Sydney Hinrichsen Organizes the Bach Project

At the age of three, Sydnee Hinrichsen began pestering her parents about getting a violin. “My favorite babysitter played the violin and I wanted to be just like her,” Hinrichsen recalled. However, her parents were not easily swayed to buy their young daughter such an expensive instrument.

Three-year-old Hinrichsen continued begging for a violin. For Christmas, her parents gave her a toy violin that played Vivaldi’s Four Seasons when she put the bow on the plastic strings. The pretend violin only lasted a matter of weeks because Hinrichsen played it incessantly. This final act and more begging convinced her parents to get her a real violin when she was four and a half.

Hinrichsen has been playing the violin for 20 years now. “It was not a phase,” she joked. Hinrichsen’s most recent violin accomplishment, The Bach Project, brought together 31 violinists who all have ties to BYU. The Bach Project is a performance of all of the Bach Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas.

She had seen the idea on Elizabeth Faidley’s Instagram. Faidley is a professor at the Manhattan School of Music, a violinist that Hinrichsen greatly admires.

Many of Hinrichsen’s friends expressed interest in participating and her BYU violin professor Monte Belknap encouraged her to take on the project. Henrichsen realized that if this was going to happen, she had to take charge. 31 violinists performed in the project, but Hinrichsen said she reached out to over 70 people. “I really had to reach out to every contact I had, even people I had not talked to in a long time,” Hinrichsen said. She also said that she learned her circle was bigger than she thought. When the performance came and all the violinists gathered, Hinrichsen felt that there was a beautiful sense of community and camaraderie.

During the rehearsal process, Hinrichsen thought heavily about the advice Belknap gave her to get just one percent better each time. As she prepared, Hinrichsen focused on having more mindful practice, telling herself that it was okay to focus on one measure at a time. This careful practice was important as she had the most difficult movement to perform—14 minutes long and memorized. Although there were difficulties leading up to the performance, Hinrichsen noted that everything fell into place when it came time to perform. She said that there was definitely divine help in getting everything to go just right.

Hinrichsen’s advice to anyone who might want to take on a large project is, “Why wait? Someone’s gotta do it so it might as well be you.”

Faculty Accomplishments

Sam Tsugawa (Associate Professor, Music Education) published a research paper entitled “Bridging the Digital Divide: Distance music learning among older adult musicians.” The study is about older musicians, Zoom, and using technology during the height of the pandemic. Tsugawa’s article can be found in the International Journal of Music Education.

Andrew Crane (Professor, Choral Conducting) sang with the Grammy-nominated choir Seraphic Fire in South Florida on March 20–27, 2022. Conducted by Dr. James K. Bass, the concert titled “Biebl: Ave Maria— Music for Men’s Chorus” was performed in Miami, Naples, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami Beach. Crane’s performance was highlighted in Lawrence Budmen’s South Florida Classical Review. Budmen said, “Andrew Crane’s declamation in “Khorhood Khorin” was thrilling, his tenor strong with real ping and strength at the top.”

Stephen Beus (Associate Professor, Piano) performed Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto with the Timpanogos Symphony on March 4 and 5, 2022. The second half of the concert featured a movement from Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky entitled “Great Gates of Kiev.” The performance was a meaningful tribute to the music of Ukraine.

Shea Owens (Assistant Professor, Classical Voice), appeared as a guest artist with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square on July 15–17, 2022. He performed in their concert “Love thy Neighbor: A Special Tabernacle Choir Event.” The event featured music centered around messages of love and care for all.

Jihea Hong-Park (Associate Professor, Piano) performed as a member of the acclaimed Ardelia Trio at the 2022 Bar Harbor Music Festival in Bar Harbor, Maine. The festival celebrated its 56th anniversary season. In September 2022, Prof. Hong-Park visited USC where she performed, presented lectures, and participated in a panel discussion titled “Supporting Asian and Asian American Students and Faculty in Music.” Additionally, Prof. Hong-Park has been appointed to the Artist Faculty at the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival. The Summer Institute program is one of the country’s elite summer festivals for gifted music students.

Scott Holden (Professor, Piano) taught at the Juilliard Summer Performing Arts program in Florida; he has been on Juilliard’s Summer Performing Arts faculty since 2017. Additionally, Holden traveled from California to Florida throughout the year performing and teaching at universities. In his recitals, he premiered Lisa Despain’s new 6-movement “Symphonic Jazz Suite,” which he commissioned through the School of Music Barlow Endowment.

Steven Ricks’ (Professor, Composition and Theory) recent album Assemblage Chamber features three chamber works that incorporate elements of the Baroque style into Ricks’ glitchy, collage-oriented textures. Assemblage Chamber features performances by the NOVA Chamber Music Players, counter) induction, Aubrey Woods (violin), Alex Woods (violin), and Jason Hardink (harpsichord).

Shawn Smith (Associate Professor, Instrumental Conducting) taught and conducted at a seminar in Santiago de Veraguas, Central Panama (August 10–14, 2022). Eighteen conductors from around the country and 100 music students attended. Dr. Smith taught conducting and rehearsal techniques, met with school administrators and government education officials, and conducted rehearsals and a concert with two bands.

In December 2022, Dr. Smith traveled to Valencia, Spain, to work with the students of the Conservatori Ciutat de Moncada.

Randa Alvord (Student Advisor) won the BYU 2022 Young Professional Advisor of the Year Award. The award recognizes and rewards new- to mid-level advisors who have demonstrated exceptional skill and potential in their academic advising and highlights individuals who show promise in their advising career through their contributions to their college and students.

Rick Baldassin (Piano Technician) received the Louis Renner Award of Excellence at the Technicians Guild Convention in 2022. Baldasssin was recognized for his many contributions and lifetime of service and dedication to the piano industry. Renner is the premier piano action (striking mechanism) maker in the world, used in Fazioli, Bösendorfer, Hamburg, Steinway, and other fine pianos. Baldassin is the 3rd piano technician in the world to have ever received this award.