ALUMNI NEWS
MSM
8 MSM ALUMNI RECEIVED 2022 GRAMMY AWARDS
BestOperaRecording
Glass: Akhnaten
BestJazzInstrumentalAlbum Skyline
BestChoralPerformance
BestContemporaryClassicalComposition
Caroline
BestLargeJazzEnsembleAlbum
BestArrangement,InstrumentalorACappella
Meta
(Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists)
alumna mezzo-soprano J’NaiBridges(BM ’09);MSM alumnus and trustee countertenor AnthonyRoth Costanzo(MM’08)
Mahler: Symphony No.8, “Symphony Of A Thousand”
Including MSM alumnus tenor Simon O’Neill (MM ‘00)
Shaw: Narrow Sea
DawnUpshaw(MM ’85,HonDMA’98), Gilbert Kalish & Sō Percussion
MSM alumnus and faculty member Ron Carter(MM ’61, HonDMA’98), Jack DeJohnette, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba
For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver
Christian McBride Big Band including MSM tenor sax alumnus LorenSchoenberg(BM ’80)and MSM bass trombone alumnus DouglasPurviance (MM’92)
Knight’s Revenge (From Kirby Superstar)
Charlie Rosen and Jake Silverman (MM ’16) arrangers (The 8-Bit BigBand Featuring Button Masher)
2022 PULITZER PRIZE FOR MUSIC FINALISTS
Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti (DMA '16) Andy Akiho (MM ’09)
Joshua Cohen
Cohen's Novel The Netanyahus:
of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family is a 2022 Pulitzer Prize Winner. (BM ’01)
An Account
Le Bu
Bu (BM ‘22) was one of six winners named in the Met Opera’s 2022 Laffont CompetitionGrand Finals held in May.
Daniel Rich (MM ’19), Baritone Le Bu (BM ‘22), Baritone William Woodward (MM ‘19), Piano Juan José Lázaro (MM ‘19), Piano
The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann YoungArtist Development Program now has four MSM alums on their roster.
Jeanine De Bique
De Bique (BM ‘06, MM ‘08, PS ‘09) performed this summer with “Mostly Mozart”and was praised for her performance by the NY Times.
Erin Wagner
Wagner (BM '19) won the 2021 Young Concert Artists Auditions
She made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in April as the winner of the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s 2021 International Vocal Competition.
J’Nai Bridges
Bridges was featured on the cover of Opera News' February issue.
J’nai Bridges & Damien
Sneed
Bridges and Sneed were recently featured in the PBS documentary American Masters – Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands.
Anthony Roth Costanzo
Interviewed and profiled for the NY Times in January after being named this year's NY PhilharmonicArtist in Residence.
He opened AKHNATEN at the Met Opera in late May.
2022 History Makers Award from New-York Historical Society.
EgyptologyFellowship from Oxford University.Pablo Sáinz Villegas
Villegas (PD '04, PS '06, AD '07) was featured on PBS's Great Performances at the Met in concert with Nadine Sierra,Ailyn Pérez, and faculty member Isabel Leonard at the Royal Opera of Versailles.
Sophia Santiago
Santiago (MM ‘21) has won the 16th Fatima Terzo Award.
Nina Berman
Berman premiere recording of Milton Babbitt’s Works for High Voice
Laquita
Laquita Mitchell
Mitchell(MM ’01, PS ’02) sang the title role in Tom Cipullo’s Josephine in January and was recently appointedto the Mannes School of Music Faculty.
Maria Brea
Brea (BM ‘15) was a finalist in the Paris Opera Competition in January.
Fire Shut Up In My Bones after party with all the MSM alums involved with the production.
Briana Hunter
Hunter sang in Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater with The Orchestra Now at Carnegie Hall.
José Luis Maldonado
Maldonado (MM ‘18) covered Sir Bryn Terfel in the role of Falstaff in the Aspen Music Festival’s production of Falstaff
Alysia Velez
Velez (BM ‘22) was cast as Rapunzel in Broadway's Into the Woods
Torinae Norman
Norman (BM ‘22) was cast as Ms. Clara Eynsford-Hill/Ensemble/Eliza Doolittle u/s, in the national tour of My Fair Lady.
N’Kenge Pacurar & Joseph Joubert
Broadway’s Caroline, or Change featured MSM alums Pacurar (BM '96) and Joubert (BM ’79, MM ’81)
I-Jung Huang
Huang (PS ‘20) was appointed violinist with the New York Philharmonic.
Kevin Ritenauer
Ritenauer (BM ‘16) was appointed Associate Principal Timpanist/Section Percussionist with the St. Louis Symphony.
Kunbo Xu
Xu (PPD ‘23) was appointed to the viola section of the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra.
Xiaoxuan Shi
Shi (MM ‘22) won a violin position with the San Diego Symphony.
Marcelina Suchoka
Suchoka (BM '16, MM '18) has been named Principal Percussionist of the Sarasota Orchestra.
Lumeng Yang
Yang (MM ’22) won a violin position with the National Center Orchestra of the Performing Arts (Beijing)
Magdiell Jesus Antequera Chirinos
Antequera Chirinos (PS ’22) won a violin post at Artis-Naples (Naples Philharmonic).
Pinghua Ren
Ren (PS ’20) recently won the Principal Bassoon position in the Richmond Symphony.
Sein Lee
Lee (PS ‘22) won the Principal Cello position with the Portland Symphony Orchestra
Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall
Thomas Mesa
Mesa (DMA ’17) was appointed to the faculty of SUNY-Purchase and was one of the 2023 Sphinx Medals of Excellence honorees.
Noemi Gasparini
Gasparini (MM ’20) won First Prize at Académie Ravel in St Jean De Luz
Brandon Patrick George
George (MM ‘10) was featured on the WQXRArtist PropulsionLab concert series in a performance with pianist David Fung and in the NY Times.
Zanon (MM '16) led the Italian National Anthem alongside pop singer Malika Ayane at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Giovanni Zanon
Alex Laing (MM ’98) Clarinet Monica Ellis (PS ’98) Bassoon Jannina Norpoth (BM ’03) Violin Burt Mason (MM ’08) Trombone
Tia Allen (PS ’10, PD ’12) Viola Chris Johnson (MM ’08) Bass Kyra Sims (MM ’12) French horn
MSM alumnijoined the Re-Collective Orchestra to celebrate Juneteenthat the Hollywood Bowl.
Matt Wong (BM ‘19), Piano Shantos Sharma (BM ‘20), Saxophone Jasper Davis (MM ‘18), Trombone Eva Ding (MM ’19), Flute Kyra Sims (MM ‘12), French Horn
Endea Owens (BM ‘20), Jazz Bass
Glenn Alexander (MM ‘22), Conducting Niles Luther (BM ‘20), Cello
MSM Alumni premiered Jon Batiste's latest opus, American Symphony. The work was orchestrated and arranged by Matt Wong (BM ‘19).
Rupert Boyd
Boyd (MM '06) released his new album “Songs of Love and Despair”.
Boyd was chosen as Musical America Worldwide Artist of the Month in April.
Eliana Fisbeyn
Fishbeyn (MM ’22) was named a 2022 ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer.
Ron Carter
Carter(MM’61, HonDMA‘98) celebratedhis 85th birthday in a concert at CarnegieHall titled For the Love of Ron, Ron Carter and Friends: 85th Birthday Celebration.
He was the subject of a PBS documentary that aired in mid-October.
Imani Williams (MM ‘21) Jazz Voice Domo Branch (BM ‘22) Jazz Percussion
MSMAlumni performed at The Django in its inaugural “Next Gen Series” celebrating the next generationof jazz musicians.
Eric Lewis (BM ‘97) Jazz Piano
Evan Sherman (BM ‘15) Jazz Drumset
Patricio Molina
Molina (BM ’12, MM ‘14) was named a Yamaha Artist in April.
QINGHONG LIAN (BM ‘22) ZEZE XUE (MM ’19)
Xue won 1st Place and Lian won 3rd Place in the orchestra914 Competition.
Simone Dinnerstein
Dinnerstein(PC '89) performed with Renée Fleming, Uma Thurman, and the Emerson String Quartet at Carnegie Hall.
Kirill Gerstein
Gerstein(BM '99, MM '00, HonDMA‘21) replaced Daniel Barenboim on three days notice, learning and performing a new Mozart concertowith the Vienna Philharmonic in March.
He performed to a sold-outcrowd of 32,000 at the Berlin Philharmonic at Berlin’s Waldbühne.
Fei-Fei Dong & Dominic Cheli
Dong (MM ‘21) and Cheli (BM ‘14) performed as part of a program of all five Rachmaninoff Concerti with Pegasus: The Orchestra
Leah Claiborne
Claiborne (BM '12) was chosen as the winner of the 2022 Stecher & Horowitz Power of Innovation Award.
Yuan Sheng
Sheng (BM '95, MM ‘97) appointed Chair of Piano at the Central Conservatory (Beijing).
Malcolm Merriweather
Merriweather
(DMA ‘15) has been named director of the newly formed New York Philharmonic Chorus
Earl Lee
Lee (MM '13) is Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony and was recently appointed Music Director of theAnn Arbor Symphony. He made his debut with the New York Philharmonic in a Lunar New Year concert.
Marlon Daniel
Daniel (BM ‘93) was interviewed in OPERAWIRE for his work with young singers and opera in Cuba.
Jason Flowers II
Flowers (BM ’19, MM ’21) was interviewed recently by CBS New York, commenting with other teachers about a recent study that shows children respond well to having a male teacher of color.
Erica Xiaoyan Guo
Guo (BM ‘15) spent the summer working at the Santa Fe Opera. This Fall, she joined the Minnesota Opera as a resident artist.
Maureen Zoltek
Zoltek (DMA
'13) was appointed music director of the Houston Grand Opera's Studio Artist program.
Christopher Cano
Cano (PS ‘03) was recently appointed as the Director of the Young Artist Program and of the American Opera Initiative at Washington National Opera of Kennedy Center.
Hyoung-joon Chang
Chang (BM '86, MM '88, DMA '92) was appointed President of the Seoul Arts Center.
Michael G. Ibrahim (DMA '09) was recently appointed Director of the School of Music at The Ohio State University.
Michael G. Ibrahim
Blake-Anthony Johnson
Brevard Music Center honored Johnson (MM ‘16) as the recipient of the 2022 Alumni Award and was named one of "40 under 40" in Crain's Business.
He is Executive Director of Chicago Sinfonietta.
Melissa Wegner
Opera Now magazine interviewed Wegner (MM '05), head of the Met Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Program and the Met's Laffont Competition.
Christopher Cerrone
Cerrone's (BM '07) Opera, In a Grove, received rave reviews at its world premiere at the Pittsburgh Opera.
Jack Perla
Perla's (MM ‘84) Give me Jesus premiered at the San Francisco Symphony.