UC Santa Barbara Department of Music Fall 2021 Newsletter

Student Recital Series: Summer 2021 Virtual events presented by Jansons, Thomson, Torres, and Mak-Neiman Summer 2021 marked the last quarter of the Department of Music’s virtual student recital series, and featured outstanding performances by some of the department’s talented graduate students, including Valdis Jansons, Steven Thomson, David Torres, and Ariella Mak-Neiman.

Graduate vocalist Valdis Jansons (baritone), a student of Associate Professor Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian, presented a virtual Doctor of Musical Arts recital with pianist Erik Lawrence. The program included Gustav Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Song of a Wayfarer); Jānis Mediņš’ In Signo Domini; Kurt Weill’s Speak Low, September Song, and Here I’ll Stay; and Francesco Paolo Tosti’s Aprile, Chanson de l’Adieu, and L’Alba separa dalla luce l’ombra. Watch Jansons’ full recital on the Department of Music’s YouTube channel.

Graduate student Steven Thomson (Choral Conducting) presented a virtual Master of Music recital that included performances by Dr. Naomi Merer (soprano), Marta Hovhannisyan (soprano and alto), Lauren Vanderlinden (alto), Soohyun Ryu (alto), Kartik Sundaram (tenor), and Benjamin Hanson (tenor). Thomson conducted the program, which featured two pieces for choir—K’eler Ts’oler by Komitas Vardapet and Khorumi by Mamia Khatelishvili. Thomson is a student of Dr. Nicole Lamartine, UC Santa Barbara Sorensen Director of Choral Music. Watch Thomson’s full recital on YouTube.

David Torres, a doctoral student in the Choral Conducting Program and a student of Dr. Nicole Lamartine, presented a Doctor of Musical Arts recital, titled “Coming Home,” featuring members of Vocal Affinity.

The program included Mack Wilburg’s Bound for the Promised Land; Don MacDonald’s When the Earth Stands Still; William Billings’ David’s Lamentation; Robert Manookin’s O Lord, I Have Trusted in Thee; and more. Watch Torres’ full recital on YouTube.

Graduate pianist Ariella Mak-Neiman, a student of Professor Paul Berkowitz, closed out the Virtual Summer Recital Series with a Doctor of Musical Arts recital. Mak-Neiman’s program included Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata in d minor, BWV 964; Joseph Haydn’s Sonata in A Major, Hob. XVI:30; Frédéric Chopin’s Polonaise in f-sharp minor, Op. 44; and Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 84. Watch Mak-Neiman’s full recital on YouTube.

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