1960s
"The Official 26 Polyrhythm Rudiments," by Peter Magadini (B.M., percussion, '65), is featured in a two-part series in the April issue of Modern Drummer magazine.
1970s
Robin Sutherland (B.M., piano, '75) has commissioned a work for clarinet and piano from fellow Conservatory alumnus Nicholas Pavkovic (M.M., composition, '11), which Sutherland will premiere with clarinetist Carlos Julián Ortega at Colorado's Breckenridge Music Festival in August. Pavkovic studied with Elinor Armer.
1980s
The Date Whisperer, a one-woman musical comedy on dating and romance performed and co-written by Caylia Chaiken ('80), was presented in January at the Showcase Theatre-Marin Center in San Rafael.
Two works by Margi Griebling-Haigh (M.M., oboe, '84), Bocadillos Iberianos for bassoon and piano and Sonata for Horn and Piano, received premieres in Cleveland on February 19. The performance featured Richard King, principal horn of the Cleveland Orchestra, who commissioned the sonata, and other musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra.
Quinteto Latino has released its debut CD, 100 Years of Mexican Music for Wind Quintet, recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The quintet's flutist is Diane Grubbe (M.M., flute, '89).
Joan Harrison (B.M., cello, '85) announces the release of her latest CD, A Little Knight Music: Selected works by Sir General Maurice Grove Taylor. This past year has included numerous concerts with the Ottawa New Music Creators, where she premiered several solo cello works as well as small ensemble compositions. In March she performed in the Ottawa Chamber Music Society series "New music in new spaces." She continues to teach foundations of education and music education classes at the University of Ottawa, and if all goes as planned, Harrison states she "will have her Ph.D. thesis (about the intersections of citizenship education and music education) deposited by the time the snow melts in Ottawa, Canada!"
Absolute Sound, an international audiophile magazine, ran a feature article on the orchestral string instrument reinforcement system invented by
Gabriel Sakakeeny (B.M., conducting, '84).
Notable Women, a Cedille recording by The Lincoln Trio, was named a "hidden gem" by The Guardian and made Audiophile Audition's Best of the Year Discs for 2011 list. The recording features C'e la Luna Questa Sera?, a work by Laura Schwendinger (B.M., flute, '81).
Mezzo-soprano Marcia Gronewold Sly (B.M., voice, '80) founded a new organization in coastal Maine, Blue Hill Bach, with a debut concert in August featuring early music specialists Jonathan Dimmock, organist, Heidi Powell, violinist and Stephen Hammer, oboist, as well as Sly herself as soloist in Bach's Cantatas 169 and 170. She also teaches privately and on the faculty of University of Maine-Orono.
Kathleen Supové gave the Los Angeles premiere of The Same Sky, a work for piano, electronics and video by Carolyn Yarnell (B.M., composition, '86), in January for the Piano Spheres Concert Series at the Colburn School's Zipper Concert Hall.
James Taylor (horn, '85) has launched a non-profit organization to stimulate the creation, performance and appreciation of new chamber music in Southern California. Two preview concerts will be held in Orange County in May and June, with the official inaugural celebration in 2013 featuring a work written for the occasion by Danish composer Louise Alenius Boserup.
1990s
The San Francisco Foundation has awarded guitarist-composer Florante Aguilar (B.M., guitar, '96) a commission to compose a new theatrical work based on Philippine ghosts and folk tales for an October premiere.
Kayleen Asbo (M.M., piano, '94) is one of 12 finalists for the Teaching Excellence Award at Sonoma State University, where she teaches in the psychology department. She will be lecturing on Medieval music and myth at Chartres Cathedral in France in June and on the life and music of Hildegard of Bingen at the Assisi Insititute Conference on Depth Psychology in Italy in July.
Steve Becraft (M.M., clarinet, '94) was promoted to professor of music at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he teaches with his wife and colleague, Laura Storm (M.M., voice, '91). In October Becraft performed Copland's Appalachian Spring in Arkansas with the Martha Graham Dance Company, and he will perform at the International Clarinet Association's ClarinetFest in August 2012 at the University of Nebraska.
Leanna Booze (M.M., oboe, '99), principal oboist of the Indianapolis, Chamber Orchestra, performed Richard Strauss' Oboe Concerto in D Major with the ensemble in February.
Marnie Breckenridge (M.M., voice, '96) will sing the role of Eurydice in Opera Santa Barbara's production of Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice in April. She is also a featured soloist on a CD of previously unrecorded Victor Herbert songs with New World Records, to be released in May.
On March 31 and April 1, the Quad City Symphony performed the orchestral premiere of Coyote Dances by William Campbell (M.M., composition, '95). Campbell writes, "The music is based on a Native American (Cheyenne) tale about the mythic character of Coyote who wants to dance with a star. Originally composed on commission for a dance troupe, the piece has received many performances as a work for wind ensemble, but was always intended to be an orchestral piece."
Angelo L. Favis (M.M., guitar, '92) performed a solo recital at the Gulangyu American Music Week Festival in Xiamen, China in September. Upcoming performances include the world premiere of Matthew Halper's Two Byron Songs for choir and guitar at Illinois State University's Madrigal Eves and a performance of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata with pipa virtuoso Yang Wei at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Dana Glinski McComb (M.M., cello, '92), a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, directed a successful Cellopaloosa at VCU this year with a record-breaking 107 cellists. This full-day event includes master classes and a cello choir, featuring guest artists such as former Conservatory faculty Bonnie Hampton, Joel Krosnick, Pieter Wispelwey and Zuill Bailey. Clive Greensmith (another former Conservatory faculty) and the Tokyo Quartet will be the featured artists next year as Cellopaloosa celebrates its fifth anniversary on May 4, 2013.
Ensemble Humanite, a chamber group featuring members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and alumni Ayaka Isono (M.M., piano, '97) and Maki Ishii (B.M., violin, '89) as well as Preparatory faculty cellist Eric Sung, presented a program called "Contrasts" at the Conservatory in January. Isono's latest self-produced CD, All Bach: Keyboard Music by J.S. Bach, received a favorable notice in examiner.com.
In February, the Sanford Dole Ensemble gave the premiere performance of Michael Kaulkin's (M.M., composition, '96) new choral work Waiting..., for chorus, string quartet and piano.
Lise Lindstrom (M.M., voice, '96) performed the title role in Strauss's Salome with San Diego Opera.
Jason Martineau (M.M., composition, '93), a faculty member at Academy of Art University, recently had his book The Elements of Music translated into Czech. The book was released in that part of the world last month and also exists in German, where it has been available for almost a year.
Rochelle Sennet (B.M., piano, '99) is assistant professor of piano at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has recorded the Piano Concerto and Da Camera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker, which was recently released on Albany Records.
On March 6, the Cypress String Quartet released a three-CD box set entitled Beethoven: The Late String Quartets, recorded at Skywalker Studios. The quartet includes alumni violinists Cecily Ward (Artist Certificate, chamber music, '96) and Tom Stone (Artist Certificate, chamber music, '96).
2000s
Elise Blatchford (M.M., flute, '07) traveled to China with Jose Serebrier and the YOA Orchestra of the Americas for its 10th Anniversary Tour. She and Leander Star (B.M., horn, '07) recently wrapped up a Midwest tour with their wind quintet, the City of Tomorrow, performing and mentoring students at colleges in Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. The quintet performed at the Chicago Cultural Center on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series on April 18, and the concert was broadcasted on WFMT, Chicago's classical music station.
In January, percussionist Brian Calhoon (B.M., percussion, '07) participated in performances of several world premieres in the Boston area, including Daniel T. Lewis' Into Hell for percussion quartet and female voices.
Codes and Keys, the latest release by Death Cab for Cutie, received a Grammy nomination for best alternative album. The recording features arrangements by Minna Choi (M.M., composition, '09) that were performed by members of Magik*Magik Orchestra, the alumni ensemble she founded. The orchestra will also appear alongside Death Cab for Cutie in a debut performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 7 in support of Codes and Keys. Choi studied with Elinor Armer.
Amanda (Thompson) Cook (M.M., percussion, '04) has been the percussion professor at Western State College of Colorado for the past four years.
Trey Costerisan (M.M., voice, '08), a student of César Ulloa, sang the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Portland Opera this year and will also perform the role of Triquet in Eugene Onegin. He will cover the role of Prunier in their main production of La rondine in 2013. He joins the Des Moines Metro Opera Young Artist Program this summer.
Robbie Cowan (M.M., voice, '09), a voice student of Leroy Kromm, served as conductor and music director for a national tour of Damn Yankees, which played in over 50 venues in 30 states. This summer he returns to San Francisco as music director for a production of Sweeney Todd by Ray of Light Theatre.
Alma De Lon (Postgraduate Diploma, voice, '05) is the vocal coach of the 60-member Municipal Chorus Wiesbaden for a production of Handel's Messiah in Germany.
Ilya Demutsky (M.M., composition, '09) of St. Petersburg, Russia received a Golden Eagle nomination (the Russian equivalent to the Academy Awards) for a documentary film score. Demutsky studied with David Conte.
Cantata for Harvey Milk, a new choral work by Jack Curtis Dubowsky (M.M., composition, '01) commissioned by the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco and the Lick-Wilmerding High School, premieres in San Francisco on April 27, with a subsequent performance at the Conservatory on June 22.
DoubleTake Violin Duo, featuring Shaina Evoniuk (B.M., violin, '08) and Natasha Makhijani (B.M., violin, '07), presented a concert of music by Prokofiev, Mellits and a world premiere by Jeanne Geiger at Rhythmix Cultural Works in Alameda. Evoniuk studied with Wei He, and Makhijani studied with Bettina Mussumeli.
Julio Elizalde (B.M., piano, '05) performed on April 16 with former Conservatory faculty and current Juilliard faculty cellist Bonnie Hampton at The Juilliard School. He was hailed by the Washington Post as a "superb pianist" in a recent performance with violinist Ray Chen in Washington, D.C., and has been invited to serve as a teaching assistant to Juilliard piano faculty member Robert McDonald this fall.
After wrapping up 30 January shows in Seattle, The Family Crest headed to Austin, Texas to release its debut record, The Village, at the SXSW Music Festival. The band was also recently selected to be one of Google Music's Magnified Artists, through which it played at the Red Light Management GRAMMY after-party in Los Angeles. Additionally, its album was pre-released and featured on the Android market as part of the Google Magnified program. The band plays at the Fillmore on June 3 with Seattle-based band The Head and the Heart. Core members include Laura Bergmann (B.M., flute, '06), Owen Sutter (B.M., violin, '06) and Lucas Chen (P.S.D, cello, '10), a former student of Jennifer Culp.
Tangents, an independent guitar concert series launched by Giacomo Fiore (M.M., guitar, '09), a former student of David Tanenbaum, opened this spring with performances scheduled through June 30. In addition to Fiore, the series features alumni Travis Andrews (M.M., guitar, '09), Robert Nance (M.M., guitar, '11) and Elliot Simpson (B.M., guitar, '09), all former students of David Tanenbaum; Mason Fish (M.M., guitar, '11) and Matthew Holmes-Linder (M.M., guitar, '11), who both studied with Sérgio Assad; and Andrew Meyerson (M.M., percussion, '10), a former student of Jack Van Geem.
Joshua Fishbein (M.M., composition, '09), a student of David Conte, was one of four composers selected to participate in the Hollywood Master Chorale's "Voices of LA" Project, which will commission, perform and record two of his new works for chorus.
Jorge Garza (Postgraduate Diploma, voice, '02) sang Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte with Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, New York. He then performed the role of the Prince in John Adams' most recent work, A Flowering Tree, with Riverside Lyric Opera in California. Concerts of Handel's Messiah followed at the New Jersey State Theater with the New Jersey Symphony. Garza also sang Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the National Theaters in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. In May he will sing Mario Ruoppolo, the lead character in Daniel Catan's Il Postino with Center City Opera in Philadelphia.
Michael Goldberg (M.M., guitar, '09) hosted a three-day Guitar Festival at the University of California-Davis Department of Music in January. Faculty guitarists David Tanenbaum, Marc Teicholz and Richard Savino all took part.
A choral setting of Dona nobis pacem by Joseph Gregorio (M.M., composition, '06) was recently broadcast on New York City radio station WQXR on Kent Tritle's noted program, "Choral Mix." His O magnum mysterium was premiered in December by New York-based chamber choir Choral Chameleon (conducted by Vince Peterson, B.M. '03), who also premiered his Wine Songs in April. March saw the premiere of Gregorio's woodwind quintet Music for Springtime by the Quintsylvania Winds and a performance in Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center of his Dona nobis pacem by the Riverside Choral Society. Gregorio has also founded a chamber choir, Ensemble Companio, which he conducts. Its debut concert, "Greetings and Farewells," took place on March 10 in New Canaan, Connecticut. Gregorio, who was a student of David Conte, is an adjunct professor of music theory at Temple University.
Elizabeth Harmetz (M.M., voice, '02) sang her first Pamina in The Magic Flute with Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera, where she also sang Despina in Così fan tutte. She also directed A New Form of Mastery, a recent DVD release from Vocal Awareness Company.
Darby Hinshaw (B.M., horn, '06) performed Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2 with the Santa Rosa Symphony in February.
Roberto Kalb (B.M., composition, '09), a former student of Elinor Armer, won second place in the Washington International Composition Competition, earning a performance of his piece Le Dormeur du Val for piano trio at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in June. This same piece also won the Honors Competition at the New England Conservatory, and the Mod3tre Piano Trio will be performing the work at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Kalb is also a semifinalist in the Orchestral Composition Division of The American Prize for his piece Máscaras. He further took part in a conducting master class/retreat with master teacher Kenneth Kiesler in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 4. Kalb finished his M.M. at the University of Michigan as a student of Bright Sheng and is now a doctoral student at the New England Conservatory under Michael Gandolfi.
Eunice Kim (violin, '09) is enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music and recently won the national auditions for Astral Artists Management, with which she is now under contract.
Julee Kim Walker (M.M., flute, '05) was principal flutist with the Franco-America Vocal Academy opera festival orchestra this past summer in Perigueux, France, and was recently invited to play principal flute with the Amarillo Symphony and the Shreveport Summer Music Festival.
A Prayer for this Time, a new choral work by Kieun Steve Kim (B.M., composition, '08), was premiered by the North Carolina High School Honors Chorus at the state's Music Educators Association Conference. Kim was recently appointed associate director of the Princeton Girlchoir and as R&S chair for Music in Worship in the local chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He studied with David Garner, David Conte and Scott Foglesong.
The Inextinguishable Trio, a group founded by Heather Klein (M.M., voice, '06), performed music from its new album Shifreles Portret: A Yiddish Art Song Project on a CD release party and concert at the Jewish Community Center.
Tango Distinto, the debut CD by Achilles Liarmakopoulos (B.M., trombone, '06) on the Naxos label, is now available.
Nathaniel Marken (M.M., voice, '08) performed the role of Thalia in the San Francisco premiere of Xanadu at the New Conservatory Theatre Center. He studied with Ruby Pleasure.
Adam Meza (M.M., voice, '08) made his Fresno Grand Opera debut in January as Dancairo and covered Escamillo in their production of Carmen. In March he made his debut with Opera In the Heights in Houston, Texas, as Conte Di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore.
Megan (Allison) Molina (M.M., violin, '05) recently took up a new position as section second violin with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Jennifer Panara (M.M., voice, '09) will be an apprentice singer with the Santa Fe Opera this summer and is singing the role of Isolier in Rossini's Count Ory with Pocket Opera in April. She studied with Pamela Fry.
Two collections of oboe works by Kathryn Potter (B.M., composition, '08), In Adoration of the Earth for solo oboe and a set of duets titled The Secrets of Ravens, are now available through Editions Armiane-Versailles and Fortin-Paris. Two additional forthcoming publications by Potter, Douze Roses, a further book of solos, and Flying with Ravens into the Night, an oboe quartet, received European premieres at a master class and performance with Potter at the Paris Conservatoire in March. Potter has also received a commission to compose a woodwind quintet for ANEMOS, scheduled to be premiered in 2013.
Iskandar Rashid (B.M., percussion, '09) performed the world premiere of A Carp Emerger, a marimba concerto by Zhang Yi, with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. Rashid is the orchestra's newly appointed timpani coach. He also played percussion for Paris Opera Ballet's touring production of Giselle in Singapore. Rashid studied with David Herbert and Jack Van Geem.
Jenny Robinson (M.M., flute, '04) won the position of assistant principal flute with the Alabama Symphony.
Mi Ryung Roman (B.M., flute, '03) has been named director of development for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York City.
The Real Vocal String Quartet was selected for the 2012-13 season of the American Music Abroad program by American Voices and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The quartet includes Preparatory faculty violinist Alisa Rose (M.M., violin, '07) and cellist Jessica Ivry (M.M., cello, '97) as well as violist Dina Maccabee, who runs the Conservatory in the Schools outreach program at Starr King Elementary School. Of nearly 300 applications from musical ensembles in more than 40 states, the quartet was one of 12 bands selected for their musical excellence and educational ability.
Alumnus and former music theory faculty member Jonathan Russell (M.M., composition, '03) was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text for his work as music director for a production of The Experience of Flight in Dreams by choreographers Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton. The production featured music by Russell, as well as alumnus Ryan Brown (M.M., composition, '05) and composition chair Dan Becker, and performers included Russell and alumni Jeff Anderle (M.M., clarinet, '06), Emily Packard (M.M., violin, '05), Natasha Makhijani and Charlton Lee (M.M., viola, '03).
Dana Sadava (M.M., conducting, '08) has been appointed music director of artists in residence and assistant conductor of Pensacola Opera. She was also invited for the third consecutive year to be assistant conductor at Banff Opera as Theatre for summer 2012. Sadava was a student of Michael Morgan and Alasdair Neale.
Joshua Saulle (M.M., composition, '08) was chosen as a winner of the Boston Metro Opera International Composer Competition in the choral category. His winning piece i am a little church, with a text by e.e. cummings, will be performed at Boston Metro Opera's Contemporary Americana Festival in May 2012. Saulle was a student of Dan Becker and David Conte.
Ian Scarfe (M.M., piano, '08; Artist Certificate, chamber music, '10), a former student of Paul Hersh, is founder and director of the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, which celebrates its second season in the mountains of Northern California this July. Many Conservatory students and alumni will participate in the festival.
David Southorn (B.M., violin, '07) is a violinist with the Amphion String Quartet, which won the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, resulting in a two-year management deal that includes a recording contract, tour dates and a Carnegie Hall debut. The quartet recently performed for the Alexander Schneider Concert Series at the New School in New York and has been selected to join the roster of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two, a three-year residency beginning in fall 2013.
Brian Thorsett (M.M., voice, '04) appeared as a soloist in local performances of Carmina Burana and Bach's Magnificat and performed in the U.S. premiere of works for tenor, harp, guitar and violin by Alec Roth. He further performed in the world premiere of Nick Carlozzi's Songs for Stranger at the Pacific Musical Society Winter Gala honoring Nicholas McGegan. Additionally, he appeared with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra in a program featuring mandolin player Avi Avital.
Wayne Diego Van Lieu (M.M., horn, '09) won the principal horn audition for the Orquesta Filharmonica de Puebla in Puebla, Mexico.
2010s
Sophia Chew (M.M., voice, '11), a student of César Ulloa, has been invited to attend I Sing Beijing this coming summer. She will also take part in the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh Young Artist Program this summer.
Megan Cullen (M.M., voice, '10) is about to finish up the Apprentice Program at Sarasota Opera, where she sang the role of Ortlinde. From there she heads to Paris to participate in the semifinal round of selection for the young artists' program (Atelier Lyrique) of the Opera National de Paris at the Bastille. This summer she will be an apprentice at Des Moines Metro Opera, singing excerpts from Elektra, Pique Dame and Vanessa as well as covering the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.
As a winner of the 2011 Juilliard School Orchestral Composition Competition, Stefan Cwik (B.M., composition, '10) attended the premiere of his work Terpsichore with Jeffrey Millarsky and the Juilliard School Orchestra on February 27. Cwik studied with David Conte.
Georgia Duan (M.M., voice, '10) sang a program of songs by Gustav Mahler for the opening of an exhibit at the Albertina Museum in Vienna in November. Duan was a student of Jane Randolph.
A.J. Glueckert (M.M., voice, '10), a student of César Ulloa, is finishing his first year at the Minnesota Opera Young Artist Program this year, where he covered Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and the title role in Werther. He returns to the Bay Area this summer to join the prestigious Merola Opera Program. He has also been engaged by Opera Philadelphia to reprise the world premiere of Silent Night in 2013.
The flute and guitar duo Silver & String, featuring Tracy Goodwin (P.S.D., flute, '11) and Antony Kakamakov (P.S.D., guitar, '11), performed a program of works by Piazzolla, Bach and faculty guitarist Sérgio Assad for the Old First Concerts series in February. Goodwin studied with Tim Day; Kakamakov studied with David Tanenbaum and Sérgio Assad.
In March Brenden Guy (M.M., clarinet, '10) presented "A Celebration of Bay Area Music," a program that included the world premiere of faculty member David Conte's Sextet conducted by Barnaby Palmer of San Francisco Lyric Opera, in addition to a performance of John Adams' China Gates by Sarah Cahill. The concert also included works by Conservatory composition chair Dan Becker and several Conservatory alumni. Guy studied with Luis Baez.
Emma McNairy (B.M., voice, '11) returned to Beijing for a reunion concert with I Sing Beijing at the National Centre for Performing Arts with the China National Symphony Orchestra. She also rehearsed a new opera there in Mandarin, Cao Cao, directed by Metropolitan Opera Assistant Conductor Patrick Furrer. McNairy is also singing Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Cinnabar Opera this spring. She was a student of Pamela Fry.
The Mobius Trio, an alumni guitar trio featuring Mason Fish (M.M., guitar, '11), Matthew Holmes-Linder (M.M., guitar, '11) and Robert Nance (M.M., guitar, '11), is making a Kickstarter Campaign video to raise money for the group's new CD. The video features interviews with Conservatory faculty members Dan Becker, David Tanenbaum, Luciano Chessa and Kronos Quartet violinist David Harrington. Faculty guitarist Sérgio Assad is producing the CD, which will feature the works of Conservatory composers, including Becker.
Yinbin Ben Qian (M.M., violin, '11), a former student of Wei He, began playing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago this season and is now concertmaster with the Chamber Opera of Chicago.
Daniel Silberman (B.M., double bass, '10) played concerts at St. Martin in the Fields Church, at Logan Hall, with Julian Lloyd Webber, and performed in a production of Berlioz's Beatrice et Benedict in November with Sir Colin Davis. In November he did a chamber music recording and DVD taping for Naxos, which will be available shortly. Silberman further writes, "At the beginning of March, I played on a live Japanese television show called Jounetsu Tairiku with virtuoso violinist/composer Taro Hakase. After the TV show we played a sold-out benefit concert with Taro for the anniversary of the Japanese earthquake/tsunami at Cadogan Hall, in London." A former student of Steve Tramontozzi, Silberman is currently pursuing an M.M. at the Royal Academy of Music.
Twenty-two-year-old Jess Sindell (flute, '11) has been named principal flute with the Oregon Symphony. The former student of Tim Day is the youngest principal player the symphony has hired in 25 years.
The Aleron Trio, comprising alumnae Anne Suda (M.M., cello, '11) and Teresa Yu (Artist Certificate, piano, '07) as well as Conservatory violin student Solenn Seguillon, just completed an artist-in-residence program with the Southeast Iowa Symphony. The trio gave 17 performances, including visits to elementary schools, public libraries and community centers, culminating in three performances of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the symphony. Following the residency, the trio completed a concert tour that included a performance as featured artists on the Maple Leaf Concert Series in Monmouth, Illinois.
I-Wen Wang (M.M., piano, '10), a former student of Mack McCray, gave a piano recital sponsored by Steinway & Sons at Taiwan's National University of Tainan in January.
Ray Zhou (B.M., guitar, '11), a student of Sérgio Assad, received the 2012 Avanti Award granted by the Joseph and Frances Brucia Foundation in Mill Valley, California, which will fund his debut solo album. He also taught a clinic for the South Bay Guitar Society Festival called "Chicken Pickin' for Classical Guitar," sponsored by D'addario Strings, and was a guest speaker and panelist at the Sacramento Valley State of the Music Industry Forum in March.
The Conservatory mourns the loss of Todd Donovan (M.M., voice, '95), who passed away in February due to complications from a brain tumor. An accomplished baritone, Donovan's professional roles included Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, the four villains in The Tales of Hoffman, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Tonio in Pagliacci and Billy Bigelow in Carousel. Donovan also served as executive director for the Cypress Quartet and worked in administrative posts at the San Francisco Symphony and Philharmonia Baroque. 
