Abraham Stokman: The man, the music, the legacy

Abraham Stokman (August 17, 1936 - July 12, 2024)

The Man, The Music, The Legacy Celebration of Life Memorial Concert Sunday, October 20, 2024 @ 3PM

“Dear, I think it’s time you get ready to say goodbye to me.”

I met the venerable Abe Stokman in 2006, just days after I started my new job at the Music Institute of Chicago. Imagine, on my first assignment working with Abe, I misspelled Stokman with a “C”. I never did that again. From that day forward, Abe and I were friends. And then, good friends. And then, dear friends.

For nearly two decades, we were very much a part of each other’s lives. I had the pleasure of seeing Abe most Saturdays when he taught piano improvisation at MIC. Over the years, we discussed art, food, old movies, dance form, fashion, and family. We often talked about beauty.

On Saturday, December 16, 2023, Abe taught his last class at MIC. He slowly rolled into the Academy using his walker, stood in front of me, and declared, “Dear, I think it’s time you get ready to say goodbye to me.”

We moved into a nearby classroom where we shared a piano bench, and he told me he thought he was getting close to the end of his life. I whispered I was not ready for goodbyes, and I cried, and he told me it would be ok.

Without provocation, he went on. “After all, what more do I have to do? I’ve led a good life, and I have done everything I wanted to do. I’ve had Arlene by my side.

My children. My grandson. I have good friends. I’ve traveled. I have played more piano than I ever imagined possible.” He was quiet and I was aching. “What are we put on this earth to do?” He rolled his eyes, shrugged, and lamented like only Abe could do, “We live… and we die.”

Abe went on to live for almost seven more months, just shy of his 88th birthday on August 17. Abe was right. We all live, and we all die. But few of us live like Abe Stokman.

With affection, Sue Polutnik, Vice President and COO, Music Institute of Chicago

ABRAHAM STOKMAN THE MAN, THE MUSIC, THE LEGACY CELEBRATION OF LIFE MEMORIAL CONCERT Welcome Mark George, President and CEO Opening Remarks John Austin, American composer Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat Major, D. 898 Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) II. Andante un poco mosso Sang Mee Lee, violin, Paula Kosower, cello, Elaine Felder, piano Family Remembrances Alexandra Stokman Remarks Howard Sandroff, American composer Maurice Ravel (1875 -1937) "La flûte enchantée" from Shéhérazade Barbara Ann Martin, soprano, Caroline Pittman, flute, Mark George, piano Sonnets Charles E. Gerber, actor, writer, and director Somewhere Gladly Beyond Ramon Zupko (1932 - 2019) Mischa Zupko, piano Closing Remarks Betsy Simson, friend and bread maker "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" from A German Requiem Johannes Brahms (1833 -1897) Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem, piano Special Acknowledgements Mark George

Abraham Stokman

The Man, the Music the Legacy

Abe's Childhood Abraham Stokman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 17, 1936.

A young Abe with mother, Hinde, and his father, David.

Young Piano Student

Abe began his piano studies at the age of 6.

Abe at Juilliard He came to the USA at the age of 12, when he was offered a scholarship from The Juilliard School in New York City, where he obtained his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degree with his teacher, Edward Steuermann (the pedagogue who enabled the career of Alfred Brendel).

For five years, he served as a vocal coach for Juilliard's opera department.

May 29, 1959 ~ The Juilliard School L to R ~ David Kaiserman, Judy Rosen, Lily Siao, and Abe

L to R ~ David Kaiserman, Judy Rosen, Abe, Lily Siao

Photo Oct. '64

Professor and an Outreach Educator Abe moved to Chicago in 1969 and became the artist-in-residence and assistant professor at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University for six years.

He also served as chairman of the piano department at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.

Abe partnered with the Steinway Company in bringing classical piano music played on a good instrument to the Chicago Public Schools. The Steinway Company provided a Steinway grand for the concerts. This was a huge success with school children, especially in the south side, many of whom may not have ever heard classical music.

He also participated in a series of chamber music concerts with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He helped start the Mostly Music series by playing the first opening concerts for them.

Collaborators and Life long Friends In the spring of 1991, Abe was a guest artist in the first Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he premiered Fluxus IX, a work written for him by Ramon Zupko.

On the same program, he performed Verticals by Shulamit Ran, who won the Pulitzer Prize that same year.

Abe and Ramon Zupko

Abraham Stokman recorded Ramon Zupko's music for Composers Records, Inc. (CRI), as well as a CD of 20th century American piano music for Centaur Records, featuring music of William Karlins and Howard Sandroff. He also recorded Hyperbolea on a CD of Music by Shulamit Ran. Other recordings include "A Kurt Weil Cabaret" with singer Martha Schalamme for MGM, and "Songs from the Magic Door" with Charles Gerber.

Howard Sandroff and Abe

Abe was a champion of contemporary music. He was a member of the CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, with Ralph Shapey and played for CUBE for many years.

He premiered the works of many composers. Robert Lombardo, John Austin, Ramon Zupko, and Ernst Krenek wrote works especially for him.

Abe and Ralph Shapey

Robert Lombardo and Abe

Charles Gerber and Abe

Solo Performer and Improviser

Alice Tully Hall, the Town Hall in New York City Gardner Museum in Boston Phillips Gallery in Washington Mandel Hall in Chicago Abe was a soloist with orchestras throughout the country and through Canada, most notably with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

He premiered Ramon Zupko's piano concerto, Windsongs with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. He performed this same concerto at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and with the American Composers Orchestra in New York's Lincoln Center.

Abe performed various solo recitals at the Music Institute of Chicago's Winnetka campus and at Nichols Concert Hall, from 1991 through the Fall of 2023.

Family Man

Abe met and married Arlene Gatilao, a pianist who emigrated to the U. S. from the Philippines, and began her studies with Abe at Chicago's Roosevelt University.

Their marriage lasted more than four decades and they had two children, Alexandra and David, and Jacob, a grandson from Alexandra.

with grandson, Jacob

Abraham Stokman at the Music Institute of Chicago

Abraham Stokman, piano and improvisation at Music Institute's Nichols Concert Hall

In 1991, Abe joined the Music Institute of Chicago faculty where he taught piano and improvisation.

His passion for contemporary music was celebrated at MIC and across Chicago and suburbs, as he championed new works and made that work accessible to audiences through the creation of the Music for a While series, the Four Score Festival, and the Generation Next Young Composer's Competition.

At his legendary concerts, audiences applauded wildly for his trademark piano improvisation. He had the unique gift of being able to improvise on any musical theme in the style of any known composer.

Sang Mee Lee, violin Paula Kosower, cello, Abe at the piano

More recently, Abe coached chamber music and taught piano improvisation at MIC’s Academy.

The Stokmans with Mischa Zupko, Abe's colleague & fellow composer on MIC's Generation Next, and good friend Ramon Zupko's son.

Legacy of Inspiration and Excellence In 2020, the Music Institute of Chicago presened its Richard D. Colburn Award for Teaching Excellence, an annual award to faculty members who exemplify the high standard of excellence, to Abraham and Arlene Stokman, both members of MIC's piano faculty.

Fine Artist Abe was always active, even when he slowed down from teaching.

In his early 60's, he decided he wanted to learn how to draw and paint. He signed up for lessons with Leslie Hirschfield, at the Evanston Art Center.

A visit to the Stokman home was a testament to how prolific and versatile he was as a student.

Here are a few of his many paintings and drawings.

"Hope" ~ 2019

"Arlene"

Self- portrait

Memories of Abe A few short weeks before his passing, at a point when he was already fully confined to his bed, Abe Stokman, beloved and admired by so many of us, said to me — “I look back at my life and I can say that I’ve been very fortunate. I have an amazing family, I’ve spent my life doing the things I love, surrounded by great music; I have wonderful friends and have met so many interesting people along the way; I look back and I say — it’s been a good life.” When he said it, I could hear the glow in his voice!

Abe was able to take stock of his life with such a sense of affirmation and gratitude, even when he knew that his time had almost ran out. That was quintessential Abe. Abe wasn’t handed a life of privilege. From the age of 12 when he was sent all alone by his mother to America from Israel upon receiving a scholarship from Juilliard, he had to work hard and overcome whatever challenges and obstacles life threw his way. Abe was one who made his own luck. The Abe I knew, the Abe my parents, my husband and children knew, lived life fully.

It was a life of largesse. Largesse in the best and truest sense: rich in friends, celebrations, music, forever curious, hopeful, gregarious. Together with Arlene, a wife and partner one could only dream of — truly a pair made in heaven — the home they created was a space of warmth, light, and love, open to many friends, to laughter, lively conversation, and music of course.

And as anyone so fortunate as to know the Stokman home would agree, great food starred in this home as well.

Abraham Stokman was a commanding pianist and a musician of great depth, capable of performing any super-demanding music he would set out to learn — whether the Bach Goldberg Variations, the Schumann Fantasie, the 24 Chopin Preludes (yes, all of them at once!) or the most pianistically and intellectually demanding contemporary music — was a widely acknowledged fact. But had he, for some reason, not settled on music as his life’s calling, I am certain Abe could have been a famous chef as well! He was a fantastic cook, and an elaborate home-cooked meal at the Stokmans on an occasion such as New Year’s Eve, culminating in some of Arlene’s impressive dessert concoctions, would no-doubt be worthy of at least three Michelin stars. The key to this, of course, was that Abe not only loved cooking and eating, but that he also relished sharing it with friends.

Food Memories of Abe was just another form of giving, another expression of that incredibly generous spirit of his. Let it be said, though, that an evening of decadent food pleasures at the Stokman home rarely ended there! For Abe, things were only getting started. He would then march to his piano (there were two Steinway grands in the Stokmans living room, a His and a Hers), flamboyantly lift up the lid, and to us, his eager audience, it was as though he was saying “let the fun begin!” Abe did have a massive pianistic repertoire which he never stopped expanding. But on those afterdinner home occasions it was usually Abe the entertainer who showed up!

Abe seemed to know just about any song of any genre — from Israeli songs to Broadway, Vaudeville, Beatles, you name it. He played any and all of these, and we would sing, sometimes dance, and we often just listen mesmerized to the brilliant spur-of-the-moment arrangements that Abe regaled us with.

And then of course there was the Abe “special”. A musical treat that was unique to Abe, and that as time went on, he began including in some of his formal concerts as well, first as an encore, eventually expanding into a full portion of a recital. If you’ve heard Abe Stokman play a concert, you know what I am getting at! For what became known as “Abe’s improvisations” he would invite members of the audience to suggest a song or a tune as well as the musical style in which to improvise. This was great fun, of course. Fun and often hilarious because some of these tune/style combinations seemed quite outlandish. Except that Abe always found a way to make them work!

But from my personal perspective as a composer, I must say that I often found myself simply in awe of Abe’s gift as revealed in these improvisations.

Not only did he have stupendous command over musical styles of all periods and genres, but his natural ability to create perfect compositional gems right in front of us in these prescribed styles on tunes that were literally pulled out of a hat was simply breathtaking. I could go on and on. Because Abe’s quest to do more, to stretch himself and discover, was endless.

Think of him taking up painting at the age of 60, something he did when his son David proposed he cultivate a hobby. “Dad, why don’t you take up painting as a hobby”, David said to him one day; “you’ve always loved art.”

And so, he did, lessons and all, and you can see the progression of his skill and daring in the beautiful, well-crafted paintings on display today. But my “Memories of Abe” will not be complete without sharing one final bit with you, a memory that will always stay with me.

At the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Stokman home I attended, two phone calls never failed to arrive right at midnight: one from Alexandra, the other from David. They always made sure to be the first ones wishing their parents a Happy New Year. What could be more telling about the life Abe lived than this symbolic ritual of sharing love!

Abe Stokman. A true artist, larger than life in character, a loyal friend, a mensch. His memory lives in brilliant colors, shining a light for all who knew him.

~ Shulamit Ran

Abe and composer Shulamit Ran, at the first Gilmore Piano Festival

Abraham Stokman Resources

MUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO (MIC) WEB PAGES Abe Stokman article with interview MIC Gala - list of teaching excellence

Abe Stokman, piano 2016 MIC: Music Classes Chicago 2024

ABRAHAM STOKMAN ~ MIC FACULTY PROFILE:

https://www.musicinst.org/about-music-institute-chicago/leadership/abraham-stokman

ABRAHAM STOKMAN ~ MIC VIDEOS

Indoor Voices: Abe Stokman Interview & Video: Abe Stokman talks to Fiona Queen 26-Jun-20: https://www.musicinst.org/news/ indoor-voice-presents-abraham-stokman

ABRAHAM STOKMAN ~ RECORDINGS AND CD'S

Ramon Zupko’s music for CRI, “A Kurt Weil Cabaret” with singer Martha Schlamme for MGM “Songs from the Magic Door” with Charles Gerber Solo twentieth century American music for Centaur Records Shulamit Ran’s “Hyperbolea” on a CD of her music

ABRAHAM STOKMAN ~ BIOGRAPHIES AND FRIEND REMEMBRANCES

https://splashmags.com/index.php/2024/07/a-personal-reminiscenceabraham-stokman-8-17-1936-7-12-2024/#gsc.tab=0 https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Stokman-Abraham.htm

WE WELCOME GIFTS IN LOVING MEMORY OF ABE STOKMAN To support the musical home that Abe loved so well, please follow these simple steps: - Scan the QR code or go to The Fall Fundraiser page on the MIC website and click “Make a Gift” - Click on “Gift in Honor of Teacher or Student” - Choose “In Memory” and enter the name Abraham Stokman Kindly consider making your gift by November 1.

We have an opportunity to remember Abe and recognize what he meant to MIC in The Fall Fundraiser program, and we will list all gifts made in his honor.