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Thoughts from

the President

This coming year’s celebration of the concept of the Complete Musician, in both our history and our future, honors CIM’s unique and long held musical values and training.

This past June, as President of CIM, I had the pleasure of participating in two intense days of discussion with the leaders of five of the eight independent conservatories in our country. In attendance were heads of The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, the Colburn School and Boston Conservatory. James Gandre, the new and vibrant President of the Manhattan School of Music, actually wrote his doctoral thesis in 2003 on the history of the independent conservatory within the United States.

The opportunity afforded was rare. The group was characterized by warmth, by a shared deeply caring attitude for all of our students and by a mutual respect for each other as institutions and as leaders. Through our dialogue, we each got to tell the stories of our institutions and to perceive, through the eyes and ears of our cohorts, the vivid differences of culture, history, resource of our schools and of the present challenges each of our schools face.

There was, on the other hand, a sense of agreement upon the deep and unique value of a musical education, the changing geographical environment of talent and the changed music world which our graduates will now enter.

The takeaway from these intense two days, aside from a renewed respect for this very special group of individuals, was a clearer perspective on CIM’s own history, on our culture and on where we stand within the litany of independent conservatories. Throughout, I felt proud to represent CIM, our constituencies, our culture and our history. Our students’ sense of empowerment, the intensity and completeness of their learning experience place us indisputably in a proud place relative to our peers.

The common and most compelling question for the group was: what new tools for a future musical profession and for life must our students now receive from our schools? The relevancy of a conservatory education was examined closely and strongly endorsed. The hope within the group is that there can be yet greater collaboration among all our institutions.

I returned from the meeting with a renewed sense of the opportunity that now stands before us, the opportunity of being rewarded for the long history of excellence and leadership within the world of conservatory for which CIM has always been recognized. This coming year’s celebration of the concept of the Complete Musician, in both our history and our future, honors CIM’s unique and long held musical values and training.

I am convinced that the coming years can be ones of growth, excellence and of strong movement towards sustainability for the Cleveland Institute of Music.

— Joel Smirnoff

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DEPARTMENTS4 Noteworthy

Keith Fitch / Copland House ResidencyMusical Majors and Minors Faculty Opens Lang Lang FestivalSays You!CIM Welcomes New TrusteesStudents Get Total AccessStudent Featured on HBO Masterclass

16 Events Season Preview / Faculty Recitals

18 DevelopmentDonor Profile: Mal Mixon

20 Alumni Snapshot Amy Schwartz Moretti

21 ListingsAlumniAppointmentsPrizewinners FacultyStudents PreparatoryIn Memoriam

FEATURES8 The Complete Musician Notes uncovers what it means to be a complete musician in the 21st century.

12 Athletes of the Concert Hall CIM employs multiple methods to ensure its students remain in good physical health.

ABOVE

Clarinet student Ben Chen using biofeedback to monitor his muscle activity while playing. (story page 12)

ON THE COVER

Many views of the complete musician. (story page 8)

Athletes of the Concert Hall Keeping the mind and body sound for a long career12

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Noteworthy

Keith Fitch Awarded Copland House ResidencyImagine working uninterrupted, in the lush Hudson River Valley, in a home that’s nestled seamlessly into a rocky hillside, with access to a studio and a well-stocked library. This was reality for Keith Fitch, head of CIM's Composition Department, who spent the month of July in this idyllic setting. Fitch was awarded a coveted stay at the composer residency program in Aaron Copland’s longtime home in Cortlandt Manor, New York, just an hour north of Manhattan. He was one of eight composers chosen for 2014 from a pool of 99 total applicants.

Each composer selected for the prize lives in the home with all expenses paid and full access to Copland’s studio and library, complete with the music legend’s

own work desk, a new Steinway grand piano and music journals dating back to the 1920s. The Copland House has hosted more than 125 composers to date, ranging from seasoned to budding artists, all of whom have emerged with inspired new projects and pieces.

“Copland’s genial spirit haunts the house and property, looking over one’s shoulder and offering gentle encouragement and compassion. Working at his desk is a powerful feeling—a tangible connection to the most important of us all,” says Fitch. “Being in that wonderful studio makes one want to work harder, more honestly, and uphold the standards to which Copland so consistently held himself throughout his career.”

During his stay Fitch worked on projects that include a piano quartet, “Last Words,” for CIM faculty members Kathryn Brown (head, piano), Stephen Rose (head, violin), Kirsten Docter (viola) and Melissa Kraut (cello), to be premiered at CIM in February 2015.

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Musical Majors and Minors CIM is excited to embark on its first full year of offering the Composer/Virtuoso major, specially designed for artists who are both virtuosic performers and innovative composers. The new program allows students to nurture dual aspects of their musicality, and provides the opportunity to perfect instrumental and compositional skills as well as create new repertoire. The Composer/Virtuoso major harks back to the curriculum of the 19th century, when all students were expected to compose music and to cultivate the impulse not only to play, but to create. Requirements for the major include three recitals, advanced skills courses such as theory and ear training, and supportive seminars and research projects in culture, composition seminars and ensemble. Students will also spend one semester studying abroad at an educational institution that has an established relationship with CIM.

In keeping with its mission to support and enhance compositional studies, CIM is offering Music Theory as a double major added to a degree in either composition or performance. Historically, CIM has had a very strong program in music theory, which integrates many aspects of skills-based learning and comprehension. Requirements for the double major will build on the current curriculum with upper-level music theory electives, 20th-century theory, a customized independent study with a senior theory faculty member focusing on literature review and analytical writing, and a senior thesis.

Composition and Theory Double Major Gets Full Ride to the Windy City Recent graduate John Hughes is the first CIM student to graduate from the new double major theory program. His extraordinary accomplishments at CIM paved the way for receiving one of the most prestigious fellowships in the country. Mr. Hughes majored in both composition and music theory, and is now attending the University of Chicago on a fully-funded five-year fellowship; he is one of only two students accepted for the fellowship. Mr. Hughes won numerous competitions, awards and prizes while attending CIM, and at his graduation alone received The Donald Erb Prize in Composition, The Maurice and Judith Kaplow Prize for Uncommon Creativity and The Darius Milhaud Award.

Faculty Opens Lang Lang FestivalCIM piano faculty member Antonio Pompa-Baldi was invited to play the opening recital for the first Lang Lang International Piano Festival in Shenzhen, China, this January. The festival, which is named after the famed concert pianist, Lang Lang, will be free and open to local residents and will include a week of concerts, recitals, classes and lectures.

The invitation came when Pompa-Baldi was playing at the Shanghai International Piano Festival this past summer in China. Lang Lang’s teacher, Professor Zhu Yafen, who was attending the festival, took notice of Pompa-Baldi’s recital and called Lang Lang that very night. “The following day I got an email from Lang Lang with an invitation to his festival,” Pompa-Baldi explains. “He was very kind and gracious and I was very honored.”

Pompa-Baldi not only will perform the opening recital, but also has been asked to teach two master classes and judge the piano competition. Lang Lang has invited eight total pianists and piano educators from around the world to the festival, including renowned teachers Veda Kaplinsky and Gary Graffman.

Shanghai was one of many stops on Pompa-Baldi’s packed summer performance tour, which totaled 35 concerts in South Africa, Israel, Poland, England and Italy. Although the school year has now started and Pompa-Baldi is back at CIM, he says he travels nearly just as much, making sure to be back for his class on Mondays and Tuesdays. For Pompa-Baldi, performing and teaching are “two faces of the same coin.”

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Noteworthy

Says You!This September, CIM’s Kulas Hall filled the airwaves with puns, quips, definitions and derivations as NPR’s Says You! radio program turned the concert venue into a quiz show studio. Hosted by Richard Sher and holding the title of the longest-running quiz show ever, Says You! sets out to puzzle a panel of wordplay enthusiasts in live tapings from coast to coast. The seats in Kulas were filled with an energetic audience and musical entertainment was provided by CIM’s apprentice quartet The Commodore Quartet, made up of violinists Elizabeth Furuta and Kyoungmin Maria Park, violist Sarah Toy and cellist Hannah Moses.

CIM Welcomes New TrusteesCHARLES P. COOLEY III Mr. Cooley served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of The Lubrizol Corporation from 1998 until he retired in 2011 following the purchase of the company by Berkshire Hathaway. He previously held various finance positions at Atlantic Richfield Company and worked in the national banking division of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. He serves on the boards of directors of Modine Manufacturing Company and KeyCorp and is chairman of the board at Hawken School.

GARY W. POTH Mr. Poth is senior vice president and Key Private Bank executive for KeyCorp’s East Ohio district. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Poth served in other executive positions with KeyBank, National City Bank and JP Morgan’s Private Client Group. Additionally, Mr. Poth served as a naval submarine officer for six years. He is also a current board member and treasurer for the Cleveland Sight Center.

JEFFREY B. LINTON Mr. Linton is senior vice president of corporate communications and community relations for Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Before joining Forest City in 2007, Mr. Linton was a managing director of Dix & Eaton. Mr. Linton is also active in the regional civic, nonprofit and charitable community and has served as a board member with DanceCleveland, the Cleveland Music School Settlement and, most recently, Achievement Centers for Children.

ASTRI SEIDENFELD Ms. Seidenfeld, a native of Norway, currently serves on the boards of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and the Musart Society of CMA. She is a member of CIM’s Women’s Committee and recently completed two terms on its board. She is also involved with The Cleveland Orchestra.

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CIM student to be featured in HBO’s Masterclass Series Leah Ferguson, viola student of Robert Vernon, was awarded a coveted spot in a National YoungArts Foundation program, where she was given the opportunity to perform with world-renowned violinist and Grammy winner Joshua Bell. HBO’s documentary series Masterclass featured Ferguson on the show, which aired in October.

Ferguson and eight other young string players attended intensive coaching sessions with Bell that culminated in a performance in the virtuoso’s three-story New York City penthouse with an audience filled with the likes of Josh Groban, Steven Isserlis and Richard Hyung-ki Joo, along with a throng of HBO cameras. Bell and the students then went off to London, where they performed a sold-out concert at Limelight rock club.

The opportunity to play with and receive feedback from the violin star was a valuable experience for Ferguson. “He’s just so inventive,” she says. “He has a million ways of playing a phrase, and it changes every time. It’s really great practice for us to have to catch him and watch him. He’s just really a giving collaborator.”

Ferguson attended premieres of the HBO show in Miami and New York City in September, where she and her fellow string

CIM Students Get Total Access One of the benefits of attending CIM is the school’s proximity to Severance Hall, which puts students two blocks away from all Cleveland Orchestra home concerts. This year for CIM students, it gets even better. For the first time, every CIM student received a free Cleveland Orchestra Frequent Fan Card, which allows completely free entry to any Cleveland Orchestra classical concert all year long. Through generous support from the Kulas Foundation, the Eaton Corporation and others, CIM purchased the $50 pass for all 459 students.

In past years, CIM offered roughly 20 tickets to students per week for The Orchestra’s Saturday concerts. Students would often line up outside the building on Monday mornings hoping to be first on the concert sign-up sheet. “Once we even had students trying to camp out overnight,” remembers Associate Dean for Student Affairs David Gilson. Now, with the Frequent Fan Card, students can simply call The Orchestra’s ticketing office to see which concerts have availability. If seats are open, they’re in. And there’s no limit to how many concerts students can attend in a week.

players performed with Bell. On November 19, 2014, Ferguson will solo at Severance Hall with the CIM Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor Kimbo Ishii.

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CompleteMusician

NEWA u d iences

CLASSICAL

REVO LUTION THE

newR e p e rt o i r e

HAPPY DOG

COMMU N I T Y ENGAGEM E N T

C O M PO S E R V I R TU O S O

CONNECTIONS

TOCULTURE

FULLFILLI NG

KEYS TO

SUCCESS

Identifying the keys to success for the 21st-century musician

Today’s Complete MusicianWe’ve all heard of the “greats”— the soloists, the concertmasters, the teachers, the composers, the founders of schools and the creators of music societies; the musicians who have led successful and fulfilling careers. But what characteristics and skills do these masters share that led to their success? What ingredients are necessary for a fulfilling career? And in the 21st century, what does a successful musical career look like?

There’s an undeniable shift taking place for professional musicians that can be seen in the initiatives of music schools, orchestras, homegrown ensembles and music societies everywhere. In 2010, The Cleveland Orchestra received a $20 million grant to be used specifically for bringing in new audiences. With the funds, The Orchestra started its Center for Future Audiences and vowed to have the youngest audience in the country by the time of its centennial in 2018. It continues to expand its reach beyond University Circle with its Neighborhood Residency Program, which offers performances in schools, restaurants, cafes and even on porches (the program is called “PORCHestra”) in select neighborhoods throughout the Greater Cleveland area.

The Chicago Symphony has introduced a MusicNOW series, which offers performances of new repertoire bookended by video program notes, a DJ and food and drinks, and for its 2014–15 season, the New York Philharmonic has introduced Free Fridays, offering free concerts on Fridays for people ages 13 to 26.

Everywhere musicians are infiltrating communities, gaining new audiences and becoming more accessible than ever. This is what the future holds for the next generation of professional musicians.

For the last three years, CIM has been honing in on the ingredients, the magic formula, the pillars of the foundation that make up a

complete musician: someone who can thrive in today’s ever-changing musical landscape. The Institute has begun devoting itself to one of the central facets of the concept each year: 2010 emphasized community, 2011 focused on culture and in 2013, CIM rang in the year of the Composer/Virtuoso. An artist who nurtures these aspects—one who can play and perform, engage and enthrall any audience or crowd and compose culturally relevant repertoire—is on the path to becoming a complete musician.

Finding an Audience For Conservatory Dean Adrian Daly, community engagement is increasingly important for today’s musicians—especially in an age when musical performances can be seen and heard anywhere from Carnegie Hall to YouTube. “It’s likely that people consume more art outside of the concert hall than they do in it these days,” he says. “You have to go to the audience now, instead of expecting them to come to you.”

CIM encourages these off-concert-stage performances by giving its students opportunities to play all over the community. “Our students are just as likely to play at the West Side Market as they are to play in Severance Hall,” says Daly. “They’re always making and creating music in nontraditional venues to bring joy and music to people on their terms.”

Performances require audiences, and complete musicians must continue to push boundaries to find their own. However, it doesn’t just stop at hitting the streets and performing throughout the city; it’s also key for musicians to understand the culture of an audience before they can successfully interact and engage with it. “The relationship between the performer and the listener is essential,” says Daly. “There’s a certain connection there. Both feed off of each other. Some people have never been to a classical music concert in their life. They may not know anything about it. But if you walk on stage and engage with the audience then you’re going to make a connection and the audience is going to appreciate that.”

PROJECT Trio (above), is comprised of CIM alumni who offer their own unique brand of chamber music, combining high-energy, rock-star-like performances with classical music styles. Their YouTube channel has more than 80 million views and 96,000 subscribers, and they’ve made appearances on both Nickelodeon and MTV. Photo: Jeremy Keller

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From Coattails to Cocktails Joshua Smith, head of CIM’s flute department and principal flutist in The Cleveland Orchestra, finds his audience both under the gleaming lights of Severance Hall and in a bar that serves up gourmet hot dogs. Smith is part of a unique chamber group called Ensemble HD, which prides itself on playing exceptional chamber music in nontraditional venues such as parks, schools, festivals and even in the neighborhood pub.

In May of 2013, Ensemble HD held its first performance in Ohio City’s popular hot dog joint, the Happy Dog, for what turned out to be a tremendously successful event that paved the way for a monthly classical music concert in the bar. “There are so many different levels to what makes playing in a venue like this interesting,” says Smith. “It’s a really honest way of communicating and performing with people without the trappings of black and white clothes. We’re just right there with people doing what we do. They get to see that what we’re doing isn’t all that proper or well-behaved. It really is just music. It’s a way to fight against the notion that classical music is becoming less relevant. The art form will never go away; we just have to tweak how we present it.”Although Smith’s performance skills were honed on the stage at Severance Hall, where he’s been playing since he was 20 years old, he draws on his experiences at the Happy Dog when he’s back playing with The Orchestra as well. “When I go back to the main stage concerts I realize it’s OK to have that much fun!” he admits.

If You Build It, They Will Come The performer–audience connection also depends on what type of music is being played. Although Brahms and Debussy are solid fixtures in classical repertoire, different audiences can often require a program that departs from the compositional giants of century’s past.

When harpist and CIM alumna and faculty member Yolanda Kondonassis wants to bring something specific to her audience, whether it’s a certain emotion or thought, rather

than digging through an existing bevy of music, she will occasionally just compose it herself. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” she says. “I would think to myself, ‘gosh, if only I had a piece that evoked this.’ Sometimes I would think of a really great phrase or an atmosphere that would sum up a project or a concept album and I would think, ‘too bad we don’t have a piece that sounds like that thought.’ So I began creating music that worked with certain artistic visions and found the process really rewarding.”

Kondonassis has led a successful career as a performer, composer and teacher and has always subscribed to the idea, “if you can’t find what you need, create it yourself and make what you love. That goes for everything from composing or arranging music to jerry-rigging a harp-fixing gadget you can't find at the hardware store.”

But Kondonassis has made more than the occasional makeshift harp-gadget; she also started her own chamber

music society in Cleveland, right after she graduated CIM. She had accepted a one-year position as Acting Principal with The St. Louis Symphony; however, she wasn’t quite ready to sever ties completely with the city she had grown to love. So Kondonassis and fellow CIM faculty member Kathryn Brown got together to form the Myriad Chamber Players.

A success for seven years, the group was comprised of friends and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. “It was a group of friends making music in a fun atmosphere where everyone had a say in what was programmed,” says Kondonassis. “It felt a little bit like the movie A Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will come. We ended up having quite an audience.”

The society provided free concerts throughout the community, which included a series at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Kondonassis went on to St. Louis and then to New York, but the time she initially spent in Cleveland, building an ensemble from scratch, was extremely valuable. “I learned so much about presenting and marketing music through that experience,” she says. “The more musicians know about how music is brought to the public, the better off they’ll be.”

Joshua Smith, head of the Flute Department at CIM. Photo: Frank J. Lanza

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CIM Hits the StreetsCIM brings music performances to neighborhoods and communities throughout the Cleveland area and hosts hundreds of free concerts so anyone can enjoy classical music. Engaging in the community remains one of the key facets to becoming a complete musician in the 21st century.

500+ Number of free concerts

27,700+ Annual attendance at CIM’s free concerts

100+ Performances in K–12 schools

12,500+ Average number of K–12 students engaged each year

75+ Annual CIM performances for charitable or community events

Outreach Venues•AlcazarHotel/RetirementCommunity

•BenjaminRoseInstitute

•ElizaBryantVillage

•HopeLodge/AmericanCancerSociety

• JudsonRetirementCommunities JudsonManor JudsonPark JudsonSouthFranklinCircle

•KaramuHouse

•McGregorHome

•RonaldMcDonaldHouse

Kondonassis speaks about experiences like these with her students, stressing the importance of remaining open to new opportunities. “One of the most important things we can teach the next generation of artists is that a plan is good, a plan is necessary—several plans, in fact,” she explains. “But then, very often one opportunity will give rise to another that you couldn’t have ever envisioned.”

The Musical Future The word “classic” evokes sentiments of the past; however, classical music is very much alive and present. So are those who perform it, create it, live it and breathe it. Barriers are beginning to crumble and more people, regardless of age or neighborhood, are becoming audiences for classical music on a regular basis.

The complete musician of today looks very different from the complete musician of the last century. Although fundamentals remain paramount, the adaptive, inventive musician who never stops striving to learn and improve is ultimately going to be successful in today’s world. In the words of Daly, a complete musician is “always chasing

musical truth and excellence.”

Yolanda Kondonassis, CIM faculty member and alumna. Photo: Robert Muller

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Keeping the mind and body sound for a long career using both state-of-the-art technology and hundred-year-old muscle movements.

“Musicians are athletes of tiny muscles,” says CIM faculty member Kathleen Riley, PhD. Current research estimates that 80 percent of musicians experience physical problems during their careers, often caused by tiny muscles that need to be warmed up, worked out and properly taken care of—just like an athlete’s. With many musicians clocking over 10-hour days of practicing or rehearsing, how can they remain physically healthy while continuing to play and perform?

Using the latest techniques, including state-of-the-art biofeedback, CIM students are learning to recognize potential physical problems and are building a toolkit to minimize or avoid injuries.

Riley’s Optimal Performance Health class at CIM hosts an all-star cast of guest lecturers from the Cleveland Clinic that includes chiropractors, acupuncturists and audiologists. In her class, Riley touches on many performance-related issues such as muscle strain and hearing health, as well as performance anxiety, depression, nutrition and even breathing techniques and heart rate. But Riley’s pièce de résistance is the work she does with her students using biofeedback.

By means of video cameras; surface electromyography (sEMG), a medical device that measures muscle activity; and a piano equipped with a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI), which records the instrument and communicates with a computer; Riley is able to ease muscle strain by adjusting things like posture, hand and finger alignment and arm height while students play.

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Dr. Kathleen Riley works with clarinet student Ben Chen on his hand and finger alignment using biofeedback. Photos: Robert Muller

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“I think the most helpful thing for me was to see the lines move up and down on the screen in the gray boxes. They tell you objectively how much muscle tension you’re using, which is something you might not realize by just playing,” Ben says as he wraps a belt with the sEMG machine around his waist. Riley clips the yellow and red wires sprouting from the back of the machine to each of the small pads on his muscles.

Riley brings many years of experience and training expertise in neuromuscular re-education. All of her training protocols are based in biomechanics and scientific validation. “This is not a critique of someone's technical approach. A teacher can explain the same concept to ten students and it will be interpreted ten different ways into their physiological profile, muscularly and mentally,” Riley explains. “Here we have irrefutable proof of what is happening inside the body as they play, and can make corrections that yield different results. Seeing is believing!”

When performers sit down at a piano bench or lift a violin to their chin, muscles tend to tense and harden, and performers ultimately have to use more force to achieve the desired result. It’s difficult to undo these muscular responses, which are often engrained in a musician’s technique. In this case, muscle memory is not a good thing.

This year, all students were required to read informational modules regarding neuromusculoskeletal, hearing and vocal health on CIM’s website, and all incoming first-year students were tested on their physical health using biofeedback. The Cleveland Clinic also came by to do baseline hearing assessments and even offered custom earplugs at a special price for CIM students.

“With these custom, high-fidelity earpieces, musicians can still hear the intervals necessary to play, but their ears are protected,” says Associate Dean for Student Affairs David Gilson. “CIM is in a remarkably good place because of the Cleveland Clinic and its Center for Performance Health Medicine.”

Biofeedback in ActionRiley’s bright classroom in Cutter 101 has a few chairs, a glossy black piano, a video camera, speakers and a large computer monitor. When two students appear at her door, she quickly shepherds them in and begins to unwrap a series of small round sticky pads. She applies the pads to the shoulders and forearms of her first subject, Ben Chen, a clarinetist, who has worked with Riley previously.

Musicians are athletes of tiny muscles!

Samantha Damoulakis and Russell Hall teach the Feldenkrais Method® to students and alumni on Monday nights during the summer at CIM.

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Riley positions the video camera to face Ben. When the camera starts rolling, Ben is able to see himself on the screen at angles he usually can’t see while playing. “It’s really neat when you put the camera behind someone and they notice they’re tilting one way or another. Then they start working with the screen and correcting their movement,” says Riley as she clicks away on her wireless mouse.

Ben plays a few scales on his clarinet to get warmed up, and blue and red lines spring across gray boxes on the computer screen. When Ben shrugs his shoulders, the blue lines move, and when he opens and closes his fingers, the red lines move.

As he begins playing, the lines move together, forming peaks and valleys. Riley explains that when the lines are so high they spike off the chart, injuries can occur. And it can be dangerous to practice at

that level of intensity for too long. It’s important to see dips in the lines because those indicate a breath taken or a muscle released. This technology also tells the performer what level of muscle activity is optimal.

When pianist Shicong Lu tries out the equipment, Riley adjusts his posture and hand position and the lines on the screen dip low. Riley records Shicong using the MIDI-equipped piano, and upon playback the notes and muscle activity align together on the screen. This allows Shicong to pinpoint, to the measure, which part of the piece strains his muscles the most.

Developing a Mind-Body ConnectionElectronics aren’t the only tools to keeping a musician’s muscles healthy. Strengthening the connection between physical movement and the thought behind those movements is an important component of maintaining physical health. On Monday nights during the summer at CIM, room 113 is typically filled with alumni and students lying on foam mats, letting their jaws go slack, relaxing their eyes and making slow movements with their bodies. They are practicing the Feldenkrais Method® in a class presented by CIM’s Alumni Association.

The Feldenkrais Method of learning and movement develops the ability to explore and use the wide spectrum of internal sensations of movement, while recognizing that everything in the body is connected. “It’s about learning how to attend to yourself better,” explains instructor Russell Hall. “The more comfortable way to do something physical is ultimately going to be the better way to make music.” Hall alternates teaching summer classes with fellow Feldenkrais-certified instructor Samantha Damoulakis.

Learn More About Performance HealthNational Association of Schools of Music (NASM) nasm.arts-accredit.org

Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) artsmed.org

Athletes and the Arts athletesandthearts.com

American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation aapmr.org

The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. aota.org

The Feldenkrais Method feldenkrais.com

The more comfortable way to do something physical is ultimately going to be the better way to make music.

The Feldenkrais Method was created by Moshé Feldenkrais in the early 20th century as a way to improve the body through precise movement and awareness. Although the method was not specifically created for musicians, performers of all kinds have found that it supports lifelong improvement in ease and mastery. The skills learned from practicing the method can also help in the practice room. “When musicians get stuck in one part of a piece they think they need to just practice it over and over again,” says Damoulakis, “but maybe they need to shift their attention to something else inside to change. Feldenkrais is about this process, not the end result itself.”

Students receive a half-price discount when they sign up for the summer class, and so far every summer has seen an increase in student attendance. During the fall and winter months, Damoulakis and Hall offer a course for credit to students called Awareness Through Movement®.

Feldenkrais-certified instructors Samantha Damoulakis and

Russell Hall.

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Events 2014 | 2015 Season

CIM Faculty Shine at Home CIM kicks off the 2014-15 concert season with one of its most exciting Faculty Series lineups to date. These events offer an exclusive opportunity to see CIM’s world-class faculty perform on their home stage—for some, in their only Northeast Ohio appearance, and for others, who are members of The Cleveland Orchestra, in their only local performance outside of the orchestra setting. For details on each concert and for information on CIM’s other exciting concert series, including Opera Theatre, New Music and CIM@Severance, go to cim.edu and download our Concert Guide from the home page.

November 9, Sunday*Brian Sweigart, vibraphoneJames Thompson, violin, student artistBenjamin Lulich, bass clarinet, guest artistMarshall Griffith, pianoTimothy Hampton, percussion, guest artistLara Hueter, percussion, student artistJames Ritchie, percussion, student artist

TAKEMITSU Rain TreeGRIFFITH Latin DancesBILIUNAS EidolonLENNON/McCARTNEY Eleanor Rigby (arr. C. Corea / G. Burton)

HOLLENBECK Gray Cottage Studies

November 14, Friday*Sergei Babayan, piano

J.S. BACH The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846–869

November 16, Sunday*Jaime Laredo, violinAnita Pontremoli, piano

DVOR ÁK Violin Sonatina in G Major, Op. 100

PROKOFIEV Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94bis

FRANCK Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8

December 10, Wednesday*Ivan Zenaty, violinSandra Shapiro, piano

BARTÓK Violin Rhapsody No. 1, Sz. 87

MARTIN U Violin Sonata No. 3, H. 303

SCHUMANN Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 94

DVOR ÁK Violin Sonata in F Major, Op. 57

January 23, Friday*Joan Kwuon, violinRoman Rabinovich, piano, guest artist

MOZART Violin Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 378

FAURÉ Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13

BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96

January 30, FridayWinter Dreams A celebration of Russian chamber music

Annie Fullard, violinPeter Salaff, violinKevin Smith, violin, student artistJeffrey Irvine, violaAaron Mossburg, viola, student artistChloé Thominet, viola, student artistTanya Ell, cello, guest artistHannah Moses, cello, student artistKeith Robinson, cello, guest artistSharon Robinson, celloDong-Wan Ha, piano, student artist

SHOSTAKOVICH Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano (arr. L. Atovmian)

ARENSKY String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35

TCHAIKOVSKY String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70, “Souvenir de Florence”

February 4, Wednesday*Joshua Smith, fluteChristina Dahl, piano, guest artist

SCHUBERT Sonatina in A minor, D. 385ADÈS Mazurkas for Piano, Op. 27: Second Mazurka (2009)

BOLCOM Graceful Ghost Rag (1970–71)BARTÓK Hungarian Peasant Suite, Sz. 71 (arr. P. Arma)

C.P.E. BACH Sonata in A minor for Solo Flute, Wq. 132

KURTÁG Signs, Games and Messages for Solo Flute

BOULEZ Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1946)

February 6, Friday*Stephen Rose, violinKirsten Docter, violaJared Blajian, cello, student artistMelissa Kraut, celloMerry Peckham, celloWesley Skinner, cello, student artistKathryn Brown, piano

J.S. BACH Chaconne for Four Cellos from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (arr. L. Varga)

FITCH Piano Quartet, “Last Words” (2014) (world premiere)

FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15

February 18, Wednesday*Richard Weiss, celloJoela Jones, pianoMarc Damoulakis, marimba

GOLIJOV Mariel for Cello and MarimbaWIDOR Cello Sonata in A Major, Op. 80GRIEG Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36MELLITS Tight Sweater (2005)

February 20, Friday*An Evening of Beethoven Songs

Kathryn Brown, sopranoVinson Cole, tenorDean Southern, baritoneAnnie Fullard, violinMerry Peckham, celloJeffrey Brown, piano, guest artist

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CAVANI 30TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR

Sublime Schubert An intimate look at the life and times of 19th-century composer and icon of Romanticism, Franz Schubert

November 23, SundayA performance and conversation withCavani String Quartet Annie Fullard, violin Mari Sato, violin Kirsten Docter, viola Merry Peckham, cello Rabbi Roger C. Klein

The Cavani Quartet celebrates 30 vibrant years of music making by offering collaborative performances with some of the most important and influential artists of our time.

December 5, Friday*Cavani String QuartetJoel Krosnick, cello, guest artist

SCHUBERT String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, D. 87

BARTÓK String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114SCHUBERT String Quintet in C Major, D. 956

March 4, WednesdayCavani String QuartetDonald Weilerstein, viola, guest artistVivian Hornik Weilerstein, piano, guest artist

MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 12

SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57

MENDELSSOHN String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87

Carolyn Warner & Friends XIMarch 18, Wednesday*Carolyn Gadiel Warner, piano/violinPeter Salaff, violinDaniel Shapiro, pianoStephen Warner, violin, guest artistJames Umble, soprano/alto saxophone, guest artistDavid Lakirovich, violin, student artistIgnacio Cuello, viola, student artistTimothy Paek, cello, guest artist

MILHAUD Scaramouche: Suite for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Op. 165c (1939)

GRYC Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Béla Bartók for Soprano Saxophone and String Quartet (1992)

DEBUSSY Two Pieces for Violin, Piano and Alto Saxophone: Arabesque and The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (trans. C.G. Warner)

SCHUBERT Fantasie in F minor for Piano Four Hands, D. 940

DOHNÁNYI Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1

March 20, Friday*Julie Andrijeski, baroque violin/violaCynthia Black, baroque violin/viola, guest artistChen Chen, baroque cello, student artist Scott Dixon, violoneMary Kay Fink, baroque flutePeter Bennett, harpsichord

BIBER Sonata X, “Crucifixion”CASTELLO Sonata No.10 from Sonate concertate, libro secondo

FRESCOBALDI Toccata No. 1 from Il secondo libro di toccate

MÜTHEL Flute Sonata in D MajorJANITSCH Quartetto No. 4 in C Major for Flute, Two Violas and Basso

J.S. BACH Violin Sonata No. 4 in C minor, BWV 1017

TELEMANN Sonata No. 2 in F Major, TWV 43: F1

March 22, SundayJoela Jones, pianoShuai Wang, piano

RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances for Two Pianos, Op. 45

RAVEL La Valse for Two PianosSHOSTAKOVICH Concertino for Two Pianos, Op. 94

BORODIN Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor for Two Pianos (trans. V. Babin)

MILHAUD Scaramouche: Suite for Two Pianos, Op. 165b (1937)

March 27, Friday*Daniel Shapiro, pianoUriel Tsachor, piano, guest artist

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109

BRAHMS Gavotte from Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide

BRAHMS Theme and Variations in D minor, Op. 18b

BRAHMS Scherzo from Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44

BRAHMS Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 7 and No. 1

SCHUMANN Humoreske, Op. 20BEETHOVEN Große Fuge for Piano Four Hands, Op. 134

April 15, Wednesday*Jaime Laredo, violinStephen Rose, violinRobert Vernon, violaSharon Robinson, celloSandra Shapiro, piano

RACHMANINOFF Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19

SCHUMANN Piano Quintetin E-flat Major, Op. 44

Additional repertoire to be announced

Presented in appreciation of Donley’s, Inc.

May 28, ThursdayJason Vieaux, guitarYolanda Kondonassis, harp

Music of Fitch, Hovhaness, Montsalvatge, Pujol and Schocker

Part of the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival

Tickets required

Guitars International: 216.752.7502 or guitarsint.com

*Free seating passes required

PHOTO | Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

16 FA L L 2 0 14 1716 FA L L 2 0 14 17

Mal Mixon, chairman of the board of trustees of CIM, recently announced his departure as chairman after serving 17 years. During his tenure, the school has seen extraordinary growth financially, academically and in our physical space. In that time, CIM completed a successful $40 million capital campaign, developed a new strategic plan, conducted a nationwide search for current CIM President Joel Smirnoff and ushered in nearly two decades of increasing Conservatory enrollment. Although he will be leaving his post at CIM, his legacy will live on in many ways, most prominently in the acoustically brilliant namesake, Mixon Hall.

As an important member of the Cleveland community, Mal led the purchase of Invacare Corporation in 1979 and continues to serve as chairman of the board. He has previously served on the board of the Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams Company and currently serves on Park-Ohio Holdings Corporation board. He also serves as chairman emeritus on the board of trustees of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is heralded in the business world for his corporate savvy and ability to turn sleepy companies into thriving enterprises.

Mixon grew up in a rural town in Oklahoma and attended Harvard for his undergraduate degree. After graduating, he spent four years in the Marines, including a year in Vietnam, and often attributes his leadership abilities to the time he spent in the military. His love for the arts was fostered early in his life, taking piano, trumpet and voice lessons as a child. At his Oklahoma high school he played trumpet in the band and in the Fort Smith Arkansas Orchestra. At Harvard, he sang in the glee club. After his tour in the Marines, he also received his MBA from Harvard.

Known for banning the use of the word ‘can’t’ early in his career at Invacare, Mixon has a built a reputation for his can-do attitude. As a committed fundraiser and donor throughout the Cleveland community, he established a chair in entrepreneurial studies at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and in 1997, he

Mal and Barbara Mixon

created a Mixon Scholarship at Harvard for students from Oklahoma and Northeast Ohio. The Mixons also provide the top prize for the world-renowned Cleveland International Piano Competition.

While the CIM Board has launched a search for a new chair of the board, Mixon will continue to serve until his successor is named. In March, Mal and Barbara Mixon will be honored for their contributions to CIM at the Women’s Committee Benefit: Celebrating American Classics. After his tenure as board chair comes to a close, Mixon will continue to serve on CIM’s board and attend concerts and events in support of the students he has worked so diligently to support.

DONOR PROFILE:

A Salute to Mal & Barb Mixon

CIM has many different ways to provide support for our ongoing work, including both the Conservatory and the Preparatory and Continuing Education Division. For more information, visit cim.edu/donatenow.

Mal Mixon has been invaluable during his long and effective tenure as chair. To me he has been nurturing and generous as well as a friend and mentor. We have so much for which to thank him.

Joel Smirnoff

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A benefit presented by the CIM Women’s Committee

Development

CIM Women’s Committee also invites you to: Brunch With a View

A CIM Women’s Committee Mini-Benefit Sunday, November 9, 2014 11am | Euclid Avenue Penthouse

Enjoy breathtaking views of the Cleveland skyline combined with the power and intimacy of chamber music at its finest. Annie Fullard, violinist with the Cavani String Quartet, hosts this performance featuring student artists from CIM’s renowned chamber music program.

Glorious Guitars

A CIM Women’s Committee Musical Luncheon Wednesday, February 4, 2015 11:30am | Acacia, 26899 Cedar Rd., Lyndhurst

Jason Vieaux, head of the CIM Guitar Department, and his students perform solo and chamber works for guitar in an intimate setting perfectly suited for the subtle dynamic range and substantial color palette of the classical guitar.

Preparatory Pianofest

A CIM Women’s Committee Musical Luncheon Wednesday, May 27, 2015 11:15am | DoubleTree by Hilton-Tudor Arms Hotel, 10660 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland

Sean Schulze, head of the CIM Preparatory Piano Department, shares the talents of some of CIM’s accomplished young artists.

March 7, Saturday 8pm | Severance Hall

Celebrate the legacy of Mal and Barbara Mixon with a concert featuring the exhilarating music of iconic American composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, John Philip Sousa and Glenn Miller. Under the baton of CIM President Joel Smirnoff and CIM Conductor Carl Topilow, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra will perform with Chad Hoopes, an internationally renowned violinist and CIM alumnus and faculty member and celebrated tenor Vinson Cole.

CHAD HOOPES A sought-after performer known for his exuberant personality and virtuosity, CIM alumnus Chad Hoopes has appeared in the Unites States and Europe, most notably with The Cleveland Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and Munich Symphony Orchestra.

VINSON COLE American tenor and CIM faculty member Vinson Cole is internationally recognized as one of the leading artists of his generation. His career has taken him to all the major opera houses across the globe–from the Metropolitan Opera to Teatro alla Scala Milan.

Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra Joel Smirnoff, conductor Carl Topilow, conductor/clarinet Chad Hoopes, violin, guest artist Vinson Cole, tenor

Beginning at 5pm, benefit guests will enjoy complimentary parking, cocktails, a silent auction, a gourmet dinner and premier box or dress circle seating for the concert.

Benefit tickets start at $250 216.795.3209 or cim.edu

Concert only tickets $20 Severance Box Office: 216.231.1111 or clevelandorchestra.com

18 FA L L 2 0 14 1918

After violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti graduated from CIM as

valedictorian of her class, she won jobs as concertmaster of two orchestras: first with the Florida Orchestra

and then with the Oregon Symphony. It seemed Moretti had reached the height of her professional career,

but then it took an unexpected twist.

Moretti is both a performer and educator. She often appears at chamber music festivals and in artist series concerts across North America and Europe and has made concertmaster appearances with the New York Pops, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the festival orchestras of Brevard, Colorado and Grand Teton. She’s toured Europe as a member of the Ehnes Quartet and was included in the recording of the Prokofiev Sonata for Two Violins with James Ehnes that won the 2014 Juno award for classical album of the year. The Stradivari Society of Chicago awarded her the use of a 1744 Guadagnini violin, known as the “Canadian,” the sound of which she describes as “sweet, luscious, dark, beautiful and most of the time, forgiving.” She also currently serves as director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. Moretti has had a successful career, but not necessarily a typical one.

Mastering ConcertmasterFresh out of her CIM undergraduate program and a first-year master’s student, Moretti auditioned for her first professional position as concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra. At the time, she wasn’t quite sure in what direction she wanted her career to go. But when she received

news that she’d won the job in Tampa, she was thrilled. “A door opened,” says Moretti. “It seemed like I was in a great spot to just make music and enjoy the beginning of my professional career.”

After five seasons in Tampa, Moretti felt the urge to further her career, so she auditioned for the position of concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony. She was the only candidate who actually auditioned; the others were invited solely based on reputation. But after first soloing with the orchestra in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” and then being invited back as a finalist for performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” she landed the job and made the journey from the south to the Pacific Northwest. Moretti served as concertmaster for nearly two years in Portland when she received a phone call from internationally renowned violinist Robert (Bobby) McDuffie that would end up drastically changing her career trajectory.

Moretti and McDuffie: A Dynamic DuoMoretti met McDuffie when she played in the Chamber Music Northwest Summer Festival in 2005. They played in a chamber group together that performed the Chausson Concerto. “We had a fantastic time playing it,”

Alumni Snapshot

2020

SUMMER 2 0 13 21

says Moretti. “And of course when you’re making chamber music, part of it is you go out and have great meals together. During one of the meals, Bobby started telling me about Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. I was really interested in what was going on there.” McDuffie was describing the then-fledgling program for string students at Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music.

Nearly a year later, Moretti received a phone call from McDuffie asking her to be the director of the brand-new, officially dubbed McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University.

It took Moretti a long time to make the decision to leave Portland to accept a directorship of a budding new program. “It was a big step to leave a job that I just adored,” says Moretti. But after hearing more about what the program was going to be like—performers as educators, teaching the entrepreneurial spirit and talking about the business of music—Moretti was hooked. “I was at the point in my life where it was time to take a leap. So I decided to pack it up and move from Portland to Macon,” she says.

Moretti has served as director of the McDuffie Center for Strings since the program’s inception in 2007. “We are part of a larger music school, but because we only admit 26 string players, each student gets very personalized attention,” says Moretti. “We hope what we’re doing is preparing our students and providing a solid foundation for knowing how to go out into the world and be successful.”

Paving New Paths At the time Moretti accepted the directorship position, the McDuffie Center for Strings had only one student. No doubt, the move would seem risky to many artists, especially during a time when stable positions in the field are hard to come by. However, Moretti was driven more by her passions than by her fears. She was confident when she made the decision that the program was going to be a major success.

Moretti has carved out a comfortable life in Macon with her two sons and husband, Steve Moretti, who is a drummer, percussionist, producer, two-time Grammy award nominee and winner of two Telly awards. He is also involved in the Macon music scene, having founded the Macon Pops, a pops orchestra with more of a big-band feel that not only offers exceptional pops music, but also food, drink, dancing and fun.

Both Moretti and her husband have taken professional risks to follow their passions and have been very successful. Although to many, Moretti’s story seems unique, she says she just “couldn’t imagine it any other way.”

AlumniRomayne Beard (MM ’75, Vassos) is

finishing her ninth year as the chorus teacher

at Altavista Combined School, Altavista,

Virginia, where she graduated in 1966.

Ms. Beard moved back from Paris in July,

2005, to live with and take care of her mother.

She spends summers in Paris, where she was

based for 20 years, and sings opera through-

out Europe and South America and with the

Seattle Opera in the Pacific Northwest Wagner

Festival. In the 20 years Ms. Beard spent in

Paris, she also had a studio of voice students

including many singers at L’Opera de Paris.

Each summer, upon her return to Paris, she

continues to work with Jacobo Romano and

Jorge Zuueta on editing original works and

English translation.

In February, composer Rimas Biliunas (BM ’06, Brouwer) premiered his new string

quartet in a chamber music concert

consisting entirely of his music at Cleveland’s

St. Casimir Church. Lithuanian–American

Community, Inc., commissioned the new

work. Musicians performing Mr. Biliunas’

compositions included CIM faculty

Rebecca Hurd, Brian Sweigart and Shuai Wang;

CIM alumni James Jaffe (MM ’12, Geber,

Aaron) and Solomon Liang (AD ’14, Rose)

of the Thalia String Quartet; alumna

Julia Clancy (BM ’14, Vernon, Irvine); and

soprano Virginija Muliolis.

Aubrey Foard (BM ’04, AD ’05, Bishop)

has been serving as a lecturer of tuba and

euphonium at the University of California,

Los Angeles, since 2003 and served on the

Brevard Music Center Faculty this past summer.

He currently holds a position as principal tubist

with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

alumni newsHave some news

for the CIM community?

Visitcim.eduandclick“Alumni.” You can download the News Submission

form as a Microsoft Word document. Complete it and then return it to us at

moh17@cim.edu for publication in a future issue of CIM Notes.

News is accepted on an ongoing basis and will be held until the next issue.

FA L L 2 0 14 21

Moretti with the Ehnes Quartet.

2020

22

Jack Hughes (BM ’14, Fitch) will be attending

University of Chicago on a fully funded five-year

fellowship. He was one of only two students the

university took for the 2014–15 year. During

his time at CIM, Mr. Hughes won multiple

competitions, awards and commissions and was

the first CIM student to graduate from the new

double major with theory program.

Courtney Elise LeBauer (DMA ’02, Preucil)

released her debut CD featuring a program of

Robert and Clara Schumann. Ms. LeBauer

currently holds a faculty position at the

Städtische Clara-Schumann-Musikschule

Düsseldorf in Germany and also works as a violin

mentor with both the Kinder Orchester (children

ages 7 to 13) and the U16 Orchester (children

ages 14 to 18) of the Düsseldorf Tonhalle. This

past January, she performed as solo violinist

(the Fiddler) in a performance of The Fiddler on the Roof, which included the German Youth

Orchestra, German voice students of the

Robert-Schumann Musikhochschule and the

all-Jewish choir of the Düsseldorf Synagogue.

The performance was in the sold-out Düsseldorf

Tonhalle to an audience of 1,400. In the fall

Ms. LeBauer will be re-joining the U16

Orchester as assistant conductor.

Rouge Étude or How Sherlock Holmes Became a Misogynist, a play by Deborah Magid (1971–73,

Vassos), has earned its place in the 2014 Kenyon

Institute’s Playwrights’ Conference and the

Sewanee Writers’ Conference and has also

received a Cleveland Public Theatre workshop

grant. The play will be performed February

12–14, 2015, as part of CPT’s Big Box series of

new works.

Michael Samis (BM ’99, Geber) launched a

successful KickStarter campaign to bring to life

the Reinecke Cello Concerto, a historic

and previously unrecorded piece of music. A

performance was presented on February 11,

2013, and the Cello Concerto was recorded a

few months later with the Gateway Chamber

Orchestra, under the direction of conductor

Gregory Wolynec at Austin Peay University’s

George and Sharon Mabry Concert Hall, in

Clarksville, Tennessee. The recording will be

released on the Delos label with the Cello Concerto

as the centerpiece of the debut solo album.

Catherine Clyatt Schroth (BM ’06, MM ’07,

Wells), now a board certified music therapist,

currently works at Malachi House in Ohio

City. Last October, Ms. Schroth joined forces

with other CIM alumni from the Linden String

Quartet to provide a benefit for the music

therapy program at Malachi House. The Linden

String Quartet performed Hayden, Beethoven

and Bolcom for approximately 30 people. The

event was a wonderful success, raising funds

needed for an entire year’s budget of the music

therapy program at Malachi House.

Lisa Rainsong’s (DMA ’99, Brouwer) Listening

in Nature teaching is now taking her around the

state. In May, she presented a workshop on ear

training techniques for bird song identification

at The Biggest Week in American Birding, one

of the largest birding festivals on the continent.

She was a keynote speaker at the Midwest Native

Plant Conference in Dayton in early August,

presenting on insect songs (crickets and

katydids). In September, she was an Advanced

Naturalist Workshop leader for a three-day

insect song workshop at the Cincinnati Museum

Center’s Edge of Appalachia preserve. Her field

recordings, photography, field research and

educational writing on bird song, insect

song and amphibian song can be found at

listeninginnature.blogspot.com.

AppointmentsMinhye Helena Choi, a first-year Artist

Diploma student of Stephen Rose, won a job

with the Kansas City Symphony.

Emil Khudyev (BM ’09, Cohen) will be leaving

the Kansas City Symphony to join the faculty

at Interlochen Center for the Arts as a clarinet

instructor.

Case Scaglione (BM ’06, Stout) was

promoted to associate conductor of the

New York Philharmonic.

Christopher Thibdeau (MM ’11, Topilow)

won a music director position with the

Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestras

of Atlanta. The contract starts for the

2014-15 season.

PrizewinnersXiao (Sabrina) He (AD ’13, Schenly, Shapiro)

He won first prize in the Tuesday Musical

Scholarship Competition Piano Category,

which was followed by a Scholarship Winners’

Recital at Fairlawn West United Church of Christ.

Jossalyn Jensen (BM ’14, Irvine) was one of

20 recipients to receive The Jack Kent Cooke

Foundation’s 2014 Graduate Arts Award.

Shen Lu, a student of Haesun Paik, won

the 2014 Hilton Head International Piano

Competition where he performed Mozart's

“Piano Concerto No. 21.” Lu will be invited

back as a soloist for Hilton Head Symphony

Orchestra during the 2014–15 season and will

play a recital at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie

Hall. The prize also includes a CD recording on

the Steinway & Sons label.

Hannah Moses, a student of Melissa Kraut,

won first place in the collegiate division of

the Cleveland Cello Society Scholarship

Competition. Moses previously won the

elementary, junior and senior divisions of

the competition, making her a winner in all

four categories. Moses is also the cellist of the

Commodore String Quartet (along with violinists

Elizabeth Furuta and Kyoungmin Maria Park,

and violist Sarah Toy), which received a

fellowship to study at the Norfolk Chamber

Music Festival.

Jeremiah Shaw (BM ’02, Aaron) was in the

grand prize-winning group in the senior

division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music

Competition, which has grown to become the

largest chamber music competition in the world.

Pianist Michael Tsang (BM ’15, Schenly,

Brown) won the 2014 Pittsburgh Concert

Society Major Artists Competition. A winner’s

recital is scheduled for November 2014.

FacultyMarshall Griffith played three concerts in

July. “The Classics Revisited,” held on July 1

at CIM, was a program of well-known classical

melodies in jazz, Latin and new-age settings.

“Delightful Divas,” performed at Beachwood

Recreation Center, featured favorites from opera

and Broadway presented with support from the

Cleveland International Piano Competition.

“Jazz Impressions of Cleveland” offered a

program of original jazz musical compositions

that captured the spirit of Cleveland.

Director of the Sato Center for Suzuki Studies

Kimberly Meier-Sims conducted teacher

training courses at the Atlanta Suzuki Institute

in June and at the Ithaca Suzuki Institute held on

the Ithaca College campus in July.

In March, faculty members Jason Vieaux

and Yolanda Kondonassis performed Keith

Fitch’s guitar and harp duo “Knock on Wood”

to great acclaim on their West Coast tour and

subsequently recorded the work for Azica

Records, to be released this fall.

FA L L 2 0 14 23

StudentsChaconne Klaverenga, student of Jason

Vieaux, was a featured performer on National

Public Radio’s Sunday Baroque. Her selections

were Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in D K512 and

Sonata in G K14 from her third CD, Scarlatti Regondi Bach. Sunday Baroque is featured in more

than 150 radio stations across the United States.

Ms. Klaverenga was also broadcast on National

Public Radio’s Performance Today on June 25.

PreparatorySerena Shapard, violin preparatory student

of Steve Rose and Kimberly Meier-Sims, won

first place in the Solon Center for the Arts

2014 Young Artists Concerto Competition

playing the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto

No. 3 in B minor. She performed with the

Solon Philharmonic Orchestra at the Solon

Arts Center in May.

On Saturday, April 5, the Ohio Viola Society

held its yearly competition for violists. First

prize in the youngest division went to

Grant Glasser and second prize went to

Adrian Lee. In Division II, for ages 14 and

up, second prize went to Claire Peyrebrune,

age 14, who has been a viola student in the

Sato Center for Suzuki Studies since age 4. All

students study with Laura Shuster (YA ‘87–‘89,

BM ’95).

Sato Center for Suzuki Studies violin students

were top prize winners in the Sigma Alpha

Iota Cleveland Alumnae International Music

Fraternity String Scholarship Competition

held in March for students between 8 and 12

years of age. Julia Schilz won first prize,

Owen Lockwood won second prize and

Marian Ziegler and Elizabeth Huang tied

for third prize. The judges were Cleveland

Orchestra members. The students performed

their competition pieces to an enthusiastic

audience at Lakewood Congregational Church

in April.

Violin students of Eugenia Poustyreva won

numerous awards in Ohio and internationally:

Taecho Kim, 15, won second place in the

American Protégé International Piano and

Strings Competition and Yeji Kim, 17, won

first place in the American Protégé International

Talent Competition. Both students will be

performing at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie

Hall in New York at the winners concert.

Kevin Du, 15, received Honorable Mention

performing the Ernst Violin Concerto at the

Solon Philharmonic Concerto Competition;

Taejun Kim, 14, won the Ohio State NMTA

Competition performing movements from

Bach Partitia in D minor and the Ernst

Concerto; Jessica Kwok, 15, won the Akron

Youth Symphony Concerto Competition and

performed the Saint Saens Concerto with the

orchestra in May.

In MemoriamMarjorie P. Kampenga (BM ’39) graduated

from CIM in with a bachelor’s degree in music.

In 1941 she was a finalist in the Metropolitan

Opera Auditions of the Air. Later that year, she

was a finalist in the National Federation of Music

contest, and then went on to win the Luccioni

Opera Award. She sang on radio programs in

both Cleveland and Chicago, and was a soloist on

the Carnation Contented Hour with Percy Faith.

During World War II, Ms. Kampenga also sang

with the United Services Organizations and the

American Theater Wing. She was 96.

Dolores Ann Single (BM ’73, MM ’76,

David P. Cerone), a talented international

classical violinist and teacher, died in July after

a long battle with cancer. She began studying

violin at CIM at age seven, continuing on to

receive both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

A native of Cleveland, Ms. Single was a highly

sought teacher, presenting educational workshops

promoting her pedagogic method in Japan,

China, Germany, Hungary, South Africa and

the United States. She was known for defining a

method of teaching that incorporated the best of

both the American and European styles.

Ms. Single played first violin with the Stuttgart

Chamber Orchestra, Heilbronn Chamber

Orchestra, Stuttgart Theatre Orchestra and the

Natal Symphony Orchestrai. She was also the

manager, founder and first violinist of the Allegro

String Quartet and the Con Brio quartet.

MICHELE HIGA GEORGE The Suzuki method is centered on teaching the

whole student, creating an environment where

learning can thrive and believing that anyone can

be successful in music. Michele Higa George,

talented violinist, passionate teacher and

Suzuki Studies pioneer, spread this philosophy

everywhere she taught, from Chicago to East

Cleveland to Japan, impacting the lives of

hundreds of students along the way. Ms. George

passed away in May due to complications after

heart surgery. She was 57.

Ms. George received her undergraduate degree

from the University of California and soon

after graduation traveled to Matsumoto, Japan,

not knowing a word of Japanese, to study with

Shinichi Suzuki. The relationship that grew

from her visit would affect Ms. George’s musical

career forever. After returning stateside, she

attended the Suzuki Association of the Americas

Annual Meeting in 1986 where she met then-

CIM President David Cerone. At his urging,

Ms. George visited Cleveland and later accepted

a position at CIM. Soon she had the Suzuki

Studies program up and running, making CIM

the first and only conservatory in the country

to offer a master of music degree program in

performance with an emphasis in Suzuki

Violin Pedagogy.

Ms. George served as director of Suzuki Studies

at CIM from 1986 to 2003 and then went on

to become director of the Suzuki Program at

the Music Institute of Chicago, where she

continued to teach at various schools and

programs throughout her community.

Ms. George was instrumental in building a

program at CIM that received significant

national attention and continues to do so today.

Her loss came with great sadness to the CIM

community, made evident by the outpouring

of fond memories shared over the last few

months. CIM’s Sato Center for Suzuki Studies

held a play-in on October 18, 2014, at 9:30am in

celebration of Ms. George.

Notes is published four times a year by the Cleveland Institute of Music.

A PDF of the current issue of Notes is available at cim.edu.

MARGARETHAGANCommunications Manager / Editor, Lead Writer

MONICA MCFADDENGraphic Design Manager / Design

LE IGH-ANNEDENNISONMarketing Manager / Photography

SUSANILERDirector, Marketing and Communications / Editor

CLEVELANDINSTITUTEOFMUSIC11021EastBoulevardCleveland, OH 44106

P: 216.791.5000F: 216.791.3063E: margaret.hagan@cim.edu

Preparatory classes at the main building and branches.

The Cleveland Institute of Music is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

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ABOUT CIM

Founded in 1920, the Cleveland Institute of

Music (CIM) is one of eight independent music

conservatories in the country and is known for

superior orchestral, chamber music, composition

and opera programs at both the undergraduate

and graduate levels. CIM graduates play important

musical roles in our world as composers producing

meaningful new repertoire, as eminent instrumental

and vocal soloists, as world-renowned chamber

musicians and as members of premier orchestras

around the globe. More than half of the members

of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to

CIM as members of the faculty, alumni or both.

Located in University Circle, Cleveland’s cultural

hub, CIM is easily accessible to all music lovers—

providing hundreds of concerts annually, most

free of charge. Visit cim.edu for more information.

A benefit presented by the CIM Women’s Committee

For more information, see page 19.

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