Fall 2009 eNews: InterNetzo
Alumni, Faculty & Staff News and Goods

The Walden School welcomes news and information from members of the Junior Conservatory Camp and Walden communities to include in our print and online newsletters. News may be sent via mail or email. We will publish your contact information only if you specifically request that we do so. Please send info to alumni@waldenschool.org or The Walden School, 31A 29th St., San Francisco, CA 94110. We reserve the right to edit submissions and regret we cannot publish all information provided. For upcoming event listings, go to www.handoverhand.org.

Hannah Addario-Berry’s (visiting artist ’06) performs in San Francisco this fall at Red Poppy Art House, with music by Ravel and Bach. She just returned from British Columbia, where she performed at the Music by the Sea festival in Bamfield. For upcoming concert info, click here.

Nigel Armstrong (WS ’00), violinist, was chosen as a finalist for KDFC’s 2009 Classical Star Search.

James Athey (WS ’97-98) recently completed a stint as tenor section leader at Tom Colohan’s (TTI ’05) church in Washington, DC.

The duo Hot Air Tight Strings, composed of Erica Ball (WS ’06-07) and Kylie Collins, performed a concert of world premieres by young New York composers, including Sam Pluta (WS summer school staff ’01-02, WS faculty ’03-09), in addition to works by Joan Tower (WS composer-in-residence ’09).

Whit Bernard (WS ’00-02; TTI ’06; WS staff ’04,’06; WS faculty ’09) recently became Director of Development for ICE (the International Contemporary Ensemble). Learn more about ICE here.

Tamar Bloch (JCC/WS ’69-72; TTI ’08; WS faculty ’75,’77,’87-92,’94-99,’01-04) and Sheree Clement (WS ’72-73) met this summer for the first time in over 30 years. In August, Tamar also attended the International Kodály Society symposium in Katowice and got to meet teachers and musicians from all over the world. She will be moving to Kecskemét to pursue an MA in Kodály Studies at the Kodály Institute.

Nansi Carroll (JCC ’72; WS faculty ’77-79, ’84-89, ’92-96; Advisory Council ’02-06) and Stephen Coxe (WS ’80-84; WS faculty ’86-96; administration ’95-96) are co-directors of 2009 Jubilus Concert Series in Florida. Thomas Kraines (WS faculty ’95-96; visiting artist ’97) is involved as a performer. Learn more here.

Lisa Cella (TTI ‘06) authored an analysis of Ferneyhough’s Cassandra’s Dream Song that was published as the cover feature in Flutist Quarterly’s summer 2009 edition.

In late July, Alan Chan (TTI ’04, ’06) received Subito Grant funding from the American Composers Forum to attend the premiere of his work, Qin, and to start a new collaborative project with flutist Angela Rowland in Kansas City, MO in October 2009. Sweet Bach, Alan’s latest work for percussion quintet, is now available for purchase. This fall, he will explore writing jazz big band music at the BMI Jazz Composition Workshop in New York City. Click here to learn more.

Joey Chang (WS ’07) shared first place this summer in the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition. As prize-winner, he performed Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major with the Hudson Valley Symphony Orchestra, under conductor/pianist Vladimir Feltsman.

The International Contemporary Ensemble held concerts featuring Claire Chase (visiting artist ’05-08) and Eric Lamb’s flute duo in Chicago. The duo recently finished a European tour. On September 25, there was a CD Release Event for Mario Diaz de León’s debut album at Roulette in New York. ICE is featured on this debut album for John Zorn's Tzadik label, and members will perform several of de León’s pieces from the album live at this event.

Sophie Coran (WS ’00-05) premiered her piece Missa Brevis in the spring with a group of Manhattan School of Music students led by Nicholas DeMaison (WS faculty ’04-07).

After visiting monasteries in the remote Nepali kingdom of Lo Monthang, Andrea Clearfield (visiting composer ’06) composed Lung-Ta: The Windhorse, which was premiered by the Network for New Music. The project was featured in the Philadelphia Examiner. Learn more about the project here.

Christopher Coyne (WS ’07-08) won first prize in the Music Worcester, Inc. 2009 Young Artist Competition. The competition is open to students from Worcester County, ages 12-18, performing on any orchestral instrument or piano. Mackenzie Melemed (WS ’06-07), the 2008 winner, provided piano accompaniment.

Shawn Crouch (WS ’93-94, ’96; TTI ’08; faculty ’99-00, ’02, ’05-07) premiered The Light of Common Day for choir and piano using the text of William Wordsworth. Shawn was also a featured composer on Grammy Award-winning ensemble Chanticleer’s “Composer’s Our Age” concert, in which the ensemble premiered his work The Garden of Paradise, based on poems by American soldier Brian Turner and the Sufi poet Rumi.

Nicholas DeMaison’s (WS faculty ’04-07) piece Black wheels (three sides square) was performed at the Issue Project Room in New York and at Lilypad in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the spring, he held his first concert as director with the South Hadley Chorale and Orchestra since taking over the position in September. They performed Bruckner’s 8-voice Mass and also premiered his …urge relentless… commissioned last year. Additional spring concerts included appearances with The Threepenny Opera and Opera Cabal.

The PRISM Quartet performed the world premiere of The Frog Prince by Andrea Grody (WS ’05-07), as part of PRISM and Cantori New York’s “Saxophone and Voices” concert in May. Andrea was awarded the Walden/PRISM Commission in 2007.

Eric Hewitt (visiting artist ’01) and Sam Solomon’s (visiting artist ’01) ensemble Yesaroun’ Duo have a new release on GM Records entitled Heavy Up Heavy Down. It is a two-disc set that includes premieres of six works written for the ensemble. Learn more here.

Ellen Hoffman (JCC ’60-’67) recently accompanied Nigerian artist Tayo Aluko in his one-man show about the remarkable Paul Robeson, singer, actor and civil rights campaigner.

Alexander Jones (WS ’08-09) performed a charity concert in the spring. In a similar event last year, he raised $1,000 for two high-needs communities in Charlotte, Virginia.

Brooke Joyce (WS faculty ’01-02; ’03-04; TTI faculty ’06-09) traveled with the Nordic Choir on their European tour (his wife, Jennifer Self, was the tour coordinator). Here is a link to his blog, which has journal entries, photos, and audio/video files:

Hilary Kole (WS ’87-92) released her latest CD, “Haunted Heart,” in February. Visit her website here.

Leland Kusmer’s (WS ’98-07) Swarthmore College-based string quartet was awarded a fellowship at the Ischia Chamber Music Festival in Italy this summer, where they continued their study of Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 1.

Caroline Mallonée (WS ’87-92; WS faculty and administration ’98-09; TTI ’07) was commissioned to write a piece for The Women’s Voice Chorus of North Carolina. Gather the Stars was premiered on January 31 and is being published sometime this year. Here is a link to an interview with Mallonée and the Chorus conductor on the radio show “The State of Things” along with a live broadcast of “Gather the Stars.”

This spring, Teresa McCollough (visiting artist ’01, TTI ’05) performed the world premiere of a work for solo piano by Alvin Singleton at New York’s Roulette.

In April, Mackenzie Melemed (WS ’06-07) performed a recital at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Vermont.

Melody of China (visiting ensemble ’08) was featured in a San Francisco Classical Voice article written by Chelsea Nicole Spangler about a Chinese New Year Concert. Read more here and here.

Brendan Milburn’s (WS ’88) band, GrooveLily, released its new CD “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” and is embarking on a US tour. For dates check the group’s website.

Robert Paterson (Visiting Artist ’97; WS faculty ‘98) writes: I just received this really nice residency from Meet the Composer/League of American Orchestras with the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association - Not New Hampshire— but pretty close. I'll be across the mountains on and off for three years!

Sam Pluta (WS summer staff ’01-02, faculty ’03-08) received a 2009 Morton Gould Young Composer Award from the ASCAP Foundation. Osnat Netzer (TTI ’07-08, WS faculty ’08) garnered Honorable Mention while Jake Tejada (WS ’06-08) was one of 39 finalists out of a very competitive pool of 680 composers. For more information click here.

Thomas L. Read (JCC ’71) released a CD of his chamber music on Zimbel records. The album includes Night Pageantry (2007) for bassoon and piano; Piano Music, Vol. II (1979-81, rev. 2000); Corrente (1980) for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon; The Dancing Air (1987) for piano, and Christmas Variations (1983) for clarinet and cello. Performers include pianists Donna Amato and Cynthia Huard, bassoonists Rachael Elliott (vistiting artist '03) and Janet Polk, oboist Neil Boyer, clarinetist Steven Klimowski, and cellist Bonnie Klimowski. The CD may be purchased at the Zimbel website.

In two Bay Area appearances, flutist Jane Rigler (TTI ’08) conducted a workshop in May at Santa Clara University and premiered a piece, Three Swords, with flautist/performance artists Polly Moller and Pamela Z using flutes, electronics and interactive video at Royce Gallery in San Francisco. Jane also directed an evening improvisation activity at Walden’s Teacher Training Institute this summer.

David Saslav (WS ’74-75, ’77-79; board ’02-05) has been participating in NYC Midnight’s Creative Writing Challenge by writing “flash fiction,” 1,000-word works produced in 48 hours with certain parameters. A recent challenge was to write a fantasy story set at a car wash and featuring a kitten. To read some of his work, including a fake Wikipedia entry about a fictitious composer, go to the SazBlog.

Walter Saul (JCC ’68-71) and Daphne Saul were in New York for the Carnegie Hall debut of the Fresno Pacific Community Wind Ensemble, which performed Walter’s From Alpha to Omega: Prelude and Fugue X.

Transitions
Major Life Events in the Walden/JCC Family

Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy, an ethnomusicologist with an international reputation as a researcher, teacher, administrator, an emeritus faculty member of the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the husband of Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy (JCC faculty ’63-65), died peacefully of lung cancer on Saturday, June 20 at his home in Van Nuys, California.

Heather Fortune (TTI ’08) gave birth to Mira Fortune Brodie in April.

Mira Fortune Brodie

Caroline Mallonée (WS ’87-92; TTI ’07; WS summer staff ’96; WS faculty ’98-00; ’02-09; administration ’06-09) and Eric Huebner (Visiting Artist ’04-09) were engaged this summer. Eric proposed to Carrie on the dock at Dublin Lake.

John Robert Plude, Pat Plude’s brother, passed away in April. He was assistant director of the U.S. Navy's new National Maritime Intelligence Center in Maryland.

DJ Sparr (WS ’91; WS faculty ’09) married Kimberly Bushek (Visiting Artist ’09) on October 10th.

Copyright 2007-2010, The Walden School, All Rights Reserved.

Hannah Addario-Berry

Alan Chan

Ellen Hoffman

Alexander Jones

Leland Kusmer

Walter Saul