Peabody Invites Alumni to Homecoming/Reunion 

The Peabody Conservatory will welcome all alumni back to campus for a Homecoming/Reunion celebration on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25. Classes celebrating their 50th reunion (1964 & 1965) and 40th reunion (1974 & 1975), as well as the class of 1990, will be specially honored. Alumni of all years can relive their campus memories and enjoy concerts by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Fleisher, the Peabody Improvisation and Multimedia Ensemble, and the Poulenc Trio performing works by Peabody composers. Lunch with Dean Fred Bronstein, a late-night jazz club, Homecoming Happy Hour, and a formal tour will also be part of the celebration. For more information, visit the Alumni Office webpage or call 410-234-4673.


FROM THE DEAN

 

A conservatory's orchestra is a critical vehicle for training young musicians in crucial repertoire, in the skill of ensemble playing, and - perhaps most importantly - in being part of something larger than one's self.

 

The orchestra is also vital to telling the story of the school. It is one of the most visible aspects of who we are. For that reason, it is especially exciting that the music of Pulitzer-Prize winning composer and Peabody Conservatory faculty artist Kevin Puts will be featured in a new recording by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Slated for release on the Naxos label in 2016, the disc will include Puts' Symphony No. 2 (Island of Innocence), Flute Concerto, and River's Rush. This will be the PSO's first major-label release.

 

In highlighting the music of Kevin Puts, we shine a spotlight on Peabody's commitment to music of our time. And to be able to work with Marin Alsop - a major conductor with a keen interest in the training of young musicians - on a recording of this caliber is a very special experience that will serve students well in their future careers. I am personally very excited about the project, its spotlight on the PSO, and its importance in advancing Peabody's brand and reputation in the world.  

 



Fred Bronstein, Dean
PEABODY EVENTS

Sunday, April 12, 5:30 pm

Pamela Stein (MM '07, Voice) will perform a recital of David Wolfson's song cycle The Particle Songs with Helix! New Music Ensemble at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. 


 


Sunday, April 19, 5:00 pm          

The premiere of Rise, a meditation on civil rights in America, by composer Judah Adashi (MM '02, DMA '11, Composition) will be performed by Howard University's renowned jazz a cappella group AfroBlue and Cantate Chamber Singers, who commissioned the piece in celebration of its 30th anniversary. The work is set to poetry by Tameka Cage Conley. The performance will take place at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.   

 


Saturday, April 25, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm

Several Peabody alumni and students will perform in the semi-finals of the Annapolis Opera Competition including master's students Min Sang, Chunfeng Li, and Yeong Eun Lee, and alumni Peter Drackley ('12, Voice), Yun Kyong Lee (BM '09, MM '10, GPD '12, Voice), Melissa Wimbish (GPD '11, Voice), Kevin Wetzel (MM '06, GPD '08, Voice), Jessica Satava (MM '04, Voice), and Andrew Sauvageau (MM '08, GPD '10, Voice). The finals will take place on Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 pm. The semi-finals and finals are free and open to the public and are held at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.   
   

Saturday, April 25, 8:00 pm         

The Baltimore Classical Guitar Society will present faculty artist Manuel Barrueco and the Beijing Guitar Duo - Meng Su (PC '09, GPD '11, Guitar) and Yameng Wang (MM '08, GPD '11, Guitar) - at Towson University's Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall. The program features works by Chen Yi, Bach, Tan Dun, Albeniz, Assad, and Piazzolla from the group's China West CD. 

 


Sunday, April 26, 3:00 pm

Soprano Hyunah Yu (BM '96, MM '98, GPD '98, AD '02, Voice) and bass-baritone Robert Cantrell (MM '90, GPD '92, Voice) will be featured soloists in the Baltimore Choral Arts Society's "Quest For Peace: Dona Nobis Pacem" concert at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium. The program also includes the local premiere of Fear Not Dear Friend, by composer Jake Runestad (MM '11, Composition) and with text by Robert Louis Stevenson. 

Peabody Events highlights select off-campus performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody Institute Concerts Facebook page. For the complete weekly list of concerts at Peabody, subscribe to Events at Peabody at peabody.jhu.edu/news.    
   
PEABODY PEOPLE


William Davenport 

Tenor William Davenport (BM '11, Voice), a student of Stanley Cornett, was a first place winner in the 2015 Gerde Lissner International Vocal Competition and was awarded $10,000. The singers who were awarded prizes in this year's competition will be featured in the organization's annual winner's concert on April 12, at 3:00 pm. The concert will take place at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Recital Hall in New York. 



Aaron Dworkin
Peabody Preparatory alumnus Aaron Dworkin, founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, has been named dean of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance beginning July 20. He was also appointed as the Paul Boylan Collegiate Professor of Music and tenured professor of strings.
 

Jisu Jung 
Junior Jisu Jung, a percussion student of Bob van Sice, was the featured Young Artist in Residence on American Public Media's Performance Today in March. Performance Today is broadcast on 290 radio stations across the country and has 1.4 million listeners each week. Photo: American Public Media


Geoff Knorr 
Geoff Knorr (BM '07, MM '08, Composition; BM '08 Recording Arts and Sciences) was the lead composer, orchestrator, and mixing engineer for the video game soundtrack to Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth which won the 2014 International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) Award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media and was nominated for a 2015 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Composer's Choice Award.


Scott Lee 

Scott Lee (MM ' 13, Composition) is a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation's 2015 Morton Gould Young Composer Award for his piece Bottom Heavy. The ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Awards program grants cash prizes to concert music composers up to 30 years of age. Lee is currently a James B. Duke Fellow at Duke University where he is pursuing a PhD in composition. 


RECENT RECORDINGS


A new CD of ancient ballads from the British Isles was released by Master of Music candidate Brian Kay (BM '13, Early Music). This album explores the range of interpretational possibilities spanning from historical practice to a very modern approach. Kay was interviewed in the Spring 2015 issue of Early Music America.

Rosemary Tuck (MM '86, Piano) and the English Chamber Orchestra are featured on this recording inspired by the most famous and attractive themes from the Bel Canto operas. The CD was a Naxos Highlight for March and has entered the UK Specialist Classical Music Charts top 20. 

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