Dmitri Berlinsky, artist teacher and associate professor of violin, and the International Chamber Soloists (ICS) performed to an enthusiastic audience last month that included Governor Jennifer Granholm and her husband, Dan Mulhern. The program included the world premiere of a concerto for soloist and ensemble by David Winkler called Winds of Time. The recital also offered two more famous works with two distinctive styles -- Antonio Vivaldi's well-loved Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla's new-world tango Quatro Seasone at Buenos Aires. The ICS is an extraordinary group of young string players from all over the world, including Russia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Latvia, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and the United States. Pictured above (left to right): First Gentleman Dan Mulhern, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Dmitri Berlinsky, David Winkler, Winkler's wife Kathi Elster, and Dean James Forger.

College of Music connects with Detroit Symphony Orchestra: Just a week after Leonard Slatkin, music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, visited MSU to conduct a rehearsal of the MSU Symphony Orchestra and present a WorldView Lecture at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, five College of Music composition students had their original works read by the DSO in Orchestra Hall. Graduate students Kevin Wilt, Phillip Sink, Do Hi Moon, Won Suk Choi, and undergraduate student Evan Bushman heard their pieces performed and then received feedback from DSO conductors and musicians. Strengthening the collaboration further, the College of Music will present a series of pre-concert recitals for the DSO in coming months. Student musicians will perform Beethoven chamber music at Orchestra Hall on Friday, March 26, at 7:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 28, at 2:00 p.m. For ticket information, visit the DSO's website.

Admissions news: Throughout the months of January, February, and March, the College of Music hosts audition days for those seeking admission to its programs. On February 12 and 13, the second of four weekends dedicated to this purpose, the college welcomed 119 prospective students; of these, 59 were Michigan residents, 34 were from other states, and 26 were from other countries, including Taiwan, China, and South Korea. That particular weekend, 18 applicants were seeking admission to our doctoral programs, 32 to our master's programs, and 71 to our undergraduate programs. On their arrival at the Music Building, they were greeted by one of our student volunteers. A hospitality room well stocked with doughnuts and coffee provided a friendly place for the prospective students and their parents to talk with current students and learn what makes the College of Music an outstanding place to study. Tyler Dunn, an applicant from Hilton Head, South Carolina, a flutist interested in music education, said that of all the schools he had visited, MSU was the place that made him feel most welcome. Pictured above (left to right): student volunteer Kim Wren, a music education and double bass major from Georgia, welcomes prospective student Tyler Dunn and his mother, Theresa Dunn. 

The College of Music is pleased to note that three incoming doctoral students have been awarded prestigious University Distinguished Fellowships through the MSU Graduate School. These fellowships are extremely competitive; this year, just 20 were awarded out of a total class of approximately 500 incoming doctoral students. Two of the students will pursue degrees in Music Education (one with a choral cognate), and one will study choral conducting. The Choral Conducting program also received a Rasmussen Doctoral Recruitment award.
 
College of Music faculty, students, and alumni were well represented at the recent meeting of the Michigan Music Conference (MMC), presenting papers and research posters, conducting ensembles, and chairing meetings. The MMC is the largest annual gathering of music teachers in the state. Topics addressed by the MSU contingent included ways to use composition and improvisation to spark creativity in the classroom, music literacy, performance anxiety, and rehearsal techniques. Cynthia Taggart, professor of music and chair of the Music Education area in the College of Music (shown here), welcomed the educators at a reception sponsored by the college.
 
The MSU Community Music School has received a $2,000 CVS Caremark Community Grant in support of music therapy programming for Greater Lansing children and youth with special needs. Music therapy at CMS includes a variety of programs such as individual therapy sessions, group sessions, and the Eric "RicStar" Winter Music Therapy Camp. The CVS Caremark Community Grant will support all programs and is already providing financial assistance to two local children. The grant will be matched by the Dart Foundation. "The grant from CVS is much needed and appreciated," says Cindy Edgerton, director of music therapy clinical services at CMS.

"Music therapy is an extremely effective form of therapy for so many people in our community." Read more.
 
University Club members will soon be entertained by College of Music faculty and graduate students while they enjoy the Club's spectacular Sunday brunch. The "Sunday Serenades" program will feature ensembles and soloists sharing their considerable talents with U-Club members and guests. Jim Forger, dean of the College of Music and a U-Club member himself, was instrumental in the development of the program. "We're excited about this new partnership, and to making the University Club's Sunday brunch even more special with the addition of performances by some of our outstanding faculty and students," he says. The program gets under way on Sunday, March 21. For reservations, please call 353-5111.
 
Anton Armstrong (PhD, '87) will be the speaker at the College of Music's spring commencement ceremony in May. Armstrong (center) is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from MSU in 2009.