Message from Seth Brenzel,
Executive Director
Dear Walden friends,
Spring is here, and Walden’s 2025 summer season is just around the corner!
Applications for Walden 2025’s programs are still open, and our spring application deadline is this Tuesday, April 1. Both the Young Musicians Program (YMP) and Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR) will be held on the beautiful Dublin School campus in Dublin, New Hampshire. Walden is also hiring for several summer positions at YMP—read on for more details, and please help us spread the word!
Over a weekend in early February, we launched the Memphis Composers Institute, an exciting new workshop and performance opportunity for emerging composers, in collaboration with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the University of Memphis. Congratulations to Walden alumnus and faculty member D. J. Sparr, who led the initiative, and to all the composers and participants on a successful collaboration! You can read D. J.’s reflections and see photos from the weekend here.
Earlier this month, Walden held a wonderful celebration and fundraiser in Baltimore featuring the incomparable jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, a Walden alumnus. And more celebrations are scheduled for New York City on April 27, featuring pianist Mikael Darmanie, and Washington, DC, on May 18. I hope you can join us!
I hope you are enjoying a beautiful spring. Summer is coming!
Sincerely,
Seth Brenzel
Executive Director
415-587-8157
Apply for Walden 2025
The spring application deadline is April 1.
The spring deadline to apply to Walden’s Young Musicians Program (YMP) and Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR) is Tuesday, April 1. We encourage you to share the news with your friends, family, colleagues, students, and teachers.
Walden’s 2025 programs:
- Creative Musicians Retreat: June 14 – June 22, 2025, Dublin School, Dublin, New Hampshire (for musicians ages 18-98)
- Young Musicians Program: June 28 – August 3, 2025, Dublin School, Dublin, New Hampshire (for pre-college musicians, ages 9-18)
Application materials for both programs are available on our website.
Write to us at applicants@waldenschool.org with any questions.
Highlights from the 2025 Memphis Composers Institue
The Memphis Composers Institute, a new collaboration between the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, The Walden School, and the University of Memphis, came to fruition over the weekend of February 7–9 in Memphis, Tennessee. Following an open call for scores, works by three selected composers— Evan Erickson, Sina Karachiani, and Soomin Kim—were given premiere performances by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kyle Dickson, Madeleine Luce Moore Assistant Conductor Chair of the Memphis Symphony. The weekend also featured open rehearsals and panel discussions led by Walden faculty, and all events took place on the campus of the University of Memphis.
Walden alumnus and faculty member D. J. Sparr, who served as artistic coordinator for the initiative, composed a new viola concerto for the occasion, which was performed by his wife, viola virtuoso Kimberly Sparr, Associate Professor of Viola at Louisiana State University. Walden is proud to have offered this opportunity for emerging composers and thankful to D. J. for leading the project with enthusiasm and flair.
Visit our website to read D. J.’s reflections on the experience of launching the Memphis Composers Institute and to see photos from the weekend. Thank you to everyone who participated in this exciting collaboration!
Click to read more
Upcoming Fundraising Events
A Walden Celebration and Fundraiser in New York City
Sunday, April 27
3 to 5 pm
Join Walden and Junior Conservatory Camp (JCC) alumni, families, faculty, staff, artists, and friends, for an afternoon of music and refreshments to celebrate Walden and support its 2025 summer programs.
Guests will enjoy a performance by pianist Mikael Darmanie, a dynamic cross-genre performer and past visiting artist at Walden.
This afternoon of music, community, and refreshments will be held near Union Square in Manhattan. For more information or to RSVP, email us or call (415) 587-8157.
A Walden Celebration and Fundraiser in Washington, DC
Sunday, May 18
3 to 5 pm
Please save the date for a Walden celebration and fundraiser to be held at a historic residence in downtown Washington, DC. For more information or to RSVP, email us or call (415) 587-8157.
Event Recap
A Walden celebration and fundraiser in Baltimore
Thank you to everyone who joined us for a Walden celebration and fundraiser in Baltimore, on Saturday, March 8! We are so grateful to our host committee and all of our donors, who contributed more than $7,800 to Walden.
We enjoyed a magical performance by the acclaimed jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, a Walden alumnus and Baltimore native. He began by telling the audience, “the sounds you are about to hear are designed for your ears, and your ears only.” Each Cyrus Chestnut performance is a unique experience, combining jazz standards, hymns, and improvisatory flights that only he could create. In between selections, Cyrus talked about his experience as a student at Walden, learning musicianship and engaging in “harmony wars” with a fellow student.
We are so grateful to Cyrus for his performance and all he has done to enrich the Walden community and the musical world.
Support Walden Today
We are also grateful for the passion and support of Walden’s Board of Directors, and especially Walden’s board chair Peter Colohan, who spoke movingly about Walden’s vision of “a world in which people engage with one another creatively, collaboratively, and with respect.”
Thank you to everyone who was part of our Baltimore celebration, and thank you to all of our donors for your invaluable support of Walden!
Thank you to our host committee: JoAnn Balingit, Seth Brenzel, Peter Colohan, Sky Macklay and Sam Pluta, Caroline Mallonee, Steve Messner and Liz Prelinger, Noah Mlotek, D. J. Sparr, and Kate Valenta
Support Walden Today
Walden is Hiring
Join our summer team.
Walden is hiring for 2025 summer positions at our Young Musicians Program (YMP) in Dublin, New Hampshire. We are seeking new teammates to join our creative community, and we hope that you might help spread the word about these opportunities to your friends and colleagues.
The positions currently open are:
2025 YMP Camp Nurse
2025 YMP Staff Member/Staff Lifeguard
Please contact us with any questions and inquiries. All positions are open until filled.
Community News
Brian Claeys wins Emmy Award
InterNetzo readers may recall that Young Musicians Program (YMP) alumnus Brian Claeys (pictured third from right) was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series on Disney+. We can now congratulate Brian and his team on receiving the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Live Action Program! Brian was recognized alongside composer Bear McCreary and the team at Sparks & Shadows, McCreary’s music production and record label, at the third annual Children’s and Family Emmy Awards. Percy Jackson has another incredible connection to Walden: the character of Zeus was played by the late Lance Reddick, an esteemed Walden alumnus and faculty member, in his last screen appearance, and Brian wrote a special musical theme for his portrayal. Congratulations, Brian!
Stacy Garrop and Melody Eötvös recognized by the League of American Orchestras
The League of American Orchestras recognized two Walden alumnae through the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, designed to increase the representation of women and nonbinary composers on the stages of American orchestras. Stacy Garrop, a YMP alumna, has received a commission for a 25- to 30-minute concert work, to be premiered by a leading orchestra with additional performances by two orchestras in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. The organization also selected Garrop and Creative Musicians Retreat (CMR) alumna Melody Eötvös for a new repeat performance initiative, which will feature performances of existing works from 2025 to 2027: Eötvös’s Red Dirt | Silver Rain and Garrop’s Goddess Triptych. Congratulations, Stacy and Melody!
Drew Kravin composition to be performed in April
CMR alumnus Drew Kravin will have his piece Redwood Tree performed by Berkeley-based choral group Pacific Edge Voices at their spring concert. Redwood Tree was written for and premiered at CMR in 2022 and was also performed by the Washington Master Chorale, directed by past CMR choral director and Walden Teacher Training Institute (TTI) alumnus Thomas Colohan. The performance is on April 4 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland. More information about the concert can be found here.
Katherine Balch wins Royal Philharmonic Society Award
Katherine Balch
, a former YMP faculty member, has won a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Award in the large-scale composition category for her work whisper concerto. Written for cellist Zlatomir Fung, the piece is named after the “agitato” whisper cadenza of György Ligeti’s cello concerto, and it was crafted to “provoke intimacy” between the cello and the orchestra, without compromising the integrity of the instrument’s low register. The concerto was premiered in 2023 by Fung and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gemma New, and Katherine was presented with the RPS award on March 6 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Congratulations, Katie!
John O’Meara celebrated as Citizen of the Year
John O’Meara, an emeritus member of Walden’s Board of Directors, was honored as Citizen of the Year in his hometown of Moorestown, New Jersey. The award, bestowed by the Moorestown Service Clubs Council, recognizes John’s long history of volunteer service, including through leadership roles with the Rotary Youth Exchange, Burlington County United Way, Moorestown Improvement Association, and Moorestown Free Library Association. John’s partner in life and volunteer work is Mary Anne Polk O’Meara, a past Walden board member and an alumna of the Junior Conservatory Camp, Walden’s predecessor program. John celebrated the award alongside friends and community members at a dinner on February 5. Congratulations, John!
Graham Lazorchak featured on Cleveland Chamber Symphony concert
A new orchestral work, Book of Spells, by YMP alumnus Graham Lazorchak was selected for performance by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony on its Young and Emerging Composers Concert on March 8 at Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Graham attended YMP for four summers and currently works as a computer science researcher at Oberlin College studying the symbiotic relationship between music and technology. In attendance at the concert were Cara Haxo (a YMP alumna, faculty member, and academic dean) and her husband Brian Fancher, a YMP faculty member.
George Brandon honored with artist fellowship
CMR alumnus George Brandon has received a $13,000 Individual Artist Fellowship for musical composition from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the MidAtlantic Arts Consortium. The fellowships are awarded to practicing New Jersey artists through an anonymous, competitive application process to help them pursue their artistic goals. Brandon is a scholar, composer, and integrative sound and music practitioner who has lectured and performed internationally. He founded and leads the Blue Unity Orchestra, an ensemble whose programs include gospel music, Yoruba chant, blues, jazz standards, Afro-Pop, and more.
Leah Reid presents sound art and painting show in Dublin
YMP alumna Leah Reid was featured in the January Art Show of the Dublin Community Center in a collaboration with her mother Chris Reid, an artist known for her plein-air landscapes and still life paintings. Leah is a composer, educator, and 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship winner whose work ranges from opera and chamber music to electroacoustic music and interactive sound installations, and she merged her talents in sound art with her mother’s paintings to present a stunning visual and sonic experience in the center’s South Room for the month of January. Check out this reel to see some photos of the display!
Ariel Kent gets married!
YMP alumna Ariel Kent was married to Amir Jaberi this month in San Francisco. Ariel is a practicing physician in obstetrics and gynecology at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, where she was born and raised. Congratulations, Ariel and Amir!
Shawn Crouch celebrates 10 years of Ensemble Ibis
Shawn Crouch is a comp
oser, choral director, and professor at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where he is artistic director of Ensemble Ibis, a new music performance group. Shawn is a YMP and TTI alumnus and a former faculty member at YMP and CMR. To celebrate 10 years of Ensemble Ibis, he is sharing highlights from the group’s performances online, including a recent performance of Sparkle by Chen Yi, a former composer-in-residence at Walden and a member of Walden’s Advisory Council, who served as Frost’s Distinguished Visiting Composer in Residence in 2024. Last year, Shawn led Ensemble Ibis in the premiere of his opera Stained Glass, about Mamah Borthwick, the romantic and intellectual partner of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Dennis Sullivan releases video album
Percussionist, composer, and electronic musician Dennis Sullivan II has released the first installment of a three-part video album entitled 33rd Blight. Part 3: Rot on his YouTube Channel. Dennis is a member of The Walden School Players and a past faculty member at YMP. He will be returning to Walden this summer as part of the Players’ two-week residency at YMP, where they work closely with student composers during Festival Week. Dennis describes his performance on the album as “the product of a practice [that] sits somewhere between premeditated composition and improvised real time composition while merging acoustic percussion and tactile electronic systems.”
Idan Rabinovici releases album
YMP alumnus Idan Rabinovici, who performs as RABINO, has released a new album entitled Promise of Summer. His brother Roy Rabinovici, also a YMP alum, contributed to the album on saxophone and keys. Idan and Roy have also performed and recorded together as members of the band Acollective.
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.
Students at Walden’s Young Musicians Program (YMP)