LISTEN DEPAUW SCHOOL OF MUSIC NEWSLETTER
2018/19
“Once Upon a Time” at DePauw School of Music By Kerry Jennings, associate professor of music
Christina Goetz ’19 leads the cast of Cendrillon directed by Kerry Jennings. (Photo: Linda Striggo) “Once upon a time. . . .” That’s how most fairy tales begin, and it seems fitting. I had the awesome opportunity and responsibility to direct our 2019 production of Cendrillon this past winter term, and when Dean Morris asked me to direct, I excitedly and nervously accepted. I was excited for all the obvious reasons. Our students are exceptionally talented, Cinderella is a beloved fairy tale, and Massenet’s music is, in a word, gorgeous. What better vehicle was there than this to expand another skill at DePauw and to work with these amazing students? So, why was I nervous? Honestly, for some of the same reasons. Again, our students are exceptionally talented. They deserve and expect an exceptional experience. Most of them know me as a voice teacher. None of them had been in the “Performing Opera” course when I taught it, and only a handful of fifth-year students were here
when I was the assistant director for The Coronation of Poppea. Many of them had seen me in recital, but none of them knew me as an “opera singer.” What would their trust level be in my ability to lead them through this process? And what about that beloved fairy tale? All I could think was, “Kerry, everyone knows and loves this story, so don’t mess it up.” We decided a traditional rendering of Massenet’s setting of the Cinderella story was the best option, and I wanted to get all of the students involved in some additional aspect of the production based on their individual interests. Some helped build, some worked on the running crew, some helped with publicity and two of them even volunteered to be my assistant directors. They all got involved. I also really wanted to teach them. I didn’t want them to just learn the music,
and then me tell them where to go and when to do it (which is of course a major part of it all), but I wanted them to learn more. I wanted them to develop threedimensional characters, who, even in this fantastical story, would feel real emotions and would in turn make the audience feel something real - so, we also did some character study work, and I asked them to bring these characters to life. And wow, did they ever! During some rehearsals, I just sat and watched. We hadn’t even moved into Moore Theatre, they weren’t in costume yet, they were using makeshift rehearsal props, and I just sat in amazement at the level of commitment and skill of these 18–23 year-old students. Jaye Beetem’s lighting and set design, with beautifully painted drops, alongside Caroline Good’s gorgeous costumes combined to make the show as visually stunning as it was aurally. Before we knew it, it was opening night. We had great audiences, including a Saturday night performance during which I sat in the production booth because the house staff was scrambling to find seats for a standing-room only crowd. I constantly had to keep my emotions in check as I spoke to students, parents, colleagues and members of the community, and watched people having their pictures taken with Cinderella, the Prince and the Fairy Godmother. For me, my first fully staged directing debut at DePauw really was a fairy tale, and I don’t feel the least bit corny by ending this story with, “and they lived happily ever after.” 2018/19 I 1
From the Dean Welcome to the latest edition of Listen, our annual newsletter that connects the DePauw School of Music with alumni and other friends of this community. As you will read throughout this issue, students, faculty and staff have enjoyed numerous successes in the classroom, on stage, in the community, throughout the country and during international programs. We would need many more pages than you will find here to cover all in which we have been engaged over the past months. Please enjoy reading highlights of selected memorable moments of this academic year.
DePauw music students will . . . — Develop artistic excellence, creativity and critical thinking skills as the foundation for all they do. — Engage audiences, with special attention to access, inclusivity and awareness. — Act as socially minded entrepreneurial musicians by inventing, developing and managing projects for community impact. — Recognize and champion diversity of all kinds and work ceaselessly to improve inclusivity in all that they do. — Leverage technology in the creation and dissemination of music.
During the first few weeks of the fall semester, the music faculty completed the thoughtful process of fashioning a statement that clearly defines who we are and how we will make decisions over the next few years. After intense communication over a 14-month period, our professors voted on a new mission statement that reads thusly:
As the year began, we welcomed new faculty members to the School. Jessica Usherwood accepted a tenure-track position in voice after having been on the faculty of The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Dr. Usherwood earned a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance and Literature with minors in music education and arts administration from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She performs as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing frequently with the Ensemble of Variable Geometry and International Chamber Artists. She also has appeared with the Chicago Opera Theatre.
“The DePauw School of Music provides an excellent musical and intellectual foundation that prepares undergraduate musicians to be adaptive leaders, equipped to actively engage their communities and pursue a breadth of career paths. “We believe artists should embrace diversity, foster inclusivity and raise cultural awareness, and this shapes our community and curriculum. “In partnership with DePauw’s College of Liberal Arts, we encourage students to integrate creative and practical musical skills with critical thinking and intellectual inquiry, empowering our graduates for a lifetime of learning.” At the same time, we completed a similar process for identifying five distinct learning goals that embody the spirit of all that we do here. These goals state that 2 I 2018/19
As Anne Reynolds retired in the summer of 2018, Alistair Howlett stepped into the applied flute position as a parttime Assistant Professor of Music. He completed undergraduate studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia and a master’s degree in performance from the Hochschule for Music and the Performing Arts in Munich, Germany. Previously a member of the Opera Australia Orchestra, Mr. Howlett has performed with such orchestras as the Louisville Symphony and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and has served as guest principal flute with such ensembles as the Indianapolis Symphony.
The School also greeted Eric Schmidt, the new director of choral activities, who came to us from the Utah Chamber Artists and the Utah Symphony Chorus, where he served as the associate conductor and assistant conductor, respectively. Dr. Schmidt also held the position of choral director at the First Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Utah and both a Master of Education in music and mathematics from the University of Osnabruck, Germany. I hope you will enjoy reading the latest news from the School of Music. From the chamber symphony’s Japan tour in January to sold-out performances of the opera Cendrillon in early February to individual accomplishments of faculty, students and staff throughout the year — indeed, 2018/19 has been filled with rewarding experiences. Thank you for your continued support — hoping to see you on campus during the coming year! Dean Mellasenah Y. Morris, D.M.A. DePauw University School of Music
LISTEN 2018/19 Editor: B. Suzanne Hassler Student News Editor: Jacqueline A. Robertson ’19 Graphic Design: B. Suzanne Hassler Contributors: B. Suzanne Hassler, Kerry Jennings, Caroline Jetton, Jodi R. Menke, Mellasenah Morris, Ken A. Owen ’82, Craig Paré, Jacqueline A. Robertson ’19, Orcenith Smith Photography: Benjamin B. S. Ferriby ’20, B. Suzanne Hassler, Timothy Sofranko, Linda Striggo Special thanks: Caroline Jetton, Lynn Rodriguez Hohenstein, Steven R. Linville ’06, Zoua Sylvia Yang
Flummerfelt ’58 Remembered in New York Times and maestros.” He died of a stroke on March 1 in Indianapolis at age 82.
“The country is absolutely populated with people who studied with Joe,” choral conductor and educator Donald Nally told the New York Times of Joseph R. Flummerfelt. The March 6, 2019, edition of the newspaper included a tribute to Flummerfelt, a 1958 DePauw University graduate who was “the pre-eminent American choral conductor of his generation and a collaborator with some of the nation’s most renowned orchestras
The director of choral activities for 37 years at Spoleto Festival U.S.A. until retiring in 2013, “Flummerfelt played an outsize, if not always highly visible, role in American classical music,” writes Michael Cooper. “He prepared choruses for hundreds of concerts by the New York Philharmonic and a host of other famous orchestras and maestros, and he trained generations of singers and conductors at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. “He often readied choirs behind the scenes, then handed them off to more famous conductors, who would lead them onstage for the final rehearsals and performances. He was the de facto chorus master of the New York Philharmonic for decades, preparing nearly 600 choral performances with the orchestra from 1971 through 2016. And when other top orchestras and conductors — a pantheon that included
Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Carlo Maria Giulini and Riccardo Muti — needed choruses for their requiems, masses and choral symphonies, they often turned to Mr. Flummerfelt. Along the way, he became the best-known American choral conductor since Robert Shaw, the great chorus-builder and conductor, who had been a friend and mentor.” In Nally’s 2010 book, Conversations With Joseph Flummerfelt: Thoughts on Conducting, Music, and Musicians, Flummerfelt — who received an honorary doctorate from DePauw in 1982 — stated, “I do long for those moments where everything is in place, where everything is flowing, and then the real truth comes from the source — whatever that is: God, the creative impulse, it doesn’t matter what you call it. And suddenly, things happen, which you couldn’t have planned. Real beauty is being created because all of the forces are perfectly lined up and a profound innermost connection is manifested.”
Active Year for Music Teacher Education Program Field trips, Professional Learning Community Workshops and NAfME Collegiate student presentations are just a few of the 2018/19 activities that have filled the calendars of students who are interested in music education. The Music Teacher Education Program is distinctive among other teacher education programs for many reasons (e.g., field experience throughout all four years, opportunities for community interaction through such venues as the Community Music Program and the Greencastle Middle School Jazz Band, and strong relationships with faculty), but one of the most distinctive aspects
is an abundance of extracurricular activities designed specifically for music education students.
immense knowledge from some of the most well-respected professionals in the field of education.”
One popular event series is the Professional Learning Community Workshops. Six workshops a year address a variety of current topics in the field of music education, such as technology, classroom management, ethics and diversity to name a few. Jonathon E. Tebbe ’21 attends many of these workshops and states, “My experience in music education has been extremely positive. I have been given the opportunity to share my knowledge with others and gain
Two field trips, one in the fall and one in the spring, provide students with exciting opportunities to interact with other music educators. Jesse A. Fromme ’21, who attended the fall field trip, reports: “I really enjoyed the Future Music Educators’ Experience at the Bands of America marching band competition last fall. It allowed me to meet and converse with music educators from across the country, listen to their experience and ask for tips on teaching strategies.” 2018/19 I 3
David Young ’20 Wins National Vocal Competition By B. Suzanne Hassler, editor
accompanied him on his performance of “Bring Him Home” from the musical Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg. For this year’s competition, more than 1,000 total entries were submitted to the Art Song and Musical Theatre divisions by singers from all over the U. S. and Canada, with Hal Leonard giving away more than $10,000 in cash prizes and gift certificates for the purpose of encouraging singers to continue their vocal studies and to recognize the good work of voice teachers.
Tenor David C. Young ’20 was a firstplace winner in the eighth national Hal Leonard Vocal Competition. Young, who studies with Professor Caroline B. Smith, won the Musical Theatre division for College/Young Adult Voices, ages 18–23. DePauw faculty pianist Amanda Hopson
A two-time winner of DePauw ’s annual concerto competition, Young also won the classical category for Third-Year College Men at the Indiana National Association for Teachers of Singing auditions in fall 2018. At the regional NATS competition, he won first place in the Musical Theatre Third-Year College Men’s division; first place in Classical Third- and Fourth-Year
Men Combined; a special award for “Most Promising in Musical Theatre” and the “Jessye Norman Special Award” in the classical category for most promising third- and fourth-year college undergraduate. Last summer, the tenor performed the role of Eisenstein in Opera in the Ozark’s main-stage production of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, the youngest person ever to be cast in a main-stage role at OIO. In February, he sang the lead tenor role of Prince Charmant in DePauw Opera’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon. Finalists’ videos for the 2019 Hal Leonard Competition may be viewed at halleonard.com/vocalcomp. Recording arts specialist Matthew Champagne, a member of the Green Center production team, prepared the winning submission from the DePauw School of Music.
Winners of the 2019 DePauw Concerto Competition: soprano Amalia Crevani ’21, pianist Tatsuya Katsuhara ’19, tenor David Young ’20, cellist Amelia Smerz ’20, violinist Katherine Allen ’19, percussionist Abigail Foehrkolb ’21, mezzo-soprano Connor Locke ’20 and saxophonist Lindsey Welp ’19. 4 I 2018/19
DePauw Chamber Symphony Returns to Japan By Orcenith Smith, orchestra director
Since 1975, the DePauw Chamber Symphony has traveled every other winter term to perform for audiences nationally and internationally. This year, with significant support from the DePauw School of Music and DePauw’s Hubbard Center, we were able to realize a tour to Japan. The Chamber Symphony, the 35-member core of the University Orchestra, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1999 group’s first Japan tour, its “Coming of Age Tour,” referencing the Japanese holiday Seijin no Hi. Repertoire for this year’s tour featured music by Japanese composer Keiko Yamada, American composer Duke Ellington, Indiana jazz violinist Cathy Morris and music by Brahms, Haydn, Holst and Johann Strauss Jr. To travel to Tokyo, we flew from Indianapolis to Atlanta, where we embarked on a 14-hour flight, arriving on Jan. 11. The next day, the orchestra performed for a DePauw Admission’s event — DePauw’s Accepted Students’ Reception — in Tokyo. Music for this occassion included a performance of Sunayama by Keiko Yamada, conducted by DePauw President D. Mark McCoy, former dean of the School of Music. The tour quickly was up and running as we adjusted to a different culture, noting clean streets, parks, interacting with people, customs, food, sightseeing at historic places, overcoming jet lag and getting ready to play well. Student tour managers were busy. Viola professor Nicole Brockmann, our concert soloist, and I also worked tour oversight with our energetic guide Albert. Those first days in Tokyo were breathtaking.
The DePauw Chamber Symphony, led by Professors Orcenith Smith and Nicole Brockmann, at the Fujinomiya Shrine during a seven-concert 20th Aniversary tour of Japan ( Jan. 10-19, 2019).
On the third day, we played a full concert at a Catholic congregation in Tokyo. A real haven for all kinds of music, they were ecstatic to have us there, and we responded. The next day, we headed toward Mount Fuji, two hours from Tokyo. By midday, we had arrived at the uniquely named and designed Kawagugiko Music Forest, half instrument museum and half concert space, where we played to a big audience in a Viennesedecorated room, with chandeliers, mirrors and a huge theater organ. We then drove on to the city of Fujinomia (in the shadow of volcano Mount Fuji), where we played two concerts the following day. After the evening performance, the audience stayed to ask students questions through an interpreter — along with the Japanese National Television Network, which was filming our visit and concert for broadcast the next morning on the news.
Following a visit to the historic Edo Castle, we traveled by shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo. There we performed at Waseda University by invitation of its International Communication Center, which brought in a large, enthusiastic audience through social media. The “New Year’s Concert” began with some authentic music by a Tsugaru-jamisen ensemble. After the performance, we were asked to greet our audience at the doors as they exited. Great experiences? Definitely. After a free day in Tokyo, it was time to catch the long flight back to Atlanta, then on to Indianapolis and a bus to DePauw. From reading the concert site thank yous and congratulations, student journals and final papers, it is safe to say that the same reasons that took the Chamber Symphony to Japan in 1999 still exist today. We got to observe and interact with an amazing culture full of history, energy and consideration, and we played our hearts out in thanks! 2018/19 I 5
Rabideau Receives Innovative Arts Entrepreneurship Award Entrepreneurship Pedagogy from the Society of Arts Entrepreneurship Educators, awarded to an educator whose “pedagogy breaks new ground in the discipline of arts entrepreneurship education.”
Mark Rabideau, director of DePauw’s 21st-Century Musician Initiative, received the 2018 Sharon T. Alpi Award for Innovative Arts
Faculty News B. Suzanne Hassler, editor
C. Matthew Balensuela co-organized the June 2018 conference “Music as Cultural Education: Building New Bridges between Pre-College Schools and Universities” for the International Musicological Society Study Group on Transmission of Knowledge as a Primary Aim in Music Education in Bologna, where he presented the paper, “Music as a Liberal Art: The Continuing Relevance of Medieval Music Pedagogy in Teacher Education.” He contributed analyses of the solo woodwind Parables for Andrea Olmstead’s Vincent Persichetti: Grazioso, Grit, and Gold (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2018). He also presented the paper “Singing the New Technology of Car Riding: Jitney Bus Songs, 1915–1916,” to the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference in March 2018. James Beckel was asked by the Boston Symphony’s music librarian, Wilson Ochoa, to write a new narrated work for orchestra to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in July 1969. Eight orchestras and 6 I 2018/19
His book The 21CM Introduction to Music Entrepreneurship (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) has been well received across the profession, having been adopted by music schools such as Arizona State University, Jackson State University, Kenyon College, Grand Rapids Community College and the Mid-America Air Force Band joined together to commission the work, which includes as an option an accompanying video with pictures of the original moon landing, Hubble deep space shots and images of Earth taken from the space station. The narration begins with the theory of the Big Bang and takes the audience through history to the moon landing and beyond, thus the title “From the Earth to the Moon and Beyond.” Performances are occurring in rapid succession: The ISO is performing it on its Discovery concerts in Indianapolis, and it will be featured at Symphony on the Prairie concerts July 3–5 with new outdoor LED monitors to display the video. Evansville performed the work five times in March, and the Mid-American Air Force Band toured with the work through the Midwest this spring. The Brevard Symphony in Melbourne, Fl., played it in April, and the Kansas City Symphony will play it on its Memorial Day concert. The Boston Symphony is using the work on its Pops series this spring and will play it nine times in May and June with Keith Lockhart conducting. The BSO also plans to play it at Tanglewood this summer. In the Boston performances, the astronaut
The Ohio State University. A recent review of it in American Music Teacher Magazine describes Rabideau’s work as “Intelligent and informational, with the witty familiarity of that beloved teacher who inspires you to be more, do more, and push the boundaries of what you thought was possible.” During winter term 2020, Rabideau will teach a new course in Cairo, Egypt, “Leading Change: A Design-thinking Challenge,” which challenges students to grow empathy, define problems and design the future they hope to inherit. Sunita Williams will be the narrator. Also included in the co-commission and in performances this summer and fall are the Colorado Symphony, Orchestra Iowa and the Bozeman Symphony. In 2018, Elissa Harbert, assistant professor of music history, published her article “Hamilton and History Musicals” in the journal American Music and a review of the PBS documentary “Great Performances: Hamilton’s America” in the Journal of the Society for American Music. She presented research at three musicology conferences, including the Great American Songbook Foundation International Conference, Opera and Musical Theater in the United States Festival at Middle Tennessee State University, and was an invited speaker for the Broadway Bodies Interdisciplinary Conference at Washington University in St. Louis. She also co-convened the seminar session “American Music and Cultural Memory” at the Society for American Music Annual Conference. Dr. Harbert continues to serve as the book review editor for American Music. In May 2018, Kerry Jennings, associate professor of music, presented two
master classes at the Classical Singer Convention in Boston, where he also judged the High School Finals. Additionally, he presented master classes at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Va., and for the Monsanto Artists-in-Training at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Last fall, he was joined by faculty pianist Amanda Hopson and violinist Tarn Travers in performing the premier of a new arrangement of Lori Laitman’s Vedem Songs, re-scored specifically for their November collaboration. In March 2019, Dr. Jennings performed in recital with the Ohio Song Project for a concert of the works of female composers in honor of International Women’s Day. Craig Paré, professor of music and director of University Bands, was guest conductor for the 76th annual Dorian Festival, March 2–3, 2019, at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he conducted a concert band of 235 select high school musicians from schools throughout Iowa. He also was a guest adjudicator for the 2019 Clark County School District High School Band Festival, March 7–9, 2019, at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts. An
active middle school and high school clinician, Dr. Paré visited and worked with ensembles throughout Indiana this spring. In fall 2018, director of jazz studies Steve Snyder and 21CM director Mark Rabideau received a grant through the Great Lakes Collesges Association’s Global Crossroads Initiative to travel to Athens, Greece. Snyder presented two workshops on improvisation and Rabideau delivered a keynote for the Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts at American College in Greece. The grant is the third awarded in support of expanding the reach of 21CM through the “Challenging Borders through the Global Liberal Arts Alliance: The Boundaries of Music in a World of Global Connections” and has helped build connections between faculty at DePauw and the American College in Greece and American University of Cairo.
classical voice area for the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, a three-week summer program for rising juniors and seniors in Kentucky, where each spring more than 1,700 students audition for 256 spots in the program. In September, Smith enjoyed two other opportunities to work with talented high school students at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, a ninemonth public residential high school for emerging young artists, and at The Fine Arts Center in Greenville. The first specialized arts school in South Carolina, FAC provides intensive pre-professional plans of study for artistically talented students in the disciplines of architecture, theatre, music, dance, visual arts, creative writing and film making.
Caroline B. Smith, professor of music, was delighted to be invited for a return engagement as one of four master class clinicians in the
Orcenith G. Smith conducted 13 performances of Discovery concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and was the cover conductor for 30 Yuletide Celebration performances in 2018. In January 2019, he led the DePauw Chamber Symphony on the ensemble’s 20th anniversary tour to Japan.
It has been featured many times on the internationally acclaimed radio broadcast and live-stream Wind & Rhythm, alongside such esteemed ensembles as
the United States Air Force Band and North Texas Wind Symphony. Most recently, it was heard on the Jan. 6, 2019, episode “New Beginnings.”
Band Debuts and CD News In fall 2018, the new Symphonic Band was inaugurated in a combined concert with the University Band and Orchestra. Comprised of students from the College of Liberal Arts, along with School of Music students playing secondary instruments, this new band has enjoyed an enthusiastic first year and promises to be an integral part of the School of Music’s ensemble offerings. Through its CD Recording Project, the DePauw University Band can be heard on a variety of media providers, including YouTube, iTunes and Spotify.
2018/19 I 7
Byrnes ’19 Wins The Walker Cup Liam P. Byrnes ’19 (trombone, B.M.A. with a political science minor) is a Fulbright Awardwinner and the recipient of the 2019 Walker Cup, given by DePauw University to the senior who has done the most for the college during their four years on campus. A Civic Fellow and Honor Scholar, Byrnes was named the top speaker at the 2019 Indiana State Debate Tournament. He also has been active in DePauwCappella (holding the posts of musical director and treasurer), was a program specialist for DePauw’s First-Year Mentor program, served as an admissions ambassador and hosted a weekly program, DePauwlitics, on WGRE-FM. In the community, Byrnes helped create a legal clinic that provides free legal advice to low-income residents and served as a court appointed special advocate for Putnam Circuit Court and as an instructor at the Indiana Women’s Prison and Putnamville Correctional Facility. Liam will spend his year abroad as a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand.
Student News Jacqueline A. Robertson ’19, editor
Andrew M. P. Brown ’19 (piano, B.M.A. with a minor in peace and conflict studies) will study arts management at American University, where he accepted a graduate fellowship position with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Andrew studies with May Phang and Ray Kilburn. Mary A. Buckingham ’20 (soprano, B.M.) performed in the Studio Artist Program for Opera in the Ozarks, singing in its summer opera outreach program and receiving the award for best female studio artist performer. This spring, she sang Noémie in DePauw Opera’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon. A student of Caroline Smith, Mary placed third in both the Classical and Musical Theatre Third-Year College Female categories at the Indiana NATS competition. Paul W. Christian ’19 (violin, B.M.), principal violinist with the DePauw University Orchestra, was designated “Male Most Valuable Player” of DePauw Athletics and “Distance Runner of the Year” by the North Coast Atlantic Conference. He was inducted into both the Chi Alpha Sigma and Pi Kappa Lambda honor societies for students with high GPAs. John A. Cotton ’20 (baritone, B.M. and B.A. in computer science) was accepted into the Institute for Young Dramatic 8 I 2018/19
Voices, where he will work one-on-one with experts from across the industry to provide a solid foundation for a successful operatic career. John, who recently received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Minnesota, also won second place for Classical Third- and Fourth-Year Men Combined at NATS regionals. He studies with Kerry Jennings. Amalia D. C. Crevani ’21 (soprano, B.M.) was among ten individuals selected for the first induction into the Delaware Valley High School’s Hall of Fame for the Arts in Frenchtown, N. J. At DePauw, the soprano was featured in the role of La Fée, the Fairy Godmother, in DePauw Opera’s spring production of Cinderella. Last summer, she performed the title role of Gretel in the New York Lyric Opera Theatre’s production of Hansel and Gretel at the National Opera Center, and she sang the role of Manon in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s summer concert “Love, Passion and Betrayal.” At the 2018 Indiana NATS competition, Amalia won the Classical and the Musical Theatre Second-Year College Women categories. She studies with Caroline Smith. Elise F. Daniells ’19 (soprano, B.M.) represented the School of Music as a 2018/19 Presidential Ambassador, and she sang the lead role of Deloris in DePauw’s fall musical, Sister Act. A student of André Campelo, Elise plans to pursue a graduate degree in music at Arizona State next fall. Chloé K. K. Johnson ’22 (soprano, B.M. track) was awarded second prize
in the Collegiate Division of the 2019 Black History Month “Traditional Negro Spiritual” Voice Competition in Louisville, Ky. At the regional NATS competition, she won the Musical Theatre First-Year College Women category. She is studying with Caroline Smith. Abigail G. Martin ’19 (soprano, fiveyear double degree, B.M. and B.A. peace and conflict studies, and religious studies) was awarded the Ferid Murad Medal, given to the senior who has had the most significant scholarly or artistic achievements during their time at DePauw. An Honor Scholar, a Rector Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Martin has participated in multiple service experiences and conferences on social and restorative justice. After graduation, she will serve in the Peace Corps in West Africa. Abigail has studied voice with Kerry Jennings and Pamela Coburn. Cosetta A. Righi ’19 (soprano, B.M. with an interdisciplinary major in CLA) has been selected as the Italian teaching assistant for DePauw’s 2019 Summer Immersion Program in Italy. Righi was active as a language tutor and assistant director for DePauw Opera’s 2019 production of Massenet’s Cendrillon. She studies with Kerry Jennings. Jacqueline A. Robertson ’19 (viola, B.M.A. with emphasis in business) received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study music business through the IES program in Vienna, Austria, in fall 2018. While
there, she worked for the classical music record label Gramola Vienna as a social media intern. This summer, Jacqueline will work as a marketing fellow for the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colo. She has studied with Nicole Brockmann, Theresa Langdon and Matthias Maurer. Bo D. Shimmin ’19 (tenor, B.M.) received a Shirley Rabb Winston Scholarship in Classical Voice through the National Society of Arts and Letters and was selected for a Fulbright Award to teach in Italy next year. He also won second place in the Classical Fourth-Year College Men’s division at the 2018 Indiana NATS competition. Bo is a student of André Campelo. Zoë Yeshayahu ’19 (oboe, B.M.A. with emphasis in business) was selected to represent the School of Music as a 2018/19 Presidential Ambassador. She has been accepted into Venture for America, the graduate fellowship program for entrepreneurs, where she will work at a startup company for the next two years. She studies with Leonid Sirotkin. Among DePauw students recognized at the 2019 NATS regional auditions were: Haley K. Burgh ’22 (soprano, B.M. track): First Place, Classical First-Year College Women (Caroline Smith, teacher); Caroline A. Cruise ’22 (soprano, B.M. track): Third place, Classical First-Year College Women (Caroline Smith, teacher); Katherine A. Dobbs ’22 (mezzo-soprano, B.M. track): Second Place, Classical FirstYear College Women (Caroline Smith, teacher); Connor M. Locke ’20 (mezzosoprano, B.M.): First Place, Classical Third-Year College Women (Kerry Jennings, teacher); and Alexandra G. Phillips ’21 (soprano, B.M.): Second Place, Classical Second-Year College Women (Caroline Smith, teacher). During the 2018/19 academic year, nine music students studied abroad. IES Milan, Italy: Nicole E. Axelrod ’20 (soprano, B.M.); Benjamin B. S. Ferriby ’20 (bass-baritone, B.M.); Noelle A. Johnson ’20 (horn, B.M.A.) and Melanie K. Roma ’20 (soprano, B.M.).
Temple University Program, Rome, Italy: Jack M. Hallier ’20 (violin, B.M.A. with a second major in economics). IES Vienna, Austria: Elizabeth C. Brunell ’19 (soprano, B.M. and B.A. in peace and conflict studies); Connor M. Locke ’20 (mezzo-soprano, B.M.); Jacqueline A. Robertson ’19 (viola, B.M.A. with emphasis in business) and Kiele S. H. Sacco ’19 (piano, B.M.A. with a second major in computer science).
Alumni News B. Suzanne Hassler, editor
Michael Alsop ’10 was published in the February 2019 edition of The Instrumentalist magazine. His article, “Back to Breathing,” details strategies for using breathing exercises to address performance problems in band rehearsal settings, as well as how to overcome some common obstacles to breathing instruction. Blake Beckemeyer ’18 performed last summer with the Bach Akademie Charlotte, where he sang Bach cantatas and the Mass in B Minor, later joining the ranks of Oregon Bach Festival performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah and the premiere of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua. He traveled to Germany to participate in the Fifth Weimar Bach Cantata Academy with Helmuth Rilling. In fall 2018, Blake began his master’s degree in voice at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he is studying with Steven Rickards and was the concertist for the opening performance of the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project and soloist for Gabrieli’s In Ecclesiis. He sings at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis and as section leader in the Columbus Philharmonic Chorus. He performed the role of Marco in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers with the IU Gilbert and Sullivan Society and was a featured soloist with the IU Latin-American Music Ensemble. In December, Blake was the tenor soloist for Bach’s Magnificat at Christ Church Cathedral and sang
the role of the Evangelist in Schütz’s Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi. During his undergraduate tenure, Blake studied with Professor Caroline Smith. Shannon Barry Beckemeyer ’18 performed the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro last summer at the Aquilon Music Festival, then traveled to Germany and performed Bach cantatas with Kathy Romey and Helmuth Rilling as a part of the Fifth Weimar Bach Cantata Academy. The soprano attends the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in vocal performance and a graduate certificate in vocology while studying with Dr. Katherine Jolly. Last fall at IU, she performed as a soloist with the SCI Student National Conference. As a chorister, she is section leader at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the Columbus Philharmonic Chorus. While at DePauw, Shannon studied with Pamela Coburn. Following three years as assistant director of choirs at Princeton University, Renata Dworak Berlin ’12 moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2018. She is the founder and director of the Ethiopian Peace Choir, the first initiative of its kind in the Horn of Africa. The choir aims to unite the wealth of ethnicities in this diverse region through the full spectrum of choral music around the globe by teaching musical literacy. Drew Casey ’17 began the master’s program in orchestral conducting in fall 2018 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. He has since conducted the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in rehearsal and several premiere performances of new works for chamber orchestra. He also has worked on standard orchestra repertoire in master classes with Sir Mark Elder and the RNCM Orchestra and assisted the BBC Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in rehearsal. At DePauw, Casey studied French horn with Professor Robert Danforth and founded and directed the DePauw Pops Orchestra and DePauw Baroque. 2018/19 I 9
Ann Chase ’16 is the marketing and community partnerships manager for Opera Saratoga in New York. After completing a performing arts internship at Longwood Gardens, Ann became group sales coordinator at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt., serving as the primary customer service contact for group sales clients. In her role with Opera Saratoga, Ann oversees the box office, ticketing, marketing and community outreach. While at DePauw, she studied vocal performance with Professor Caroline Smith and worked extensively with School of Music production team. After being accepted into graduate programs at Michigan, Maryland, Houston and Northwestern, baritone Logan Dell’Acqua ’18 matriculated to the University of Michigan, where he began his M.M. degree in vocal performance and studies with Stephen Lusmann. He made his UMI debut in the fall production of Candide and this spring performed in Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis as Der Lautsprecher (“The Loud Speaker”), as well as the lead role of Bob in William Grant Still’s one-act opera Highway One. Logan studied with Professor Caroline Smith for his undergraduate training at DePauw. Tenor Dallas P. Gray ’17, a former student of Professor Kerry Jennings, is in his second and final year of the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland. He recently performed the roles of Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, as well as David and Chananjah in The Road of Promise, a staged oratorio by Kurt Weill. He also was the tenor soloist in Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the University of Maryland Summer Chorus. In spring 2019, he performed Billy in Kurt Weill’s MahagonnySongspiel and Lippo Fiorentino in Weill’s Street Scene. He recently was accepted into the Aspen Summer Music Festival and SongFest. 10 I 2018/19
Adam K. Hilkert ’08 was promoted to first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, where he serves as executive officer of the U.S. Army School of Music in Virginia Beach, Va. Among his duties, he is the director of the Concert Band, training all army musicians during their initial entry training. Hilkert also is a doctoral candidate in instrumental conducting at George Mason University, where he is writing his dissertation on the unpublished piece “From the Navajo Children” by the late Donald H. White, former director of the DePauw School of Music. Prior to entering the military, Hilkert was director of bands at Annandale and Langley high schools in Fairfax County, Va., and director of the Vienna Community Band. He holds a master’s degree in wind band conducting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His principal conducting teachers are Anthony Maiello, Mark Camphouse, Dr. Dennis Layendecker and Dr. Jack Stamp. Qinqing Q. Hilkert, his wife, is pursuing her D.M.A. in orchestral conducting at the University of Minnesota. They were married in 2014 at DePauw’s Bartlett Reflection Center and have a son named Gavin.
with Opera Saratoga, he sang The Priest in Il Postino. Joseph also was honored to receive a number of awards, including winning the Michigan district of the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and taking second place this year at the William C. Byrd vocal competition in Flint, Mich. He received his master’s degree from Rice University, under the tutelage of the late Barbara Clark, and his B.M. at DePauw, where he studied with Professor Caroline Smith.
Joseph R. Leppek ’15 performed the lead role of Tony in Bernstein’s West Side Story at the Glimmerglass Music Festival in 2018. This season, he is the resident tenor with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, where he performed Glad Hand in West Side Story and sang in the Exploration Series concerts throughout the year. Last fall, he performed the role of Thomas in Libby Larsen’s The Winter Garden, with the composer in attendance, an 80-person choir and the Michigan Philharmonic. He has performed professionally in productions and concerts across the U.S., including The Summer King (Mariachi 1) at Michigan Opera Theatre, the world premiere of It’s A Wonderful Life! (Mr. Martini) at the Houston Grand Opera, and The Siege of Calais (Giachomo de Wisants) as a young artist with The Glimmerglass Festival. As a studio artist
Since graduating, Molly Y. McGuire ’18 has maintained an active performing career. She continued as a VOCES8 North American Scholar (2017–19), performed at Alpenkammermusik (summer 2018) and was a Lacock Scholar (summer 2018). In February, after moving to Boston, Molly performed on the Cantata Singers chamber series concert at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of eight singers on the group’s All Women Composers Concert, she performed two sets of songs and, according to reviewer Zoë Madonna of the Boston Globe, “Mezzo Molly McGuire, a recent arrival in Boston, showed awesome promise as a singing actor, in songs by Schumann and Nadia Boulanger.” When at DePauw, she studied with Professor Caroline Smith.
Soprano Julia Massicotte ’17 sang the title role of Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe in one of the MainStage productions at Opera in the Ozarks. Julia now is in the second year of her M.M. degree at New England Conservatory, where she is studying with Carole Haber. Last fall, in addition to covering Cunegonde in Candide, she performed the role of Norina in a scene from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Helena in a scene from Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the spring, Julia performed as Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. While at DePauw, she studied with Pamela Coburn.
Rachel Amalfitano McKinney ’16 was a featured performer at Walt Disney World after graduating from DePauw. Currently, she is a teacher for the Cincinnati Opera Educational Outreach program. At DePauw, Rachel studied with Professor Caroline Smith. This spring Elleka Okerstrom ’14 will complete her performance diploma at Southern Methodist University, where she studies with Virginia Dupuy, having recently earned her Master of Music degree at Indiana University studying with Brian Horne. Roles at SMU include Morgana in Handel’s Alcina and Mrs. Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town. The soprano is active in the Dallas music scene and sings with multiple professional ensembles, including the Highland Park Chorale and the Dallas Chamber Singers. She also has developed a large private teaching studio, where she resides in Dallas, and works with more than 30 students a week teaching voice and piano. While at DePauw, she studied with Professor Caroline Smith. Alexandra Perdew ’00 has accepted a teaching position at Stanford University, where she is the harp lecturer. She also maintains a full studio of harp and piano students in the San Francisco Bay Area and plays regularly with many local organizations. Baritone Yazid T. Pierce-Gray ’16 is a 2019 Chautauqua Opera Young Artist. During the 2018/19 season, he was a member of the Young Artists Program with Santa Barbara Opera, where he sang the roles of Schaunard in La bohème, Thomas Putnam in The Crucible and Zaretsky/Company Commander in Yevgeny Onegin. Since completing his M.M. degree at the University of Michigan in 2018, his professional engagements have included the role of Charlie in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers with Opera Maine and the concert version of Puccini’s Fanciulla del West with the Maryland Lyric
Opera. At UMI, Yazid studied with Stephen Lusmann, and while a student at DePauw, he studied with Professor Caroline Smith. Mezzo-soprano Sarah J. Pistorius ’17 is pursuing her M.M. degree at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, where she performed the role of Olga Olsen in Street Scene. With the Scottish Opera, she sang in the chorus of Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel. This spring, she covered Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She has worked with Live Music Now, performing throughout Scotland in recitals. In September, she soloed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a concert of Langaard’s Music of the Spheres and, in December, she was the alto soloist for Bach’s Magnificat with the RCS Orchestra and Choirs. As a voice major at DePauw, she studied with Professor Caroline Smith. Soprano Julie A. Strauser ’16 recently completed her M.M. degree in vocal performance at SMU, where she studied with Camille King and Virginia Dupuy; performed Giannetta in L’elixir d’amore; Lucy in Again, a ten-minute opera by Jake Heggie; the Fire role in L’enfant et les sortileges; Rona in Spelling Bee; and as the soprano soloist for Fauré’s Requiem. Julie lives in Houston, where she freelances and teaches at St. Stephen’s Epsicopal Church and School; while at DePauw, she studied with Professor Caroline Smith. Soprano Marin Tack ’18 began her M.M. degree in vocal/opera performance at Northwestern University last fall, where she is studying with Sunny Joy Langton. Marin also was accepted at the University of Michigan and Boston Conservatory. In Northwestern’s fall opera production, she performed the role of Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and in the spring, she sang Héro in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Benedict. Marin was a student of Caroline Smith’s while an undergraduate at DePauw.
After advancing through multiple auditions in New York and Los Angeles, David Terry ’11 landed a role in Magic Mike Live, which has played at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas since April 2017. While 13 dancers perform as part of the show, he was one of four cast members featured to film a skit with James Corden for The Late Late Show. Terry, whose resume includes providing backing vocals for English pop band Bastille on episodes of Saturday Night Live and Late Show with David Letterman, and dancing on NBC’s “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris,” studied at DePauw with Professor Caroline Smith. Derrick D. Truby ’17, a former student of Kerry Jennings, had a busy year performing in various shows in the Maryland and Washington D.C. area. Highlights include Smokey Joe’s Café with Artscentric and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown with Imagination Stage, as well as performances with Signature Theatre and Arena Stage. On tap for summer 2019: Be More Chill at the Monumental Theatre in D.C. in June. Soprano Jennifer Wilson ’12 returned for her third season with the Lawrence Opera Theatre to sing the lead role of Violetta in La Traviata in 2018. Previous roles include First Lady in Die Zauberflote (2017) and Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas (2016). Wilson currently lives in West Palm Beach, Fla., where she is a professional chorister with the Palm Beach Opera and works as a teaching artist helping elementary school kids create their own operas and directing these productions through the company’s outreach program. In June 2018, she performed the role of Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Miami Music Festival and covered the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. She studies voice with Robynne Redmon in Miami and was a student of Professor Caroline Smith at DePauw. 2018/19 I 11
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Jamie Edwards ’19 Honored with Two State Awards Two state education associations have honored Jamie J. Edwards, a senior music education major and flutist, with awards naming her as an “Outstanding Future Music Educator” and an “Outstanding Future Educator.” The first award, from the Indiana Music Education Association, honors the best in collegiate music teacher education and was presented at the annual IMEA Professional Development Conference in Fort Wayne the weekend of Jan. 17– 19. Jamie is the 15th DePauw recipient of this award since the first award was presented to a DePauw student in 1998. The second award, from the Indiana Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, recognizes education students from around the state who have had an outstanding undergraduate experience in their respective teacher 12 I 2018/19
education programs and who show great promise in the field of education. This award was presented at a special IACTE Recognition Day on April 12 at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, Ind. Since early January, Jamie has been student-teaching in the band program at Bloomington High School North under the supervision of Janis Stockhouse, a well-known band director with 40 years of experience. According to Stockhouse, “Jamie Edwards is an exemplary role model for our students here at Bloomington High School North. She is encouraging, outgoing, positive and hard-working, and she sets high standards both inside and outside of the classroom. Jamie is certainly en route to becoming an outstanding music educator, and we have been
Senior Jamie Edwards conducts the BHSN Intermediate Concert Band in performance.
honored to work with her this semester.” Edwards will complete the B.M.E. degree with a P-12 instrumental/general music education emphasis in May.