CIM Notes | Winter 2024

NOTES Cleveland Institute of Music

WINTER 2024

NOTEWORTHY CIM Orchestra season opener held special meaning for student conductor Jake Taniguchi Jake Taniguchi was eager to conduct the CIM Orchestra last fall, but not because the program was the group’s season opener.

“It’s a tribute to him, to my teacher,” Taniguchi said. “His knowledge is not something you can put down in a book.”

No, the source of his excitement was what the evening signified.

From first note to last, the October concert was a tribute to his mentors.

The rest of the program paid homage to another pivotal figure in Taniguchi’s life: JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of CIM’s visiting faculty.

“The whole night, it [was] very sentimental for me,” said Taniguchi, a second-year Graduate Diploma student. “It [was] a special program that I really put a lot of thought into.”

Thought, of course, isn’t all that went into it. Also behind his selections were deep reserves of feeling and years of admiration, friendship, and artistic development.

Case in point: Igor Stravinsky’s Apollon Musagète. Taniguchi included it because it’s a work Victor Yampolsky, his former teacher at Northwestern University, witnessed Stravinsky himself conduct. For that reason, too, Taniguchi invited Yampolsky to join him in rehearsal.

With works by William Grant Still and Samuel ColeridgeTaylor, Taniguchi paid homage to the conductor who inspired him to pursue music, through her work with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

“Since 2012, I’ve admired JoAnn from afar,” said Taniguchi, a native of Hawaii. “She was the first great conductor that I really got to observe. I’m so happy that through CIM I’ve gotten to work with her.”

From first note to last the CIM Orchestra concert Jake Taniguchi conducted in October was a tribute to his mentors.

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Donna Jelen conducts the Academy String Orchestra. CIM’s youth training program is now in its second year.

2 Noteworthy ON THE COVER Connor Vrooman, front, and Armando Contreras perform a scene from Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied at the Cleveland Museum of Art (story, page 12).

CIM composer Keith Fitch turns Guggenheim Fellowship into Picasso’s Guitar

Offsite Glory Denied production prepares CIM students for a changing world of opera

Three noted scholars join CIM’s music theory department

Joint Music Program empowers CIM, CWRU students to pursue all their passions

(Photo by Tim Bates)

Major scholarship gifts change student lives at CIM

PDFs of the current and past issues of Notes are available at cim.edu/news.

Art Song Festival takes a bow with vocal grand finale, scholarship gift

CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC

Blueprint:100 takes center stage at 2023 Annual Meeting

P: 216.791.5000 E: marketing@cim.edu

Pianist Gabriela Montero headed to CIM as artist-in-residence, piano faculty member

11021 East Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106

| cim.edu

CIM’s Yolanda Kondonassis listed among Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year for 2023 CIM names fundraising veteran Mark Litzler new chief development officer

CIM is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

CIM reframes concert offerings as Insiders and Perspectives series CIM lands spot on new Monopoly: Cleveland Edition board game

CIM is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

12 Features

Change from within: Scholarly works by CIM alumni promote diversity in music theory, training

18 Alumni Spotlight

chamber musician at heart: A violinist Diana Cohen

20 Alumni News 22 Lifetime Giving

All content written by Zachary Lewis Design by Tom Putters Photos by Tim Bates, Laura Watilo Blake, Alex Cooke, Abigayle Flack, Yevhen Gulenko, Roger Mastroianni, Steven Mastroianni, Robert Muller, and Gregory Wilson

The CIM Advantage takes root in 2023 WINTER 2024 | 3

NOTEWORTHY

CIM composer Keith Fitch turns Guggenheim Fellowship into Picasso’s Guitar Keith Fitch earned the prize, but the real winner may be the larger world of music.

That’s because, with his 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship, CIM’s head of composition is writing Picasso’s Guitar, an inventive work certain to make a splash.

Inspired by sound sources depicted in Picasso’s artwork, the stillunderway new piece is expected to culminate in several premiere performances and a possible recording in spring 2025.

Keith Fitch, head of CIM’s composition department

“I like giving myself a challenge, wondering if I can solve the puzzle,” Fitch said.

Three noted scholars join CIM’s music theory department CIM’s music theory department has gained considerable strength with the appointment of three new faculty members.

Newly on board as the 2023-24 school year began were Caitlin Martinkus, Scott Hanenberg, and Alan Elkins. The latter had a one-year position while the others were permanent hires.

“With their strong backgrounds in music theory and extensive experience as performers, these fantastic new faculty members will serve our students extraordinarily well,” said Scott Harrison, CIM’s executive vice president & provost.

The trio joined a robust department, one of the nation’s most distinguished, headed by Diane Urista and including Sam Bivens, associate dean of the conservatory; Alex Cooke (MM ’14, DMA ’18, Fitch), Jack Hughes (BM ’14, Fitch); Joseph Sferra; and Allen Yueh (DMA ’20, D. Shapiro).

Martinkus, a French horn enthusiast, holds a PhD from the University of Toronto. Her research areas are musical form in the nineteenth century, Franz Schubert, and historical theories of musical form.

Hanenberg, her husband, studied classical guitar and composition at Queen’s University and holds a master’s degree in musicology and a PhD in music theory from the University of Toronto. His research uses corpus analysis and positional listening to study meter and groove in popular music.

Elkins holds three degrees, including a PhD, from Florida State University, where he also taught. He is an active composer with a master’s degree in composition from Bowling Green State University and a former violist in the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.

“We look forward to the energy, expertise, and ideas these new faculty will bring to CIM,” Harrison said.

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Caitlin Martinkus was one of three new appointees to CIM’s music theory faculty in fall 2023.

It all started at MoMA, New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Intrigued by the many instruments and sound sources in Picasso’s work, Fitch thought to compose an homage to the Cubist master featuring several of those very implements.

Twelve years and one prestigious fellowship later, the idea is materializing.

Fitch said he’s devised the work’s rapid and reflective central motifs and settled on the instrumentation, an unusual combination of guitar, string quartet, double bass, and percussion including bottles, wine glasses, paper, metal pipes, and coffee cans.

“In one way or another, everything in the piece is connected to the various Picasso guitar works,” Fitch said.

“We’ve been discussing the piece for years,” Fitch said of Davin.

“He’s a wonderful musician.”

The only thing left for Fitch to do, besides finish the piece, is find people to perform it and venues to host them.

On that front, in addition to Cleveland, Fitch said he’s eyeing New York, Washington, DC, and Winchester, Virginia, home of former CIM guitar faculty and friend Colin Davin, for whom he conceived the guitar part.

Major scholarship gifts change student lives at CIM CIM received hearty endorsements this fall in the form of major gifts from two longtime supporters.

First, Edward Addicott and Stephen Ban completed their family’s $3.5 million commitment to CIM’s endowment scholarship campaign. The gift, the second largest in CIM’s 103-year history from an individual donor, honored Addicott’s wife and Ban’s mother, the late CIM Trustee Gay Cull Addicott.

“My mother had a profound love for classical music and for the students and mission of the Cleveland Institute of Music,” said Ban, a CIM Trustee and a senior advisor to the Corporate Coalition of Chicago.

Days later, CIM announced a $300,000 addition from Trustee Irad Carmi (BM ’87, MM ’88) and his wife, Rebecca Carmi (BM ’87, MM ’89) to the endowed scholarship fund the couple created in 2014. The fund, now valued at $500,000, ranks as CIM’s largest gift from alumni.

The gifts had an immediate impact on the lives of undergraduate student Nathan Shepherd (bassoon, Stees) and master’s student Hadar Zaidel (violin, I. Kaler).

Shepherd said the Edward and Gay Cull Addicott Presidential Scholarship “completely shifted my view” of attending a conservatory and has allowed him “to pursue my musical studies to their fullest.”

Zaidel, meanwhile, said the Carmis have supported not only her studies but also her personal well-being, thousands of miles from her home in Israel.

“It’s beyond any expectation that I had,” she said. “Having them here, it’s like having a second family. They’re so nice and sweet.”

CIM alumni Rebecca and Irad Carmi recently made a $300,000 contribution to the endowed scholarship fund the couple created in 2014.

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NOTEWORTHY

Art Song Festival takes a bow with vocal grand finale, scholarship gift One of CIM’s greatest contributions to the world of music has sounded its final notes.

With a recital and masterclass by acclaimed mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, the Art Song Festival ended in December the way it began and operated for 38 years: in glory.

“We’re really looking at this as the grand finale,” said Dean Southern (DMA ’09, Schiller), a member of CIM’s voice faculty and vice president for academic and student affairs.

Cooke, for her part, treated a full house in Mixon Hall to lustrous performances of Mahler, Falla, and Tilson Thomas, then conducted a masterclass the following day with students from CIM, Baldwin Wallace University, and Oberlin College.

Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and pianist Kirill Kuzman were the featured guests at the final recital presented by the Art Song Festival in December.

Blueprint:100 takes center stage at 2023 Annual Meeting One of the most successful chapters in CIM history has drawn to a close, and another has just begun.

At its 2023 Annual Meeting in December, CIM celebrated the many feats accomplished under Blueprint:100, its centennial plan adopted in 2018.

The same gathering of Trustees, Governing Members, and others also saw a preview of Blueprint:2029, a collective vision for the next five years developed with detailed input from CIM faculty, staff, and students.

The report, released at the meeting along with a commemorative video, offered a snapshot of Blueprint:100, a picture of how CIM’s mission, values, and institutional learning goals combined to fuel a revitalization of CIM and position the school for continued success.

The report summarized all eight pillars of Blueprint:100: Tuition & Capitalization; Learning & Performance Environment; Preparatory & Continuing Education; Student Housing; Pianos; Diversity; Outcomes; and the ongoing Second Century Campaign.

Among the many accomplishments cited: • Major new scholarship gifts for nearly 50 students • Construction and purchase of 1609 Hazel • Endowment growth of $10 million • A $2.25 million investment in CIM’s physical property • Launch of the Academy at CIM and Musical Pathway Fellowship • Three new-to-CIM concert grand pianos, including a new Steinway & Sons Model D for Mixon Hall • Five-fold increase in racial diversity among students and in featured repertoire • Appointments of CIM alumni at hundreds of major orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and institutions of higher learning • Nearly $25 million raised in endowment, scholarship, and capital support • Unanimous endorsement by Trustees of the Kulas Hall renovation project

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Cooke’s collaborator, and the presenter of a subsequent masterclass of his own, was pianist Kirill Kuzman, another in the festival’s long line of illustrious guests.

Founded in 1985 by former CIM Voice Department Head George Vassos, the Art Song Festival quickly became a local and national treasure, a unique platform for leading artists including vocalists Elly Ameling, Marilyn Horne, and Barbara Bonney, and pianists Warren Jones, Martin Katz, and Roger Vignoles.

The festival didn’t end with music-making alone. No, in bittersweet fashion, the organization also said farewell with a heartwarming financial gesture, one that will ensure the art form thrives for years to come.

As a parting gift, the festival used its remaining funds – some $50,000 – to establish voice scholarships at CIM. These, it is hoped, will help young artists attend CIM and train to become the art song vocalists and pianists of tomorrow.

This watercolor, painted specially for the Art Song Festival, was a popular emblem for the organization.

To contribute, visit artsongfest.com/donations

Pianist Gabriela Montero headed to CIM as artist-in-residence, piano faculty member The brilliant constellation that is CIM’s piano department has gained a new star: Gabriela Montero.

The pianist and composer, an eminent figure noted for probing performances, rare improvisation skills, and human rights advocacy, has joined the faculty as the Jonathan and Linn Epstein Artistin-Residence. She commences teaching in fall 2024.

Montero is a “generational talent,” said Piano Department Head Antonio Pompa-Baldi. “Having her as a member of the CIM family fulfills our aspirations to constantly raise the level of our already amazing faculty.”

Montero is no stranger to CIM. Last summer, she was a guest instructor at the Cleveland International Piano Institute, a copresentation with Piano Cleveland.

Pianist Gabriela Montero has joined the CIM faculty as the Jonathan and Linn Epstein Artist-in-Residence, commencing in fall 2024.

Reflecting on that experience, which included a recital at Severance Music Center and a masterclass at CIM, Montero called CIM “an inspiring place” where the environment is “all about collaboration.”

“What has really touched me is the quality of the people and the philosophy of teaching and learning,” she said.

A native of Caracas and graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Montero is acclaimed for her captivating performances of traditional repertoire and remarkable ability to improvise.

She has appeared with major orchestras worldwide, including The Cleveland Orchestra, and is an award-winning recording artist and composer. In addition, she often uses her platform to raise awareness of issues in her native Venezuela.

Montero will be “a profoundly positive influence on our students and musical life at CIM,” said Paul W. Hogle, CIM’s president & CEO. “We are honored and excited to welcome her to our faculty.”

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NOTEWORTHY CIM’s Yolanda Kondonassis listed among Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year for 2023 Months after the fact, CIM is still taking joy in Musical America’s nomination of Harp Department Head Yolanda Kondonassis as one of its 2023 Top 30 Professionals of the Year.

The honor, announced in December, recognizes classical music professionals who “persistently and relentlessly strive to keep the performing arts vital.” It also honors those who are “thoughtful, creative, and often innovative.”

“I’m so proud to be a member of this amazing and diverse musical community,” said Kondonassis (BM ’86, MM ’89, Chalifoux) of a group composed of performers, administrators, directors, and educators.

Yolanda Kondonassis, head of CIM’s harp department

CIM names fundraising veteran Mark Litzler new chief development officer CIM was pleased to welcome Mark Litzler in August as its new chief development officer.

Litzler succeeded Peter Hussell, who returned to his native Canada last year after a tenure of 3.5 years.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to support a historic and beloved institution,” said Litzler, a native of Northeast Ohio and a graduate of Saint Ignatius High School.

Litzler is a veteran fundraiser with decades of experience in nonprofit organizations, major and planned gifts, and institutional and annual programs.

He comes to CIM from The Cleveland Orchestra, where he had served as director of institutional giving since July 2021.

Before that, Litzler headed fundraising at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. For 14 years, he was chief executive officer of the Saint Luke’s Foundation in Kansas City.

Litzler holds degrees from Cleveland State and Case Western Reserve universities. He is an avid golfer and former baseball coach, and makes his home in Cleveland Heights.

At CIM, one of Litzler’s top priorities is garnering support for the $40 million Second Century Campaign, which will improve the performing and listening experience at CIM and pave the way for future generations to attend.

“In particular,” said Litzler, “I look forward to growing the endowment that supports scholarships and developing gifts that support capital improvements.”

Litzler can be reached at mark.litzler@cim.edu.

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Mark Litzler, CIM’s new chief development officer

“While I know so many people are deserving of recognition, I thank Musical America sincerely for this honor and hope to continue doing my part to advance the future of classical music.”

Musical America’s Top 30 list has been released annually for over a decade. Previous nominees affiliated with CIM include oboist Titus Underwood (BM ’08, Mack/Rathbun/Rosenwein), bassist Thomas Knific (BM ’82), violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti (BM ’98, MM ’01, Weilerstein), educator Katie Wyatt (MM ’05, Konopka), and administrator Crystal Carlson (PS ’09, Schiller).

Paul W. Hogle, CIM’s president & CEO, hailed Kondonassis and her nomination, calling the department she’s headed for 26 years “the center of America’s harp universe.”

“It is only fitting that Yolanda Kondonassis has been named one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year,” Hogle said.

“CIM is proud of her major international concert and recording career as one of the world’s preeminent solo harpists, coupled with her own pedagogical and entrepreneurial prowess.”

CIM reframes concert offerings as Insiders and Perspectives series The brilliant array of free concerts for which CIM is renowned got a new look this fall with the launch of new Insiders and Perspectives series.

The new series, each of which carries a new logo, organize CIM’s recitals and chamber music offerings into well-defined lineups based on whether the artist is a member of the CIM faculty or a guest.

The effort has been an unqualified success. Since their launch in September, both series have seen robust attendance, and several events have enjoyed sold-out houses in Mixon Hall.

Insiders also got a strong start with a sold-out performance by guitarist Jason Vieaux (BM ’95, Holmquist) and Cleveland Orchestra cellist Bryan Dumm; as well as performances by saxophonist Steven Banks, pianist Gerardo Teissonnière (BM ’85, MM ’89, Vronsky Babin); and violinist Ilya Kaler with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi.

On tap for the spring are Academy Chorus conductor Jonathon Turner; violinist Philip Setzer, cellist Richard Weiss, and pianist Daniel Shapiro; and percussionist She-e Wu. As always, visit cim.edu/events for details and tickets.

“What a difference a name can make,” said Kathleen Drohan, CIM’s chief marketing officer, the primary force behind the rebranded series.

The first event in Perspectives, and the first sell-out, was cellist Mike Block (BM ’04, Aaron) with fellow Silk Road Ensemble member Balla Kouyaté. After that was pianist Stewart Goodyear. Still to come in 2024 are the Dalí Quartet, Wild Up, and pianist Artina McCain (MM ’06, Brown) with oboist Titus Underwood (BM ’08, Mack/Rathbun/Rosenwein).

Cellist and CIM alum Mike Block, seen here performing with CIM students, kicked off CIM’s new Perspectives series with a concert with Silk Road Ensemble colleague Balla Kouyaté.

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NOTEWORTHY CIM lands spot on new Monopoly: Cleveland Edition board game Next time you arrive at CIM, be prepared to pay up.

You could either buy the property, for $120, or, if someone already owns it or has built homes or hotels on it, you could owe hundreds, even thousands.

Them’s the breaks, in this game.

Yes, as of October, CIM has a coveted space on Hasbro’s new Monopoly: Cleveland Edition. The school is one of several landmark organizations with a slot on the inaugural board, along with the Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland Browns, Karamu House, and Cleveland Clinic.

“As one of America’s iconic conservatories of music, it’s only fitting that the Cleveland Institute of Music was invited to be part of Hasbro’s Monopoly: Cleveland Edition,” said CIM President & CEO Paul Hogle after the unveiling in Cleveland’s historic Arcade.

“CIM and Monopoly have been synonymous with family memories for almost 100 years and we are proud to represent Cleveland’s classical music scene in such an endearing way.”

Aptly, CIM contributed music to the unveiling. For the first time in Monopoly history, a press conference announcing a new game included live music – in this case, a snare drum roll and a student brass quintet playing Cleveland Rocks, among other pieces.

A space on the board isn’t the only perk for CIM in the new Monopoly. Along with the property, CIM also figures on a Community Chest reward card.

“Congratulations!,” the card reads. “You’ve graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and your career representing the future of classical music begins.”

A group of CIM students performed at an October ceremony marking the release of Monopoly: Cleveland Edition, which includes a CIM property.

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The CIM Advantage takes root in 2023 The CIM Advantage held sway with uncommon force in 2023.

Over the course of the year, well over 100 graduates won positions with major orchestras, chamber ensembles, and universities.

Indeed, so prolific were alumni at winning jobs this year, CIM took to celebrating the accomplishments on a quarterly basis, more frequently than ever.

“When it comes to outcomes, CIM’s track record is unparalleled,” said CIM President & CEO Paul W. Hogle. “The world’s most talented young musicians consistently choose a CIM education knowing it will help them achieve the careers of their dreams.”

Space prohibits a comprehensive catalog. Instead, here is a select list of organizations newly home to a CIM graduate.

Genevieve Smelser joined the first violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra in August 2023.

Ensembles Alabama Symphony Orchestra Boston Symphony Orchestra Charleston Symphony Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra Dallas Symphony Orchestra Detroit Symphony Orchestra Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion Jacksonville Symphony Kansas City Symphony LA Opera Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Louisville Orchestra Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Naples Philharmonic Nashville Symphony Orchestra New York Philharmonic North Carolina Symphony Omaha Symphony The Phoenix Symphony Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Seattle Symphony St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Toledo Symphony The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Virginia Symphony Orchestra Schools Appalachian State University Boston University School of Music Colorado College Concordia College Elmhurst University Emory University High Point University Manhattan School of Music The Ohio State University Oklahoma City University Southeast Missouri State University The University of Akron University of Notre Dame University of Tennessee Vanderbilt University WINTER 2024 | 11

FEATURE Offsite Glory Denied production prepares CIM students for a changing world of opera “That’s how life is,” said Kathryn Frady, guest director of Glory Denied and a veteran performer and opera administrator.

“This was a great opportunity for them to dip their toes into something they’re going to be doing regularly in this industry.”

One who definitely learned that lesson was soprano Kiana Lilly (Schiller). To prepare for her role as Alyce Thompson, the secondyear master’s student had to learn three scores at once, mastering Cipullo on winter break in between CIM’s fall production of Handel’s Alcina and her audition for Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, in the spring.

“I learned how to manage new work on my own, and that’s perhaps the best skill you can have if you want to go into opera professionally,” she said.

A new acting challenge But Glory Denied was about more than time management. Much more.

Members of CIM Opera Theater perform a scene from Glory Denied at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Back: Kiana Lilly, left, and Armando Contreras. Front: Jingdian Zhou, left, and Emma Potts.

Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied was more than just a powerful show this winter. For CIM Opera Theater, it was also a powerful teaching moment.

Patrons of the January production at the Cleveland Museum of Art witnessed a stunning true story of love and loss in a time of war, based on a book by Tom Philpott.

Students, meanwhile, gained something even more valuable: a training experience like no other in their educational careers.

These days, in opera, “It’s no longer just Mozart and Puccini,” said JJ Hudson, interim artistic director of CIM Opera Theater.

“Young artists are entering a landscape with a wide mix of repertoire. Giving our students an opportunity to learn something like Glory Denied was, I think, important. It provided them a good project, a real challenge.”

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If Glory Denied was a challenge (and it was), it was one CIM Opera Theater gladly accepted and rose to meet. It was also one the company overcame with flying colors, and benefited from enormously.

Making room One of the first big hurdles was scheduling.

Even before they dove into Cipullo’s music, penned in 2007, or into its time-fluid story about America’s longest-held prisoner of war in Vietnam, CIM students had to work a third production into a busy academic calendar that previously entailed two.

This was quite deliberate. One of many educational goals with Glory Denied was to expose students to a compressed schedule more akin to what they’ll experience in the real world, when they’ll have a few weeks – as opposed to a few months – to prepare a role.

More difficult than scheduling, for the students, was grappling with the story. Most, simply put, had never sung an opera so fraught with emotion.

As Alyce, for instance, Lilly had to portray someone with whom she could not help but sympathize. Instead of an abstract noblewoman or princess, she played a real person, a woman whose husband, Floyd Thompson, returns from the Vietnam War after being presumed dead, only to discover that she has remarried.

It was a role that called on all sorts of novel acting skills, including a professional’s ability to separate feeling from technique.

“Coming back and seeing that the person you loved and held onto so long has re-married, it’s heartbreaking,” Lilly explained, noting that Alyce also feels “anger from re-living what happened, and having to justify moving on.”

All of this, too, was by design. Hudson said he selected Glory Denied in part for this very complexity, for the unique demands the opera places on performers and listeners alike.

“It explores themes that are relevant to the moment,” he said. “It’s contemporary in many different ways.”

Singing contemporary music The toughest aspect of Glory Denied, of course, beyond the timing and the acting, was the score itself. Although CIM students often sing contemporary music, and there are plenty of more difficult operas in the repertoire, CIM’s first winter offering still presented students with several daunting tasks.

For one, it kept all four lead characters on stage for most of its 80 minutes. Moreover, because the story principally concerns two characters at different stages of life, the singers often had to interact with older or younger versions of themselves, all while keeping track of where they were in time.

“It’s a show that tells a very compelling story almost with text alone,” Hudson said. “The text is so interwoven, it’s almost like a long quartet.”

Circle, but acoustically, it is worlds apart from Kulas Hall, where most operas at CIM are presented.

with conducting credits that include The Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, and the Spoleto Festival.

For that reason, Hudson and CIM Opera Theater have decided to take winter productions on the road whenever possible going forward.

Still another shining example of success in the production was Armando Contreras (BM ’14, Cole), who joined the Glory Denied cast in a difficult role for baritone.

“Every space feels a little bit different,” he said. “It’s good for our students to have those experiences, because that’s what they’ll be doing outside our walls. It’s a win-win for our students and hopefully a win for the art.”

“These people are fantastic models of making it in the opera world,” Hudson said.

“I think it’s good for our students to work with people who bring such insight to work on so many levels of opera.”

In truth, previewing life outside CIM was a top priority with Glory Denied. It’s a top priority for CIM Opera Theater in general.

This explains the presence of Frady and Gupta, in lieu of Hudson and the company’s usual conductor, Harry Davidson. In addition to dedicated teachers, both Frady and Gupta are practicing professionals who stand as models of potential opera careers.

Frady, for her part, is both a renowned Tosca and the director of both Opera Louisiane and Marble City Opera. Gupta, meanwhile, is in steady demand worldwide,

In the end, Glory Denied transcended its challenges. All the life, theatrical, and musical lessons cast and crew learned from performing Cipullo’s opera far outweighed any difficulties they may have faced bringing the production to stage.

Take it from a professional like Frady to have known it all along. She had a feeling Glory Denied was going to be special. This was her first exposure to the work, but it definitely won’t be her last.

“We knew the experience was going to be good,” she said. “This leads the way on what conservatories should be doing.”

They didn’t just have to track their place in time, either. They also had to keep their place on the musical staff, in a challenging score. They had to be independent.

That’s because, instead of the original version for full orchestra, guest conductor Kamna Gupta presided over a version for an ensemble of nine, a modest force more realistic for CMA’s Gartner Auditorium.

That left the singers on their own to navigate Cipullo’s sound-world.

“I wasn’t getting pitches from a piano or the people around me,” Lilly said. “It taught me to be more confident and meticulous.

It required so much diligent work and attention.”

A real-world experience Less challenging but just as beneficial was the opportunity Glory Denied afforded to perform outside CIM, at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Gartner Auditorium may be a close neighbor in Cleveland’s University Kiana Lilly, left, and Armando Contreras perform a scene from Glory Denied.

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FEATURE Joint Music Program empowers CIM, CWRU students to pursue all their passions Almost everywhere Michael Tsang (BM/ MM ’16, D. Shapiro) looked when hunting for colleges would have compelled him to choose between his two passions: piano and science. Nowhere, it seemed, could he pursue both at a high level.

Then Tsang found CIM. Specifically, he found the Joint Music Program (JMP).

That’s where his quest ended. Through this unique partnership between CIM, an elite independent conservatory, and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), one of the nation’s top research universities, Tsang was able to earn degrees in both piano performance and biology. From there, he was able to develop a remarkable and unique career in physical therapy treating musicians.

“I feel like I’m working to bridge that gap,” Tsang said from Houston, where he works in the Memorial Hermann Health System.

“Music is a big part of who I am and what I do, but I also love being able to help people.

And none of it would be possible if I hadn’t been in that program.”

Current student Grant Carr echoes that sentiment. He has yet to graduate or

CWRU Baroque Orchestra

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begin his career, but wherever he ends up, his experience in the JMP is already proving critical.

At CWRU, where he’s enrolled, Carr is pursuing majors in both music and economics as well as a Grant Carr minor in Spanish. He’s following the JMP path because the focus of his music major is piano, which entails lessons and other applied music courses CWRU doesn’t offer. At CIM, he studies with piano faculty Sean Schulze, who also oversees the JMP as associate dean for academic partnerships.

Carr’s plan after graduation is to enter law school, with a concentration in entertainment law. Already, though, he’s putting both his musical and his academic backgrounds to good use in student ensembles, as a member of student government, and in private work at a consulting agency.

“I keep busy, to say the least,” Carr says. “It’s really been quite an enriching experience.

Practicing these different ways of thinking has really benefited me quite well so far.”

Empowering students to explore different ways of thinking is what the JMP is all about, and has been since its inception in 1959 (two years before the current CIM building opened), when a local newspaper announced a “working agreement” and a “program of closer cooperation” between CIM and CWRU. Realizing that neither school alone could satisfy the manifold interests of all its students, CWRU and CIM responded not like competitors but like musicians on different instruments. They chose to collaborate, to allow each to supply what the other lacked.

“Neither of our curricula is complete without the other,” said David Rothenberg, chair of the music department at CWRU. “It’s an interesting partnership. We depend on each other. We each give the other things they can’t offer on their own.”

For many years, overlapping course requirements were simply built into the curricula of both institutions. Many students in both schools were unaware of the broader JMP framework, and few formally availed

CWRU Baroque Orchestra

Pianist Michael Tsang

themselves of the opportunity to pursue other courses. Management of the program had at times presented logistical and bureaucratic challenges.

It could be a related course in musicology (perhaps taught by renowned musicologist Susan McClary) or something completely different, like astronomy.

Moreover, there was little integration between the two schools. On both campuses, students from the other school were welcomed but treated like guests, not as vital members of the community, and the two populations rarely mingled in a meaningful way outside the classroom.

In some cases, CIM students may also take a seat in a CWRU ensemble, such as the CWRU Baroque Orchestra or CWRU groups devoted to jazz or klezmer music.

None of that is true any longer. Today, a program that long consisted primarily of CWRU students taking lessons at CIM is a thriving, mutually beneficial exchange of students, resources, and community.

At CIM, students from CWRU take music theory, eurhythmics, and applied lessons.

They may also join ensembles led by CIM faculty or enroll in one of several new group classes, also taught by CIM faculty, for beginners in piano, voice, and guitar.

“There’s a strong pedagogical precedent for teaching these types of students in a group setting,” Schulze said.

In return, CIM students have access to the entire catalog in CWRU’s College of Arts and Sciences (as opposed to the Schools of Business, Engineering, Nursing, and Medicine, which have their own specialized prerequisites).

Certain CWRU courses, such as music history, are required as part of the CIM curriculum, but beyond that, CIM students may choose any elective of interest for which they qualify, at no additional cost to them.

For Tsang, a typical day during his years in Cleveland began with practice and CIM classes and continued with a private lesson, science classes, and ensemble work in the afternoon. Evenings consisted of science labs, more private practice, and social events.

“Finding the right balance, and recognizing the need for it, made it a lot more manageable,” Tsang recalls. “The support of my teachers really made the program work for me and shaped me into the person I am today.”

But there’s even more to the JMP today than meets the eye. Above and behind the students and classes, administrators at both schools are engaging in their own exchange of ideas and assistance.

At CIM, for instance, students from CWRU now enjoy their own orientation session. The school also celebrates their accomplishments and includes them in official communications.

CIM also hosts CWRU ensembles, notably the Historical Performance Ensemble, and a few CWRU students live in 1609 Hazel, CIM’s new high-tech residential complex.

Also new is the appointment of Schulze, to manage the program on the CIM side.

There’s also collaboration in the area of recruitment. In the new era of the JMP, Schulze said CIM directs applicants who don’t qualify for the conservatory alone to CWRU, where they can still earn a degree in music using the JMP framework. Meanwhile, Rothenberg said CWRU often attracts students to its programs with the prospect of a double-degree in a musical field that involves training at CIM. At times, CIM and CWRU even collaborate artistically. In 2019, for instance, CIM Opera Theater and the CWRU Baroque Orchestra joined forces for a production of Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the JMP. The two schools “kind of help each other,” Rothenberg said. “It’s really productive on all levels.”

Just as CIM and CWRU individually have few rivals in their respective specialties – CIM in music, CWRU in medicine and engineering – so does the program they designed together stand apart. Almost nowhere else can one study at both an independent, world-class conservatory and a major research university at the same time.

Put another away: no other program but the JMP is producing people quite like Tsang and Carr, professionals doing exactly what they love, putting everything they learned into daily practice.

“There’s very little out there that matches what we have here,” Schulze said. “The JMP provides advantages which are not easily replicated. It’s quite an amazing experience for our students, I think.”

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FEATURE Change from within: Scholarly works by CIM alumni promote diversity in music theory, training CIM doesn’t only produce great performers.

Out of its doors also come great scholars, the thought leaders of today and tomorrow.

Case in point: authors Chris Jenkins (Ramsey/Irvine) and Paula Maust (MM ’12, Wilson).

Separately but surely, through their writing, they’re advancing the national conversation about how to promote diversity in classical music, from the inside out.

“One need not only be on stage to have a rich and rewarding career in music,” said Scott Harrison, CIM’s executive vice president & provost. “Paula and Chris, and the innovative work they’re doing, are inspiring examples of how CIM also empowers students to advance musical scholarship and advocacy.”

Although they hold different titles and have never met, Jenkins and Maust are on similar missions. Within the last year, both have published books seeking to make the study and general environment of classical music more broadly appealing and welcoming.

The issue, he told his audience, isn’t only that Black and Latinx students don’t see enough other people who look like them in classical music. It’s also that those students don’t see their own culture and traditions represented or taught, even in schools and venues otherwise trying hard to achieve diversity.

Jenkins’ book, Assimilation v. Integration in Music Education (SUNY 2023), considers the field as a whole, exploring the culture and practices that historically have alienated people of color from conservatories, schools of music, and the concert hall.

“People who don’t have that experience of classical music don’t want to be in those places,” Jenkins said. “We’re making it a project of assimilation as opposed to changing what we do.”

Maust takes a more concrete approach.

Her new book, Expanding the Music Theory Canon, does exactly what its title says it does, expanding the music theory canon with practical lessons drawn from the work of underrepresented composers.

A new sense of purpose For Jenkins, associate dean for academic support at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a doctoral student with CIM viola faculty Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey, it all started at a conference.

Asked to speak about diversity in classical music, he departed from his prepared remarks and instead spoke frankly and off the cuff.

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For Maust, by contrast, assistant professor of music theory at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, the aha moment took place in the classroom, in 2016.

Then an instructor at several schools in Maryland, the Baroque keyboard specialist noticed a troubling aspect of the course materials she was using: they bore little relation to the students sitting right in front of her.

Much like the materials she herself studied 15 years earlier, her texts included no examples by women or people of color. This, despite the field’s increased awareness and appreciation of these figures and the growing diversity of the student body in general.

“I very quickly observed that none of the books had been updated in any way that accounted for racial or gender diversity,” Maust said. “The face [of classical music] is changing, but none of the pedagogical resources we had offered any kind of broader representation.”

Doing the work Jenkins, for his part, continued speaking about his topic until he was commissioned

by Routledge to write what became his book. Then, he said, the pages poured forth, virtually writing themselves.

He researched historic examples of assimilation, including the Carlisle Indian School, as well as schools that secretly taught Lift Every Voice and Sing in lieu of the U.S. national anthem, and from there drew a line to his own and other current observations of the way jazz, gospel, and rap are marginalized at most conservatories.

Overt racism has been “suppressed,” Jenkins said, but “We’re still adhering to this line of thinking, implicitly... It’s just coming out in other ways.”

Maust, too, had no trouble putting her book together, once she’d found her pandemic project and fully committed to it.

Aided by technology and inspired both by the enthusiasm of her students and Philip Ewell’s groundbreaking 2019 article, “Music Theory’s White Racial Frame,” she pored through tens of thousands of pages and there discovered “countless” music theory examples left out of mainstream textbooks.

Plenty were by Black and Latinx composers but the bulk were by women. Most in all categories had long since been forgotten, ignored by earlier scholars. Their music, along with biographical information about the composers, became fodder for her new collection.

“It’s a number I can’t even try to put a value on,” Maust said of the available examples.

“There is a staggering amount of surviving classical music by historical women and/or people of color.”

Making an impact Conveniently, Maust’s book actively solves – or at least helps to solve – the very problem it exposes. To use her book in a classroom is to begin to reverse centuries of unjust neglect.

“In terms of music theory classes, this is an easy first step,” Maust said.

Jenkins, on the other hand, faces a more intractable challenge. No book, no matter how well researched or written, has the power to quickly reform the culture at America’s conservatories and schools of music. Mindsets first need to be changed.

But Assimilation v. Integration is far from purely theoretical. One entire chapter, roughly 20 percent of the book, consists of practical advice for the leaders and staff of music schools seeking to foster a more “integrated” environment.

Jenkins draws on his own observations, interviews, and personal experience in recommending such steps as forming a gospel choir or djembe ensemble, developing courses around hip-hop and the African musical diaspora, and teaching the art of improvisation.

Beyond their shared missions, of course, Maust and Jenkins also have in common their connections to CIM. Both have been shaped or supported by the school in one important way or another.

Jenkins, still a student, said his teachers support his academic endeavors, even as they hone his viola playing. The school itself,

“American classical music needs to be distinct, and so it needs to include Black music,” Jenkins said.

Reception of Maust’s and Jenkins’ work has been uniformly, resoundingly positive.

Even before she self-published her website Expanding the Music Theory Canon, “My colleagues started coming to me, looking for examples,” Maust said. “I realized there was a growing interest in this type of resource.”

Once the website was published in January 2021, the stream of interest became a torrent. Practically overnight, the site had 16,000 users, and SUNY Press contacted her about turning the project into a book. So frequent were the alerts on her phone, she had to turn off the device.

Today, Expanding the Music Theory Canon is in regular use in anywhere from 30 to 60 countries at any given time, and Maust has yet to receive a single word of negative feedback. Her next task will be to develop digital worksheets in collaboration with Auralia and Musition.

“I’m really grateful that so many people around the world are invested in making constructive change to the way we teach music theory,” Maust said.

A more diverse future Response to Assimilation v. Integration has been just as favorable, albeit less dramatic.

For Jenkins, acclaim has come in the form of speaking invitations, more than his busy academic and professional schedule allow him to accept.

Compared to his theoretical, purely musicological work, “I feel like this book is actually more important,” Jenkins said. “The potential benefit for people is much greater.”

Paula Maust

meanwhile, has hosted him as a lecturer at CIM’s 2023 In-Service Day and continues to consult with him in its ongoing campaign to change the face of classical music.

“They’re engaging with it,” Jenkins said.

As for Maust, she credits CIM with planting the seed that blossomed into a career studying Baroque music.

Particularly impactful, in addition to studies with acclaimed organist Todd Wilson, was CIM’s ensemble requirement. This led her to the CWRU Baroque Orchestra, where she soon became enamored of the entire field.

Years later, she’s still playing Baroque keyboard instruments professionally. Only now, she’s not just performing. She’s also giving the performers of tomorrow a wider, more encompassing perspective.

“That really shaped the path my life has taken,” Maust said. “It was there that all the things I was interested in clicked together. I very quickly realized that a career combining music theory, musicology, and historical practice was what I wanted.”

Chris Jenkins

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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT A chamber musician at heart: violinist Diana Cohen (Cohen also studied at CIM with Donald Weilerstein, William Preucil, and Paul Kantor.)

At the time, chamber music was a schoolwide focus at CIM. Cohen recalled having the time of her life playing with and learning abundantly from many who were or would go on to be leaders in the field. By the way, also during that time, Cohen served as concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.

“It was a special experience, just being in that setting,” Cohen said of CIM. Cohen’s success didn’t stop there. In fact, at that point, she was still just getting started.

Violinist Diana Cohen, concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, was the winner of CIM’s 2023 Alumni Achievement Award.

Looking over Diana Cohen’s resume, one might reasonably conclude she is primarily an orchestral musician. After all, she’s been concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012 and before that, she held similar positions with orchestras all over the U.S. But looks can be deceiving. Yes, Cohen, winner of CIM’s 2023 Alumni Achievement Award, treasures her orchestral experience and duties, but in her heart, she is first and foremost a chamber musician, an artist forever seeking to connect with others at the deepest level.

What a career it has been, right from the outset.

Before she’d even completed her bachelor’s degree at CIM, in 2001, Cohen got off to an uncommonly brilliant start, winning the post of concertmaster in the Charleston Symphony. There, though, already, part of the appeal was the city’s bustling chamber scene, her ability to play with colleagues and guests all over the region.

Maybe that’s why she and her father, clarinetist and CIM faculty Franklin Cohen, co-founded ChamberFest Cleveland and later launched ChamberFest West.

Three years later, Cohen was in New York, freelancing with the New York Philharmonic and reveling in collaborative evenings with The Knights and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, among many other ensembles.

“I loved their musicality, and their concerts were always so great,” Cohen said of Orpheus.

“For me, it’s one of the most satisfying ways to make music,” said Cohen, a Cleveland native, at her home in Calgary, from which she’s able to walk to work at Jack Singer Concert Hall. “I’m glad my career has allowed me to do both.”

Chamber music re-entered Cohen’s life in an even bigger way in 2008, when she returned to CIM as a working professional to pursue a master’s degree with violinist and renowned chamber musician Joel Smirnoff, then the school’s newly named president & CEO.

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During and immediately after her second period of study at CIM, Cohen was named assistant concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony in Virginia. Both, she said, were good matches that fulfilled her overlapping desires to lead a section and play chamber music as often as possible.

Still ahead were two moments that would prove even more impactful: the summer at the Ravinia Festival she met pianist Roman Rabinovich, her future husband, and a transformative period at the Marlboro Festival, which inspired her to co-found ChamberFest Cleveland, the high-level summer intensive that stands as something of an institution in its own right.

“My life could have gone in so many different directions, but these are the ones that took hold,” Cohen said.

Richmond might have remained Cohen’s happy home for quite a while had it not been for her older brother, percussionist and CIM alum Alexander Cohen (BM ’06, Weiner/Yancich), who was by then – and still is – principal timpanist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He alerted his sister to the high-profile opening in his orchestra, and for Diana Cohen, the prospect of sharing a stage with her brother was simply too attractive to ignore.

She got the job, of course, and has remained in it ever since. She’s now been in Calgary long enough to rank as one of

the orchestra’s senior members and to have witnessed the group’s transformation from a quality regional orchestra into one of Canada’s premier ensembles.

“The bar is so high now,” Cohen said. “There is so much talent out there, and we’re able to hire really top-notch musicians.”

But Calgary isn’t just home to a fine orchestra. It also has become an outlet for Cohen’s passion for chamber music.

In 2021, along with Rabinovich, Cohen founded ChamberFest West, a Canadian version of the festival she founded back home with her father, the former principal clarinetist of The Cleveland Orchestra.

Like the Cleveland version, it has been well received and grown into a staple in the region.

That’s not all. During the pandemic, Cohen and Rabinovich found another important way to make music with and for their friends: free outdoor concerts.

Violinist Diana Cohen and her husband, pianist Roman Rabinovich, performed at the 2023 Luminaries Benefit at CIM.

While the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra was dormant and much of Canada endured a lengthy lockdown, the husband-and-wife team slaked their thirst for live music by playing outside, inviting their neighbors and other locals to free performances on their property. Like so much else Cohen has launched, the idea proved enormously popular, affecting them and others in ways not even they could have predicted.

“It made us feel much more connected to the community,” Cohen said. “We got to know people in a way we never had before.

Our orbit here got much wider.”

Normal life in Calgary has since resumed, as has Cohen’s musical ascent. In spring 2023, for all the reasons outlined here, the violinist was invited back to CIM to receive that year’s Alumni Achievement Award, the school’s highest honor for younger alumni. Cohen said the experience of being celebrated by her alma mater and delivering a speech to current students, with so many

respected teachers and colleagues in the audience, was magical.

Back in Calgary, no less satisfying to Cohen has been watching her Canadian hometown embrace her the way she has embraced it. Slowly, over time, she said, the city has warmed to and come to expect the adventurous programming that is the norm at ChamberFest West, fulfilling her highest hopes and rekindling the musical fire in her belly.

The latest example? Her husband’s October performance of the Lutosławski Piano Concerto with the Calgary Philharmonic.

She played in the orchestra and it was the embodiment of her highest hopes.

“The audience just went crazy,” Cohen said.

“They really felt connected to the music...

That’s something we always strive to do: open people’s eyes to the possibilities.”

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ALUMNI NEWS Have some news? Visit cim.edu/alumni and click the Share Your News button.

News is accepted on an ongoing basis and may be held for a later issue.

Alumni Kyle Anderson (BM ’17, Laredo) won a cello position in the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Thomas Bandar (MM ’06, Irvine) was appointed instructor of viola at Concordia College.

Evan Fein (BM ’07, Brouwer/Teissonnière) released Over Under, an album featuring him as composer and pianist with cellist Luke Severn.

Dan Flanagan (BM ’01, Cerone) released The Bow and the Brush, a collection of 14 premieres for solo violin, on MSR Classics.

Morgan Flanigan (BM ’22, Brown) won grand prize in the 2023 Chicago International Music Competition, in the Rising Star category.

Chelsea Rose Friedlander (BM ’10, Schiller) won a position in The U.S. Army Chorus.

Katherine Kobylarz (MM ’18, Rose) joined the Naples Philharmonic.

Emma Kosht (BM ’23, Sachs) was named principal librarian of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.

Ji-Yeon Lee (PS ’19, Rose) joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Soo Ji Lee (BM ’17, Brown/Friscioni/ Paik/Pompa-Baldi) won grand prize at the 2023 Young Soloist International Music Competition.

Daniel Lewis (MM ’11, Sachs) was named second trumpet of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Felipe Brito (BM ’17, La Rosa) was named assistant trombone professor and director of jazz studies at Southeast Missouri State University.

Jessamyn Fry (BM ’21, Kraut) won a cello position in the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.

Dean Buck (MM ’19, Topilow) won second prize at the International Italian Conducting Competition.

Meagan Gillis (MM ’14, Yancich) won principal timpani with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Manuel Lok (MM ’23, I. Kaler) joined the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Justine Campagna (AD ’15, Preucil) was appointed associate concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Nathaniel Heyder (BM ’21, Fitch) won the Cabrillo Festival Emerging Black Composers Prize, which entails a premiere at the 2024 festival.

Paula Maust (MM ’12, Wilson) published Expanding the Music Theory Canon, an anthology of women composers and composers of color active before 1900.

Rixiang Huang (BM ’17, Schenly/ Pompa-Baldi) released Eternal Soul on KNS Classical.

Boson Mo (BM ’11, Kantor) was named concertmaster of The Phoenix Symphony.

Jungmin Choi (AD ’20, I. Kaler) won first prize at the Alice Schoenfeld International String Competition.

John Young Shik Concklin (BM ’11, Topilow) was named music director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic.

Nicolas Constantinou (MM ’01, Shapiro) released Hedra, his third album with cellist Péter Somodari, on Odradek Records.

Anthony Cosio-Marron (BM ’18, La Rosa) was named assistant principal trombone of the Nashville Symphony.

Natalie Lin Douglas (BM ’11, MM ’12, Kantor) released an album with the Houston-based Kinetic Ensemble.

Isabelle Ai Durrenberger (BM ’19, Laredo) received a Carnegie Hall Ensemble Connect fellowship.

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Jessica Hung (BM ’07, Rose) was appointed associate concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony.

Caroline Joyner (BM ’20, Kwuon/Zenaty) joined the violin section of the Billings Symphony.

Daniel Kaler (BM ’20, Kosower) was named acting associate principal cello of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Minju Kim (BM ’09, MM ’11, Kantor/Rose) was appointed assistant professor of violin at the Boston University School of Music.

April Kim (MM ’14, Brown/Pontremoli) received a grant from the Korea Foundation to hold a Korean Composers Festival at St. Olaf College.

Jingbei Li (MM ’16, Pompa-Baldi) released Collection of John Cage’s Prepared Piano Music on Beijing Global Audio-Visual.

Maxim Moston (BM ’93, MM ’95, Dachenko/Updegraff/Weilerstein) had works performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, and Louisville Orchestra.

Julian Muller (BM ’15, Laredo) was named artist associate in cello at Williams College.

Chris Neiner (MM ’20, Fitch) was invited to the Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program in Sarasota, FL. Kyung Ah Oh (BM ’15, PS ’17, Kwuon) won a violin position in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Thomas Park (BM ’13, King) was appointed third horn of the Jacksonville Symphony.

Manuel Prestamo (BM ’72, Dick/Levine) won a 2023 National Association of Latino Arts and Culture award for his play From Cuba with Love.

Scott Price (MM ’91, Hecht) was named 2023 Teacher of the Year by the South Carolina Music Teachers Association.

Alexander Pride (BM ’09, Sachs) won a temporary position in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Gabriel Ramos (MM ’22, Kraut) joined the Louisville Orchestra.

Austin Williams (BM ’15, Sachs) joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Karl Wohlwend (MM ’93, Holmquist) was named associated faculty in guitar at The Ohio State University.

Eric Wong (BM ’08, MM ’10, Kantor/ Ramsey) was named assistant professor of viola at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.

Muyan Yang (BM ’23, I. Kaler/O. Kaler) won third prize at the 2023 Eugène Ysaÿe International Music Competition.

STUDENTS

Michael Isaac Ripple (BM ’20, Rosenwein) co-founded the Horizon Series in the Washington, DC area.

Gabe Gaw (double bass, Dixon) won a position in the Canton Symphony Orchestra.

Alberto Rodriguez (JMP ’15, Horvath) was named music director of the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra.

Chris Jenkins (viola, Ramsey/Irvine) published Assimilation v. Integration in Music Education on Routledge Press.

Joshua Rodriguez (MM ’11, Fitch) was named associate professor of music at Elmhurst University.

Muyu Liu (piano, Pompa-Baldi) won second prize in the Gunma International Music Competition.

Sami Seif (BM ’21, Fitch/Reese) won the Earplay Vibrant Shores Composition Prize.

Joseph Skerik (BM ’22, Irvine) joined the Vega Quartet and the faculty at Emory University.

Jaclyn Surso (BM ’08, MM ’09, Schiller) was named adjunct professor of voice at High Point University.

Gerald Torres (PS ’11, Bradetich/Dimoff) joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Misha Vayman (BM ’15, Kwuon) joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Alyssa Warcup (BM ’21, Irvine) released a recording of Montgomery’s Rhapsody No. 1 with the American Viola Society.

FACULTY Yolanda Kondonassis (harp, BM ’86, MM ’89, Chalifoux) was named one of Musical America’s 2023 Top Professionals.

Mary Le Rouge (writing) published How Environmental Humanities Classes Can Promote Practical Responses to Environmental Change with Michigan State University Press.

IN MEMORIAM Adrian Daly passed away Aug. 19. 2023.

He served as Dean of the Conservatory from 2009-15.

Robert Gries passed away Oct. 27, 2023.

He was a CIM Trustee from 1987-94.

Mirjam Ingolfsson (1994-96, Harris) passed away Aug. 21, 2023. She co-founded The Leopold Mozart Academy and was a founding member of Archi Celesti.

Russell Miller passed away July 11, 2023. He was a member of CIM’s piano faculty from 1999-2001.

Mildred Miller Posvar (BM ’46) passed away Nov. 29, 2023. She was one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her day and co-founded what is now Pittsburgh Festival Opera.

Joseph Rush (BM ’93, MM ’95, Wilson) passed away Aug. 23, 2023. He was a longtime member of the American Guild of Organists and a nearly lifelong church musician.

Delmar Stewart passed away Aug. 12, 2023. He had been a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1977 and taught at CIM from 1967-70.

André Watts passed away July 12, 2023.

The world-renowned pianist, educator, and recording artist was a member of CIM’s International Council.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi (piano) received rave reviews in Gramophone for his live recording from the 2022 Rarities of Piano Music Festival.

Gerardo Teissonnière (piano, BM ’85, MM ’89, Vronsky Babin) released an album of Schubert’s complete impromptus on the Steinway & Sons label.

WINTER 2024 | 21

LIFETIME GIVING Thank you to the many supporters past and present who have made a CIM education possible for generations and continue to shape the future of classical music. Below are some of the most generous donors, whose lifetime giving to CIM has exceeded $250,000 (as of December 10, 2023). $10,000,000+ Cuyahoga Arts & Culture The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust $5,000,000–$9,999,999 Kulas Foundation Barbara and Mal* Mixon $2,500,000–$4,999,999 Gay C.* and Edward Addicott Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Callahan* Elizabeth D. Hicks* State of Ohio Barbara S. Robinson (HDMA ’06)* $1,000,000–$2,499,999 Hope S. and Stanley I. Adelstein* Mr. and Mrs. A. Chace Anderson Vitya Vronsky Babin Foundation Eleanor H. Biggs* The Cleveland Foundation Mr. and Mrs. John D. Gilliam Clive and Mary* Hamlin Linda Harper and Jim Martin* Jean and Dick Hipple Mort* and Emilie Kadish The Kresge Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Alexander McAfee* John P. Murphy Foundation Ohio Arts Council Partners for CIM The Payne Fund Dick (HDMA ’06) and Pat* Pogue Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin The Reinberger Foundation Susan Rothmann, Philip Paul, and Jeremy Paul Edith H. Smith* Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Thomas United States Department of Education Anonymous

$500,000–$999,999 Ms. Ruth Beckelman* Helen C. Brown* Ann C. and Hugh Calkins Irad (BM ’87, MM ’88) and Rebecca (BM ’87, MM ’89) Carmi Mr. Arthur L. Charni* Larry B. Faigin* The GAR Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Glickman* Margaret R. Griffiths Trust The George Gund Foundation Tom and Iris Harvie The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation Mr.* and Mrs. Daryl A. Kearns KeyBank Dr. Vilma L. Kohn* Mr. Richard A. Manuel* National Endowment for the Arts NewBrook Partners C.K. “Pat” Patrick* and Nancy Patrick Jane Kottler Post* Audrey and Albert B. Ratner Gail and Elliott Schlang Mrs. Bert E. Siegel* The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Anonymous (2) $250,000–$499,999 Paul M. Angell Family Foundation John and Elizabeth Aten Mrs. Marguerite A. Barany* Mr. and Mrs.* Eugene J. Beer Mr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Buescher, Jr. M.E. & F.J. Callahan Foundation Delores Comey* Robert Conrad (HDMA ’98) Charlie and Grosvie Cooley Virginia Deupree Crumb (BM ’77) and Carl & Jeanne Crumb Dr. Mark H. Curley Mr. and Mrs. John D. Drinko*

Rebecca and George* Dunn Alice S. Feiman (BM ’32, MM ’36) William O. & Gertrude Lewis Frohring Foundation The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation The Dorothea Wright Hamilton Fund Mrs. Beverly S. Harris* The Hershey Foundation The Albert M. Higley Co. George M. and Pamela S. Humphrey Fund Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. Carter Kissell* Joy Miller Kiszely* Emma Lincoln* Mrs. Elliot L. Ludvigsen* Charles and Sue Marston Mr. Joseph B. McClelland* Meldrum & Fewsmith Communications The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Laura Ingrid Messing* Edith and Ted Miller* David and Inez Myers Foundation Ohio Department of Higher Education Mr. and Mrs. Raymond P. Park The Ranney Scholarship Fund Peter J. Reichl* Sam and Sarah Sato* Astri Seidenfeld Kevin and Kristen Stein Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Taplin, Jr.* Carole Hershey Walters Ms. Annette E. Willis*

Every year, individuals, corporations, and foundations contribute generously to the Cleveland Institute of Music, directly supporting the transformative music education of CIM students. Through this incredible commitment and community of donors, CIM empowers the world’s most talented classical music students to achieve their dreams and potential.

Make your contribution to CIM with a meaningful gift of any size at cim.edu/donate or contact a member of CIM’s development team at 216.795.3160.

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*deceased

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Be the Future of Classical Music Every year, hundreds of classical music students walk through our doors to have access to some of the best training opportunities in the world. We are grateful to the hundreds who help ensure the next generation of classical musicians has access to these experiences by making donations to CIM’s Annual Fund every year.

Deepen your investment in the future of classical music by making a gift to CIM’s Annual Fund using the QR code or visit cim.edu/donatenow.

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