Department News

Brass

Junior horn performance student Maxwell Arceneaux released his first album, Discovery, in October. The self-produced album includes 10 original compositions.

See Teresa Deskur in Historical Performance.

Baltimore’s Creative Alliance hosted Sahffi Lynne’s (BM ’93, French Horn) “Connect with YOUR Voice” workshop, where participants engaged with Lynne’s Vocal Ladder Method.

See Harry Oehler in Strings.

See Ian Striedter in Strings.

Preparatory faculty member Dan Trahey’s (BM ’00, Tuba, Music Education) Collective Conservatory, including members of the Preparatory’s Tuned-In program, performed and remotely recorded music for “Visceral Harmonies,” a collaboration with American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. The video premiered in December on the ABT YouTube channel and Instagram TV.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, Johns Hopkins University partnered with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids Program on “Queens Unseen: Royals Without Crowns, A Musical Exploration of Women’s Voting Rights in Our Democracy,” an audio/visual presentation that premiered in December. Peabody affiliates involved with the project included Dan Trahey (BM ’00, Tuba, Music Education) and Director of Graduate Conducting Marin Alsop as well as Nick Skinner (BM ’08, Trumpet), Sam Bessen (MM ’17, Horn), Chelsey Green (MM ’09, Viola), and members of the Preparatory’s Tuned-In program.

A feature on faculty artist Larry Williams (BM ’88, GPD ’90, French Horn) was the cover story for an issue of SupportED, a magazine for instrumental instructors published by Yamaha.

Composition

The Evolution Contemporary Music Series, founded and directed by faculty member Judah Adashi (MM ’02, DMA ’11, Composition), held its season kickoff event with recent Peabody Medal winner and New Yorker music critic Alex Ross discussing and sharing readings from his third book, Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music.

See also Judah Adashi in Guitar.

See Viet Cuong in Percussion.

Composition Professor Du Yun released a new album, A Cockroach’s Tarantella, with the JACK Quartet. Her piece i am my own achilles’ heel was included on Brooklyn Rider’s GRAMMY-nominated album Healing Modes.

Composition Professor Michael Hersch (BM ’95, MM ’97, Composition) and sculptor Christopher Cairns collaborated to create a series of concerts called “...thus far and no further...”

See Amy Beth Kirsten in Percussion.

Angel Lam (MM ’03, DMA ’11, Composition; MM ’05, Music Theory) will host a program in collaboration with the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), featuring Hong Kong musicians, artists, and creations, in 2021. Lam had her piece Once upon a time, a village in the southern sea… featured on Radio Television Hong Kong and on the cover of Hong Kong’s Fine Music Magazine.

Scott Lee (MM ’13, Composition) released Through the Mangrove Tunnels, performed by the JACK Quartet, on Panoramic Recordings in November 2020.

IN Series, with Timothy Nelson (BM ’04, Composition), artistic director, is one of 13 Professional Company members that will receive a share of $980,000 in the Innovation Grants program from OPERA America.

See also Timothy Nelson in Vocal Studies.

Current conducting DMA candidate Matthew Pellegrino (MM ’18, Composition) presented a virtual music performance and talk on Korean music that inspires optimism and transformation through the Carroll County Public Library in October.

Con Alma is an album and live digital experience of original works by Paola Prestini (BM ’95, Composition) and vocalist and composer Magos Herrera that explores the question of how we can find communion in a time of isolation. Created and recorded in quarantine, it features more than 30 musicians from three continents.

See Vivian Adelberg Rudow in Piano.

Conducting

Marin Alsop, director of graduate conducting, was appointed the first ever Music Director of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival, a program of the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

See also Marin Alsop in Brass.

Nu Deco Ensemble, created by Jacomo Bairos (GPD ’11, Conducting), released the EP Live from Miami with Cimafunk, the first of the “Nu Deco + Series,” which highlights previous collaborations through digital streaming platforms. In November, they also premiered their live performance video, Catching Up With Depeche Mode, originally recorded at the New World Center in 2018.

Jamie Reeves (DMA ’20, Conducting) was recently appointed director of orchestral studies at the University of Alabama.

PROTESTRA, a coalition of activist musicians founded by Michelle Rofrano (MM ’16, Conducting), created a virtual performance of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4 in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Clifton Joey Guidry III (BM ’18, Bassoon) and Jordan Thomas (BM ’13, MM ’15, Harp) performed for the recording. PROTESTRA aims to highlight social justice issues through classical music performances.

Jonathan Rush (MM ’19, Conducting) received a two-year appointment as Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Rush will support Associate Conductor Nicholas Hersh in conducting the BSO’s digital series and serve frequently as a cover conductor.

Conducting master’s student Leonard Weiss was a recipient of the 2020 Churchill Fellowship Award. With support from the Churchill Trust, Weiss has been invited to act as assistant conductor to Director of Graduate Conducting Marin Alsop at the Ravinia Festival, Toby Purser at Vienna Opera Academy, and Nicholas Carter at Santa Fe Opera.

See Joseph Young (AD ’09, Conducting) in Headliners.

Dance

Dance BFA student Rush Johnston’s solo “Nothingness” was presented in the Werner Independent Choreographer’s Showcase, College Edition, in November.

The Puerto Rico Classical Dance Competition Gala in February 2021 featured Dance BFA student Rebecca Lee performing “…and still, we must…” by danah bella, Dance BFA Chair, as well as a screening of the dance film “a solo” by Dance BFA student Lourdes del Mar Santiago Lebrón.

Dance BFA musician Shodekeh and Music Technology Assistant Professor Wendel Patrick are featured on “Traveler,” the first single from Tuvan throat-singer Bady-Dorzhu Ondar’s debut album. The album was recorded at WTMD in fall 2019. Shodekeh also performed “Falling Flames” by Finola Merivale with Soo Yeon Lyuh and Sō Percussion in an online edition of Sō Percussion’s Brooklyn Bound Series in November.

Harry Sukonik, a Dance BFA student, performed in mignolo dance’s “Manifested Destiny” in a drive-in performance in November.

Guitar

Professor Manuel Barrueco (BM ’75, Guitar) taught three online master classes as part of his Augustine Foundation Master Class Residency in November at the Manhattan School of Music. Performers included students from Eastman School of Music, Hunter College, Juilliard, and Manhattan School of Music. Barrueco’s annual master class through the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society reached pre-college guitar students from all over the world.

Director of LAUNCHPad and guitar faculty Zane Forshee (MM ’01, GPD ’03, DMA ’11, Guitar) performed in First & Franklin Presbyterian’s virtual Spire Series in August. The program featured music by Ronald Pearl, John Dowland, Thelonious Monk, and faculty artist Judah Adashi (MM ’02, DMA ’11, Composition). The Spire Series is run by Jason Kissel (DMA ’07, Organ).

Guitar master’s student Junhong Kuang (BM ’20, Guitar) released Rodrigo, Ponce & Garcia: Guitar Concertos with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice conducted by Darrell Ang. The album received a positive review from BBC Music Magazine.

Yuri Liberzon (BM ’04, GPD ’05, Guitar) released his third album, 3 Violin Sonatas, in October. The album includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach for violin transcribed for guitar by Professor Manuel Barrueco (BM ’75, Guitar).

See William Simms in Historical Performance.

Meng Su (PC ’09, GPD ’11, MM ’16, AD ’18, Guitar; GPD ’15, Chamber Ensemble) has been appointed to the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music beginning fall 2021.

Studio K Flamenco presented the Flamenco Nutcracker with Marija Temo (MM ’94, Guitar) performing her original score live.

Harp

Zoe Coppola (MM ’14, Harp) created the Happy Harps books, a teaching series for beginning to intermediate harp students.

Assistant Professor June Han performed a free online solo harp concert including works by Alphonse Hasselmans, Louis Spohr, and Marcel Tournier through the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

See Jordan Thomas in Conducting.

Historical Performance

The Winchendon Music Festival, founded and directed by Andrew Arceci (BM ’08, Double Bass, Viola da Gamba), presented a 2020 digital series with Arceci and lutenist William Simms (MM ’91, Guitar) performing.

Three Peabody musicians were finalists in the World Bach Competition sponsored by the Boulder Bach Festival: Kristen Dubenion-Smith (MM ’05, Voice) in the Professional Vocalist category, Wade Davis (MM ’11, GPD ’13, Baroque Violoncello) in the Professional Instrumentalist Category, and junior Teresa Deskur, a French horn and music education student who plays recorder, in the Student Instrumentalist Category.

See Gwyn Roberts in Woodwinds.

Niccolo Seligmann (BM ’15, Viola da Gamba) performed a program inspired by the medieval artworks in the Walters Art Museum collection.

Jazz

Devin Gray (BM ’06, Jazz Percussion) released an album, 27 Licks, with Gerald Cleaver in October.

Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair in Jazz Studies Sean Jones, artistic director of NYO Jazz, joined Wycliffe Gordon and the students of NYO Jazz to create a video performance of Gordon’s “We’re Still Here.”

Current students Daniel J. Tomczyk, jazz percussion; Jason Torres, tuba; Charlie Reichert-Powell, jazz guitar; Nico Wohl, jazz guitar; Marco Lybbert, jazz piano; Joe Huang, jazz saxophone; and August Braatz, jazz trombone, performed live at Keystone Korner.

Reincarnation, a new album by Conservatory faculty artist and Preparatory alumnus Warren Wolf, released by Mack Avenue Records, pays tribute to the R&B music Wolf listened to growing up in the 1990s. Wolf also released Christmas Vibes through Mack Avenue. The album features classic carols, pop songs, and an original Christmas song.

Liberal Arts

In September, liberal arts faculty member Jelena Runić gave a video guest presentation titled “English Language Teaching Methods: The Rise and Fall of the Grammar- Translation Method” for Xi’an Jiaotong- Liverpool University, the first Sino-British university, located in Suzhou, China.

Music Education

See Teresa Deskur in Historical Performance.

See Bailey Jo Hutton in Strings.

Walt Lindberg (MM ’11, Music Education) released a solo finger-style guitar album called Carols. The album features 10 original arrangements of favorite Christmas carols.

See Harry Oehler in Strings.

The Arcadia Chorale, led by Matthew Rupcich (BM ’90, Music Education), released two virtual recordings in its 2020–21 season: “How Can I Keep from Singing” arranged by Z. Randall Stroope and O Nata Lux by Morten Lauridsen.

See Dan Trahey in Brass.

Music Theory

See Angel Lam in Composition.

Agustin Muriago, assistant professor of keyboard skills, presented an online lecture for the Kansas State University piano studio in October. The lecture, “Unheard Voices: American Piano Works from Underrepresented Groups,” explored repertoire by composers from various backgrounds and generations.

“The Tale of Shoeless Joe” and “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” from Associate Professor Joel Puckett and Eric Simonson’s The Fix were performed as part of Minnesota Opera’s “Opera in the Outfield.”

Music Technology

Assistant Professor in Music for New Media Chris Kennedy has been granted a 2020 Johns Hopkins Discovery Award for “Discovering the Benefits of Interactive Music on Fine Motor Control Therapy,” a project with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty colleague Arnold Gomez.

See Téa Mottolese in Headliners, p. 3.

Assistant Professor Wendel Patrick will take over as host for Season 9 of Maryland Public Television’s popular Artworks series, which will explore the creative process in a variety of show formats, focusing on local and regional artists working in a range of genres.

See also Wendel Patrick in Dance.

See David Sexton in Vocal Studies.

See Ian Striedter in Strings.

Musicology

Musicology Instructor Suhnne Ahn delivered the Keynote Speech at Ewha University’s 250th Beethoven Celebration. Her lecture, “Beethoven Scholarship: Digitization and Evolving Pedagogical Trends,” was delivered virtually in Seoul, Korea, in December. Ahn’s graduate musicology seminar, “Beethoven at Work,” was featured prominently in discussion with Ewha faculty and students.

See Imani Mosley in Woodwinds.

Organ

Organ faculty artist Daniel Aune performed as part of Epiphany Tuesday Concerts at Home through The Church of the Epiphany in September.

See Jason Kissel in Guitar.

Percussion

Sandbox Percussion — Victor Caccese (BM ’11, Percussion), Terry Sweeney (BM ’13, Percussion), Ian Rosenbaum (BM ’08, Percussion), and Jonathan Allen — presented Concerts on the Slope in December. The performance included music by Amy Beth Kirsten (DMA ’10, Composition) and Thomas Kotcheff (BM ’10, Piano). In November, they presented a free live broadcast from their studio featuring music by Viet Cuong (BM ’11, MM ’12, Composition) and their debut performance of Shifting Ground by Elijah Daniel Smith. In October they performed a live broadcast from Brooklyn, N.Y., including the world premiere performance of Pillar III by Andy Akiho and the video premiere of Bell Patterns by Caccese.

Piano

Jennifer Nicole Campbell (BM ’14, MM ’15, Piano), the Delaware County Symphony Chamber Music Director, led a musical walkthrough of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Inna Faliks (BM ’99, MM ’01, GPD ’03, Piano) wrote an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times called “How Isolation Is a Golden Opportunity for Musicians.”

WFMT Chicago celebrated Leon Fleisher’s life and artistry through the “Exploring Music” program. The program rebroadcast a 2018 conversation with and performance by Fleisher, who passed away in August.

Faculty artist Brian Ganz (AD ’93, Piano) performed A Tribute to Leon Fleisher in September with a pre-concert talk by Marian Hahn, Singapore Conservatory of Music Chair in Piano, for the Community Concerts at Second series.

Julian Gargiulo (MM ’97, Piano) posted the third episode of his music series “One Classical Minute” featuring music by Scarlatti.

Adam Golka (’08, Piano) joined the Verona String Quartet to present Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, “Hammerklavier,” as part of the Library of Congress (Re)Hearing Beethoven Festival.

Thomas Kotcheff (BM ’10, Piano) released a new album of Frederic Rzewski’s Songs of Insurrection through Coviello Music Productions. He discussed the album in a New York Times interview and the virtual album release concert was named one of the Times’ 10 Classical Music Concerts to Stream in November.

See also Thomas Kotcheff in Percussion.

See Margarita Loukachkina in Strings.

See Hyun-Sook Park in Preparatory.

Sun-A Park (DMA ’20, Piano) performed a streamed recital on the new Recital Stream platform. Her program included Couperin, Clementi, Galuppi, and Beethoven.

The 2020 Sonus International Music Festival was presented under the artistic direction of its founder, Nancy Roldán (MM ’76, DMA ’89, Piano), and celebrated the life and work of composer Carlos Guastavino. Performances featured Roldán, Enrique Graf (BM ’78, Piano), José Cueto (BM ’78, MM ’81, Violin), and Gabriella Cavallero, voice.

Stanley Wong performed Vivian Adelberg Rudow’s (TC ’57, BM ’60, Piano; MM ’79, Composition) “Rebecca’s Song” in a livestreamed performance in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Wong’s Music Center “Dufy Atelier des Musicians and Artists.”

Rosemary Tuck (MM ’86, Piano) performed for Richard Bonynge’s 90th birthday gala concert in support of the Tait Emergency Relief Fund for Australian & New Zealand Artists in September.

Preparatory

See Hilary Hahn in Woodwinds, and in Headliners, p. 3.

Four Preparatory Strings students were among the winners of the National Philharmonic Orchestra’s first Virtual Solo Bach Competition. Liana Kai, cello, won the Junior Division, and Miyabi Henriksen and Anne-Marie Wnek, violin, and Zoey Ma, viola, won the Senior Division. They are students of Alicia Ward, Herbert Greenberg, and Rebecca Henry.

Daniel Levitov, Preparatory cello faculty member, was featured in The Strad’s November issue in the Technique section.

Alan Mao and Andy Yoon, Preparatory piano students of Hyun-Sook Park (BM ’88, MM ’90, DMA ’99, Piano), were both accepted into the final round of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in their age categories. Mao won Best Performance of Work by Karol Szymanowski and honorable mention in his category.

Maya Sauder, a Preparatory cello student of Daniel Levitov, auditioned and was accepted to participate in a master class featuring Metropolitan Opera Orchestra cellists Jerry Grossman, Joel Noyes, Julia Bruksin, and Kari Jane Docter. Sauder performed the first movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto. Sauder was also selected to perform for Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Dara Morales in a master class.

Professional Studies

OperaDelaware’s radio production of professional studies lecturer Derrick Wang’s 2015 comic opera Scalia/Ginsburg was broadcast on WFMT stations on November 7. The SNF Agora Institute and Hopkins at Home hosted a live post-concert conversation with Wang and Peabody Dean Fred Bronstein.

Strings

See Andrew Arceci in Historical Performance.

Joelle Arnhold (MM ’12, DMA ’17, Viola), with co-creator and developer Garrett Arnhold, created an app to facilitate remote music ensemble collaboration. Cyborg Llama automatically syncs video and audio recordings to create large or small ensemble “virtual choir” videos without any editing and can accommodate up to 200 video windows.

The Borisevich Duo — Nikita Borisevich (GPD ’13, MM ’17, Violin; GPD ’15, Chamber Ensemble) and DMA candidate Margarita Loukachkina (BM ’10, MM ’12, Piano) — performed “An Afternoon of Chamber Music” as part of the Shandelee Music Festival via Facebook Live. The program included works for violin and piano by Sergei Prokofiev, Ernest Bloch, and Maurice Ravel.

See José Cueto in Piano.

Joel Dallow (BM ’94, Cello) launched The Cello Sherpa, offering virtual and in-person coachings focused on orchestral repertoire.

See Netanel Draiblate in Vocal Studies.

Current violin students Hanyu Feng, Ryan Huo, Yiqing Fu, and Shiman Yu participated in a master class led by Ludovic Morlot through their alma mater, NYO-China.

The Boulanger Initiative presented the Bergamot Quartet, composed of Ledah Finck (BM ’16, MM ’18, Violin); Sarah Thomas (BM ’17, MM ’19, Violin); Amy Tan (MM ’19, GPD ’20, Viola); and Irène Han (MM ’18, Cello), at Fadensonnen in October.

See also Ledah Finck in Woodwinds.

Three cello students were awarded prizes in the Mount Vernon Virtuosi Online Cello Competition. Junior Jorge Giménez was awarded first place with a cash prize of $1,000 and an appearance with the Mount Vernon Virtuosi in the 2020–21 season. Second-year master’s student Natalia Vilchis was awarded second place and senior Mafalda Santos was awarded third prize. The competition for students in Maryland was created by cello professor Amit Peled.

Distinguished Artist in Residence in Violin Vadim Gluzman was the artistic director of the North Shore Chamber Music Festival onstage/offstage series and performed in “Jewish Kaleidoscope” and “Love Triangle.”

See Chelsey Green in Brass.See also Irène Han in Woodwinds.

Violin student Yanxiong Kevin Huang performed with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in the closing concert of the 23rd Beijing Music Festival conducted by Yu Long. Huang, concert master of the China Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, performed “You and Me” by Qigang Chen. Huang is a sophomore in the studio of Professor Herbert Greenberg.

Violin Professor Judith Ingolfsson and pianist Vladimir Stoupel celebrated 15 years of Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel with a live-streamed performance in November. They also directed The Last Rose of Summer festival in Berlin.

Daniel Kazez (MM ’82, Cello) launched a redesigned version of InTune, an iPhone app designed to improve and test intonation. The app has been a top-10 music app in 70 countries.

Kendra Preston Leonard's (BM ’95, Cello) Strawberry Man, commissioned and performed by Arwen Myers, was released in April; Fire and Dust premiered at the 2020 N.E.O. Voice Festival; Protectress, a full-length opera collaboration with Jessica Rudman, was a part of the American Opera Project’s First Glimpse program; Par for the Course was premiered by Rhymes with Opera; Sense of Self, with music by Lisa Neher, will be premiered by Opera Elect. Leonard published her first collection of poetry, Making Mythology, and the book Music for the Kingdom of Shadows: Cinema Accompaniment in the Age of Spiritualism.

Si-Yan Darren Li (MM, AD ’08, Cello) was appointed cello and chamber music instructor at the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University.

The Lift Music Fund, whose mission is to make achievement in music more accessible and equitable, hosted a Micro-Concerts for Microgrants fundraiser series, which featured online performances by Peabody alumni including Shannon Fitzhenry (BM ’18, Violin), Sophie Fortunato (BM ’17, Violin), Bailey Jo Hutton (BM ’17, Voice, Music Education; MM ’17, Voice, Pedagogy), Jessica Korotkin (BM ’16, Cello), Claudia Malchow (BM ’17, Viola), Harry Oehler (BM ’16, Trombone, Music Education; MM ’18, Trombone), and Ian Striedter (BM ’16, Trombone; MM ’17, Audio Sciences).

Professor Amit Peled performed and recorded Luigi Boccherini’s Sonata for Two Cellos in C major, G. 74, with Ismael Ariel Guerrero Bombut, a member of Peled’s studio. Peled was also featured on The Cello Museum for his book The First Hour.

Cello Professor Alan Stepansky and his students performed and recorded Kol Nidrei by Max Bruch arranged by David Johnstone. The audio and video were produced by Steven Chen, a student in the Stepansky studio.

See also Amy Tan in Woodwinds.

See also Sarah Thomas in Woodwinds.

Vocal Studies

Associate Professor Tony Arnold was a featured guest artist at the 43rd annual (and first virtual) Festival of New American Music (FeNAM), hosted by Sacramento State University in November. In addition to leading a workshop for composers, giving a vocal master class, adjudicating the CSUS composition competition, and participating in a panel discussion on Music & Language, Arnold presented a solo recital exploring themes of distance, isolation, and transformation. Audio and video engineering for the recital was done by David Sexton (BM ’19, Voice; BM ’20, Recording Arts).

See Cierra Byrd (MM ’20, Voice) in Headliners and Alumni.

Catrin Davies (BM ’03, Voice) has been appointed to the board of directors of the Baltimore Concert Opera where she will serve a renewable three-year term.

See Kristen Dubenion-Smith in Historical Performance.

The IN Series presented A Fairy Queen, an episodic podcast opera in the style of a classic radio drama based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with concept and creation by Timothy Nelson (BM ’04, Composition), featuring Voice Professor Carl DuPont as Demetrius/Bottom, Melissa Wimbish (GPD ’11, Voice; GPD ’14, Chamber Ensemble) as Hermia/Flute, and John T.K. Scherch (MM ’17, Voice, Pedagogy) as Narrator.

Teresa Ferrara (MM ’18, Voice), Angeli Ferrette (GPD ’06, Voice), Annie Gill (GPD ’08, Voice), and Claire Galloway (MM ’15, Voice) performed in a virtual program inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem, Phenomenal Woman, celebrating the music of Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Poldowski, Juliana Hall, Ellen Mandel, Gwyneth Walker, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Betty Jackson King, Florence Price, and Undine Smith Moore.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild honored the 25th anniversary of Rosa Ponselle Distinguished Faculty Artist Denyce Graves’ Met debut at the Silver Soiree Digital Celebration in December. Graves has also developed a new project titled “Cooking with Denyce!” Each week, an opera singer or classical music professional joins Graves as they cook a new dish and converse about singing and the music industry.

Ashley Higginbotham (MM ’20, Voice) released a holiday single entitled “Hosting the Holidays.” All proceeds from the downloads go to supporting a young boy from Chester Springs, Pa., diagnosed with a rare terminal illness.

See Bailey Jo Hutton in Strings.

Mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen (MM ’09, Voice) released Sleep Songs: Wordless Lullabies for the Sleepless. The album features wordless lullabies for solo voice by Jay Derderian, Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, Lee Hartman, Julia Seeholzer, Arthur Breur, Griffin Candey, Tony Manfredonia, Jen Wang, and D. Edward Davis.

Michael Maliakel (BM ’12, Voice) was selected to participate in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition Songbook, a collection of contemporary theater songs accompanied by audio recordings. Maliakel performed “A591” from Half the Sky.

Rob McGinness (MM ’17, Voice) performed as part of the Arizona Opera Studio Spotlight Series in the inaugural recital at the Shoshana B. and Robert S. Tancer Plaza and in an impromptu live-streamed concert to support the Artist Relief Tree with other Arizona Studio Artists in March.

Outcalls — Britt Olsen-Ecker (BM ’09, Voice) and Melissa Wimbish (GPD ’11, Voice; GPD ’14, Chamber Ensemble) — performed live in November as part of Creative Alliance’s “It’s Pandemonium!” virtual fundraiser.

Alexandra Razskazoff (BM ’14, Voice) won first place in the virtual Giovanni Consiglio International Competition through the Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy.

Voice professor William Sharp and Netanel Draiblate (MM ’07, GPD ’09, Violin) were featured on a new PostClassicalEnsemble CD of works by Bernard Herrmann, released in October.

Kerri Lynn Slominski (BM ’09, Voice) and Elisabeth Halliday-Quan (’07, Voice; KSAS BA ’07, German) founded ROCopera, an opera collective aiming to broaden opera’s reach in the Rochester, N.Y., area.

Toni Stefano (MM ’00, Voice) performed in the 6th Sacred Heart Christmas Concert at Sacred Heart Parish in Glyndon, Md. She founded the concert with her husband with the goal of giving local and youth performers a platform for showcasing their talents.

Peabody Opera Theatre’s 2019 production of The Falling and The Rising garnered first place in Division V of the National Opera Association’s 2019–20 Opera Production Competition. Samuel Mungo, associate professor and managing director of Peabody Opera Theatre, directed the production with JoAnn Kulesza, associate professor and music director of Peabody Opera Theatre, conducting. In August, Peabody’s production of Kirke Mechem’s Pride and Prejudice was named Baltimore magazine’s Best of Baltimore Reader’s Choice Play or Performance for 2020.

Woodwinds

Amir Farsi (BM ’16, Flute) was named a 2020–22 fellow with Ensemble Connect, a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the NYC Department of Education, which offers performance opportunities and intensive professional development to prepare young professional musicians for careers.

See Clifton Joey Guidry III in Conducting.

Fast Forward Austin presented its fall 2020 concert “Digital Assemblage” co-directed by Kyle Jones (MM ’18, Saxophone) in December. The performance also featured alumni Clifton Joey Guidry III (BM ’18, Bassoon) and the Bergamot Quartet, composed of Ledah Finck (BM ’16, MM ’18, Violin); Sarah Thomas (BM ’17, MM ’19 Violin); Amy Tan (MM ’19, GPD ’20, Viola); and Irène Han (MM ’18, Cello).

Sam Kaestner (BM ’00, Clarinet) designed a solution to drive climate action for the United Nations Act Now campaign with a team of four other students from the Parsons School of Design where he was completing a Master of Science in Strategic Design.

Imani Mosley (MM ’10, Bassoon, Musicology) and Preparatory alumna Hilary Hahn were both featured in The New York Times article “5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Violin.”

Flute Professor Marina Piccinini offered a fall session of the Marina Piccinini International Masterclasses online in November. Sessions included master classes with Piccinini and piccolo faculty artist Erica Peel, lectures with historical performance faculty artist Gwyn Roberts, and a performance by current students in Piccinini’s studio.

Advisory Board

Peabody Institute Advisory Board member Paula E. Boggs has been appointed to the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation board of directors, beginning in 2021.

In Memoriam

Juliet McComas (BM ’71, MM ’74, Piano)

William Pursell (Piano, Composition)

Nelita True (DMA ’76, Piano), recipient of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Distinguished Alumna Award

John David Wortham Peabody Preparatory flute alumnus

Lauretta Dorsey Young (BM ’63, Music Education)

Victor Danchenko, the internationally renowned violinist and pedagogue who served on the Peabody Conservatory faculty from 1992 until his retirement in 2016, died in November at the age of 83. Born in Russia, Danchenko made his solo debut at age 16 with the USSR’s State Symphony Orchestra, then entered the Moscow Conservatory as a student of David Oistrakh. In his performing career, Danchenko’s numerous awards included the gold medal in the Soviet National Competition and the Ysaÿe Gold Medal. In addition to his post at Peabody, he was a faculty member at the Curtis Institute and the Glenn Gould School and delivered master classes throughout the world. Leading artists including Soovin Kim, Martin Beaver, Timothy Fain, and Ryu Goto studied with Danchenko. His students remember Danchenko as a transformative teacher, focused on artistry. He is survived by his sister and fellow former faculty member Vera, as well as his wife Nina, and their daughter and grandson.

Barbara Weisberger, Artistic Advisor Emerita to the Peabody Preparatory Dance program, passed away in December at the age of 94. Weisberger started her ballet training at the age of 5 and, at the age of 8, was the first child student admitted to George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet. Balanchine became a friend and mentor and encouraged Weisberger to establish the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia in 1963. She was invited to Peabody in 2001 to bring new life to the Preparatory Dance program and served as artistic adviser to the program until 2018. The principles she established still guide the dance program today. Weisberger was instrumental in the creation, with Preparatory Dance Artistic Director Carol Bartlett, of the Estelle Dennis/ Peabody Dance Training Program for Boys in 2009. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, and generations of dancers, many of whom have gone on to professional performing and teaching careers of their own.