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THE RUDI E. SCHEIDT SCHOOL OF MUSIC NEWSLETTER

FALL 2020

Piano students David Cordoba and Francisco Gascue receive practice pianos in their homes.

THE MUSIC NEVER STOPS Concerts were canceled. Students left campus. Everyone stayed home. As the world is reeling from the blows of COVID-19, music-making goes on at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music.

The first obstacle to overcome was that many piano majors relied on the pianos in the school’s practice

rooms. The school made sure they could continue to practice by delivering pianos directly to their homes. Professors learned to teach in new ways. Because of the video delay when teaching online, Dr. John Mueller says that teaching lessons remotely forced him to listen for longer stretches of time and that listening for longer periods helped him determine bigger, consistent problems. Dr. Artina McCain arranged a Zoom workshop for her students with Michelle Cann, pianist at the Curtis Institute.

Dr. Jonathan Tsay reached across the globe to collaborate with violinists Jing Wang and Chee-Yun Kim, recording the first

movement of Shostakovich’s Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano.

Alumnus and Shelby County Schools teacher Kevin Carpenter created a virtual choir of more than 50 middle and high school students in the Memphis area to encourage others through music.

The circumstances of America’s current health crisis change daily, but one thing we know for certain, the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music will continue to bring the gift of music throughout the Mid-South and beyond. We believe music is an indispensable part of life and so we continue to learn, perform and give back to our world.

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC WELCOMES NEW

FACULTY

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Alandis Brassel

Emily Frizzell

Assistant Professor, Music Business

Assistant Professor, Music Education

Dr. Mahir Cetiz

Dr. Isaac Selya

Assistant Professor, Theory and Composition

Visiting Assistant Professor, Opera Conducting

Dr. Robert Fant

Dr. Jonathan Tsay

Visiting Assistant Professor, Horn

Assistant Professor, Piano

Jenna McLean

Dr. Paulina Villarreal

Lecturer in Music and Entertainment for the School of Music at the Lambuth Campus

Assistant Professor of Voice

CONNOR LANE

SPEAKS THE LANGUAGE OF

SUCCESS

Connor Lane, a doctoral student in flute performance, spent the first 20 years of his life unable to communicate clearly with those around him. His speech disorder, stuttering, made it difficult to even say his own name.

Lane says it affected every aspect of his life from ordering food in a restaurant to answering questions in class.

One of the most distressing aspects of the disorder was that it had an impact on his flute-playing. Lane is a passionate musician, but he experienced issues with tongue articulation and control that got in the way of his ability to play. As a student musician, he found his flute teachers did not know how to address the problem. One teacher even suggested he quit.

During his junior year in college, Connor attended the Hollins Communication Research Institute in Roanoke, Va., and literally relearned how to speak.

The program there focused on two primary methods: the full breath and stretched syllable technique and the full breath and amplitude contour system. This reconstructing of the muscle actions that drive the movements of the tongue, lip, jaw, soft palette and vocal folds not only allowed him to speak fluently, it also improved his flute-playing technique.

Lane has become so accomplished in playing flute that in his first year of the DMA program at the School of Music he was awarded first place in the Delta Symphony young artist competition and third place in the Flute Society of

Kentucky young artist competition. Speech fluency has also enabled him to teach music appreciation as a part of his graduate assistantship. Lane, who once struggled to say his name, is now teaching classes as large as 160 undergraduate students.

“I have an incredible work ethic with my music and am very determined to make my life like other people’s,” he says. “I would love to help other students with speech impediments to have a successful life in music.”

According to Lane’s flute professor, Elise Blatchford, “Connor is a valued member of the University of Memphis flute studio. His passion for the flute and for teaching is evident in the way he prepares for his weekly lessons and his enthusiasm in flute studio class. I enjoy working with Connor very much and I’m impressed with his methodical ways of problem-solving, which includes his journey with speech.”

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RUDI E.

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REMEMBERING

SCHEIDT In March, the University of Memphis School of Music announced the passing of its beloved benefactor, Rudi E. Scheidt. For many years, Scheidt supported the school with unbounded enthusiasm for the mission of the institution, its students and faculty.

In 2000, Rudi and Honey Scheidt endowed the school with a multimillion-dollar gift that transformed the Department of Music into the School of Music. With an even larger gift, the Scheidt Family supported the upcoming construction of a new music center which will be named for them. Through his generosity, Scheidt supported programs that empowered students to pursue their dreams and brought distinction to the place that he called “a hidden jewel.”

According to Dr. Kevin Sanders, director of the School of Music, “Every semester, students graduate from a School of Music shaped in so many ways by Rudi Scheidt. I am truly grateful that he chose to help our music students develop and share their talents, realize their ambitions and take pride in their school. Mr. Scheidt will forever be a treasured part of our history.”

The sentiment echoed the words of Dr. M. David Rudd, President of the UofM, who said, “It is impossible to capture the magnitude of his impact, breadth of his support, wisdom of his guidance, joy of his enthusiasm and overwhelming strength of his will.”

Faculty members at the school remember Scheidt as warm, funny, a little mischievous and unfailingly supportive. Ben Smith, opera stage director, says, “He believed in us and our students in a way that I have never seen before or since. He was like a proud father, telling all of us – his musical family – to believe in ourselves.

His confidence was always deeply heartfelt, not just polite words.” Dr. John Baur, composition professor, recalls, “He was amazing and will be truly missed, not only for his financial support, but for his genuine love for the things that we were doing with our students.”

Scheidt’s presence in the Memphis community was immense. He sat on the boards of many organizations, including Opera Memphis and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. His support of the arts was recognized in 2001 when he received the Tennessee Governor’s Award for Arts Leadership. Part of the lifeblood of Temple Israel, he served as president and later was one of few ever awarded the title of honorary president. In addition to his civic activities, he became a successful businessman as chairman of Hohenberg Brothers, a world leader in cotton merchandising.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany and raised in San Francisco, Scheidt graduated from the University of California with a degree in chemical engineering. He moved to Memphis after marrying Honey Hohenberg, a native of the city.

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ALUMNUS JAMES SEXTON SUCCEEDS IN MEMPHIS AND BEYOND James Sexton graduated from White Station High School in 1999 and received a full scholarship to the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. He was a jazz performance and composition major and played in the Mighty Sound of the South marching band. In his sophomore year, he joined the Southern Comfort Jazz Orchestra and recorded on the group’s highly acclaimed CD “Voices.”

Sexton recalls, “I grew as a player studying jazz piano with Chris Parker and holding the drum chair in the Southern Comfort Jazz Orchestra for several years under Dr. Jack Cooper. I learned a ton about drumming just from reading Jack’s charts and following the advice he’d give on interpretation of the charts.”

Sexton is a prominent Memphis musician who has worked, played, recorded and performed live with a countless number of artists in many different genres of music. He is a drummer, keyboardist, singer, composer, educator and bandleader. Mainly known for his work as a drummer, he has been everything from the house drummer at the world famous B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street to tour drummer with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London. Notable artists that he’s worked with include Branford Marsalis, George Duke, Marcus Miller, Kirk Whalum, Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber, En Vogue, Stevie Wonder and many more.

While working at B.B. King’s, Sexton says, “That gig ran from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and it was a bit of an adjustment at first.” The sacrifice had its payoffs, though because “while on that gig, I also met the legendary drummer for Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, and even saw Serena Williams cut a rug one night.” His experience with the Royal Philharmonic was performing in a show called “Elvis Live in Concert” which featured Elvis’ vocals and video accompanied by a live rhythm section and orchestra.

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Of his work with Branford Marsalis, Sexton says Kirk Whalum is to blame. Marsalis had a concert at the Bartlett Performing Arts Center with the IRIS Orchestra and was doing a special performance at Clayborn Temple. “So,” he says, “Kirk was entrusted with putting together a rhythm section which included of myself on drums and Greg Bryant on bass. Both Kirk and Branford played, and we had a blast.”

Despite thriving as a performer, Sexton realized that the composition component of his degree would take more work than he was willing to put in at the time. In recent years, he reflects, “Some things that were brought up in those private piano lessons with Chris Parker, jazz theory classes with Tim Goodwin and composition lessons with Jack started to kick in and make sense. I was having a bunch of ‘aha’ moments, and wishing I’d been a little more committed while in school.”

Currently, Sexton is involved in a myriad of projects. He is bandleader for the Sexton Connection, a group of musicians that specializes in live musical entertainment for socials such as weddings and corporate events. He is minister of music at Peace Baptist Church and teaches at the Academy of the Percussive Arts and The Memphis Jazz Workshop. Most recently, he has launched The Otis Mission, a 16-piece ensemble with whom he presents his original compositions.

BRAVO STUDENT

Brandon Thomas (master’s student, performance, cello), Jayda Hampton (undergraduate student, music education, cello), and Abigail Powell (undergraduate student, performance, cello) attended the Sphinx conference in Detroit. The Sphinx Organization is the social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts.

Alec Bartlett (master’s student, performance, saxophone) won a position in the Rocky Mountain Repertoire Theater pit orchestra last summer in Grand Lake, Colo.

The season included productions of Kinky Boots, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Music Man.

Trevor Todd (undergraduate student, music education) won the Hebert E. Rumble Outstanding Teacher Candidate Award. The UofM award is presented each year to the teacher candidate whose performance in residency is judged to be the most outstanding. Dr. Heather Klossner says, “Trevor is an outstanding student, an excellent musician, and a creative, engaging, highly effective music educator.”

T.J. Timmerman (undergraduate student, music education) produced two virtual choir performances. The first was for Easter services at Island Community Church in Memphis. The second was for the Arlington High School Jazz Choir, which was his residency placement this year.

Justin Weis (doctoral student, performance, euphonium) was selected as a finalist for the Singapore Brass Festival in November 2019 and traveled there thanks to a grant from the University.

He competed against a dozen other brass players from all over the world and placed second in this prestigious international music competition.

FACULTY

Professor of Musicology Dr. Kenneth Kreitner was awarded the 2020 Thomas Binkley Award by Early Music America for “outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a university or college early music ensemble.”

ALUMNI

School of Music alumnus Dr. Jeffrey Murdock (PhD, music education, 2015) was chosen president-elect of the Southwestern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. He is currently co-director of choral activities at the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Kimberly Patterson, professor of cello, was awarded a $5,000 grant from the University of Memphis Division of Research and Innovation Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Pilot Program. The grant will go toward funding her upcoming album on PARMA Records with guitarist Patrick Sutton.

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The Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music 3775 Central Avenue 123 Music Building Memphis, TN 38152

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FROM THE DIRECTOR Dear friends, This past spring and summer have been unlike any before them. Like you, those of us at the School of Music have been preoccupied with a worldwide health crisis and a call to racial justice. Both have presented us with challenges, but equally importantly, with opportunities to make our school and the world around us better. That’s what music does.

This fall, resilient and determined, we embarked on a semester with innovative ways of teaching and learning, making every effort to ensure our students’ safety and continued progress toward becoming successful musicians. Read about the steps we have taken to address COVID-19 safety issues at memphis.edu/music/releases/covid.php. We are working on new ways to connect with you, developing ideas like pop-up concerts where it is safe to have them. We have made significant upgrades to the technology capabilities in Harris Concert Hall, allowing us to stream our music into your homes with high-quality sound and video. We are also planning a series of online webinars, sharing the expertise of our faculty and renowned guest artists on a variety of topics to engage and interest you.

No less important is the heightened awareness of racial injustice that has taken form in the past months. We are living in days of great pain for our nation, our city, our University and our school. Most of all, our Black fellow citizens feel that pain. We are united with the community of musicians where people are welcomed with dignity and justice regardless of the color of their skin. Our students, faculty and staff will continue to listen to our Black and people of color colleagues and generate ways to advance justice and equality at the School of Music.

As we travel through days of uncertainty, our faculty and students possess something truly powerful that can not only help us, but also our community through difficult times. We will continue to move forward as we teach, learn and share the gift of music with you all.

With enthusiasm,

Dr. Kevin Sanders Director, Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music

The University of Memphis is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action University. It is committed to the education of a non-racially identifiable student body. UOM1125-FY1920