College of Musical Arts Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0290 Promoting Musical Excellence Pro Musica supports the College of Musical Arts by inviting the participation of alumni, friends, parents and the Bowling Green community in a wide variety of musical events and by providing financial support for projects that are often beyond the reach of state funding. A letter from the President Pro Musica: Promoting Musical Excellence This has been an extraordinary year for Pro Musica. As you can see from their essays, students greatly appreciate the 51 travel grants we’ve been able to A special year of award thanks to new and renewed memberships. We are making a substantial difference in the Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts. promoting excellence! Student memberships alone increased by 254 percent! Two students, Jami Lynn Haswell and Michael Hsin-en Liu, were elected by their peers to serve on the Pro Musica Board. We are proud to have them with us and look forward to Pro Musica funded serving with them. Pro Musica also sponsors and provides musical events in our community. 98 individual student For example, a fantastic piano concert was given at the Wood County District grants, awarding nearly Public Library on a cold winter’s Sunday afternoon. It was well attended and greatly appreciated by all. The Bowling Green Kiwanis Club was treated by $39,000 for 2006-07! our student, Jami Lynn Haswell, with her memories and pictures of her musical experiences in Pitten, Austria. We hope to expand providing musical events to our community. Members of the Board of Pro Musica join me in thanking each of you for Spring 2007 making a difference in the lives of the talented students in the College of Musical Arts. Sincerely, Karol H. Spencer President Profiles in Pedagogy Virginia Pancoast Marks Virginia Pancoast “The importance of models in molding the Marks with her character can never be underestimated,” said teacher, Eleanor Virginia Marks, as she offered me a glass of Sokoloff (originally wine. “You know, I was Eleanor Sokoloff’s first taken as a publicity piano student, and she’s still teaching at age 92 photo in 1945 for at Curtis, can you imagine.” the Philadelphia Seeing Virginia and remembering New School her faculty concerts (dramatic, perfectly of Music ). executed, tickling your ear at just the right moment), I can only imagine what a colossal impact Sokoloff must have had on the little, Her mother supervised her lessons Jami precocious, blue-eyed blonde standing Exceptionally good ones were rewarded defiantly on the piano bench and every bit her with lunch and a movie. Lessons were never Lynn Haswell own woman at age five. missed (except once for the measles). Virginia Student Representative of Pro Musica Raised in Philadelphia, Virginia Alice was attentive and compliant, listening to her I received a Pro Musica grant in summer Pancoast was the eldest daughter of an mother’s coaching during every practice session; 2006 to travel to Pitten, Austria, for an attractive and demanding mother named Kitty, it was not until years later that she discovered intensive music study/performance and the third child of her father, Asa. her mother couldn’t read a note of music! opportunity. This trip, coupled with Ace, as he was known, was literally Mr. Virginia played her first concert at age five similar shared experiences with other Music of Philadelphia, playing organ at the Fox for the Ethical Society in Philadelphia. At 10, students helped by Pro Musica, influenced Theater (he also played piano and accordion), she won the Philadelphia Children’s Concert me to be involved with the organization. doing upscale gigs, making records (Sioux City auditions, and performed the Beethoven As current president of the Bowling Sue, written by Virginia’s Second Piano Concerto with the Green State University Collegiate Chorale, uncle) and eventually Philadelphia Orchestra for her I headed a student membership drive last taking his talented daughter “The importance of debut at age 11. Afterward, she fall to increase student membership in with him. His easygoing models in molding was asked by conductor Alexander Pro Musica. Overall, student membership manner and upbeat Hilsburg to play with the Robin the character increased by 254 percent! personality encouraged Hood Dell Orchestra. I feel students should be involved Virginia and made her life can never be After high school graduation, with Pro Musica due to its outreach to sparkle. Together they did she attended Temple University underestimated.” the entire College of Musical Arts. As a the fun things of the 50s, where she studied chamber future music educator, I understand the appearing on “American music, accompaniment and importance of funding music as a core Bandstand,” and playing on worked on repertoire. At age curriculum. the “Paul Whitman Show,” for which she won a 17, she was appointed to the faculty of the As a newly elected board member, $50 savings bond and a great big deep freezer. Settlement School of Music where she decided I hope to encourage other students to Other siblings came along; two sisters over to become demanding and strict like her first become active and contributing members the next seven years, twin girls when Virginia teacher, Sokoloff. A young clarinetist named of Pro Musica. was 15, and then, three-week-old Russell, a Edward Marks asked Virginia to accompany relative who was babied and raised by all. him, and she did. They were married in 1961 Kitty, her indefatigable mother, took after her graduation from Temple. Virginia care of Virginia’s musical training from the continued her teaching at the Settlement beginning. When school began to interfere School and earned a master’s degree at Pro Musica Officers with practice time, Kitty went straight to the American University under the tutelage of the Karol Spencer, teacher and announced that her daughter Department Chair, Evelyn Swarthout. president would be taking any necessary schoolwork Virginia’s husband received a faculty Andrew Housholder, only in the mornings, because she would be appointment in the Department of Musical Arts vice president practicing piano from 12:30 until 4 p.m. in at Bowling Green State University. Moving the afternoons. from glamorous Philadelphia to rural Bowling Virginia Marks, When the home economics teacher Green required something of an adjustment, secretary noted that Mrs. Pancoast (an accomplished especially for Virginia. However, with her usual Douglas Wayland, seamstress) must have personally sewn the aplomb, she made it look easy. She taught in treasurer apron assigned to Virginia, the answer came the Creative Arts Program, joined University Joan Callecod, as a direct question. “Do you play the piano?” women’s groups and took up sewing as a hobby member-at-large Virginia’s mother asked. “Well, no. I must (specializing in much more than aprons!). Deborah Fleitz, Richard Kennell admit I don’t,” said the teacher. “Well then, Virginia and Edward had two children: & Nancy Lenhart, Michael Hsin-en Liu with his Virginia doesn’t sew!” son, Brian, and daughter, Jennifer. ex-officio members teacher Prof. Nina Assimakopoulos ( continued on last page) for success, recitals and literature. In Student Essays addition, members of the Millennium Brass also offered master classes on their Samantha Closz respective instruments. Thesis Fieldwork in Each evening there was a concert Merida, Yucatan, Mexico that included performances from student groups, massed festival For my master’s thesis I wanted to investigate ensembles and the Millennium a new and exciting subject (non-researched) in Brass. Our ensemble performed two the field of ethnomusicology. I also wanted to concerts and was involved with the conduct fieldwork, hoping to make new tracks in large, massed ensembles. this area. I met two teachers who focused on As an undergraduate student, I had the areas that will benefit my goals in the opportunity to study in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico future, and I will be auditioning for their in summer 2003. Attracted to Yucatecan (Mayan studios this spring. dialect/descent) performances of folk music and As part of the workshop, we also dance, I wondered about the dynamics and their Joel Crawford performed in a theater on the outskirts importance in Yucatecan culture. Searching for Exploring Brass Ensembles in Greece of Athens. information on the jarana (the state’s regional The history and culture of Greece suffused In January 2007, I attended the “Exploring style of dance), I discovered there was not many aspects of the workshop. We decided Brass in Greece” workshop, held in the much information. to follow the circadian rhythms of Greece; 2,000-year-old mountain town of Kalavrita, Through the help of Pro Musica, I was thrilled breakfasts at 8 a.m., lunch at 1:30 p.m. followed Greece. The workshop was hosted by to have the opportunity to conduct overseas by the traditional afternoon nap from 3-5 p.m. artistic director George Babarakos and fieldwork! After four years, I returned as an and dinner at 9:30 p.m. after the concert. Gerasimos Ioannidis (former trumpet with ethnomusicologist. I was able to see cultural We visited the town’s center surrounded the Greek National Opera). performances: Monday night Vaqueria, Thursday by ancient Greece. The church has a plaque The workshop consisted of master classes evening Serenatas Yucatecas and the Sunday listing two dates when it was burned; first, by by leading trumpet teachers from the United Merida en Domingo. the Ottoman Turks, then, centuries later by the States, as well as numerous performing In addition to nightly performances for the Nazis, during a bloody massacre in World War II. opportunities with critiques done by members natives and foreigners, I spent the late afternoons The final day in Athens was free time.