Spring 2017

the Crowden Letter

Crowden Expands Public School Outreach Programs

We at Crowden have long been committed to the principle of being completely engaged in our community. Making our on-site programs accessible through financial assistance is one way we do this. Sharing the benefits of a Crowden education off campus is a longtime goal, as well.

Programs we have nurtured, funded largely through the California Arts Council and other foundation assistance, have included an early music education class for T-K through second grade students at Berkeley Unified School District’s Washington School. This program, begun in 2006, ensures that all Washington students receive music education in all grade levels. (All BUSD schools enjoy instrumental music instruction, but not all have T-K to 2 music, and we are proud to continue to provide that, in the interest of full engagement with our home city.) Crowden has also been a participant in the Berkeley Community Arts Team and Berkeley Arts Education Steering

Committee, addressing issues of access and equity in arts education with partners including BUSD and Cal Performances.

Washington had been a school receiving Federal Title 1 funding, but as Berkeley’s demographic and economic profile has changed, the school (happily) benefits from more resources than before. An expansion of our outreach efforts had been in the works for some time, so we began to explore possibilities in our neighboring communities, where the needs might be even more acute.

Crowden’s Director of Artistic Administration Michel Taddei, in charge of shepherding these projects, met with Fillmore Rydeen,

THE CROWDEN MUSIC CENTER 1475 ROSE STREET BERKELEY CA 94702–1255 WWW.CROWDEN.ORG

Visual and Performing Arts Supervisor for the Oakland Unified School District, to discuss sites that would benefit from Crowden outreach, in particular supporting string instrument programs at schools where our support would be high-impact.

Deborah Barsotti, violist and music instructor at Sankofa Academy in North Oakland, responded enthusiastically to the offer to assist with her program, as did Sankofa’s dynamic Principal Monique Brinson. Sankofa has in fact re-branded as a visual and performing arts-based school, and we are proud to partner with them in that effort. Principal Brinson states, “Crowden is aligned with our school’s vision and mission to serve and teach to the whole child within a full-service school context. Our Title I/Provision 2 school serves 305 students with 90% students eligible for

free/reduced lunch. Crowden is a wonderful school community partner, bringing the Arts to students and families that represent those in generational as well as acute poverty, and thus are disproportionately impacted by the social stressors of hunger, transitional housing, and inconsistent health care.”

We began in the middle of this past school year with performances for Sankofa students by Crowden School students and faculty, and by teaching cello and bass to Sankofa students. Crowden faculty Helen Newby and Michel Taddei have been providing three hours per week of specialized instruction. In addition, two Sankofa students will participate in our Summer Strings camp this summer, and two others will enjoy coveted spots in our hugely popular Scrape, Squawk and Bang instrumental exploration camp.

A leading indicator of overall success in school is associated with regular attendance, and Sankofa, as is often the case with urban schools, has challenges in that regard. In the coming year, we will seek to target students at risk for truancy, and explore whether regular participation in the music program, including the supplementation we will provide, will improve attendance.

As the Sankofa partnership continues to evolve, we are exploring possibilities including mentorship programs with Crowden alumni and older students, side-by-side performances, instrument sponsorships, private lesson support, and a Sankofa-specific retreat here at Crowden for music students.

If we continue to see success in these efforts, we hope to bring this model to other schools in the future.

Tenth Anniversary of the John Adams Young Composers Program

Ann and Gordon Getty graciously hosted a benefit evening in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Crowden’s John Adams Young Composers Program.

An appreciative audience filled the Getty’s ornate music room for performances of two works by Young Composers and one by the program’s director. Penina Biddle Gottesman’s (’16) atmospheric composition Owls featured text of her own composition sung by Crowden School alumna Vanessa Langer (’93). Theodore Haber (’13) shared the comical origin of his work for string quartet, The Spoonsil, which depicts a whimsical character that Theodore created after forgetting to bring a pencil to a Crowden chamber music rehearsal. The pro-

Society Tea

gram’s director, Matthew Cmiel (’03), offered his improvisatory, glacial Rising Shine for string quartet. Between performances, Crowden School alumnus and Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Samuel Carl Adams (’00) led lively discussions of the compositions with the composers and musicians.

To conclude the event, Executive and Artistic Director Doris Fukawa announced new plans to support Young Composers Program alumni with commission projects, as they

continue to develop their distinctive voices and careers. The first commission recipient is composer Preben Antonsen (’03).

Our thanks to the benefit’s sponsors: Shelby and Frederick Gans, Meyer Sound, and Amy and Eddie Orton.

Over fragrant tea and freshly made pastries by Standard Fare chef and owner Kelsie Kerr, Executive and Artistic Director Doris Fukawa spoke with Crowden School alumnus and St. Lawrence String Quartet member Owen Dalby (’98) about his journey from the Crowden School to one of the world’s great string quartets. It was a lovely opportunity for supporters to reconnect with each other and to learn more about Crowden’s plans for the

future.

You can have a real impact through a legacy gift to Crowden—and when you demonstrate your support for Crowden’s future, others will follow your generous example.

For more information about Crowden’s Legacy Society, contact Development Director Kerri Gawryn at kgawryn@crowden.org or 510-559-6910 ext 120

Members of the Anne Crowden Legacy Society gathered on March 26 to celebrate their long-standing support for Crowden.

The Crowden School Tours Cleveland

and Chicago

During spring break, Crowden School seventh and eighth graders explored two dynamic Midwestern cities, both renowned world-wide for thriving classical music scenes: Cleveland and Chicago.

Our students presented four concerts to enthusiastic audiences: at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Music Settlement School in Cleveland, and at the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Students participated in master classes with the Cavani String Quartet at Cleveland Institute of Music, with pianist Marta Aznavoorian of DePaul University at the Merit School of Music, and with violist Helen Callus at Northwestern University. Concerts by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra rounded out the busy music schedule. Outside of musical pursuits, touring students also enjoyed extensive explorations of the two cities’ public landmarks and historical attractions.

Alumni Corner

Three Crowden musicians made the cut for the enormously competitive National Youth Orchestra! The 2017 Orchestra includes Crowden School alumna violinists MAYA BULOS (’07) and ELLIE KANAYAMA (’14), as well as Crowden community student JONATHAN ALTMAN, a violin student of Doris Fukawa. All three will tour with the NSO in Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia, led by conductor Marin Alsop.

A math team from the University of Puget Sound, including Crowden School alumnus JESSE JENKS (’10) , was one of 11 out of 1,527 teams to receive a score of “outstanding” or “finalist” in the 2017 International Mathematics Contest in Modeling. For the competition, they applied mathematical models to examine how self-driving cars might affect traffic patterns in Seattle.

New York City’s Lincoln Center was the site of a mini-Crowden School reunion when three alumni gathered to celebrate their recent graduations. LYLI LI (’07) and KENNETH RENSHAW (’09) both graduated from Juilliard, Lyli receiving her Master’s and Kenneth

his Bachelor’s degree. Lyli’s sister HILDA LI (’09) graduated from Johns Hopkins University earlier the same week.

REGINALD “REGGIE” PATTERSON (’96) received his Ph.D. in Romance Studies from Duke University this spring, after successfully defending his dissertation on 19thcentury Creole literature and languages. Reggie writes us that his French started in seventh grade here at Crowden. At the end of his dissertation defense, Reggie pulled out his violin to perform a chéga/bluette.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has named Crowden School alumnus and sometimes summer faculty member DAVID REQUIRO (’99) to its prestigious CMS Two residency program. Only eight musicians are chosen from an international pool of award-winning performers, each with exceptional musical training and a significant career. This three-year residency immerses its young artists in every facet of the Chamber Music Society.

Send your alum news to press@crowden.org.

With Your Support, Music Changes Everything!

The Crowden Music Center gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Crowden families, employees, individual members, government agencies, foundations, and businesses between July 1, 2016 and June 15, 2017. Kindly notify us of any inadvertent omissions. Thank you!

Crowden School Families

Cola Chan-Xie and Kevin Xie

Renee Cole Clyde and Tom Clyde

Timothy and Cathy Der

Jessica and Robert Duran

Donna and James Eyestone

Doris Fukawa and Marijan Pevec

Leah and Joel Goldberg

Jose Gomez and Chen Mill

Jane Gottesman and Geoffrey Biddle

Janice Hui and Dan Rohn

Donna Jones-Bhandari and Rakesh Bhandari

Elif and Bora Kalkan

Jasper Kamperman and Wieneke Gorter

Isabelle Leduc and Irfan Akbar

Gina and Harry Loucks

Myla and Charlie Manese

Naomi Marks and Michelle Klucsor

Jerome Matthews and Jenny Yu

Heidi Mattson and Michael Ferencz

Bonniee Mookherjee and Ivan Amodt

Quang Nguyen and Nica Uk

Maria and Jose Luis Poncel

Anthonia Roller and Wayne Heiser

Jonathan and Saori Russell

Monica Scott and Dominique Pelletey

Faculty and Staff

Mori Achen and Maryann D'Onofrio

Marion Atherton and John Reager

Lisa Barratt

Göran and Christina Berg

Michael and Heghine Boloyan

Maria and John Danielson

Rachel Durling

Doris Fukawa and Marijan Pevec

Lauren Greenberg

Brad Johnson

Larry London

Betsy Marvit

Nanou and Teale Matteson

Annie Nalezny

Stacy Neale

Kerrilyn Renshaw

Monica Scott and Dominique Pelletey

Eugene Sor and Karen Shinozaki Sor

Michel Taddei

Michael Tillotson

Opus 18 Alumni Society

Emily Adams

Samuel Adams

Noah Bendix-Balgley

Quen Cheng

Meena Bhasin-Dalby and Owen Dalby

Tracy Dooley

Cary Koh and Ting Chin'

Karna Jean Nisewaner and Arne Stokstad

Individual Donors

conductor ($25,000 & up)

Anonymous

Jennifer and Elwyn Berlekamp

Shelby and Freick Gans

benefactor ($10,000–24,999)

Anonymous (2)

John Adams and Deborah O'Grady

Sallie and Edward Arens

Lois De Domenico

Soo Hyang Kang and Jacob

Lorianne Masuoka

Helen and John Meyer

Amy and Eddie Orton

James Marks and Edna Lee Warnecke

sponsor ($5,000–9,999)

Anonymous

Sue Coblens Young

Peter Fang and Erlinda Sy Fang

Nick Gerson

Patrick Golden and Susan Overhauser

Zach and Peggy Griffin

Donn Logan and Marcy Wong

Anne Nesbet and Eric Naiman

Earl and Rosalinda Rupp

presenter ($2,500–4,999)

Angela Archie

Tracy Dooley

Bonnie Hampton

Sukey Lilienthal and David Roe

John Lowitz and Fran Krieger-Lowitz

composer ($1,000–2,499)

Anonymous

Dorianne Cotter-Lockard

Liza and Michael Dalby

Janet Der

Iden Goodman and Roberta Schwartz

Cara and Timothy Hoxie

Elaine and Herrick Jackson

Cary Koh and Ting Chin

Douglas MacLaughlin

Carol Davis and Joel Marcus

John and Annamarie McCarthy

Elizabeth McCoy and Carl Haber

Mary Lynn Miller and Ray Meister

Richard and Myriam Misrach

Sally Nichols

Robert Schwartz and Debbra Wood Schwartz

Lisa and James Taylor

David Ward

patron ($500–999)

Susan and Norman Abrahamson

Judith Bloom

Roberta Brokaw

Richard Carll

Judy Chu

Scott and Peggy Cmiel

Peter and Patricia Coffin

Dorianne Cotter-Lockard

Gregory Freidin and Victoria Bonnell

Eugene Hanacek

Valerie and Richard Herr

Sherry Hsi

Martha and Vaughan Jones

Bennett Markel

Claire Max and Jonathan Arons

Jack McPhail

John and Nancy Menke

Barbara Novogradac

Ann and Michael Parker

Alex and Ditsa Pines

Elizabeth and Frank Sor

Julie and Robert Stokstad

Michael Tilson Thomas and Joshua Robison

Helene Lee Toralba

June Wiley and Bruce McCubbrey

friend ($250–499)

Anonymous

Nathan Birnbaum and Claire Peeps

Claudia Bloom and Daniel Pitt

Ragnar and Tamara Bohlin

Karol and Anna Maria Busse Berger

Jim Chou

Elisabeth Christensen

John Croizat

Maya DaSilva, Koko DaSilva and Tom DaSilva

Kumiko and Haruko Fukawa

Roger and Joan Glassey

Neil Goteiner and Nadine Joseph

Edith Haritatos and Geoffrey Gowan

Sophia Kessinger and Shmuel Katz

Rene Mandel

Richard Muller

Alexander Nichols and Sonya DelwaideNichols

Carol Robertson

Michael Ronan

Tricia Swift

Maria and Otto Taddei

Elizabeth Varnhagen

Linda Walls

Kent Young

associate ($100–249)

Anonymous

Joanne Abel

Alan and Helen Appleford

Susan Austin and Michael Charlson

Louana Bergez

Roy and Susan Bogas

Eleanor Briccetti

Ilil Carmi and Bryce Nesbitt

Robert Clear and Barbara Judd

Laurence and Barbara Delaney

Sandra Denny

Emerson and Sara Dubois

Patricia Durham

William Eggers

Robert Ellis and Jane Bernstein

Henry Field and Lessly Wikle Field

Mary Ellen Fine

Rachel Fine and Christopher Hawthorne

Thomas Foor

Helen Frank

Deepak Ganju

Marsha and Michael Gardner

Janet Garvin and Bob Shumaker

Gary Glentzer

David Lance Goines

Natalie Hahn

Margot Harrison

Lorraine Hauser

Dr. John Hege

Sara and Claude Hilbert

Fran Hill and Larry Frost

Helga Holtmann and Ronald Rice

Naomi Janowitz and Andrew Lazarus

Sandra Jennings and Shinji Eshima

Steve and Josie Kelley

Myo-Kyoung Kim

Fred Konkel and Kathy Kaspar

Robert and Ileana Krumme

Jan Kuchinsky

Jeanne Lageson

Alan and Portia Lee

Sherman Lee

Jonathan Leichtling and Wendy Stern

Anna Leone

Mai Lieu and Douglas Palacios

Andrea Liguori and Jeremy Cohen

Paul Luciano

Siman Lui

Marcos and Janet Maestre

Councilwoman Linda Maio

Nancy Merrill

Mark Moss and Lisa Braver Moss

Etsuyo Nishikimi

Suzanne O'Brien

David Paris

Helene Paris

Kannan Ramchandran and Malini Krishnan

Ron and Gail Rubenstein

Tracy Miller Sanborn

Sarah Satterlee and Robinson Brown

Susan Scherman

Kary Schulman

Ilknur and Ilker Sozat

Anna-Marie and John Strauss

Jason Ting

Jeffery Ting

Juliet Welch

Linda Wood

Satoko Yamamoto

supporter ($50–99)

Anonymous

Gregory Abel

Alison Arkin

Susie and Schuyler Bailey

Russell Bordonaro

Barbara Carlson

Kevin Carlson

Rick Diamond and Alice Kaswan

Doris Fine

Gretchen and Richard Grant

Robert Haeusslein

Ellen Hahn

Harriet and Peter Hanauer

Olivia and Thacher Hurd

Jihee Hwang

Donald E. Kelley Jr.

Rita Kuhner

Michael and Ayelet Lindenstrauss Larsen

JB Leibovitch

Michiko Matsuo Luzmoor and Stephen Luzmoor

Anthony and Rosa Martin

Kate Martinez

George and Lucy Mattingly

Joan Murray

Steve O'Brien

W. B. Peale and Kristina Sepetys

James and Diane Pennington

Marina Perry

Charles Phelps

Diane Rosenberg

Normita and George Santore

Timothy Smith

Luvien Tran

Mary Voigtsberger

In Kind Gifts

Meena Bhasin-Dalby and Owen Dalby

Virginia Callahan

Elliot Davis

Jennifer Davies

Hyacinth Fleming

Michele Fromson and Cordell Ho

Doris Fukawa and Marijan Pevec

Kumiko and Haruko Fukawa

Zach and Peggy Griffin

Jasper Kamperman and Wieneke Gorter

Kate Langer

Carmen and Andrew Mandic

Jay Mumford

Crowden

Board of Trustees

officers

Timothy Der, Chair

Anne Nesbet, Vice Chair

Earl Rupp, Treasurer

Tracy Dooley, Secretary

members

Krehe Ritter

Anne Rosenthal

Michel Taddei

Victoria Wake

Tim Wilkinson and Nomi Harris

Andrea Yannone

Businesses & Organizations

Amazon Smile Books Inc.

Dealey, Renton & Associates

ebay foundation

Meyer Sound

Papa Murphy's Piedmont Piano Company

String Letter Publishing

The Benevity Community Impact Fund

Wells Fargo Community Support and Matching Gifts Program

Institutional Donors

Alameda County Arts Commission/ ARTSFUND Grants

Ann and Gordon Getty Foundaton

Berkeley Civic Arts Commission

California Arts Council

East Bay Community Foundation

Hurlbut-Johnson Charitable Trusts

Jewish Community Federation

Pacific Harmony Foundation

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

The Bernard Osher Foundation

Gifts in Tribute

in memory of willie archie

Richard Muller

in honor of joan balter

Nick Gerson

in memory of elizabeth and jesse birnbaum

Nathan Birnbaum and Claire Peeps

Jan Kuchinsky

in honor of stephan and caelin boman

Carol Robertson

albert braver musical instrument fund

Mark Moss and Lisa Braver Moss

in memory of grethe clarke

Sara and Claude Hilbert

in memory of anne crowden

Emily Adams

Noah Bendix-Balgley

Fran Hill and Larry Frost

in honor of serene fang

Peter Fang and Erlinda Sy Fang

in honor of mary ellen fine

Rachel Fine and Christopher Hawthorne

in honor of doris fukawa

Gregory Freidin and Victoria Bonnell

Fran Hill and Larry Frost

Rene Mandel

John and Annamarie McCarthy

Nancy Merrill

Alex and Ditsa Pines

Kary Schulman

in honor of susan gerson

Nick Gerson

in honor of lisa grodin

Mai Lieu and Douglas Palacios

in memory of erwin hahn

Natalie Hahn

in honor of john lowitz

Eugene Hanacek

in memory of milly rosner

Patricia Durham

in honor of michael rubinstein

founder

Anne Crowden (1928–2004)

honorary president

Lord Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999)

founding president

Colin Hampton (1911–1996)

Administration

Doris Fukawa, Executive and Artistic Director

Angela Archie, Joan Balter, Zachary Griffin, Cary Koh, James Marks, Jerome Matthews, Jacob Pak, Maria Poncel, Sangam Prasad, and Doris Fukawa, ex officio

music advisory board

John Adams, Bonnie Hampton, Gary Karr, Michael Morgan, Sir Simon Rattle

advisory board

Sallie Arens, Patrick Golden, John Lowitz, Bennett Markel, John McCarthy, Helen Meyer, Deborah O’Grady

Marion Atherton, Chief Operations Officer, Director of Community Programs

William Betts, Community Programs Assistant

Maria Danielson, Staff Accountant

Monica Frame, tcs Counselor

Kerri Gawryn, Director of Development

Sharon Han, tcs Secretary

Brad Johnson, tcs Principal

Heidi Mattson, tcs Assistant Principal

Debra Mauro, Director of Finance

Jorge Mendoza, Building and Grounds Assistant

Gregory Abel

Joanne Abel

Alison Arkin

Susan Austin and Michael Charlson

Louana Bergez

Sandra Denny

William Eggers

Helen Frank

Gary Glentzer

Irwin and Adele Keinon

Steve and Josie Kelley

Rita Kuhner

Roni Melmed

Barbara Novogradac

Suzanne O'Brien

David Paris

Helene Paris

Diane Rosenberg

Susan Scherman

Stacy Neale, Development and Communications Coordinator

Moana Newman, Development Manager

Reynaldo Rodriguez, Building and Grounds Supervisor

Nicole Rodriguez, Receptionist

Eugene Sor, Associate Artistic Director, Director of tcs Music

Jennifer Strauss, Director of Communications

Elizabeth Tackett, Admissions Manager

Michel Taddei, Director of Artistic Administration

Stephannie Tornow, tcs Secretary

Crowden Letter

Michel Taddei, Jennifer Strauss, Kerri Gawryn, writers

Jennifer Strauss, editor, graphic designer

Geoffrey Biddle, photography (expect as noted)

Music Changes Everything

In this Issue

1. Learn about Crowden’s latest school outreach program.

2. Celebrate the tenth anniversary of the John Adams Young Composers Program.

3. Catch up with TCS alumni!