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STRING CHAMBER MUSIC PROGRAM RETURNS STRONGER THAN EVER

By Zachary Lewis

Philip Setzer and Si-Yan Darren Li performing alongside students in a collaborative chamber music recital, Philip Setzer and Friends, on April 29 (photos by Robert Muller)

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just spare the renowned string chamber music program at CIM. True to the old adage, it made it stronger.

So, at least, says cellist Si-Yan Darren Li, program director of string chamber music, which is comprised of dozens of groups. When, after lockdown, he sat down to play with students and colleagues again, the difference, he says, was palpable.

“CIM students have always loved chamber music, but this time there was an urge,” Li recalls. “It was very inspirational and encouraging for me as a teacher.” The experience of Philip Setzer, artistic director of string chamber music, was even more profound.

At that point, the founding violinist of the legendary Emerson String Quartet had only been on the faculty at CIM a short while. Thus, for him, returning to live music was like living a famous scene from The Wizard of Oz. He was the man behind the curtain and his students at CIM were Dorothy and her friends, meeting a figure they’d only known virtually.

“Some of these people, I hadn’t seen them in person yet,” Setzer recalls. “We’d only worked together online. Hearing their sound and my sound finally come together was truly, deeply moving. It was the same for every student I saw.”

In truth, the chamber music program was never in any danger. Much as they do orchestral music and opera, teachers and students at CIM value chamber music far too highly ever to let it go. Indeed, it’s part of what makes the school special.

“Everyone here understands the important role the art of chamber music plays in music education,” Setzer explained. “What’s unusual about CIM is that there’s such a strong orchestra culture and yet chamber music is not cast aside.”

“It’s already been one of the best experiences of my education,” added Emera Gurath (violin, Rose), a master’s student and participant in CIM’s Advanced String Quartet Program. “Even if I don’t do it as a career, I don’t ever want chamber music not to be a big part of my life.”

That’s not to say there weren’t setbacks, especially in the early days of the pandemic, during the reign of social distancing.

More than almost any other musical discipline, chamber music demands closeness. It hinges on the ability of players to hear and respond to each other naturally. Take away that intimacy or throw up a digital go-between like Zoom and everything suffers. The players may get through a piece, but it’s likely to lack the spark and vitality of a live performance.

Masking? No problem. Getting vaccinated? Easy. Remaining six or more feet apart when playing Beethoven and Haydn? Well, that was just downright unpleasant.

“The distance, for me, was the real challenge,” Li said. “You can’t hear very well when everyone is far away. It really made all of us exaggerate our body movements, just to stay together.” There were upsides to the down time, of course. Setzer said he genuinely enjoyed the opportunity the pandemic provided to engage in comparative listening and mine instructional gems from his background playing with Emerson and growing up with parents in The Cleveland Orchestra. It let him be the teacher he’s always wanted to be.

“I have all this experience and information that was just given to me and I want to pass that on,” Setzer said. “It’s something I really, really enjoy doing. The students, to their credit, really pitched in and made that time feel worthwhile.”

There was even value in spending time apart. True to another adage, absence made the hearts of CIM’s chamber music students grow fonder, such that when the program resumed in person, the level of playing was automatically higher.

“Their appreciation for creating live music, in person, had increased so much,” Li said. “They came into rehearsals better prepared than ever.”

That passion has endured. Today, as the pandemic enters a more manageable phase, the string chamber music program is thriving.

Li, a graduate of The Juilliard School, said he regularly sees about 30 ensembles, many of which he organized himself, including mixed groups with pianists and wind players. Over the course of 15 weeks, he, Setzer, and a handful of other coaches and guest artists spend a total of 10 hours with each ensemble.

Groups in the Advanced String Quartet Program receive even more attention.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Li, noting the special impact of Setzer and a list of world-renowned guest artists. “That love is still there. A lot of what we already had was working beautifully. But now we’ve added to the program and made it even more beneficial.”

Certainly it has benefited Gurath. Not only has the Advanced String Quartet Program redefined her notion of hard work, it’s also made her a better musician, she said, an artist better equipped to make music with groups of all sizes.

“Chamber music is the perfect marriage,” Gurath said. “You’re like a soloist, but you also have to work together. It makes you much more of a problem solver and gives you tools. It teaches you how to listen.”

Li and Setzer’s number-one goal may be to produce great chamber groups, but they also aim to produce capable allaround musicians and good people.

They don’t expect every student to join a legendary string quartet, although many do become chamber music professionals. They do, however, hope graduates will take what they learn and apply it to whatever form of music or line of work they end up pursuing. After all, the ability to find common ground and work hard together is vital in every profession, whether the subject is a symphony, a sonata or a spreadsheet.

“We don’t always get to work with our best friends,” Li said. “ I think that’s what’s really beautiful about chamber music studies. Whether you do music or not, you need to have the skills to work with people and be responsible. Enthusiasm is much needed, but to do anything well, it takes hard work and commitment, persistence and resilience.”

Gurath, for her part, said her experience with chamber music already has affected her life outside performing. To her surprise, serving as an ambassador for the string chamber music program revealed a possible future in teaching. “It made me realize I had something to say and input to give,” she said.

When it comes to teaching, Setzer has big plans, too. His vision for chamber music at CIM includes arranging more side-by-side and collaborative performances in which multiple groups play different movements of one piece. He’d also like to introduce multimedia concerts, in which performers display and talk about a score before playing it.

“The audience loves it,” he said. “Even if they can’t read music, they experience what it is to learn music.”

Li isn’t done building the program, either. His over-arching objective is to serve more effectively as a bridge to the professional arena, to give his CIM charges all the help he himself received, and more.

Meanwhile, with the pandemic still underway, he’s also teaching a new lesson, one that may be more important than ever: seize the day.

“You never know,” Li said. “2020 might repeat. I always tell my students not to take anything for granted. Every moment is a gift.”

A UNANIMOUS CHOICE: CIM NAMES BARBARA ROBINSON A LIFE TRUSTEE

By Zachary Lewis

CIM doesn’t confer its highest honor on just anyone. Indeed, until recently, the school had only bestowed the title of Life Trustee on one other person.

If anyone has earned the label, though, it’s Barbara Robinson. When, at its annual meeting last December, CIM’s Board of Trustees named the longtime music-lover and Cleveland philanthropist a Life Trustee and awarded her a medal, support for the moves were unanimous.

Had the meeting taken place in-person rather than virtually, “I would be rallying us to a standing ovation in Barbara’s honor,” said CIM President and CEO Paul Hogle.

Board Chair Susan Rothmann echoed that sentiment, calling Robinson “a woman I have admired as a mentor and friend…my personal inspiration of leadership and philanthropy.”

Robinson, of course, is more than a great supporter of CIM. Unlike A. Malachi Mixon III, namesake of the concert hall at CIM and the man for whom CIM created the title of Life Trustee in 2017, she’s also a former student. So far did Robinson take her musical education, she went on to perform with the Boston Pops, and in 2006, CIM awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts.

In her remarks accepting the Life Trustee honor, the Wellesley College graduate recalled her days as a young piano student in CIM’s Preparatory Division, leaping around a Dalcroze eurhythmics class. She smiled at the observation that now, instead of rhythm flash cards, she’s holding a medal, one designed by professor Matthew Hollern of the Cleveland Institute of Art.

The one-time student at CIM has become a pillar of the school. “Having gone through that transition,” Robinson mused, “I am particularly proud and grateful for this honor.”

Robinson’s impact on CIM is difficult to overstate. A member of the school’s Century Circle, she’s created legacies that transcend instrument, department and time period, and will help

Barbara Robinson (photo by Tyler Scott)

generations of students live out CIM’s mission as the future of classical music.

For one thing, Robinson has been a Trustee a long time – nearly five decades. For another, she’s been exceptionally active. Although her term as chair from 1987 to 1991 was particularly impactful, the truth is Robinson has always worked tirelessly to guarantee that CIM students have both the material and artistic resources they require in their pursuit of musical excellence.

Robinson’s leadership and generosity “will resound through the halls, practice rooms, concert stages and the board room for years to come,” Rothmann said. She might also have mentioned CIM’s music library, which also bears Robinson’s name.

Of course, Robinson has supported much more than capital projects and other physical improvements. Of arguably even greater significance have been her gifts helping CIM graduates land their dream jobs and making it possible for more students to enroll at CIM in the first place.

From left: Caleb Cox and Grace Roepke

In 2019, Robinson gifted $1.5 million to CIM to establish the Robinson Family Presidential Scholarship. The fund, which accompanied a $1 million Dean’s Scholarship gift from Mixon, covers full tuition as well as room, board and other fees for one exceptional student every year.

Two years later, in October 2021, Robinson’s gifts did it again, endowing another vital tool, the Robinson Orchestral Career Fellowship. In that program’s first iteration, two recent graduates – violist Caleb Cox (MM ’19, Jackobs/Vernon) and harpist Grace Roepke (BM ’19, MM ’21, Kondonassis) – received full financial support as they pursued Artist Diplomas and engaged in an array of professional development experiences including mock auditions, networking events and recording projects.

Robinson, in accepting the Life Trustee honor, said she is proud to have helped make CIM the high-ranking, nationally competitive institution it is today. “After many years of cultivation,” she said, “CIM is now one of the handful of our nation’s leading private, independent music conservatories.”

Hogle returned the compliment, describing Robinson in his announcement of the Career Fellowship as a “CIM luminary” and “a staunch advocate for ambitious, rigorous, sequential preparation for music students of all ages,” including those like Cox and Roepke, players “poised on the brink of their careers as orchestral musicians of the highest artistic standing.”

CIM isn’t alone in its gratitude to Robinson. In truth, CIM is just one of many fortunate institutions Robinson has supported with tireless leadership and generosity over the years. Likewise, her new Life Trustee award from CIM is only the most recent in a long string of high honors from cultural and health services organizations around the region and even in the nation’s capital.

Two of CIM’s peer institutions in University Circle, the Cleveland Museum of Art and The Cleveland Orchestra, also have named Robinson an honorary or life trustee. Meanwhile, she’s also a life member of the board of trustees of University Hospital’s Case Medical Center.

Beyond that, Robinson spent 15 years fighting for local, state and regional arts organizations as chair of the Ohio Arts Council, Arts Midwest and the Washington, DC-based National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Thus, when she thanked Robinson, Rothmann took the long view. She praised CIM’s second Life Trustee the way one might hail a great, prolific author: not for any one gesture in particular but rather for her whole body of work.

“I cannot thank [Robinson] enough for the example she has set of humble leadership and unwavering dedication,” Rothmann said. “Her unflagging enthusiasm for our work has seen the future of classical music become the present.”

From left: Barbara Robinson and Paul Hogle (photo by Tyler Scott)

MEET THE PROVOST

By Matthew Arnold

Scott Harrison began his tenure at CIM in August 2021. Hailed by the LA Times as a leader with “imagination and ambition,” he brings to the post almost two decades of experience in arts management. He also has held senior leadership positions with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. From concert programming, artistic partnerships and marketing to advancement, community building and board engagement, he has lived in the worlds CIM students aspire to reach.

Provost Harrison has a Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Northwestern University, as well as a Master of Music in bassoon performance from Southern Methodist University. He has performed with orchestras of all sizes, from the Indianapolis to the Irving (Texas) symphonies, and in Broadway and opera pits. He’s also taught in schools across the country. His boundless energy comes not from caffeine (he doesn’t drink coffee!) but rather from the passion and determination others bring to the collaborative process. We caught up with Scott to find out how he’s settling in.

The role of provost has been a fixture at larger universities but is new to CIM. What can we expect from you?

At CIM, the provost is the chief academic and artistic officer. My job is to ensure there’s cohesion, clarity, excellence and ample resources behind everything educational and artistic. CIM’s identity is composed of multiple divisions: not only the Conservatory but also Preparatory, general studies (Joint Music Program) and now post-graduate programs like the new Robinson Orchestral Career Fellowship. You can expect a unified approach as we continue to expand CIM’s presence.

You’ve been tasked with strategic improvement across the organization. It feels like a transformative moment for the school and for the students. What’s the biggest change factor as you see it?

We’ve adopted the 2.0 moniker, which suggests that the underlying architecture or software at CIM is strong. Our job is to be receptive to the changing musical world around us,

Scott Harrison

to deliver the next and better version of everything we do. Those who don’t know us well might think CIM is a traditional institution, but our first music director, the Swiss-Jewish immigrant Ernest Bloch, instilled trailblazing ideas about composition, pedagogy and the role of music in society. Since its inception, CIM has always been willing to examine and evolve, and I think that’s what we’re doing again right now.

You’ve also been tasked with strengthening and forging partnerships. What’s your philosophy in that arena?

I’ve always believed that when you bring together organizations with shared values but different competencies, you create something that is so much greater than the sum of the parts. We’re building and enhancing relationships with Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Institute of Art, Art Song Festival, Cleveland School of the Arts, Assembly for the Arts and many more. Whether large or small, these organizations represent the diversity and beauty of Northeast Ohio and can help prepare our students for future careers as artists while building a more meaningful community presence for CIM.

Scott Harrison and Paul Hogle getting to know students during orientation (photo by Tara Stephens) Scott Harrison speaking with Titus Underwood (BM ’08, Mack/Rosenwein/Rathbun) and his wife, Amanda, at the annual school picnic (photo by Robert Muller)

The collective conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion is uncommonly broad and thorough. How is the conversation going at CIM?

CIM is a national leader in the diversity of our student body. The next question we must address is, “How inclusive and equitable are we willing to be?” Our Future of Music Faculty Fellowship, which just completed its inaugural year, provides pathways for Black and Latinx professionals entering the music professoriate. This program has taught us that the educators of the future need more than just skills and tools training. They need time with leading musicians of color who can speak about the joys and struggles of succeeding in a field that has historically asked them to check their identities at the classroom or stage door. The Fellows have met with folks ranging from former University of Richmond President (and former CIM Dean) Ronald Crutcher to internationally acclaimed musician, composer and educator Wynton Marsalis for honest and inspiring conversations. In truth, though, these experiences have impacted all of us at CIM. The Fellowship has reminded me of the progress we still have to make. We need to diversify our faculty, staff and board, and then listen to those new voices until we truly become the welcoming and inclusive environment our young musicians need to succeed and thrive.

Organizations are constantly evolving. As CIM begins its second century, where do you see the school going in the next 5 to 10 years and what in that future excites you the most?

CIM will remain the answer to all of the following questions: As a college student, where should I go to pursue a successful, purposeful and fulfilling career in music? As a high school music student in Northeast Ohio, where can I go to join a community around the thing about which I’m the most passionate? As an early career professional, where can I go for development to hone the skills I need to stay competitive and relevant? As an educator or administrator, where can I go to have honest conversations about how the field of music is changing? These next 5 to 10 years should reinforce CIM as a center for everything that is meaningful, needed and exciting in classical music.

While I have you, can you talk about your involvement with BLUME Haiti?

I’ve been inspired by the countless Trustees, donors and CIM community members who commit tirelessly to the future of our school. Similarly, the philanthropic passion of my life has been my work with Building Leaders Using Music Education (BLUME) Haiti, of which I’m a founding board member. We just celebrated 10 years of supporting music education in Haiti, strengthening the physical and human infrastructure of nearly 50 Haitian music schools and enabling them to provide outlets for creativity and personal development to talented youth across the country. Haiti is a nation in tremendous need. At the same time, Haitians are resilient and filled with a love for music. That love deserves nurturing and support. In a country where so much is unreliable, BLUME Haiti has helped music schools remain a source of strength and stability amidst the most challenging of situations. Every time I return from Haiti, I realize my Haitian friends have taught me something new about what is possible and given me the resolve to be a better steward of the tremendous wealth and opportunity we have in the United States.