September 2007
2000s
Fourteen members of the class of 2007 were offered positions with dance companies immediately upon graduation. They are: Andrew Murdock and Shamel Pitts (Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal); Anne Shreffler and Karell Williams (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens); Nolan McGahan and Emily Proctor (Aspen Santa Fe Ballet), Antonio Brown (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company); Laura Careless (Austin McCormick’s [BFA ’06] Company XIV); Caroline Fermin (James Sewell Ballet), Douglas Letheren (Batsheva Ensemble, the junior company of Batsheva Dance Company); Joseph Watson (North Carolina Dance Theater); Riley Watts (Bern Ballet); Daniel Mayo (Atlanta Ballet); and Delphina Parenti (CityDance Ensemble). Michelle Mola is forming her own dance company, Public Dance Theater, with classmates Logan Kruger, Troy Ogilvie, Kevin Shannon, and Amelia Uzategui Bonilla.
Austin McCormick (BFA ’06) won the Dance Films Association’s 2007 Susan Braun Award/Young Choreographers Initiative in June. Second prize was shared by Ashley Browne and Belinda McGuire (BFA ’06). Third prize went to the Berkeley Carroll School, for an entry submitted through dance teacher Dalienne Majors (BFA ’72).
Katherine Cowie (BFA ’05), a member of Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal since graduation, was featured in the company’s April season at the Joyce Theater in New York in Aszure Barton’s Les Chambres des Jacques. Ariel Freedman (BFA ’05) was assistant to the choreographer for this work. Cowie also performed in the other work on the program, Mapa, by Rodrigo Pederneiras.
Luke Wiley (BFA ’05) performed in the world premiere of Chris Elam’s Future Perfect at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University in April. The work, commissioned by the center, was part of a program titled Dance Party that featured works by Chris Elam/Misnomer Dance Theater and by Larry Keigwin.
Shannon Gillen (BFA ’03) and Elisabeth Motley (BFA ’03), co-directors and choreographers of Doorknob Company, were invited to produce a solo show for Galapagos Arts Center in Brooklyn in July, and were also selected to premiere a new work at HERE’s American Living Room Festival in Manhattan in August.
Alison Mixon (BFA ’03) danced with the Los Angeles Opera in The Merry Widow in April and May, and in Cole Porter’s Can-Can at the Pasadena Playhouse in July and August.
Laura Halm (BFA ’02), who has been an apprentice with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, is being promoted to full company member.
1990s
Natalie Desch (BFA ’96) was a featured dancer in Doug Varone’s work Victorious, set to music by Elgar, commissioned by the Summerscape Festival at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., and performed there in July. (Zuill Bailey [MM ’96, cello] was one of the featured musicians.) Sharing the program was another commissioned work set to Elgar, Susan Marshall’s (’78) Sawdust Palace, which included piano music performed by Stephen Gosling (BM ’93, MM ’94, DMA ’00, piano). Also performing with Doug Varone and Dancers was Belinda McGuire (BFA ’06).
Jeremy Raia (BFA ’96) is in his 10th season with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal as a premiere dancer. In April, he alternated in the roles of Romeo and Mercutio in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo and Juliet, danced the Red Man in Kilian’s Forgotten Land, and was featured in Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. In June, he danced the Pas de Trois in Mauro Bigonzetti’s Cantata and was featured in the world premiere of Bigonzetti’s The Four Seasons.
Tony Powell’s (BFA ’95) work Impulse was performed on the opening night of the 2007 Jazz Dance World Congress in Chicago in August. A photo of the work, his second commission for Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, was featured on the cover of the August issue of Dance magazine.
Christopher Hemmans (BFA ’90) opened in May with the German cast of Disney’s The Lion King (Der Koenig der Loewen) in Hamburg, Germany. Hemmans is an ensemble singer and also covers the role of Mufasa.
1970s
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet presented Ohad Naharin’s (’77) Decadance on the SummerStage series in Central Park in July. Sharing the evening’s program was David Parsons’ company, Parsons Dance.
Dunya (Dianne Hulburt) McPherson (BFA ’75), originator and principal teacher of Dancemeditation, directs the Dervish Society of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to evolutionary Sufism. In April she presented Shafi, film “wallpaper” for dervish whirling, on Drama-Rama, an N.E.A. and Louisiana Arts Council-funded arts festival in New Orleans. She was also a faculty presenter at Kripalu Center in the Berkshires in April and August.
The Saeko Ichinohe (DIP ’71) Dance Company performed in April at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx. The program included two premieres choreographed by Ichinohe and Jeff Moen, and three revivals of Ichinohe’s works: Pearl, Oiran, and Fire-eating Bird.
1960s
The Lar Lubovitch (’64) Dance Company kicked off the brand-new Chicago Dancing Festival in the city’s Millennium Park in August. The event—created by Lubovitch and one of his company’s dancers, Jay Franke (BFA ’97), in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art and the city of Chicago—brought together artists from seven leading dance companies.
Elizabeth (Libby) Nye (BS ’64) conducted a José Limón Workshop in July for Eastern Connecticut Ballet’s summer intensive workshop in East Lyme. Nye, who was principal dancer with the Limón Company, has been a prominent reconstructor of his choreography.
Ann Vachon’s (DIP ’61) article “Honing In on Limón” appeared in the May issue of Dance magazine. She discusses the development of Limón technique and current teaching, mentioning several current and former Juilliard faculty members and alumnae. Vachon, who performed with José Limón from 1955 until his death in 1972, is director of the Limón Institute and producer of the documentary film Limón: A Life Beyond Words.2000s
Jessica Provenz’s (Playwrights ’07) A Wake in Chappaquiddick, developed last year at Juilliard, received a workshop, directed by Kyle Donnelly, at the Cape Cod Theater Project in Falmouth, Mass., in July.
Adam Szymkowicz’s (Playwrights ’07) new play Susan Gets Some Play premiered at the New York Fringe Festival in August. The production was directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel.
In July, Sam Gold (Directing ’06) directed The Black Eyed, a new play by Betty Shamieh, at New York Theater Workshop.
Mary Rasmussen (Group 35) and Opal Alladin (Group 25) appeared in the Public Theater's production of Romeo and Juliet this summer in Central Park. The lead role was played by Oscar Isaac (Group 34). (See Q&A.)
Daniel Morgan Shelley (Group 35) appeared over the summer in the Classical Theater of Harlem’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by Alfred Preisser.
Tommy Smith’s (Playwrights ’06) new country musical about Mohammed and the Koran had a workshop production, directed by Kip Fagan, at the Williamstown Theater Festival in August. The workshop featured third-year student Geoffrey Murphy (Group 38). White Hot, Smith’s latest play, received a New York workshop production, directed by May Adrales, at HERE in June.
Michael Arden (Group 34) can be seen this fall opposite Parker Posey in the new Fox television series The Return of Jezebel James.
Rebecca Brooksher (Group 34) was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for outstanding lead actress for her work in Christopher Shinn's play Dying City last spring, presented at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center.
Keith Chappelle (Group 34) appeared in New York’s S.P.F. Festival in July in Van Badham's new play called The Gabriels, directed by Rebecca Patterson.
In May, Jessica Collins (Group 34) appeared in the two-part season finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Collins also shot the television pilot The Man earlier this spring.
Jenny Schwartz’s (Playwrights ’05) play God’s Ear, developed at Juilliard, had its premiere in May at New Georges in New York City. The production, with music by Michael Friedman, was directed by Anne Kauffman.
Noah Haidle’s (Playwrights ’04) play Rag and Bone will receive its premiere at New York’s Rattlestick Theater this fall. The production will be directed by Sam Gold (Directing ’06).
Steve Harper (Playwrights ’04) had a workshop and reading of his play The Escape Artist’s Children at New York Stage and Film in July.
Gillian Jacobs (Group 33) and Brian Smith (Group 36) appeared together over the summer in The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero, a new play by Marissa Kamin and directed by Ben Rimalower, at the DR2 Theater in New York City.
In May, Mahira Kakkar (Group 33) appeared in Rachel Dickstein’s play Betrothed at the Ohio Theater in New York. In July and August, Kakkar appeared in the N.Y. premiere of Michael Hollinger’s play Opus at Primary Stages.
In June, Jeff Biehl (Group 32) appeared in New York in Clubbed Thumb’s production of a new play called Greedy, written by Karl Gajdusek and directed by Drew Barr. In July, Biehl appeared in Anna Ziegler’s play Novel, directed by Michael Goldfried, at the New York S.P.F. Festival.
Julia Cho’s (Playwrights ’03) new one-act play, The First Tree in Antarctica, premiered at the EST Marathon in New York in June. The production was directed by Kate Whoriskey.
Sarah McMinn (Group 32) appeared over the summer in a touring production of The Comedy of Errors, produced by Shakespeare on the Sound in Connecticut.
Daniel Breaker (Group 31) recently completed a run at the Public Theater in Passing Strange, a new musical with books and lyrics by Stew. The production was directed by Annie Dorsen, with whom Stew co-created the production.
In July, Denis Butkus (Group 31) appeared at the S.P.F. Festival in New York in Joy Tomasko’s new play Unfold Me, directed by Linsay Firman.
Daniel Talbott’s (Group 31) play Slipping was seen at New York’s Rattlestick Theater in May. The workshop was directed by Kirsten Kelly (Directing ’03) and featured Meg Gibson (Group 11) and Seth Numrich (Group 36). Talbott’s short play, What Happened When, premiered in June at HERE Theater in New York. The production, directed by Brian Roff, featured Jacob Fishel (Group 34) and Jimmy Davis (Group 36).
Nicole Lowrance (Group 30) will be appearing in Horton Foote’s Dividing the Estate this fall at Primary Stages, from September 18-October 27. Michael Wilson is directing the production.
In July, Michael Milligan (Group 30) appeared in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, directed by Jack Wetherall, at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey in Madison.
Lee Pace (Group 30), nominated in the spring for a Lucille Lortel Award for his performance in the Off-Broadway play Guardians last year, stars this fall in the new ABC television series Pushing Daisies.
John Livingston Rolle (Group 30) appeared last spring at the Denver Center Theater in 1001, a one-act play by Jason Grote, directed by Ethan McSweeny.
Tracie Thoms (Group 30) returns this fall to the CBS TV drama Cold Case.
Morena Baccarin (Group 29) can be seen opposite Treat Williams in the new TNT series Heartland, which premiered in June.
Caroline Bootle (Group 29), Michael Milligan (Group 30), Mauricio Tafur Salgado (Group 34), and second-year student Nick Choksi (Group 39) appeared in June at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Washington, in Michael Kahn’s production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost.
Roderick Hill (Group 29) appeared Off-Broadway over the summer at the Mint Theater in the New York premiere of St. John Hankin’s 1905 comedy The Return of the Prodigal, directed by Jonathan Bank.
Alexandra Cunningham (Playwrights ’00) returns as a producing writer to the ABC series Desperate Housewives this fall.
Deborah Zoe Laufer’s (Playwrights ’00) new play, End Days, was read at the O’Neill's Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Conn., and the Williamstown [Mass.] Theater Festival in July. In October, the play will receive its premiere at Florida Stage in Manalapan.
Adam Rapp (Playwrights ’00), who received the Benjamin H. Danks Award in Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in May, will direct his latest play, American Sligo, featuring Michael Chernus (Group 28), at Rattlestick Theater this month.
1990s
Brooke Berman’s (Playwrights ’99) play Hunting and Gathering will receive its premiere Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in January 2008. The production will be directed by Leigh Silverman. Her latest play, Out of the Water, received a workshop, directed by Trip Cullman, at the Cape Cod Theater Project in Falmouth, Mass., in July.
Patch Darragh (Group 28) appeared over the summer in Damian Lanigan’s new play Dissonance, directed by Amanda Charlton, and in a revival of Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart, directed by Kathleen Turner, at the Williamstown [Mass.] Theater Festival.
In July, Damon Gupton (Group 28) conducted the National Symphony Orchestra at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Washington.
Tim McGeever (Group 28) appeared in the New York Fringe Festival in August with Shalita Grant (Group 39) in Liza Lentini’s new play Roxy Font, directed by Ian Belton (Directing ’97).
Yvonne Woods (Group 28) and Sarah Grace Wilson (Group 31) appeared together over the summer in a revival of Noel Coward’s play Hay Fever in San Diego. The production was directed by Robert Longbottom.
Kevin Daniels (Group 27) can be seen in the Fox Meadows independent film And Then Came Love, directed by Richard Schenkman, which opened in New York in June and features music written by Group 31 alumnus Frank Harts.
Michael Doyle’s (Group 27) short film Shiner, which premiered at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, was screened in May at the Directors Guild in New York. Doyle can be seen opposite John Savage in the independent film Sibling, due out early next year.
Jessica Goldberg (Playwrights ’98) latest play, Ward 57, will receive its premiere at Florida Stage in Manalapan in March 2008.
Tom Story (Group 27) appeared over the summer in a revival of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, directed by Eric Hill, at the Berkshire Theater Festival in Stockbridge, Mass.
Jimonn Cole (Group 26) and Seth Numrich (Group 36) are currently appearing Off-Broadway at the Signature Theater in Charles Mee’s play Iphigenia 2.0, directed by Tina Landau.
In July, David Denman (Group 26) appeared in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare Orange County in Garden Grove, Calif.
Daniel Goldfarb’s (Playwrights ’97) new musical, Party Come Here, based on a play he wrote at Juilliard, had its premiere at the Williamstown [Mass.] Theater Festival in July. The production, directed by Christopher Ashley, features music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum.
Stephen Kunken (Group 26) recently completed his run in the Broadway play Frost/Nixon, written by Peter Morgan and directed by Michael Grandage. He was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in the play.
Joanna Settle (Directing ’97) directed a reading of Winter Miller’s new play In Darfur over the summer at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The reading featured Group 34 alumna Rutina Wesley.
Alan Tudyk (Group 26), who finished his Broadway run in the revival of Craig Lucas’s Prelude to a Kiss opposite François Battiste (Group 35) in May, can be seen in the Universal Pictures feature film Knocked Up, written and directed by Judd Apatow, and in the Sidney Kimmel Entertainment independent film Death at a Funeral, directed by Frank Oz.
In May, David Conrad (Group 25) played the title role in Shakespeare’s Henry V at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, in Madison. The production was directed by Bonnie J. Monte. Conrad will return this fall to the CBS television series Ghost Whisperer.
Stephen Belber’s (Playwrights ’96) new play, Geometry of Fire, had its premiere at New York Stage and Film at Vassar College in June. The production was directed by Lucie Tiberghien.
Kate Jennings Grant (Group 25) appeared in a revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, directed by Maria Mileaf, at the Williamstown Theater Festival in July. Grant can be seen next playing Diane Sawyer in the Imagine Entertainment feature film Frost/Nixon, based on last year’s Broadway play by Peter Morgan. The film will be directed by Ron Howard.
Bill Gross (Group 25) was recently seen in a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Media Theater in Philadelphia.
Gretchen Egolf (Group 24) appeared over the summer in Jeffrey Hatcher’s play A Picasso at Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires. The production was directed by Tyler Marchant.
In June, Greg McFadden (Group 24) appeared in a new comedy called Badge at New York’s Rattlestick Theater. The play was written by Matthew Schneck and directed by Jenn Thompson.
Dallas Roberts (Group 23) can be seen opposite Stephen Rea in the independent film Sisters, directed by Douglas Buck. The film premiered at the Southwest Film Festival last spring. He is also in the Fox Searchlight feature film Joshua, directed by George Ratliff. This fall, Roberts can be seen Off-Broadway at Second Stage opposite Bill Pullman in Edward Albee’s Peter and Jerry, directed by Pam MacKinnon.
Stephen Barker Turner (Group 23) appeared in San Francisco last spring with Anthony Fusco (Group 12) in the A.C.T. production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, directed by Richard E.T. White. Turner, who will appear in three productions at A.C.T. this season, will also be seen in January ’08 in the premiere of David Adjmi’s (Playwrights ’02) play The Evildoers, to be directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman.
Robert Sella (Group 21) was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for outstanding featured actor for his work in the David Hare play Stuff Happens last season.
Michael Stuhlbarg (Group 21) was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for outstanding lead actor for his work in Harley Granville-Barker’s play The Voysey Inheritance last spring.
Frederick Weller (Group 21) appeared over the summer in the Off-Broadway production of Neil LaBute’s latest play, In a Dark Dark House, directed by Carolyn Cantor. Weller was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his performance in the Terrence McNally play Some Men, which was produced Off-Broadway at Second Stage last spring.
Peter Jacobson (Group 20) appeared opposite Debra Messing in the USA mini-series The Starter Wife in June. Jacobson can also be seen in the DreamWorks feature film Transformers, directed by Michael Bay.
Laura Linney (Group 19) stars opposite Gabriel Byrne in the Sony Pictures Classics film Jindabyne, directed by Ray Lawrence.
In June, Jeanne Tripplehorn (Group 19) returned for a second season of the HBO comedy Big Love. The series also features Group 22 alumnus Matt Ross.
Jake Weber (Group 19) returns this fall to the NBC series Medium, starring Patricia Arquette.
1980s
In June, David Adkins (Group 18) appeared in a revival of Terrence McNally’s Love! Valour! Compassion!, directed by Anders Cato, at the Berkshire Theater Festival in Stockbridge, Mass.
John Benjamin Hickey (Group 18) appeared in August in Lillian Hellman’s play The Autumn Garden, directed by David Jones, at the Williamstown [Mass.] Theater Festival.
Andre Braugher (Group 17) can be seen in the 20th Century Fox feature film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, directed by Tim Story.
Last spring, Steve Irish (Group 14) appeared in the premiere of Carol Michele Kaplan’s play Bot at the Magic Theater in San Francisco, and recently finished a run in a revival of Shaw’s Man and Superman at the California Shakespeare Festival in Orinda. Irish is now performing in John Kolvenbach’s new play Love Song, directed by Jasson Minadakis, at Marin Theater Company in Mill Valley, Calif., and recently co-starred in the Portable Storage Productions film The Crate, directed by Sam Burbank.
Wendell Pierce (Group 14) was a producer for the Tony-nominated August Wilson play Golf Radio on Broadway last spring.
Kevin Spacey (Group 12) appeared on Broadway last spring in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his performance in that production. (See related article.)
Jack Stehlin (Group 11) has a recurring guest-starring role this fall on the Showtime series Weeds. He plays Captain Roy Till, captain of the D.E.A. Stehlin also is directing Twelfth Night for the Los Angeles-based theater company Circus Theatricals, where he serves as artistic director.
Richard Ziman (Group 10) and Matthew Daniels (Group 25) appeared together last spring in Shakespeare’s Henry IV at Milwaukee Shakespeare Company. The production was directed by Stephen Fried.1970s
Keith David (Group 8), Tim Blake Nelson (Group 19), and Opal Alladin (Group 25) appeared last month in Central Park in the Public Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Daniel Sullivan.
Boyd Gaines (Group 8) was nominated for Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Tony Awards for his performance in the Broadway revival of the R.C. Sherriff play Journey’s End last spring.
Kelsey Grammer (Group 6) can be seen in Even Money, a feature film directed by Mary Rydell, and can also be seen this fall opposite Patricia Heaton in the new Fox sitcom Back to You.
Robin Williams (Group 6) stars in the Warner Bros. feature film License to Wed, directed by Ken Kwapis.
Janet Zarish (Group 5) directed Ibsen's A Doll House for N.Y.U.’s graduate acting program last spring, and played Gertrude in Michael Kahn’s production of Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C., in June. That production also featured David Townsend (Group 34), and Jeffrey Carlson (Group 30) in the title role.
William Hurt (Group 5) stars opposite Kevin Costner and Demi Moore in the MGM feature film Mr. Brooks, directed by Bruce A. Evans.
Harriet Harris (Group 6) appeared in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, directed by Joe Dowling, at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis last spring. Harris recently completed a run on Broadway in the Roundabout Theater’s revival of John van Druten’s play Old Acquaintance, directed by Michael Wilson.
Kevin Kline (Group 1) was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lucille Lortel Award ceremony in May.
Patti LuPone (Group 1) starred in a revival of Gypsy at New York’s City Center in July. The Encores! production was directed by the show’s author, Arthur Laurents, and also featured Boyd Gaines (Group 8) and Nancy Opel (Group 9).
2000s
John Kaefer (DMA ’06, composition) is currently writing a new work for organists Paul Jacobs (organ department chair) and Andrew Henderson (DMA ’07). Recent film and television projects include Mama’s Boy (a 2007 Warner Brothers feature film starring Diane Keaton and Jon Hedder) and Room Service (a 2007 short film starring Howie Mandel). In May, Kaefer served as a judge and advisor for the 2007 BMI/Pete Carpenter Competition.
Matan Porat (MM ’06, piano) performed works by Janacek, Schumann, Bach, Bartok, and his own compositions at Arium in New York in May.
Christina Courtin’s (BM ’05, violin) group, the Running Kicks, performed with the Knights at the Brooklyn Lyceum in June. The concert was presented by Music Forward, a new organization founded by Josh Frank (BM ’04, trumpet) and Eric Jacobsen (BM ’04, cello) to cross boundaries of genre and medium, and bring classical music to a wider audience.
Christopher McLaurin (Graduate Diploma ’04) has been appointed principal percussionist of the Kansas City Symphony. He is currently a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Fla.
David Carpenter (Pre-College ’04, violin and viola) was selected in July as the newest music protégé in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Carpenter, who is the first American protégé to be selected in the program since its launch in 2002, will study with Pinchas Zukerman (Professional Studies ’69, violin).
Jesús Castro-Balbi (DMA ’04, cello) and pianist Gloria Lin (Pre-College) collaborated on the new CD Rapsodia Latina, released in May as the newest addition to the Filarmonika label’s “Caminos del Inka” project. The CD features seven premiere recordings of works by Esteban Benzecry, William Bolcom, and Gabriela Frank, among others.
Recent performances by Nicholas Deletaille (MM ’03, cello) include concerts in May with pianist Marc Heeg at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus, and with pianist Jean-Michel Dayez at Atelier “Marcel Hastir” in Brussels. Deletaille gave two solo recitals in June in Mouvaux, France, as well as a concert in Brussels with pianist Manon Gertsch and actor Phil Kaiser. In August he performed at the Midis-Minimes Festival in Brussels and at Nuit Musicale de Beloeil at Beloeil Castle in Belgium. Deletaille and Dayez’s recording of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas, on the Contréclisse label, was released in July.
David Jalbert (Artist Diploma ’03, piano) was awarded the $25,000 Canada Council for the Arts 2007 Virginia Parker Prize in July. The prize was presented in conjunction with Jalbert’s performance at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in July.
Morgan (Grunerud) James (BM ’03, voice) will make her feature film debut in a leading role in the upcoming Cowboys for Christ, directed by Robin Hardy. The film begins shooting in Scotland this month.
Vassily Primakov (BM ’03, piano) and Diliana Momtchilova (MM ’99, DMA ’05, cello) performed at Arium in New York in May.
Jonathan Schiffman (MM ’03, conducting) was recently appointed music director of Orchestre Lyrique de Région Avignon-Provence. He will conduct approximately 20 symphonic concerts as well as two opera productions each season.
Konstantin Soukhovetski (BM ’03, MM ’05, Artist Diploma ’07, piano) won the gold medal at the 19th annual New Orleans International Piano Competition in July, earning $16,000 and a host of performance opportunities. (He also nabbed the $1,000 Audience Favorite prize.) Soukhovetski will present solo recitals in New Orleans and London and will play with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Baton Rouge and Lafayette.
Jennifer Stumm (MM ’03, viola) made her New York recital debut at Weill Hall in December after winning first prize in the 2006 Concert Artists Guild Auditions. Upcoming activities include a series of Wigmore Hall concerts with the Aronowitz Ensemble as a BBC New Generation Artist in October, and a debut recital at the Kennedy Center on December 18.
This month, Joseph Bousso (MM ’02, orchestral conducting) begins his second season as coach and conductor at the Hamburg State Opera House in Germany, where he will also play and lead chorus rehearsals from time to time. In June, he assisted the chorus rehearsals at the Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival in Germany. He participated in a conducting master class with Bernard Haitink in Lucerne last January.
Su Jeon (BM ’02, MM ’04, piano) won first prize at the 2007 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, which took place in May at Brandon University’s School of Music in Manitoba, Canada. Her prize includes a 16-city recital tour of Canada in October and November. She also received the City of Brandon Prize for the best performance of the commissioned work, Night Rainbow, by Heather Schmidt (Professional Studies ’98, composition).
Micah Killion (BM ’02, trumpet) performed at the Greenwich House Music School in a faculty recital that featured Rob Mosher’s Storytime. Killion is also on the faculty of the Third Street Music School and Juilliard’s MAP program, and is a teaching artist for Midori and Friends.
Wendy Law (MM ’02, Artist Diploma ’04, cello) and Anna Polonsky (MM ’01, piano) performed with Musicians from Marlboro at the Metropolitan Museum in May. The program included works by Mozart, Shostakovich, and Dvorak.
Spencer Myer (MM ’02, piano) received third prize in the 2007 William Kapell International Piano Competition for his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The competition was held in July at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park, Md.
Young Park (BM ’02, MM ’04, piano) won the South Orange Symphony Young Artist Competition in New Jersey in May, and performed the Grieg Piano Concerto with the South Orange Symphony.
Lee Rogers (MM ’02, trombone) becomes principal trombone with the Washington National Opera/Kennedy Center Ballet Orchestra this month. Rogers has served as second/assistant principal trombone with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since September 2003, and is a former member of the Grant Park Orchestra.
Michi Wiancko (MM ’02, violin) premiered the Concerto for Violin and Chamber Orchestra, written for her by Cleveland Institute of Music composer-in-residence Margaret Brouwer, with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (a conductorless string chamber ensemble) in March. She performed the work five times in Cleveland in April with the ensemble CityMusic Cleveland, conducted by James Gaffigan. Wiancko also appeared throughout New York with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra in venues including Bargemusic and Union College in Schenectady in April, and Rockefeller University and Town Hall in May.
The Atos Trio (Thomas Hoppe [Advanced Certificate ’01, collaborative piano], Annette von Hehn [BM ’00, violin], and cellist Stefan Heinemeyer) was awarded first prize in the category of piano trio and grand prize in all categories at the Fifth Melbourne (Australia) International Chamber Music Competition in July. The Atos also won the Musica Viva special prize and the Audience prize for string trios.
Kyoko Kashiwagi (MM ’01, violin), violist Eva Stern, cellist Katri Ervamaa, and pianist Joel Schoenhals performed for Art Reach of Mid Michigan’s Chamber Music Series in March at Denison Recital Hall in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
Ljova and the Vjola Contraband performed music of Lev (Ljova) Zhurbin (BM ’01, viola) in June at Arium in New York.
1990s
Vesselin Gellev (BM ’99, MM ’01, violin) has been appointed third chair in the first violin section of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and moved to London this past summer after a five-year tenure as concertmaster of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. His recent performances have included two chamber music recitals at Wigmore Hall (in May and June) and a celebration of L.P.O. principal conductor Kurt Masur's 80th birthday at the Royal Albert Hall in July. Gellev also performed a premiere by composer Mason Bates (MM ’01, composition) with Antares (Eric Huebner [BM ’99, MM ’01, piano], Garrick Zoeter [BM ’94, clarinet], and cellist Rebecca Patterson) at the Greenwich (Conn.) Music Festival in June.
Ching-Yun Hu (Pre-College ’99, BM ’03, MM ’05, piano) won the gold medal at the 51st World Piano Competition, held in July at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati. Her victory brings a Lincoln Center recital and a cash prize of $10,000.
Soprano N’Kenge Simpson-Hoffman (Advanced Certificate ’99, voice) was featured with the Baltimore Symphony and conductor Jack Everly in May for a program titled “Too Darn Hot! A Tribute to Cole Porter.” Performances were at the Music Center at Strathmore and at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.
Yosuke Kawasaki (BM ’98, violin) was appointed concertmaster of the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, beginning with the 2007-08 season. He is only the second concertmaster in the 38-year history of the orchestra.
Erika Sato (BM ’98, MM ’00, violin) and Lisa Ponton Massey (MM ’89, viola) performed J.S. Bach’s Concerto in G Major for violin, viola, and string orchestra, arranged by Robert Bridges, with the Marine Chamber Orchestra at the Washington National Cathedral in June.
Andrey Tchekmazov (Advanced Certificate and Professional Studies ’98, cello) performed with pianist Inna Faliks and violinist Sergey Ostrovsky at Arium in Manhattan in April. He also performed a program of Bach solo cello suites there in July.
The Trio Cavatina (Ieva Jokubaviciute, Harumi Rhodes [Diploma ’97, BM ’02, violin], and Priscilla Lee) performed works by Mozart, Kirchner, and Brahms at Merkin Concert Hall in April.
Wei-Ying Chen (BM ’96, MM ’98, piano), Li-Ling Hung (BM ’99, viola), and Chris Lee (MM ’78, violin) performed in May at the lunchtime concert series at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York. Their program included music by Mozart and Brahms, and Taiwanese folk songs.
Scott Gac’s (MM ’96, double bass) book Singing for Freedom: The Hutchinson Family Singers and the Nineteenth-Century Culture of Antebellum Reform was published by Yale University Press in June. The book tells the story of a hugely popular musical act that originated the tradition of the American protest song, in the two decades leading up to the Civil War. Gac is visiting professor of American studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
The Daedalus Quartet (violinists Kyu-Young Kim and Min-Young Kim [MM ’96, violin], violist Jessica Thompson, and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan [MM ’00, cello]) was one of two recipients of this year’s Martin E. Segal Awards, presented in March at Lincoln Center’s Kaplan Penthouse. The ensemble was nominated for the award by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
The ensemble Ne(x)tworks—which includes Joan LaBarbara, Kenji Bunch (BM ’95, viola; MM ’97, viola and composition), Shelley Burgon, Yves Dharamraj (Graduate Diploma ’05, cello), Cornelius Dufallo (Pre-College ’91, BM ’95, MM ’97, DMA ’02, violin), Miguel Frasconi, Stephen Gosling (BM ’93, MM ’94, DMA ’00, piano), Ariana Kim (MM ’05, violin), and Chris McIntyre—presented an Earle Brown retrospective on the composer’s 80th birthday at the Chelsea Art Museum in April. Ne(x)tworks was also in residence at the Stone, in New York’s East Village, in June. Dharamraj and Dufallo also performed with pianist Jenny Lin at Arium in May, on a birthday concert for Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov.
The rock quartet Electric Kompany—including members Kevin Gallagher (MM ’95, guitar) and James Johnston (BM ’97, piano)—performed the world premiere of White Flag (for rock quartet and tape) by composer Jacob TV (a.k.a. Jacob Ter Veldhuis)at the Whitney Museum at Altria in New York in May. White Flag is a suite of pieces inspired by the Iraq war, synchronizing music with the recorded voices of Bill O’Reilly, George W. Bush, and anonymous American soldiers.
Antigoni Goni (MM ’95, guitar) launches a new guitar workshop for young performers in Volterra, Italy, this month. Running from September 1-10, the Volterra Project Summer Guitar Institute includes classes in guitar, the business of music, and Alexander Technique.
Soprano Arianna Zukerman (BM ’95, voice) sang the soprano solo in the Verdi Requiem in May and June with the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, with her father, Pinchas Zukerman (Professional Studies ’69, violin), conducting. She also sang the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony three times this summer with the Philadelphia Orchestra: in June at the Mann Center in Philadelphia; in July at Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, with Rossen Milanov (MM ’97, orchestral conducting) conducting; and in August at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, with Charles Dutoit conducting.
Michelle Carr (Advanced Certificate ’94, voice) performed at New York’s Blue Note in June, with 15-year-old Anna Pomeroy opening for her, celebrating the release of Pomeroy’s new CD Anna, which Carr produced. She also sang at the River Room in New York in April.
The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME)—whose members include Miranda Cuckson (BM ’94, MM ’01, DMA ’06, violin), Keats Dieffenbach (BM ’04, MM ’06, violin), Nadia Sirota (BM ’04, MM ’06, viola), Clarice Jensen (BM ’02, MM ’04, cello), Alexandra Sopp (BM ’06, MM ’07, flute), Gilad Harel (clarinet), Eric Huebner (BM ’99, MM ’01, piano), Christopher Thompson (MM ’03, percussion), and conductor Jared Soldiviero (BM’02, MM ’04, percussion)—performed music by Jacob Druckman at the Tenri Cultural Institute in April. Cuckson also played there in April with the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble. In June, she performed with flutist Christoph Bösch and pianist Yvonne Troxler at Tenri Cultural Institute in New York. The program, titled “Little Accents,” after Kandinsky’s painting of the same name, included works by Berio, Robert Cuckson, Roberto Sierra, and Christian Wolff (’83, cello).
Michael McGehee (MM ’93, violin) won the position of principal second violin in the Bergische Symphoniker in Solingen, Germany, and began with the orchestra in April.
The Barbican Trio, which includes Robert Max (Advanced Certificate ’92, cello), is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2007 with a series of three concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall. The first two were in January and July; the last concert will be on December 2. The trio is featuring music from its CD of Taneyev’s Piano Trio and Piano Quartet alongside works by Haydn and Beethoven in their programs. Max conducts the Oxford Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra at Royal Holloway, University of London. He teaches cello in the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music and coaches chamber music at MusicWorks.
1980s
Gregg August (MM ’89, double bass) performed with the J.D. Allen Trio (also including Allen and Rudy Royston) in May at Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan, in July at Puppets Jazz Bar in Brooklyn, and in August at the Jazz Gallery in Manhattan.
Chin Kim (DMA ’89, violin) performed at Bargemusic with pianist David Oei in April, in a program of works by Stravinsky, Waxman, Respighi, and Chausson. This summer he performed, taught, and gave master classes at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont in June and July; taught at the International Music Institute and Festival in Maryland in July; and taught at the Summit Music Festival in Tarrytown, N.Y. in July and August.
Victor Kioulaphides’s (MM ’86, double bass) Canzona will be published this fall by Joachim Trekel Verlag of Hamburg, Germany. This summer, the Dutch chamber orchestra Het Consort toured the northeast U.S., performing (among other works) Kioulaphides’s Concerto per orchestra a pizzico, an arrangement of his Variations on a Basque Melody.
Sam Ruttenberg (’86, percussion) played jazz drum set with jazz legend Dave Brubeck in Brubeck’s work Gates of Justice at the Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Presbyterian Church in May. Sam freelances with the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and is also a drum-set clinician for Noble and Cooley drums, Sabian cymbals, and Vic Firth sticks. His book Drum Tips is being published this fall by HoneyRock.
Steven Singer (BM ’86, trombone) was invited to play first trombone for Milan’s Teatro alla Scala’s production of Salome in April. He has been a guest first trombonist there for a number of productions, including Elektra under Semyon Bychkov and the complete “Ring” cycle under Riccardo Muti. Singer is currently in his 17th season as principal trombonist of the Cologne Radio Orchestra.
Frank Foerster’s (Diploma ’85, MM ’87, DMA ’92, viola) Three Icelandic Folk Dances and Einojuhani Rautavaara’s (’56, composition) A Finnish Myth were among the works performed by the New York Scandia Symphony, conducted by Dorrit Matson, in June at Trinity Church on Wall Street. Foerster is principal violist with the orchestra and with the New Jersey Symphony.
Maria Radicheva (BM ’84, MM ’85, violin) and pianist Svetlana Gorokhovich performed on the Stars on Central concert series at the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains, N.Y. in April. The program included Pre-College faculty member Andrew Thomas’s (MM ’70, DMA ’73, composition) The Broken Chord (with narrator William Peden), Parashkev Hadjiev’s Sonata No. 1, selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons (with cellist David Krieger).
Bruce Stark’s (MM ’84, composition) Ode To ‘Ode To Joy’ was championed with multiple performances in May and June by pianist Lisa Moore during her Australian tour. Anthony de Mare gave the U.S. premiere of Stark’s Fugue Interlude and Finale at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City in June, and trombonist Florian Juncker gave three performances in March and June of his Gospel Song Fantasy in Germany.
Andrew Appel’s (DMA ’83, harpsichord) Four Nations Ensemble closed its season at the New-York Historical Society in May with a program titled "Berlin and Vienna: Two Cities, Two Centuries."
Pianist Eliza Garth (Postgraduate Diploma ’82) returned in May to the Alba (Italy) Music Festival to perform the complete Sonatas and Interludes by John Cage. The performance was presented in conjunction with the opening of a major modern art exhibition titled Aganahuei Arte Industriale.
Jeffrey Lang (’82, horn) has been appointed associate principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He will remain principal horn of the American Symphony Orchestra and continue to be active in the New York recording studios. Lang will also leave the faculty of Vassar College and join the faculty of Temple University.
The Great Kat’s (Katherine Thomas [Diploma ’82, violin]) new DVD, Guitar Shred Insanity—which features guitar-shred versions of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Flight of the Bumble-Bee, Paganini’s Caprice No. 24, Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3, original songs by the Great Kat, and more—is scheduled for release in October.
In July Sara Davis Buechner (MM ’81, piano) performed the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Buffalo Philharmonic; performed concertos with the Music in the Mountains Orchestra in Nevada City, Calif.; and was soloist with the National Academy Orchestra, conducted by Boris Brott, in Hamilton, Ontario. She also gave concerts, lectures, and master classes at the Portland (Ore.) International Piano festival, was featured on CBC Radio throughout Canada, and performed on the Forum Piano Concert series in North Carolina.
Leslie Shank (BM ’80, MM ’81, violin) has a new Centaur release, Recital for Violin and Guitar, on which she performs works by Corelli, Turina, Piazzolla, Janika Vandervelde, Mozart, and Matyas Seiber with her husband, classical guitarist Joseph Hagedorn. This is her second CD on the Centaur label; the first was an all-Bartok CD. Shank is the assistant concertmaster of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Jazz vibraphonist and composer Mark Sherman’s (’80, percussion) latest CD, Family First, was released in May by City Hall Records. The album is his seventh as a leader; he has performed on some 75 CDs.
1970s
Cristine (Lim) Coyiuto (MM ’77, piano) will be featured this month as soloist in the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Manila Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Helen Quach, at the Santuario de La Salle, Bacolod City, and September 7-8 at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, both in the Philippines. She will also give a recital in October at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Joel Feigin’s (MM ’77, DMA ’82, composition) First Tragedy for soprano, clarinet, and piano was performed in April at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as part of the Primavera Festival. His Elegy, In Memoriam Otto Luening was performed in March by Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Barry Brisk, at the El Camino Center for the Arts in Torrence, Calif. Also in March, his Janfare for chamber orchestra, commissioned by the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony and Edwin Outwater, was premiered by them at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara.
The Orion String Quartet (Daniel Phillips [BM ’76, violin], Todd Phillips [’80, violin], violist and Juilliard faculty member Steven Tenenbom, and cellist and faculty member Timothy Eddy) and pianist Peter Serkin performed on the Schneider Concerts series at the New School in April, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the series at the school. The quartet’s recording of Beethoven’s Middle String Quartets on Koch International Classics was released in June.
Michael Lasater (MM ’75, trombone) has received the 2007 Distinguished Research Award at Indiana University-South Bend, where he is professor of arts and director of new media. The award was given in recognition of his gallery and installation work in video, animation, and sound, including solo and group exhibitions at Georgetown University, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, California Museum of Photography, Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, South Shore Art Center/Boston Cyberarts Festival, and others.
The Chappaqua Orchestra, under the direction of Michael Shapiro (MM ’75, composition), performed the premiere of the narrated version of Juilliard faculty member John Corigliano’s The Red Violin Suite at the Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua in April. The performance featured narrator Robert Sherman (a Juilliard faculty member) and violinist Timothy Fain (MM ’00, violin).
Paintings, sculpture, and giclées by artist, violinist, and teacher David Tobey (BM ’75, violin) were on view in June and July at the gallery at Cunningham Realty in Hawthorne, N.Y.
Davis B. Fox (BM ’74, MM ’75, bassoon) was recently named director of development at Seattle’s Intiman Theater, which won the Tony Award for best regional theater in 2006. He continues to play bassoon primarily in band concerts during the summer.
Jeffrey Swann (BM ’73, MM ’73, DMA ’80, piano) presented a series of concerts with commentary exploring the music of Chopin at Bargemusic in June. Also at Bargemusic, Swann performed works by Handel and Beethoven on a series of concerts with violinist Mark Peskanov in July, as well as a program of his own exploring Wagner and his influences, and two programs with Peskanov, violinist Yuri Namkung, violist Lily Francis, and cellist Nicholas Cannelakis exploring music by Haydn and Mozart. Swann presented a recital at the International Keyboard Institute at Mannes College in July titled “Neo-Classicism and Neo-Romanticism.”
The Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker [Diploma ’72, Professional Studies ’73, violin], Philip Setzer [BM ’73, MM ’74, violin], Lawrence Dutton [BM ’77, MM ’78, viola], and David Finckel) presented an eight-concert Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall from May 31 to June 17. The series, titled Beethoven in Context, explored Beethoven’s string quartets and their impact on the genre over the past 200 years.
Judith Olson (MS ’71, piano) and violinist Rolf Schulte played an all-Stravinsky recital at the Bloomingdale House of Music in New York in March.
Madeleine Forte (BM ’70, MS ’71, piano), music theorist Allen Forte, and violinist Pedro Pinyol were invited for a residency at the University of North Texas in April. Ms. Forte conducted a master class titled “Debussy and Friends,” and was joined by Pinyol in a program of music by Jewish and “lost” composers (including Germans Oppel and Weisse) in post-World War II premieres. She was selected as ACME (Artists, Composers, Musicologists, and Educators) honoree in the spring issue of The Triangle of Mu Phi Epsilon.
Max Lifchitz (BM ’70, MM ’71, composition), a faculty member at the University of Albany, was presented on a faculty recital there in April with members of the North/South Consonance Ensemble, which Lifchitz directs. The program included four of his compositions for voice and instruments; among the performers was violinist Claudia Schaer (BM ’01, MM ’02, violin). Lifchitz and North/South Consonance Ensemble also performed at Manhattan’s Christ and St. Stephen’s Church in April, twice in May, and in June. Performers featured in the May 21 concert included Lisa Hansen (BM ’81, flute).
Emerson String Quartet member Eugene Drucker (Diploma ’72, Professional Studies ’73, violin) made his debut as a novelist with The Savior, published by Simon and Schuster in July. The novel tells the story of a conflicted German violinist who is ordered to perform for prisoners in a concentration camp as part of an experiment, and examines the relationship between performer and audience, and good versus evil.
1960s
Music director J. Reilly Lewis (MS ’69, DMA ’77, organ) led the Cathedral Choral Society in a Shakespeare Festival Concert at Washington’s National Cathedral in May, as part of the city’s celebration of the Bard. The program consisted of music by Berlioz, Vaughaun Williams, Mendelssohn, and Walton, inspired by Shakespeare’s works.
Michael Judd Sheranian (BM ’69), a longtime member of the Utah Symphony, was co-organizer and director of committees for the new Stradivarius International Violin Competition, held for the first time in June at Gardner Hall in Salt Lake City.
Ursula Oppens (MS ’67, piano) performed works by Beethoven, Schubert, Ravel, and Picker at Arium in New York in May.
George Pollock (BS ’65, voice) was featured as Saul in Oy Vey!, a 28-minute independent film inspired by the true history of Chinese Kaifeng Jews. The film was presented by the Ft. Lee Film Commission and included in the Fourth Annual Spotlight on Asian-American Filmmakers shown at local film festivals in April.
Carole Dawn Reinhart (BM ’65, MM ’66, trumpet) received the International Trumpet Guild’s award of merit at the guild’s 2007 conference, held at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in June.
Jonathan Tunick (MS ’60, composition) received two Tony nominations in May, one for his orchestrations for Harold Prince’s LoveMusik and the other for 110 in the Shade, starring Audra McDonald (BM ’93, voice).
Leonardo Balada (Diploma ’60, composition) received an award in music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in May. In September, his chamber opera The Town of Greed receives its world premiere at Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, to be performed with its complementary opera Hangman, Hangman! The two operas will also be performed in Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu in November. Other world premieres include an orchestral work performed this month by the Hungarian Chamber Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, and a concerto for three cellos and orchestra to be premiered in October by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.
1950s
Sophie Ginn-Paster (BS ’56; MS ’58) has been selected for inclusion in the 11th edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, honoring a select 5 percent of our nation’s teachers. Ginn-Paster is professor of voice at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio and a board member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Foundation.
Richard Roberts (BS ’56, MS ’57, piano) recreated his Juilliard graduation recital in March at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Portland, Me., as a benefit for the piano fund of the Portland Rossini Club. He is professor emeritus of music at the Portland campus of the University of New England.
Henry Grimes (’54, double bass) and Rashied Ali performed at Brecht Forum at Westbeth in Manhattan in April. The evening included the premiere of Grimes’s Signs Along the Road, commissioned by the Brecht Forum, presented in conjunction with the publication of Grimes’s book of writings (also titled Signs Along the Road) and the release of the Grimes and Ali duo CD Going to the Ritual.
David Labovitz (Diploma ’50, Postgraduate diploma ’52, piano) led the combined choruses of the New York Cantata Singers and Choral Symphony Society in Bach’s Mass in B Minor at Manhattan’s Christ and St. Stephen’s Church in June. Soloists included Ruth Ann Cunningham (MM ’88, voice).
1940s
Gerald Fried’s (BS ’48, oboe) The Chess Game—a work inspired by Alice in Wonderland for narrator, flute, oboe, violin, viola, cell and piano—received its premiere at Bargemusic in April. The performers included faculty member Curtis Macomber (BM ’74, MM ’75, DMA ’78, violin). Fried was oboe soloist for Bach’s Oboe Concerto in G Minor, BWV 1056, on an all-Bach program hosted by Marshall Turkin of the Boca Raton Cultural Arts Department in February, and played the role of the Devil in a performance of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale in Music on Barcelona in Santa Fe, N.M., in March.
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