LISTEN Winter/Spring 2018

Listen DePauw School of Music Newsletter

Winter/Spring 2018

Innovative, Joyful Things Happening at DePauw Kenneth A. Owen ’82, executive director of media relations Ma’s performance “wowed a capacity crowd,” Bernsee noted. “Big things, innovative things, joyful things are happening at DePauw and in Greencastle, he says, because of the activities like 21st Century Music Initiative [Ma] chairs and the music and musicians and energy it brings to campus and community. “ ‘New things don’t always happen in big places,’ says Ma, who has won more than fifteen Grammy Awards.”

Green guest artist Yo-Yo Ma poses with the DePauw “cello squad” following a pop-up performance in Stewart Plaza. Ma and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago opened DePauw University’s 2017/18 Green Series during an inspiring three-day campus residency this fall. (Photo by Linda Striggo) “What’s creativity?,” asks the world’s bestknown classical musician, cellist Yo-Yo Ma. “There’s the theory and the practice.

DePauw is taken really seriously as one of the leaders in the country on an issue that’s tough to discuss and bring to the table in a serious way. What I love about what this does,” the self-described citizen-artist continued, “is when you do something really, really well, it transcends the form itself.”

Ma was at DePauw University Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, 2017. A story in Greencastle’s Banner-Graphic recapped some of the highlights of his visit.

“As the world’s greatest cellist, the incredible thing about Yo-Yo Ma is that he doesn’t even need his beloved instrument to move and inspire people,” wrote Eric Bernsee, editor of the newspaper. “That much was readily apparent before, during and after his performance with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago at DePauw ’s Green Center for the Performing Arts. It was obvious all week during his various visits in and around Greencastle and DePauw. And it’s been evident ever since he first set foot on campus with the Civic Orchestra in 2011.”

The article noted that Ma’s visits to DePauw have been coordinated by Judson Green ’74 and Joyce Green ’75, but he has also had conversations about the college with Vernon Jordan ’57 and Mary Meeker ’81. “All of these people coming out of the woodwork were DePauw grads,” Ma said.

The internationally revered cellist and the Civic Orchestra first performed at DePauw six years ago. “The first time we came, we had hamburgers (GCBs, no doubt) and pizzas from Marvin’s. We were so excited. They were open late and it was a 25-minute wait, but we were told, ‘You’ve got to do it.’ ” In June 2015, Ma returned for the opening of Music on the Square. “The point is, we saw the opening of M2 and the development and evolution of not only town citizens’ engagement in the downtown but the university and participation in the music school.”

Winter/Spring 2018 I 1

From the Dean Welcome to DePauw’s Winter/Spring 2018 issue of Listen newsletter! As the interim dean of DePauw’s School of Music, I am delighted to share exciting news from and about our faculty and students as well as special guests.

We began the term with a warm greeting for our first-year voice faculty member Dr. Andre Campelo, bass-baritone, who hails from Brazil. Soon after classes began, the 2017/18 ensemble-in-residence, the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds, spent several days on campus and in the Greencastle community, sharing their artistry, pedagogy and 21st-century entrepreneurial spirit.

The Judson and Joyce Green Concert Series opened its season with a sold-out event featuring world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Mr. Ma was joined

by Michael Ward-Bergeman, hyperaccordionist, and percussionists Jamey

Haddad and Cyro Baptista in Osvaldo Golijov’s Azul, a perfect expression of our School’s celebration of multi-cultural/ global studies. During his time here, Mr. Ma engaged with the Greencastle and DePauw communities with a “signature” pop-up concert on Stewart Plaza.

Particularly special for DePauw students was the opportunity to meet and greet School of Music alumnus and COC percussionist Patrick Sperenza ’13—what an inspiring moment! On the afternoon prior to the concert, Mr. Ma, the chair of the School’s 21CM Advisory Board, spent three hours with the board, brainstorming on new directions for educating today’s music students for tomorrow’s world.

Our faculty continued to engage students, and ultimately our audiences, in innovative curricular and artistic initiatives, such as the University Orchestra’s presentation of Kevin Puts’ extraordinary The City, and an exemplary performance by the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants that also marked the return of Senior Master Sergeant and hornist Philip Krzywicki ’86 to the Kresge stage.

With the former, Orcenith Smith, the University’s orchestra director, received permission for DePauw to become the first university ensemble to present this stellar multi-media work, which was commissioned for the 125th Anniversary of Carnegie Hall. With the latter, DePauw band director Craig Paré created an opportunity for DePauw students to play side-by-side with the U.S. Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants and experience firsthand how music is performed at a professional level.

Included in this issue, please enjoy details on how Dr. Caroline Jetton, Associate Dean for Academics and Advising and Director of Music Teacher Education, led our Music Education Degree Program through a successful accreditation process.

Also, we are happy to share information on individual faculty and student successes that speak to the uniqueness of the education we offer and the programming we bring to this community. Thank you for your support!

Mellasenah Y. Morris, D.M.A. Interim Dean DePauw University School of Music

Berneche joins Hall of Legends DePauw University School of Music and later continued her studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

Alicia Berneche ’93, an acclaimed opera singer and voice teacher, was among six individuals inducted into the 2017 class of Indiana’s Howard County Hall of Legends.

The Kokomo native was a voice student of Professor Vergene Miller while at the 2 I Winter/Spring 2018

The Kokomo Herald noted that Berneche’s big break came in the the summer of 2000, while she was working in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s apprentice program.

A bruised vocal cord left the Grammy Award-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw unable to perform the role of Daisy Buchanan in the Lyric’s Great Gatsby, and Berneche, the understudy, stepped in.

“It was a tricky, demanding role at arguably the second most important opera house in the United States (after the Metropolitan Opera),” the singer said.

The article added, “Her performance was

a home run — the Chicago Sun-Times enthusiastically praised her ‘bright, clear soprano’ while the Boston Globe called her out for ‘an extraordinary piece of acting...’ ” International acclaim for her Chicago debut was followed in 2002 by the world premiere of Galileo Galilei in New York and London. She has since worked steadily and successfully and sung with celebrated conductors and ensembles at many of the world’s top opera houses.

Classically trained, Berneche specializes in contemporary opera. With a commitment to preparing the next generation of specialists in her art form, she now teaches voice at Glenbrook North High School in Illinois and tutors local and international singers at a private studio in Chicago.

Music Teacher Education Earns Full Accreditation Accreditation is a word that often elicits sighs and groans. Though it can be a daunting task, it is a necessary process during which educator preparation programs are held to high standards of excellence and rigor, ensuring that future educators receive high-quality preparation. At DePauw, educator preparation only occurs within the School of Music through the Music Teacher Education Program. Students in this program pursue the Bachelor of Music Education degree with an emphasis in either Instrumental/General Music or Choral/General Music.

study and evidence, an accreditation review team makes an onsite visit to conduct multiple interviews and examine any additional evidence. The review team crafts a report and then, based on the findings outlined in the report, the accrediting body assesses whether or not the program is meeting the standards. If the accrediting body recommends continued accreditation, then this recommendation is presented to the Indiana State Board of Education, which is responsible for determining final state-recognition status of all educatorpreparation programs in Indiana.

In general, educator preparation programs go through an accreditation review process every seven years. In the years leading up to the review, the program gathers evidence and completes a thorough self-study, outlining and explaining the ways in which the program meets the accreditation standards.

Following the submission of the self-

The Music Teacher Education Program has just completed this process, and the program has been granted continued full accreditation. To some, it might seem that this is no great cause for celebration, just another in a long series of accreditation reviews. However, according to Caroline Jetton, director of music teacher education, “This particular review

comes with a great deal of celebration due to one significant factor: This is the first accreditation review in which the Music Teacher Education Program had to stand alone in the process.” For many decades prior, music education was one of many branches of teacher education at DePauw. The Department of Education encompassed elementary education and many areas of secondary education.

During each previous accreditation review, music education was included as a small aspect of a large program. Since 2008, music education has been the only educator preparation at DePauw, and in 2017, this small program lived up to the challenge of proving its worth by fully meeting every accreditation standard.

More information about the music teacher education program at DePauw can be found at www.music.depauw.edu/ prospective/degrees.

CIM Appoints Brondyke Director DePauw School of Music alumna Amy Brondyke, a member of the class of 1994, has joined the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) as Director of Marketing and Communications.

During her previous nine-year tenure as Director of Marketing and External Affairs at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Brondyke led a team that generated nearly $3 million in annual ticket sales in six markets where the orchestra performs, and she increased the retention rate of firstyear subscribers to more than 50 percent.

Prior to that, Brondyke was Director of Marketing for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for seven years, where she increased the number of subscriptions sold

and set a new record for total ticket sales.

She also taught a course in the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership’s Arts Leadership Program.

Earlier in her career, she worked for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Amy’s experience building and retaining audiences is directly applicable to the hundreds of performances CIM presents annually,” said President Paul W. Hogle.

“CIM is in a time of dramatic transformation and attracting talented professionals with this depth of experience is a testament to this organization’s outstanding reputation and its bright, bright future.”

CIM is an independent music conservatory known for superior orchestral, chamber music, composition, opera and voice programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Its world-renowned faculty includes more than 40 members of The Cleveland Orchestra.

Winter/Spring 2018 I 3

Krzywicki ’86 Returns to Kresge with USAF Band Craig Paré, director of DePauw University Band in Kresge Auditorium to a capacity crowd of veterans, community members and DePauw University faculty, staff and students, giving a wonderful performance that delighted the audience with symphonic band classics, light favorites and patriotic arrangements and honored attending veterans. Both the Concert Band and Singing Sergeants welcomed guest DePauw student musicians to join them in separate pieces.

Senior Master Sergeant Philip Krzywicki ’86 performs with the USAF Band at DePauw.

It was a privilege to welcome the Washington, D.C.-based United States Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants to campus on Oct. 23, as part of its Midwest fall tour. The band performed

In addition, it was a treat to welcome back USAF hornist Senior Master Sergeant Philip Krzywicki ’86. “After 22 years of touring all across this country with the band, it’s great to finally come through this part of Indiana and be back on the stage of Kresge Auditorium,” said Krzywicki.

“DePauw afforded me many fine musical opportunities. The small class size and wonderful faculty gave me the attention I needed and nurtured my abilities. They got me on the right track. This is where I first

realized my love for performing onstage. ” Regarding his Air Force service and tenure with the Concert Band, Krzywicki added, “It’s been an honor to perform in such a fine ensemble while serving my country and proudly representing the excellence and dedication of airmen everywhere.”

In addition to Krzywiki, alumni members of U. S. service bands include Captain Rafael F. Toro-Quiñones ’96, commander of USAF Band of the Golden West, and Adam K. Hilkert ’08, who is in the U. S. Army’s band conducting program.

Christopher D. Kaercher ’18 will join the U. S. Marine Band program following May commencement.

Lieutenant Commander John H. Farquhar, U. S. Navy (1951–1998), a 1972 DePauw graduate, was the director of the Allied Forces Southern Europe Band in Italy and the Pacific Fleet Band in Hawaii.

University Band director Craig Paré and USAF Col. Larry H. Lang exchange momentoes of the USAF Concert Band’s visit to DePauw Oct. 23, 2017.

4 I Winter/Spring 2018

DePauw Orchestra Chosen for University Premiere Orcenith Smith, director of DePauw University Orchestra Performing works that have an historical, social context can be invigorating, and the newest such works might be challenging, might need courage and, even then, have unknown results. The University Orchestra worked hard this year to put all the technical elements in place to experience a single and singular concert performance of Kevin Puts’ The City on Oct. 29, 2017.

Commissioned by Carnegie Hall for its 125th anniversary, the piece was originally performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in New York and Baltimore under music director Marin Alsop as part of the BSO’s 100th anniversary celebration, and then again in August 2016 with California’s Cabrillo Festival of New Music Orchestra, where Marin Alsop also was music director. The City is a powerful mix of images interwoven with a winning sonic scheme of anxious atmospheres and noble melody. I heard it at the Cabrillo Festival and immediately wanted to perform it at DePauw for ArtsFest 2016. Unfortunately, as originally stipulated, the work was to be performed just three times in NYC, Baltimore and at the Cabrillo Festival. I implored Puts and his agent to work with Carnegie Hall, BSO and videographer James Bartolomeo to reconsider, since I believed it had much to say of its subject, Baltimore, in its 100-year span of sounds, images, home movies and modern newsfeed.

I was able to convince all of the parties (or perhaps one, who convinced the others) but, with such a short window of opportunity, complications arose with getting the work on a mid-fall concert in 2016. Nonetheless, the administration of DePauw School of Music went forward, with hope, finding needed funding and putting the project together for fall 2017.

Finally, the day arrived to begin rehearsing.

As I showed the orchestra Bartolomeo’s video over a synthesized version of the

DePauw Orchestra presents the university premiere of American composer Kevin Puts’ The City. music, the notes on the page began to transform into something more. A story of a city unfolded: its buildings, bridges, harbor, people and conflicts—an important story of the people of that city dealing with its issues and working toward healing and reconciliation. Through a YouTube video, the composer explained in his own words the compositional impasse he experienced in trying to put images of a city to music, until he saw the newsfeed of the civil unrest related to the tragic death of Freddie Gray. This changed the course of the work and its musical story.

In rehearsal, the orchestra took on the task of playing and interpreting the notes, but with more understanding of the work’s context and meaning. We moved steadily toward the concert date, discovering along the way that synchronization of the video to music so well-crafted required perfect tempos and that split seconds mattered. I wore the earpiece and click-track required by the composer to maintain the instantaneous presence of the image changes.

On the day of the concert, the opening works on the program set the mood for

The City. With stage lights dimmed, stand lights illuminated the music and large images flashed on, filling the stage wall of Kresge Auditorium and building the story of the city’s history leading up to the Gray tragedy.

At the climax of the work, the imagery disappears for several minutes, and we feel the sole power of the cataclysmic music.

As it subsides, an almost surreal newsfeed of the aftermath of civil unrest is seen. The awe of these sequences and the powerful musical messages return viewers to some kind of normalcy. Reconciliation is seen in images of outreached hands as that process begins, the city revives and moves on… with the audience also truly moved.

After the concert, audience members reacted with deep appreciation to the event they had just experienced, the broad focus of the images, the history of the city and difficult chapter in its evolution, directed by the music’s narrative. The student performers sensed they had participated in a highly demanding work of art, a work connected to a social context, a work of hopeful nobility and change.

Winter/Spring 2018 I 5

Faculty News B. Suzanne Hassler, editor C. Matthew Balensuela, professor of music, was elected president of Local 25 of the American Federation of Musicans in Terre Haute., Ind. He organized and chaired the session, “Teaching the Music History Survey: Writing, Research and New Approaches,” for the Music History Teaching Conference in Boston, June 9, 2017. In the fall, he began teaching saxophone as an adjunct faculty member at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Saint Mary of the Woods, Ind. Kristina Boerger, director of choirs, toured Spain and France as a soprano with The Rose Ensemble, presenting two concert programs during summer 2017.

One featured ancient Italian motets and laude by monastic devotees of St. Francis of Assisi; the other featured early Americana, Hawaiian choral music and arranged Negro spirituals. Fall concert highlights included singing at the National Gallery, the Cloisters and the Guggenheim Museum with Pomerium and the Vox Vocal Ensemble. As a

conductor, Boerger directed the Syracuse Schola Cantorum Summer Workshop and the New York State School Music Association Treble Honor Choir; conducted The Rose Ensemble in the world premiere of Xavier Pagès i Corella’s “Audito è un canto,” commissioned by the World Symposium on Choral Music; and performed for the symposium at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona.

Assistant Professor Eliza Brown’s one-act monodrama, ”The Body of the State,” was premiered Oct. 20–22, 2017, at Chicago’s Edge Theater by Ensemble Dal Niente.

Its three scenes create a psychological narrative through pivotal moments in the life of Juana of Castile, a 16th-century Spanish monarch who was ultimately incarcerated by members of her family after a complex series of personal and political power plays. The libretto was co-authored with women incarcerated at Indiana Women’s Prison and integrates their experiences of imprisonment with Juana’s story.

Kerry Jennings joined the faculty of the Austrian American Mozart Academy division of the William Lewis School

of Opera in Salzburg, Austria, in July/ August, where he directed Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and taught applied voice. He will return this summer to once again teach applied voice and to direct Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne. In May, he judged the high school finals at the Classical Singer National Convention in Chicago, where he also presented a master class.

In September 2017, soprano Barbara Paré and pianist Tony Weinstein performed “An Evening with Emily Dickinson” at Bluefield College in Virginia. Paré also gave a master class for Bluefield students. In November, she was invited

by Lynn Ischikawa to participate in a luncheon for DePauw international students titled “Intonation, Stress and Rhythm: Techniques for Improving Pronunciation.”

Mark Rabideau, director of 21CM, aims to make DePauw School of Music the national hub of music entrepreneurship. Efforts toward this goal include the publication of The 21CM Introduction to Music Entrepreneurship (Rowman & Littlefield); an appointment as co-chair of the College Music Society’s (continues page 7)

Foy Joins Arts HS Hall of Fame Reynolds Arts Hall of Fame in WinstonSalem, N. C. The new hall at Reynolds High School honors some of the school’s most creative alumni, notes the WinstonSalem Journal.

Other inaugural inductees included singer/ songwriter Ben Folds (who performed at DePauw in 2003); Ben Brantley, chief theater critic for the New York Times and videographer Endia Beal, known for her narratives on minority working women.

Leonard Foy, trumpeter and professor in the DePauw University School of Music, was among 13 individuals who were inducted on Sept. 16, 2017, into the R. J. 6 I Winter/Spring 2018

“The 13 were selected from among 58 nominees who attended the school during its 95-year history according to the school system,” the paper reported.

Foy serves as artist/faculty at Birch Creek Academy and the Interlochen Arts Camp.

He has been featured in both jazz and classical performance arts throughout the United States, as well as Argentina, Canada, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Italy, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

Professor Foy’s career includes performances with a variety of celebrity artists; extensive engagement with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony Orchestra; and recording and touring internationally since 1991 with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.

Entrepreneurship Education Committee; the launch of the 21CM Institute for Music Entrepreneurship, a weeklong intensive that trains faculty from across the country how to teach music entrepreneurship; and lectures at Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Colorado at Denver, University of Texas-El Paso, Ohio University, Ball State University and Indiana University. Rabideau’s forthcoming book, Doing Good: Entrepreneurial Musicians Making a Difference, has been commissioned

by Project 440, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that prepares community leaders through life lessons learned in the arts.

Travers Named Concertmaster

Caroline B. Smith, professor of music and voice area coordinator, was one of four master clinicians chosen to conduct classes at the Kentucky Governor’s School of the Arts in July 2017. Smith also conducted a master class, her tenth, at the 2017 Classical Singer National Convention College Expo and served as a judge for the national semifinals of the Classical Singer High School Classical Competition and the Musical Theatre Professional Division Competition in Chicago. She was especially thrilled to serve as a judge for the Musical Theatre Professional Division with DePauw alumna Alicia Berneche ’93 (see page 2).

Smith also conducted a master class for the St. Louis Opera-in-Training Program in August 2017.

This fall, Matthew Kraemer, music director for the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, announced the appointment of violinist and full-time DePauw University faculty member Tarn Travers as ICO’s new concertmaster.

Nancy Summitt, associate professor of instrumental music education, presented her research, “Influence of Self-regulation and Motivational Beliefs on University Music Students’ Use of Practice Strategies,” at the Research Poster Session for the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic and Convention on Feb. 18. She also will present it at the Research Poster Session for the NAfME 2018 Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference.

Professor Tarn Travers, who directs DePauw University’s violin studio, is ICO’s new concertmaster.

The concertmaster is an important leader in the orchestra, helping to shape the character and artistry of the ensemble.

ICO held auditions for the position in May 2017, following a nationwide search.

“The appointment of Tarn Travers as concertmaster of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra is a critical step in the continued artistic growth of our wonderful orchestra,” said Kraemer. “Tarn has displayed his incredible talent on every occasion when performing with the ICO, and the respect he has earned from his colleagues is very well placed.”

Kraemer adds, “His musical intelligence and experience will leave an indelible and immediate mark on our performances.”

Travers performs regularly around the world as a soloist, chamber musician and an orchestral player. In 2001, he was a prizewinner at the Heifetz Guarneri auditions, which led to a performance on the historic “ex-David” Guarneri, the favored violin of Jascha Heifetz.

Tarn spent three years as a violinist in the New World Symphony, where he often led the orchestra as concertmaster.

He also appeared as soloist three times, once in every season spent with that orchestra. Recent performance highlights as a member of the Chicago-based contemporary group Ensemble Dal Niente include a concerto appearance at the Konzerthaus in Vienna; a chamber music appearance at the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C.; and a residency at Harvard University. Among recent events at which Travers was featured with the ICO was the ensemble’s April 21 performance of Richard Strauss’s Le Bourgoise gentilhomme at Butler University’s Schrott Center for the Arts.

The violinist studied at San Francisco Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music and Stony Brook University. His primary teachers included Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil; concert violinists Camilla Wicks and Axel Strauss; and Emerson Quartet violinist Philip Setzer. In addition to serving as concertmaster of ICO, he teaches violin students and coaches chamber ensembles at the DePauw School of Music, where he also is a member of the DePauw Chamber Players.

Winter/Spring 2018 I 7

Student News Tabatha C. Hickey ’18, editor

Senior Selected for Recording After being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, tenor Blake C. Beckemeyer ’18 (five-year double-degree plan, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts in mathematics) attended SongFest, where he performed in master classes with Martin Katz, Susanne Mentzer, Sanford Sylvan, Roberta Alexander, Libby Larsen, Alan Louis Smith and Graham Johnson and worked with composers Jake Heggie and John Harbison. The association with composer Libby Larsen led to an invitation to record three of her songs with pianist Geoffrey Conquer (see also libbylarsen.com). Beckmeyer then performed with the Baroque Academy of the Amherst Early Music Festival. He was one of the youngest singers selected for this elite program. His summer culminated in performances with the Weimarer Bachkantaten-Akademie 2017, directed by Helmuth Rilling. In December, Beckemeyer returned to Germany to perform again with Maestro Rilling conducting The Christmas Oratorio.

The talented tenor, who sang the role of Don Basilio in DePauw Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, is also slated to complete his Honor Scholar thesis project this spring. While at DePauw, Beckemeyer studied with Caroline Smith and Brian Horne.

8 I Winter/Spring 2018

Andrew M. P. Brown ’19 (piano, Bachelor of Musical Arts with a peace and conflict studies minor) is spending spring 2018 in New York City in an internship with National Sawdust, the most vibrant venue in Brooklyn for classical music. Andrew is working alongside the programming division at National Sawdust, learning how to arrange performance contracts with artists from around the world; how to advertise upcoming performances both online and in real life; and how to create a venue that is appealing to both artists and concert-goers. He hopes to use the skills he learns at National Sawdust to create engaging musical experiences on DePauw’s campus, where he studies piano with Professor May Phang and conflict resolution with Rachel Goldberg.

Mary A. Buckingham ’20 (soprano, Bachelor of Music track) performed the role of Claudine in FAVA-France’s production of La fille du tambour last summer. Mary was one of four solo performers in the Laura Bell Bundy master class in fall 2017. She also won first place in the Indiana NATS auditions for the Seond-Year College Women Musical Theatre category and was cast as Marcellina in DePauw’s spring production of Le nozze di Figaro. Mary has studied with Caroline Smith and André Campelo.

Emily Chen ’18 (piano, Bachelor of Musical Arts with an English literature minor) played piano and sang in combined vocal and instrumental chamber music concerts while studying in Vienna through the International Education of Students (IES) Abroad program. Over the summer, she sang in a master class with Aaron Sheehan at the Boston Early Music Festival and attended a Beginning Choral Conducting Workshop. Emily also sang in the choir and was a soloist in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 during the Summer Choral Festival at Westminster Choir College. At DePauw, she studies piano with Professor May Phang and voice with Barbara Paré.

Amalia D. C. Crevani ’20 (soprano, Bachelor of Music track) was one of four performers to sing on the Laura Bell Bundy master class in fall 2017. She sang Susanna in DePauw Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro and won first place in the First-Year College Women Classical and Musical Theatre categories for Indiana National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Amalia also competed in February as a finalist in the Forte International Music Competition in New York City. She has studied with André Campelo and Professor Caroline Smith.

Baritone John Cotton is congratulated following the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in St. Paul.

John A. Cotton ’19 (baritone, five-year double-degree plan, Bachelor of Music and Bachleor of Arts in computer science) started spring break off in style March 24 by winning an “Encouragement Award” at the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in St. Paul, Minnesota. Judges for the competition were Edward Berkely of the Julliard School and the Aspen Opera Theater Center; Mark Morash of San Francisco Opera; and internationally renowned dramatic soprano Margaret Jane Wray (herself an alum of the Met’s Young Artists program). To be recognized by this esteemed panel and to win this award as an undergraduate student is quite an achievement. His teacher, Kerry Jennings, shares pride in his accomplishment.

Elise F. Daniells ’19 (soprano, Bachelor of Music with a French minor) sang

the lead role of Stella in FAVA-France’s production of La fille du tambour. At DePauw, she was chosen as one of four performers to work with Laura Bell Bundy in her master class in fall 2017.

Elise placed second in the Third-Year College Women Classical category for Indiana NATS. While at DePauw, Elise has studied with André Campelo and Professor Caroline Smith.

Christopher D. Kaercher ’18 (trombone, Bachelor of Music) auditioned for the U.S. Marine Corps Band Sept. 9, 2017.

After receiving a pass on his audition, he was sworn in Nov. 4 and will leave for basic training in the mid- to late summer following graduation from DePauw in May. He is a student in James Beckel’s studio.

Avery D. Nash ’18 (Bachelor of Arts, kinesiology) was the first-place winner in the Hall Johnson Spiritual Category at the Indiana NATS State Auditions.

Avery is a voice student of Barbara Paré.

Cosetta Righi ’19 (soprano, Bachelor of Music) placed first in her category,

Third-Year College Women, at the NATS regional auditions at Michigan State University March 3. The event included about 145 singers from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario. Righi, who is studing with Brian Horne while Dr. Kerry Jennings is on sabbatical, spent the summer in Graz, Austria, at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), where she also was chosen to sing in a master class with renowned soprano Barbara Bonney.

A record nine DePauw students received Gilman International Scholarships for study abroad in spring 2018, including three music students: Bo D. Shimmin ’19 (tenor, Bachelor of Music), who is studying innovation and tradition in music with IES in Italy, and Grant M. Woods ’19 (saxophone, Bachelor of Musical Arts) and Maxwell J. Filkins ’19 (piano, Bachelor of Musical Arts with a business emphasis), both of whom are studying this spring in Vienna through IES. Marin M. Tack ’18 (soprano, Bachelor of Music) performed in the Barbara Bonney master class while attending the AIMS-

Graz Lieder Program in summer 2017.

At DePauw, she performed the role of Frau Blucher in the fall musical theatre production of Young Frankenstein; sang on the Laura Bell Bundy master class; and placed second in the Indiana NATS Fourth-Year College Women auditions.

Marin is a member of Professor Caroline Smith’s voice studio.

David C. Young ’20 (baritone-tenor, Bachelor of Music track) participated in the 2017 SOARS Bay View Music Festival, where he performed the roles of Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Dr. Cajus (Falstaff), Alfredo (La Traviata), and Vašek (The Bartered Bride) in select scenes. He also sang the role of Tommy in Carrie the Musical in Houston. At DePauw, Young sang the roles of Victor von Frankenstein and The Hermit in the fall musical Young Frankenstein; performed in the Laura Bell Bundy master class; sang the role of Don Basilio in DPU’s spring 2018 opera Le nozze di Figaro; and won first place in Second-Year College Men in both the classical and musical theatre categories. He also is a member of Professor Caroline Smith’s studio.

Winners of the School of Music’s annual concerto competition — Samuel Heichelbech ’21, clarinet; Blake Beckemeyer ’18, tenor; Elise Daniells ’19, soprano; Mei Fujisato ’18, violin; and Amelia Smerz ’20, cello — performed April 8, 2018, with the DePauw University Orchestra directed by Orcenith Smith.

Winter/Spring 2018 I 9

Alumni News B. Suzanne Hassler, editor

Tyler D. Benware ’15 is the new Orchestra Operations Manager for the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the operations team, he oversees the orchestra’s touring engagements and supports the general manager. The ASO performs more than 200 concerts a year and is the largest arts organization in the southeastern United States. Since graduating from DePauw, Benware has also worked for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and the Ambassador Theatre Group. While a double-major in music and communications at DePauw, he studied oboe with Leonid Sirotkin and was a marketing and publications assistant to Suzanne Hassler.

In fall 2017, Patrick C. Brems ’15, began a master’s degree at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business, where he was also the only non-music major admitted by audition to the Notre Dame Chorale.

In December, he was featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah, performed with orchestra and chorus. In May, Brems will tour with the chorale to Ireland.

While at DePauw, he was a voice student of Barbara Paré.

Allison M. Emata ’17 is performing as the violinist with the National Tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. She is the sole string player in a nine-member touring orchestra under musical supervisor Greg Anthony Rassen. Among the regional stops on the Cinderella tour were Emens Auditorium in Muncie and IU Auditorium in Bloomington. While at DePauw University, Emata earned her bachelor’s degree in violin performance.

For more information on her touring dates, visit CinderellaonBroadway.com.

10 I Winter/Spring 2018

Baritone Erik J. Erlandson ’13, a student of Caroline Smith while at DePauw, is pursuing a D.M.A. degree in voice at the University of Colordao at Boulder, where he also was awarded a teaching assistantship.

In June, Erlandson performed with the CU New Opera Workshop in its production of Mark Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

Tenor Dallas P. Gray ’17, a former student of Professor Kerry Jennings, sang the role of Nick Esposito in a reading of the new work Town Hall with the Maryland Opera Studio and performed the work in its entirety in February. Gray performed the role of the First Commissioner and covered the role of Chevalier de la Force in the spring production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

In spring 2017, Claire E. Jagla ’11 graduated from University of Cincinnati with joint degrees – an M.A. in arts administration from the College-Conservatory of Music and an M.B.A. from the Lindner School of Business. She serves as secondary schools program manager at Muse Machine in Dayton, Ohio, a nationally celebrated arts education organization serving more than 72,000 students and their teachers. Claire studied with Professor Caroline Smith at DePauw.

After earning an M.M. degree at the University of South Carolina, Shie Kantor ’10, matriculated to the University of Illinois, where she graduated in August with her M.A. CF-SLP degree and certification. She spent her summer in an internship at the UW-Madison Voice & Swallow Clinic, training in treatment of adult voice disorders and head and neck cancer patients, the area in which she has chosen to specialize. Kantor is working at Carle Hospital in Champaign-Urbana, a top 50 hospital, where she is building her position into a “voice clinic” to work directly under the umbrella of otolaryngology. She

hopes to pursue her Ph.D. in the future.

While at DePauw, Kantor studied with Professor Caroline Smith.

Kathy Kern ’87 is in her 31st year of teaching elementary school music, private violin and piano students, and working with children’s choirs. Her career brought her back to Indiana in 2016 to teach with the North West Hendricks County School Corp.

She previously served as an adjunct professor for music education courses and as a cooperating teacher candidate, mentoring in Wisconsin. She holds certification or has had extensive training in Orff, Kodaly and Dalcroze.

As a student at DePauw, she studied voice with Professor Caroline Smith.

Joseph R. Leppek ’15, tenor, has been awarded a summer contract with Glimmerglass to sing the lead role of Tony in its production of West Side Story. Leppek completed his M.M. degree at Rice University in spring 2017. As a vocal performance major at DePauw, he studied with Professor Caroline Smith.

Steven R. Linville ’06, a former student of Professor Caroline Smith, was promoted to the position of director of production at DePauw University.

Kari Nelson ’13 joined the national tour of Cabaret, which will be performing throughout the U.S. through May 2018. Memorable tour appearances included shows at Indiana University Auditorium in Bloomington, where she first performed as a high school student.

While at DePauw, Nelson studied voice with Kerry Jennings.

Jennifer L. Peacock ’15 joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University in fall 2017 as a music director and accompanist in its “Top 10” B.F.A. musical theatre program. Originally from Crawfordsville, Ind., Jennifer moved to State College from New

York City, where she worked following graduation as a freelance pianist and music director, including two seasons as a vocal director for Royal Caribbean Productions, leading rehearsals in Miami and installing shows on cruise ships. Last summer, she served as music director for Bye Bye Birdie at Barrington Stage in the Berkshires.

While at DePauw, she studied piano with Professors Claude Cymerman and May Phang, collaborative piano with Tony Weinstein, jazz piano with Steve Snyder and voice with Barbara Paré.

After performing musical theatre in New York City for eight years, doing Broadway national tours, regional theatre and off-Broadway shows, Melanie G. Penn ’98 turned her talents to freelancing and songwriting and debuted her album Immanuel last fall.

Both the album and companion video have met with resounding success.

Penn studied with Professor Caroline Smith when she attended DePauw.

Read more at www.huffingtonpost. com/entry/exclusive-music-videopremiere-immanuel-the-shepherds and at melaniepenn.com.

“Melanie Penn dazzles with her musical gift.” — The Huffington Post Yazid T. Pierce-Gray ’16, baritone, will complete his M.M. degree at the University of Michigan this spring, where he studies with Stephen Lusman.

He performed the role of Oliver Jordan in the Michigan premiere of William

Bolcom’s newest opera, Dinner at Eight, and was one of two vocalists selected to advance to the UMI Concerto Competition. This spring, he sang the roles of Undertaker/Frazier in a concert version of Porgy and Bess put on by the University Musical Society and University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theater and Dance. Yazid studied with Professor Caroline Smith while a student at DePauw.

Sarah J. Pistorius ’17, mezzo-soprano, is pursuing an M.M. degree at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, where she has been cast as Olga Olsen in Street Scene. Sarah received awards for “Best Female Performer” for her supporting performance of Cherubino in Opera in the Ozarks’s summer production Le nozze di Figaro, as well as a performance scholarship to be used for graduate study. While at Opera in the Ozarks, she also sang the role of Mrs. McLean in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. At DePauw, Sarah studied with Professor Caroline Smith.

Soprano Julie A. Strauser ’16, is pursuing her M.M. degree at Southern Methodist University, where she performed the role of Rona in SMU’s production of Spelling Bee. She also was the soprano soloist for the Fauré Requiem, performed in Berlioz’ Beatrice and Benedict for the opera scenes program, and sang in the Dallas Choral Festival last summer. She studies with Camille King and, while a student at DePauw, studied with Professor Caroline Smith.

Tenor Derrick D. Truby ’17, a former student of Kerry Jennings, was selected for a two-week musical theatre intensive in Washington, D.C., where he trained with renowned performers, producers and directors. Immediately following the program, he landed his first professional show, starring in Memphis for which he garnered rave reviews. He continues to audition

and perform throughout Washington, Maryland and Northern Virginina.

Soprano JennyRebecca Winans ’02 debuted her album Brilliant After All. She is in her fifth year as an adjunct professor of music at Simpson University in California, where she teaches voice and diction.

After earning two degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Winans went on to pursue opera in Berlin and internationally, and, as she says, “stumbled into a creativity project where I wrote over 400 songs in a year.”

In fall 2017, she toured throughout the United States and Europe promoting her album. While at DePauw, she studied with Professor Stanley Irwin.

Read more at www.jennyrebecca. com and www.facebook.com/ JennyRebeccaOfficial.

Jeremy M. Wong ’12 was appointed lecturer in music/choirs at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where he conducts the University Chorus, Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. He also has taught applied voice lessons to music majors and has been preparing the Chamber Singers for their 2018 tour of Spain. As conductor and voice teacher, Wong enjoys a multifaceted career in the state of Hawai‘i, with experience and success teaching a wide variety of ages and skill levels. He recently served on the faculty of Hawai‘i Pacific University as interim director of choral activities and has taught choirs and beginning voice classes at Kapi‘olani Community College and the University of Hawai‘i at West O‘ahu.

With keen interest in the greater choral community of Hawai‘i, he has worked with and conducted groups such as Early Music Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i Youth Opera Chorus (his choral alma mater), The Honolulu Chorale and the Lutheran Church of Honolulu Choir. Wong also continues to sing professionally. At DePauw, he studied with Professor Caroline Smith and Matthew Markham.

Winter/Spring 2018 I 11

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 17 Greencastle, IN 46135

P.O. Box 37 • Greencastle, IN 46135-0037 Phone: 765-658-4380 • FAX: 765-658-4042 music.depauw.edu

Another “Outstanding Future Music Educator” from DePauw: Whitehead Honored by IMEA The Indiana Music Education Association recognized Allan R. Whitehead, a senior music education major at DePauw University School of Music, as an “Outstanding Future Music Educator.” The prestigious award, honoring the very best in collegiate music teacher education, was presented at the annual IMEA Professional Development Conference held in Fort Wayne, Jan. 11–13.

When learning about Whitehead’s award days prior to the conference, Dr. Caroline Jetton, director of music teacher education, professor of music and associate dean of academics and advising at DePauw, noted, “Allan is a most deserving recipient. Throughout his time at DePauw, he has excelled in his music education courses and field experiences. Additionally, he has shown tremendous initiative in seeking 12 I Winter/Spring 2018

teaching opportunities; he has worked as a music/visual instructor at five different schools, as a jazz ensemble instructor at two schools as well as a private lessons instructor. His enthusiasm and passion for teaching music is contagious. His future students will be very fortunate to have him as their music teacher.”

Believing the senior to be very worthy of the award, Nancy Summitt, assistant professor of music at DePauw, remarked, “Allan Whitehead has consistently demonstrated his commitment to excellence as a music educator.”

Upon receiving the news of his award, Whitehead responded, “I am honored and humbled to be named a recipient of the IMEA Outstanding Future Music Educator award. I am so excited to get into the field and begin helping students become better people through music.”

Senior Allan Whitehead receives guidance in conducting from visiting clinician Roby George, director of bands at Indiana State University.

This spring semester, the senior is working on completing his student teaching in the band program at Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis under the supervision of Tim Cox. A trumpeter pursuing the B.M.E. degree with a P-12 Instrumental/General Music Education emphasis, Whitehead, will graduate from DePauw University in May 2018. He is the 14th recipient since the first award was presented to a DePauw student 20 years ago.