Serenadeuniversity of KANSAS SCHOOL of MUSIC FALL 2019 TABLE of CONTENTS
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KU Jazz: From Underground to Around the World 7 Student Success Stories 11 Notre Dame Organist Named Artist-in-Resident 16 Remembering KU Brass Choir’s 1964 Southeast Asia Tour 23 serenadeUNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF MUSIC FALL 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 A Year in Review 5 Jayhawks on the Move 6 Success in China 7 Jazz at KU 11 Students in the Spotlight 11 - Organist Competes on International Stage 12 - Dual Music Ed and Pre-Med Major is 2019 Presser Scholar 13 - Afghan Trumpeter's Journey to KU 15 Faculty Research and Accomplishments 15 - Debra Hedden Inducted into KMEA Hall of Fame 16 - Notre Dame Organist Olivier Latry Named Artist-in-Residence 17 - Romantic-Era Music Linked to Real-Life Romantic Entanglement 18 - Blues Scholar Debunks Notion Hokum was Inauthentic 19 - Trombone Trio Expands Repertoire on New Recording 19 - Margaret Marco Makes New Music for the Oboe 20 - Composer Tries to Capture ‘The Music of the Words’ 19 Alumni Stories 21 - A Conversation with KU Legend Delores Stevens 22 - Alumni News 23 - Remembering KU Brass Choir’s 1964 Southeast Asia Tour 27 Introducing Development Director Curtis Marsh 27 School of Music Donor Support Serenade Magazine is published once a year for alumni and friends of the University of Kansas School of Music. DEAN PHOTOS Robert Walzel Pablo Cabrera Wally Emerson EDITOR Luke Jordan Christine Metz Howard Christine Metz Howard DESIGNER Tim Seley Alumni updates can be sent to: Tiana Lawson Dan Storey KU School of Music CONTRIBUTORS R. Cole Thompson Attn: Office of Communications Andy White Rick Hellman 460 Murphy Hall Janet Porietis Christine Metz Howard 1530 Naismith Drive PROOFREADER PRINTING Lawrence, KS 66045 Janet Diehl Corwin Kingston Printing, Eudora, Kansas For more information call (785) 864-9742 or e-mail [email protected] Cover: In April, KU Jazz Ensemble I, under the direction of Dan Gailey, was one of six college big bands selected to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Festival. Photo: R. Cole Thompson 1 A Message from the Dean elcome to the third edition of Serenade, the annual update from the University of Kansas School of Music. WWe sincerely hope you enjoy reading about our many successes from this past year, as well as some of the exciting plans to come. So many of you have commented on last year’s Serenade, with its reports on classmates’ accomplishments and nostalgic tales of alumni’s treasured time at KU. This edition continues to highlight our tradition as one the nation’s leading music schools, preparing graduates for meaningful careers and lifetimes of fulfillment through music. We are particularly proud of KU Jazz Ensemble I, which won the equivalent of a national championship when it was selected through competitive audition as Downbeat magazine’s Large Jazz Ensemble of the Year (Graduate Division). Other student ensembles continue to distinguish themselves through their performances at the Lied Center and in the Kansas City area. Our students make us proud in so many ways, not the least of which is by getting good jobs that contribute in significant ways to society. Nearly 100 percent of our undergraduate music education and music therapy students find high quality employment in the first year after graduation. KU doctoral music graduates are also finding success, including faculty positions in other university music schools across the country. Faculty are passionate about working with our students, both in the academic training they provide and their mentorship outside of the classroom. Their own accomplishments in research and professional service help keep the reputation of our School of Music strong among elite comprehensive music schools. It is with a sense of melancholy that we say farewell to Debra Hedden, who is retiring after a successful career teaching music to children and training future generations of music teachers. We congratulate Dr. Hedden on her wonderful career and many exemplary contributions to KU. We have faced a budget reduction approaching $500,000. To continue serving our students and empowering our faculty, we are more reliant than ever before on philanthropic support from generous patrons and passionate alumni. No gift is too small! Learn more at music.ku.edu/ kumusicfriends. Music changes people’s lives. Through our work together, MUSIC is making a difference for our university and in our world. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk! Robert Walzel, Dean School of Music 2 A YEAR IN REVIEW Photo: Christine Metz Howard The rain didn’t stop the Class of 2019 from shining during the KU School of Music Recognition Ceremony at Murphy Hall on May 18. Nearly 150 students graduated from the School of Music, celebrating with the traditional walk through the Campanile, down the hill and into Memorial Stadium for university-wide Commencement on May 19. Right: The KU School of Music kicked-off the academic year with the 1 19th Annual Collage Concert, showcasing the school’s wide array of talent and disciplines and ending with a rousing Photo: Tim Seeley performance by the KU Marching Jayhawks, performing game day favorites throughout the Lied Center. Right: On Armistice Day, the KU Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Carolyn Watson, performed a concert at the Kauffman Center for Photo: Christine Metz Howard the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The concert, A Centenary of Conflict, commemorated loss and offered renewed hoped. 3 Photo: Luke Jordan Photo: Andy White, KU Marketing and Communications Photo: Christine Metz Howard This spring, romantic blunders abounded and fairies interfered in the KU School of Music and KU Theatre joint production of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, drawn from Shakespeare’s classic comedy. The production was directed by John Stephens, professor of voice, and featured the KU Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carolyn Watson. Photo: Christine Metz Howard Top Right: In January virtuoso percussionist and composer Andy Akiho joined the KU Percussion Group, directed by Michael Compitello, in a concert presented by the Lied Center. Bottom Right: Saxophonist and Dave Matthews Band member Jeff Coffin wowed students as the headliner of the 2019 Prairie Winds Festival. The former member of the Grammy-winning Bela Fleck and the Flecktones gave a master class and performed with the KU Wind Ensemble and KU Jazz Ensemble I in February. His visit was sponsored by Reach Out Kansas, Inc. Left: A favorite KU holiday tradition, the KU School of Music rung in the season with the 94th Annual Vespers featuring KU Choirs, conducted by Paul Tucker and Mariana Farah (pictured left), and the KU Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carolyn Watson, at the Lied Center of Kansas. 4 JAYHAWKS ON THE MOVE Each year students and faculty at the KU School of Music have the opportunity to travel around the globe to share their gifts of music with the world. Below are a few of the highlights from the 2018-2019 academic year. 1 Photo: Pablo Cabrera 4 5 1 - More than 50 members of the 2 KU Symphonic Chorus, directed by Paul Tucker, traveled to California in June to perform with the University of California, Irvine Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tucker’s twin brother, Stephen Tucker. The ensembles came together for a joint performance and recording of the world premiere of Bernard Gilmore’s Journey to Freedom and Forrest 6 Pierce’s Mirror Cantata at the Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo, California. Tenor Genaro Méndez, associate professor of voice, was among the featured vocalists. 3 2-3 - March Madness descended upon the KU Men’s Basketball Band as it traveled to Salt Lake City for the NCAA tournament. The group discovered among the perks of advancing to the second round of the tournament was the chance to the hit the slopes at Alta, one of Utah’s famous ski resorts. 7 4 - Current and former students had the opportunity to visit Lawrence’s city sister Eutin, Germany, in May. The group performed in the annual Classical Beats Music Festival. Pictured left to right are Murphy Smith, Hilary Lowery, Alex Frank and Lianna Bartlett. 5 - On June 1, the 12-member KU Tuba-Euphonium Consort, conducted by Scott Watson, had the opportunity to perform at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. 6-7 - In February for the 9th Annual Scholarship Concert, four students from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Milan, Italy, performed with the KU Symphony Orchestra. They were Simone Seriani, Elisa Bisetto, Davide Scalese Civati, and Martina Motta. Their visit was made possible through the generous support of Reach Out Kansas, Inc. Several months later, Dean Robert Walzel and faculty members Daniel Velasco, David Colwell and Boris Vayner (pictured right) traveled to Milan as part of the ongoing exchange program. The group performed in concert alongside the conservatory’s faculty. 5 * Photos submitted unless otherwise noted. RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHINESE MUSIC INSTITUTIONS CONTINUE TO GROW ith membership place among the leading international Over the past few years, the KU in a global music schools working to promote the School of Music and Shanghai Normal Wmusic education highest standards of excellence and University, a major public university organization and a new achievement,” KU School of Music in one of the largest cities in the world, partnership with Shanghai Dean Robert Walzel said. have built a fruitful relationship. Scott Normal University, the During the past academic year, McBride Smith, the Cordelia Brown KU School of Music the School of Music also formalized Murphy Professor of Piano Pedagogy at continues to strengthen its an agreement with Shanghai Normal KU, is a visiting professor at Shanghai relationships with Chinese University, creating a program for Normal University.