Table of Contents
Message from the Executive Director
2013 Concert Series Announced
Still a Few Places Remaining in Our 2013 Young Musicians Program — Apply Today!
Walden Events in Baltimore and Los Angeles; Upcoming Open House in Dublin
Walden publishes Jazz Musicianship
Join HandOverHand.org, Walden’s alumni website
Community News & Goods
Opportunities & Organizations Listing
Now Hear This! Work by 2012 Walden Participants
Message from the Executive Director
Greetings from Walden!
I hope this newsletter finds you doing well and enjoying the start of summer. This month’s newsletter is chock-full of updates, information and news about Walden, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it all.
Seeing as we are a summer music camp, festival and school, the period leading up to summer is one of Walden’s busiest times of year, as we prepare for the arrival of faculty, staff, guest artists and students at Walden later this month. Many of my colleagues in the educational world talk about how things are winding down for them at this time of year (summer vacation on the way, etc.)…but not for us here at Walden. We’re just winding up, and what an exciting time it is!
For the 2013 Young Musicians Program, we have assembled a crackerjack faculty and staff team, consisting of many returning members and a few new faces. Returning on faculty and staff this summer are Erica Ball, Alex Christie, Rebekah Griffin Greene, Marguerite Ladd, Sky Macklay, Caroline Mallonée, Emil Margolis, Ian Munro, Osnat Netzer, Loretta Notareschi, Sam Pluta, Peter Thompson, Ann Goehe, Sarah Riskind and Meade Bernard! New additions to the faculty staff team this summer are Alysoun Kegel, who will be our choral director and teach one course in the curriculum; Michael Gilbertson, composer and pianist; Josie Kovash and Joshua Clampitt, both Young Musicians Program alumni, who will join the staff this summer; and William Kelly from California, who will also join the staff. You can read more about each of them on our website.
We are super excited about Alysoun Kegel joining the Walden team, taking over the reins of the choral program this year. She comes to us most recently from earning her Masters in conducting at Carnegie Mellon, where she was one of American choral luminary Robert Page’s final students. Prior to receiving her Masters, she gained experience working with young voices, having been the Artistic Director at PALS Children’s Chorus for several years. This fall she will become the choral director at Rosemary Choate Hall in Connecticut. She also has studied Dalcroze, and holds a Masters from Longy in that subject. We look forward to her artistry and leadership this summer!
With Alysoun’s arrival, we say farewell to longtime Walden choral director Leo Wanenchak. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous and innumerable contributions Leo has made over the years to The Walden School, and particularly, to Walden’s choral program. His are big shoes to fill to be sure! All of us at Walden express our gratitude for his teaching and choral leadership over these past many years, and we all wish Leo the very best in his new endeavors. Thank you, Leo!
With this issue of InterNetzo, we also announce the 2013 Walden School concert series. Commencing this year’s series on June 30 is Phyllis Chen, composer and pianist, who will be performing a concert that features her collection of toy pianos, piano music inspired by toy pianos and more; it promises to be a stupendous evening of sound. Joan Panetti, a Junior Conservatory alumna and faculty member at Yale University, will co-moderate a Composers Forum with her former student, Caroline Mallonée. Ms. Panetti will be in residence for several days, mentoring and training Walden faculty. George Lewis, our composer-in-residence, will have a new work of his featured on the July 26 concert given by The Walden School Players. In addition, the Walden School Chorus is going to give the world premiere of his first-ever choral piece on Friday, August 2nd at Walden’s annual choral concert, which will feature all of Walden’s students, faculty and staff in concert performing for the Monadnock Region community at the Peterborough Town House. Chicago-based Dal Niente will perform the world premieres of eight new works written for the July 12 concert by eight Walden faculty members. And to celebrate the excitement and joy of musical improvisation, along with 15 years of electronic music at Walden, Sam Pluta has organized a concert on July 19 featuring Anne LaBerge, Peter Evans, Sam himself, Alex Christie and a sound installation designed by Ian Munro.
I am also excited to welcome both Caroline Mallonée and Loretta Notareschi as faculty mentors this year. Carrie and Loretta, in addition to leading teacher-training sessions for our faculty members, will be assisting Sam Pluta in his role as Academic Dean this summer. The team of Drs. Mallonée, Notareschi and Pluta will provide our curriculum, faculty and students with wonderful academic leadership. I am grateful to them for their work this spring in planning summer 2013 and for their many contributions in the days and weeks ahead!
In other news, The Walden School is excited to announce the publication of Walden alumnus and faculty member Bill Stevens’ Jazz Musicianship, available for purchase for $29 (including tax and shipping) from The Walden School office. While Walden is not primarily a book publisher, when Bill brought the project to me 5+ years ago, I embraced his vision enthusiastically and thought the Walden community could ably assist Bill with the work of layout, editing and production/publication. He had been teaching material in the jazz idiom that was an extension of Walden’s Musicianship Course, and it seemed like Walden could be a valuable partner to him in helping bring his book to life. And so now here we are, with many people from Walden contributing materially to making this happen over the last number of years.
First of all, many thanks are owed to Walden faculty members Whit Bernard and Tony Makarome, who worked with Bill in editing his text. And then the team of Walden faculty, staff and alumni who helped with layout, book design, project management, graphic creation and more all deserve a hearty round of applause: Marguerite Ladd, Meade Bernard, Noah Mlotek, Marshall Bessières, and Ben Aldridge. And finally, several people have helped bring the book to life as readers: Ian Munro, Andrea Grody, Peter Thompson and Peter Krag. Thanks to this giant team of Walden faculty, staff and alumni, as well as Bill’s initial brilliant vision and his own hard work, Bill now has a wonderful new book that you can order here. I hope you’ll order yourself a copy and help Bill and Walden spread the word about the book’s availability.
And another item of note that I wanted to share with you is a project that The Walden School and Youth Radio in Oakland, California, are collaborating on. Walden alumnus and faculty member Alex Christie is working with a group of five student interns at Youth Radio to create sonic postcards to share with Walden Young Musicians Program students. A group of Walden students will then create responses to these “postcards” during the Young Musicians Program. Then there will be performances in New Hampshire and Oakland over the summer, and in all likelihood, a podcast containing all of the music so that all of you can share in the fruits of this exciting project. We are grateful to Kurt Collins and his colleagues at Youth Radio for working with us on this project, and we look forward to sharing the results with all of you in the fall.
Thanks for reading! If you’re any where near Dublin, New Hampshire, this summer, I hope you will come and visit – taking in a concert, attending our Open House on July 17th, joining us for a meal, or participating in one of our seven Composers Forums, during which the creativity of Walden students are showcased. Have a wonderful weekend and a terrific summer!
Best wishes,
Seth Brenzel
Executive Director
sbrenzel AT waldenschool DOT org
(603) 563-8212
2013 Concert Series Announced
This summer brings another eclectic mix of artists to Dublin School Campus for weekly concerts, including Phyllis Chen, composer and toy pianist, the return of Aurora Nealand’s Royal Roses with New Orleans-style jazz, world premieres of works written by Walden Faculty members and performed by members of Chicago’s Dal Niente Ensemble, an evening celebration of improvisation and electronic music, featuring Peter Evans and Anne LaBerge, as well as the perennial Walden School Players residency, the beloved choral concert, and composers forums, moderated by Composer-in-Residence George Lewis. All events are free and open to the public. Learn more about Walden’s 2013 Concert Series.
Still a Few Places Remaining in Our 2013 Young Musicians Program — Apply Today!
There are just a few places remaining in Walden’s 2013 Young Musicians Program. Click here to download new student application materials — returning students, contact us if you need yours. We look forward to another wonderful summer — the Young Musicians Program will run on Dublin School campus in Dublin, New Hampshire, from Saturday, June 29 to Sunday, August 4, 2013.
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Walden Events in Baltimore and Los Angeles; Upcoming Open House in Dublin
Guests at the home of Jack and Lucy Henningfield in Baltimore were treated to an afternoon of delicious food, wine and music on April 7th, a benefit for Walden’s scholarship program. Cellist and Walden favorite Dave Eggar (Visiting Artist ’06-’07, ’11) performed and spoke eloquently about the value of Walden’s offerings. He was joined by award-winning singer-songwriter Amber Rubarth and acclaimed hammer dulcimer virtuoso Max ZT. The artists hit it out of the park, and so did the guests at the party, contributing more than $2,500 toward financial aid. Thank you, everyone!
Alumni and friends in the Los Angeles area enjoyed a casual gathering in Studio City on Thursday evening, June 13, complete with dinner and swimming!
If you will be in the New Hampshire area on Wednesday, July 17th, we hope you’ll join us for Walden’s second annual Open House, taking place on the campus of the Dublin School from 5 to 6:30 p.m. This event offers attendees a great behind-the-scenes view of what happens at Walden, complete with a demonstration by faculty and students of musicianship drills and other course activities. Do join us, even if you attended last year, as the presentation will be different – and invite your friends! Let us know if you’d like to be on the invite list. Hope to see you there!
Walden publishes Jazz Musicianship
It has arrived! Jazz Musicianship, written by Bill Stevens(YMP ’92-’94, YMP Faculty ’00-’10, TTI Faculty ’06-’11, CMR Faculty ’12), is hot off the presses and ready to be ordered by you! It costs $29.00, including shipping and handling within the U.S.
To purchase the book, fill out our order form and send with your payment to our San Francisco address: The Walden School, 31 A 29th St., San Francisco, CA, 94110. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Join HandOverHand.org, Walden’s alumni website
Did you attend a program at The Walden School?
Register at Walden’s alumni website, handoverhand.org!
Features include:
- Program pages for JCC, YMP, TTI and CMR
- Personal profiles, photo albums, blogs and links to personal sites
- An events calendar
- Opportunities Center listing calls for scores and competitions
- An Alumni Forum for discussing topics of interest
- Links to sites of interest
As a registered member, you’ll be able to search for friends by the year they attended, send internal emails to other members, upload your own photos, post events to the calendar, and more. Go to: http://handoverhand.org and register!
Community News and Goods
The Walden School welcomes news and information from members of the Junior Conservatory Camp and Walden School 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 contact us on-line or send info to 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 the Walden and JCC alumni website, handoverhand.org. (Note: YMP=Young Musicians Program; TTI=Teacher Training Institute; CMR=Creative Musicians Retreat; JCC=Junior Conservatory Camp).
Hannah Addario-Berry (Visiting Artist ’06) performed the Sonata for Solo Cello by Gyögy Ligeti on May 6 at ODC Theater in San Francisco as part of BAASICS.3: The Deep End, an exploration of neurodiversities, mental disorders, and creativity, presented by the Bay Area Art and Science Interdisciplinary Collaborative Sessions (BAASICS).
Blair McMillen, Steven Beck, Eric Huebner, and Cory Smythe backstage at Avery Fisher Hall
Steven Beck (Visiting Artist ’09-’11), Eric Huebner (Visiting Artist ’04-’08, ’11), and Blair McMillen (Visiting Artist ’01-’02) were three of four keyboardists in performances April 17-20 of Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 4 with the New York Philharmonic in Avery Fisher Hall.
A “re-imagined [Stephen] Sondheim piece” by Eve Beglarian (YMP Composer-in-Residence ’12), Perpetual Happiness, was performed as part of the Tribeca New Music Festival on May 12. Upcoming concerts of her work include June 8 at the Town Hall in Brandon, Vermont, and a performance by the International Society of Contemporary Music of Eudora Welty: Waiting for Billy Floyd on June 17.
Shawn Crouch (YMP ’93-95,’96, TTI ’08, Staff ’97, YMP Faculty ’99-00,’02,’05-07, CMR Faculty ’12) premiered his Firewind, a choral setting of three California texts by American poets Virginia Hamilton Adair, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman, in Palo Alto, California on April 28.
Violinist Miranda Cuckson (Visiting Artist ’08, ’11) joined pianist Blair McMillen (Visiting Artist ’01-’02) on a program at Columbia University in New York City on May 8. The program included the world premiere of Strömkarl, written for the duo by Jason Eckardt.
Florilegium, the chamber choir directed by Nicholas DeMaison (YMP Faculty ’04-07), gave a concert of Gesualdo madrigals on June 2 in New York City in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the composer’s death.
The Oakland East Bay Symphony will feature a new work (currently titled Songs) by Mary Fineman (JCC ’68) on their February 21, 2014, subscription concert.
In honor of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg’s 80th birthday, her children commmissioned Stacy Garrop(YMP ’87-’88, YMP Faculty ’96) to compose My Dearest Ruth on a text by Ginsburg’s husband, for voice and piano. The work had its premiere on April 6 at the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
Wild Rumpus, a new music ensemble founded by member clarinetist Sophie Huet (TTI ’09), performed their final concert of the season on May 11 in San Francisco, California with works by Julian Day, Ruben Naeff, Jonathan Russell, Jeffrey Treviño, and Dan VanHassel.
Amelia Lukas (TTI ’05-’06, YMP Visiting Artist ’10, Administration ’05-’07) and Brendon Randall-Myers (TTI ’10, Administration ’10-’12) participated together recently in a performance of the opera Three Truths by Matthew Welch at Symphony Space on June 4 in New York City.
Whistler Waves for cello and string orchestra by Caroline Mallonée (YMP ’87-’92, TTI ’07, YMP Faculty ’98-’12, CMR Faculty ’11-’12) was given its world premiere in Buffalo on April 14.
Kate (Davis) Mathews (Administration ’08-’11) has had a busy spring, with a recital of Emily Dickinson settings on April 14 and performances of Mark Adamo’s opera, Little Women throughout the month of May at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
John McGinn (YMP ’79-’80) has just been granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Music at Austin College.
Following a successful debut at Yoshi’s jazz club in San Francisco by pianist Gary Monheit (YMP ’72, YMP Faculty ’75-’78, ’80, ’97, Board of Directors ’99-’00) and bassist Dan Krimm on April 24, the duo has been invited for a return appearance at the club on June 28.
Giorgio Moroder, father of Alex Moroder (YMP ’00-’03), talks about his work on the new Daft Punk album in this video on YouTube.
Nat Osborn‘s (YMP ’00-’03) and his band showcased their recently-released debut album, “The King and the Clown”, at concert on a May 7 concert at Mercury Lounge in New York City. The band also made their TV debut on May 31 as part of the Artie Lange Show.
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff by Alicia Jo Rabins (YMP ’88-’93) continued its robust performance life in Washington, D.C., on May 4 as part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival. You can watch a trailer of the piece.
The world premiere of A Universal Prayer For Peace And Reflection by Vivian Adelberg Rudow (JCC ’50-’51) will be performed by the American BoyChoir on June 9 in Princeton, NJ. On July 7, her work, Rebecca’s Song, in memory of Rebecca Blackwell, will be performed in the Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall.
Matt Siffert (CMR ’11-’12) performed with his “steady ensemble” at The Bowery Electric’s Map Room on May 14.
Peter Thompson (YMP ’03, YMP Staff ’12) presented his senior conducting recital on April 27 in New Haven, Connecticut, in Dwight Chapel at Yale University.
The Journal, a British newspaper, interviewed Freya Waley-Cohen (YMP ’00-’07) about the world premiere of A Pyrrhic Smile at the Northern Chords Festival in Tyne, England. Read the article, in which Freya talks about Walden and the opportunity it provided her. On June 19, Freya’s Ascension for solo cello by will be premiered at a concert in London’s Rada Bar.
A hymn tune and setting by Bob Weaver (JCC ’56-’63, CMR ’11) was performed on April 14 at an American Guild of Organists Hymn Festival.
Yarn/Wire (Visiting Ensemble ’12), whose members include pianist Laura Barger (TTI ’10) and percussionist Ian Antonio (Visiting Artist ’12) presented a concert as part of the University of California, Santa Cruz Contemporary Music Festival on April 26. On the program was Meanders by Paul Nauert (YMP ’82-’83, YMP Faculty ’87-’94, ’98).
Transitions
Singer Rob Morsberger (YMP ’76-’77) passed away on June 2. In September of 2011, Morsberger was diagnosed with grade 4 Glioblastoma. In the months following, Morsberger was determined to release a series of new albums, as his battle with terminal brain cancer was documented by USA TODAY, WBUR/PRI’s Here & Now and numerous other outlets. Read his full obituary.
Opportunities & Organizations Listing
An opportunities listing for composers of multiple levels and age ranges, as well as organizations that provide services to composers, performers, music teachers, improvisers, and experimental musicians, is available here.
Now Hear This! Works by 2012 Walden Participants
The 2012 Young Musicians Program saw the world premieres of more than 100 student works, including Zikra Jameela (A Beautiful Memory) by Tyson Laa Deng. Click here to listen to the performance by Reiny Rolock, French horn; Jane Chung, violin; Jane Cords-O’Hara, cello; and Tony Makarome, double bass.