Class notes

Dante Anzolini

1970

The Paling of the Stars, a Christmas work by Susan Brown ’76MM, was slated to be performed by the St. Andrew’s (Episcopal) Church Choir during two virtual services in December. The composition is a choral setting of the Rossetti poem of the same name and features celeste accompaniment.

Prior to the pandemic, Anita MacDonald ’70MM was an active musician in her local church in the Bahamas. Among other roles, she sang soprano solos and played piano and French horn for musical services.

Oboist Susan E. Thompson ’79MM, curator of the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Sigal Music Museum (formerly the Carolina Music Museum) in Greenville, S.C.

1980

In July, conductor Dante Anzolini ’89MM ’90mma ’97dma led the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador in the first live concert by a professional ensemble in South America since the start of the pandemic. Wayman Chin ’83MM stepped down in July from his position as dean of the Conservatory at the Longy School of Music. Chin was named dean emeritus in recognition of his 12 years of service. Chin continues to serve on the piano and collaborative piano faculty at Longy.

Wayman Chin

Timpanist Peter Derheimer ’88MM played six concerts in Sevilla, Spain, and was slated to perform Cosí fan tutte at Teatro Maestranza in Sevilla in November.

Spectrum Concerts Berlin, the chamber music ensemble founded by cellist Frank Dodge ’81MM, released two new albums on the Naxos label of music by composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. In January, to celebrate the beginning of its 33rd season, Spectrum Concerts Berlin will release Shall We Dance, a book that chronicles the ensemble’s history.

In July, The Rev. Dr. Paul Jacobson ’83MM ’83mar became the rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Muncie, Ind. He departs positions as minister of music and organist at First Church Congregational in Fairfield (Conn.) and priest in charge at Grace Episcopal Church in Trumbull (Conn).

Elizabeth Suh Lane

’80MM retired from his position as principal timpanist of the Springfield Symphony in Massachusetts. During the pandemic, Dr. Kluger has organized his performing experience into teaching material for aspiring timpanists and percussionists.

Led by founder, artistic director, and violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane ’89MM, the critically acclaimed Bach Aria Soloists celebrates 20 years during the 2020–2021 season. The Missouri Arts Council named the Bach Aria Soloists the Arts Organization of 2020.

Conductor Stuart Malina ’87MM recently renewed his contract with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra through the 2022–2023 season, extending a distinguished 20-year tenure.

Tubist Antonio Underwood ’87MM was featured in a Fulbright “Snapshot.” The feature highlighted Underwood’s work in jazz education in Serbia and with Black Lives Matter.

“Lullaby,” an aria from the opera The Magic Hummingbird by Joseph Waters ’82MM, was published in music-video form on YouTube.

1990

Jennifer Litwin

’96MM co-organized Puentes Caribeños (Caribbean Bridges), a symposium on Caribbean art music. The symposium focused on strengthening bonds between composers, performers, artists, and scholars throughout the Caribbean and its diaspora.

Paul Cienniwa ’97MM ’98mma ’03dma was appointed executive director of the Binghamton Philharmonic, in Binghamton, NY. He previously served as director of music ministries at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, Fla.

Soprano Jennifer Litwin ’94MM, a financial-services executive with decades of experience, is joining The Forem to address growing demand for diversity and inclusion solutions in the professional training sector. Litwin previously served as senior vice president and head of relationship management at Greenwich Associates.

Alexander Mandl ’94MM ’96ad, assistant concertmaster and Artistic Board president of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, has assumed duties as conductor of the ensemble. Dr. Mandl was also appointed conductor of the Wisconsin Medical College Orchestra. Entering his 15th season as music director and conductor of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, violinist José-Luis Novo ’90MM ’92mma is now the longest-serving music director in the organization’s history. He is also resident conductor at the Eastern Music Festival and recently concluded a 13-year tenure as music director of the Binghamton Philharmonic, in Binghamton, NY.

Percussionist and University of Vermont Professor of Music D. Thomas Toner ’91MM ’92ad premiered the solo-percussion piece Nails and Dreams at Burlington City Arts, in Burlington, VT. The composition was written to accompany the multimedia exhibit Job Site, which was created by Yale School of Architecture alumni Alisa Dworsky and Bill Ferehawk.

José-Luis Novo

2000

A amnesia de Clío, a new opera by Fernando Buide ‘09MMA ‘13DMA, was premiered in November 2019 in Spain. The work, which is the first Galician opera of the 21st century, was broadcast in May on Galician Public Television (TVG).

Horn player Cayenne Harris ’00MM was appointed vice president for education and community engagement at the University of Michigan Musical Society.

Composer Robinson McClellan ’06MM ’07mma ’11dma joined the Morgan Library & Museum as an assistant curator of music manuscripts and printed music.

Violinist Sami Merdinian ’06MM ’07ad is a co-host with tubist Ian Loew ’05MM of Down the Pit, a new podcast that delves into the world of classical music, bringing the world’s leading conductors, composers, and performers into discussion to demystify and promote increased accessibility to the art form.

Conor Nelson ’05MM was appointed to the faculty of the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as assistant professor of flute. He will also serve as flutist of the Wingra Wind Quintet.

Trombonist Cary Porter ’05MM will serve as performing arts chair and director of bands at the newly opened Shanghai Huaer Collegiate School in Kunshan, China, a private boarding and day school that focuses on bringing an American education model to an internationally diverse group of students.

Erika Schafer ’01MM, associate professor of trumpet at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, is

Conor Nelson

Katherine Balch

a founding member of the Fuze Trio with flutist Ronda Benson Ford and pianist Jenny Parker. The trio was an ensemble-in-residence at East Carolina University in January 2020 as part of the North Carolina NewMusic Initiative.

The Jubilation Foundation named tubist Daniel Trahey ’03MM a 2020 Fellowship Recipient.

Mingzhe Wang ’03MM ’04ad ’06mma ’12dma was reappointed associate professor of clarinet, with tenure, at the Michigan State University College of Music.

2010

Samuel Adams ’10MM was named composer-in-residence at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for the 2020–2021 season. While in Amsterdam, Adams will collaborate with the Alma Quartet, the Asko|Schönberg ensemble, and The John Adams Institute and will have a new work performed by conductor Karina Canellakis and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.

Composer Katherine Balch ’16MM won a 2020–2021 Rome Prize. During her residency, Balch will compose a series of chamber and solo compositions that focus on the double bass.

Lindsay Garritson

Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Last year, she made her debut with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and was a member of LA Opera’s DomingoColburn-Stein Young Artist Program. D’Eramo was also a member of the Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Singer Program, where she won the Career Grant Award in 2018 and 2019.

In April, pianist Jeannette Fang ’09MM ’11ad premiered a new work for solo piano by Polina Nazaykinskaya ’10MM ’13ad in a new music video directed by actor and filmographer Tracy Fisher. The work immerses one in a cathartic journey of struggle and victory.

In November 2019, pianist Lindsay Garritson ’10MM ’11ad made her Carnegie Hall debut in a recital that featured a performance of Carl Vine’s Piano Sonata No. 4. Garritson also gave premieres and workshops in January 2020 at the Royal College of Music in London and the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Over the past year, violinist Wynton Grant ’17MM has recorded film scores by Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Alan Menken, Terence Blanchard, and many other composers. Grant has also performed with such artists as Alicia Keys, Ms. Lauryn Hill, and Shawn Mendes, at venues and events including the Hollywood Bowl, Staples Center, and the Grammy Awards ceremony.

Composer Molly Joyce ’17MM was interviewed for an article published by NewMusicBox in February. The article, titled “Molly Joyce: Strength in Vulnerability,” features discussion of disability, virtuosity, and interdisciplinary collaborations.

As the winner of the 2020 Garth Newel Music Center’s International Composition Competition, Jordan Kuspa ’10MM ’12mma ’17dma had his work Collideoscope premiered by the Garth Newel Piano Quartet in August as part of the ensemble’s Virtual Summer Concert Series. Kuspa was also awarded the Glovie and Dick Lynn New Music Prize for a future short-term residency at the Garth Newel Music Center.

Mysterious Butterflies by composer Ryan Lindveit ’19MM ’20mma was the winner of the Wind Bands Association of Singapore’s Band Composition Contest. The U.S. Navy Concert Band plans to perform the piece in the United States once concerts have resumed.

Oboist Ron Cohen Mann ’16ad has been named one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Hot 30 Under 30 Classical Musicians” of 2020.

Ron Cohen Mann

Guitarist Alexander Milovanov ’13ad won a Silver Medal at the Vienna International Music

Hillary Simms

Competition. Milovanov competed with a variety of string players in the professional category.

Baritone Dean Murphy ’17MM competed in the finals of the 2020 Tenor Viñas Competition in Barcelona.

Frances Pollock ’19MM ’24dma was the 2020 composer in residence at the Chautauqua Opera Company.

Composer Hilary Purrington ’17mma received a Toulmin Commission through the Women Composers Readings and Commissions program, an initiative of the League of the American Orchestras, in partnership with American Composers Orchestra and supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Pianist Melody Quah ’13ad joined the Penn State School of Music as assistant professor of music. Dr. Quah will teach graduate and undergraduate piano students and piano-literature courses.

Trombonist Hillary Simms ’18mm was named one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Hot 30 Under 30 Classical Musicians” of 2020.

Double-bassist Luke Stence ’16MM ’17mma produced a livestreamed fundraising event titled “The Sanctuary Concert Project” with bassoonist Carl Gardner ’16MM and violinist Yurie Mitsuhashi ’16MM. The concert benefited the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement’s “Mano A Mano Mutual Aid Fund,” which provides legal and financial assistance to undocumented immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pianist Lucas Wong ’06MM ’07mma ’12dma recently launched the new startup 4D Piano, the world’s first fully equipped browserapp piano that enables highquality self-, peer-, and remoteaccompanying with low-latency.

In February, Chengcheng Yao ’17mma was the featured soloist in a performance, with Marin Alsop ’77 ’17DMH and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, of Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Lucas Wong

2020

The Elm Street Brass—trumpeters Kenny Chauby ’20MM and Melissa Muñoz ’20MM, horn player Olivia Martinez ’21MM, trombonist Lyman McBride ’20MM, and tubist Aidan Zimmermann ’20MM—were semifinalists at the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. They also received the American Brass Quintet Prize for the highest scoring brass ensemble in the competition.

Jonathan Salamon

awarded a Fulbright grant to study in the Netherlands next year to research 18th century Sephardic music at the Ets Haim library in Amsterdam and to work with historical keyboard professors at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

Choral conductor Daniel Tucker ’20MM accepted a full-time position as director of sacred music and liturgy at St. Thérèse Little Flower Catholic Church in South Bend, Ind.

In January, pianist Mihae Lee celebrated 10 years as artistic director of the Essex Winter Series, in Essex, Conn., with a concert that featured YSM faculty violinist Ani Kavafian and eight Yale School of Music alumni in a performance of Copland’s Appalachian Spring (1944) and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, D. 667. Participating YSM alumni had previously been featured through the series’ Fenton Brown Emerging Artists program. They are:

Yoobin Son ’09MM, flute Romie de Guise-Langlois ’06MM ’07AD, clarinet Adrian Morejon ’05MM ’06AD, bassoon Katie Hyun ’09AD, violin Edson Scheid ’11MM ’12AD, violin Joann Whang ’09MM, cello Mihai Marica ’04CERT ’07MM ’08AD, cello Joe Magar ’05MM ’06MM, double bass