Colorado Music 2019

Revelations in the Himalayas

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 21:02:54 +0000

Revelations in the Himalayas Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 15:02

Jessie Bauters

Nicholas Carthy has been conducting for more than 35 years. An accomplished pianist and a trained violist himself, there isn’t much you can teach the Eklund Opera Program music director about leading a group of seasoned musicians through the rigors of a Mozart opera or a Tchaikovsky overture.

But what if the group of musicians … isn’t seasoned at all?

“Then you have to revisit things you may have forgotten.”

That’s just what Carthy did last fall, when he spent 10 days working with a group of newly minted adult musicians in the back room of a bar in Kathmandu, Nepal. The group—who Carthy met and quickly befriended during his regular stint as a guest teacher at Toppenkurset International Summer Academy and Festival in Norway—had just started an orchestra from the ground up. They invited Carthy, his wife and College of Music alumna Anne Ristorcelli (MM ’10), and their daughter Emmy—herself a talented violinist—to be involved in the early stages.

Carthy says it was a perfect opportunity to pay it forward and share his love of music. But first, he needed to get to rehearsal.

Gentle chaos

The journey to that bar in Kathmandu began at the airport, where Carthy and his family were met with quizzical impressions as soon as they arrived with their gear at the security checkpoint.

“Most of the security personnel had never even seen a violin up close, let alone all the parts that make one up,” Carthy remembers. “They looked at the tail pieces and pegs—and all these strangely shaped pieces of wood—and said, ‘What’s this?’”

Carthy and Ristorcelli had two violins with them, to be exact, along with about 30 sets of strings and countless pieces and parts they planned to donate to the fledgling musical group to help them get started.

“Once we got past security, we were welcomed in the traditional Nepalese fashion, with garlands of flowers and red dabs on our foreheads. It was all very generous,” Carthy says.

After the airport, it was an hour and a half in the car to get through the choked traffic of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital in the shadow of the Himalayas known for its heavy pollution and crowded streets. The trip was exhausting—but Carthy says it’s an everyday reality for the members of the upstart orchestra.

“The whole thing had this wonderfully gentle chaos about it. Nobody got fraught when someone was late or wondered where anyone was. This was their life.

“Everyone had other jobs and commitments, but they were all really determined to make this work.”

The group Carthy worked with was led by Sanjay, a teacher. The musicians themselves were a far cry from what Carthy encounters at the College of Music: Many of them learned to play by watching YouTube, some of their instruments were barely functional, and most of them had only picked up a bow for the first time as adults.

They were new to all of it. So Carthy changed his approach.

“What I was doing wasn’t working so I had to adjust to meet them. We would hold one or two rehearsals a day and the rest of the time we talked about how to lead an orchestra, how to make sure your bow is in the same place as everyone else’s—even who turns the page and where you sit.

“I had to go back to the absolute basics of what I was doing.”

Square one

In addition to two daily rehearsals, Carthy led the group in classes on bow placement and instrument repair. Outside the bar, the chaotic hustle and bustle of Kathmandu continued on—sometimes bleeding into the music-making space in the form of curious bystanders—but inside, Carthy took something of a trip back in time.

“I remember when I first started to really listen to Tchaikovsky and the late Romantics as a kid, and I saw that same wide-eyed wonder in these musicians. There’s no substitute for the realization that what you’ve been learning on your own is simply a conduit to something much bigger.”

This artform that Carthy had lived and breathed for most of his life became new again thanks to the childlike reverence of the musicians he led. And the relative age of these adult musicians—just learning music now instead of as fifth or sixth graders—made for a unique experience.

“Music for them is something absolutely enormous,” Carthy says. “You’re coupling a childlike wonder with intellectual maturity.”

After a few days, Carthy began to witness a transformation, both in what the orchestra was giving him, and in what the musicians needed from him in return. “The most rewarding bit was that you saw this organism come to life, and by the end of the week they knew how to play without me being autocratic about the beat.”

Just as Carthy was able to give back to these new musicians, he says they saw the opportunity to pay it forward as well.

“We held a concert at the end and raised money for a group of us to trek into the Himalayan foothills next year, where we’re going to take instruments to remote villages.

“I shared my privilege with them, and they in turn are going to share theirs.”

Above all

Before leaving Kathmandu, Carthy and the group spent a morning above the smog of the million-person city, getting a glimpse of Everest and K2 from a sightseeing gondola. “Most of them had never been up there before. It was tear-inducing to see that sight, and to see them see it for the first time.”

It brought Carthy’s time in Nepal—and in the other countries where he made music during his sabbatical year—full circle.

“We were in the north of Russia, working with a new youth orchestra in Petrozavodsk, and we went to Taiwan to work with a school orchestra who already played brilliantly. I ran the gamut between the very beginning to the very advanced.

“I brought that back, that having to question what I do in a technical sense.”

At the end of the day, Carthy says he came back a stronger educator and maestro.

“Introducing something you’ve loved all your life to people who will now love it all their lives, too … you can’t get a better experience than that.”

Eklund Opera maestro Nicholas Carthy spent 10 days getting back to the basics in Kathmandu.

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‘If I can make it there…’

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:29:20 +0000

‘If I can make it there…’ Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 13:29

Jessie Bauters

Imagine packing up your life—maybe in a carry-on suitcase or even just a backpack—and driving to the most crowded city in the country to start a new life. All that lies ahead of you are bright lights and big uncertainty, but you trust your drive and your talent enough to push forward.

Right now, there are at least 125 College of Music alumni living in New York City, many of whom have stories just like that to tell. And all of them are New Yorkers now, brought together in a city of 8.6 million by their Music Buff status and the College of Music emeritus professor known as the “mom” of their ambitious group.

Act I: The Decision

Professor Emeritus of Cello Judith Glyde cut her teeth as a musician in New York for 25 years as a founding member of the Manhattan Quartet. She left for another quarter-century to teach in Boulder and help form the College of Music’s study-abroad program in Italy, and then she decided to return to her old stomping grounds.

“I had gotten to see so much, but in 2017, it was the right time to come back,” Glyde says.

The move brought her closer to her son and his family, but ever the connector, Glyde also felt compelled to use the opportunity to tend to her other family: graduates of the College of Music.

“I’ve always felt that we need to figure out a way to help our alumni stay involved and supported. It’s wonderful to connect a young person with someone further along in their career and see how thrilled they are,” she says. “It started off as this idea that I could be the mom in New York, helping �� alumni meet each other.

“Also of great importance to me is to just be there if they need help or want to talk.”

Glyde has moved seamlessly into the role since she took up residence in the city, building a community of Music Buffs that meets regularly on Facebook and in various storybook pizza places, wine bars and coffee shops throughout Manhattan.

The connections have been life altering for Nora Barpal (BM ’18). She had been living in New York for a couple of weeks, going to school full-time for arts administration at NYU, working full-time in the New York Department of Education and part-time as an arts administrator, connecting with anyone and everyone she could, when Glyde reached out to her.

“She introduced herself on Facebook and was immediately so helpful and kind,” Barpal says.

The conversation led to dinner with Glyde and fellow alumna Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf (DMA ’07).

“And Mairi casually mentioned that she plays cello on the 'Last Five Years' soundtrack—which is one of my favorite musicals,” Barpal recalls. “She was the epitome of great cello playing and I had listened to her for about 10 years, then I met her.”

Networking, Barpal says, was the quickest lesson she had to learn upon moving to New York from her summer job in Aspen. As a frequent subway rider, she’s already put her natural talent for striking up conversations to use. “One girl I met on the subway, on the second day I was here, is getting her master’s in stage management at Columbia. We’ve become good friends and have gone to shows together.”

Act II: The Defining Moment

Amy Marie Stewart (BM ’07) arrived in New York nearly a decade ago with her then-husband, hoping to grow her career as an opera singer. She had spent a few years getting her master’s degree in Chicago and felt ready to make the leap to the Big Apple.

“It was a perfect stepping stone. It would have been a far greater shock if I had come straight out of undergrad,” Stewart says.

Get connected with other alumni!

Visit the Alumni section of the website to read about fellow Music Buff accomplishments and join Music Buff Connect, our online network for career advice and opportunities.

Stewart took auditions and struggled to get her opera feet under her for a few years before she realized that she had some big decisions—and big life changes—ahead of her if she was going to succeed. She and her husband divorced and she set her sights on musical theatre.

“Up to that point, I was suffering a lot of imposter syndrome,” Stewart recalls. “Then I had this opportunity to rebuild everything. I tell my young students all the time: There is nothing I would recommend more to a young woman than a really traumatic heartbreak in your late 20s.”

Now, Stewart is living multiple dreams—teaching voice lessons, working as a singer and actress and leading her own music theory workshop for aspiring actors. A couple of years ago, Stewart connected with fellow alum Keith Gordon (BM ’89) at the first New York College of Music alumni panel. Thanks to the meeting, Gordon had Stewart perform in a reading for his upcoming musical Mary Modern.

“When I met her, I knew that she would be ready to read music, being a vocal major from ��. I’m a big believer in the �� network,” he says.

Gordon got his start in New York at an ad agency, writing jingles. Now he's an in-demand composer and lyricist with several productions under his belt. He says the city and its many opportunities are what you make of them.

“You need to be in the right place at the right time, so you need to facilitate your luck and put yourself in those situations,” he explains. “And in order to do that, you need to leverage your connections—especially in music and theatre performance.”

Adds Stewart, “You need to think of other artists not just as your friends but as your creative inspiration as well.”

Act III: The Breakthrough

Leenya Rideout (BM ’91) was in New York in 1993, staying with a friend for a few days, when she went to a handful of auditions that she read about in a trade paper. To her surprise, she was offered the lead in a traveling production of "My Fair Lady."

“I was only there for a few days originally, but then the show led to reviews, friends who I could sublet from, and the ability to save up thousands of dollars so that when I did come here permanently to do auditions, I could take the time to do that,” Rideout says.

“Within a couple of years, I got my first Broadway show, in the chorus for Cabaret.”

Since officially moving to New York in 1995, Rideout has had several different runs on and off Broadway—including her acclaimed one-woman show "Wild Abandon"—and now lives in Midtown with her actor husband. She says despite some regional productions that cause her to travel from time to time, they make it work.

“If you’re with someone who’s not in the business and they come home as you’re leaving for work, it’s hard. But this spring, for example, I’ll be in 'August Rush' in Chicago for six weeks, while he’s here doing 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' So there are tradeoffs.”

Rideout reiterates that the most important thing young musicians can do when moving to New York—besides saving up as much money as they can—is never forget why they came.

“It takes grit, fearlessness and tenacity. Of course I had other options, but I didn’t consider them. Of course there are moments where I’d like to have a house with a two-car garage and two steady incomes, but that’s when you get a call for a Broadway show and it pulls you back in.”

And never forget that there are people like Judith Glyde out there who want to see you succeed.

“You have to remember that everyone here was once the new kid,” Barpal says. “People are much nicer than they get credit for—you just can’t be afraid to ask for help.”

Music Buffs have built a network to support each other in New York City.

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Music Buffs at the Grammys

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:12:35 +0000

Music Buffs at the Grammys Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 13:12

Jessie Bauters

“When you win the award, the statue they hand you isn’t actually yours. You give your speech, you take your picture, and then they take it away for a while.”

Bass Wei Wu (MM, PC ’13) watches the Grammy Awards on television practically every year. He never dreamed that one day he might win his own golden gramophone. “We were never really expecting it. A nomination is already quite an honor.”

Record producer Erica Brenner (BM ’82) agrees. “My first shock was when we got nominated. Getting to the final five of any category is a big deal in the music world.”

In February, Wu and Brenner both won their first Grammy Awards, Wu and the cast of "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs" for Best Opera Recording, and Brenner and baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire and soloist Karim Sulayman for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Brenner (left, with Apollo's Fire director Jeannette Sorrell), who has been editing and producing classical music albums for nearly 30 years, says she never anticipated being part of the glitz and glamour of music’s big night.

“I knew that the albums I was creating were good enough to be in contention, but you don’t expect it,” she explains. “Karim’s concept and singing on the album was as soulful as it gets, and Apollo’s Fire is special. The conductor, Jeannette Sorrell, wants to present baroque music in a way that stirs emotions, the way it was presented during Bach and Telemann’s time. And that’s what they do.”

"The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs"—the opera about the Apple founder written by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell (a �� Boulder Department of Theatre & Dance alumnus)—beat out five heavy-hitting contenders. Up against works by such opera giants as Verdi and Strauss, Wu says that no one saw the win coming. “It’s rare to even see a world-premiere opera nominated in this category. Then when you consider the music—which itself was like a revolution, using electronics and a DJ in the pit—it was a very unconventional winner.”

Wu played Jobs’ spiritual advisor Kôbun Chino Otogawa in the opera’s world premiere in Santa Fe in 2017. He and most of the original cast will reprise their roles next year in Jobs’ old Silicon Valley stomping grounds, as San Francisco Opera stages the work. Until then, Wu says he’ll reflect on this accomplishment, focusing on gratitude. “I’m glad I can make my parents and everyone at ��—especially [generous College of Music supporters] the Sie family—proud. I’m here because of the people who have supported me generously and unconditionally, and the only way I can repay them is by working hard.”

Brenner, who started off as a performing flutist, agrees. “I feel so grateful that I was able to make a career in music, even if it wasn’t the exact path that I envisioned while I was a student at ��.

“I’m not a different producer today than I was before the Grammy. I still take on every project to craft something unique and beautiful. But I won’t lie… the acknowledgement feels really great.”

Brenner and Wu weren’t the only �� Boulder names to grace the Grammys this year: Alumna Tia Fuller (MM ’00) was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for her record "Diamond Cut," and College of Music Director of Bands Donald McKinney was nominated as a producer in the Best Classical Compendium category for the album "John Williams at the Movies with Dallas Winds."

It was a big year at the Grammy Awards for College of Music alumni.

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Colorado returns to Carnegie

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:45:36 +0000

Colorado returns to Carnegie Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:45

Jessie Bauters

How do you give the impression that, as a young musician, your first Carnegie Hall performance is just another day on the job?

Yes: Practice. The old one-liner certainly rings true for alumna Alicia Baker (MM ’16).

“We not only rehearsed—we had previous performances under our belts. So we weren’t plagued by anxiety.”

For Jonathan Morris and Claire Gunsbury, it all starts in your head.

“It helps to visualize the performance. Taking time outside the practice room to sit down, think through how it’ll feel, hear your footsteps as you walk across stage,” says Gunsbury.

Adds Morris, “I like to visualize. I tried to imagine all the different scenarios so it wasn’t such a shock to be there.”

Baker, Gunsbury, Morris and nine other College of Music performers made their Carnegie Hall debuts last November at the college’s second �� at Carnegie showcase concert. The group of Colorado music ambassadors put on a dazzling performance of chamber works in the elegant and intimate Weill Recital Hall, giving an audience of family, colleagues and New York-based alumni a concert fit for the hallowed venue.

No matter the preparation technique, they all made it look easy. But that level of confidence didn’t happen overnight.

Taking the scenic route

For Alicia Baker, the Ajax Quartet (Renée Hemsing-Patten, Tom Yaron, Mario Rivera and Eric Haugen) and Professor of Clarinet Daniel Silver, the journey to Carnegie began more than a year before they arrived in Midtown Manhattan. The group closed the concert with College of Music alumnus Conor Brown’s (MM ’18) "Ladun hiihin lau lajille," just one in a series of high-profile performances of the piece.

Baker put both her accordion and her voice to use for the challenging piece. “This was the first time I had a challenge of that size that was so perfectly geared toward me,” she says.

"Ladun hiihin lau lajille," which is sung in Finnish, was originally premiered in October 2017 at the College of Music’s celebration of the centennial of Finland’s independence. Since then, Baker and the rest of the ensemble have traveled to Denver, Washington, D.C., and even Helsinki to perform the piece for music lovers and dignitaries alike. They had arrived back stateside from Finland just days before the Carnegie Hall appearance.

“I really wasn't even that nervous because we were all so excited to present the piece again,” Baker says. “It spoke to all of us. We all loved playing it, and every time we did we got more and more connected.”

Playing off a connection

Sophomore flutist Claire Gunsbury and her Carnegie duo partner, senior guitarist Max Mondzac, began preparing their pieces with their professors Christina Jennings and Nicolò Spera back in August 2018. Before they even learned that they would be the tone-setting opening act at �� at Carnegie, the pressure was on.

“It’s Carnegie Hall,” Gunsbury says. “Huge names have played here, and you have to fill those shoes.”

Gunsbury and Mondzac picked a variety of works that they were either already familiar with or passionate about learning—Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonatina for Flute and Guitar and Robert Beaser’s “Cindy” from "Mountain Songs"—and spent the months between the summer and November getting every bit of their performance down pat, from the technical to the visual.

“We were always very aware of how we were looking. Professor Jennings encouraged us to be very communicative with each other, and I think that came out,” Gunsbury explains. “The interplay with Max was very comfortable by that point because we had time to form that relationship.”

Closing out in style

Unlike Gunsbury and Baker, Jonathan Morris took the stage as a solo act for �� at Carnegie, leaving the audience speechless as he brought Ravel’s “Ondine” from "Gaspard de la nuit" and the Chopin “Winter Wind” étude to life on the Weill Hall Steinway.

“The ‘Ondine’ is beautiful and lyrical, and the étude is a bit more virtuosic, which I thought worked well for Carnegie Hall,” Morris says.

Morris grew up in Ireland and came to the U.S. three years ago to get his doctorate from �� Boulder. He graduated this May, and says he never imagined the apex of his studies would land him in the most famous concert venue in the world.

“I definitely never thought I’d ever perform at Carnegie Hall, of course I always hoped I would. I feel very lucky that I got to do it while I was here!”

The aftermath

At the end of a magical night, Morris, Baker, Gunsbury and the other performers—Max Mondzac, the Ajax, Daniel Silver, Kristin Weber, Barbara Noyes, Andrew Brown and composer Conor Brown—all made the most of an opportunity that few at this stage of their careers are afforded. Looking back, the performers say the concert means something special—yet different—to each of them.

For Baker—an international accordion performer since age 6—the evening was a culmination of hard work and a love of music. “It’s a result of the steps I was already taking to become a good musician. It wasn’t the end goal, but that almost makes it feel more special to me.”

Morris, who studied music at Guildhall School of Music in London, hopes Carnegie Hall is just the beginning. “It’s a big confidence boost. It gives me the encouragement to believe that I can play at the Barbican or Royal Albert Hall, which are on my bucket list.”

And Gunsbury—who nearly stopped playing the flute in middle school—sees nothing but open doors ahead for her and her fellow �� at Carnegie musicians. “Carnegie Hall was always one of my loftiest dreams—it was never something I thought would actually come true.

“After the concert, [Senior Instructor of Oboe] Peter Cooper told Max and me, ‘You’ve played in Carnegie Hall, now you can play anywhere.’ And that’s kind of how I feel. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity.”

A dozen College of Music performers can now call themselves Carnegie Hall veterans.

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College continues strong partnership with Aspen Music Festival and School

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:30:11 +0000

College continues strong partnership with Aspen Music Festival and School Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:30

Jessie Bauters

2019 summer attendees (picture above, clockwise from top left): Robert Herbst (AD Violin), Dean Robert Shay, Skylar Schlenker (BM and MM Voice), Gabriel Ramos (BM Cello), Community Engagement and Social Innovation Coordinator Katie Skayhan, Elizabeth Potter (BM Violin), Kamila Dotta (BM Cello), Price Foundation Board Chairwoman Linda Vitti-Herbst, Benjamin Shafer (MM Horn) and Xi Zhang (DMA Collaborative Piano).

Below, flip through photos of College of Music students working throughout the academic year with children in the Aspen area.

Seven students attended the summer program in 2019.

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Unparalleled international collaboration in Sante Fe

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:25:31 +0000

Unparalleled international collaboration in Sante Fe Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:25

Corinne Baud

As a continuation of the College of Music and Sibelius Academy’s partnership, alumnus Conor Brown, (MM ’18) and DMA student Brett Armstrong (Double Bass) had the opportunity to participate in the highly competitive Creative Dialogue program in Sante Fe last summer.

Organized by the Sibelius Academy at the University of Arts in Helsinki, Creative Dialogue provides young instrumentalists and composers with the opportunity to collaborate in an annual international workshop.

The highly selective, invitation-only program featured 12 musicians from schools such as Juilliard, Eastman and Colburn, among others. Brown represented �� Boulder as a composer and clarinetist, performing in a group improvisation and leading an original composition. Armstrong worked directly with Magnus Lindberg, the current composer-in-residence for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, to re-envision a solo cello piece as a solo bass piece.

In addition to offering opportunities for collaboration among composers and performers, the program was filmed for a documentary that will feature the various students involved, including Brown and Armstrong. Congratulations to the pair on this accomplishment!

College represented at Creative Dialogue hosted by Sibelius Academy.

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Putting a space to a name

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:20:48 +0000

Putting a space to a name Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:20

Jessie Bauters

Throughout the past year, the College of Music donor community has generously and tirelessly rallied behind the expansion of Imig Music Building by pulling together enough funding to secure a matching capital donation from the University of Colorado—and then some. Here, we recognize just a few of our supporters, whose gifts will result in the honorary naming of several of our new facilities.

In addition to the gifts below, an anonymous donor made a significant gift to name a space in honor of College of Music Advisory Board Chair Mikhy Ritter and music+ Campaign Chair Becky Roser. These are the finalized named spaces as of July 2019; more agreements could be forthcoming.

Barry and Sue Baer
Baer Teaching Assistants’ Office

Barry and Sue Baer are �� Boulder alumni and longtime supporters of the College of Music’s Adopt-a-Student program. After earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees at the university in the 1960s and 70s, the Baers never lost their deep ties to �� Boulder and moved back to the city in 2003, where they’ve been ever since. The couple is deeply involved in their temple and the �� Boulder Program in Jewish Studies. Loyal college donors since 2009, they also plan to create scholarships for vocal performance, choral music and choral conducting. The Baers’ gift names a teaching assistants’ office.

Chris and Margot Brauchli
Berger Choral Faculty Studio

Boulder music mainstays Chris and Margot Brauchli met while they were students at the Aspen Music Festival and School and never looked back. While their professional paths have veered away from music, the pair have never been far removed from the world that brought them together, helping found the Boulder Bach Festival and serving on the board of the Boulder Philharmonic, to name just some pursuits. Now, the classical music champions have given a gift that names one of the new choral faculty studios in honor of former faculty composer Jean Berger. Read more about Chris and Margot here.

Patricia Butler
Schranz Practice Room

Pat Butler put down her violin—she thought for the last time—at the age of 16. Many years later, as she sat with her husband in the front row of one of the many Takács Quartet concerts the couple has attended, Butler had a change of heart. She began playing violin again, taking lessons and jumping feet first into a renewed life of music, and it was all inspired by the enthusiasm and passion exuded by then-second violinist Károly Schranz. Now, to thank Schranz—who retired from the quartet but still teaches at the College of Music—Butler’s gift names one of the eight new practice rooms in Imig for him.

Anne Culver
Culver Practice Room

College of Music alumna and former University of Denver Lamont School of Music Director Anne Culver (BM ’59, PhD ’73) spent many hours practicing as a piano performance student in the 1950s—studying with such well-known former faculty as Storm Bull and Howard Waltz. Culver—pictured here with her brother and fellow �� Boulder alum Roger Mitchall (BA ’59)—says she spent more time in the practice room than most of her colleagues. That’s why she was happy to provide support for the new practice rooms being built at Imig—and to name one of them for her late husband, alumnus Richard A. Culver (BME, MME ’50). Read more about Anne here.

Kristina and Paul Eklund
Eklund Percussion Practice Room

Though their name is tied to the college’s Eklund Opera Program, opera is not the only genre of music that has moved Paul and Kristina Eklund throughout their lives. The heartbeat rhythm of pulsing drums has been a constant spiritual driver and source of strength and introspection for the couple, who wanted to show, with their gift to name a percussion practice room, that music students’ passions have support from the community—even from someone whom they may never have met. Read more about Paul and Kristina here.

Jonathan and Shari Fox
Fox Green Room

Music Advisory Board member Jonathan Fox has loved music ever since his mother—his first piano teacher—opened his ears to it. A member of the Golden Buffalo Marching Band during his time as a �� Boulder business student, he has fond memories of marching in the Orange Bowl in 1976. Shari, too, has always held music close in her heart, as both a flutist and a member of the traveling Continental Singers. The pair made their donation to name a green room on the first floor of the addition.

Dave Fulker and Nicky Wolman
Fulker/Wolman Percussion Faculty Studio

College of Music Advisory Board member Dave Fulker is active as a jazz trumpeter and has been involved with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra board for nearly 60 years, and Nicky Wolman is on the Boulder JCC’s Arts, Culture and Education Program Committee. The pair have been loyal supporters of the College of Music since 2012; Fulker was even a student at the college for two years before switching to a math major. Their gift names the new percussion faculty studio.

Gordon and Grace Gamm
Gamm Choral Faculty Studio

Regulars in the Boulder classical music and jazz scenes, Grace and Gordon Gamm have long been active supporters of �� Boulder. Grace serves on the College of Music Advisory Board; among other philanthropic ventures, the couple generously supported the renovation and expansion of the now-Grace Gamm and Gordon Gamm theatres in Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center. Lovers of impromptu piano-side sing-alongs, their gift names a new choral faculty studio. Read more about Gordon and Grace here.

Ben and Pattie Nelson
Nelson Practice Room

High school marching band sweethearts Ben and Pattie Nelson have a special place in their hearts for non-music majors at the College of Music. While Pattie (BME ’84, MME ’08) earned her music education degrees from the college and marched in the Golden Buffalo Marching Band, Ben himself was a member of marching band as he earned his engineering degree. Both of their daughters attended �� Boulder and performed in the Campus Orchestra—their eldest even helped form the ensemble. Now, the founders of the Jeffco Community Band have named one of the two non-major practice rooms to keep the tradition going. Read more about Ben and Pattie here.

Frank Parce
Parce Office

Longtime Denver Public Schools music teacher, former Music Advisory Board member, consummate Colorado Symphony volunteer and 1965 College of Music graduate Frank Parce had one goal in mind when he made his gift to the college: Make sure every student has every opportunity to succeed at the life they are passionate about living. As a nod to the ever-increasing importance of counseling in a young musician’s life, the Denver native—who began his teaching career during the turbulent and revolutionary 1960s—gave his gift to name the academic services office in the new Imig. Sadly, Frank Parce passed away in May of this year, but the college is grateful that Parce Office can serve as a tribute to his passion for students, the community and music. Read more about Frank here.

Michele and Michael Ritter
Berrodin Music Education Office

Mike and Mikhy Ritter met as students at �� Boulder and have been loyal donors to the College of Music for more than 30 years. As chair of the Music Advisory Board, Mikhy has been instrumental in making the expanded Imig Music Building a reality, and she and Mike created the Ritter Family Classical Guitar Program with an endowment in 2014. Their latest gift names a music education faculty office in honor of Mikhy’s late grandmother, Anastasia Berrodin.

Peg and Chuck Rowe
Rowe Practice Room

Margaret Martin Steed was a violinist and avid supporter of community orchestras, theatre and opera. As a young violinist, she performed with the LA Junior Symphony, and later in life, she continued playing with another symphony and string quartet in San Diego. Peg and Chuck Rowe’s gift names one of the new practice rooms at Imig in Margaret’s memory. In addition, Peg and her daughter, Assistant Dean of Advancement Courtney Rowe (BA ’05) also established the Margaret Steed Memorial Graduate String Quartet Endowment to support the college’s graduate quartet-in-residence.

Daniel Sher and Boyce Reid Sher
Sher Piano Faculty Studio

The name “Sher” was practically synonymous with the College of Music at �� Boulder for 20 years, as Dean Emeritus Daniel Sher led the college from 1993 to 2013. In his time as dean, the college launched the Entrepreneurship Center for Music and the Musicians’ Wellness Program and added an addition to the east side of Imig Music Building. Now, Daniel Sher and his wife, Boyce Reid Sher, will cement their legacy with a gift to name the Sher Piano Faculty Studio. The Shers both know their way around the ivories, having played as a piano duo for many years around the world.

Jack and Jeannie Thompson
Benson Office of the Dean

�� Boulder alumni Jeannie and Jack Thompson have been supporters of the College of Music for more than 15 years. Their gift in 2013 to name the Thompson Jazz Studies Program created the first named academic program in �� Boulder history. This most recent gift names the new dean’s office in honor of recently retired University of Colorado President Bruce Benson and former First Lady Marcy Benson.

Generous gifts from several of our supporters will name facilities in the expanded music building.

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And the winner is…

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:20:20 +0000

And the winner is… Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:20

Corinne Baud

Each year, the College of Music rewards a handful of amazing students through the Ekstrand Competition, Honors Competition and Undergraduate Vocal Competition.

Flute DMA student Kaleb Chesnic has the honor of calling himself the winner of the Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Graduate Student Performance competition, in which graduate students compete for cash prizes to help advance their professional careers and development. “This performance means as much as any other,” says Chesnic. “I enjoy cultivating a program that has flow and variety where I can present to the best of my ability and help the audience enjoy themselves while listening to great music.”

The annual Honors Competition is open to all College of Music students, awarding an undergraduate and graduate student the chance to perform with the �� Symphony Orchestra. This year’s winners, Colby Bond (BM Clarinet) and Sabina Balsamo (MM Voice, pictured above), will share that honor this fall.

“Students spend much of their time performing in an orchestra,” says Chair of the Competitions and Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano Margaret McDonald. “It’s hard to get opportunities where they’re able to perform as a soloist with an orchestra, so this is an amazing opportunity to come by.”

Finally, the Undergraduate Vocal Competition features undergraduate freshmen, sophomore and junior vocal students competing for three $2,000 scholarships. Winners Patrick Bessenbacher, junior; Mara Riley, junior vocal and flute performance double major; and Amelia Lindsey, sophomore choral music education major; shined on the Grusin stage in their individual performances.

Congratulations to all the winners of the College of Music performance competitions!

Read about the Honors and Undergraduate Vocal competitions Read Ekstrand Competition winner Kaleb Chesnic

Recapping the winners of the Ekstrand Competition, Honors Competition and Undergraduate Vocal Competition.

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The sound of silence

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:15:49 +0000

The sound of silence Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:15

Eric Gershon , from The Coloradan

The American Music Research Center and �� Boulder Libraries have acquired a vast trove of silent film musical scores that dramatically augments its existing collections and transforms �� Boulder into a premier center for the study of the live music that was a hallmark of early 20th-century moviegoing.

The vintage scores—more than 3,000 of them in 70 boxes—provide a window into a vivid and stylish corner of American popular culture and represent a major new resource for music and film scholars, students and performers alike.

The addition of the scores, most of which date from 1900 to 1929, means �� Boulder now has “one of the most important collections anywhere,” says Professor of Musicology Susan Thomas, who directs the AMRC.

Nearly all the sheet music once belonged to Los Angeles’ Grauman theater chain, which owned the famed Grauman Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard and several other local movie houses. Alumnus Rodney Sauer (MS ’89) bought the scores in 2013 and donated them to �� Boulder this year.

“I would like this repertoire to be known in the same way the repertories of operas are known and plays are known,” says Sauer, who founded The Mont Alto Silent Film Orchestra, one of the nation’s top performers of silent film music.

Music in the silent film era, as today, prompted and intensified viewers’ emotional response to the screen action. The Grauman scores bear titles like “Storm Music,” “The Furious Mob,” and “A Simple Love Episode.”

A generous gift from a chemistry alumnus adds thousands of silent film scores to the AMRC and �� Boulder Libraries' collections.

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A beautiful new home for music

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 16:00:26 +0000

A beautiful new home for music Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/17/2019 - 10:00

Jessie Bauters

It’s a time of transition for the College of Music. As faculty, staff and students prepare for the college’s 100th birthday in 2020, they’re working out of temporary spaces in one of the oldest buildings on campus and one of the newest, waiting for their new home to become a reality.

“But all that will be worth it, because this is going to be huge.”

Anoushka Divekar, a senior music education and clarinet double major from Iowa, is one of the students who looks forward to coming back to her alma mater after graduation to see what comes of the transition. Divekar walks past the construction on the south side of Imig Music Building every morning at 7, as she leaves her dorm room in Cheyenne Arapaho Hall to get in some practice time.

“That’s the only time I can do it. If you come looking for a practice room at 10 or 11 in the morning, you can’t find one that’s open.”

She and hundreds of music students past and present know exactly what limitations the new addition will help address. So do the faculty who work in offices without proper acoustics, ensembles that have rehearsed in the same subprime spaces for decades, the staff who play a daily game of musical chairs to schedule classes and concerts in limited spaces—and the administrators and supporters who have worked countless hours for a quarter-century to bring our physical home to the level of our artistry.

But what exactly will the 64,000-square-foot expansion bring to the College of Music? How will students, faculty, staff and patrons benefit from the $57 million construction project?

See for yourself!

A way to welcome music lovers

“The experience will leave you in awe and set the stage for the rest of your time here.” — Courtney Rowe, Assistant Dean for Advancement

One of the most striking improvements planned is the new front entrance on 18th Street. Three stories of windows, set in that trademark �� Boulder sandstone, will greet visitors just south of the current main entrance outside Grusin Music Hall.

“The first thing, your front-line experience, is with a building. So now parents and prospective students and returning alumni and visiting artists will walk in, and they’ll be met with that ‘wow,’” says Assistant Dean for Advancement Courtney Rowe. Just inside the front door, a short walk to the left, will be the college’s trademark performance space, Grusin Music Hall. To the right, a brand new, 110-seat recital hall, in the vein of the old Chamber Hall.

“Now patrons will have a front door and a welcome,” says longtime Professor of Piano and Helen and Peter Weill Faculty Fellow David Korevaar. “Our current profile doesn’t project a College of Music. This new lobby will give audiences a place to hang out before programs. It sends a much stronger message.”

A place to refine our skills

“It’s pretty cool that we’ve conceived of this large rehearsal hall as a convertible performance space with retractable seating.” — Robert Shay, Dean of the College of Music

One of the central additions planned is an innovative new large rehearsal facility that can convert into a 150-seat performance space at the push of a button. Dean Robert Shay says it will open up new opportunities for performance. “It’ll be an interesting place for performances that aren’t quite right for Grusin or the Chamber Hall.”

Scheduling ensemble rehearsals has been a sticking point for the college for years, but the new convertible space—plus dedicated choral and percussion rehearsal rooms—will mean new efficiencies and hours of freed-up time for large groups and the students who comprise them.

As the college launches initiatives inspired by The College of Music Advantage strategic plan, that need becomes even more apparent. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to rethink the whole schedule,” Shay says.

There will also be nine additional practice rooms—a priority for students like Divekar, who regularly spends nearly her entire allotted rehearsal time looking for a space to meet with her woodwind quintet.

“Finding time for five people to meet at the same time is already impossible, and when you spend most of your time just trying to find places to practice, that has an impact on what you can do together,” Divekar says.

The expansion also adds space for the Department of Theatre & Dance, including a dance studio, changing rooms and a theatre classroom, which Shay says is indicative of the college’s move toward more on-campus collaboration.

A nurturing learning environment

“Schools around the country are getting beautiful new facilities, and those are the programs that are trying to recruit the same students and faculty that we are. And we definitely don’t always measure up.” — David Korevaar, Professor of Piano

Shay says new teaching and educational spaces were established as the focus of the expansion before he even arrived as dean in Fall 2014. “Our faculty members need the proper laboratory to do their work,” he explains. “We wouldn’t hire scientists on this campus and then put them in a closet without the equipment they need, and this is the same concept.”

To that end, two new, state-of-the-art classroom spaces and acoustically designed studios for the keyboard, woodwind and conducting faculty will replace the stretch of the south hallway that educators like Korevaar have called home for years.

“The natural light alone will make an enormous difference,” Korevaar says. “There will also be more room for the multiple pianos many of the keyboard faculty have in their studios.”

In addition, a second-floor office for the Entrepreneurship Center for Music and a top-floor suite and teaching space for the Musicians’ Wellness Program will help the college make good on one of its strategic goals of training well-rounded musicians. “It’s the first time those two important programs will have a physical space,” Shay says.

Finally, the second floor will be the home to an expanded recording studio that will further increase the college’s interdisciplinary training capabilities.

“It will be physically networked so that we can record several concerts simultaneously,” Shay explains, “but it’s also a teaching space for students who want to develop those skills alongside our talented technicians.”

A group effort

In all, the 64,000 square feet will add roughly 4,600 feet of performance space, 6,500 feet rehearsal space and 8,800 feet of teaching space, plus wider hallways, administrative offices, restrooms and more. And every one of those square feet has been a coordinated effort of passionate members of the College of Music family.

“The collective action of the Advancement team and the college’s Advisory Board has been instrumental,” Rowe says. “And Dean Shay and Dean Emeritus Daniel Sher have really carried on the legacy and vision of all the deans before them. This has been a ‘pay-it-forward’ project—the result of the effort of so many before us, those among us now, and many who will join us in the future.

“Chancellor Philip DiStefano’s leadership has been essential as well.”

Adds Shay, “I’m deeply thankful for the partnership we’ve had with �� Boulder Facilities Management. We’ve worked hand in hand with that robust component of our campus staff, and their expertise has been a big help. And we're truly fortunate to have an all-star team of external partners, especially Pfeiffer Partners and Acoustic Distinctions.”

As the college community looks out the window at the ever-changing landscape along Wardenburg Drive, the fact that the new wing is expected to open toward the tail end of the college’s year-long centennial celebration only adds to the excitement.

“We can look back with real pride and satisfaction for where we’ve been, and look ahead with anticipation as we leap forward into our second century,” Shay says.

“It’s a big birthday gift,” Divekar adds. “It’s like a present for the students.”

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