![Faculty RecordingsFaculty Recordings
Faculty News
Student ImpresariosStudent Impresarios
SPRING 2011 32
Thanks to a generous grant from the Cha family of Hong
Kong and the invaluable assistance of Trustee Timothy
Foo, the Conservatory is proud to announce an annual
international chamber music festival in partnership with
its sister school, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The
inaugural festival is set for May 8-12 in Shanghai as part
of “Shanghai Spring,” one of China’s largest music events.
(Future festivals will rotate in alternate years between San
Francisco and Shanghai.) Conservatory faculty members
Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Axel Strauss, Wei He, Yoshikazu
Nagai, David Conte, Mark Sokol and Ian Swensen will
coach and perform with students and faculty from both
conservatories. Chamber music concerts on May 11 and
12 will feature premieres of works commissioned for the
festival, with VIP receptions following each performance.
To become involved in this pioneering adventure to the
world’s fastest moving city, contact Alexander Brose in the
Advancement Office at awb@sfcm.edu or 415.503.6263.
A Pacific International
Chamber Music Festival
Triumphs in Parallel
In nearly a century of existence,
the Conservatory has developed a
comprehensive educational curriculum
to produce generations of outstanding
performers, composers and teachers.
At the same time, and befitting the
Conservatory’s status as vibrant center
of creativity, students sometimes like
to bend the established curricular
boundaries.
The Conservatory’s independent
study program offers an ideal outlet
for these impulses. In recent months,
students have used this program
to develop an array of self-initiated
projects, encompassing everything
from operatic productions to new music
collaborations.
The most recent endeavor came to
fruition February 6, when students
Matthew Cmiel, Carolyn Smith and
Kelsey Walsh presented the second
annual Hot Air Music Festival. This
eight-hour extravaganza brought
together myriad students, alumni
and faculty from the Conservatory’s
collegiate and preparatory divisions, in
performances of music almost entirely
by living composers. (“Only ONE PIECE
on the festival by a DEAD COMPOSER,”
trumpeted the event’s advertisements.)
To launch a project, students submit
proposals to the Conservatory’s Ad Hoc
Committee, as well as the Academic
Affairs Committee if they want academic
credit for independent study. These
committees evaluate the proposals
for viability, creativity and educational
value. For the current academic year
seven projects were approved: the Hot
Air festival, a collaboration between
composers and the student/alumni
ensemble Nonsemble Six, plus a bevy
of opera stagings including Così fan tutte,
Orpheus and Euridice and three separate
Rossini projects (La scala de seta, Otello
and Il barbiere di Siviglia).
“These projects teach students to
figure things out on their own,”
says Mary Ellen Poole, dean of the
Conservatory. “They are given logistical
support with hall time, Concert Office
staff, recordings of their events and
web site publicity, but they have to
solve the problems of financing,
volunteer organization, scheduling and
motivation all by themselves.”
The benefits of these undertakings
can extend beyond the sponsors’
own artistic satisfaction. Hot Air, for
instance, has attracted attention from
wide-ranging media outlets, perhaps
even making a few new-music converts
in the process. As one blogger wrote in
her festival review, “I feel like I don’t
understand a lot of [modern music],
and enjoyment of it isn’t even in the
picture. . . . Despite this, I was willing
to be open minded and was pleasantly
surprised by the result.”
Down the road, events like Hot Air
could eventually play a larger role in
Conservatory students’ education.
“These projects are great transitional
training for real life,” Poole observes. “I
hope we can eventually institutionalize
this so that there might be a mini-
course in subjects like how to produce
concerts.”
The Conservatory’s resident Ensemble
Parallèle and its leadership team,
Artistic Director/Conductor Nicole
Paiement and General Manager Jacques
Desjardins, are crowded with glory
these days. The San Francisco Chronicle
hailed the January 2010 production
of Berg’s Wozzeck as one of the year’s
top 10 classical music performances.
Wozzeck also took third place in the
professional category of the National
Opera Association’s annual Opera
Production Competition. This year, both
the San Francisco
Chronicle and San
Francisco Classical
Voice featured
the ensemble’s
production of
Philip Glass’s
Orphée in 2011
season highlight previews. And the Aspen
Music Festival is co-commissioning a
production of John Harbison’s The Great
Gatsby in a new re-orchestration by
Desjardins, slated for February 2012.
A new CD by The Bay Brass, Sound
the Bells! American Premieres for Brass,
presents the first recordings of recent
American works for brass, including
pieces by John Williams, Bruce
Broughton, Michael Tilson Thomas,
Morten Lauridsen, Kevin Puts and
Scott Hiltzik, plus several ensemble
commissions to boot. The collection
showcases conductors Alasdair Neale,
Thomas and Broughton leading their
own works, and members of the group
who take turns at the podium. An
egalitarian collective with neither a
standing musical director nor principal
players, The Bay Brass spans virtually
the entire roster of Conservatory brass
faculty: trumpeter David Burkhart, horn
players Jonathan Ring, Bruce Roberts and
Robert Ward, trombonists John Engelkes,
Mark Lawrence and Paul Welcomer and
tubist Peter Wahrhaftig. Recorded at the
Skywalker Ranch with Conservatory faculty
David Herbert on percussion, the album
will be released by Harmonia Mundi on
March 8, with a CD launch concert set for
March 27 at the Conservatory.
Richard Savino received a Grammy
nomination as principal instrumentalist/
continuo for Johann Hasse’s Marc Antonio
e Cleopatra, recorded for the Dorian-Sono
Luminus label. The opera features soloists
Ava Pine and Jamie Barton with Ars Lyrica
Houston under the direction of Matthew
Dirst. Unequivocal in its admiration, the
Toronto Star raved, “One couldn’t ask for
a finer world-première recording of this
1725 operatic dialogue between Cleopatra
and her lover, Marc Antony.”
Opera Colorado
Debut for Cook
Voice Department Chair Catherine
Cook made her debut with Opera
Colorado as Jezibaba the witch in
Dvorˇák’s Rusalka in February. The
tragic fairytale of a water sprite who
falls in love with a mortal prince,
Rusalka features soprano Kelly
Kaduce in the title role with conductor
Alexander Polianichko and director
Eric Simonson. The Denver Post called
Cook “a wonderfully complete singer”
who “brings all the menace and zest
one could ask for in the role.” She
also gave a master class for the Opera
Colorado Young Artist Program.
Meanwhile, kudos for our Naxos faculty
recordings from the fall continue to pour
in. San Francisco Classical Voice praised
violinist Axel Strauss for the “incredible
nimbleness” and “utterly lovely cantabile”
of his Kreutzer violin concertos, while
David’s Review Corner gave an approving
nod to Music Director Andrew Mogrelia
and the Conservatory Orchestra, whose
accompaniments were “played by a
student orchestra of exceptional quality.”
And in a review of Awakenings: New
American Chamber Music for Guitar,
Examiner.com saluted guitarist David
Tanenbaum’s steady stewardship,
commenting that the Guitar Ensemble
performances are a “valuable reminder of
just how much talent has emerged from
the Conservatory’s Guitar Department.”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ac91e3a4-41a6-489d-880d-fe3f8d8cb7a9-160210024400/85/2011_springUpBeat_final-2-320.jpg)
2011_springUpBeat_final
- 1. (continued on page 6) (continued on page 7) Innovative. Intimate. Inspiring. News FROM San Francisco Conservatory of Music SPRING 2011, Volume 4, No. 2 SPRING 2011 1 Pepe Romero is both a living legend and an ambassador of the guitar. He has been honored by kings and heads of state and lauded by critics and audiences worldwide. On April 14, Romero will be this year’s guest of honor at the Conservatory Gala, “Romanza de Romero”—a celebration of his life and career, his close relationship with the Conservatory and the San Francisco Bay Area’s status as a premier center for guitars and guitarists. In addition, Romero will receive an honorary doctorate in music at the Conservatory’s 2011 commencement ceremonies. The gala program includes music by Bach, Bizet and Turina and features mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook (voice department chair and San Francisco Opera veteran) as well as the Pacific Guitar Ensemble, faculty and students, and Romero himself. Rounding out the evening’s festivities is a top drawer events team. Lisa Grotts, former director of protocol for the City and County of San Francisco and a member of the Conservatory Society Committee, chairs the event, with catering by McCall Associates and décor by J. Riccardo Benavides of Ideas. Wells Fargo is the official Corporate Patron; the Nob Hill Gazette will be the exclusive print media sponsor, with RedCarpetSF as electronic media sponsor and Kiamie as wine sponsor. Faculty News 3 Student News 4 Alumni News 5 Welcome to , a bi-annual newsletter of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. To receive our performance calendar, request or download one at sfcm.edu. Help the Conservatory go green. To receive our publications electronically, contact Mario Lemos at 415.503.6268 or mlemos@sfcm.edu I N S I D E > > > And Then There Were Nun: The favored son of Spain’s royal guitar family The nuns of a French convent grapple with issues of life, death, faith and martyrdom in Poulenc’s opera Gala 2011: Romanza de Romero Dialogues of the CarmelitesAn eighteenth-century convent might seem an unlikely setting for a music drama, but throw in an angry mob, a guillotine and the sweep of history, and you have the strong bones of an opera. For its annual spring production, the Conservatory Opera Theatre is staging Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, adapted by the composer from a play based on historical events by George Bernanos. “Dialogues of the Carmelites is one of the most important operatic works of the late twentieth-century, and it a great privilege to be able to introduce it to the Conservatory community,” says Richard Harrell, director of the Opera Theatre program. “It not only requires a sophisticated level of musicality, but it also demands a broad range of acting skills. There are profound psychological conflicts which the
- 2. Faculty RecordingsFaculty Recordings Faculty News Student ImpresariosStudent Impresarios SPRING 2011 32 Thanks to a generous grant from the Cha family of Hong Kong and the invaluable assistance of Trustee Timothy Foo, the Conservatory is proud to announce an annual international chamber music festival in partnership with its sister school, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The inaugural festival is set for May 8-12 in Shanghai as part of “Shanghai Spring,” one of China’s largest music events. (Future festivals will rotate in alternate years between San Francisco and Shanghai.) Conservatory faculty members Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Axel Strauss, Wei He, Yoshikazu Nagai, David Conte, Mark Sokol and Ian Swensen will coach and perform with students and faculty from both conservatories. Chamber music concerts on May 11 and 12 will feature premieres of works commissioned for the festival, with VIP receptions following each performance. To become involved in this pioneering adventure to the world’s fastest moving city, contact Alexander Brose in the Advancement Office at awb@sfcm.edu or 415.503.6263. A Pacific International Chamber Music Festival Triumphs in Parallel In nearly a century of existence, the Conservatory has developed a comprehensive educational curriculum to produce generations of outstanding performers, composers and teachers. At the same time, and befitting the Conservatory’s status as vibrant center of creativity, students sometimes like to bend the established curricular boundaries. The Conservatory’s independent study program offers an ideal outlet for these impulses. In recent months, students have used this program to develop an array of self-initiated projects, encompassing everything from operatic productions to new music collaborations. The most recent endeavor came to fruition February 6, when students Matthew Cmiel, Carolyn Smith and Kelsey Walsh presented the second annual Hot Air Music Festival. This eight-hour extravaganza brought together myriad students, alumni and faculty from the Conservatory’s collegiate and preparatory divisions, in performances of music almost entirely by living composers. (“Only ONE PIECE on the festival by a DEAD COMPOSER,” trumpeted the event’s advertisements.) To launch a project, students submit proposals to the Conservatory’s Ad Hoc Committee, as well as the Academic Affairs Committee if they want academic credit for independent study. These committees evaluate the proposals for viability, creativity and educational value. For the current academic year seven projects were approved: the Hot Air festival, a collaboration between composers and the student/alumni ensemble Nonsemble Six, plus a bevy of opera stagings including Così fan tutte, Orpheus and Euridice and three separate Rossini projects (La scala de seta, Otello and Il barbiere di Siviglia). “These projects teach students to figure things out on their own,” says Mary Ellen Poole, dean of the Conservatory. “They are given logistical support with hall time, Concert Office staff, recordings of their events and web site publicity, but they have to solve the problems of financing, volunteer organization, scheduling and motivation all by themselves.” The benefits of these undertakings can extend beyond the sponsors’ own artistic satisfaction. Hot Air, for instance, has attracted attention from wide-ranging media outlets, perhaps even making a few new-music converts in the process. As one blogger wrote in her festival review, “I feel like I don’t understand a lot of [modern music], and enjoyment of it isn’t even in the picture. . . . Despite this, I was willing to be open minded and was pleasantly surprised by the result.” Down the road, events like Hot Air could eventually play a larger role in Conservatory students’ education. “These projects are great transitional training for real life,” Poole observes. “I hope we can eventually institutionalize this so that there might be a mini- course in subjects like how to produce concerts.” The Conservatory’s resident Ensemble Parallèle and its leadership team, Artistic Director/Conductor Nicole Paiement and General Manager Jacques Desjardins, are crowded with glory these days. The San Francisco Chronicle hailed the January 2010 production of Berg’s Wozzeck as one of the year’s top 10 classical music performances. Wozzeck also took third place in the professional category of the National Opera Association’s annual Opera Production Competition. This year, both the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Classical Voice featured the ensemble’s production of Philip Glass’s Orphée in 2011 season highlight previews. And the Aspen Music Festival is co-commissioning a production of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby in a new re-orchestration by Desjardins, slated for February 2012. A new CD by The Bay Brass, Sound the Bells! American Premieres for Brass, presents the first recordings of recent American works for brass, including pieces by John Williams, Bruce Broughton, Michael Tilson Thomas, Morten Lauridsen, Kevin Puts and Scott Hiltzik, plus several ensemble commissions to boot. The collection showcases conductors Alasdair Neale, Thomas and Broughton leading their own works, and members of the group who take turns at the podium. An egalitarian collective with neither a standing musical director nor principal players, The Bay Brass spans virtually the entire roster of Conservatory brass faculty: trumpeter David Burkhart, horn players Jonathan Ring, Bruce Roberts and Robert Ward, trombonists John Engelkes, Mark Lawrence and Paul Welcomer and tubist Peter Wahrhaftig. Recorded at the Skywalker Ranch with Conservatory faculty David Herbert on percussion, the album will be released by Harmonia Mundi on March 8, with a CD launch concert set for March 27 at the Conservatory. Richard Savino received a Grammy nomination as principal instrumentalist/ continuo for Johann Hasse’s Marc Antonio e Cleopatra, recorded for the Dorian-Sono Luminus label. The opera features soloists Ava Pine and Jamie Barton with Ars Lyrica Houston under the direction of Matthew Dirst. Unequivocal in its admiration, the Toronto Star raved, “One couldn’t ask for a finer world-première recording of this 1725 operatic dialogue between Cleopatra and her lover, Marc Antony.” Opera Colorado Debut for Cook Voice Department Chair Catherine Cook made her debut with Opera Colorado as Jezibaba the witch in Dvorˇák’s Rusalka in February. The tragic fairytale of a water sprite who falls in love with a mortal prince, Rusalka features soprano Kelly Kaduce in the title role with conductor Alexander Polianichko and director Eric Simonson. The Denver Post called Cook “a wonderfully complete singer” who “brings all the menace and zest one could ask for in the role.” She also gave a master class for the Opera Colorado Young Artist Program. Meanwhile, kudos for our Naxos faculty recordings from the fall continue to pour in. San Francisco Classical Voice praised violinist Axel Strauss for the “incredible nimbleness” and “utterly lovely cantabile” of his Kreutzer violin concertos, while David’s Review Corner gave an approving nod to Music Director Andrew Mogrelia and the Conservatory Orchestra, whose accompaniments were “played by a student orchestra of exceptional quality.” And in a review of Awakenings: New American Chamber Music for Guitar, Examiner.com saluted guitarist David Tanenbaum’s steady stewardship, commenting that the Guitar Ensemble performances are a “valuable reminder of just how much talent has emerged from the Conservatory’s Guitar Department.”
- 3. Student News Alumni News SPRING 2011 54 Circus Runaway An Alumni Recital Series is Born Harpsichord Honors In January, Preparatory Division harpsichordist Hilda Huang appeared as soloist with Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, performing Bach’s Concerto for Harpsichord in D Major. At age 14, Hilda is the youngest soloist ever to perform with the orchestra. She studies harpsichord with Corey Jamason. Just days earlier, and with equal facility on piano, Hilda took second prize in the Fremont Symphony’s 45th annual Young Artist Competition for piano and harp players. Finally, she clinched first prize in the 2011 Marilyn Mindell Concerto Competition and received the prize for best performance of a Beethoven sonata movement. Fellow Conservatory prep pianist Connie Chen received third prize and, in the junior division, Charlene Ma received honorary mention. Hilda and Charlene are piano students of John McCarthy, and Connie is a student of William Wellborn. Voice major Joi Marchetti is taking a leave of absence from the Conservatory to fulfill a one-year contract with Cirque de Soleil. Marchetti is on call to cover the role of the child Zoe, the protagonist in Quidam. After rehearsals in Canada and Nashville, the show embarks on a North American tour, with stops in California slated throughout the spring. Quidam opens in San Francisco on April 6. Marchetti is a student of Ruby Pleasure. YouTube Symphony Winners Congratulations to violist Omar Shelley and piccolo player Daniel Sharp, two of five Bay Area musicians to win spots in the second annual YouTube Symphony Orchestra. YouTube picks up the tab to send the 90-piece orchestra to Australia for a performance at Sydney Opera House A Presidential Tenor Freshman tenor Roy Patten, Jr., sang in a vocal quartet at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama over the summer. He appeared with three of his classmates from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the East Room of the White House for the First Lady’s “Broadway Series.” The group sang “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray, with moves schooled by none other than Jerry Mitchell, choreographer of the show’s original Broadway production, who flew out just to coach them. Patten and the members of his quartet were specifically requested by Michelle Obama. He now has six performances for the President under his belt, including the Inauguration in January 2009—a claim few artists can boast over a lifetime, let alone upon graduation from high school! Patten studies with César Ulloa. Soprano Soars Not For Last Time Last fall, soprano Elza van den Heever (M.M., voice, ’04) sang Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. She also presented her first major recital debut for San Francisco Performances’ Young Master Series. In a review of her Symphony performance, the San Francisco Chronicle noted, “Ever since her days as a young mezzo-soprano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music . . . van den Heever has consistently brought tonal luster and enormous eloquence to a range of repertoire, and her switch to soprano has only deepened her artistic instincts.” Other engagements this season include major roles in leading opera houses and concert halls in Frankfurt, Munich, London, Paris and Bordeaux, where she currently resides. Hoefer Prize Premiere On March 12, Nicole Paiement and the New Music Ensemble present the world premiere of Doppelgänger for two solo violins, two solo trumpets and double ensemble by Manly Romero (M.M., composition, ‘91). Doppelgänger is the inaugural winner of the Conservatory’s annual Hoefer Prize, created at the bequest of former trustee Jacqueline Stanhope Hoefer to commission new works from outstanding alumni composers. In addition to the premiere and professional recording of his piece, Romero received an award of $15,000 and will attend the performance during a week-long residency at the Conservatory. Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam Weigang Li (’82) and pianist Melvin Chen will inaugurate an Alumni Recital Series with a free performance of Brahms’ three sonatas for violin and piano on Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m. at the Conservatory. In light of both the silver anniversary of the Conservatory’s chamber music program and an upcoming chamber music festival with the Shanghai Conservatory in May, Li represents an auspicious choice to found the series. Born into a noted Shanghai musical family, Li attended both the Shanghai and later the San Francisco conservatories through the first cultural exchange program between the two sister cities, eventually completing his studies at The Juilliard School. Li has been first violinist of the Shanghai Quartet since its founding in 1983, with which he has recorded 30 albums and maintains a busy international touring schedule. In addition to professorships at Montclair State University in New Jersey and Bard Conservatory in New York, Li is guest concertmaster of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and guest professor of chamber music at the Beijing Central as well as Shanghai conservatories. “The Alumni Recital Series will be an important extension of the Conservatory’s efforts to engage its wider alumni community,” said Alexander Brose, associate vice president of advancement and member of the Alumni Committee. “As our graduates leave 50 Oak Street and embark upon their careers, we want them to see the Conservatory as a continuing source of guidance, inspiration, collegiality and a place to reconnect with their peers.” For tickets to this debut concert, call the Conservatory’s Box Office at 415.503.6275. Wilderness Magik White Wilderness, the new release by indie pop artist John Vanderslice, showcases Magik*Magik Orchestra on nine tracks arranged and conducted by the group’s founder, Minna Choi (M.M., composition, ‘08). The album, which boasts strings, horns, reeds, vibraphone, pedal steel guitar and piano as well as Choi’s vocal backups, was recorded in San Francisco and features students and graduates of the Conservatory. Previewed on NPR’s All Songs Considered last fall, the record hit stores on January 25. under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas on March 20. On the program is the premiere of Mothership, a new work for orchestra, electronics and—get this—soloists via webcast that was commissioned from composer Mason Bates, who teaches music history at the Conservatory. Contest winners hail from 30 countries, including China, Singapore, Turkey, Italy and Brazil. “It’s a great opportunity to meet performers from around the world,” said an enthusiastic Shelley. It doesn’t look bad on the resume, either. Sharp studies with Tim Day, and Shelley is a student of Jodi Levitz.
- 4. SPRING 2011 766 Gala 2011(cont. from page 1) Taking it to Eleven James H. Schwabacher, Jr., has been named a Lifetime Trustee in memoriam of the Conservatory. Following his debut Readers of Conservatory publications may have noticed a few changes over the past year. Spruced-up photos, a fresh tagline and a novel orange-themed color scheme are all the result of an ongoing collaboration with Eleven Inc., a San Francisco-based integrated marketing firm providing pro bono communications consulting to the Conservatory. Beyond assisting with the publications revamp, Paul Curtin, founder and creative director of Eleven Inc., has made a three-year commitment to refine the Conservatory’s communications priorities. His in-kind contributions include consulting on a web site redesign with partner Michael Borosky (watch for it later this year), plus regular guidance on marketing strategies. Through these contributions, Eleven Inc., has become a model corporate partner for the Conservatory and is now part of both the Conservatory Society and the Corporate Council. Moving forward, Curtin sees exciting possibilities ahead—especially in showcasing the Conservatory through electronic media. “We have an incredible opportunity through digital media and video to find new ways to bring what is happening inside the Dialogues of the Carmelites (cont. from page 1) as tenor soloist with San Francisco Opera in 1948, Schwabacher quickly established himself as a renowned recitalist throughout Europe, Israel and the United States. He was a founder of the Schwabacher Debut Recital Series, the Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Performances. He served on the boards of the San Francisco Opera and the Stern Grove Festival and was a Life Governor of the San Francisco Symphony. Deeply devoted to the Conservatory, Schwabacher was chair of its Board of Trustees from 1962 to 1969 and a member of the collegiate faculty for more than 20 years, with an endowed scholarship in his name. The recipient of an honorary doctorate in music from the Conservatory, he was beloved by those who underwrote and dedicated the James H. Schwabacher, Jr., Memorial Teaching Studio at 50 Oak Street to “San Francisco’s Gentleman of Music.” In recognition of his contributions to music, Schwabacher was selected by the San Francisco Examiner as a “Distinguished Citizen” in 1976. James H. Schwabacher, Jr., Lifetime Trustee in memoriam characters encounter in this tragic story of sixteen Carmelite nuns during the French Revolution. The final scene, in which the nuns are executed, is simply one of the most moving moments in the entire operatic repertoire.” Young Blanche, full of anxiety for the future, enters the Carmelite order only to witness the agonized death of the convent’s Prioress, who foresees that the Carmelites will not escape the maelstrom of the Terror. When the authorities shut down the convent and arrest the sisters, a panic-stricken Blanche flees as the sisters take a vow of martyrdom. Recovering her faith, Blanche at last finds grace, taking her place in the company of her sisters as one by one they are led to the scaffold and face the guillotine. Premiered in 1957 (and staged shortly thereafter in San Francisco), Dialogues represents the culmination of Poulenc’s rediscovery of his Catholic conviction, rekindled in the late 1930s after a friend’s sudden death sparked a new seriousness and religious thrust to his work. Though set during the Revolution, the opera’s true subject is not politics but the transference of grace, as Blanche grows from the anxiety of fear to the calm and certainty of martyrdom. Asked about the challenges in mounting this work, Harrell is practical. “We worry about the wimples. With a cast of women dressed in nun’s habits, singers have difficulty hearing each other and the orchestra with their ears covered. We hope the costumes we ordered from Santa Fe Opera won’t be too thick, but we won’t know until we get them.” Whereas professional opera companies typically make artistic decisions first, choosing repertoire and then assembling an artistic team to realize a production, the Conservatory’s faculty—Harrell, Music Director Kathryn Cathcart and Assistant Music Director Darryl Cooper—takes the opposite approach, creating a production based on the character and quantity of voices available. This more inclusive process benefits voice students, who, according to Harrell, “have more opportunities to perform here than in most conservatories.” Harrell stresses that the training faculty and staff provide for the performers, by way of diction, acting, choreography and technical assurance, are merely the point of artistic departure rather than the summit of aspiration. “While the program builds the frame, it’s up to the students to create a painting in that frame, making art come to life onstage.” See Dialogues of the Carmelites March 31-April 3 at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center. Sung in English with supertitles. Former student David Marsden at Guitarrada 2009 with L. John Harris, Romero, Richard Brune and Marc Teicholz A frequent guest artist of the Conservatory, Romero has given concerts and master classes as well as co-hosted four “Guitarrada” guitar festivals with L. John Harris and the Harris Collection of Classical Guitars. His vital presence has raised the profile of the guitar department, which San Francisco Classical Voice recently called “a magnet for gifted young guitarists from around the globe” that has “helped make the Bay Area a mecca for classical guitar.” David Tanenbaum, chair of the Conservatory’s guitar department and artistic director for the gala, considers Romero an ideal candidate for Conservatory recognition this spring. “We are delighted that our first honorary degree to a guitarist will go to the great Pepe Romero,” says Tanenbaum. “Pepe has been at the top of the classical guitar field for half a century, both as a soloist and as a member of the first guitar quartet in history, and all the while he has been unfailingly generous to the students here.” The second son of Spain’s “Royal Family of Guitar,” Romero learned to play at the feet of his father, Celedonio Romero. With his father and brothers Celin and Angel he achieved fame with the Romero Quartet, which became the most celebrated guitar ensemble in the world. His discography of 60 releases includes 20 concertos recorded with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and either Neville Marriner or Iona Brown. As a soloist, Romero has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras. He has premiered numerous works written for him by composers such as Joaquín Rodrigo and Federic Moreno Torroba and has championed the rediscovery of lost works by Fernando Sor and Luigi Boccherini. He has played at the White House and the Vatican and has performed for Pope John Paul II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain and Queen Beatrice of Holland. Romero’s other awards include an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Victoria in Canada and Spain’s “Premio Andalucía de la Música,” the highest recognition given by his native land, for his contribution to the arts. Together with his father and brothers, Romero has also received the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, producers of the Grammy Awards. In addition, King Juan Carlos has knighted Romero and his brothers into the Order of “Isabel la Católica.” For tickets to the Gala, contact Christian Mills at cmills@sfcm.edu or 415.503.6291. school to our audiences,” he says. “The transparency these new marketing forms will afford us is extremely valuable. We will show our best self to the people who need to know about us.” In giving audiences this insider view, Curtin stresses that modern-day marketing is not necessarily about telling people a story, but trying to bring people into the story as it’s being made. “The Conservatory’s history has been unfolding for nearly 100 years, and it’s a great story to tell.”
- 5. SPRING 2011 9 UpBeat is published by the Marketing Communications department of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. We welcome comments, suggestions and mailing list corrections; please call 415.503.6265 or e-mail ssmith@sfcm.edu. Writing Rik Malone Joseph Sargent Sam Smith Design and Production Beatriz Américo Photography Aerial Fabric Artists by Britta Ambauen (graphic design Cheryl Ruby) Beatriz Américo Cirque du Soleil Dario Acosta Photography Dorian Sono-Luminus Eleven Inc. Antón Goiri Harmonia Mundi Betsy Kershner Nancy Bea Miller (violas by Hiroshi Iizuka) San Francisco Guitar Quartet Brian Smeets Sydney Opera House Karla Ticas Autumn de Wilde (Courtesy Dead Oceans) 8 Sarlo Earns International Accolade Congratulations to Trustee George Sarlo, who was saluted in November by the International Rescue Committee at the 2010 Freedom Award Dinner in New York. The committee honored ten distinguished men and women who fled tyranny and persecution and who have made the most of the opportunity to begin again and thrive in the United States. Sarlo has been a tireless supporter of the Conservatory and its students, many of whom would not have been able to study here without his assistance. On the Beat: The New Reach of Student Programs Chamber Music in Marin The 25-year tradition of the Conservatory’s chamber music program has taken root in the fertile soil north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Chamber Music Department Chair Jean-Michel Fonteneau and Steven Reading, director of music at United Methodist Church in Novato, have established San Francisco Conservatory Chamber Music in Marin, a series showcasing conservatory students, faculty and alumni. Artists-in-residence the Delphi Trio headlined the first performance in September, and capacity crowds swelled three subsequent events. The series fixed on a regular venue in February, with concerts by the Delphi Trio and Nonsemble Six at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael. As Reading explained in San Francisco Classical Voice, the series “has become a real grassroots effort, starting from the church members via their club and friends and family e-mails. Most of the audience are not church members, and most have had little or no contact with chamber or classical music. . . . The enthusiasm of our audience and the Conservatory musicians has been a huge pleasure for me to host.” Davis Art Center Guitar Series Heading eastward, an analogous concert series for guitar in Davis prominently features Conservatory alumni, faculty and students. The brainchild of Mark Grasso (’94), with able assistance from Tanenbaum, the Davis Art Center’s Guitar Series lets guitarists fine-tune their professional performance poise. In February, the guitar and composition departments hoisted the flag with the unfurling of their Doublespeak program. Subsequent performances throughout the spring feature the San Francisco Guitar Quartet (March 11), the Pacific Guitar Ensemble (April 22) and Grasso’s Trio 7 (May 6) in programs ranging from ancient works to traditional arrangements as well as original compositions written for the performers. If student-initiated projects like the Hot Air Music Festival typify the “hands- off” nature of the Conservatory’s independent study program (see page 2), then the “hands-on” character of the Conservatory experience is demonstrated by several recent endeavors that push students beyond the practice room and into the wider world. Two kindred species of extracurricular activity are at work these days: collaborations between composition and performance departments and off-site ensemble concert series. Each provides vital field experience students need to hone their skills for success in a global music market. Uniting both strands of these student- empowering extracurricular programs is their influence in the larger music community, both locally and further afield. The Viola Project Violist Jodi Levitz knew she had stumbled onto something promising when composition faculty member Elinor Armer wrote a piece called API to display the individual styles of Levitz and violinist Bettina Mussemeli. Wanting the same experience of working directly with composers for her students, Levitz tapped composition faculty member Dan Becker to craft a program of mutual partnership, and the Viola Project was born in 2004. Composers began by working with private teachers and in group seminars, later attending viola lessons to better shape their piece to suit its player. Becker and Levitz considered both skill and personality in matching composer to performer. Close collaboration was key, says Levitz; each pair was responsible for forging a positive working relationship, learning to cope with “the real-life situation of imposing reasonable deadlines on professional colleagues.” To her surprise and delight, Levitz noticed that such direct interaction encouraged students to take responsibility and embrace challenge. “Students would make extreme efforts to stretch their technique to new heights to perform ‘their’ works,” she noted. “This made me realize the power of ‘ownership’ of a work. This new composition was the student’s and the student’s alone.” Since the project’s inception, 48 new solo viola works have entered the repertoire. The initiative has even sparked spinoff ventures in other music departments at New York University, led by head of strings Stephanie Baer, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in a program headed by former students of Levitz. Doublespeak Another endeavor modeled on the Viola Project is the guitar department’s Doublespeak, a joint undertaking of Conservatory composers and guitarists initiated in spring 2010. Like the Viola Project, Doublespeak motivates student guitarists and composers to take real ownership of their works, striving together on a personal level to help fresh pieces come to life. Composition Department Chair Becker and Guitar Department Chair David Tanenbaum designed the initial structure and oversaw student cooperation. Tanenbaum was amazed by the results. “More than 20 composers created 150 minutes of music, in time for guitarists to learn it all and take the show on the road,” he notes. A December premiere at the Conservatory quickly expanded into a winter tour of northern California. Tanenbaum explains that a profound need for an enlarged guitar repertory helped incite the Doublespeak enterprise. “When Andre Segovia began his career in 1916, he found a small band of players writing and playing mostly for each other in small rooms,” he relates. “But Segovia had a bigger vision; he sought out composers to expand the instrument’s currency, famously saying, ‘my kingdom for a repertoire.’ Half a century later we are doing the same thing, and I would argue that contemporary guitar music holds its own with what is now being written for any instrument.” For Becker, the “chemical reaction” between composer and performer “fires up a dynamic of curiosity, exploration and self-expression that infiltrates all their activities.” He also stresses the unique nature of the Conservatory’s collaborative undertakings. “Other schools have similar projects, but I haven’t yet discovered one that does them to the degree that we do. It’s something that distinguishes our school, and it’s being noticed.” On the Road Just as the Viola Project and Doublespeak activate greater personal investment in a student’s artistic development, so too do burgeoning Bay Area concert series nudge performers to improve their game by playing on the road. Conservatory faculty and alumni have helped create concert series in Marin and in Davis that serve as offsite vehicles for Conservatory performances. These “colonies” give students a footbridge from the classroom to the concert hall as well as widen the orbit of Conservatory exposure.
- 6. Lisa Grotts, chair David Tanenbaum, artistic director Décor by J. Riccardo Benavides of Ideas Catering by McCall Associates Featuring performances by Romero, mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook and Conservatory students, faculty and guest artists Contact Christian Mills at cmills@sfcm.edu or 415.503.6291 San Francisco Conservatory of Music 50 Oak Street San Francisco, CA 94102 in honor of Pepe Romero Thursday, April 14, 2011 Electronic Media sponsorCorporate Patron PRINT MEDIA sponsor wine sponsor 50 Oak Street San Francisco, CA 94102 Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID San Francisco Conservatory of Music