Notes from a Musical Year
Alumni musicians: (above) Solon Gordon ’03 and (at right, top to bottom) Chris ’05 and John ’05 Robison with bandmate Sean Elligers, Justin Murphy-Mancini ’08 with music faculty Susan Chrzanowski and James Rugen ’70, and David Snyder ’80 with Concert Choir. Photos: Christine Coyle, John Groo
T
HE Centennial Alumni Musician series continued this winter and early spring with concerts featuring brothers John ’05 and Chris ’05 Robison, composer and conductor David Snyder ’80, organist Justin Murphy-Mancini ’08, pianist Solon Gordon ’03, and the trio of siblings Christine ’11, Sirena ’12, and Anderson ’14 Huang. All eight of these alumni distinguished themselves as musicians while students at Loomis and went on to expand their musical horizons after graduation. On January 8, John and Chris and their band, All The Friends, performed in a midday concert in the Hubbard Performance Hall and conducted a workshop with Jazz and Concert band students. All the Friends, which has been described as an indie/chamber/pop band, includes the two brothers as well as Sean Elligers of Windsor and
Erinrose Mager, who was unable to attend the concert. The band members each play several electronic and acoustic instruments. Despite the digital components, classic techniques anchor the band’s roots. The concert was a return home for the twins. Their parents, Curt and Delphine Robison, are faculty members, and John and Chris grew up on campus, where, in addition to playing in the Concert, Jazz, and Jazz Improv groups and studying music theory, they formed a popular rock band that rehearsed in the family’s garage. Later in January, David spent several days on campus working with the Concert Choir in preparation for the premiere of “Where Rivers Rise and Fall,” a work he composed in commemoration of the school’s Centennial. The piece includes lyrics by David and faculty members James Rugen ’70 and Timothy
Lawrence. David conducted the choir in the premiere during the Winter Choral Concert on January 25. (Read an interview with David on page 26.) The series continued on February 16 with an organ recital by Justin in Founders Chapel. A versatile musician, Justin earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a bachelor of music in organ performance, and a master of music in historical performance, all from Oberlin College. He is working toward a doctorate in music composition at the University of California-San Diego, and he serves as organist of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego. Justin competed in the harpsichord division of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, last summer. On February 26, Solon and his wife, violist Jennifer Chang, performed a
recital in the Hubbard Performance Hall and conducted a workshop with students after the performance. A Manhattan-based pianist, Solon has been staff accompanist for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and performs with Classical Revolution, a musicians’ collective seeking to expand the audience for chamber music. He attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he became known for creating unique musical collaborations. On March 28, the final concert in the series reunited siblings Christine ’11, Sirena ’12, and Anderson ’14 Huang on the Hubbard stage. Sirena, a renowned violinist, is a student at Juilliard. She recently won Third Prize and two other awards at the Singapore International Violin Competition. Her talented siblings — Christine plays the piano and Anderson the cello — joined her for the special Loomis performance.
www.loomischaffee.org | 15