|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
In October, the UNM Department of Music once again hosted New Mexico All-State Choral Auditions. Site hosts were Clarissa Clark, Pat Jones, Shelly Andes and Carla Erickson. The department also hosted an All-State Choral Clinic for 175 high school choral singers and their teachers. Clinicians at the all-day event included UNM faculty members Leslie Umphrey, Sam Shepperson, Erica Otero, Bradley Ellingboe, Pamela Pyle and Regina Carlow, as well as choral conducting graduate student Ethan Smith. Three of UNM’s choirs came together to present a fall concert in October in Keller Hall. Making its debut was “Dolce Sono,” UNM’s newest choral ensemble. This mixed chorus of about 20 voices was directed by Ethan Smith in a short program entitled “Stage of Love.” The UNM Children’s Chorus also performed on the program. Following intermission, UNM’s award-winning women’s choir, “Las Cantantes,” led by Prof. Bradley Ellingboe, sang a varied program, including Britten’s Missa Brevis, accompanied by Dr. Maxine Thévenot, and the premiere of a new work written expressly for them by UNM alumnus David Poole (M.M., 1989). |
Las Cantantes |
Faculty Assist at All-State
UNM faculty members assisted with various events during the New Mexico 2007 All-State Convention, held on campus January 3-6. Bradley Ellingboe, Director of Choral Activities, presented two workshop sessions called “Old Wine in New Wineskins” for choral music educators. Eric Rombach-Kendall gave a clinic for band directors entitled “Increasing Horsepower and Improving Gas Mileage in Your Concert Band.” Scott Ney, Associate Professor of Percussion, presented two sessions of “The Ensemble Director’s Guide to Teaching Percussion.” Chad Simons, Director of the Spirit Marching Band, presented “Big Scores for Small Bands; Improving GE Through Creative Staging.” Susie Fritts, Assistant Professor of Horn, accompanied the All-State Treble Choir in its performance of “Heart, We Will Forget Him” by James Mullholland. Scott Ney also performed with the Treble Choir in “This is the Day” by Gerald Smith. Kevin Vigneau, oboe, and Kim Fredenburgh, viola, performed with the Mixed Chorus on Gallus Zeiler’s “Magnificat.” Colleen Sheinberg (Director, Early Music Ensemble) assisted with a workshop given by Art Sheinberg (M.M., 1978) on beginning viola da gamba.
Faculty Notes
Rahim Alhaj, Iraqi oud performer/composer and part-time instructor at UNM, performed at The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on June 18, 2006 as part of the national release tour for his new Smithsonian Folkways Recording CD, When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq. Mr. Alhaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and classically trained on the oud at the prestigious Baghdad Institute under Munir Bashir. He performed extensively throughout the Middle East and Europe, relocating to the US as a political refugee in 2000. Since then, he has performed at hundreds of venues throughout the U.S.
Rahim’s concept of cross-cultural bridging and understanding between the West and Arab world, as well as his focus on peace and compassion, are extremely timely, and his contemporary musical compositions, rooted in traditional Iraqi maqams, have been well-received by audiences worldwide. Mr. Alhaj’s third CD, Friendship: Oud and Sadaqa String Quartet, was released in December 2005, produced by Fast Horse Recordings. His initial solo CDs, The Second Baghdad and Iraqi Music in a Time of War, both with Vox Lox Recordings, have received high acclaim and are featured on NPR's “Studio 360” and played often on Amy Goodman's “Democracy Now.” On December 23, NPR’s All Things Considered featured an interview and live performance with Rahim, discussing his life journey, recordings and musical message. Mr. Alhaj will be teaching a special topics course in the spring semester entitled Introduction to Middle Eastern Music. The course will include the history of music from Turkey, Near East, Iran and North Africa, including instruments, musical styles and forms, modes and rhythm, and will lead into a Middle Eastern Ensemble class in the fall.
Dr. Regina Carlow, Assistant Professor of Music Education and music education graduate student Julia Church Hoffman collaborated on and delivered a paper at the International Conference on Social Justice and Equity at Columbia University in New York City, October 6-9. The topic was "Exploring Transformative Experiences in Music Education through a Lens of Social Justice." Regina Carlow’s article. “Diva Irina: An English Language Learner in High School Choir,” was accepted for publication in the Council of Research for Music Education in Issue 170 (November, 2006). The article highlights the perceptions of non-English speaking students and their acculturation experiences in school music programs. |
 |
Dr. Karl Hinterbichler has written extensive forwards to several recently published scores in the series of study scores currently being published by Musikproduction Jürgen Höflich (Munich, Germany): Edward MacDowell’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Frederick Delius’ Violin Concerto, and Camille Saint-Saens’s Phaeton. Dr. Hinterbichler’s other publications include Eleven Orchestral Etudes for Bass Trombone and Gigout: Grand Choeur Dialogue (arranged for eight trombones), both published by Cherry Classics Music, Vancouver, Canada. He has also had several reviews published recently in the International Trombone Association Journal, including Elliott Carter’s Brass Quintet, Ferdinand David’s Concertino, and Frackenpohl’s Columbia Green March. Dr. Hinterbichler also wrote the dialogue script for the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s “Mozart and Masters Festival” in November, 2006. Actor Jeff Mocho played the role of Mozart in a conversation with music director Guillermo Figueroa about the famed composer’s works.
In November of 2006, Prof. Bradley Ellingboe, Director of Choral Activities, conducted the Alaska High School All State Women's Festival Chorus.Brady McElligott, opera accompanist and theory instructor, was the clinician/conductor for the NMMEA District VI Honor Mixed Choir. The choir performed his arrangement of the Italian carol, Dormi, dormi o bel bambin (“Go to Sleep, My Lovely Child”). Brady was also the chorus master for Opera Southwest’s production of Verdi's Rigoletto in December. The performance featured UNM music alumni Paul Bower (M.M., 1999) as Marullo, Marc Mouchet (B.U.S., 1984) as Monterone, Cody Wesner (M.M., 2005) as Contessa Ceprano, Cammy Cook (B.M., 2005) as the Page, Lina Ramos (B.M.E., 1986) as Giovanna, current vocal student Roberto Gómez-Santos as Borsa, and UNM voice instructor Jacqueline Zander-Wall as Maddalena.
| Dr. Maxine Thévenot (D.M.A., Manhattan School of Music, 2006) has joined the faculty at the University of New Mexico to teach music appreciation and work in the choral department. Dr. Thévenot recently released her debut solo recording, Without Boundaries, on the Raven label. This past July, she performed on the opening night of the American Guild of Organists National Convention in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall with the Chicago Metropolitan Orchestra under the baton of Dr. Julian Wachner. She also gave a lecture-recital on post-1950 Canadian Organ Music as part of the convention. In the 2006-2007 season, she will perform organ recitals in Boise, Denver, Grand Rapids, New York City, Oklahoma City and St. Petersburg. Performances abroad include the Stratford Summer Music Festival in Canada (the first female organist to be invited to perform on the series), Westminster Abbey and Salisbury Cathedral, UK. Dr. Thévenot also conducted performances of Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols in December with the newly founded vocal ensemble, Polyphony, and conducted members of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the Cathedral Chamber Choir in Bach’s Cantata 106. Ms. Thévenot is the Associate Organist-Choir Director at the Cathedral Church of St. John in Albuquerque. |  |
Pamela Pyle, Assistant Professor of Piano, recently toured Taiwan with violinist Nancy Tsung and cellist Chu-Chuan Liu, giving concerts at the Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) and the Tainan University of Technology and McKay Hospital. The tour included a series of masterclasses at TNUA on the violin/piano sonata repertoire, solo repertoire masterclasses, an accompanying class at the University of Technology in Tainan and a solo masterclass at the Hualien National University of Education. In Taipei, Ms. Pyle gave a concert for the Board of Trustees of the Taipei Philharmonic with Artistic Director Chang Lun-Yun and concertmaster Su Chien Ta.
Last summer Ms. Pyle was pianist for the masterclass of Aaron Rosand (Curtis Institute), Matt Haimovitz, cellist, and Nathaniel Rosen, cellist, at the Summit Music Festival in Tarrytown, New York, and appeared in performances with faculty and students. In September, she was pianist for the Robert McDuffie and Friends Fall Festival at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. At home in Albuquerque, Prof. Pyle performed with colleagues Denise Reig-Turner (bassoon) and Keith Lemmons (clarinet), with the Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, and with the UNM Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. In November, she gave a Collaborative Piano workshop for attendees of the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico (PMTNM) Convention, held at UNM.
 |
This summer, Falko Steinbach, Associate Professor of Piano gave an international mastercourse for piano in the Lanesmusikakademie in Heek, Germany, as well as a mastercourse at the Young Pianist's Festival in Florida, where he also gave a lecture on his book, A Compendium of Piano Technique, and a mastercourse at the Val Tidone Festival in Italy. He performed his compositions "Camp" and "Accidents," together with colleagues Kevin Vigneau, oboe, and David Schepps, cello, in September in Keller Hall. These works also each appear in recently-recorded CDs. Prof. Steinbach’s compositions "Spero Lucem" and "Psalm 27" were performed in the Cathedral of Cologne at a festival for church music, "Uebergaenge," in November. PianoNews, the most important magazine for pianists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, featured a three-page interview with him about his work, his performances, his teaching and his compositions. |
CFA GRANT RECIPIENTS Several music faculty members are recent recipients of grants from the College of Fine Arts. Research and Creative Work grants went to
Career development grants went to:
|
Student Highlights
Scott Beaver, graduate student in tuba performance, has been a featured soloist with the West Point Band and recently with the Tennessee Tech Orchestra.
Alumni Update
Patricia Gingras (B.M.E, 2002, M.M. 2004) presented a workshop for the New York State School Music Association Conference in August 2006. The workshop, “Connecting Research to the Classroom,” presented classroom activities that reflect current research findings. Ms. Gingras teaches K-5 music at Urban Choice Charter School and pre-school music at the Eastman Community Music School while she pursues a Ph.D. in Music Education at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Jessica Catron (B.M., 1999) appeared on TV on December 18th on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. Jessica wrote/arranged a string trio and French horn part to back Scott Weiland singing, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Jessica writes, “For those of you who don't know him, he's the burned-out rocker guy who fronted Stone Temple Pilots in the 90s and currently has a band called Velvet Revolver with Slash and Duff, the guitarist and bass player from Guns n' Roses.”
After winning prizes in nine international competitions, Joseph Williams (B.M., 2002) took home a shared first prize (with Steven Lin) at the New England Conservatory's Boston GuitarFest International Guitar Competition last June. In addition to a cash prize, Joseph will be featured on the Eliot Fisk Guitar Series Volume 1 CD and will be appearing in concert at the Conservatory in Spring 2007.
Meredith Bergemann (B.M., 2001) former student of Falko Steinbach, has been teaching at the Tahoe Conservatory of Music since 2002, and is currently TCM's senior piano instructor. In 2005 she opened her private piano studio in Reno, Nevada, and in 2006 became professionally certified by the Music Teachers National Association. Meredith has performed in the Reno/Tahoe area with Crystal Niewolny of the Nevada Opera and with TOCCATA (The Orchestral and Community Choral Artists of the Tahoe Area).
Neil Wilson, who describes himself as an “ancient alumnus,” graduated with a B.F.A. in Music from UNM in 1952. Following two years active duty with the U.S. Navy, returned to complete his master’s degree in vocal performance in 1955, studying voice with Jane Snow and Bess Curry Redmond. Subsequently, he earned a Ph.D. at Indiana University and chose an academic career, teaching at Eastern Oregon University, the University of Oregon, The University of Texas at San Antonio and finally at the Virginia Commonwealth University, where he retired in 1996.
He and his wife moved to Oregon in 2004 to be near family. He continues to be an active baritone and bass-baritone soloist and has sung with the Seattle, Oregon, Spokane, San Antonio, Richmond, Annapolis and Rochester symphonies as well as Oregon Bach Festival, Grand Teton, Alaska, and Peter Britt Festivals and the Richmond, Atlanta and Pacific Northwest Ballet companies. This fall he sang the bass solos in Haydn’s The Seasons and Handel’s Messiah with two choral organizations in Las Vegas, NV and Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors in Eugene, Oregon, and the baritone solos in Carmina Burana with the Peoria Symphony. While he no longer teaches voice lessons, he occasionally gives masterclasses at colleges and universities in the Northwest. Dr. Wilson writes that he treasures the memory of the professors, fellow students and the education he received at UNM those many years ago. |
 |
 |
Neil Wilson then and now |
||
Dr. Karl Hinterbichler sends news of several former tuba students: Paul Beauchesne (M.M., 1999) recently won the audition for the Victoria (Canada) Symphony.
David Porter (M.M., 1982) recently retired from his position in the US Air Force Band in Washington, D.C.; he continues as a tubist in the McLean Symphony Orchestra and teacher in the D.C. area.
John Olah (M.M., 1985) is Professor of Tuba and program director of the Brass Department at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
Phil Black (M.M., 1980), Professor of Tuba at Wichita State University, recently celebrated his 20th year as a member of the faculty as well as the Wichita Symphony.
Brian Dobbins (M.M., 2002), former tubist in the New Mexico Brass Quintet, has been awarded a tenure track position as Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Oklahoma, where he has been teaching in a non-tenure track capacity. Brian also performs with the Santa Fe Symphony.
Dr. Hinterbichler also reports that former trombone students John Stringer (M.M., 1997) and Jakub Dedina (M.M., 1999) continue as trombonists in the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, the oldest full-time symphony orchestra in Mexico.
Another former trombone student, Jason Oliver (M.M., 2004), is currently completing his D.M.A. at the University of North Texas.
Mark Light (B.M.E., 1979) continues as bass trombonist with the U.S. Air Force Band.
In 1981, Ned Sublette (B.M, 1972) wrote his country song, “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other.” In 2006, following the success of the movie Brokeback Mountain, the song was recorded by Willie Nelson, making it probably the first gay-themed cowboy song recorded by a major artist. As a composer, Ned created the cowboy rumba style, a fusion of rumba and country & western. He is well-known not only as a country music singer, but also as a scholar of Cuban music. His label Qbadisc releases Cuban music in the U.S., and he has produced such Latin musicians as Ritmo Oriental and Isaac Delgado. He has also co-produced Public Radio International's 18-part Cuba Connection series, "Afropop Worldwide.” His book on Cuban music, Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo, was published in 2004 by the Chicago Review Press. Ned was named a 2003-2004 fellow by the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. He is also a 2004-2005 Tulane Rockefeller Humanities Fellow, as well as a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow.
Music Alums, inquiring minds want to know what you’ve been doing! |
 |
Send your news to Photos are welcomed and will be used on a space-available basis. |
