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December 5
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December 19
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Welcome to Music NOTES, an e-newsletter published
by the MSU College of Music for its alumni and friends. We encourage you to
share your news with us! Send information to the editor.
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Fall semester enrollment figures reveal diverse student body: The College of Music has 648 students this semester: 56% are
from Michigan, 27% are from other states, and 17% are from other countries.
They represent 35 states and 24 countries, from Argentina and Armenia to
Uzbekistan and Venezuela. This diversity creates a vibrant musical community in
which global perspectives enrich teaching and learning.
 Three new faculty join College
of Music:
Cormac Cannon was appointed assistant director of bands and associate director of the
Spartan Marching Band, where he will conduct the Concert Band and Spartan Youth
Wind Symphony, assist with the Spartan Marching Band and Spartan Brass athletic
bands, and teach courses in conducting and marching band methods. Etienne
Charles was appointed to the jazz faculty, where he will teach jazz
trumpet and conduct Jazz Orchestra II. Born on the island of Trinidad, Charles'
musical lineage runs at least four generations deep, and includes calypso,
cuatro, folk and steel band music. Marcie Ray was appointed
assistant professor of historical musicology. After ten years as a coloratura
soprano specializing in Mozart and Menotti roles, Ray now translates her
training and experience into her work as a historical musicologist.
 New director takes the helm
of MSU Children's Choir: Kristin Zaryski brings a broad musical background and a special interest in cultivating outstanding
musicianship in young people to her new role as director of the MSU Children's
Choir. "I love teaching choirs, and I've taught all sorts of them,"
she notes. Zaryski's musical background includes piano, clarinet, and the organ
in addition to voice. She played clarinet and served as a church organist in
high school; following graduation, she studied piano at Ithaca College and then
taught vocal music and choirs in New York and Orlando. She recently earned a
master's degree in choral conducting at MSU.
College of Music appoints
new director of admissions: Benjamin Ebener, who
joined the college in August, will lead efforts in the recruitment and
admission of prospective undergraduate and graduate students and participate as
a member of the college executive leadership team. After graduating from
Illinois Wesleyan University, Ebener pursued graduate study at Florida State
University, where he began a career in music admissions. He continues to be an
active performer. As the former principal bassoonist of the Tallahassee Winds,
he has performed in a variety of regional concerts and in a tour of Australia,
which culminated in a performance at the Sydney Opera House.
 ADS scholar welcomed to the
College of Music: Incoming first-year
student Alexander Goodin of Solon, Ohio, was one of nineteen high school
seniors awarded MSU's Alumni Distinguished Scholarship for 2009, the most
prestigious scholarship offered by the university and among the most
competitive in the country. An aspiring double bassist, Goodin's academic
interests include bass performance, physics, Spanish, engineering, and the
visual arts. "Two major factors entered into my decision to attend
MSU," he says. "The first was the opportunity to study double bass
with Jack Budrow, an associate professor of music and co-chairperson of the
string area in the College of Music, and second, the choices open to me through
the Honors College. I am also looking forward to opportunities to pursue
undergraduate research in a high-quality physics program. The friendly
atmosphere I found at MSU also helped to make my decision clear."
 Community Music
School-Detroit opens for classes: There's a new
location for making music in Detroit's Cultural Corridor - with learning
opportunities for infants, seniors, and everyone in between. MSU's Community
Music School-Detroit opened in September in the brand new MSU Detroit Center at
3408 Woodward Avenue (just south of Mack), next door to the Bonstelle Theater.
An extension of popular MSU community music programs in East Lansing, the new
Detroit facility offers jazz and music composition classes for youth, early
childhood music classes, and music therapy clinical services. Also, as part of
the nationally renowned New Horizons Band program, MSU launched two community
bands for adults: one for beginners and one for intermediate/advanced players.
Scholarships and tuition assistance are available for all classes and all ages.
Office of the Provost approves
disbandment of music therapy academic programs: The College
of Music's proposal to disband its academic programs in music therapy has been
supported by MSU's Academic Council and approved by the provost. No new
students are being admitted into the Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy, the
Master of Music in Music Therapy, and the PhD in Music Education/Cognate in
Music Therapy. Students currently in these programs will be able to complete
their degrees. This action does not
affect music therapy clinical services provided through the college's Community
Music School and Community Music School-Detroit. The College of Music remains
committed to preserving and expanding these services. For information on
music therapy clinical services, please call (517) 355-7661.
College of Music ends jazz voice specialization:
As part of budget reductions mandated by the university in the face of
unprecedented financial pressures, the College of Music has proposed ending its jazz voice specialization. The jazz
voice specialization is the only program affected; all other undergraduate and
graduate degree programs in jazz are continuing. It is a priority of the
College of Music and Michigan State University to enable the undergraduate and
graduate degree programs in Jazz Studies to continue to grow in excellence and
to flourish.
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 Jazz bassist Ben Williams ('07) wins Thelonious
Monk competition: Congratulations
to Ben Williams (Music Education '07) who won first place in the Thelonious
Monk International Jazz Competition in Washington D.C. last month. Williams was
awarded a $20,000 cash prize and a recording contract with Concord Records. In
announcing the result, The Washington Post noted: "Since its founding in 1987, the annual
contest, sponsored by the Washington-based Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz,
has become the most prestigious competition in the world for aspiring jazz
musicians. Focusing on a different instrument each year, it has become the
equivalent of the Van Cliburn and Tchaikovsky competitions in classical music.
Past winners and finalists, such as Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit and Eric
Alexander, have become the new stars of jazz." While at MSU, Williams studied with Rodney Whitaker,
director of Jazz Studies.
 Anton
E. Armstrong (DMA '87) receives MSU Distinguished Alumni Award: College of Music
alumnus Anton E. Armstrong was one of four MSU alumni who returned to
campus in October to receive the Michigan
State University Distinguished Alumni Award. Widely recognized for his work in
the area of youth and children's choral music, Armstrong has been the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of
Music at St. Olaf College and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir since 1990. He was
nominated for the award by David
Rayl, associate dean for graduate studies and director of choral programs. "Dr. Armstrong's exceptional
career as a choral conductor makes him an exceptional candidate for this award
honor," says Rayl. "He has attained the highest levels of artistic achievement
and professional respect and admiration among his peers."
 Work of alumnus William D.
Brohn (BA '55) celebrated in
London gala: The work of College of
Music alumnus William D. Brohn, 1998 Tony winner for Best Orchestration for
Ragtime and a nominee in 2002 and 2004 for Sweet Smell of Success and Wicked,
respectively, was celebrated in a one-night gala in London. "Broadway to
West End - By Special Arrangement" at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, last
month. The evening, a charity fundraiser for CLIL Sargent, an organization
dedicated to caring for children with cancer, featured a line-up of West End
talent performing songs from shows that Brohn has orchestrated for productions
on both sides of the Atlantic, including Carousel,
Crazy For You, Curtains, Mary Poppins, Miss Saigon, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!,
Oliver!, Ragtime, Show Boat, South Pacific, Sweet Smell of Success, The Three
Musketeers, Wicked, and The Witches of Eastwick. Brohn graduated from the College
of Music in 1955 with a bachelor's degree in Music Theory. He received the MSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995 and an
honorary doctor of fine arts degree from MSU in 1996. He serves on the College
of Music's National Leadership Council.
 ABC
Family Movie Features Music of MSU Alumnus: College of Music alumnus Chad
Rehmann (Composition and Music Theory, '03) recently collaborated with composer
Andres Boulton to provide music for the upcoming ABC original movie "The Dog
Who Saved Christmas." This holiday film, starring Mario Lopez, Dean Cain, and
Adrienne Barbeau, will premiere on Sunday, November 29, at 8:00 p.m. on the ABC
Family Channel [http://abcfamily.go.com] as part of its annual "Countdown
to 25 Days of Christmas" event. Chad currently resides in Los Angeles with his
wife Kari (Wieber) and their daughter, Kate.
John Studzinski (MM '92) leads
group of young musicians to Midwest Clinic: The Willis Junior High Jazz Band of Chandler, Arizona, under the
direction of College of Music alumnus John
Studzinski, has been selected to perform at the Midwest Clinic in
Chicago next month. The annual event is attended by more than 15,000 band and
orchestra directors, musicians, and composers from all 50 states and more than
two dozen countries.
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Michigan Music Conference - Reception for College of Music Alumni
Friday, January 22, 2010 · 5:00 p.m.
Governor's Room, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids
The 5th Annual Michigan Music Conference for music educators will be held in Grand Rapids on January 21-22. Join MSU
College of Music faculty and your fellow alumni at a reception on Friday,
January 22, starting at 5:00 p.m. in the Governor's Room at the Amway Grand
Plaza Hotel. This annual tradition features complimentary hors d'oeuvres and
beverages. Update your contact information at the reception and you'll automatically
be entered into our College of Music merchandise give-away! No RSVP required. Sponsored by the
College of Music and the College of Music Alumni Association Board of
Directors. For more information, visit the College of Music alumni website or contact Linda Conradi at
conradi@msu.edu or (517) 353-9872.
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Giving to the College of Music
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Charitable gifts from IRAs still available for 2009: The $700 billion economic rescue package of 2008 reinstated the IRA
Rollover Provision charitable gift opportunity through December 31,
2009. This allows the owner of a Roth or traditional IRA, providing that
he or she is at least 70˝ years old, to direct up to $100,000 directly to
Michigan State University and/or other qualified charitable organizations. (Couples
with separate IRAs may give up to $200,000.) MSU benefits immediately from IRA
gifts. The owner of the IRA does not claim the charitable distribution from the
IRA as ordinary income and may not claim the distribution as a charitable
deduction. Effectively, there are no federal tax consequences from this type of
charitable donation. For more information about this gift opportunity, please
contact Rebecca Surian, director of development, at (517) 353-9872 or surian@msu.edu.
Got airline miles? Consider
donating them to help a College of
Music student travel to concerts, competitions, and auditions. The "Miles for
Music" program matches donors with students who need travel assistance. Donors
receive an in-kind gift credit from Michigan State University. For more
information, visit the "Miles for Music" website or call (517) 353-9872.
Erb Family Foundation helps
bring CMS jazz to Detroit youth: Young
musicians in Southeast Michigan have new assets to explore jazz with a $50,000
grant from the Erb Family Foundation that will support MSU Jazz@CMS Detroit.
The grant provides programmatic support for top-quality jazz music education
for Detroit urban youth, building on MSU's participation in jazz learning at
YouthVille and with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). "We are pleased
to be able to help MSU establish its new jazz education program in
Detroit," says Erb Foundation President John Erb, son of Erb Lumber
founder Fred Erb and his wife Barbara. "The arts are a critical element of
a sustainable community and my father has always had a particular fondness for
jazz. By providing a premier educational opportunity for young musicians, MSU's Jazz@CMS Detroit will help assure the continuation of Detroit's legacy as a
source of world-class musical talent."
Learn more about giving to the MSU College of Music...
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Alumni and Friends: Join the College of Music Alumni Association
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 Graduates
of the Michigan State University College of Music are found on the world's
concert stages, on the faculties of the nation's best schools of music, in
outstanding ensembles, and in the country's most successful music education
programs. They are accomplished performers, composers, and educators who are
transforming the world with their vision, talent, and creativity. Get
connected with this outstanding group of musicians and music educators by
joining the College of Music Alumni Association today.
Benefits
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Connect
with MSU and College of Music alumni in your community.
- Build
your network of music and music education professionals across the country and around
the world.
- Receive
regular updates about College of Music people and programs.
- Attend
special events designed for College of Music alumni.
- Enjoy
all the benefits of membership offered by the MSU Alumni Association, including
cultural and athletic events; early football ticket applications; expanded
career services; valuable discounts on a wide range of products and services;
opportunities for foreign travel-study and international tours, and
publications.
- A
network of nearly 100 regional clubs and international clubs in a dozen
countries.
How to
join: You join the College of Music Alumni Association by joining the MSU
Alumni Association and indicating the College of Music as your constituent
group on the application. An annual membership is just $45. New alumni are
eligible for a complimentary one-year membership upon graduation. Life
memberships are also available. Learn more about the benefits of membership or
join online at www.msualum.com
Complimentary memberships
are available to unemployed alumni through the Economic Stimulus Package program.
For information, contact David Isbell in Career Services at (517) 432-8023 or
at isbelld@msu.edu.
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Shop! College of Music memorabilia and gift items are now available online. Shop for
t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, travel mugs, pens, mousepads, portfolios,
coasters, luggage tags, window clings, coffee mugs, and more! Visit MSU's
online store.
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