Message from Seth Brenzel,
Executive Director
Dear Walden friends,
Walden’s 54th season of transformative music programs was a triumph and a delight. Our students, staff, faculty, and visiting artists inspired each other to reach new heights of creative expression, all while upholding a community spirit of kindness, collaboration, and mutual support. I am excited to share highlights of this amazing summer with you, starting below with a reflection on the 2026 Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR) by Caroline Mallonee.
This edition of InterNetzo has several updates on Walden’s fundraising events, both in person and online. Please save the date of Sunday, September 27, for a Walden celebration and fundraiser in San Francisco. And be sure to check out our online Summer of Creativity, in which members of our community are raising funds for Walden through a remarkable range of creative projects.
Keep reading for more exciting news and updates from throughout the Walden community. I hope you have had a wonderful summer, with some time for rest and relaxation, and I look forward to catching up with you soon!
Sincerely,
Seth Brenzel
Executive Director
Reflections on the 2026 Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR)
From Caroline Mallonee, Director of CMR
It has been fifteen years since we held the first Walden School Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR), and I am pleased to report that the program is still going strong.
We have a dedicated group of returning faculty and an enthusiastic alumni contingent that keep Walden traditions and collective memories of summers past alive.
This summer, in residence on the beautiful Dublin School campus in Dublin, New Hampshire, we welcomed 42 participants, half of whom were new to Walden. Walden has always been intergenerational, and CMR exemplifies this; in 2026, our students ranged in age from 19 to 84. Many miniature gnomes arrived with the CMR participants—and we spent the week wondering where they came from, how many there were, and what they witnessed during our extraordinary week of music-making in Dublin.
Loretta Notareschi, Renée Favand-See, Osnat Netzer, D. J. Sparr, and I returned to teach classes in Walden Musicianship and pedagogy,
advanced counterpoint, orchestration, sound mass composition, and experimental piano techniques. Steven David Beck joined the faculty to lead our Electronic Music offerings and Mike Ballard conducted the CMR Chorus and led the CMR Chamber Choir in four world premieres on Composers Forums.
In Nicole Mitchell, our 2026 Composer-in-Residence, we found a wonderful presence, insightful moderator, and generous teacher, whose music on the Opening Concert and Performers Night captivated and inspired us. She moderated all three of the evening Composers Forums, which presented 34 world premiere performances.
Ensemble Dal Niente and pianist David Friend kicked off a week of incredible performances with an inspiring Opening Concert. We were astounded by their musicianship and loved their presence in the community.
Above left: CMR Composer-in-Residence Nicole Mitchell; above right: CMR participants Evan Tarrh and John Tarrh (our first father-son duo to attend CMR!)
CMR Performers Night was one to remember! Nicole led a large group in her Birdsongs for an Equitable Togetherness, Osnat led a varied group in things to do by James Saunders (which included a rainbow umbrella), and Renée led yet a third large group in three text pieces by participants. We also heard a Renaissance vocal piece by Thomas Weelkes, a Stravinsky trumpet duo, and eight pianists playing solos from Michael Gordon’s July.
All of it was smoothly handled by our awesome Director of Operations, Sammi Stone, leading our incredible CMR staff: Francesca Hellerman, Dahlia Riddington, and Zaki Andoh. Rodier handled all our recording, livestreaming, and technical needs. Seth Brenzel oversaw it all!
I’m not sure how I’d even start to describe the astonishing diversity of offerings on display during the CMR Open Mic. Walden always surprises and inspires, and I can’t wait for next summer!
Upcoming Fundraising Event
A Walden Celebration and Fundraiser in San Francisco on Sunday, September 27, from 3 to 5 pm
Join The Walden School for an afternoon of delightful music, delicious refreshments, and scintillating conversation in the heart of San Francisco. This event will celebrate Walden’s incredible 2026 season and raise funds to support essential student scholarships, dedicated facutly and staff, and inspiring artist residencies at Walden’s transformative music programs.
We are delighted to present a short performance by Nebula Consort, a San Francisco-based choral ensemble specializing in a cappella works spanning the European Renaissance to the modern day. Directed by Eric Choate, Nebula includes Chris Martin, Walden’s Development Assistant, as a bass vocalist.
You are welcome to RSVP or contact us with any questions by emailing events@waldenschool.org or calling (415) 587-8157.
Summer of Creativity Continues
Throughout the summer, Walden has been hosting the Summer of Creativity, an online campaign in which Walden community members take on exciting creative projects while raising funds to support Walden’s programs. Check out the Summer of Creativity website here!
We have eight amazing projects currently underway: Kittie’s Halloween knitting, Dede’s modal challenge, Sarah’s fiddle tunes, Dave’s clarinet composition, Doug’s banjo arrangements, Rachel’s fungi and flora, Kate and Seven’s crocheting and video pastiche, and JoAnn’s sustainable quilting.
We are deeply grateful to these Walden community members for their creative efforts. Each participant has a project page where they have been posting a wealth of entertaining updates, including photos and videos. Please check them out and consider supporting one or more (or all!) of these Walden champions.
Visit the Summer of Creativity website
Thanks to the generosity inspired by our creative participants, the Summer of Creativity has raised $4,688 for Walden—and counting! Thank you to the 45 donors who have supported the campaing so far, including 27 first-time donors to Walden!
The campaign will run through September 22 (the last day of astronomical summer!), so there is still time to follow along and support these creative projects. In fact, it’s not too late to sign up with a project of your own
Fundraising Event Recaps
July 27: Walden Giving Day
We continued our annual tradition of Walden Giving Day on the first day of Festival Week at the 2026 Young Musicians Program (YMP). It was a successful (and fun!) day of music, community, inspiration, and generosity.
Throughout Giving Day, we shared video updates from a typically jam-packed day at Walden. Updates included morning meeting, classes, chorus, outdoor fun, interviews with students, faculty, and our composer-in-residence, and the first Festival Week Composers Forum of the 2026 Young Musicians Program (YMP). We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did!
Our videos from Giving Day will remain available on Walden’s Giving Day website. We even have three bonus videos that were not originally posted on Giving Day. We hope that you will visit the Giving Day site to experience a bit of Walden magic, or that you will send it to a friend or colleague who might be interested in learning more about Walden
Our fundraising goal on Giving Day was $5,400 for Walden’s 54th summer. With your support, we raised $8,045—nearly 150% of our goal. Thank you! Gifts were made by 50 individuals and families, ranging in amount from $10 to $1,500, including 11 first-time donors to Walden.
Your support ensures that creative musicians will find a home at Walden for generations to come. No matter the amount of your gift, we are so grateful for your partnership in our mission to inspire artistic expression and personal growth through experiential music programs.
August 1: A Walden celebration and fundraiser in New Hampshire 
Thank you to all who joined us for a Walden celebrationand fundraiser in Dublin and Harrisville, New Hampshire, on Saturday, August 1!
In the Louise Shonk Kelly Recital Hall on the beautiful Dublin School campus, we enjoyed a solo recital by New York Philharmonic pianist Eric Huebner (pictured above right), performing works by Beethoven, Liszt, Morton Feldman, and Scott Joplin.
Huebner has been a visiting artist at Walden during multiple seasons, where he has performed in countless world premieres of student compositions. He is married to Caroline Mallonee, Director of Walden’s Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR), and they are the parents of a Young Musicians Program (YMP) alum. Thank you for sharing your incredible artistry, Eric!
The celebration continued with a beautiful indoor/outdoor reception in nearby Harrisville, New Hampshire, where Ellen and Ed Bernard opened up their barn, and guests enjoyed delicious bites and drinks. Thank you, Ellen and Ed, for your warm hospitality!
Malcolm Gaines, a CMR alum, spoke to attendees about Walden’s impact on the lives of its participants. Inspired by Now I Walk in Beauty, a song that is frequently taught and sung at Walden, Gaines explained how Walden teaches that the creativity within each person is worth cultivating and sharing with others, making the world a more beautiful place. Gaines is married to Seth Brenzel, Walden’s Executive Director, and they are the parents of a YMP alum and uncles to another YMP alum. Malcolm’s mother, JoEllen Gaines, is an alum of Walden’s Teacher Training Institute (TTI).
We are so grateful to our host committee and to all of our event donors for their generosity. With your support, Walden raised a total of $13,600 as part of this event. Thank you!
Thank you to our raffle donors: Ellen and Ed Bernard, Joshua Goodman and Anna Lumelsky, Regina and Nicholas Silitch, Ava Marie Chocolates, and Grove and Main Antiques
Thank you to our New Hampshire event host committee: Ellen and Ed Bernard, David Bivins and Kristen Davis, Seth Brenzel and Malcolm Gaines, Leah Kenney Butler and Anthony Butler, Mary Cornog, Sarah Cornog and Chris Chesney, Anne and Thom Haxo, Robin and Leslie Kenney, Sookyoung Lee and Matthew Egan, Fred and Jean Leventhal, Anna Lumelsky and Joshua Goodman, Caroline Mallonee and Eric Huebner, Noah Mlotek, Peter Pap Rugs, Regina and Nicholas Silitch
Walden in the News
This summer, Walden was featured in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, the local newspaper for Walden’s summer home in the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire!
The article, published on July 30 and written by reporter Jessica Timmons, highlighted the Young Musicians Program (YMP) and Walden’s free public Concert Series, including the YMP choral concert. The feature included pictures of a YMP student composer and The Walden School Players during a Festival Week Composers Forum rehearsal.
We are grateful to the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript for the feature, which is available on the newspaper’s website.
Walden Merchandise
Wonderful Walden merch is for sale on our website! We have Walden beach towels, blankets, vintage summer program shirts (YMP and CMR alumni: ask about your year!), canvas totes, stickers, pens, pencils, and more.
See what’s available and fill out an order form here.
Payment can be made by check, money order, Zelle, credit card, or PayPal. Zelle and PayPal payments should be directed to billing@waldenschool.org.
Please contact Mindy Williams, Walden’s Administrative Director, or call the Walden office at (415) 587-8157 if you have any questions.
Community News
Liam Cummins and Miranda Cuckson honored by Barlow commissions 
Liam Cummins (pictured at right), an alum of Walden’s Online Young Musicians Experience (OYME), was recently awarded a General Commission through the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University. This year, the endowment granted a total of $80,000 to nine composers to write works for ensembles and musicians of their choosing. Liam’s commissioned work, a twenty-minute sonata for violin and piano, will be premiered by Tianyou Ma next spring in New York. Another Barlow General Commission, a violin concerto by composer Dongryul Lee, will feature past Walden visiting artist Miranda Cuckson as soloist with Talea Ensemble. Congratulations, Liam and Miranda!
Matt Siffert opens for Rosanne Cash
Composer-songwriter Matt Siffert, a Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR) alum, opened for Grammy-winning musicians Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal at Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder, Colorado, on July 20, performing songs from his latest EP, Magic of the New. The EP, released in March 2025, is available on all streaming platforms. Congratulations, Matt!
Mary Fineman releases album featuring JCC composition
Mary Fineman, an alum of the Junior Conservatory Camp (JCC), Walden’s predecessor program, has released a new album of solo piano music called Watercolor. Fineman first composed the title piece during one of her summers as a student at JCC, studying with Grace Newsom Cushman and Shari Fleming. Since then, she has arranged Watercolor for string quartet and included it in a suite for Pierrot ensemble entitled Suite from the Faraway Pavilion, for which she received the Vinnie Ream Prize from the National League of American Pen Women. Watercolor is available on all streaming platforms, with a physical album and book coming soon.
Luke Poeppel receives Solti Foundation Award
Luke Poeppel, a Young Musicians Program (YMP) alum, was named a winner of the 2026 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award alongside 15 other conductors. This prestigious award supports promising young American conductors as they develop their professional careers. Luke previously received this award in 2025. In June, Luke conducted a concert of world premieres with the Grossman Ensemble, a leading contemporary music ensemble in residence at the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. The concert included a new work called “waggle dance” by former YMP faculty member Katherine Balch. A review in Chicago’s Hyde Park Herald stated: “The evening’s success was due in part to the fine work of conductor Luke Poeppel, who led the Grossman Ensemble admirably, with polished sound and careful attention.” Congratulations, Luke!
Anuj Bhutani receives Princess Grace Award in Theater
Composer Anuj Bhutani, a CMR alum, was awarded a Princess Grace Award in theater, receiving the Robert and Gloria Hausman Honor. Bhutani was nominated for the award by Beth Morrison Projects, which has named him winner of their 2026 BMP: Next Gen competition for his autobiographical vocal-theater piece MANU. The work “weaves a personal story of institutional trauma with the Hindu flood myth of survival, as two narratives collide and collapse into one. Through live performance and a hybrid musical language, it becomes a work about endurance, identity, and the force of memory in shaping who we are and who we become.”
Nicolás Lell Benavides and Chris Martin at Chamber Music Conference of the East
Nicolás Lell Benavides, CMR and Teacher Training Institute (TTI) alum, was a Composer-in-Residence this summer at Chamber Music Conference of the East, where he mentored Chris Martin, Walden’s current Development Assistant, who was a Composition Fellow. Mentorship was also provided by Senior Composer-in-Residence Donald Crockett at the conference, held annually at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. In 2013, Benavides held the same fellowship alongside Caroline Mallonee, who was Composer-in-Residence that year. Several other Walden alums and past Walden Composers-in-Residence have held the same role at Chamber Music Conference in past seasons.
Above: Nicolás Lell Benavides, Donald Crockett, and Chris Martin (photo credit: Danielle Cho courtesy of Nicolás Lell Benavides)
Mackenzie Melemed presents multi-year piano recital tour 
Pianist Mackenzie Melemed, a YMP alum, is currently presenting Keys Across America, a piano recital tour featuring nearly two centuries of America piano music. The program features music by influential composers including Amy Beach, Florence Price, Aaron Copland, and Ned Rorem, as well as new works written for Mackenzie by composers Laura Kaminsky and Avner Dorman. The program also includes New England Idyls by American composer Edward MacDowell, who, with his wife Marian, founded the MacDowell artist residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, near Walden’s summer home in Dublin, New Hampshire. (See the next news item for more about the Walden-MacDowell connection!) Launched in November 2025 and running through 2028, Keys Across America will be the largest tour of American piano music in celebration of the United States’ 250th Anniversary. Legendary pianist Emmanuel Ax has said about Mackenzie and his program: “He’s a truly exceptional artist. This is the most interesting take on the recital program that I have seen in a long time.”
PRISM Quartet releases new album
On August 14, the leading saxophone ensemble PRISM Quartet released a new album titled Generate Music. First performed in June 2024 at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia and Roulette in Brooklyn, this body of work explores ties between Black and Jewish Americans. The album features the work of eight composers, including PRISM Quartet member and past Walden board memeber Matthew Levy, as well as Yotam Haber, a past Composers Forum moderator at YMP. This summer, during a visit to MacDowell in Peterborough, New Hampshire, a group of YMP students heard a presentation by Haber, who has received multiple MacDowell Fellowships. PRISM Quartet and Walden have a longstanding partnership through the Walden School/PRISM Quartet Student Commissioning Award, a collaboration that has resulted in 23 premieres of commissioned works by YMP alums since 2000.
Sky Macklay and Sam Pluta welcome baby Berns
Bernard Tucson Pluta (nickname Berns), son of former Walden faculty members Sky Macklay (who is also a CMR and TTI alum) and Sam Pluta, was born on June 30th in Baltimore. Berns (and many other babies in the busy hospital!) were summoned by the full moon that night. The name Bernard is a nod to composer Bernard Parmegiani, who is a favorite of both parents. They highly recommend listening to Parmegiani’s piece Violostries and the album La Création du Monde! Bernard’s middle name, Tucson, is after Sky’s late paternal grandfather, Gale “Tucson” Macklay, who took Tucson as his cowboy nickname on a road trip in Wyoming at age 18 and used it for the rest of his life. Berns already loves swim trips and being serenaded with Sanctus, Non Nobis, and other Walden songs! Congratulations, Sky and Sam!
We Want To Hear From You!
If you have a recent or upcoming premiere or concert, publication, award, new job, or a celebratory life event, please share your news, which needn’t be music-related (although we love your music-related news to be sure!). Email your news to alumni@waldenschool.org.
Stay in Touch
You can like The Walden School page on Facebook and join The Walden School private group to hear about events and opportunities throughout the year. You can also find us on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, bandcamp, and at waldenschool.org.
- A dance at Walden’s Young Musicians Program
