University of South Carolina School of Music

DA CAPO 2017-2018 Alumni Magazine

2017–2018 Da Capo is the annual alumni magazine of the University of South Carolina School of Music.

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Send your alumni updates to ewoodoff@mozart.sc.edu.

On the cover

In this Issue 4

The Vision and Excellence of Bernstein’s MASS

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Discourse in Honor of Leonard Bernstein’s Centenary

8 Students Spotlight MASS Experience

More than 5,300 people from around the region and beyond experienced the full-scale production of the epic work, Bernstein MASS, performed on March 2, 3 and 4, 2018, at the Koger Center for the Arts.

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Top Student Awards and Grants

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Spark: Carolina’s Music Leadership Laboratory

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Celebrating the Legacy of Black Activist and Scholar Richard Greener

Tayloe Harding, dean, executive editor Ellen Woodoff, writer/editor/art director

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Singing, Learning and Making a Difference Abroad

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Alumni in the Spotlight

13 Faculty Achievements 14 Memoriams

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New and Retiring Faculty and Staff

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New Endowments Established

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Faculty News

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Student News

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Alumni News

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2017-2018 Donors

A message from Dean Tayloe Harding We are familiar with music’s unique power to emotionally move us and to help us imagine the unimaginable. Much of what we do as makers and teachers of music is to advance these vital aspects of human endeavor… and then many of us choose to make our lives in music in order to always do it. And yet, when we read the stories in this issue of Da Capo we are so profoundly reminded of another of music’s mystic and undefinable qualities – its potency to inspire and to motivate others into action for positive force in the world.

The notations of several of our laudable alumni achievements (p. 12) not only recognize music’s role in our lives as nurturer and protector, but also – realized through their industriousness and determination – that music is a dynamic for change, a shot in the arm for activism for good. Our faculty features on p. 13, and the manifold accomplishments of the three recently deceased members of our Carolina music community mentioned on p. 14, affirm music’s critical function as a bridge from where we are and what we currently know and feel to the previously unattainable.

Our vibrant school, on the edge of so much new and necessary, is made up of people who know the value of music to people. The distinctive projects in which our faculty and students have engaged on p. 11 are testaments to this value. Our deepest and most poignant of 2017-18 manifestations of the influence of music to provoke and impel, however, was the unforgettable production of the Bernstein MASS and a national public music discourse conference we mounted to complement it in March. The first nine pages of this issue illuminate the story of this enterprise and its impact, and as it should be for a demonstration of music as social and moral catalyst such as this, the stories of MASS and its impact here are told by students, faculty, and audience members alike. The essence of this great work IS PRECISELY the power of activation for all who encounter it, whether as performers or as witnessers.

Your School of Music intends to more fully embrace and explore possibilities to observe music’s potential to arouse as well as to move, and we hope you will wish to engage with us as we do. Such work is never complete until we are all contributing to it.

Forever to Thee,

Tayloe Harding

It takes vision and artistic excellence to perform Bernstein’s epic MASS “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” – Leonard Bernstein The power and poignancy of music was on full display during the School of Music’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers. More than 5,300 people from around the region and beyond experienced the full-scale production of the epic work performed on March 2, 3 and 4, 2018, at the Koger Center for the Arts.

learned. MASS was found to be the work that would stretch both the school and the university and that would be an opportunity for various performing arts groups at UofSC to work together in a way they rarely do. In addition to students across many areas of the School of Music, dancers from the UofSC dance program also took part in the massive production.

The Free Times headline announced, “USC’s

Stage director Ellen Douglas Schlaefer notes, “What a wonderful opportunity for our students to dig into the work of a truly American musical genius. Throughout his life, both as a composer and a conductor, Bernstein sought the “American” sound. His affinity for jazz, his Broadway works, the repertoire he chose as a conductor, are all clues to why there are so many styles in MASS – and why the work can be hard to label.

Bernstein’s biographer, Humphrey Burton, said ‘At the heart of MASS, more than social or religious concern was Bernstein’s passion for peace.’ The MASS was written at a time of great political debate in our country – debates that never end as we go on learning what democracy can and should be.”

Immense Production of MASS Worth the Hype.”

Reviewer David Lowry wrote, “MASS is an immense undertaking in terms of personnel, time, expense, and above all, artistic expertise.

Those privileged to witness this event will not forget it.”

The School of Music set out to do something that the vast majority of our students could join together to do in one big production – where there would be a synthesis of all they have

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S. Andrews Photography

“At the University of South Carolina School of Music, our mission is to transform lives through excellence in music. At this current time of social and civil unrest we felt it presented an apt moment for us to demonstrate that mission in a distinctive way, and the 2018 centenary of Bernstein’s birth afforded us an excellent opportunity to bring this epic stage production to life and revisit the inclusiveness and hopefulness this remarkable work inspires.”

– School of Music Dean Tayloe Harding.

Guest artist Kevin Vortmann reflected, “I’m hopeful that my time spent with each of the smaller groups and the groups at large is informative to their process here at the university, that it doesn’t just feel like, ‘Oh, they brought in this guy and he sang a part and then he walked away.’ That when people have questions, I can answer them, and I can try to speak to them as a musician, and maybe that’s the first time that many of these instrumentalists have heard a soloist talk about, like, ‘Hey, why don’t we think about it this way, musically?’ And just sort of understand that it’s not this hierarchy of soloists and musicians, it’s that we’re all making music together. That’s my philosophy behind it. And I hope that that is being passed along to the student population that is involved.”

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“What is American Music? In fact, there are so many different qualities in our music that it would take much too long to list them; there are as many sides to American music as there are to the American people – our great, varied, many-sided democracy. Maybe that’s the main quality of all – our many-sidedness. Think of all the races and personalities from all over the globe that make up our country; and when we think of that we can understand why our own folk music is so complicated. We’ve taken it all in, French, Dutch, German, Scotch, Scandinavian, Italian, and all the rest, and learned it from one another, borrowed it, stolen it, cooked it all up in a melting pot. So what our composers are finally nourished on, is a folk music that is probably the richest in the world, and all of it is American, in spirit, whether it’s jazz, or square-dance tunes, or cowboy songs, or hillbilly music, or rock and roll, or Cuban mambas, or Mexican huapangos, or Missouri hymn-singing.” – Leonard Bernstein

Bernstein MASS wins Free Times Best of Columbia 1st Place Best Local Theater Production and Honorable Mention Best Concert “From its huge scope to its stark but beautiful modern set design, to the sensational performances (particularly Kevin Vortmann as the Celebrant, one of the most demanding roles you’ll find on the stage), to the honest treatment of the 1971 piece’s still resonant exploration of spirituality and religion, the University of South Carolina’s production of the Bernstein masterwork lived up to the hype.”

– Free Times

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MASS By the Numbers: 24 months planning 12 months of marketing 6 months of rehearsing 205 performers 102 singers 88 instrumentalists 15 Dancers Audience of almost 6,000

Public Music Discourse: In Honor of the Bernstein Centenary J. Daniel Jenkins

The School of Music hosted “Public Music Discourse: In Honor of the Bernstein Centenary,” March 2–3, 2018.

This interdisciplinary conference, which met jointly with Music Theory Southeast and the American Musicological Society Southeast Chapter, attracted scholars not only from the southeast region, but from across the US and abroad. Inspired both by Bernstein’s ability to communicate to a general audience about complex musical questions and his interests in social justice, the participants gathered to celebrate Bernstein’s legacy and discuss how to carry it forward. In addition to sessions dedicated to Bernstein’s life and work, presenters focused on other historical models of public music engagement, including harmonica clubs that flourished in 1920s and the public music theory of George Bernard Shaw. Another speaker demonstrated how the public music discourse in African American publications such as the Indianapolis Freeman and the Chicago Defender provided readers a body of knowledge about concerts and music that they could not attend in person, effectively resisting and subverting the power structures in place during the Jim Crow era. Others spoke about the power of music to effect social change, including presentations about community art projects involving immigrant populations and prison inmates, or class projects focused on using music to help seniors with memory loss. Taken together, the speakers demonstrated that while his abilities to elucidate musical issues may never be equaled, Bernstein will have many successors dedicated to public engagement in the decades to come.

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Students Focus on Bernstein’s MASS The School of Music set out to do something that the majority of our students could join together to do in one big production – where there would be a synthesis of all they have learned. MASS was found to be the work that stretched both the school and the university and was an opportunity for various performing arts groups at UofSC to work together in a way they rarely do.

Andrea Vogt, junior education major with a certificate in violin performance, performed in the orchestra.

Andrea Vogt was in the pit with the USC Symphony Orchestra on violin. “MASS was such a monumental work, both physically and emotionally. Dr. Weiss explained it best – he said, ‘MASS is much bigger than any of us.’ MASS was important to me because it connected me with hundreds of musicians, both majors and non-majors, friends and strangers, kids and adults. I had the chance to collaborate with those I had never met to create something that had such a wide impact on this community.” When asked what she was most surprised about, Vogt said, “I was surprised at how much there was to learn about the piece, I picked up on something new with every run-through. There are so many hidden jokes, nuances, puns and connections to be made, and I had so much fun listening for them.” It was a tremendous learning experience for Vogt. “MASS taught me to never underestimate my professors and colleagues. In order to pull this off, every one of the 200 performers involved needed to put 100% confidence and trust in Dr. Weiss and in each other, and I felt that everyone really rallied together to create such successful performances of this impactful work.”

“Looking out into the audience and knowing we had touched so many of them with our story truly moved me,” said Margaret Eighmey who performed as a street singer. “MASS was such an amazing experience. Fully staged performances are put on so rarely in the professional world, so it was amazing that we had the number of people and resources to pull it off as a university.

It was definitely a piece that grew on me. I didn’t really understand what to do or how to interpret it at first. When the show really started coming together in rehearsals I began to identify with my character and her confusion, and I started to understand the importance of what we were doing. I was really surprised about how my character grew throughout the rehearsal process.” Eighmey continued, “I had so much fun working with the dancers. We didn’t have them with us for the majority of the rehearsal process so it was awesome when we finally got to see all of the hard work they had put in to the show.”

Margaret and husband Tyler Eighmey, worked together on the life-changing production as Street Singers.

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“I have been Ellen Schlaefer’s directing student for two years,” said Tyler Eighmey, “and I was excited to be cast in a production at USC. It was the first opportunity to perform with my newlywed, and although our characters did not get along on stage, we enjoyed our premiere as a married couple. My fondest memory was early in the process, watching Kevin Vortmann sing his Fraction aria for the first time in rehearsal. We were all stunned into silence; we took a five minute break, passed around tissues and got back to work. Second fondest memory: seeing our program on billboards and in newspapers all around the state!” Seeing what the dancers were able to bring to the process was something that the majority of the cast was not used to, and Eighmey enjoyed watching the collaborative process of the professors. Asked what was something important he learned from MASS, Eighmey said, “I think the most important thing I learned from MASS is not to lose sight of why we are doing this. In theatre, there can be many different factors that can lead to breakdowns and stressful situations, but we are all here because we believe we can truly help people with our stories. Patience and kindness go much farther than other avenues.”

Kelley Powell’s fondest memory was watching Kevin Vortmann act and perform during the show when she wasn’t singing in the choir. “His character’s transformation was quite drastic, and it was incredible to see his flexibility of emotional portrayal. I was really moved when he broke down towards the end of the show – you can hear his character’s pain and insecurity in his voice when he sings.

I also loved working with Dr. Weiss and the opera cast because it showed a glimpse of what their individual ensembles and rehearsals are like…I really appreciated how everyone was so incredibly prepared by the time we got to putting all the pieces together on stage. I am so proud to have been a part of this production!”

Music education and Honors College student Kelley Powell sung in the Concert Choir

“I was amazed by the work each department had accomplished before we all came together for the first dress rehearsal less than a week before opening night,” said Mimi Harding. “The musicians, cast, dancers, and crew were all prepared, which made fitting our pieces together almost effortless. It was interesting to observe how the dancers rehearsed and executed their choreography with the music. In some ways, it was different from how the musicians thought of the phrases, and to see their perspective opened up the piece for us in a whole new light.” When asked why MASS was important to her, Harding said, “Performing in MASS was an influential experience that contributed to my professional development in a pit orchestra; I learned to listen up-and-back in order to align with the performers on stage and to better prepare intense, lengthy repertoire. The work itself impacted my understanding of tolerance and proved to be a profound representation of the position our world currently finds itself.”

Mimi Harding was flute soloist nearing the emotional end of Bernstein’s MASS.

Top Awards Presented at USC’s Award Day Katelyn Dusek - The Pruzin Music Leadership Award, given to the senior in the Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Arts programs who has demonstrated the most outstanding leadership skills in service, teaching, academic studies and music performance.

AnnaBelle Lusk - The Arthur M. Fraser Award, presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in the Bachelor of Arts in Music or the Bachelor of Music with emphasis in performance, theory or composition.

William Moon - The Cantey Award for Excellence, presented to a rising senior music major who best exemplifies excellence in scholarship (as measured by grade point average), musicianship (as measured by significant contributions to USC music ensembles and performances), and service (as measured

by participation in school, university or civic organizations).

Austen Smith - The Presser Scholar Award, given by the Presser Foundation to recognize an outstanding music major at the end of his or her junior year. It is a prestigious award that recognizes not only the excellence of the student recipient, but the music unit as well, since relatively few music schools across the nation are authorized to present this award.

Allison Whisnant - The Robert Van Doren Award, presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in the Bachelor of Music program with emphasis in Music Education. The award is given in honor of Dr. Van Doren, who served as professor of organ and coordinator of music education from 1946-1978.

Magellan Scholars This program enriches the academic experience of undergraduates with research opportunities. Through the faculty mentoring relationship and professional research experience, students explore their interests in-depth, giving them a competitive edge in the job market and when applying for graduate or professional schools.

Judson James Mentors: Wendy Valerio and Jeremiah Shepherd (computer science and engineering) Developing an app to examine young children’s music development through serious gaming Josie Cox and Joshua Stine Mentor: Jennifer Parker Harley A Comparison of Coaching and Teaching in the Private Music Lesson Setting

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Spark: Carolina’s Music Leadership Laboratory Transforming Meaningful Ideas into Opportunity Spark’s Creativity in Teaching Grants aid in the development and implementation of creative elements in teaching – encouraging a creative musical culture, experimentation with new ideas, collaboration between faculty, positive impact on students, activities and initiatives that support the School of Music’s values, and differentiating the School as a national leader.

Preparing musicians as educators and diversely skilled musicians

Jennifer Parker-Harley: Pop-Up Music School as part of Sounds Around Town The Sounds Around Town event was conceived as the musical equivalent to public art – a series of outdoor performances in public spaces allowing citizens to interact with the music on their own terms while offering students a different performance experience. To expand the outreach and impact of Sounds Around Town, the Pop-Up Music School was added. Booths displaying the four families of instruments were set up during the Soda City Market on Main Street in April. Passersby were encouraged to visit for minilessons on any wind, brass and string instrument of their choosing. The response was overwhelmingly positive, as people of all ages stopped by for lessons taught by School of Music students. The event was organized by Jennifer Parker-Harley and flute teaching assistants Jenny Davis and Emily Stumpf, with help from the flute studio.

Developing diversely skilled musicians

Gail Barnes: Kishi Bashi Concert and Workshop Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi. Shortly after he debuted his solo album “151a” on Joyful Noise Recordings, NPR All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen listed him as his favorite new artist

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of 2012, noting that he created “a radiant, uplifting soundscape.” The students in the String Methods course benefited from hearing the highly distinctive and innovative Ishibashi. He taught teachers and children skills they could pursue to be diversely skilled musicians and enriched the experience of the teachers and students of the String Project.

Fostering a culture of excellence and student success

Michael Harley: Bassoons in Schools Bassoons in Schools creates more young S.C. bassoonists and nurtures players who could make an impact at UofSC should they decide to pursue a career in music. The program paid eight UofSC students who taught at six middle and high schools in the economically disadvantaged Richland One school system. Many do not have a single bassoonist in their band program, directors often don’t feel qualified to teach it, and families aren’t able to pay for or travel to lessons. UofSC students receive intensive pedagogy seminars and attend on-site lessons to give each student targeted feedback. Middle and high school students are required to give back to the university community by serving as ushers for selected events at Carolina. Daniel Goodmond, high school band director said, “The Bassoons in Schools program provided a valuable resource to our students in Richland One. We are thankful to have the program and hope that it continues!”

(Top) Pop-Up Music School (bottom) Kishi Bashi Concert and Workshop

Spark’s Creativity in Music Awards support students by giving them a framework for expanding boundaries, taking chances and discovering their personal voice.

First Prize Award ($1500) Keri Lee Pierson and Christopher Schoelen – “iPlay: An Audience Perspective on New Music” invites audiences to learn about New Music through instrument creation, rehearsals and performances.

Second Prize Award ($1000) Brianna Futch – “Brianna’s Hungry Fantasy,” brings accessibility to classical repertoire through re-imagining the traditional setting by pairing food with music. The audience was encouraged to chat with neighbors and clap at will. A relaxed environment changes the tradition by putting the focus on having fun.

Third Prize Award ($500) Danielle Wood – “Mathemusik” connects music and math in classroom presentations to explore creative ways to integrate music and other arts into academic subjects through teacher collaboration.

Worth Lewallen – “A Night at the Pub” introduces an interactive recital designed to emulate a traditional Irish pub, the ideal environment for exploring how people traditionally interact with Irish music.

Michelle Beck – “Downtown Sounds” presents live performances at four alternate venues, mimicking places visited during a Saturday night.

Mimi Harding – “Humor Me, Please,” a musical comedy show concert based on original music that takes audiences through an emotional rollercoaster where grief, optimism, apathy and hysteria are all simulated by the sonic experience.

Celebrating a Life and Legacy We celebrated the life and legacy of Richard Theodore Greener, renowned black activist and scholar, with an event of world premieres by composers Valerie Coleman and Jeff Scott of the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds, performed by faculty and students. Greener’s larger-than-life story is one of academic achievement, professional success and civic service, played out mostly in the tumultuous years after the U.S. Civil War. The first black graduate of Harvard College, he became the first black faculty member at the University of South Carolina during Reconstruction. He was the first black U.S. diplomat to a predominately-white country, serving in Vladivostok, Russia. A notable speaker and writer for racial equality, he also served as a dean of the Howard University School of Law and as the administrative head of the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Association. Yet he died in obscurity, his name barely remembered. His statue, at 9 feet tall, erected at Carolina in April is a fitting honor.

Commissioned by sculptor Jon Hair, the work is installed near Thomas Cooper Library.

Alicia W. Walker, associate director of choral studies, brought the world experience to choral students through travel to England and South Africa.

Seven graduate students in choral conducting spent USC Music Education student Zach Parisher teaching at Re Shomile Primary School in Johannesburg on Nelson Mandela Day. 10 days in England studying, singing and immersing themselves in the English countryside.

The students took a course in British Choral Literature that culminated in a Pilgrimage Tour that took them to London, Kent and Canterbury. Undergraduate students experienced service-learning and music education in South Africa, teaching at schools in Johannesburg and Pretoria and participating in workshops led by Dr. Walker at Wits University. The study abroad experience was facilitated by Dr. Walker’s International Partnership for Choral Music Education that offers continuing education to choral directors in South Africa who would not normally have access to it. The students were also treated to encounters of historical and cultural sites in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.

Singing, Learning and Making a Difference

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Alumni Spotlights The Pioneering Work of Baljinder Sekhon The Philadelphia Inquirer said about Baljinder Sekhon, he “clearly knows the power of sonority.” Sekhon’s music has been presented in over 500 concerts in 20 countries, from works for large ensemble to solo works to electronic music, demonstrating a wide range of interests and styles. His compositions for saxophone and percussion instruments are widely recognized as pioneering work in those genres with numerous performances, CD recordings and guest lecture appearances. His works have been released on over 10 commercial recordings, including the recent portrait album of his percussion works “Places and Times” on Innova Recordings.

The U.S. Army Band, Pershing’s Own, presented a concert of Sekhon’s chamber music in Arlington, Virginia, in 2017, and his saxophone works were presented at Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and at the EurSax2017 Conference. His recent “Double Percussion Concerto” and his choral work “There Are No Words” were both premiered at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium Perelman Stage. His new orchestral work “The Offering,” a 22-minute, three-movement concerto for saxophone and orchestra, received its premiere by saxophonist Doug O’Connor and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

Sekhon serves as assistant professor of composition at the University of South Florida where he received a 2017 Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher Award. He holds the Ph.D. and Master of Arts from the Eastman School of Music where he is a three-time recipient of the Howard Hanson Orchestral prize and served as president of the highly acclaimed OSSIA New Music Ensemble. 2002 B.M., music theory/composition

Andy Akiho is Breaking the Mold Andy Akiho, an eclectic composer and performer of contemporary classical music, is described as “mold-breaking, alert and alive, dramatic, and vital” by The New York Times.

Recent engagements include commissioned premieres by the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble ACJW, a performance with the Los

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Angeles Philharmonic, and three concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Akiho’s debut CD “No One To Know One,” on Innova Recordings, features brilliantly crafted compositions that pose intricate rhythms and exotic timbres around his primary instrument, the steel pan.

Born in 1979 in Columbia, SC, he is now based in New York City. He’s a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, achieving a Master in Music in contemporary performance there, as well as a Master of Music in composition at the Yale School of Music. Still stretching his potential, Akiho now pursues a Ph.D. in composition at Princeton University.

2001 B.M. percussion performance

Nola Jones Shines Light on Music Education More than 20 years ago Nola Jones was well-known as a marching band judge and clinician. She is so well plugged into the band world that she serves as judge coordinator for many states, assembling judging panels for the state marching band championships. Jones’ presentation at the 2017 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic was a huge hit with standing room only.

She started her doctoral program at UofSC and “while she was in town,” said Jerry Gatch, director of bands at Newberry College, “I had her out to work with my bands at Lexington High School. Through these experiences I learned how intelligent, talented and passionate she is. I think her most distinguishing characteristic is her ability to relate to every person with whom she comes in contact. I’ve heard great things from colleagues in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools,” where she’s now the director of visual and performing arts for Metropolitan Nashville public schools. “We shared a unique bond when doing our doctorates together. Many of our classes were taught by Dr. William J. Moody and Mr. James K. Copenhaver. Nola and I were a few years older than the other students in the various graduate courses, so our real life experiences allowed us to inject most classes with true anecdotes of humor and reality. Those moments affirmed with each of us that we all go through similar trials as educators and conductors. Dr. Moody and Mr. Copenhaver used us to springboard discussions and topics relevant to the curriculum.

I know that Nola would credit the USC School of Music and these outstanding professors for her growth and development.”

Faculty Achievements Upcoming Books Available in 2019

Professor of guitar Christopher Berg has secured contracts from two high-level academic presses for his two recent books. Routledge Press is publishing, “Music Practice Past & Present: Historic Virtuosi on Practicing

by Design.” For all musicians, the practice book explores the relationship between documented practices of legendary musicians of the past – Hofmann, Flesch, Rachmaninoff and others – with modern neurological and psychological research. Oxford University Press is publishing “Classical Guitar Companion,” a large work designed to accompany students through four to five years of study. Oxford is particularly excited about the Companion book because, as the editor put it, “it straddles pedagogy and musicology in a unique and compelling way.”

Both books are complete and will be available in 2019.

Cantey Outstanding Faculty Award Dr. J. Daniel Jenkins, associate professor of music theory, was awarded the Cantey Outstanding Faculty Award, presented to a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary dedication to the School of Music in the areas of teaching, performance, scholarship and service.

Recognition for Pedagogy Achievements The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy received the 2018 Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by The Music Teachers National Association to individuals and organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions to music and music teaching. Dr. Scott Price is in his third term as President of the Board of Trustees of the Center, a non-profit educational institution that serves local, national and international audiences through the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, Clavier Companion magazine, The New School for Music Study, the online piano pedagogy academic journal “Piano Pedagogy Forum” for which Price is creator and editor-inchief, and several print publications. The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy is only the third organization to receive this recognition in the 28 years MTNA has presented the award. Price, professor of piano and piano pedagogy and founder and director of the Carolina LifeSong

Initiative, regularly presents solo “sensory-friendly” recital performances, and co-authors the “Inclusive Piano Teaching Blog” for teachers who work with students with special needs. This past year he presented the first ever live teaching demonstration with a student with autism at The National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and was invited guest recitalist and clinician at the “Celebrating the Spectrum” autism summit at Michigan State University, the Alberta Piano Teachers Association in Canada, and the University of Michigan and University of Miami. Additional appearances included lectures at the national conference of the Music Teachers National Association, and guest webinars on teaching special learners for The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy and The Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada.

Universally Praised for Support and Work with Young Music Educators Nominated by a group of former students and current music educators for her work with the South Carolina Gordon Institute for Music Learning, Dr. Wendy Valerio is the recipient of the 2018 South Carolina Music Educators Association’s Deborah Smith Hoffman Mentor Award. The award gives recognition to a member who has made a significant contribution to the field of music education and has served as a mentor to music educators in South Carolina, demonstrating the highest ideals and professional integrity. Valerio, professor of music and director of the Children’s Music Development Center, was universally praised for supporting and working with young music educators well beyond their graduation from USC. She was presented the award at the annual SCMEA Professional Development Conference. The award is named in honor of Deborah Smith Hoffman, a life-long enthusiast and advocate for the visual and performing arts. Dr. Hoffman began her career as an elementary music teacher and then moved on to serve as the director of the Arts in the Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project and the Education Associate for the Visual and Performing Arts at the South Carolina State Department of Education. In honor of Dr. Hoffman’s devotion to promoting arts education in South Carolina, she received the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award from the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Lifetime Achievement Award for the SC Art Education Association in 2005. Dr. Hoffman was inducted into the South Carolina Music Educators Association Hall of Fame in 2006.

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Gone but Never Forgotten

John Kenneth Adams, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, passed away April 29, 2018, after a long illness. The beloved former pianist and faculty member was proud of his endowed account at the UofSC Foundation that provides for the financial needs of students beyond scholarships, and he was excited that we had used it in recent years to help support the international travel grants created in 2013. Professor Adams came to Carolina in 1964 as a professor of piano and piano literature and was the soloist with the South Carolina Philharmonic on their first subscription concert in 1964. He established the Concerto-Aria Competition with Arthur Fraser, the Friends of Music Recital Series “Piano Portraits,” “Sundays at Lowman” piano recital series, and the fall festival of chamber concerts. His students won many prestigious competitions including the MTNA Young Artist Competition, Dimitri Mitropoulos Scholarships, and Rotary International Fellowships. His students have won the USC Symphony Concerto Competition and performed with the South Carolina Philharmonic.

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Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus, Dr. William J. Moody, passed away on April, 3, 2018. We are deeply grateful for his years of service to the School of Music and UofSC. Dr. Moody became head of the USC department of music, now the School of Music, in 1973 and during his tenure to 1990, music major enrollment rose to more than 400, full-time music faculty nearly doubled to 39, and the first doctoral students were accepted into the program. The School became a major center for music study in the southeast, and he founded the renowned USC String Project. During his years as director of bands, he wrote articles on band pedagogy printed in music education journals, and in 1990 he edited the book “Artistic Intelligences, Implications for Education.” He was on the first board of directors of the National Band Association and was president of that organization, a member of NBA’s Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts, and the NBA Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors.

Anna Marian Stanley Tucker, age 90, died peacefully on August 25, 2018, in Columbia, SC. She had a long and distinguished career as a gifted concert pianist and teacher, and her thousands of students remained lifelong friends.

She was honored by UofSC with the establishment of a permanent endowment in 2005, spearheaded by parents and students who wished to recognize and express appreciation for her lasting influence upon their lives. The Marian Stanley Tucker Guest Lecture Series was created as part of the Southeastern Piano Festival offering workshops with international authorities on piano pedagogy. Upon her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1948, having won top prize in a competition sponsored by the Associated Concert Bureau, the New York Herald Tribune stated that Marian was “...quite a pianist in the grand manner...an astonishing technique and tone, and a fine sense of poetry and romance.” In 1963, she was the first piano soloist to perform on the premiere concert given by the Columbia Festival Orchestra, now the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra. Joseph Rackers, associate professor of piano, said “She had a profound impact on music and culture throughout the state due to her vision and devotion to the arts and the remarkable accomplishments of her former students. She will be deeply missed.”

New Faculty and Staff

Jack Eaddy

Serena Hill-LaRoche

Amanda Schlegel

Faculty Jack A. Eaddy, Jr., band and music education instructor, assists with the Carolina Band, other athletic bands and conducts the University Band. He also teaches classes in music education.

Serena Hill-LaRoche, instructor of voice, is an active concert artist, a finalist in the Southeast Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, a NATS Artist Award Regional Finalist, and Bizet Award winner for the Orpheus.

Amanda Schlegel is assistant professor of instrumental music education. Her research interests surround music perception and cognition as a function of instrumental music teacher/ conductor effectiveness, music teacher education, and affective and emotional responses to music.

Staff top left to right: Stefanie Brown, Caroline Earp, Alexandra Fife Staff bottom left to right: Michael Gibson, Jannie Noon, Mary Peak

Staff Stefanie Brown - travel and special event coordinator Caroline Earp - development coordinator Alexandra Fife - administrative assistant, USC Bands Michael Gibson - facilities supervisor Jannie Noon - administrative coordinator USC Bands Mary Peak - assistant dean of finance

A Fond Farewell to Those Retiring

Robert Jesselson, Andrea Pouncy, Tim Crenshaw

Andrew Gowan

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New Endowments Established to Support Music Students

Top performer of tuba, Travis Moffitt, senior performance major, is the first recipient of the Jim and Jamie Self Tuba Endowment Fund presented on School of Music Awards Day, April 2018, by Professor Ronald Davis.

American tubist and composer from Los Angeles Jim Self and his wife Jamie established the Jim and Jamie Self Tuba Endowment Fund as a way to promote tuba and recognize the most important role of teacher and mentor in the study of music. Self has performed extensively in Los Angeles and internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral tubist, and most notably as a studio musician in the Los Angeles movie studios, having appeared on over 1500 soundtracks. He has taught at the University of Southern California since 1976, where he had as one of his most accomplished students, our USC professor of tuba and euphonium, Dr. Ronald Davis. It was their professional and long-term personal relationship that led Dr. Self to establish an endowed fund for tuba students at the UofSC School of Music.

“It was exciting to be studying with him during the time he was establishing himself in Hollywood. He started big when John Williams used Jim’s tuba playing as the voice of the mothership in ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ I am proud to call Self the single most important influence in my professional life.” – Dr. Ronald Davis, professor of tuba and associate dean of equity, diversity and inclusion

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The first Jennifer Hess Koenemann Scholarship recipient is Morgan Monty, pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance; standing with Dr. Scott Weiss and Barbara Hess.

She is a current member of the USC Flute Studio and the USC Symphony Orchestra.

When Jenni Hess was a student at Wando High School in Mt. Pleasant, SC, she played flute and piccolo in the Bands of Wando. She continued her passion for performance and teaching as a student in the UofSC School of Music where she received her Bachelor of Music in 2004. After completing her Master’s of Music at Michigan State, she taught elementary music for 12 years, influencing and inspiring young musicians.

Sadly, Jenni passed away in May 2017.

Her mother Barbara chose to establish The Jennifer Hess Koenemann Scholarship as a way to remember Jenni’s love of music and education, and asked that the scholarship recipients be selected from those students who graduate from Wando High School and who are committed to the study of music in the UofSC School of Music. Through her generosity and by making provisions in her estate plans for the scholarship, Barbara Hess has made tangible her daughter’s legacy as a phenomenal music teacher and one who demonstrated her love for others through many acts of kindness.

Faculty News During the Spring 2018 term, students in Reginald Bain’s MUSC 540/(737) (Advanced) Projects in Computer Music and biology professor Jeff Dudycha’s BIOL 599 Topics in Biology engaged in a unique beyond-the-classroom experience that focused on interdisciplinary research/creative activity that lies at the intersection of genomics and algorithmic composition.

Eight student biologists (Lexi Dickson, Olivia Harris, Lauren Huffmire, Rachel May, Kathryn Metts, Zach Spicer, Joelle Strom and Matthew Waller) and six student composers (Thomas Palmer, Morgan Soard, Robert Wilkinson, Ryan Williams, Jacob Wylie, and Michael VanBuhler) created four original mutational music projects. This class is part of the Mutational Music Project, the broader impact component of the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant Mutational variance of the transcriptome and the origins of phenotypic plasticity (NSF Award #1556645).

Gail Barnes conducted the Colorado All-State Philharmonic February 2018. She presented “Encouraging Musicality in the Developing String Player—Measures of Success for String Instruments,” “Make Every Second Count” and “Analysis of PreService Orchestra Teachers’ Personality Traits and Repertoire Preferences” at the American String Teachers Association Conference in Atlanta, Georgia March 2018.

Christopher Berg has secured contracts from 2 high-level academic presses for two books. Routledge Press will be publishing his book Music Practice Past & Present: Historic Virtuosi on Practicing by Design and Oxford University Press will be publishing his Classical Guitar Companion. The practice book is for all musicians and explores the relationship between documented practices of legendary musicians of the past (Hofmann, Flesch, Rachmaninoff, etc.) with modern neurological and psychological research. The Guitar Companion is large work designed to accompany students through 4 to 5 years of study. Oxford is particularly excited about the Companion book because, as the editor put it, it “straddles pedagogy and musicology in a unique and compelling way.” Both books are complete and should be available next spring. Additionally, he performed a recital and presented a master class at Georgia State University in 2018.

Phillip Bush served on the faculty and performed at the Vianden Festival in Luxembourg in August 2017. In November he was the guest clinician/solo-recitalist at the Georgia Music Teachers’ Association state conference at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. In December he performed Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the USC Symphony at the Koger Center.

2017-18 was another typically busy season of chamber music

appearances as well for Mr. Bush. Highlights included: a recital at USC in October with Mark Nuccio, principal clarinetist of the Houston Symphony; a trio tour of SC cities in November with flutist Tara Helen O’Connor and cellist Edward Arron, including the Chamber Music on Main series at the Columbia Museum of Art; recitals in January at the St. Bart’s Music Festival in the Caribbean with violist Paul Coletti, cellist Francis Gouton and Philadelphia Orchestra principal trombonist Nitzan Haroz; and in February, performances in Richmond of Ravel’s Piano Trio and Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio with the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia.

Jim Self, one of the most successful musicians in the Hollywood studios since 1974, was in Knoxville to be honored by the University of Tennessee for his lifelong contributions to teaching. Three of his former students, including Ronald Davis, UofSC professor of tuba and euphonium, opened the week’s activities by performing a concert of works composed by or written especially for Dr. Self whose tuba playing can be heard on over 1500 movie and television soundtracks.

Birgitta Johnson’s bibliographic entry for the Oxford Bibliographies in African American Studies Online is now available. The article, “Gospel Music,” includes over 130 entries related to Black gospel music research, reference sources, textbooks, recordings, documentaries and printed music. An abbreviated link to some of the entry: https://tinyurl.com/oxford-bibliographies-Gospel At the 2018 Society for Ethnomusicology Southeast and Caribbean Chapter regional conference at Tulane University in New Orleans in March, Professor Johnson became the president of the regional chapter until March of 2019. Prior to this, she served as the Vice President and Program Chair who organized the meeting in New Orleans. The Society for Ethnomusicology Southeast and Caribbean regional chapter (SEMSEC) includes: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and all of the countries in the Caribbean basin.

She presented a conference paper at the International Council for Traditional Music Study Group for African Music’s Symposium “African Music Scholarship in the Twenty-first Century: Challenges and Directions” at the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra, Ghana in August. The paper, “From Hashtag to Homework: Classroom Applications of the #LemonadeSyllabus in Interdisciplinary Music Courses,” discussed the AFAM 202/398 courses related to Beyonce’s Lemonade visual album she developed here at USC in 2016 and 2017. That paper was part of a research panel she organized

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titled, “Freedom by the Glass: Explorations of Genius, Religion, and Engaged Scholarship in Beyoncé’s Lemonade.”

Scott Price, professor of piano and piano pedagogy was invited guest recitalist and clinician at the Alberta Piano Teachers Association in Canada. He presented guest lectures at the “Celebrating the Spectrum” autism summit at Michigan State University, and gave invited guest lectures at the University of Michigan and the University of Miami (FL). Additional appearances included lectures at the national conference of the Music Teachers National Association, and guest webinars on teaching special learners for The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy and The Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada). Solo “sensory-friendly” recital performances included a performance of the complete “Nocturnes” by Frederic Chopin.

As Founder/Director of the Carolina LifeSong Initiative, Dr. Price presented the first ever live teaching demonstration with a student with autism at The National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. Dr. Price was published in Clavier Companion magazine, contributed an article on choosing repertoire for students with autism to Alfred Music Company, and is a contributing author of The Inclusive Piano Teaching blog providing pedagogical information for teachers working with special learners. He continues to serve as creator/editor-in-chief of the “Piano Pedagogy Forum” online academic journal that is entering its 19th year of publication. Dr. Price is now in his third term as President of the Board of Trustees of The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy. The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy received the 2018 Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by The Music Teachers National Association. The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy

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is a 501(c)3 that operates a Community Music School in the Princeton NJ area, an educational magazine for piano teachers, a biennial international conference for piano teachers (held in July, 2017 in Chicago), as well as the Piano Pedagogy Forum academic journal, and several blogs including the Inclusive Piano Teaching Blog for teachers who work with student with special needs. http://www.mtna.org http://keyboardpedagogy.org Joseph Rackers was honored as an Illustrious Alumni of the University of Missouri for the 100th Anniversary of the School of Music and was recognized by the South Carolina General Assembly for his leadership of the Southeastern Piano Festival during the 15th Anniversary year. He has performed recently at the Perugia and Maccagno International Music Festivals in Italy, as Convention Artist for the Colorado Music Teachers Association convention and Historical Keyboard Society of North America Convention and at other venues across the United States. 2017-18 performances include residencies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel-Hill, Vanderbilt University and Louisiana State University among others. The Lomazov/ Rackers Piano Duo released Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka and Rite of Spring on the MSR Classics label. The recording was praised by Gramophone for “assured and centered pianism” and by Audio Society for “demon precision and complete dedication.”

Wendy Valerio received the 2018 Deborah Smith Hoffman Mentor Award from the South Carolina Music Educators Association.

Student News Verena Abufaiad presented a research poster at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy; and a research poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference. DMA piano pedagogy Christopher Amick, senior, attended the Leigh Howard Stevens Summer Marimba Seminar in Asbury Park, NJ. Kathleen Arrasmith was awarded the Presidential Fellowship - $32,000 (Awarded over 4 years for Ph.D in Music Education, April 13, 2018; Guided music play between 2-year-old children and a music play facilitator: A case study. Research poster presented at the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association Convention, Buffalo, NY, June 27, 2018; at Discover USC Day, Columbia, SC, April 20, 2018; presented at the South Carolina Music Educators Association, Columbia, SC, February 17, 2018; and the Georgia Music Educators Association, Atlanta, GA, January 26, 2018.

Chase Banks, MM/performance, attended Chose Vale Summer Percussion Institute.

Julia Beck presented research poster, Parents’ observations and perceptions of their young children’s music behaviors during music classes after completing the Children’s Music Behavior Inventory at the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association Convention, Buffalo, NY, June 27, 2018; Discover USC Day, Columbia, SC, April 20, 2018; South Carolina Music Educators Association, Columbia, SC, February 17, 2018; Georgia Music Educators Association, Atlanta, GA, January 26, 2018 Aaron Buck, senior, is again marching with Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps. This is his final age-out year and is his fourth year in this group.

Katherine Chandler, DMA Piano Pedagogy, was a member of the MTNA Collegiate Piano Pedagogy Symposium organizing committee.

Amy Clary, DMA Piano Pedagogy, presented a research poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Alexandra Cotran presented Perceptions of music play activities performed by a mother and her children, and research poster at the South Carolina Music Educators Association, Columbia, SC, February 17, 2018.

Elizabeth Davis, DMA Piano Pedagogy, presented a research

poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Katelen Dusek, clarinet, won the SC MTNA Young Artist Division competition. She is a senior MUED/Performance Certificate.

Michael Gray (DMA candidate) Critics describe Gray’s interpretations as, “slyly lustful,” “Rhett Butleresque,” and “impressively athletic.” He possesses a physical capability on stage that, “effectively steals the show” with “good comic ease” while “singing strikingly well at all times. He performed Beppe I Pagliacci Opera Southwest, Albuquerque, NM 2017; Don Basilio (cover) Le nozze di Figaro Charlottesville Opera, Charlottesville, VA 2018; Don Basilio (study cover) Le nozze di Figaro Opera Carolina, Charlotte, NC, 2018; Don Curzio Le nozze di Figaro Charlottesville Opera, Charlottesville, VA, 2018; Don Curzio (study cover) Le nozza di Figaro Opera Carolina, Charlotte, NC, 2018; Ferrando Cosi fan tutte Palisades Opera, Palisades, NY, 2018; and Ferrando (cover) Cosi fan tutte Opera Omaha, Omaha, NE, 2017.

Gerald Gurrs has been selected as a 2017 semi-finalist in the American Prize for Choral Composition. He submitted “Be at My Side,” a TTBB setting of an anonymous “Policeman’s Prayer.” It was commissioned by Turtle Creek Chorale and Sean Mikel Baugh in memory of the fallen officers who responded to the July 2016 shooting in Dallas at a Black Lives Matter rally.

Louis Heham, DMA piano pedagogy, presented the guest lecture at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Ethan Ingle has been appointed to a full-time position of music teacher at The Weaver Academy for Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology in Greensboro, NC. DMA candidate in guitar performance Judson James presented Developing Audie, a music learning app. Magellan-sponsored research poster presented at Discover USC Day, Columbia, SC April 20, 2018.

Sunghun Kim, DMA Piano Pedagogy, presented a research poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Sunjoo Lee presented a research poster at the College Music Society Northwest conference. DMA piano pedagogy Mengdi Li, piano, was First Place winner in the Young Artist

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division and Third Place winner at the MTNA Southern Division Young Artist Competition in Virginia.

Huiyun Liang, DMA Piano Pedagogy, presented a research poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference; and a research poster at the Music Teachers National Association national conference.

Nathan MacAvoy, DMA Piano Pedagogy, presented a research poster at the Music Teachers National Association national conference; and a research poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Nicolas Morales, DMA Piano Pedagogy, presented the guest lecture at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Angelina Ning, piano, was First Place winner in the Junior division at the MTNA and won Second Place in the Junior Division of the MTNA Southern Division Young Artist Competition in Virginia.

Jeremy Polley has been appointed program coordinator for the music area in the School of the Visual and Performing Arts at South Carolina State University where he is an assistant professor of music and head of music industry studies and guitar. 2014 M.M. Guitar Performance; 2016 M.M. Music History; current D.M.A. candidate in guitar performance.

Andrew Justin Reich was awarded a position with the Air Force Ceremonial Brass in Washington DC .

Anna Beth Rucker, MM Piano Pedagogy, presented a research poster at the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association state conference.

Brittany Stone presented Examining the implementation of A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children (Gordon, 2013) in Spain; and a research poster presented at the 6th International Conference of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning, Chicago, IL August 2, 2017.

SC CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF SINGING The SC chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing held their annual competition at College of Charleston at which students compete according to their year in school and their gender. Students and their teachers: Tina Stallard: Emily Wright - first year college women Emma Rocheleau - second year college women Jacob Will: James Lewis - first year college men

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Students who finish high in the standings are recommended/ allowed to compete in a regional competition.

Regional qualifiers: Serena Hill-LaRoche: Jerrica Jenkins Diamond Tyler Tina Stallard: Maddie Johnston Jacob Will: Stephen Lynch James Siarris Robert Wilkinson Will Vowell SOUTH CAROLINA NATS COMPETITION The SC NATS Competition was held at the College of Charleston and featured a strong showing by voice students from the School of Music: Category winners: Emily Wright James Lewis Emma Rocheleau Regional qualifiers: Jerrica Jenkins Stephen Lynch Diamond Tyler Maddie Johnston James Siarris Robert Wilkinson Will Vowell 2017-18 CONCERTO ARIA COMPETITION WINNERS These winners performed with the USC Symphony Orchestra on February 1, 2018: Dillon Smith, saxophone Haley Kovach, violin Michael Baker, trombone TOP USC AWARDS Katelyn Dusek - The Pruzin Music Leadership Award, given to the senior in the Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Arts programs who has demonstrated the most outstanding leadership skills in service, teaching, academic studies and music performance.

AnnaBelle Lusk - The Arthur M. Fraser Award, presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in the Bachelor of Arts in Music or the Bachelor of Music with emphasis in performance, theory or composition.

William Moon - The Cantey Award for Excellence, presented to a rising senior music major who best exemplifies excellence in scholarship (as measured by grade point average), musicianship (as measured by significant contributions to USC music ensembles and performances), and service (as measured by participation in school, university or civic organizations).

languages of music expression, synthesizing this knowledge into intelligent, informed class work, research projects or performances.

Austen Smith - The Presser Scholar Award, given by the Presser Foundation to recognize an outstanding music major at the end of his or her junior year. It is a prestigious award that recognizes not only the excellence of the student recipient, but the music unit as well, since relatively few music schools across the nation are authorized to present this award.

SCHOOL OF MUSIC AWARDS

Allison Whisnant - The Robert Van Doren Award, presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in the Bachelor of Music program with emphasis in Music Education. The award is given in honor of Dr. Van Doren, who served as professor of organ and coordinator of music education from 1946-1978.

Hannah Knott - The Cello Fund is used to assist students in furthering their studies and is made annually by the cello professor and the Dean based on creativity, progress, initiative and/or for a specific project.

HONOR GRADUATES Justin DuRant Summa Cum Laude Anna Holley Cum Laude Jacob Lyerly Cum Laude Hannah Riley Magna Cum Laude MAGELLAN SCHOLARS Through the faculty mentoring relationship and professional research experience, students explore their interests in-depth, giving them a competitive edge in the job market and when applying for graduate or professional schools.

Judson James Mentors: Wendy Valerio and Jeremiah Shepherd (computer science and engineering) Developing an app to examine young children’s music development through serious gaming Josie Cox and Joshua Stine Mentor: Jennifer Parker Harley A Comparison of Coaching and Teaching in the Private Music Lesson Setting LEDARE ROBINSON UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE AWARDS FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE These are awarded to music majors who demonstrate outstanding ability in music history or theory and demonstrate great interest in the personal, political and cultural history in which music exists, and in understanding the personal

Danielle Wood – Undergraduate Award Gerald Gurss – Graduate Award

Morgan Soard – The Christopher Berg Guitar Award is given to honor the undergraduate best exhibiting qualities of creativity, humility, perseverance and improvement in their study of the guitar and musical performance.

Ryan Williams - The John Herr Award is for an outstanding composition student for best achievement in writing original music.

Mary Vavra - The Sigma Alpha Iota Scholastic Award is given to the graduating senior SAI member with the highest grade point average.

Katie Brimhall - The Sigma Alpha Iota Honor Award is given to the member who has made significant contributions to her chapter and the School of Music. This recognizes a SAI member who has demonstrated outstanding musicianship, scholarship and service to the local chapter.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GRANTS First Place - Christopher Schoelen for a duo residence at the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Cortona, Italy.

Second Place - Yasmin Bradshaw to study British choral literature in London; Louie Hehman to study at the Vienna Summer Music Festival in Austria.

Third Place: Nisan Ak and Hayden Denesha for study at the Vienna Summer Music Festival Conducting Institute in Austria Emily Burch to study British Choral Music, London Michael Halbrook to study at the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy Danielle Wood to study the Ligeti Horn Trio and other works in Basel, Switzerland.

Fourth Place - Steven Christ for study at the Ostrava and Domazlice Summer Clarinet Institutes in the Czech Republic.

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Alumni News Jay Aiken has accepted a position as music director at Edgefield United Methodist Church. He conducted his arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner for Homecoming at his undergraduate alma mater, Samford University. DMA conducting, 2016 Andy Akiho’s energetic concerto “Ricochet,” had its American premiere as part of the Philharmonic’s Lunar New Year gala in February 2018. The first time a Ping-Pong table has been onstage at David Geffen Hall – two U.S. national table tennis champions play each other – at the New York Philharmonic.

The unique performance uses sounds from an intense match alongside a full symphony orchestra. Read the New York Times article and hear it on the video: https://www. nytimes.com/2018/02/19/arts/music/ping-pong-new-yorkphilharmonic-lunar-new-year-gala.html BM emphasis in performance, 2001 Chase Banks attended Chose Vale Summer Percussion Institute. MM performance Rachel Bletstein has been appointed to the piano faculty at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. DMA piano pedagogy, 2018 McGregor Boyle had a piece performed in August at the International Computer Music Conference in Daegu, South Korea. His composition, “Yahaney Inlet” for bass and computer was performed by Yongwoo Cho. BM composition; performance certificate in guitar, 1981 Kerry Bryant is retiring in September as director of bands at Adairsville High School to assume a new post as assistant professor of music and director of bands at Young Harris College, GA. MME, 1993 Daryl Byrd, 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year has joined Crayton Middle School in Columbia, SC, as director of bands. BM emphasis in music education, 1994 Octavio Cardenas directed Des Moines Metro Opera’s performance of Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires. The October 2017 addition of Opera News noted, “Director Octavio Cardenas and designer Adam Crinson created an immersive theater experience by placing the action in a seamy café with onstage seating for audience members.” MM opera theatre, 2002 Xavier Carteret has been appointed choral director at Gordon College, Wenham, MA. DMA 2016

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Lindsey Cope is the interim associate director of choral studies at University of Tennessee. DMA conducting, 2018 Nové Deypalan served as guest conductor of Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) All-State Orchestra All-State event on March 3, 2018. DMA conducting, 2012 Geoff Ferdon founded the online business, XGuitars (xguitars. com) in 2004 that is dedicated to providing quality classical guitars, strings and accessories to classical guitarists worldwide. Ferdon co-founded the award-winning Asheville, NC, based band, Sirius.B, and among other awards, the band has been awarded “Western North Carolina’s #1 Best All-Round Band” 6 years in a row by the readers of Asheville’s Mountain Xpress newspaper. Globally acclaimed classical guitarist Ricardo Cobo describes Sirius.B as “Sirius.B is trova italiana, war song, gypsy, middle eastern, quasi-Klezmer-seculare, with strong Irish-drinking overtones and Zappa madness.” In 2016, Geoff, along with USC alumnus David Stevenson, BM guitar performance, purchased Barnett Guitar Supports and renamed it Sagework Guitar Supports (sagework.org ) that is the world’s only manufacturer of magnetic guitar supports. 2004 BM guitar performance Cera Finney performed Count Orlofsky in Opera Wilmington’s Die Fledermaus. MM opera theatre, 2015 Marty Fort has a new book out titled “The Ultimate Guide To Music Lessons” that hit number one on the Amazon New Release chart for Music Appreciation, not once, but twice.

The book is still in the top 100 of some of the Amazon music book charts. His community music school the Columbia Arts Academy® celebrates 15 years in business this year. The school, along with its Lexington School of Music location, has received more awards than any other school in the Midlands.

Awards have been given to the school for “Best Place for Music Lessons” from the Free Times, The State, Lexington Life Magazine, and Irmo / Chapin Life Magazine. Also active in charity work, he is currently helping the West Columbia animal shelter Pets Inc to raise funds with an $18,000 fund match campaign. The funds will be used to acquire medical equipment and expand the shelter. MM guitar performance, 2008 Gerald Gurss has been appointed the new artistic director of the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, Minneapolis-St. Paul. DMA 2018 Timothy Hall was hired as a software engineer for O3B Networks in Manassas, Virginia, in 2018. He writes software

in Go that provides data communications to mobile operators and internet service providers via a fleet of medium earth orbit satellites built and operated by O3B. 2017 MM guitar performance Stacy Holiday of the USAF Singing Sergeants performed a Beautiful solo national anthem performance at the allstar Home Run Derby in Washington, DC by University of South Carolina School of Music alumna Stacey Holliday.

MM performance, 2006; certificate of graduate study music performance, 2008 Cody Jones has joined Jackson Creek Elementary as music development specialist in Columbia, SC. MAT, 2017 Andy Jurik presented his doctoral research on third stream music – the fusion of classical and jazz elements – at the 2017 Guitar Foundation of America International Convention and Competition. He writes for PopMatters.com, an international online magazine of cultural criticism and analysis, where his reviews have been noted by Nonesuch Records, Kronos Quartet, New Amsterdam Records and Innova Recordings.

Jurik actively performs throughout the north and southeast with Demeler with Rachel Hansbury, voice, and Duo Cortado with Devin Sherman, 2016 M.M. Guitar Performance. Formerly with Presbyterian College, Jurik currently instructs at the University of North Carolina Asheville and Western Carolina University. He is a co-president of the Asheville Classical Guitar Society and is now working on his first recording, a collection of his arrangements for solo guitar. DMA guitar performance, 2016 Jessica Kendal The effects of with-text and without-text song presentation styles on preschool children’s singing voice use and pitch accuracy - Research poster presented at the NAfME Society for Research in Music Education, Atlanta, GA on March 22, 2018. The effects of with-text and without-text song presentation styles on preschool children’s singing voice use and pitch accuracy. Ph.D. dissertation defended and approved at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD - March 12, 2018. Dr. Kendal achieved her MME under Dr. Wendy Valerio’s supervision at USC School of Music, 2001-03. MME, 2003 Rebecca Krynski was hailed by The New York Times as a “vibrant soprano...with a secure, appealing sound and eyeopening volume,” Krynski Cox joined the Fest ensemble at the Luzerner Theater for the 2017-2018 Season. Her roles there include Alice Ford in Falstaff, Gretchen in Schumann’s FaustSzenen, and Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte. BM emphasis in performance, 2009 Jordan Laird has joined Greer Middle School as assistant band director in Greer, SC. BM music education, 2017

Chelse Lawson is choral director at St. Andrews Middle School, Columbia, SC. BM music education, 2017 Jose Lezcano, professor of music, Keene State College recently performed the world premiere of his “Mojito, Guitar & String Quartet” with violinist Jennifer Ellowoitch and members of the Portland Chamber Music Festival, at the Maine Academy of Modern Music, Portland Chamber Salon Series, and the Portsmouth (NH) Athaneum Series (Sept. 16 & 17), in programs including Quintets by Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Boccherini, for guitar and string quartet. He also performed two CD release concerts (Couleurs) with KSC Faculty cellist Rebecca Harkta, featuring the world premiere recording of Lezcano’s Cello & Guitar Sonata (Nov. 3 & 17, Greenfield and Newton, Mass). Recent publications from Cayambis Press include his Sojourners Concerto for flute, guitar, and string orchestra, (June, 06, 2017). He performed as soloist in the New York City Premiere of his “Sojourners” Concerto for flute, guitar, and strings; with Lisa Hansen, and Max Lifchitz conducting the North-South Consonance Chamber Orchestra; at Christ and St. Stephens Church, W. 69th Street, New York, NY. Also recently published by Cayambis: Lezcano’s Tango Overture for String Orchestra (recorded by North-South Consonance on the CD “Crosscurrents.”) Lezcano performed a solo recital (June 29, 2018) of Iberoamerican works for guitar, at Convento de San Agusti, by invitation of the Barcelona Festival of Song, including his own original works for guitar: “Preludio de Cayo Hueso,” “Bolero Manaba,” and “Mojito y Habano.” He rehearsed and performed with student and professional singers at the Festival, which is dedicated to the performance and dissemination of art-songs in Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese and indigenous American languages. Dr. Lezcano was invited to give a lecture-recital at the international Animamusic Congresso de Organologia, in Caldas de Reinha, Portugal (July 7, 2018), “The Guitar in Spain: Musical Reflections of a Turbulent History.” He performed complete works and excerpts from 500 years of Spanish guitar repertory, contextualizing the guitar as an instrument that reflects the main currents of Spain’s turbulent history, including the Inquisition, the Peninsular Wars, the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), and how composers were affected, exiled, or silenced. MM guitar performance 1983 Katelyn Lowe accepted a position at Blue Ridge Middle School as orchestra and choral director in Greenville, SC. BM music education, 2017 Kathryn MacLeod accepted a position as music development specialist at Rice Creek Elementary, Columbia, SC. BM music education, 2017

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Kate McKinney has joined San Francisco Symphony as public relations coordinator. BM emphasis in performance, 2014 Erik McMahon joined Northwoods Middle School as band director, Charleston, SC. BM music education, 2017 Kolman McMurphy has joined Clinton High School as band director in Clinton, SC. BM music education, 2017

representative of the college to the National Association of Schools of Music. BA in education emphasis in music education, 1975 Brittany Stone accepted a position as music development specialist at the American School of Marrakesh in Morocco. BM music education, 2017

Caroline Renner accepted a position as choral director at Twin Rivers Middle School in Buford, GA. BM music education, 2017

Meredith Miller Tashkandi was named the 2018 SC Philharmonic Symphony League Marjorie Stands Music Educator of the Year. BM 2011, MM 2013

John Richardson joined Spaulding Middle School in Lamar, SC, as band director. BM music education, 2017

Celeste Terry joined Starr-Iva Middle School as band director in Starr, SC. BM music education, 2017

Tom Rule is director of technology at Mount de Sales Academy, staff pianist/keyboardist at First Presbyterian Church, and plays keyboards with the Joey Stuckey Band. MM piano performance, 1986

Josh Terry joined Lockhart Elementary Middle School as music development specialist and band director. BM music education, 2017

Kadeem Sabari joined South Aiken High School as band director in Aiken, SC. BM music education, 2017 Baljinder Singh Sekhon received a global achievement award in the faculty category for USF World, University of South Florida – the area responsible for all global initiatives at the university. BM music theory/composition, 2002 Robert Spearman joined Laurel Hill Primary as music development specialist in Mt. Pleasant, SC. BM music education, 2017 J. Porter Stokes holds the Barksdale chair in music at Presbyterian College where he serves as the chair of the department of music and coordinator of choral and activities. He holds baccalaureate and master degrees from The University of South Carolina and earned a DMA in choral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. There he studied conducting and choral literature with Earl Rivers, John Leman and Elmer Thomas and has been coached by others such as Roger Wagner, Robert Page and Gregg Smith. During his time at the University of South Carolina, he studied with and was a graduate assistant for Arpad Darazs. As coordinator of the choral program at PC, Dr. Stokes is responsible for the Christmas event, Christmas at PC, and for tours by the college choirs. He is also the artistic director and conductor of the Augusta (GA) Choral Society where he conducts a 120-voice symphonic chorus that presents an annual subscription series of concerts featuring major works with orchestra. He has been a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the NAfME (SCMEA), Chorus America, and is the designated

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Courtney Trent has joined Midway Elementary School as music development specialist in Lexington, SC. BM music education, 2017 Ashton Wheeler has accepted a position with Congaree Wood Early Childhood Center as music development specialist in Lexington, SC. MAT, 2017 Melanie Winn accepted a position as band director at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, SC. BM music education, 2017 Emma Young joined Coosa Elementary as music development specialist in Beaufort, SC. BM music education, 2017 Copeland Woodruff, director of opera studies and associate professor of music at Lawrence University, has been named the 2018 recipient of the American Prize’s Charles Nelson Reilly Prize for stage direction. American Prize hailed Copeland as “a champion of improvisation, musical and physical, in the operatic medium as a tool for education, creation and performance.” Additionally, Lawrence’s opera productions “The Beggar’s Opera” and “Hydrogen Jukebox” shared firstplace honors for the American Prize in Opera Performance in the college/university division. He was recently co-director of opera activities at the University of Memphis where he taught and directed six years. He has been on the directing production staffs of the New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Yale Opera, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival (NJ), and Opera North (Philadelphia and New Hampshire). BA music, 1986

With Gratitude to Our 2017-2018 Contributors Thank you for your applause, your friendship and your financial support of the School of Music. $10,000+ Anonymous Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, Inc. Prof. and Mrs. Richard E. Day Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Francis Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Gimarc Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, Inc. Ms. Barbara Greenawalt Hess Mrs. Shirley M. Knox Mr. and Mrs. Jyotindra M. Parekh Mr. Charles Clairborne Thompson and Ms. Krista Hampton $5,000 - $9,999 Dr. and Mrs. Gordon R. Goodwin The Howard Gilman Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Alan B. Kahn Mr. and Mrs. John C. Pollok Symphony League Ms. Susan Levi Wallach Mr. and Mrs. James A. Weiss $1,000 - $4,999 Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Ackerman Mr. and Mrs. Burt Bacharach Mr. and Mrs. Richard Scott Bagwell Mr. and Mrs. Robert Jackson Bean Mrs. Anne T. Beazley Mr. and Mrs. Boyd C. Black Mr. and Mrs. Vince Bond Mr. and Mrs. John Harding Brunelli Mrs. Michelle Wang and Mr. Rui Cao Mr. and Mrs. Emory Wendell Clark Mr. and Mrs. Jay Ethan Collins Columbia Arts Academy LLC Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Corbett Mrs. Barbara B. Darden Mr. and Mrs. David Lang Dumas Ms. Harriott Hampton Faucette Dr. Charles L. Fugo Mrs. Virginia M. Grose Dr. and Mrs. C. Tayloe Harding, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Randall Herald Mr. Robert W. Hess Mr. and Mrs. William J. Keenan II

Lexington School of Music LLC M. Vista Restaurant, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Francisco J. Martin Mr. and Mrs. Matthew M. McCord Morning Music Club Dr. Gail L. Morrison Musical Innovations Mr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Nolan The Presser Foundation Mr. Julian Banks Scarborough Dr. Bernadette Scott Mr. and Mrs. George R. Simonson Mr. and Mrs. H. Mano Solinski South Arts, Inc. Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community Dr. Vincent Van Brunt Dr. Harriet G. Williams and Mr. Gerald W. Hagenmaier Ms. A. Robin Williams Mrs. Barbara M. Williams $500-$999 Mrs. Gillian Scalici-Albrecht and Dr. Helmut Albrecht Mr. Bryan Bagg Dr. Suzanne R. Thorpe and Dr. John W. Baynes Dr. and Mrs. Byron Boyd Mr. and Mrs. Warren R. Cain Mr. and Mrs. Richard Cohn Ms. Rosemarie M. Craig Mr. and Mrs. Francis Earl Ellis, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Farrell Mr. Gerald D. Floyd Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Goldberg Ms. Nancy S. Goodman Mr. and Mrs. James S. Guignard Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Holding Dr. Helen I. Doerpinghaus and Dr. Wayne Campbell Kannaday Mr. and Mrs. George S. King, Jr. Ms. Elizabeth L. Knoth Mr. and Mrs. Jack Lieb Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Litwin Ms. Patricia Green Lovit Dr. Thomas Lowell Markham Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey McKeever Dr. and Mrs. Charles A. McNeill Mr. and Mrs. Marshall V. Minchey Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Paul Monahan

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Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Nelson Dr. and Mrs. Herbert B. Niestat Palmetto Health The Palmetto Mastersingers Mr. and Mrs. J. Richard Palyok Dr. Marina Lomazov and Dr. Joseph P. Rackers Mr. and Mrs. Charles Curtis Rone, Jr. Sigma Alpha Iota Theta Chi Ms. Audrey B. Trujillano Dr. Sharon W. Webb Mr. and Mrs. David A. Welch Dr. and Mrs. Hoyt Noland Wheeler Dr. and Mrs. Leland H. Williams $250-$499 Commercial Music Productions Inc Alan J. Reyner Revocable Trust Mrs. Tami Lane Springs Brooks Columbia Music Teachers Association Mr. and Mrs. Charles David Cook Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Davidson, Sr. Dr. and Mrs. John Mark Dean Mr. and Mrs. Gene L. Dinkins Ms. Terrell P Dolbier Mr. and Mrs. V. E. Edwards III Dr. Naomi Beth Farber and Mr. Steven E. Grosby Fruhauf Uniforms, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Gallen Mr. and Mrs. John Russell Gentry Mr. and Mrs. Michael O. Gibson Mr. Kenneth M. Gorfkle Mrs. Sylvia B. Grubb Mr. and Mrs. Richard N. Hevener, Jr. Dr. D. Margaret Hunt and Dr. Richard C. Hunt Dr. and Mrs. Clifford Lynn Leaman Mr. and Mrs. Deryl D. Leaphart Dr. Marlene C. Mackey Marchmaster Dr. Elizabeth Oakman and Dr. Robert Oakman Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Piccirilli Dr. Ellen F. Potter and Mr. David C. Potter Dr. and Mrs. S. Hunter Rentz, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Alan J. Reyner Mr. Stephen F. Ruffiner Prof. Ellen Douglas Schlaefer Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Frederick Smith Mr. Walter G. Smith, Jr. Mrs. Judith Curfman Thompson Mr. and Mrs. C. Edward Tucker Dr. Susie H. VanHuss and Mr. Patrick VanHuss

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Ms. Della S. Watkins Mr. John R. Whitehead, Jr. Dr. Carolyn J. Wilson $100-$249 Ms. Sarah Grace Adams Dr. and Mrs. Robert K. Ackerman Dr. Anne Louise Bezuidenhout Mrs. Barbara C. Bowers Mr. and Mrs. Duane Alan Briggs Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Brown The Reverend Meg Jackson Clark and Mr. Steven W. Brown Mrs. Lois S. Brunton Mr. R. Scott Cain Mr. and Mrs. David J. Chiarella Mr. and Mrs. Rey Russell Coleman Ms. Rebecca J. Collier Mr. and Mrs. Reed L. Cunningham Ms. Patricia S. Czerny Dr. Ronald A. Davis Dr. Alexandra R. Dickerson and Dr. John R. Dickerson Mr. Philip Eaton Mr. and Mrs. Jim Elliott Mr. John T. Ervin Mr. George Samuel Fetner Mr. Louis F. Fisher, Jr. Ms. Martha Catherine Freibert Ms. Kathryn Ann Gardner-Jones Ms. Sharon Gaskin Dr. and Mrs. Charles Edward Gatch, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Jerald V. Gatch Mr. and Mrs. Leland George Ms. Tara Felicia George Mrs. Janis Jones Gosnell Dr. and Mrs. Jack H. Gottlieb Dr. Anna S. Griswold and Mr. Edward Griswold Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gulledge Mr. and Mrs. John F. Hamilton Dr. Steven B. Harrod Dr. JoAnne Herman and Dr. Wayne Herman Dr. and Mrs. David Scott Herring Mr. and Mrs. John Philip Hodson Mr. John Holloway Mr. and Mrs. Kennard Howell Mr. Leroi Jones, Jr. Dr. Carol McGinnis Kay Dr. Susan M. Kelly and Dr. Alan L. Baker Mr. and Mrs. Jeffry Krywinski Ms. Pauline Todd Laffitte Dr. Serena and Mr. Michael Laroche

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Lawton, III Dr. and Mrs. Gregory W. Long Lutheran Homes of South Carolina Dr. and Mrs. James A. Marshall Mr. and Mrs. Howard R. McAdory Mr. Clyde Taft McCants Mrs. Jessica Royall Meadows Ms. Miriam E. Mitchell and Dr. Philip S. Moore Mr. Paul Moeller The New Century Club Ms. Kristy Shawn O’Keefe Mr. Gene Oliver Dr. and Mrs. Jerry D. Olson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Tommy K. Padgett, Jr. Ms. Pauline M. Pagliocca Ms. Effie M. Philips Ms. Sharon Mary Phipps Mr. Henry S. Proctor Dr. Dennis A. Pruitt, Sr. and Dr. Patricia L. Pruitt Dr. Lillian J. Quackenbush and Mr. P. David Quackenbush Mr. Michael Raine Ms. Diane Reda-West Dr. Craig Stuart Rhodes Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth L. Richey Ms. Joe Bryan Robertson Dr. Susan K. Roe and W. Wayne Roe Dr. John F. Rogers Mr. and Mrs. Richard Roomian Dr. Joseph Rubin Mrs. Carol C. Saunders Mr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Schar Mr. and Mrs. Mark R. Seeley

Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Shealy Ms. M. Alicia Sikes Ms. Erin L. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Doug Strickland Dr. Martha W. Thomas Mr. Andrew Duncan Toll Gail A. Totherow Mr. James Timothy Touzel Mr. Timothy J. Wert Mrs. Beverly O. Weymouth Dr. Lois Duke Whitaker and Dr. Andrew J. Whitaker Mrs. Lindsay P. Whitlock Ms. Ellen Y. Woodoff Dr. Natalie A. Oransky and Dr. Mark C. Zrull

Current as of 8/30/2018 and includes gifts of $100 or more made since 1/1/2018.

Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but if your name is missing, please contact the Development Office in the School of Music to be included in the Spring program book.

We hope you will consider making a gift to the School of Music.

Your gift, combined with the power of others, helps our School meet emerging needs and opportunities and funds scholarships for deserving students, faculty recruitment and innovative new programming that enhances the overall Carolina experience.

Please let us help you make a contribution in a way that is most meaningful to you. Contact director of development, Polly Laffitte, at 803-777-4337 or laffitte@sc.edu.

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