May newsletter

Immaculata Music Department Newsletter There were plenty of concerts this month!

Read about all of them in this edition of the Music Department Newsletter! https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPWBz6sQC2XI7iDDGOO5CoLv9sRLiD

Table of Contents Curtis Institute Update Paige Gale Page 4

High School Honors Band Festival Paige Gale Page 4

Practice Tips Gina Rulli Page 5

Adjunct Spotlight – Dr. Megan Woodard Emma Richey Page 6

Music Therapy Faculty Changes Madison Molnar Page 6

Large Ensembles Review James Dunwoody Page 7

Small Ensembles Review Kristen Goldstein Page 8

Music Education Conference Review Alyssa Wiltbank Page 9

Music Trivia Page 10

Curtis Institute Update Paige Gale, Senior The Immaculata Music Department is excited to announce a two-year agreement with the Curtis Institute of Music. They will be performing three concerts next year in Alumnae Hall here at Immaculata. The concert series will be title “The Curtis Symphony Orchestra at Immaculata University.”

The dates the concerts will be held are as follows: Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 3 PM Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 8 PM Saturday April 13, 2019 at 8 PM These concerts will hopefully bring more people to Immaculata Symphony concerts and possibly to Immaculata in general. We would like to thank everyone who played a role in getting this relationship to where it is now and hope to see it grow more in the future.

High School Honors Band Festival Paige Gale, Senior On Friday, May 4, 2018, Immaculata will be hosting its first annual High School Honors Music Festival.

This will be an all-day event for about 60 talented high school musicians, who were nominated by their band directors, to get instruction from some of Immaculata’s professors and perform alongside some of Immaculata’s students. The band will be conducted by Mr. Gehring, the Director of Ensembles at Immaculata. The high school students will get be able to attend full rehearsals, sectionals, and the final performance. The concert will be open to the public, so please come support the musicians and their hard work. We hope to make this an annual event that grows each year, and maybe adding an honors choir in the future.

Practice Tips!

Gina Rulli, Sophomore Summer is rapidly approaching, which makes me daydream about warm weather, fun-filled nights, relaxation, and vacations. However, before I began my college career I found myself wondering, “Do music majors practice in the summer?” I was confused because I used to believe that practice was equivalent to work, and my summer plans had no mention of work at all! However, Summer break is approximately three months long: the same length of time as one semester. Considering how much I learned in one semester, I was hesitant to indulge in my summer plans because I did not want to lose the progress I had made.

At the beginning of last summer, I worried as to whether or not I should practice every day—I had not found a music major guidebook that specified this! I eventually found myself naturally partaking in a different kind of practice I had never done: practicing for myself. In the past, I was taught to practice for lessons, for my teachers, for performances, and for juries, to name a few; but once those expectations were removed, I found myself naturally practicing things I truly wanted to become better at, things I never knew I liked: practicing for the purpose of my own self-satisfaction. In retrospect, this style of practicing helped me define why I do what I do. When I returned for the following Fall Semester, it made every other type of practicing much simpler.

For all of you who are unsure of what to practice, here are a few tips you can try: · · · · ·

Learn and practice songs/pieces by your favorite band and/or composer Practice that one rudiment, scale, or other challenge that kept taking a backseat last semester because you simply could not master it Start practicing new repertoire for next semester Practice the basics of your instrument Pick up a new instrument you have always wanted to try and practice that

Brainstorming yet?

In the end, I am eternally grateful for the downtime in the summer. I realized that as musicians we get so caught up in others' expectations that it becomes easy to forget why we do what we do in the first place, what we like to create and contribute to music, and what we like about practicing our own instruments. Summer is a great opportunity to do all of the above.

Here’s to summer filled with self-discovery and self-practice. Have a great summer, IU!

Adjunct Spotlight – Ms. Meghan Woodard Emma Richey, Junior Dr. Meghan Woodard is a fairly new addition to Immaculata’s adjunct staff. She teaches applied oboe lessons at Immaculata as well as Temple University, Haverford College, and Bryn Mawr College. She recently received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Oboe Performance in 2017 from Temple University and also has undergraduate degrees from University of Iowa and Ithaca College. Meghan has performed with several orchestras in Connecticut, Iowa, New York, and Pennsylvania. In 2015 she was a featured soloist in the Temple University Wind Symphony performing Concerto for Oboe and Winds by Lukas Foss. She is also a founding member as well as the manager of a Philadelphia-based woodwind quintet. This quintet performed several unique concerts as a part of the Project Screen Grant that was awarded by the Pennsylvania Council of Arts in 2016.

Music Therapy Faculty Changes Madison Molnar, Sophomore Everyone in the music program was disappointed to hear that Dr. Eyre was retiring and Dr. Hunt is leaving us this summer. Not only do we all have very fond memories of them both, but they are both well-established researchers in the field. Some students were very concerned where the program was going to go without them here. But, Dr. Carr found two of the most capable people for the job: Ms. Corey Neifert-Olver and Mr. Daniel Benonis, M.A., MT-BC. Ms. Neifert-Olver will be the director of our program. Ms. Neifert-Olver is a graduate of our music therapy graduate program. She has her bachelor’s in piano performance from Ithaca College, and she comes to us from her position as the director of adjunct music therapy at Northbrook Behavioral Hospital. Mr. Benonis is a graduate of both undergraduate and graduate music therapy programs from Immaculata. He is also pursuing his doctorate in music therapy from Temple University. I have yet to talk with Mr. Benonis, but Ms. Neifert-Olver sat in on a session with the music therapy club, which was a great opportunity to learn more about her. She has a balance of humanistic and cognitive-behavioral based studies. And she is very open to hearing what students have to say about the program and what we are looking for in the program. We are sad to see Dr. Eyre and Dr. Hunt leave us, but we are excited to welcome Ms. Neifert-Olver and Mr. Benonis.

Large Ensembles Concert James Dunwoody, Freshman Last weekend, April 21st, the Symphony performed in concert a series of Leonard Bernstein’s works for the 100th anniversary of Bernstein. The Symphony performed Slava!, Three Dances from ‘On the Town’, as well as Mambo, an explosive and energetic dance number often noted for being a direct inspiration to the more current ‘ Incredibles Theme’ through its high speed and rhythmic and melodic harmony.

The piece was both a hard and energetic end to a wonderful performance!

On Friday, April 27th, the chorale performed several lyrical sensations including Bach’s Jesu Meine Freude, Ticheli’s There Will be Rest as well as Fly to Paradise, a wonderful work revolving around powerful chords and a high-placed solo, performed by Alyssa Wiltbank. Also performing were the Madrigal singers. The singers worked with the chorale for Shine on Me, following a wonderful new tradition! The tradition is to pass on roses to the seniors of both groups as the concert would be the final choral performance done at IU for the year. Good Luck Seniors!

This past Sunday, April 29th, the Immaculata Concert Band, with the West Chester Community Band, performed Crest of Honor, Pandemonium, Spirals and Semper Fidelis. Also included was the performance of a series of musical numbers from West Side Story for the 100th anniversary of Bernstein. The works were both diverse and challenging as Pandemonium was written specifically to represent chaotic and confusing music. With the performance now behind us, the last of the performances for the semester are already upon us. Good Luck Seniors!

Small Ensembles Concert Kristen Goldstein, Senior On April 17, Immaculata held its small ensembles concert, which occurs once every semester. In this semester’s concert, the guitar, string, clarinet, flute, piano, chamber, and percussion ensembles all performed two or more works of various styles. The evening began with the guitar ensemble performing a piece called, Pavane for a Sleeping Princess, by Maurice Ravel, as well as three other works written between the 17th- and 20th-centuries. Following the guitar ensemble’s wonderful performance was the string ensemble, which consisted of two violins and two violas. The string ensemble performed very lively and exciting works by Charles Dancla and Jacques Fereol Mazas, including Canzonetta and Festival March.

Next, the clarinet ensemble displayed their talents through their performances of Sonata IX, by William Boyce, as well as other works by Beethoven, Bach, and John Mills. The Flute choir also exhibited their virtuosity in the pieces The Comedian’s Gallop, and Walk Like This, and presented different ways to produce unique sounds on the flute. Following the flute choir was the piano ensemble, who skillfully performed pieces by Brahms, Schubert, Mozart, Debussy, and Handel using two pianos. The chamber ensemble then gave a great performance of two works by Paul Taffanel, Wind Quintet, and Paul Hindemith, Kleine Kammermusik, and consisted of a flute, oboe, two clarinets, and a bassoon. Finally, the percussion ensemble gave an exciting performance of pieces by Jared Spears and Chris Crockarell, including, Allegro Fantistica and Sushi Funk.

Overall, the ensembles concert not only displayed the talents and dedication of many students in learning challenging works throughout the semester, but provided the opportunity to learn and perform new instruments. The small ensembles are open to all students who desire to further their musical abilities in their instrument and develop new skills under the guidance of dedicated and talented members of the music faculty.

Small Ensembles Opportunities: • Piano- Mr. Stephen Campitelli • Flute- Dr. Paula Nelson • Guitar- Mr. John Dragonetti • Clarinet- Mr. Vincent Iannone • Woodwind- Mr. Vincent Iannone • String- Mr. Raymond Mallari • Chamber- Mr. Joseph Gehring • Brass- Mr. Joseph Gehring • Percussion- Mr. Brent Behrenshausen

Music Education Conference Alyssa Wiltbank, Junior On April 19th and 20th, Music Education Majors, Carrie Hawbaker’21, Kailee McWilliams’20, Alexis Reavill’19, and Alyssa Wiltbank’19 attended the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s (PMEA) Annual State Conference as part of their professional collegiate affiliation with PMEA. The conference was held at the beautiful Lancaster Marriott and Convention Center in Lancaster County, PA. While in attendance, our Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators Association (PCMEA) members had the opportunity to sit in on sessions pertaining to various topics in the field of music education (conducting, special needs students, elementary general music, choir, band, etc.) which were led by over 90 expert clinicians representing various school districts and universities all across the state of PA. Professor of Music, Sister Kathleen Doutt, IHM, D.M.A., presented an informative session titled “I’m Teaching What??!!” that provided strategies to help music educators master their “weakest link” with discussions led by a panel of veteran teachers that are currently in the field. Also, in the main showroom of the convention, were over 130 exhibitors at the PMEA Marketplace ranging from companies such as Steinway & Sons, J.W. Pepper, Gia Publications, and many more! Many universities were also represented. Immaculata University had a booth there as well!

Our members had a fantastic two days getting to learn more about the field of music education and strategies to help them be the very best they can be in the classroom or rehearsal setting. It was a memorable learning experience!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Music Education Club/PCMEA Chapter this year!

Music Trivia

Across 5. first scale degree 6. lowest voice part 8. highest voice part 11. one person playing 12. sixth scale degree Down 1. loud 2. C - F# 3. scale that starts on V 4. how loud or soft 7. pickup 9. how fast or slow 10. walking