CLA: School of Music News

Matthew Mehaffey (choral) has hired a chamber orchestra and 16 of the Twin Cities' finest vocalists to present an all-professional production of George Frederic Handel's iconic oratorio Messiah at Central Presbyterian Church (500 Cedar Street, St. Paul, MN, 55010) on December 14 at 8 p.m. This concert is sponsored by the Oratorio Society of Minnesota. Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for students. Visit the Oratorio Society website or call 866-811-4111 for more information.

Sally O'Reilly's (violin) students James Zabawa (B.M. candidate, violin) and Jason Shu (private student) have been chosen to perform in Joseph Silverstein's
violin masterclass on December 1 at MacPhail Center for Music at 2 p.m. Both Zabawa and Shu attended Italy Summer Music in Pienza last August. Shu also received a Performers Award in the MNSOTA Mary West Solo Competition earlier this month.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 8:29 AM | Permalink

The University of Minnesota School of Music and MacPhail Center for Music will present the first of four concerts in a new chamber series with An Evening of Collaborative Percussion on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. at MacPhail's Antonello Hall. The evening will feature U of M School of Music professor Fernando Meza, MacPhail president, COO and teaching artist Paul Babcock, the U of M Percussion Ensemble, and the MacPhail Rimshots! Percussion Ensemble. Events in this series are free and open to the public. Read more.

Posted by marsh396 at 12:33 PM | Permalink

Elizabeth Steffensen (D.M.A. candidate, voice, student of Wendy Zaro-Mullins) recently sang the role of Belinda with the Minnesota Oratorio Society conducted by Matthew Mahaffey. Steffensen will also sing with the University Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 27 as winner of the Arias and Concerto competition. She will perform Summer of Knoxville: 1915, Samuel Barber. Steffensen sang with the Mill City Opera's production of Pagliacci in July.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 2:48 PM | Permalink

School of Music vocal students recently distinguished themselves at the Minnesota NATS student auditions in Collegeville, MN. Semi-finalists included:

• Julia Ennen, student of Jean del Santo
• Renee Ullrich, student of Jean del Santo
• Tim Murray, student of Jean del Santo
• Laura Modglin, student of Adriana Zabala
• Seth Bovis, student of Philip Zawisza
• Kristin Elliott, student of Adriana Zabala

Finalists in their respective divisions included:

• Ben Dutcher, student of John De Haan
• Stephanie Broussard, student of Jean del Santo
• Shelby Joy Adams, student of Jean del Santo
• Shelly Mihm, student of Philip Zawisza
• David Morgan, student of Jean del Santo
• Brennan Blankenship, student of Adriana Zabala
• Robert Riordan, student of Philip Zawisza

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 3:32 PM | Permalink

Rosalind Leavell (D.M.A. candidate, student of Tanya Remenikova) won the Grand Prize at Mary West String Competition held on November 4. She will be a soloist in the Dvorak's Concerto with the Bloomington Symphony, Spring 2013. Pre-college student Mark Prikhodko won a special Claire Givens prize: Coda bow at the Mary West String Competition. These students performed at the winners recital on Sunday, November 11.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 3:31 PM | Permalink

Hill House Chamber Players will present recital on Mondays, November 19 and 26. Music of SOM former faculty member Jeffrey Van, Janacek and Dvorak. Performances by SOM faculty members Adriana Zabala, Tanya Remenikova, Thomas Turner, and Jeffrey Van; Cathy Schubliske of the Minnesota Orchestra; and pianist Ivan Konev (SOM alumnus). Concerts are held at the Hill House in St. Paul at 7:30 p.m. More information at schubert.org.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 3:28 PM | Permalink

Watch a video preview of University Opera Theatre's production of Verdi's "Falstaff," which opens next week (11/15-18). Student tickets are only $5! More information on this production can be found at opera.umn.edu.

Video produced and edited by SOM University Opera Theatre student Joseph Okell.

Posted by School of Music Pubs and Public Rel at 3:48 PM | Permalink

Adriana Zabala (voice) will sing at the New York preview of Douglas Cuomo's opera Doubt, based on the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play by John Patrick Shanley. The performace will take place tonight, Monday, November 5 at the Guggenheim for Works & Process at 6:30 p.m. (central time). Watch the live online broadcast of this performance at ustream.tv/worksandprocess.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 2:13 PM | Permalink

Watch SOM alumna Rachel Drehmann (B.M., 2004, french horn) perform on The Colbert Report (11/1) with David Byrne & St. Vincent. You can also catch Drehmann with her chamber ensemble Genghis Barbie, which performs horn arrangements of pop music from the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s & today. Watch the video.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 2:10 PM | Permalink

Faculty member Scott Lipscomb (music education) traveled with six music education doctoral students to attend the annual meeting of the Committee on Inter-Institutional Cooperation (CIC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This annual event provides an opportunity for faculty and graduate students from Big Ten institutions to gather together, present research, and develop long-term, professional relationships. This year, four research posters were presented by U of M music education doctoral students:

• Casey Clementson: "The quest for quality: Multicultural repertoire for instrumental music"
• John Stewart: "Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance in the high school band: A case study"
• Kinh Vu: "Music in our schools: Sexual orientation and curriculum"
• Multiple authors: "Two-year college music programs in Minnesota"--The co-authored poster represents a collaborative research project completed as part of Doctoral Seminar (MUED 8900), which was co-authored - under the supervision of all music education faculty - by John Stewart, Yolanda Williams, Kinh Vu, Tracey Collins, Casey Clementson, and David Berberick, with valuable assistance from Jennifer Hawkinson and David Rolandson.

Posted by Jennifer Schmitt at 2:06 PM | Permalink