NOTE Magazine - Issue 11: The Standards of Mastery

SUMMER 2019 ISSUE 11

The Standards of Mastery

Contributors

CRYSTAL HAMMON is a freelance writer and an ardent fan of classical music and opera. She loves playing “the airline bump game” to earn free travel vouchers and blogs at CrystalHammon.com.

T S o

NICHOLAS JOHNSON, PH.D. is an assistant professor

of musicology at Butler University, the musicology director of the Vienna Summer Music Festival and a local musician.

SPECIAL THANKS TO NOTE MAGAZINE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD AND CONTRIBUTING STAFF:

Crystal Hammon

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Amy McAdams-Gonzales DESIGNER

AMY LYNCH is an

Indianapolis-based freelance writer and active vice president of the Midwest Travel Journalists Association. She enjoys well-made Manhattans, road trips, live music and breakfast any time of day.

APRIL BUMGARDNER

is a homeschooler, a freelance writer and an avid reader of literature and theology.

She is currently working on her first book and blogs at LovingEveryLeaf.blogspot.com.

Lisa Brooks, D.M.A. Lillian Crabb Rob Funkhouser Kyle Long Jen Rodriguez Anna Pranger-Sleppy Eric Salazar Michael Toulouse Lauren Weirich Julian Winborn Andrew Zeller

The Standards of Mastery

02 Editor’s

Note 03 Transforming the Classical Landscape

INSPIRING PEOPLE WHO HAVE

REDEFINED THE CLASSICAL MUSIC

EXPERIENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY

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My Music. My Story.

STEVE CAMPBELL ALWAYS LEAVES

SPACE FOR MUSIC.

24

Soundmakers

MARK RUSSELL, THE VIOLIN DOCTOR

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Music Unites Artist

JOSHUA THOMPSON IS ON A MISSION TO

EXPAND YOUR TASTE FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC.

Music Unites Programming 28

MUSIC & ME HELPS PRESCHOOLERS

GROW INTO MUSIC.

30 NOTE magazine is a publication of Classical Music Indy, Inc. To subscribe, visit www.classicalmusicindy.org.

For more information contact us at info@classicalmusicindy.org or 317-788-3291.

Classical Pairings

THE GRANDDADDY OF INDIANA BREWERIES —

THE BROAD RIPPLE BREW PUB

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On Air

Dear Classical Music Fans and Friends, We found an abundance of extraordinary talent when we set out to explore legends of local classical music for NOTE magazine. This issue begins with Michael Toulouse’s interview of Maestro Raymond Leppard, an Indianapolis icon and an integral part of the city’s arts reputation. You’ll also learn about three more contributors who have transformed the classical music landscape, both here and beyond.

Speaking of legends reminds us of Classical Music Indy’s founder, Norbert Neuss. He inspired decades of classical music on-air in Indianapolis and hosted his own radio program. Many donors and friends still mention his admirable work. His unwavering passion for excellence in classical-music broadcasting led to our Peabody Award-winning programming, and I am honored to be part of continuing his founding principles at Classical Music Indy.

This issue’s Classical Pairings covers Indiana’s oldest continuouslyrunning brewery, Broad Ripple Brew Pub. Thanks to NOTE readers’ positive response to this regular feature, Classical Pairings will soon be available by podcast. Beginning August 30, you can subscribe to Season One on your favorite podcast platform.

Classical Music Indy performs hundreds of Random Acts of Music — free popup concerts that happen anywhere, anytime. Find our next Random Act of Music location, plus other free concerts, on the back cover.

May you always enjoy classical music on-air, online and in the community.

Jenny Burch

President & CEO

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LEGENDS

Transforming the Classical Landscape On the next several pages, meet some of the inspiring people who have redefined the classical music experience in our community.

They’ve wowed us, charmed us and encouraged us to make music with other people. They’ve made our families — and our city — stronger. They’ve redirected our careers, formed us as leaders and rewired our brains.

Helped us see the value of perseverance and selfdiscipline. Introduced us to new music and steered us toward excellence. And finally, they’ve shown us that working hard — for decades — can be a joy when we’re doing the right kind of work.

One of Our Own GLOBETROTTING CONDUCTOR RAYMOND

LEPPARD CAME TO INDY FOR THE MUSIC AND DISCOVERED HE BELONGED HERE AFTER ALL. ____

Words by Michael Toulouse • Photos by D. Todd Moore, University of Indianapolis

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A maestro (literally, a “master”) must uphold two equally important standards of mastery: one, of a team of people; the other, of an entire art form. The conductors who can rise to this challenge are in very short supply.

One such extraordinary musician was wooed, just over 30 years ago, to come to Indianapolis. Raymond Leppard never insisted on being called “maestro,” even though he is internationally celebrated for his work with the English Chamber Orchestra.

A former Cambridge don, who took a scholarly yet fearless approach to the works of Monteverdi and Cavalli, Leppard fit the profile of a Baroque music specialist who was unlikely to have any interest in leading the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Yet he did precisely that, from 1987 until 2001, steering the ensemble ever so slightly away from the gargantuan scale of the late Romantic period and early 20th century. Classical Music Indy’s Michael Toulouse spoke with Leppard about his prodigious career in music.

Michael Toulouse: When you started conducting the Indianapolis Symphony, did it take some time to convince people to focus on Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, [rather than

works from the late Romantic period and early 20th century?]

Raymond Leppard: A long time, yes. But they were wonderful, they’re a wonderful crowd of people. And they were very, I think, intrigued by the attempt to impose a sort of classical discipline in the way of dynamics and articulation and balance and all those things.

I think they’d never tackled them before. Not quite in this way, anyway. And they took to it like ducks to the water. They were really wonderful to work with.

MT: Do you think that your approach to dynamics and the level of energy in a piece of music is influenced by your experience with early music, and your focus on, for example, Monteverdi?

RL: Well I think the Monteverdi couldn’t have come about if I hadn’t already been enthusiastic, and I think we had already started the English Chamber Orchestra at that time... I had rather a checkered history of going to Cambridge, leaving Cambridge, coming back to Cambridge, leaving Cambridge again. But in between those two, a great friend of mine, alas, no longer with us, Leo de Rothschild, suggested that we make a chamber orchestra in London, and we did…

That’s well over 50 years ago now, a long, long time, isn’t it? My goodness!

____

Joel Smirnoff, violinist, conductor, composer and faculty at The Juilliard School

Legends

“The greatest conductors who’ve ever graced the podium somehow manage to encourage musicians to play freely and artistically, and to have a great experience on stage, and to want to communicate with the audience. That’s what I know about Ray Leppard: he was able to get the orchestra to play beautifully, and he created an environment where people wanted to make music. And that’s a big deal.

It’s not as easy a thing as it sounds.”

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Legends

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MT: To turn back now to your start here in Indianapolis, you referred to your agent as saying, “You don’t want to go there.” Your agent was not alone, in saying this, right?

There were others, too.

RL: Indeed we did, yes.

RL: There were others. Yes. And indeed [my agent] tried hard... I said, “No, no, I’ve had such a good time. They were wonderful people, and they really worked hard.” And I went back, and they asked me if I’d ever take on. And I said I would, and I really sort of quarreled with my agent on that account. But there we are… I didn’t regret any moment in the next 14 years.

RL: Well… I don’t believe in “told you so” as an opening, or even as a conducive to long friendships. But I could have said, “told you so.” And they all came, and they all loved it, and so they admired the orchestra. They were playing very well, at that point. Indeed, we did quite a lot of recordings, as I recall.

MT: And after about a decade here, you went on tour to Europe with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

MT: Did some of those old friends have a chance to hear your work? Were you vindicated?

MT: What’s surprising to me about the recordings is the wide range of repertoire.

An all-Tchaikovsky disc. An all-Schumann project. The Vaughan Williams Sinfonia

“He was unearthing what we think of as old music ­— Renaissance and Baroque material ­— and bringing it out in the daylight, examining it and publishing it with his own improvisational touches. These were pieces that no one knew about, that no one had heard. I’m talking about Purcell operas and Handel works and even older Baroque material.

He dug it up. He found it. And then he began to perform it and make sure that people were hearing it.” ____

Sylvia McNair, Grammy-award winning singer and host of a classical music radio show at WFIU

Antartica, [with] orchestra, narrator [and even a wind machine.] The symphony is based on [Vaughan Williams’] score for a film about an Antarctic explorer, using entries from his own journal interspersed with the music…

RL: I knew Vaughan Williams quite well.

He lived quite near me in London. And he had the same sort of background, in a way... I said, “If you put this all together from the film, why not have a narrator, to make it still more vivid?” And he was crazy about it. He thought it was a good idea, so we did it.

MT: Those recordings [include] Tchaikovsky, as well…

RL: Oh, I’ve always loved Tchaikovsky.

What a melodist! Marvelous. You could recognize his music, even if you don’t know what it is. And that’s a sure sign of an extraordinary talent, it seems to me.

MT: When a composer does have a talent for melody, do you always think, somewhere in the back of your mind, of a singer?

RL: Yes, a lot.

MT: You’ve worked with Jessye Norman, and also with Sylvia McNair. And this brings up something you [mentioned] to me some time ago, but you weren’t at liberty to disclose everything. Now, though, you are free, right?

RL: More or less, I think, yes.

MT: So... please explain for me, in your own words, what this project was and how it originated.

RL: Well… I’m busy trying to sort out my library here… I came across this piece of manuscript paper, [entitled] Lament ‘55... And of course it brought back a flood of memories [of Princess Margaret, whom I knew quite well]. And this was after her disastrous breakup of marriage, when she was almost forced to renounce this chap she was in love with...

One night down at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, when all the guests had gone, she said, “Ray, I’ve written this poem…

Could we set it to music?” And so she showed me this lament... [I said,] “Sing

Legends

RL: No. It’s a nice idea, though. I love working with singers. Always have done...

I love the human voice; it’s a wonderfully expressive instrument.

MT: You’ve worked with Dame Janet Baker…

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“I knew about Raymond Leppard long before he came to Indianapolis.

My favorite performance of Messiah is one he did with the English Chamber Orchestra. You can imagine, I had him on a pedestal before he became the Artist-in-Residence at University of Indianapolis. When he came, we were all petrified. After all, he was one of the world’s greatest maestros and we wanted to do the best job we possibly could. But there was no need to worry. From the very beginning, working with Raymond was just a dream. Students adored him. He is filled with brilliant knowledge, but also the most entertaining stories, and just a very kind way of being with all of us. It was wonderful.”

Legends

____

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Paul Krasnovsky, Ph.D., Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at the University of Indianapolis

a bit... I’ll play…” So we spent two wellinto-the-morning nights that weekend, and came up with this, and she said, “Oh, do you think I could have a copy?” And I said, “Yes, of course.”... Actually, I got Faber’s to make a nice printed copy. But only four copies were ever made.

MT: And I think I saw one of them.

RL: Yes, I think you probably did… A friend at Faber’s joined in the conspiracy, and nobody at Faber’s apart from him knew about the song. And then I got messages through Lady Penn, Prue Penn, from the Queen… (who was a great friend of hers.) And she said, “Oh, it would be wonderful to have that in the Royal Archives at Windsor.” … Then I thought, well, what’s the point of a bit of flimsy manuscript paper going to Windsor in that way? It’ll disappear forever. It ought to at least go into sound. So I wrote it down carefully, and rang Sylvia [McNair], and she joined in the conspiracy, and we recorded it.

And that record is now in Windsor. And one day, somebody will be researching about dear Princess Margaret’s affairs and so on. And they’ll find it, and that’s nice to think, that it’s all right. And Sylvia sang it beautifully.

MT: There are high-profile conductors who take appointments all over the world and sometimes have long tenures in this or that city. In general, a conductor is not expected to relocate. Yet Indiana has been fortunate enough to actually claim you as one of its own.

____

Martha Lamkin, Board of Directors, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Foundation, Inc; Co-Chair, Women4Change Action Fund; and Retired President & CEO of Lumina Foundation for Education, Inc.

Legends

RL: I have been on my own for much of my life, but for the last 25 years not — and very happily not. Belonging somewhere has been part of my desire in life, much more than racing around. I did a bit of that and it’s not my style. I want to belong somewhere. And I belong to Indy. And I’ve been extremely happy here. ■

“Raymond brought European sophistication to Indianapolis. He arrived in the midst of a lot of civic attention on downtown and on the arts. The Lockerbie Historic District was the vanguard of downtown living in Indianapolis during that dynamic era. The fact that Raymond lived in Lockerbie and walked to the Circle Theatre [Hilbert Circle Theatre] was a visible sign of the city’s growing vibrancy. I think there was a photo in The Indianapolis Star of him walking to the theatre, and that just epitomized what the greater civic community saw as a very exciting step forward in our sophistication.”

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Born to Lead

BETTY PERRY OPENS DOORS THROUGH METROPOLITAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA.

____

Words by Amy Lynch • Photo by Michelle Craig Photography

It’s no secret that learning to play a musical instrument offers numerous benefits — from improved cognitive development and hand-eye coordination to greater selfesteem and broader cultural horizons. For Betty Perry, it proved to be the ticket to a better life.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bronx, Perry lived in and out of orphanages, foster homes and welfare hotels until fourth grade, when her grandmother took charge of her and two of her younger brothers. The eldest of nine children, she learned early on to protect her siblings and to defend herself against bullies.

“It was a tough childhood, but I didn’t know anything different,” she says. “My grandmother gave me a sense of stability and consistency for the first time in my life.”

A DESTINY DISCOVERED At age 13, Perry relocated to the west side of the Bronx, a move that presented the challenge of a new social environment to navigate. Earning good grades opened

the door to opportunities, including the option of music lessons through a scholarship to the Third Street Music School Settlement.

“There was a girl in my class I was very competitive with,” Perry remembers. “She chose to participate in orchestra, so I chose orchestra. She wanted to play the viola, so that’s what I played, too.”

As Perry practiced, she discovered a talent and love for the instrument. Her teacher took notice and invited her to a live youth orchestra rehearsal an hour away on a Saturday morning. When the conductor gave the first downbeat and Perry heard the music being played, it shook her to the core.

“I just started crying,” she describes. “I’d never heard anything so beautiful in my life. I had no idea how, but I knew at that moment, music would be part of my life from then on.”

Through diligent study, Perry’s musical education saw her through high school and into the New York College of Music, where she met other aspiring AfricanAmerican musicians from around the country. Her involvement in helping form the Harlem Symphony led to another important introduction — her future husband, Ed. As they started their family in the late 1960s, the couple sold their

“I work for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (MYO) because of Betty Perry, her dedication to her cause and the type of person she is.

She has a passion to bring music and make it accessible to kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity. MYO really fills a gap in music education created in the 1990s when many public schools abandoned a lot of music programs.” ____

Sarah Binford, Cello Instructor, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra

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instruments and left the music world for 11 years in order to dedicate their lives to raising children. In 1978, they moved to Indianapolis to be close to Ed’s mother.

“It was a culture shock, but the decision to move out of New York and raise my children in Indiana was one of the best things I’ve ever done,” Perry says.

Ed worked different jobs to support the family while Betty managed the home and the kids. By the time her children reached school age, music came calling again. Attending an Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performance and learning the Suzuki method at the University of Indianapolis, Perry was distressed by the lack of African-American participation.

PAYING MUSIC FORWARD

Realizing how fortunate she was to have been exposed to music at a young age, she decided to launch a program of her own at local daycare centers in underprivileged areas, raising money for instruments and enlisting parents to conduct weekly group lessons and commit to daily practice at home. From these humble beginnings, the seed for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra grew.

Legends

“We took away the stigma that music was something only for upper/middle class families,” she explains. “I wanted to use it to level the playing field and put the responsibility on the parents for educating their own children. We opened doors to the idea that any kid could go to a concert, perform on stage and be just as good as anyone else.”

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Working through her studios in Kokomo, Indy and Crawfordsville, Perry assembled her students once a year for concerts at Wabash College and Indiana State University to show participants where music could take them.

“These were rural kids, racially diverse kids, kids of professors,” she says. “Music gave them common ground. They learned to see each other as peers and develop lasting friendships.”

MULTIPLYING MUSIC’S POWER TO TRANSPORT AND TRANSFORM In 1995, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis incorporated the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra as part of its Focus Academy curriculum. Under Betty’s direction, the mostly inner city-fed organization grew, shifting to Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra affiliation in 2008. As an ISO community ambassador, Betty continues to work with underserved communities and bring music to local youth. Her efforts have paid off handsomely.

“We have a 100 percent high school graduation rate among MYO students,” she says. “Many of our students earn scholarships, some have gone on to Julliard, performed on Broadway, played in major orchestras and earned PhDs. Some parents have told us that music saved their children’s lives.”

Perry is most proud of the stability and opportunities MYO provides to students and their families, not just in a musical sense, but also as a liaison to any supports and social services they might need. And she hopes that her leadership by example inspires other kids to dream big.

“Knowing my family history and how I grew up, there is no way in the world I’d be where I am right now without music,” she says.

“Music gave me a pathway that has changed my life.” ■ Visit www.indianapolissymphony.org/education/myo to learn how you can attend an MYO concert, support MYO or bring the MYO to your community event.

“I joined the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (MYO) in fifth or sixth grade, and Betty was the director. She was the first black teacher I had in music. As someone growing up in Indianapolis, I didn’t often see people who looked like me in the world of string instruments.

“The environment she created at MYO was inclusive and supportive.

We used to have fun and referred to her as Betty from the Bronx. She had high standards, and she was tough on us, but not in a way that was mean or belittling. That’s compassionate accountability. We thrived in that environment, and it really gave me some great childhood memories.

____

Krystle Ford, Director, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra

Legends

“Betty has this ability to connect with kids in a genuine way. You don’t come across a lot of teachers who care about kids and the well-being of families. She was really invested in that way with us.”

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Renaissance Man JAMES MULHOLLAND CELEBRATES LIFE’S BEAUTY THROUGH MUSIC

____

Words by Amy Lynch Photos by Esther Boston Photography

AND POETRY.

Maestro James Mulholland doesn’t measure success in terms of wealth, fame or awards, but rather in the simple appreciation of beauty and someone to share it with.

Born and raised near Mississippi’s gulf coast, Mulholland’s affinity for the arts came naturally, born of Irish heritage, graceful Southern culture, his mother’s piano playing and his father’s poetry recitations. It wasn’t long before he found his own path to creative expression, singing his first church solo at age 6 and penning his first composition titled “Opus 54” at age 12. He presented the piece to his composition teacher, who was newly graduated from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

“I had no idea what ‘opus’ meant,” he recalls with a laugh. “When my teacher saw it, he said, ‘My goodness, you’ve written 54 pieces?’

54 was just an arbitrary number I’d chosen!

It did not matter — when he played it, it was love at first hearing, with mutual admiration.”

Thanks to his early and rather encyclopedic exposure to arts and education at home, Mulholland moved through school quickly, graduating high school at age 15 with multiple scholarship offers. “I asked my second-grade teacher when we’d be getting to Shakespeare,” he says.

“Music comes naturally to me, and it is for me,” he explains. “It was a skill I was grateful to have, and one that fulfilled me.”

During that time, he applied for and received a position at Butler University, where he has happily remained a professor of music for 55 years. A flexible schedule that allows generous opportunities for travel, performances and composition is a large part of what’s kept him in Indianapolis, coupled with the immeasurable opportunity to play a role in developing formative young minds.

“My music has been performed all over the world, but I’m here at Butler because I’m a teacher as well as a composer,” Mulholland explains. “My parents and my instructors instilled in me a sense of passion and joy, and I have to give that back. It’s an awesome accomplishment when you’re able to honor the people who shaped you and make them realize they’ve done a good thing.”

Having penned more than 600 pieces throughout the course of his prolific career,

“At the end of the day, he is there to mentor and advise you — not to take over your work. That’s important to an artist because all creative work must come from within. I wish he was 50 years younger so more students could take advantage of studying with him.” ____

Frank Duarte, a Butler University graduate who studied choral composition with James Mulholland

Legends

His parents insisted he commute to Mississippi Southern University; after a year, Mulholland transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU), where he completed the equivalent of two undergraduate degrees in voice and composition and master’s degrees in choral composition and opera. Thanks to the training he’d received prior to college, Mulholland found his composition skills in great demand and kept busy writing at LSU for the acapella choir, music festivals and recitals.

A full graduate assistantship took Mulholland next to Indiana University to study vocal performance and operatic theater, and he sang eight leading roles while pursuing a doctoral degree in musical arts and literature. After signing with United Artists and Columbia Recording Artists, Mulholland took a year off from singing to contemplate his career options in singing and composing.

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“The thing that strikes me about James is his passion for poetry.

With all the music he writes, he is attentive to the written word first and true to the poet’s original intention. His music is matched with the rhythm of the text, so the words are never lost. The music and the poetry are equal. After 20 years in the music publishing industry, I know that’s not the case with every composer.” ____

Christopher Matthews, Operations Manager, Colla Voce Music LLC

Legends

many on the piano in his office at Butler’s Lilly Hall, Mulholland has established himself as one of the most commissioned, published and performed composers of his generation. In addition to conventions, clinics and workshops, Mulholland continues to accept a handful of commissions each year.

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His compositions have found their way into the canon of children’s, school and collegiate choirs so often that a dissertation

by James Spillane, director of choral studies at the University of Connecticut, ranked Mulholland among the top five most programmed composers alongside Handel, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Mozart. Three other doctoral dissertations have also been written about Mulholland’s music and use of poetry.

Although retirement beckons, and Mulholland plans to answer its call within the next year or so, he has no plans to stop

working. While he appreciates different aspects of all musical genres and styles — “Avant-garde and modern choral composers fascinate me, and they’re doing wonderful work” — Mulholland proudly declares himself a die-hard Romantic, especially where poetry is concerned.

He is animated when reciting names like Robert Burns, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Edna St. Vincent Millay, and admits to scouring libraries for anonymous poems to feed and inform his work. Text is tantamount to Mulholland’s compositions, every bit as important as the music itself.

“When someone sings my music — or any music – I tell the director, I’d rather the ensemble sing off pitch or even sing wrong notes than not enunciate the text,” he says.

“I want my music to emphasize the poetry.”

The Southern Chorale at the University of Southern Mississippi released Back Home in Southern Mississippi: The Music of James Quitman Mulholland in 2014, a compilation of Mulholland’s lush melodies accompanied by the texts of classical poets — the perfect marriage of his biggest professional passions.

Several other complete CDs of Mulholland’s music are available through Colla Voce Music LLC. “There are two things in life that will make you as close to being happy as you will ever become, and those two things are love and beauty,” he says. “Music speaks to a place in us where nothing else can reach. It frames our lives. As the great poet Heinrich Heine once said, ‘When words can express no more, music begins.’” ■ Explore James Mulholland’s exhaustive collection of printed and recorded choral music at Colla Voce Music LLC, www.collavoce.com/.

“Every composer works to develop a style of expression. If you hear Stravinsky, you know it is Stravinsky. Same with Aaron Copland or Brahms. Similarly, you can recognize a Mulholland piece when you hear it. He has developed his own unique language of personal expression.

His music has some characteristics that make it identifiable — great melodic lines, thick chords, piano accompaniments that are full and rich.

He loves to build a big crescendo, have a silence, then come in quietly.” ____

Legends

Henry Leck, Professor Emeritus of Choral Music, Butler University; Founder and Conductor Laureate of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir; personal friend, colleague and business partner to James Mulholland

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An Instrumental

Master

ADVERSITY MADE JANOS STARKER A KIND — AND RELENTLESS — TEACHER. ____

Words by Nicholas Johnson, Ph.D. All photos courtesy of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

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The state of Indiana and the entire musical world lost a legend in 2013.

János Starker (1924-2013) was one of the most important cellists of the 20th century, and was a principal figure of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music for over four decades. Numerous recordings, biographies and his own autobiography (The World of Music According to Starker, 2004) preserve the legacy of a fantastic performer, teacher and man.

Born in Budapest, Starker became a prodigy of the cello by age 6, a music teacher by age 8 and a student at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music at 11, but World War II interrupted his promising music career. Raised in a Jewish family, Starker was able to avoid internment camps until late in the war. Two older brothers, however, were moved to forced labor camps and were eventually killed by the Nazis.

Starker was named the principal cellist of the Budapest Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra after the war ended. He performed frequently throughout Europe before emigrating to the United States in 1948. He became the principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera in 1949, before working with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner (1953). Starker moved to Bloomington in 1958 and worked at Indiana University for the rest of his life, though he maintained a robust performance and travel schedule until his final years.

decades at Indiana University, Starker trained more cellists than most any other teacher.

The virtuoso enjoyed a warm relationship with his students, earning their admiration and respect. Among them are notable cellists such as Ingrid Fischer-Bellman of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Ronen Chamber Ensemble; Andre Gaskins, principal cellist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic; and Adriana Contino, formerly of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and current guest teacher at the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music.

MASTER PERFORMER AND TEACHER

Starker’s solo career took flight after he recorded Zoltán Kodály’s Solo Cello Sonata, which earned him the Grand Prix du Disque in 1946. He considered the Kodály so instrumental to his success that he posted a sign around his home’s indoor pool: “This pool was built by Kodály.”

Rising quickly as a cello prodigy early in life, Starker feared that he might lose his gift, according to Fischer-Bellman. His apprehension, she says, caused him to devote

One of the hallmarks of Starker’s long and prolific career is a major influence on modern cello playing — an achievement that came through the people who perhaps knew him best: his students. Over the course of four

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Some students considered this practice intimidating at first, but the exciting, electrically-charged atmosphere eventually won them over and created a sense of collegiality.

Starker’s goal, Contino says, was not to create a “Starker School,” but rather to give musicians a list of principles to guide performance and preparation.

himself to a complete command over every aspect of playing the cello, a trait that marked him as the 20th century’s supreme cello technician.

Five Starker recordings of the Bach solo cello suites reveal his mastery. Starker’s recording of these works for RCA Victor Red Seal is a perfect introduction to his style of play. That recording earned him a Grammy Award for best instrumental solo performance in 1997.

His dedication to technique carried over to his teaching, where he maintained high standards for his students. Starker could be extremely demanding and occasionally cruel.

Legends

Contino says Starker’s past in Budapest, especially his brothers’ murder, taught him to use his artistic gifts to the fullest. (Life can be fragile. One never knows how long one might have to play.) He had little patience for underprepared students or those who could not handle the rigor of focused, daily practice.

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Despite his high expectations, Starker’s lessons were marked by positive energy. He taught with an open-door policy. Anyone could observe another student’s lesson. This meant that there were frequently multiple people in the room.

Surviving these open-door lessons taught many cellists how to perform with the utmost musicality. Fischer-Bellman says Starker pushed students “not to play beautiful notes, but to play beautiful phrases.” He drove students to practice connecting hand positions on the fingerboard to facilitate fluid legato playing and smooth lines.

“Try to orchestrate your sound,” he once said.

“Don’t just sound like a cello.”

FATHER FIGURE TO ALL

His relentlessness went far beyond the cello performance. Starker wanted students to learn how to fully dedicate themselves to work and craft. He encouraged them to take their work seriously — but not to regard themselves that way. “The purpose wasn’t about virtuosic cello playing,” Contino says. “It was about living a good life.”

Outside the studio, Starker was a compassionate father figure. The professor treated his students like colleagues and family members — a trait that endeared him to musicians such as Gaskins. As a graduate assistant, Gaskins once drove Starker to a concert in Knoxville. After lengthy conversations in the car, Starker invited Gaskins to join him for dinner and made sure he felt comfortable and secure. Gaskins was touched by the fact that Starker, already a legendary performer, was “so concerned with my well-being and my comfort.” ■ Witness János Starker playing the music he credits with launching his career –– the Kodály Solo Cello Sonata.

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As vice president of communications for the Indianapolis Colts and an active community volunteer, Steve Campbell’s life is busy, but the former Indianapolis deputy mayor always leaves space for music, and in his case, it’s all about the bass.

My Music.

My Story.

Steve Campbell ____

by Crystal Hammon

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WHAT ROLE DOES MUSIC PLAY IN YOUR LIFE?

Music is big to me. I started playing trumpet in sixth grade and transitioned to tuba in seventh grade. I wanted to play saxophone, but my older brother was quitting the trumpet and pressured me into playing so our parents wouldn’t get mad at him. I’m glad he did, though, because it launched my entire musical experience. It led me to play tuba in the North Central High School Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra and Marching Band. I also sang bass in my high school’s show choir, the Counterpoints. I went on to play tuba at Wabash College and sang bass in the Wabash Glee Club. After college I taught myself to play the bass guitar and played in a rock band with my two best friends. I’m still in the same band with the same guys, although we don’t play as much as we used to because life got in the way. But, for the past 13 years, we have played at Tonic Ball.

ANY FAVORITE MEMORIES LINKED TO MUSIC?

In 1995 our rock band played a show in Bloomington at the historic Bluebird. We opened for a well-known local band that would later sign with a national label. I remember looking out into the audience and realizing that all eyes were on us. I could see every face. That’s what every band would love to have. Our first time headlining a weekend gig at The Vogue was also a big moment.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CLASSICAL MUSIC?

As a musician, I embrace all types of music. I think music is the most powerful force in the world. I love classical music. That probably comes from my early training in middle school, high school and college when we played and sang 90 percent classical music.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE COMPOSERS?

music as hundreds of years old, but Copland was producing 20th century classical music that is just as moving and powerful. It may sound cliché, but my favorite Copland piece is Fanfare for the Common Man. When I was a student at Wabash, I was part of a brass ensemble that played that piece for the inauguration of our new college president. Of course, like everyone else, I love Bach. There’s also a great Ave Maria arrangement by Franz Biebel that I listen to constantly. Among contemporary musicians, Prince is my gold standard. He was a modern-day composer in every sense of the word.

IF YOU WERE A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?

I would have to be a bass instrument because the bass line is the foundation of almost any piece of music. Very little can happen without it, and I enjoy that responsibility onstage. I played tuba, sang bass, and now I play bass guitar, so the bass clef is my second home.

ANY GAME DAY RITUALS?

Nothing specific. I listen to the radio on the way to the stadium. I switch back and forth between music and sports radio when I’m getting ready for a game.

IS THERE ANY OVERLAP BETWEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A MUSICIAN AND WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING NOW?

Absolutely. All of my experiences performing as a musician have prepared me for this career.

When you’re speaking to media or the fans, it is a performance. People are listening, paying attention and drawing conclusions from the things you say. Before I started working for the Colts, I taught journalism and communications at IUPUI, and teaching each class was a performance in and of itself. ■

Among classical composers, I love Aaron Copland. We tend to think of classical

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SOUNDMAKERS:

A Luthier’s Career Path

MARK RUSSELL, THE VIOLIN DOCTOR ____

by Crystal Hammon Mark Russell’s career as a luthier began almost serendipitously. The Marion, Indiana native graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English during the 1970s. A liberal arts major with wide interests, Russell followed the trail of his own curiosities.

As a student, he began repairing all kinds of string instruments — guitars, dulcimers and folk instruments. By the time he graduated, Russell had developed a small instrument repair business in Bloomington, and he decided to stay. “I was certified to teach high school English, but I elected not to pursue

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that,” Russell says. “The musical instrument construction kind of drew me aside.”

Intrigued by the process of making guitars, banjos and folk instruments, Russell began enrolling in workshops with established artisans on the East Coast. Along the way, he refined his woodworking skills, working with a custom furniture maker in his hometown.

One New Year’s Eve, Russell was walking to a party, thinking about his future. Those thoughts led to a moment of clarity. He decided to follow the encouragement of

friends and pursue the craft of making violins.

The next day, he stopped by the workshop of Ole Dahl, a master violin maker from Denmark.

Dahl had been recruited to Bloomington by faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where a local luthier was needed to care for instruments. His response to Russell was immediate: “You can start now.”

Russell worked with Dahl a few years, then won a Fulbright grant to study at the Newark International School of Violin Making in England. “While I was in school, I was driving up to Doncaster to work nights and weekends with Ed Smith, who had been the head restorer at Charles Beare’s shop in London,” Russell says.

“That’s when I really delved into restoration work for musical instruments.”

The first violin Russell worked on was made in 1540 — a controversial estimate among some scholars. “I think they say the first violin was made around 1560, so this violin would have predated the Amati family, and it was a Brescian instrument,” he says. “The Brescian makers were very, very early makers of instruments. It was very well done. If I copied it today, it would be a successful instrument.

Even early on, the instruments they were making were pretty refined.”

After completing the program in England, Russell returned to the United States and accepted a deal to work for Rafael Carrabba, a respected violin restorer in Seattle, but the arrangement was short lived. “We had a very good bond, but he wanted a long-term

commitment for me to stay there,” Russell says. “I moved there during the rainy season, which was sort of a mistake after living in England for four years. I’d grown up in Indiana, so I was used to seeing the sun at least occasionally for six months out of the year.”

Russell returned to Indiana with all of his tools and rebooted his business. “I was well trained, and I had connections at IU who I had worked with previously, but being gone for four years is a long time,” he says.

Many of his contacts had moved away and others retired. “It’s not an easy business to be self-employed in,” Russell says. “It’s complicated getting started, but I’ve managed to make a living doing this work.”

Despite his Fishers location, Russell estimates that 50 percent of his repair and restoration work still comes from faculty and students at Indiana University. He first became involved with International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) in 1990, working in tandem with Al Stancel, the IVCI official luthier at the time. Russell replaced Stancel in 1994.

“Glen Kwok has been very supportive of my work with the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) and has generously asked me to come back,” Russell says. “Being independent, the position has benefited my reputation, and I feel good about it because I know that I’ve been able to assist the contestants I’ve come in contact with in a positive way.” ■

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music unites artist

Joshua Thompson ON A MISSION TO EXPAND YOUR TASTE FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC

____

Words by April Bumgardner • Photo by Paul deAngelo Best

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Sometimes referred to as the “Barefoot Beethoven,” Joshua Thompson’s conservative dress and flashy socks only hint at the multifaceted personality and depth of this young pianist. A native Hoosier, Thompson grew up on the northwest side of Indianapolis. His parents generously provided opportunities for him to be involved in sports, foreign languages and other pursuits. Music is what stuck.

Thompson laughs remembering his introduction to classical music through Saturday morning cartoons. “It was full of life and movement and wit and sarcasm down to the second, down to the animation, and it all fit together,” he says. “I didn’t quite understand it, but it was more a visceral response and reaction to the cartoon itself.”

Although Thompson’s degree is in sociology, he sees himself primarily as a musician and an advocate. “I am so grateful and humbled and overwhelmed in the best of ways that it’s working,” he says of his career. “I will be the first to admit I am nowhere near the best pianist that you have ever heard, but I don’t put that on me at all. I am doing more than just playing. I’m telling a story. I’m a little bit of a performer meets musical historian, meets sociologist, meets community arts advocate. And thrown altogether, I think that combination is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Thompson is proud of his production Village Voices: Notes from the Griot, performed at the Eiteljorg Museum last February. Village Voices combined classical jazz, funk and West African music with dance, theater and spoken word to create a unique and deeply relatable experience.

One of his overriding passions is introducing people to classical music in unexpected ways.

“It can be really intimidating, but what I really love to do,” Thompson says, “is to take this mystical thing called classical music and say,

‘Hey guys, it’s not that complicated. It doesn’t have to be that highbrow, and neither do you.’”

He enjoys breaking down barriers and giving audiences something familiar alongside the music, such as dance and theater. “Passion is infectious, contagious,” Thompson says, “and I think that is what draws audiences to the symphony or to a community concert. That is what the real power and magic of classical music is.”

Educating the public on composers of African descent is another of his passions. William Grant Still, Margaret Bonds, Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Harry Burleigh may not be recognizable to the general public, but Thompson hopes that one day they will be. These composers possess a unique talent and style, but also share common tonalities, stemming from the social and political contexts under which they created their music.

Thompson challenges listeners to branch out beyond Mozart, Bach and Liszt. The more familiar we are with all the contributors to classical music, the less surprised we may be by composers of African descent, some dating back to the 17th century. The quality of their pieces shouldn’t be shocking. “We’ve been here all along doing this,” he says.

A more interesting and relevant conversation, Thompson says, is how attitudes toward classical music may change. He wonders whether we will be open to music from all regions and peoples? “Does classical music get to evolve or do we have to hold to some of the tenets of tradition?” he asks. “Do we allow it to grow and expand?” If classical music is to survive and thrive into the next century, then Thompson says the answer must be emphatic: yes. ■ Follow Joshua Thompson’s performance schedule on Facebook at www.facebook.com/joshua.allen.921

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MUSIC UNITES PROGRAMMING

Music & Me helps preschoolers grow into music ____

by Crystal Hammon

Two years ago, Eric Salazar was standing aside, casually observing one of his Classical Music Indy (CMI) colleagues at work when the idea for CMI’s newest program began to percolate. On this day, Salazar was studying Jenna Page, a CMI musician hired to help students in central Indiana build music literacy skills in an after-school program. Salazar was wowed

by Page’s skillful way of engaging preschoolers with music.

“The kids came in, and when she was done playing flute, they were going crazy,” says Salazar, assistant director of community engagement at Classical Music Indy. “I was like, ‘Oh, no, they’re out of control.’ She just sat down cross legged and sang a song.” To his amazement, Page soon had the kids sitting

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quietly, ready to participate with hands folded in their laps.

The expertise Salazar noticed in Page and other CMI musicians instigated a new CMI program that uses an engaging curriculum and lesson plans geared for this age group. In 2018, CMI formalized the program, Music & Me, and began presenting it 10 times a year at Family Development Services, Marion County’s sole provider of Head Start. Head Start is the nation’s largest early childhood education program focused on school readiness and socialization skills.

In Music & Me, preschoolers learn pitch, rhythm and other music skills that lay the foundation for a lifelong relationship with music. Early music education has been credited with enhancing motor skills, reading skills, language and brain development.

Some studies suggest that learning to play an instrument can also improve math learning and SAT scores.

CMI musicians work with 15 to 20 kids at a time in sessions that last 12 minutes.

“Any longer than that and you’ve lost them,” says Page, a flutist who graduated from the University of Indianapolis in 2011 and got a master’s degree in music performance from Butler University in 2014. In addition to her CMI commitments, Page performs as a freelance musician and teaches college level courses at University of Indianapolis and Marian University. “I started working with preschoolers and kindergarteners at my church when I was in high school, so I’ve always had a heart for working with this age group,” Page says.

Music & Me focuses on making sure the first experience children have with classical music is fun. “My hope is that there is a spark of imagination and creativity that clicks inside them during that 12 minutes,” Page says. “If we can get younger kids really interested in the arts and show them how amazing and awesome it is, then we’ll have this beautiful genre of art that will continue for many generations.”

Page says she and the other CMI musicians who present Music & Me enjoy watching the reactions kids have to the music. “When I start playing, their eyes get really wide,” she says. “The room gets quiet. You always have a few kids who are just doing whatever they want to do, but with some kids, you can literally see the gears turning in their brains.

It’s like their mind is blown because they’ve never experienced anything quite like it.”

Preschool teachers appreciate CMI musicians’ thoughtful approach to getting students involved and active. “The program kept their attention and allowed for great conversation when we returned to the classroom,” says Marissa Williams, a preschool teacher at Family Development Services. “These visits were educational, and we look forward to seeing more of what they offer.” ■

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Classical Pairings NOTHING GOES BETTER WITH THE MUSIC OF THESE LEGENDARY HOOSIERS THAN BEER MADE BY THE GRANDDADDY OF INDIANA BREWERIES — THE BROAD RIPPLE BREW PUB.

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by Nicholas Johnson, Ph.D. • Photo by Esther Boston

Now that abandoned warehouses and shuttered churches everywhere are being converted into breweries, it’s easy to forget that there were no options for Indianabrewed craft beer until 1990, when a brew pub opened on the sleepy side of Broad Ripple. The Broad Ripple Brew Pub (BRBP) was the first of its kind in the city, and is now the oldest continuously-running brewery in Indiana. There are many more local options today, but the folks at the BRBP are still doing things the same classic, English-inspired way. NOTE contributor Nick Johnson called on General Manager Billy Hannan to share their rich history and beer offerings with NOTE readers.

THE BEER:

E.S.B. Extra Special Bitter THE MUSIC:

Wes Montgomery (Indianapolis),

Four on Six

This beer has as much robustness and sweetness as a Wes Montgomery guitar solo. Montgomery perfected a round, approachable tone that cuts straight through the rhythm section. He is one of our city’s most important musicians, and the pureness and bite in his guitar playing is something to behold.

The E.S.B. may be one of the most important beers in Indiana. It was the first beer from the state to win a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1991, and over the years, it has continued to win awards. The balance of hops and malt is perfect, with just enough bitters to keep things interesting.

Sometimes the old methods are best. This beer has the sophistication and energy to hang with Four on Six by Wes Montgomery.

THE BEER:

Lawn Mower Pale Ale THE MUSIC:

Ned Rorem (Richmond),

Rain in Spring

This isn’t one of Ned Rorem’s best-known works, but it is a stellar example of his gorgeous art songs. It is a brief piece, lasting just over a minute. In that short time, however, Rorem creates the sensuous, delicate feeling of a spring rain giving life to flowers after winter’s chill.

There is something truly satisfying about mowing the yard for the first time of the season. Eventually, it becomes a monotonous chore that makes me regret choosing a house solely for my dog. But the first mow? It’s as invigorating as the spring sun. What’s even better is the first beer of spring. Combined with the smell of fresh-cut grass, this slightly-sweet blond ale creates a moment of nirvana. Listen to Rorem’s sumptuous musical description of spring, and let Lawn Mower Pale Ale provide the chill.

THE BEER:

Monon Porter THE MUSIC:

Cole Porter (Peru, Indiana),

Anything Goes

The name alone makes this pairing seem a little obvious, but stay with me. The Monon Porter has been around a long time. The name comes from the train line, not the Monon Trail, which didn’t even exist when the BRBP first brewed this rich, mahogany thunderstorm.

Anything Goes is, at first blush, a song decrying a changing moral standard. “In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. But now, God knows, anything goes.” In the musical, Cole Porter flips the idea of shocking change into a celebration of freedom in a world where “anything goes.”

As the favorite beer of workers unloading trains and trucks in England, porters began as a brew for people who preferred more malt than the common stout. These days, when anything goes, you can find a porter anywhere, but the Monon Porter is one of the best in Indianapolis. ■

CLASSICAL PAIRINGS IS NOW A PODCAST!

SEASON 1 LAUNCHES AUGUST 30. LISTEN AT WWW.CLASSICALMUSICINDY.ORG/PODCASTS

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Indy’s New Classical Music and Culture Podcast Classical Pairings combines local leaders in classical music with Indy’s top craft food & beverage makers.

Join host Nicholas Johnson as he blends two different cultural experiences into one delightful listening and palatable pleasure.

Season 1 launches August 30.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

Where to Listen

With more than 50 years in classical radio in the Midwest, Classical Music Indy is a Peabody Award recipient for excellence in broadcasting.

Listen to Classical Music Indy’s syndicated radio programming on these stations:

Indianapolis – WICR 88.7 Fort Wayne – WBNI 94.1 Evansville – WNIN 88.3 West Lafayette – WBAA 101.3

On Air

An Ohio native demonstrates his composing chops with notable musicians. ____

by Michael Toulouse INTRODUCING A NEW RECORDING IS ALWAYS A LITTLE SCARY, BUT SEASONAL BREEZES POSES SPECIAL CHALLENGES. SHOULD I SAY, “HERE’S THE MUSIC OF A HOUSE PAINTER?” OR “OUR NEXT SELECTION IS A PIANO TRIO BY A MUSEUM GUARD?” I COULD ALSO CALL IT THE WORK OF A FORMER COUNTY COMMISSIONER. WHILE I MIGHT NOT REASSURE THE RADIO AUDIENCE WITH THOSE REMARKS, I WOULDN’T BE FIBBING. ALL THESE STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OF CINCINNATI-BASED COMPOSER RICK SOWASH.

Sowash has made music his life while finding countless other ways to earn a living. Although he has a bachelor’s degree in composition from one of the world’s most prestigious music schools, Sowash says he learned nine-tenths of what he needed to know at Lexington High School near Mansfield, Ohio.

When the college music program proved a disappointment, he managed to remain “reasonably happy” by adding a second major in comparative literature.

Literature was the ideal foil for music because Sowash had been pulled in that direction anyway. With his training as both writer and composer complete, Sowash began a career-long series of CDs. He sends a copy of each release, including Seasonal Breezes, to radio stations all over the country, on the offchance that a programmer somewhere will sample a few minutes.

That’s a high-risk venture with long-term payoffs — as evidenced by the roster of performers on this latest release. Pianist Samuel Black first heard Sowash’s music on a Duluth station and has performed it ever since with cellist Josh Aerie. After Aerie moved to Indiana, he teamed with pianist Greg Kostraba and flutist Suzanne Bona to form the Sylvan Trio.

Sowash was soon adapting his music expressly for them.

Bearing those connections in mind, I finally know what to say about this recording: “Here’s the work of a man who knows the difference between a living and a calling.” ■ Listen throughout July for highlights from Seasonal Breezes, the latest recording of music by Rick Sowash.

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Upcoming Events SEPTEMBER

Random Acts of Music

Penrod Arts Fair

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Noon

Newfields

Lockerbie Square

with Big Car Collaborative

Random Acts of Music

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 12:30 p.m.

Eskenazi Health, Eli Lilly and Company Foundation Concourse

OCTOBER

Classical Revolution

Music in Nature

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12

8 p.m.

2 p.m.

Chatterbox Jazz Club Fort Harrison State Park

Random Acts of Music THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 7:30 p.m.

Richard G. Lugar Plaza with Big Car Collaborative

For a full list of events, follow Classical Music Indy on social media:

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