC BAND AWARD Jakobe Henry Noah Livingston Ashley Watkins Michael Wostmann HOWARD A . STOTLER FELLOWSHIP Juan Beltran Carmona Stephen Burdsall Hector Camacho Salazar Steven Crook Peiqi Huang Shayne Piles Salvador Lopez Portillo Martin Pizarro Jaramillo Alejandra Sandoval-Montanez Jorge Vergara Esquivel Eldon Warner I L L I N O I S O P E R A T H E AT R E ENTHUSIASTS AWARD Sarah Durbin Sydney Hoel Nathan Tilton

FRIDA HALLER JONES MEMORIAL AWARD George Siegle

JAMES SCHOL ARS Jordan Brosius Stella Childs Isabel Gleason Sydney Hoel Ksenia Polyarskaya Lydia Walsh-Rock

G. JE AN SUTTER MUSIC E D U C AT I O N S C H O L A R S H I P Jason Kazin

JERRY HADLEY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Nathan Tilton

GARY E. SMITH EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP AWARD Sarah Castle Jason Kazin

JESSICA BRENNAN CLARK SCHOL ARSHIP FUND Diamond Arrington Jordan Brosius James Karavites Mercedes Maglio

GER ALDINE B. COOKE FELLOWSHIP Joseph Cangelosi Sarah Castle Laura Gaynon Madeline Noga Caitlin Towell GERTRUDE WEBER GASSMAN PIANO AWARD George Siegle G O L D E N LY R E A W A R D Martin Pizarro Jaramillo

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GR ACE ELIZ ABETH WILSON MEMORIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SINGING Amada Duran Isaiah Calaranan Nathaniel Waterson Nathan Tilton

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J O E B A R T KO W I A K M E M O R I A L SCHOLARSHIP Noah Weisbard

JOSEPH W. SCHL ANGER MEMORIAL OPER A SCHOL ARSHIP Sarah Durbin Ramman Takhsh JOSEPHINE DANIEL SCHOLARSHIP Yuon Cho J O YC E D U S T I N B A LT Z SCHOLARSHIP Eliza Haddon Satoshi Kamei Sasha Preskill JUDY RIEMENSCHNEIDER MARDEROSIAN MEMORIAL MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP Nathan Tilton JUNE AND CHARLES ROSS PIANO F E L L O W S H I P I N H O N O R O F PAT T I AND BERNARD PHILLIPS Huijae Lee KR ANNERT DEBUT ARTIST Peiyao Cheng, flute LE X AND SHEIL A YOUNG MUSIC E D U C AT I O N A W A R D Margaret Maureen Ward L O U I S E TAY L O R S P E N S E SCHOLARSHIP Eliza Haddon Horacio Hernandez James Karavites Alejandro Partida Olivia Vamos MARCELL A K. BROWNSON FELLOWSHIP Peter Morey MARCELL A K. BROWNSON SCHOLARSHIP Kevin Kato M A R C H I N G I L L I N I “ L O YA LT Y ” SCHOLARSHIP Bridget Glass Tamun Hanjra Julia Poel Jake Tedeschi Spencer Walden MARCHING ILLINI DRUM MA JOR SCHOLARS Jake Burrows Benjamin Macke MARCHING ILLINI DRUMLINE SCHOLARSHIP Mia Folliard

JOHN GARVEY SCHOLARSHIP IN JA ZZ STUDIES Grace Calderon

MARGARET GOLDSMITH RICE AWARD Kennedy Ortmeier Thereza Lituma

JOHN WUSTMAN MUSIC SCHOL ARSHIP FOR VOICE STUDENTS Gwendolyn Maramba

MARK HINDSLEY AWARD Christine Breeden Becca Frederick Joseph Goldstein

MC ALLISTER MEMORIAL MUSICOLOGY AWARD Katlin Harris

R O B E R T E . G R AY T R O M B O N E AWARD Jerry Min

MIRIAM L. EKBOM SCHOLARSHIP FUND Grace Calderon Vincent Chang Makenzie Hill Andrew Hunter Juliana Nolan Arinze Okammor

ROBERT E. THOMAS AWARD Sophia Diaz

M U S I C E D U C AT I O N A C H I E V E M E N T AWARD Elisabeth Bieber Andrew Lopez Elisabeth Meyer Ruby Phebus Emma Pienkos Yulu Fu MUSICOLOGY ACHIE VEMENT AWARD Nicole Vandervlugt NANC Y KENNEDY WUSTMAN MEMORIAL AWARD IN VOCAL A C C O M PA N Y I N G Aaron Ames ORGAN AND HARPSICHORD ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Anyi Cai O U T S TA N D I N G G R A D U AT E S E N I O R S I N M U S I C E D U C AT I O N Jake Burrows Isabel R. Gleason Crystal Zhu Hall James Karavites PA U L I N E V. A N D R A L P H C. MORGAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Yuxi Chen PA U L R O L L A N D M E M O R I A L STRING AWARD Noah Jublank (undergraduate) Wei-Ting Chen (graduate) PERCUSSION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Adrian Silva PETER AND RITTCHELL YA U FA M I LY M U S I C O L O G Y SCHOLARSHIP Jean Rene Balekita Alina Dorion Melissa Miller PIANO ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Chang Jiang PIANO PEDAGOGY AWARD Mingzi Hu PROFESSOR FR ANCES CR AWFORD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Gwendolyn Maramba REID ALEX ANDER SCHOL ARSHIP Chin-Hsuan Cheng RICHARD RUAL CL ARK VOC AL SCHOLARSHIP Juan Beltran Carmona

ROBERT H. GREEN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Caitlin Towell ROBERT L. Z ARBOCK FUND FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AND RESEARCH YeonWoo Cho Liliana Mansfield ROBERT SWENSON AWARD Lucille Yockey S A L LY E M R I C H P I E R C E A N D C .

DAVID PIERCE SCHOL ARSHIP Michael Tuleo SAR A DE MUNDO LO AWARD Lisa Buhelos Salvatore Castronovo Peiqi Huang Thereza Lituma STRING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Rebecca Kasdan Keegan O’Donald S U S A N S TA R R E T T S C H O L A R S H I P Brian Ha Angelica Kreul Konomi Kuba Noah Kublank Makiba Kurita Elsie Layman Tae Hyoung Lee Andrea Maldonado Ayumu Seiya S W A N S O N FA M I LY P E R C U S S I O N FELLOWSHIP Dimitri Georgantonis TA L E N T E D S T U D E N T SCHOLARSHIP Alejandro Partida Isabelle Libbrecht Catherine Tarpey Mitchell Berg Elisabeth Bieber Jonathan Boudreaux Sarah Castle Noah Coughlen Sophia Diaz Jason Kazin Shane Nelson Ethan Prado Allison Torf Connor R. Yoon Neha Adkoli Isaiah Calaranan Sophia Diaz Brihanon Krmpotich Yanni Ovalle Alejandro Partida Carmela Scamiatterra Danica Southerland Axel Aguilera Olivia Bell Luke Brann Samuel Calhoon Nicholas Callcut Joseph Cangelosi Celia Chambers Francesco Console Simon Cooper Anastasia Curtis

Tanner Day Joseph DeMaria Patrick Duncker Ethan Dymit Alexis Esher Matthew Felbein Connor Friedman Clara Galbraith Jordan Garbaciak Red Garcia Jackson Govern Abigail Grace Jacob Guglielmi Joel Hoo Megan Houlihan Samuel Inmon Joseph Jaeger Chang Jiang Diya Joshy Satoshi Kamei Kevin Kato Ryan Kazda Rebecca Keller Matthew Kelley Noah Kublank Sean Lane-Bortell Jonah Larsen Emma Lemke Isabelle Libbrecht Stefan Loest Andrew Lopez Shibashis Mandal Gwendolyn Maramba Annika Marchi Elizabeth Mazzolini Emily McGovern Owen Meldon Kyle Mesa Tobias Miller Rebecca Mills Jerry Min Matthew Neuberger Naomi Niekerk Andrew Orals Lindsay Peters Sophia Philbrick Kathryn Pierce Sasha Preskill Johnathan Raymond Safi Rouhi Samantha Salmi Wilson Shrout Evan Smith Kyle Soliz Frederick Spaag Erin Stanton Luke Suarez Heather Swartz Catherine Tarpey Jackson Teetor Annika Templin Reid Tyler Olivia Vamos Eric Verplaetse Noah Weisbard Ian Welch Allison White Alexander Winkel Jessica Zhang Agnieszka Zochowska THELMA WILLETT ENDOWMENT FOR PIANO SCHOL ARSHIPS Yuxi Chen Chang Jiang David McEathron THEODORE PRESSER F O U N D AT I O N S C H O L A R S H I P I N MUSIC Sophia Diaz

THEODORE PRESSER F O U N D AT I O N G R A D U AT E M U S I C AWARD Jack Thorpe, DMA Saxophone THOMAS SCHLEIS MEMORIAL SCHOL ARSHIP FUND Reagan Stohler THOMA S J. SMITH COMPETITION Paige Calvert, voice Natasha Kozintseva, flute Leah Zhao, violin T. J . S M I T H S C H O L A R S H I P Christine Breeden Paige Calvert Stella S. Childs Elizabeth Kelly Natalia Kozintseva Makiba Kurita Emma Mize Grace Morby Ksenia Polyarskaya Ruixuan Zhao TOWNSEND TRUST SCHOL ARSHIP Elisabeth Bieber Jonathan Boudreaux Christine Breeden Yuxi Chen Noah Coughlen Sean Finnegan Andrew Hunter Rebecca Keller Brihanon Krmpotich Emma Lemke Andrew Lopez David McEathron Madeline Noga Juliana Sahara Nolan Ethan James Prado Allison Torf UISO CONCERTO COMPETITION Benjamin Carrasquillo, trombone Jonathan Dufresne, saxophone Junhong (Ivan) Jiang, piano V A L E R I E D E C A S A S FA R A G ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN CL ASSIC AL MUSIC Kennedy Ortmeier V A N PA P P E L E N D A M SCHOLARSHIP Brendan Barker Peiqi Huang Yeh Eun Kwon Sinhaeng Lee Thereza Lituma Lewis McAdow Jason Pandelidis VOICE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Jessica Blomberg Lauren Harper Kennedy Ortmeier WARREN H. SCHUETZ MEMORIAL AWARD Andrew Bruhn WOODWIND ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sarah Castle Kyle Soliz

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in m e mo r ia m James Warren Beauchamp James Beauchamp served as professor of music and electrical and computer engineering from 1965 until 1997. Beauchamp was born in Highland Park, MI on October 17, 1937, and died in Urbana, IL on May 5, 2022.

I first met James Beauchamp in 1974 when I started my graduate studies in composition at the SoM. Jim was a quiet, unassuming, mild-mannered electrical engineer with a strong interest in music, acoustics, electronic music, and computer music. He completed his PhD in electrical engineering at UIUC, working closely with Lejaren Hiller. Jim was asked to join the electrical engineering faculty in 1965. In 1969 he received a joint appointment in both Electrical Engineering and the SoM, serving as director of the experimental music studios from 1969 (upon the departure of Lejaren Hiller) until 1972.

Jim was a smart, creative, experienced, and prolific researcher/author. He authored and co-authored more than 165 research articles and papers. While at UIUC, James personally initiated, organized, and presented more than 30 concerts of electronic and computer music. His work as a Fellow in the Audio Engineering Society, the Acoustical Society of America, a member of the Board of Directors of the International Computer Music Association, and a visiting researcher at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination in Acoustique/Musique in Paris, France made him a significant contributor to the fields of electronic and computer music analysis and synthesis. His presence and warm smile within the halls of the School of Music, at concerts, and at student events are greatly missed by so many who worked with him. I offer my sincere condolences to his family, friends, students, and colleagues. I am honored to have known and worked with him.

—Scott Wyatt, professor emeritus of composition, former director of the experimental music studios

The Computer Music Project was founded by James W. Beauchamp, its first director. Established in 1984 through NEA and Research Board grants cosigned by James Beauchamp, Herbert Brün, John Melby and myself, CMP was, in fact, the brain child of James Beauchamp.

In 1987, James Beauchamp and I co-organized the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) which had Iannis Xenakis and Max Mathews as keynote speakers.

It is useless to mention that he was very knowledgeable: using his elegant hand writing that I always envied, Jim could show the math behind acoustic phenomena in impromptu demonstrations on the white board. When I arrived at UIUC, I was interested in computer-assisted composition and knew

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precious little about sound synthesis. Going to conferences with Jim, he would patiently answer my questions about topics I didn’t understand. I always considered James Beauchamp my mentor—he introduced me to a field unfamiliar for James Beauchamp ca. 2000 me at that time.

At the ICMC 2000, in Berlin, the last paper of a session was presented by people from the UIUC CERL group; after everybody else had left, Jim still kept asking them questions, requiring more and more detailed answers, until one of the authors, irritated, exclaimed: “but, Jim, this is how YOU taught us!” Jim Beauchamp was not only very intelligent and well-informed, he was also authentic and kind, “a good man”, as a common acquaintance characterized him. I consider myself lucky to have known him as a colleague, mentor and friend.

—Sever Tipei, professor emeritus composition-theory

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Jim Beau- James Beauchamp in the champ, my doctoral advisor Experimental Music Studios, and friend of many years. ca. 1960 But my sadness is seasoned with a real sense of joy about my recollections of my work with Jim at the UIUC Computer Music Project in the late 1980s, and our collaborations and interactions through the years. . . . Over his career, his courses in electronic music and audio engineering at UIUC influenced hundreds of students...

Jim was an excellent mentor. He guided my studies and encouraged my interest in a wide range of topics surrounding computer audio analysis and synthesis. When we traveled and attended research conferences, he never neglected to introduce me to prominent figures in the field of computer music and acoustics. . . . I continued to strive to emulate that openness and generosity of spirit exhibited so well by my friend and mentor, Jim Beauchamp.

—Rob Maher (PhD ’89), doctoral advisee

Jim’s ECE302 “Electronic Music” class was my favorite when I was an undergraduate Electrical Engineering student. In 1980 Jim taught me amazing topics at the intersection of engineering, music, and mathematics—for example, by carefully picking the parameters, it is possible to do nonlinear distortion on a sine wave and end up with any desired

harmonic spectrum. In 1996 I had the honor of taking over ECE302 (now ECE402) from Jim and have enjoyed all 31 times I taught it. As fate would have it, Jim passed away on the day of my retirement party.

—Lippold Haken, teaching professor, electrical and computer engineering

Michael Joseph Cameron

I got to know Michael closely in 1996, when I joined the faculty at UIUC. He served as my faculty mentor. Looking back, I realize he was my Michael Cameron, ca. 1986 friend for a third of his life.

During my third year at Illinois, I was playing a viola concerto with the Sinfonia da Camera. At the first rehearsal he watched me play at my greatest possible volume in order to be heard above the orchestra. At intermission he came to me and said “If you play that loudly in the first rehearsal, it’ll encourage the orchestra to be louder, and then it’ll escalate into an arms race of volume that you can’t possibly win with one solitary viola. So play pianissimo in rehearsals to keep everyone quiet, and then in the concert play full throttle.” This advice was so effective that I’ve passed it onto students ever since. . . .

Michael’s sense of humor was wonderfully clever and subtle, even in difficult circumstances. Over the years he’d observed my struggles with my eyesight. When his own eyesight began deteriorating, he said to me, “Now we can lead each other.”

After a moment of thought I caught the “blind leading the blind” reference and gave him a hug. He then apologized for crying and told me he was afraid it would only get worse.

This was such a sad moment, having him lose his usually impeccable composure. He’ll always serve as an inspiration to those of us who had the privilege of knowing him.

—Rudolf Haken, professor of viola and electric strings

Michael Cameron was a wonderful artist and scholar who cared deeply about his students and was a fixture in the Illinois musical community. In addition to his renown as a double bass soloist, with innumerable commissions and performances, he was a kind and gentle soul and a wonderful collaborator. To me, Michael Cameron in Smith as a bass colleague, he was always Hall, 2017 welcoming and supportive, and I have wonderful memories of our connects. We traveled to schools together and did one duo concert, which was special for me. I’m sorry we won’t have more opportunities to play together. To the very end Professor Cameron was caring and was always dedicated to his students.

Photo Courtesy of Guilherme Ehrat Zils

Michael Cameron joined the faculty on double bass in 1986 and served as professor of double bass from 1993 until 2021. Cameron was born in Utica, NY on July 13, 1959, and died in Chicago, IL on July 13, 2022.

—Lawrence Gray, professor of jazz bass

Michael Cameron, Paul Martin Zonn, and I were the founding members of the trio Ciosoni. Our name, which means “All Music” in Esperanto was Michael’s choice. We performed and recorded many compositions written for our instrumentation, compositions that were written for us, and many arrangements.

During the late eighties and early nineties, we traveled throughout the East Coast and the Midwest, performing in concert halls, clubs, in studios for live radio programs, and at various universities. We often stayed at the homes of friends, family, and composers with Paul and Michael taking turns cooking for everyone. Michael was always seeking out new sources of repertoire for the group. His taste in music was progressive, eclectic, and always discerning. Onstage he was incredibly reliable and very, very creative. His thinking was always probative, and he was never shy about challenging “norms.” He will be remembered for his gifts with great fondness.

—Tim Lane, professor of flute, University of WisconsinEau Claire and fellow member of the Ciosoni Trio

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in m e mo r ia m James Frederick Keene

My first encounter with Jim occurred during my final interview for my current position. Jim came into the meeting late, and he was James Keene in the Harding grouchy. After exchanging Band Building, ca. 1985 some pleasantries, he asked me, “so what is your favorite Sousa march?” Without a moment’s hesitation I said, “El Capitan.” Jim pushed back from the table and remarked, “Why isn’t it Stars and Stripes?”

I responded, “I hate that piece. I played alto sax in high school and my band director always ended our band rehearsals with that march. El Capitan is one of the few Sousa marches where the saxophone gets to play something more interesting than the off beats.” Jim leaned into the table, smiled, and said, “well that wasn’t the answer I was expecting. I think I’ll stay a little longer and hear what else you have to say.”

About six months later, I attended a performance of the Wind Symphony under Jim’s baton. The band had just finished its performance of Stars and Stripes Forever. After the concert, I went backstage to congratulate Jim on the band’s performance. He asked me, “So, now do you like Stars and Stripes?” I said, “yes, when you and your band play it.” He said, “Good.” We both chuckled. Nothing more needed to be said. Jim was always direct with his thoughts about people, music performance, and administrators. He never minced words and definitely had no patience with anyone wasting his time. Both of these memories of Jim will always make me smile.

—Scott Schwartz, archivist for music and fine arts, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

I knew Jim Keene since the early 1980’s when he served as director of bands at the University of Arizona. I was a very young band director in the state at the time. He was always extremely kind to me, and, like so many others, I was influenced by his fine musicianship and tireless work toward excellence. His incredible work at Illinois can be seen through his countless superb performances and in the work of the many fine conductors who were his students at UI.

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Photo by Scott Schwartz

James F. Keene was director of bands from 1985 until 2008, formerly Brownfield Distinguished Professor of Music. Keene was born in Detroit, MI on August 19, 1948, and died in San Antonio, TX on June 27, 2022.

James Keene conducting the UI Wind Symphony on March 3, 2022

We shared many special conversations after I arrived at Illinois. His advice was priceless, but he never over-reached.

I will miss his dry sense of humor so much. I was looking forward to our future meetings as a very small club of retired University of Illinois Directors of Bands. The band world has lost an icon, and, for me, I miss him very much.

—Stephen Peterson, director emeritus of bands

Jim Keene was a wonderful teacher, colleague and friend.

He went out of his way to support his students and fellow faculty members. It was because of him that I took the leap of faith and joined the UI faculty in 1991. Jim knew how to bring out the best in people, and I am honored and grateful to have had the chance to work and make music with him. I will always remember the fun times and great food we shared at his and Alice’s home. Deepest condolences to Alice and family. RIP Jim. You are missed.

—Debra Richtmeyer, professor of saxophone

I had the opportunity to serve as Jim Keene’s final graduate student in 2007. Throughout my time working with him, I learned a great deal about conducting, rehearsal pacing, and the "ILLINOIS WAY.” I will never forget the specificity and musical detail expected from each member of the Illinois Wind Symphony, whether reading a piece for the first time or fine-tuning details during the final dress rehearsal before a concert. Excellence was expected at all times and at all levels.

There was no better rehearsal technician than Jim Keene… those ears! Keene’s legacy and influence will continue to impact many for generations to come. Thank you JFK for making us all better and showing us the ILLINOIS WAY. —Barry L. Houser, associate director of bands & director of the Marching Illini

Giving

Music Opportunity and Innovation Fund: Investing in Impact at the School of Music The Need

Carlos Carrillo and George Crumb

George Crumb, a renowned avant-garde composer and alumnus of the School of Music, was born in Charleston, WV on October 24, 1929, and died in Media, PA on February 6, 2022.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1950 from Mason College of Music and Fine Arts, Crumb began his studies at UIUC, studying with Eugene Weigel and earning his Master of Music degree in 1952. After departing UIUC, Crumb earned his doctorate in composition at the University of Michigan in 1960, studying with Ross Lee Finney. Crumb first gained notoriety as a composer with his piece Echoes of Time and the River, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1968. Among his best-known compositions are Black Angels (1970), Ancient Voices of Children (1970), and Vox Balaenae (1971).

T

he School of Music budget does not have the flexibility to fund new opportunities and innovative projects when they arise on relatively short notice, something that happens very frequently in the arts. Every semester, students and faculty members alike miss out on unique opportunities—the chance to perform at a major competition, the opportunity to bring a youth orchestra to campus, the prospect of purchasing a specialized piece of equipment, the possibility of performing a new piece of music, etc.—due to a lack of funds in that area. Over the years, we have been fortunate to have many dedicated individuals who help support these needs.

To prepare for this challenge, the Music Opportunity and Innovation Fund was established this year with lead gifts from donors Shirley Soo, Lynd Corley, and Paul Herman. Their gifts and the subsequent gifts of others have allowed us to reach our initial goal of $100,000 and we plan to continue building this fund so it can be a permanent part of the School of Music as we plan for future needs. If you would like to help us build this important resource, please make your donation to the Music Opportunity and Innovation Fund (11336754). You can give an online gift at giving.illinois.edu or use the enclosed remit card.

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in m e mo r ia m John Heath

Gifts in support of the School of Music Paul Herman The success of the SoM depends on the generosity of our alumni, friends, foundations, and corporations. We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the following, who made gifts in support of the SoM. The SoM always welcomes new contributors. For more information about making a gift to the SoM or about the Illinois Music Advancement Council, please contact David Allen, director of advancement, at 217-333-6453 or allend@illinois.edu.

Stephen Husarik Melva Gage & Edgar Madsen Suzanne & George Pagels E. B. Philippson & Gail Durham Roberta & William Potsic Gayl Pyatt Julie & Glendon Schuster Jeffrey Sposato Krista & Glen Strauss Nancy & Michael Udow Sharon Walton

$25,000+

$2,500–$4,999

(July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022)

Quintin Anderson & Colleen Chon Carol Berthold Jim Dixon & Kathie Lockhart Barbara & Terry England Shawki Farag

Illinois Music Advancement Council Our Illinois Music Advancement Council Executive Committee has done great work to help the SoM and its advancement goals. In addition to connecting new donors to the SoM, the committee has co-hosted events on campus, including the SoM Open House, Music Partners Luncheon, and the SoM 125th anniversary reception and concert.

IMAC EC members are selected from our annual list of Music Partners and serve 2–3 year terms.

Thank you to our current executive committee. If you are interested in learning how you can be involved, please contact Director of Advancement David Allen or Director Jeffrey Sposato.

Shirley Soo (BM ’74, MBA ’82), chair Paul Herman (BS ’74) Janet Schroeder (BS ’76) Rich Schroeder (BS ‘77) Joseph Rank (BS ’69, MS ’73) Pam Rank (BS ’74)

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Thomas Libby Sarah Barnett Nemeth & Robert Nemeth Shirley Soo & Matthew Gorman John Wustman

$10,000–$24,999 Anonymous Linda Allen Anderson Sherry & Nelson Beck Cindy Capek & Edward Harvey Carmel Bach Festival Ronald Johnson Judith & Richard Kaplan Ruth & Edward Lerner Erin & James Lowe Elizabeth & Peter March Meredith Foundation Debra & Ty Newell David Pierce Presser Foundation Theodore Quast Robin Sahner Martha & Craig Schiele Wigley Family Fund Rebecca & Paul Wigley Sarah Wigley

$5,000–$9,999 Abbott Laboratories Amy & Matthew Ando Barbara E. Barnes Benevity Community Impact Fund Sandra Casserly Stephanie & Michael Chu Lynd Corley Eleanor Crum Jo Ellen DeVilbiss Maureen & Christopher Durack Susan & Michael Haney Kathleen Harvey

Katherine & Richard Badertscher Charles Boast & Marsha Clinard Joseph Ceo Community Foundation of East Central Illinois Niki & John Devereux David Dungan & Mary Granato Dungan Joanne & Bruce Erwin Gladys & Harry Frost Judith & Nicholas Good Daniel Grayson & Carol Livingstone Deb & Bill Harrison Susan & James Hatfield Susan Hoeksema Julie & William Jastrow Patricia Coyne-Johnson & John Johnson Holly & Jack Jordan Jennifer & David Knickel Tiffany & Bill Lesiecki Gina Manola Jennifer & Steven Mather Margaret & Craig Milkint Ruth Moore John Parkhill Marjorie Perrino Mark & Laura Pils Janet & Richard Schroeder Jan Sherbert Nicole & Steven Stricker Marcia & Ronald Tarvin Cheryl & Russell Weber Lizabeth Wilson

$1,000–$2,499 David Adams Bill Alberth & Patricia Robb Sharon & David Anderson Larry Ashley Valerie & Bryan Bagg Don Baker

pl anned gi vi ng Robert Blum Bruce Bonds Joyce Branfman Sarah & Carl “Chip” Buerger Tina & Peter Buhelos Cicero Calderon & Rhonda Wright Sara & John Carriere Beth & David Chasco Class Act Michelle Corlew Jennifer & John Currey Lynne & Paul Denig Duly Health & Care Mark Elyn Exxon Mobil Linda & Roger Fornell Roxanne Frey Sarah & Michael Gamage Sheryl & Donald Harkins Eve Harwood & Mark Netter Jamie & Mark Heisler Dennis Helmrich & Gerard Hecht Mary Hoffman Sharon Irish & Reed Larson Dulce Issa Lori & Raymond Janevicius Clifford Johnson & Cristina Medrano-Johnson Bruce Johnson Renata Moore-Jones & David Jones Cynthia Jose & Henry Magnuski Hiromi & Masahito Kagawa Thomas Keegan & Nancy Moskowitz Timothy Killeen & Roberta Johnson Killeen Kathleen Killion & Stephen Miles Brenda & Thomas Koester Kelly & David Koster Barbara & David Kuhl Cheryl Lentz Sandra Leonard Leonard Lewicki David MacFarlane Gayle & Jeffrey Magee Diane & Kenneth Matsuura Donald Maylath Lynda & Claude McKibben Virginia & John Mead Trudy & Charles Medhurst Sharron & David Mies Barbara & Michael Moore Jane & Walter Myers Steven Ng & Mark Posner

Brenda & Stephen Pacey Margene & Peter Pappas Margaret & Robert Pattison Kimberly & Anthony Perry Andy Pucher Retirement Research Foundation Rebecca & Verlin Richardson G. M. Riemenschneider Alison & Kevin Rockmann Joyce Kim-Rohrer & Jeffrey Rohrer Donna & Mark Rolih Susan & Paul Schlesinger Nancy Schwegler Julie Somogyi Elaine & Case Sprenkle State Farm Companies Foundation Cheryl & Robert Summerer Cynthia Swanson Amy & Eric Tamura Joy Thornton Jon Toman Deborah & David Trotter Sandra & William Volk Phillip Whipple Karen & William Winget

$500–$999 Teresa & Eduardo Acuna Nadja & Carl Altstetter Linda & Erwin Arends Jill & Philip Arkin Anton Armstrong Susan Atamian & Lee Hart Randy Atkins Paula Bachman Kathleen & S. Eugene Barton Sarah Beauchamp & Zachary Hench Bennett for Senate Susan & Richard Biagi Patrick Bitterman Christine & Philip Bohlman Jill & Joseph Bonucci Brenda Brak & Dale Hallerberg Nancy & Craig Branigan Barbara & Harold Breece Cynthia & Clark Breeze Marta Brinberg Sarah Carr & Larry Parsons Joy & Jack Charney Chicago Illini Club Heather & David Chichester Nicole Anderson-Cobb & Domonic Cobb

Legacy Commitments We would like to recognize the following alumni and friends who have chosen to include Music at Illinois through a bequest or other planned gift. Donors who remember the SoM in their estate plans provide critical funding to establish student, faculty, and program support.

Linda Allen Anderson Chester Alwes & Marlys Scarbrough Joyce & Alan Baltz Mary Beasley Carol Berthold Patrick Bitterman Robert Blum David Bowers David Bruns & Leigh Deusinger Gloria & Michael Burson Judith Chastain Richard Clark & Andrea Durison-Clark Lucinda & Dale Cockrell Larry Cohen Stanford Collins Shirley Cunningham Richard DeLong Jerry & Cathy Ditto Michael Dugard Barbara & Terry England Joanne & Bruce Erwin James & Candace Frame Cathy & Preston Gale Susan & Michael Haney Kathleen Harvey John Heath Susan Hoeksema Donald Houpt Jr. & JoAnn Unsell Houpt Larry Houtz Stephen Husarik Dulce Issa Raymond & Lori Janevicius

Amy & Timothy Connelly John Davidson & Shirley Schaeffer Kenneth Davis Terri Dodson Carolyn & Patrick Donnelly Adele & Fred Drummond James Emme

Bruce Johnson Ronald Johnson Judith & Richard Kaplan Jane Klaviter Kelly Langford Cheryl Lentz Leonard Lewicki Randall Lindstrom & Justin Emery Howard Loveless Henry Magnuski & Cynthia Jose Lezlee Masson Holly (Acker) & Kenneth Mathiesen Sharon Michalove Daniel & Arundhati Neuman Beverly & Thomas Rauchfuss Bruce Reznick & Robin Sahner Donna & Mark Rolih Stephen Ross & Elizabeth Hunke Janet & Richard Schroeder Willodean Simon Linda & Ronald Sims Shirley Soo & Matthew Gorman John Spaulding Albert Staub Craig Sutter Deborah & David Trotter Nancy & Michael Udow Sharon West Rebecca & Paul Wigley Sarah Wigley

Lauren Emme Erwin & Linda Arends Foundation Sandra Ettema & Steven Everitt Katherine & Robert Evans Marita & Cleve Fenley Robert Fleisher & Darsha Primich Jennifer & James Gettel Linda & Werner Gieseke

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Marjorie & Thomas Goettsche Sarah Good & Mark Mosley Andrew Groharing Marie & Garry Gutgesell Michelle & John Hackett Mary & Richard Haines Eric Hammelman Joseph Hanley & Kristy Mardis Jancie Harris Christine & Bruce Hegemann Elizabeth Hindsley Lori & Reiner Hinner Anne & Colin Holbrook Cynthia & Robert Hormell Victoria & Collin Huart Sara & Andrew Isbell Heather & Eric Johnson JP Morgan Chase Patricia Justice Linda & David Kranz Jane Kuntz & Richard Powers Marvin Lamb Joan & Ronald Larner Brandi & Jason Lowe Brenda & Morgan Lynge Nancy & Marshall Mabie Cynthia & Richard Mann Caleb Marcella Jeff Marcella & Gail Patrick Edmund & Kameron March Linda & Richard Marsho Julia & Michael Maschek Charles Matz & Yvonne Simpson-Matz Carlye & Timothy McGregor Kristine & Ian McPheron Robert Morgan Linda & Clifford Nelson NVIDIA Carol Oberg David O’Connor & Caroline West Marion O’Leary & Elizabeth Kean Rebecca & Jeffrey Olson Elizabeth & Don Palmer William Pananos Christopher Pawlicki Amy & Dennis Pessis Alixandra Ramos Pamela & Joseph Rank Julie & Gregory Reckamp Linda & Ronald Roaks Robert Ruckrigel Leslie & Paul Rudolph Carol & Edwin Scharlau Gwyn & David Schramm

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Christie Schuetz Patricia & Dennis Schwarzentraub Meenal Sethna Amanda & Benjamin Shanbaum Vicki & Steve Stalcup Michelle & William Stanley Virginia Stitt Patricia & James Swan Delyla & Rick Uebel Nancy & Peter Van Den Honert Kimberly & Jeffrey Wahl June & Ashton Waller Josephine & Richard Weil Nancy & John Whitecar Amy & Chad Williams Susan & Mark Wisthuff Sallie Wolf Joy & Jim Woolley Cheryl & James Wormley

Who Gives to Music at Illinois?

2018–2022

F I S C A L Y E A R (F Y ) = J U LY 1– J U N E 3 0

$250–$499 Marsha & Larry Ackerman Claretha Anthony Jan Aramini & Michael Pettersen Catherine & David Atkinson Sharon & Theodore Barczak Sue Bergstrom Thomas Bieber & Barbara Petro Hannah & Justin Brauer David Bruns & Leigh Deusinger Christina Buckley Champaign Urbana Jewish Federation Christy Claus & Jeremy Hicks Mary & Danny Coker Laura & Douglas Coster Deloitte Foundation Therese & Jeffrery DeMouy Delbert Disselhorst Cathy & Gerald Ditto Robert Doak Julie & Jeffrey Dreebin Teresa & Paul Dubravec Ann Einhorn Sara Emme Breanne Ertmer Aldena & Rodney Everhart Emmie Fisher & Shung-Wu Lee Michael Folliard & Christina Klintworth Candace & James Frame Jennifer Fuller Bernie Gancarz & Diane Penny Margaret & Edward Germain

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Margaret Ghering Tina & Brian Gieseke Joseph Dale Goble Aaron Godwin Diane Gottheil Robert Gray & Kathleen Merner Linda & Charles Gullakson John Haberlen Nancy & William Hammitt Linda & Kendall Hastings Kaye & Chris Heinhold Marlene Helgesen James Hile & Nancy Whitaker Denise Hodges Alice & Jesse Hopkins Janice Impey Jodie & Ben Jackels Barbara Jackson Kathryn & Alan Janicek Gail & William Jindrich Alice & Rick Joellenbeck Maureen & Tony Juodis Cynthia & Robert Kennedy Josephine & Douglas Kibbee Ellen Kuroghlian Rebecca Larsen Casandra & Kenneth Larvenz Diane & James Lauridsen Ann & Doug Lee Carol & Craig Levin Gretchin & Keith Levin

Tammy & Daniel Lezotte Stevee Libert Laura & Blake Linders Joanne & Daniel Lockard Laura Luckadoo Nancy & Steven Magee Kevin Marchi Deborah & Ricky Mason Barbara & Bernard Mateer Linda & David Maurer Amy McArthur & William Theisen Brenda & William McNeiland John Meyer LeRae Mitchell Amy Mitsuda Barbara & Jeffrey Modlin Elizabeth Morley Lois & Joseph Morrow Marian & Steve Mueller Jeffrey Murley Jane & Roger Naeseth Diane & Thomas Newkirk Susan & K.D. O’Leary Lisa Parekh Ann Pastrovich Pfizer Katherine Pickard Rebecca & Douglas Pinney Theresa & Andrew Piotrowski Bonnie & Kenneth Pletcher Sally & Michael Pope

Giving to the School of Music

2017–2022

F Y = J U LY 1– J U N E 3 0

Rowena & Samuel Rea Kathleen & Michael Rodriguez Karen Roll-Gardener & Brian Gardener Debra Roskamp Rebecca & David Rubin Emily & Jon Salvani Lisa & Joseph Sanstrom Bruce Scafe Gracie & John Scambiatterra Rosemary & Randall Scholl Katherine & Joseph Schrepfer Arthur Sievers Dawn & Brent Sinclair Brenda & Dale Slack Katharine & Terry Slocum Esther Spodek-Ostrow & Brian Ostrow Elizabeth & Christopher Spytek Jennifer & Franklin Stanhope Mariann & Patrick Stanton Charles Swaringen Marie Swenson Tanya & Michael Taylor Dennis Thiel Martha & Dale Traxler Karyl & Walter Tyler Karen & Zalman Usiskin Jennifer & Matthew VandeWiele Robin & James West Eric Whitaker

Michael White Susan & Rodney Williams Susan Williams Scott Wood Lori & Gregory Yuccas Mary & Darryl Zettle Xiaoni Zhang Leslie Zoref

$100–$249 John Abelson & Kendall Rafter Olga & Daniel Adams Donna & William Alberth Marc Alexander Betty & David Allen Donetta & Eddie Allen Shyra Allen Judy & Stephen Altaner Gail Alwan Catherine & Eugene Amberg Greg Anderson Ian Anderson Jennifer & Timothy Anderson Keith Anderson & Desiree Helgren Patricia Angeja Joseph Anthony & Laura Reynolds Angela Arnold Karen & Allan Atchison Martha & David Atwater

Sally & Kevin Baltz Debra & David Barford Lisa-Ann & Robert Barnes Holly & Allen Barr Elaine & Neale Bartee Penny & John Barthel Jeanne Bauer & Michael Hamlette Raymond Baum Bayer Gordon Baym & Cathrine Blom Shirma & Napoleon Bayna James Beckwith & Sandra Kofler Carol & Robert Behnke Michelle & David Bellia Rebecca & Nolan Bello Elaine Benisek Emma Benson Linda & Allen Berry Andrea Biernacki Joyce Billing Daniel Blake Courtney Blankenship Alesia Bock Boeing Mary Ann Boggs Roy Bond Matthew Bonderski & Hannah Kuhl Kerri & Jeff Boone Tamara Bouseman Margaret & Samuel Bradshaw Donna & Jerome Brand Sandra & Gregory Briolat Kareen Britt Craig Brown Deane Brown & Stephen Eisenstein Jonne Brown Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee Carol & Dan Browne Stephanie & Jeffrey Bryk Margaret & Kenneth Buel Laura Bumpass & Sari Dworkin Barbra & Brad Burch Wesley Burghardt & Angela Stramaglia Amy & Jason Burrows Ralph Butler Luana & Charles Byte Rebecca Campbell & Eric Walters Tara Cappelletti Karen Capria Laverne & David Carlson Pat & Joseph Carr Ellen & Harry Carter

Janet & Jeffrey Carter Margaret & Ross Cavitt Janis Chadsey & Al Davis Susan & Steven Chamberlin Mari Brown & Stebbins Chandor Sheila Chapman Amy Chrise Megan Christ Molly & Anthony Cinnamon Frank Ciszewski Amy & Thomas Clark Gary Clark & Steven Hesla Roger Clark & Fredric Hoffman Karen Clausius & Douglas Fitzgerald Frank Clements Marsha & Richard Cohn Kim Cook & Peter Heaney Kathleen & Wayne Corley Gary Cortright & Marlene Koncel Shelly & James Costabilo Willard Cottrell Grady Coyle Aydee Crawford Fred Crawford Theresa & Paul Creighton H. Alde-Cridlebaugh & Richard Cridlebaugh Margaret & James Cross Cathy & Bob Crowley Gina & David Curry Caroline Cvetkovic & Douglas Litteken Betsy Kaplan & Ron Cytron Lynda Dautenhahn & Lee Nickelson Michael Davis & Barbara Hutchinson Nancy DeHaan Richard DeLong Debra Carlson-Dembowski & David Dembowski Laurie & William DeMont Diane Denault Conor Desmond Vince Devito Susan & John DeWolf Elise & Jose Diaz Irene & Russell Dieterich Barbara Di Eugenio & Milos Zefran Tony Diiulio Angie & John Dimit Mable & Charles Dixon Scott Dodd Pamela & David Dodson Robert Doepp

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Jill & Jeffrey Dorries Peggy Doty Jean Driscoll Frances & Scott Drone-Silvers Drs. Battistoni and Beam Scott Duff Marilyn Duginger Catherine & Wyeth Duncan Russell Duszak Ellen & Harold Eager Cynthia & James Eder Cheryl & Kristopher Einsweiler David Eiseman Spencer Ejupi Ellen & Douglas Elrick Myra Epping & Jim Redlich Ruth & Richard Erdmann Dawn Fairchild Susan & Allen Feige Paula & Marshall Felbein Diane Fey Anne & Timothy Fiedler Barbara & Neil Finbloom Susan & Samuel Fineberg Barbara & Robert Fisher Janice & John Fisher Timothy Flucker & Sydney Gorman Sarah & David Fodor Christ Forte Diane Foust & James Nelson Sara & Christopher Fraker Lisa & Andrew French Tracy Friedman Beverly & Michael Friese Karrin & Bret Frost Michael & Sandra Frost Laurie & Steven Fumarolo Leslie & Kent Geibel Dorothy Gemberling Angela & Glenn Gentry Cheryl & James Gibson Donald Gibson & Juan Salas Daniel Gilpin Eric Gobst Eunice & Perry Goldberg Erica & Kevin Golden Margaret & Andrew Gregory Lisa Groharing Carol & Walter Gruchala Salvatore Guagliardo Kathleen Guarna & Matthew Johnson Federico Guerra

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Margaret Gunderson Amy & Mark Gurra Gregory Haar Barbara Haggh-Huglo Rebecca Hahnfeld Michael Hall Ami & David Handler Mary & Matti Harm Grace Hart Julia Hart Karen & Joseph Hartman Kimberly & James Hastings Amy Hatch & Channing Paluck Michael Heaton Michael Hebert Marguerite & Lloyd Hedges Denise Hegemann Judy & Richard Helm Leanna Helmuth Heather & Dana Hermanson Edward Hernandez Herbert Hiestand Mary & Gene Hill Anthony Hish Jennifer & Scott Hommema Carolyn Horne & James Roberts June & Robert Hortin Alf Houkom Abigail & Barry Houser Luanne & Brian Howard Kari & Kevin Hunter Michael Hurtubise & Ann Murray Greta & Timothy Huseman Cary Izzi & Sharon Klein Laurine Jannusch Jane & Paul Jennings Johns Revocable Family Trust Gordon Johns Audrey & Andrew Johnson Delia & Erick Johnson Nancy Johnson Susan & David Johnson Kathryn & Richard Johnston Carolyn & John Jones Theresa Jordan & Merrick Kossack Carol & Clarence Josefson Elizabeth & James Jozefowicz Thomas Jozefowicz Melissa & Patrick Jung Cheryl & Michael Kahn Aaron Kaplan Michelle & Steven Katz Pamela & Howard Kaufman

s on or ities

James & Becky Kehias Herbert Kellman & Susan Parisi Carol & William Kem Howard Kennedy Delbert Ketteman Nina Key Thais Kibler Soo Chil Kim & Kyung Sook Yoon Kim Karen Kimball Timothy King Vicki King Phyllis & Scott Kinsey Kirkland & Ellis Heather Klem Karen & Matthew Klickman Melissa & Matthew Knapik Megan & Thomas Kostal Mary Koterba Nancy & Bradley Krumpolz Victoria Walter-Krynicki & Kenneth Krynicki Sara & George Kuhns Sherrill & David Kullander Susan & Andrew Kunz Ann & David Kurlinkus Steve Lange Tammy Lange Tara Latto Karen & Patrick Layng Karrilynn Le Blanc Margaret Lee Linda & Russell Leigh Jean Lemke Audrey & Mark Levin Gabriel Lewis Martha & Mark Lindvahl Susan Lingle Coradel & William Little Yin Liu & Jinwen Wang Jann & Brian Lumbrazo Gail & Bruce Mack Tiffany & Brian Macke Janet & Stephen Madden Marguerite & Walter Maguire Christine & David Main Susan Marchi Linda Martin Maria & Jameson Marvin Donna & Peter Marzek Lurie & Lewis McAdow Deborah & Randal McBride Terence McBurney Anne & Stephen McClary

Haven & Gary McClung Mary McElroy Kelly & Danny McFarlin Robert McIntire Julianne McKinzie Linda McKown Nancy & Myron McLain Alexander McLane Cherise & Christopher Mead Cynthia & Earl Meister Lorraine & Robert Merker Anna Merritt Metlife George Meyer Sharon Michaelsen Bonnie & Brian Mitchell Nikki & Don Mittel Karen & Daniel Moffett Mary & Brian Moore Susan & Truman Moore William Moore Claudia & Bryan Moorehouse Anne & Tom Morel Helen & Robert Morgan Susan Bundy-Myrow & David Myrow Susan & Andrew Nakagi Matthew Naud Kyle Neilson Keith Nelson Deborah Nemko Dawn & Matthew Neumann Patricia Newman William Nicholls Kim Nickelson & Louis Sguros Michelle & William Nielsen Susan & Eric Nitzberg Loretta & Robert Norgon Mary & Gerald Norton Paula Novak Karen & Steven Novy Rachel & James Nowakowski Valerie & Thomas Oakley David Osterlund Janet & Dennis Ottmers Roberta & Albert Panozzo Karen Parrack Erin & Ramon Pasetes Laurel Passantino Lisa & Todd Patterson Alma & David Patton Miriam & Greg Pendleton Linda Perry Erin Leuschel & David Perzov

Jean & G. D. Peters Karen Pfeiffer Cullen Philippson Barbara Piazza Regina Pietrzak Rae Ann Piotrowski Joyce & Robert Placek Diane & Michael Potts Joann & Douglas Purcell Karyn & Lyle Quandt Kathleen & Benjamin Ramp Alexis & Richard Rasley Janice & Mohamed Razaq Maureen Reagan & Bruce Zimmerman Frances Reedy Amy & David Reeter Sue & Lou Reinisch Catherine Ricca Lanzano Jack Rich Diedra Richards Carole & Adam Richardson Joann & Luzern Richter Lois & Robert Richter Roe Family Trust Joann & Charles Roe Franz Roehmann Nancy Rogers Holly Rouintree James Rouintree Kathryn Rouker Kenneth Rubin Holly Rush Russell Leigh & Associates Donna & Gerard Sabo Steven Sabourin Rafael Salvani George Sanders Debra Sarvela Jeanne & Ray Sasaki Aaron Saucedo Kimberly & Raul Saucedo Diane & Chris Sawall Sarah & Joel Schad Dennis Schafer Janice Papineau-Schafer & Scott Schafer Terra & Robert Schaller Margaret Scharfenberg Joan & Tyler Schehl Norma & Steven Schehl Kathleen & Gregory Schissler Ralph Schlesinger Herbert Schneiderman

Ramonde & Steven Schopp Tobie Schroeder Patricia & Wallace Schroth Kimberly & Daniel Schwartz Frankie & Lelon Seaberry Cheryl & Steven Seibert Durba Sen Teresa Shine Camille & Dean Shoucair Amy & Joshua Shrout Shure Jeffrey Sibley Ned Siegel Erika & David Sieh Birute & Vaidotas Simaitis Dan Simmons David & P. Z. Sinclair Ellen Singer Janet & John Skadden Kathleen & Steven Skov Mary & Ken Slonneger Susan & Kevin Small Sharon & William Smiley Donna Smith Karen Smith Rebecca & Mark Smith Christina & Alan Sodetz Kathleen & Paul Sons Tracy & James Spade Gail & Joseph Spytek Wendy & Brian Stabler Holly Stalcup Karen & David Stein Monica & Michael Stengel Jeffrey Stephens Jennifer Stephens Barbara & Robert Stiehl Barbara & Larry Stoll Lauren & Lawrence Stoner James & M. S. Straub George Strombeck Aparna Sunder Morgan Sutherland Marlene & Laurence Svab Nancy Jo Tassos Frederick Taylor Jennifer & John Tenuto Sarnai & Luke Tessitore Hannah Tharp Stephanie & John Tharp Susan & Frederick Thorne Jacqueline Tilles Bruce Tomkins Barbara & Rand Toney

Improvisers Exchange Sheds Sonic Shreds

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rganized and directed by Jason Finkelman, Improvisers Exchange is a fluctuating eclectic ensemble of musicians, all who share a buzz for creative communal genesis of sound experiments, more specifically, omni-idiomatic improvisation. Finkelman notes, “I’ve accumulated many sound objects over the years. The old-fashion aluminum cooking pots and Dutch ovens were always a favorite... I don’t use Bundt cake pans, but they often sound good too.” This fall, Improvisers Exchange performed at the Rose Bowl Tavern every first Monday of the month. Special guests Tatsuya Nakatani, David Rosenboom, and Mai Sugimoto joined Improvisers Exchange workshops at UIUC. Information about Improvisers Exchange may be accessed here: music.illinois.edu/ ensemble/improvisers-exchange-ensemble.

Jason Finkelman is also the coordinator of Center for World Music at UIUC and is the host of Fanfare for the Speeding Bullet on WEFT 90.1FM Sunday, 8–10pm.

—By Sarah Stiles, DMA in Composition

Diane Toohill Mary & Robert Towner Ruth & Jeffrey Trimble Tracy Tringali Bomi Tunstall Jie & James Tyrrell Sarah & Michael Uchic University of Illinois Alumni Association Janine & Daniel Valkema Pamela Van Arsdale Pamela & Michael VanBlaricum John Van Hook William Vanoss Maria & Donald Vasich Jean & Gregory Verklan Patricia Vogenthaler Nancy & Douglas Wachob Michael Waldbusser Lisa Walinski Polina & Richard Waller Walt Disney Foundation Larry Ward Elizabeth Watkins Calvin Weber George Weedon

Mary Weichbrodt Elizabeth Weiss Bonnie Johansen-Werner & Duane Werner Alan Wesa Emily Wickstrom Wild Ones Natural Landscapers Ronda Wilkes Hiroko & Robert Williams Lorraine & Kenneth Wistrom Kim & Ivan Wittel Michael Wood Bonita Woods Kimberly & Daniel Wurl Marian & Scott Wyatt Krystyne & Joseph Zakosek Valerie & Keith Zar Ellen Zindel Joan & Roger Zmrhal Wilma Zonn

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