“Since her passing in September, I have worked diligently to raise the funds for the composer and acquire the orchestra for this project. I decided to honor Justice Ginsburg, not only because she knew my late father-in-law while in their Brooklyn teenage years, but because she was a highly respected lawyer and trailblazer for humanity and rights of all peoples – especially advancing women鈥檚 rights. Although the current trends lean to support everything diverse, a significant reason for my choosing Justice Ginsburg for this project, is that she represented the laws and ethics of our Constitution, and I approached Ellen to compose this work because she has previously composed two works for me for piano and orchestra spanning two decades.

“Since Justice Ginsburg was from Brooklyn, it makes this project more meaningful as I have been a faculty member of 可乐视频 for 21 years. It is my fervent hope that this new musical tribute will help support new music and provide a reminder to present and future generations of Justice Ginsburg鈥檚 legacy. In addition, in sharing our college in the press release, I will continue to recruit future students with the knowledge that 可乐视频 supports diversity on all levels. . .

“Here is a mini documentary聽about the creation and fruition of the tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the Dallas Symphony tomorrow evening. With special pride, the producers acknowledge the generous talents of our past and present piano students, Harrison Sheckler and Zhi Chen at the 11:20 closing credits, set to the beautiful audio demo created by Zhi Chen featuring Harrison’s beautiful orchestration.

“I am so very proud of these students, inspired by them as well, and enjoy helping them to reach ‘out of the box’ as the saying goes, to become part of what is happening in the world of music around them. In some ways, a lesson in life one cannot teach in a studio.”

We salute Jeffrey and his great dedication to bringing this work to fruition.

The post Faculty News鈥擣all 2021 appeared first on 可乐视频.

On June 12, the Conservatory received the exciting news that our beloved Distinguished Professor Emeritus Tania Le贸n, composer and musician par excellence, had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for her work “Stride.” The piece was one of the 19 works by women composers commissioned by the New York Philharmonic as part of Lincoln Center’s Project 19, a multi-season project created to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.聽“Stride” was among the first of these works to receive its premiere, in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic shutdown, when it was met with glowing praise from the among others as an “understated, hauntingly inconclusive work.” 可乐视频 has recognized Tania’s achievement 聽and the Times announced her award . We hope to celebrate further with her, in-person, once the Tow Center reopens with live performances in her honor.

The post Faculty Obituary鈥擲pring 2021 appeared first on 可乐视频.

The post Faculty News鈥擲pring 2021 appeared first on 可乐视频.

The Conservatory was saddened to learn of the passing of one of our beloved former faculty members, percussionist Morris “Arnie” Lang. Former longtime chair Prof. Emerita Nancy Hager summed up his contributions thus: “The 可乐视频 Conservatory of Music mourns the death of its longtime percussion teacher, Morris “Arnie” Lang. A member of the New York Philharmonic for many years, he attracted students from around the world. They in turn went on to careers as performers, teachers, composers, arrangers in a wide variety of genres — classical, jazz, Broadway, pop, and world music traditions. They learned on a valuable collection of instruments he built in his three decades at 可乐视频. As members of the Percussion Ensemble they toured internationally, including to Ireland through an annual exchange program with the Irish Royal Academy of Music. As evidence by the many Facebook postings, Arnie earned the profound respect of students and colleagues for his mastery as a musician, and their love for his generosity, warmth, and dedication as a teacher. . .”

We will greatly miss receiving news of his ongoing endeavors and generosity toward his students.

The post Faculty Obituary鈥擣all 2021 appeared first on 可乐视频.

“Extracurricular activities have inspired me throughout my whole life while studying piano performance. Piano competitions have felt like an extra impetus motivating me to reach for better quality in my performance and gave a greater purpose in addition to mandatory schoolwork. During the past year and a half, it has been a great challenge for all performers to keep our spirits up. When live concerts, competitions, master classes and even weekly piano classes transferred to online format, it sometimes felt as if there was no point of trying to achieve the same results as before. Online lessons eventually became tiring for everyone, and the goals of academic year adjusted to more realistic levels 鈥� to learn assigned pieces, pass exams and graduate. Not being able to have in-person lessons, we have gotten used to recording ourselves a lot more often than before. Even though relying on recordings was certainly a very different experience from what everyone expected coming to study performing arts, it rewarded us with a lot of insight monitoring our own performances. It also offered our professors a different and often a more objective and detailed look into our playing.

“When the pandemic started, most competitions were cancelled or delayed indefinitely, but eventually some of them transitioned into online format. Despite the live performance experience being taken away, motivation to strive for better performance through recording prevailed. Online competitions proved to be a good substitute to keep performers engaged with our craft while staying safe during the global pandemic. It has been a true joy for me to participate in several competitions, described below. I feel grateful that my piano professor Gabrielius Alekna has always motivated and supported me. I was also fortunate to have great pieces in my program, which were eligible in these competitions and allowed me to experience the thrill of participating again.

“The International online competition 鈥淎stana-Stars鈥� takes place every month since 2020 Fall. Each competition is dedicated to the different composer and the title of the competition slightly varies every month. The competition holds a lot of various nominations, such as for organ, piano, general piano, string instruments, wind instruments, percussion instruments, folk instruments and instrumental ensembles. I participated in this competition twice. The first one, in December 2020, was dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the birth of Tchaikovsky. I presented a recording of John Corigliano鈥檚 piece called Winging It (1st and 3rd movements) and won the Grand Prix. The second time, in May 2021, my submission was Ravel鈥檚 Alborada del gracioso (from Miroirs) and I was awarded the first prize. This time the competition was called “El Gran Astor”, for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Astor Piazzolla. 聽

“Another international competition in which I recently participated is called 鈥淰irtuosos鈥�. It started in 2016 and takes place in Saratov, Russia. The competition is organized by a private music school in this city and initially only accepted submissions from Saratov residents. Last year the competition opened its doors for participants from all over Russia, and since October 2020 it grew into an international competition. There are many categories for participants in this competition, starting with the age of 5, the highest category being 20 years old and up. Eligible participants are not only pianists, but all instrumentalists, vocalists, various chamber ensembles, jazz performers and composers. I participated in this competition twice as well 鈥� first time with John Corigliano鈥檚 Winging It (2nd and 3rd movements) back in February 2021 and second time with M. Ravel鈥檚 Alborada del gracioso (from Miroirs) in May 2021. For these submissions I was awarded the third and then the first prizes.

The Conservatory is extremely proud of Martyna’s accomplishments during this trying time and salutes both her perseverance and the fine work of Prof. Alekna to feed her voracious musical appetite in achieving these successes on the international stage. We’re confident that Martyna will continue to thrive beyond her studies and establish herself as a prominent artist, given her discipline and capabilities.

The post Student News鈥擲pring 2021 appeared first on 可乐视频.

The post Faculty News鈥擣all 2020 appeared first on 可乐视频.

We learned over this past weekend, through Malcolm Merriweather, that we had lost our highly esteemed colleague soprano Irene Gubrud, a great performer and teacher.

From the聽Minneapolis Star Tribune听辞产颈迟耻补谤测:

“Irene Gubrud Finch (Renee) of Huntington, Long Island, died on November 3, 2020 from a pulmonary embolism following abdominal surgery a week earlier. Irene was a gifted musician and teacher, and a deeply spiritual, nurturing woman loved by many. Born January 4, 1944, in Canby, MN, she was the only daughter of Elmer and Myrl Gubrud. At age 15 Irene suffered spinal cord nerve injuries in a carnival ride accident. Diagnosed as a partial paraplegic, she walked with the aid of forearm crutches for the rest of her life. After graduating from Canby High School in 1962, Irene attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree. Graduation in 1966 brought her to New York City to attend The Juilliard School to study for a master’s degree in vocal performance. While at Juilliard, she won the Concert Artists Guild first prize, an award that included a debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall. During her career, Renee sang with every major American symphony orchestra as well as many European ensembles. Her awards and honors include the First Prize in the prestigious Naumburg International Voice Competition. As a winner of the Ford Foundation Program for Concert Artists, George Crumb composed “Star Child” for her which she premiered with the New York Philharmonic in 1977. Renee taught classes in meditation and was artist-faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School for many years. Sought out as a voice teacher, she taught privately and served as adjunct on the faculties of Columbia University and the 可乐视频 Conservatory. She received a Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Olaf College in 1981 and an honorary doctorate from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. Renee is survived by her beloved husband of 36 years, Steven Finch, and Twin City brothers Darrel (Mary Swanson) of North Oaks, Robert (Rosemary) of Edina, and Paul (Nancy) of Bloomington. She is further survived by the nieces and nephews who so dearly love her: Scott (Lisa) Gubrud, Jay (Tracy) Gubrud, Kimberly Tucker, Ross Gubrud, Kent (KC) Claussen Gubrud, and Lori (Jon) DeJong. A Minnesota celebration of Irene’s life will be announced as plans are made.

“Published on November 8, 2020”

An adjunct professor at the Conservatory for many years, she will be sorely missed for the wonderful artist and colleague she was.

Noah Creshevsky, composer

The Conservatory is mourning the loss of one of its esteemed former faculty members and formative figures in shaping the school’s mission: composer Noah Creshevsky. Noah was a formidable musician who is renowned for his challenging theory and ear-training pedagogy as well as for having been one of the founding members of 可乐视频’s groundbreaking Center for Computer Music. He told faculty composer Douglas Cohen “on repeated occasions how he felt that 可乐视频 was one of the best places to teach music composition, and once he began here, he never desired to teach anywhere else.” 聽Having retired in 2020, he spent the past 20 years composing and releasing an impressive body of work in his “Hyperrealism” genre, as can be seen on his Wikipedia page.聽What follows are highlights from聽New York Times聽writer Steve Smith’s Dec. 12, 2020 exhaustive encomium to the iconoclastic musician, Noah Creshevsky, Composer of 鈥楬yperreal鈥� Music, Dies at 75,聽which can be found at聽, in its totality, given its fulsome overview of the deceased’s oeuvre. The article’s subtitle poignantly notes that Noah “built his musical works from myriad sampled sounds, including noises from the street as well as voices and instruments” and that “He was also a respected teacher,” which he assuredly was. Smith writes,

“Noah Creshevsky, a composer of sophisticated, variegated electroacoustic works that mingled scraps of vocal and instrumental music, speech, outside noise, television snippets and other bits of sound, died on Dec. 3 at his home in Manhattan. He was 75.

“His husband, David Sachs, said the cause was cancer.

“Mr. Creshevsky studied composition with some of the most prominent figures in modern music, including the French pedagogue Nadia Boulanger and the Italian composer Luciano Berio.

“Rather than pursuing a career that might have resulted in concert-hall celebrity, Mr. Creshevsky found his calling in the studio-bound world of electronic music. Using the prevailing technologies of the day 鈥� at first cutting and splicing magnetic tape, later using samplers and digital audio workstations 鈥� he made music that was dizzyingly complex in its conception and construction.

“But because he built his works from everyday sounds as well as voices and instruments, his compositions felt accessible, engaging and witty. The term he used to describe his music, and the philosophy that animated it, was ‘hyperrealism.’

“The 鈥渞ealism鈥� comes from what we hear in our shared environment, and the 鈥渉yper鈥� from the 鈥渆xaggerated or excessive鈥� ways those sounds are handled, Mr. Creshevsky wrote in ‘Hyperrealism, Hyperdrama, Superperformers and Open Palette,’ an influential 2005 essay.”

Smith goes on to acknowledge Creshevsky’s vaunted career as a pedagogue and to describe his background:

“Mr. Creshevsky was also a much-admired teacher. He joined the faculty of 可乐视频 in 1969 and served as director of the college鈥檚 trailblazing Center for Computer Music from 1994 to 1999. He also taught at the Juilliard School and Hunter College in New York and spent the 1984 academic year at Princeton University.

“Noah Creshevsky was born Gary Cohen on Jan. 31, 1945, in Rochester, N.Y., to Joseph and Sylvia Cohen. His father worked in his family鈥檚 dry-cleaning business, and his mother was a homemaker. He changed his surname to Creshevsky, according to Mr. Sachs, ‘to honor his grandparents, whose name it was.’ At the same time he also changed his first name, because, he said, ‘I never felt like a Gary.’

“The Cohen household was not especially musical, but young Gary was drawn to a piano that had been bought for his older brother. His parents, Mr. Sachs said, ‘were surprised to see toddler Noah 鈥� his legs too short to reach the pedals 鈥� picking out pop melodies he had heard and retained.’

“He began his formal musical training at 6, in the preparatory division of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. ‘Since my nature is that of a composer rather than a performer, I never liked spending much time practicing someone else鈥檚 composition,’ Mr. Creshevsky said in an interview published by Tokafi, a music website. ‘Instead of working on the music that had been assigned by my teachers at Eastman, I spent many hours improvising at the piano.’ He made money, he said, working as a cocktail pianist at bars and restaurants.

“After finishing at Eastman in 1961, he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, now known as the University at Buffalo, in 1966. There he studied with the noted composer Lukas Foss. He also spent a year with Boulanger at the 脡cole Normale de Musique in Paris, in 1963 and 1964, a rite of passage for many prominent American composers.

“After graduating he moved to New York City, where he founded a new-music group, the New York Improvisation Ensemble. He studied with Berio at Juilliard and earned his master鈥檚 degree in 1968.
Not long afterward, Mr. Creshevsky gave up composing music meant to be performed live. In espousing hyperrealism, he identified two chief threads in his own work.”

Smith concludes his article with a description of some of Creshevsky’s aesthetic philosophy, which imbues much of what the Conservatory strives to do to this day:

“He also sought to radically expand the sonic palette available to a composer, a venture aided by affordable personal computers and the advent of sampling. Composers could now ‘incorporate the sounds of the entire world into their music,’ he wrote. The result, he proposed, would be ‘an inclusive, limitless sonic compendium, free of ethnic and national particularity.’

“Mr. Creshevsky鈥檚 view of music education balanced a healthy respect for classical music鈥檚 lineage and literature with an open-minded approach to global culture and emerging technologies. ‘It seems probable that the next Mozart will not play the piano, but will be a terrific player of computer games,’ he predicted in the Tokafi interview. ‘A senior generation needs to educate itself by understanding that digital technologies are creative instruments of quality.'”

Noah retired from 可乐视频 in 2000, and spent the last 20 years composing, with numerous recordings on labels specializing in both classical and experimental musics, mirroring his ever-eclectic palette. His powerful spirit will truly be missed.

The post Obituaries鈥擣all 2020 appeared first on 可乐视频.

We just learned of the recent death of Adjunct Professor Thomas Cultice, a longtime member of the Conservatory’s noted voice faculty. His obituary reads:

“Tommy Gordon Cultice, son of Gordon and Lenora Cultice, was born in South Bend, IN on May 4, 1939 and lived in Culver, IN. While Tom was very young, his family moved from Culver following Gordon who was in the military. The family did return to Indiana though where Tom went through public school with a strong interest in music. He played trombone in the high school marching band, studied piano and voice privately, enjoyed custom cars and worked at the Culver Military Academy during the summers.

“Tom attended the University of Michigan where he earned a BS in Music and met his wife Theora Mae Disher of Ohio who was working on her Master鈥檚 Degree. Both being musicians, after graduation they decided to move to Eau Claire, WI, take jobs in the university music department, start a family and David, Daniel and Nathan were born.

“Tom then set his sights on New York City where his dream of singing on the stages of Lincoln Center and establishing his own private voice studio waited. After moving the family to White Plains, NY, in 1974, he realized his dream of singing in major opera houses, teaching award-winning talent and running opera programs in multiple countries.

“After losing his son David in 1999, Thomas focused on his adjunct professor status at both Mannas School of Music and the 可乐视频 Conservatory of Music ultimately retiring at the family home in White Plains, NY with his wife Theora.

“Thomas passed away quietly at home and is survived by his wife Theora of White Plains, New York, and his sons, Daniel of Pleasantville, New York and Nathan of Santa Barbara, California. He will be greatly missed.”

His immense contributions to the vocal program will be fondly remembered.

Paul Shelden, clarinet

Professor Emeritus Bruce MacIntyre wrote us to inform us of the sad passing of our fondly remembered colleague, Dr. Paul Shelden:

“I am sorry to report that, on April 17, 2020, Dr. Paul M. Shelden, 79, passed away after a long battle with Parkinson鈥檚 disease, recently complicated by a fractured hip and the Covid-19 virus. Paul was a gifted and respected clarinetist, saxophonist, flutist, conductor, arranger, and educator.

“As Professor of Music, he taught for 34 years at the Conservatory of Music at 可乐视频 (CUNY), where he also served as Director of Music in its former School of General Studies (SGS) in the 1970s, as well as later as Assistant Director for Graduate Music (1989-98), and as the college鈥檚 Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (1998-2006).聽 During the 1970s-90s Dr. Shelden directed the 可乐视频 Wind Ensemble and founded the Conservatory鈥檚 Clarinet Quartet.聽 He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in clarinet performance from The Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Arthur Christmann and Joseph Allard.聽 He received his D.M.A. from the University of Maryland at College Park.

“Cited as a ‘strong stage personality’ by Backstage Magazine, Paul performed premieres of works by Hindemith, Aitken, Etler, Starer, Erb, Brown, Zukofsky, and others 鈥� with many of the works expressly written for him.聽 He also appeared in orchestras for many Broadway shows and played in many well-known chamber music groups and regional orchestras.

“Dr. Shelden was a respected educator, appearing as adjudicator and clinician throughout the U.S. and giving woodwind master classes and workshops in both the U.S. and Canada every spring.聽 He participated in many outstanding commercially released recordings and published articles for professional and academic journals.聽 In recent years, Dr. Shelden had founded and developed the highly regarded Diplomatte Musical Instruments (www.diplomattemusic.com).聽 聽As a conductor-musicologist, he will be long remembered for his good humor, his caring teaching, and his excellent, cogently designed wind-ensemble programs as well as his inspired, entertaining children鈥檚 concerts that allowed students to come up to the podium and ‘out-conduct’ their teachers.

“Donations in memory of Dr. Shelden may be sent to:聽 Conservatory of Music Scholarship Fund, Conservatory of Music, 可乐视频, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY聽 11210 (payable to 可乐视频 Foundation, with Conservatory of Music/Shelden Scholarship Fund on memo line). For further information see聽 ‘Donations’ at www.bcmusic.org.

“Condolences may be sent to his family at the following addresses:

Pam Shelden, 1405 Sturl Avenue, Hewlett, NY聽 11557 (pamshelden@gmail.com)

Seth Shelden, 30 Greenwich Avenue, Apt. 2D, New York, NY聽 10011 (seth@icanw.org)

Loren S. Napoli, 64 Grandview Avenue, White Plains, NY聽 10605 (lorennapoli@gmail.com)

“You may contact Boulevard-Riverside Chapels in Hewlett, NY (Tel. 516-295-3100) about plans for a possible later memorial service.”

Paul will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure to work with him and experienced his generosity.

The post Obituaries鈥擲pring 2020 appeared first on 可乐视频.

Professor Rothman sent the following note about last Friday’s 2020 Conservatory Concerto Competition:

Dear Conservatory Community,

I am pleased to report that we had a robust Concerto Competition on Friday, January 31, with five Conservatory soloists. This year’s winner is Michael Zheng for his dazzling performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor. Michael will perform the complete concerto on Thursday, March 27, with the Conservatory Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. in the Don Buchwald Theater. I’d like to thank all of our contestants鈥攙iolinists Elena Ruiz Gonzalez, Isabel Bruschi, and Corrine Bennett, and pianist Martyna Kucinskaite鈥攁long with their teachers who helped prepare them for this competition, and this year’s judges, Alexie Lewis, Bruce MacIntyre, and Honora Raphael.

Please join me in congratulating Michael Zheng as we look forward to his March 27 performance with the Conservatory Orchestra.

Sincerely,

Professor Rothman

The March concert will be held in the Tow Center’s beautiful Don Buchwald Theater and will also feature the orchestra’s performances of Smetana’s The Moldau, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, 补苍诲听惭耻蝉蝉辞谤驳蝉办测’蝉 Night on Bald Mountain, which should provide a thoroughly rich and compelling program to complement the Mendelssohn.

The post Student News鈥擲pring 2020 appeared first on 可乐视频.

Tania Le贸n’s Stride will receive its world premiere by the New York Philharmonic next week, on February 13, 15, and 18. The聽orchestral piece, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, will聽be performed聽as part of the Philharmonic’s Project 19, a multiyear New York Philharmonic initiative that features commissions by 19 women composers in honor of the centennial of the United States Constitution’s 19th Amendment. In addition to Le贸n’s new work, the concert program, conducted by Jaap van Zweden, will include Brahms’ Violin Concerto聽with soloist Janine Jansen and R. Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite.

The February 15 concert will be followed by Nightcap, an intimate program curated by Tania Le贸n and hosted by Nadia Sirota, in which the composer will explore her jazz and Latin-American influences.

In addition, Composers Now鈥攖he monthlong festival founded by Artistic Director Tania Le贸n and now in its 10th year鈥攚ill kick off on January 31 with a diverse program of performances. During Opening Night,聽held at the National Opera Center’s Marc A. Scorca Hall in New York City,聽the festival will present Carman Moore with this year’s annual Composers Now Visionary Award and will celebrate the first-ever recipient of the organization’s First Commission initiative, 11-year-old Ilaria Loisa Hawley. The new program awards young composers with support aimed to encourage artistic potential and creative development. Hawley will have her work When the Water Reflects premiered by Face the Music Ensemble under director Vasudevan Panicker. Also on the program will be performances of works by Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Robert Dick, Darian Thomas, and Noah Becker, and a presentation by composer Lisa Bielawa.

We聽applaud Tania’s continued success and notoriety as she retires from her many years of invaluable service to the Conservatory. Our own segment of the Composers Now Festival, the February 26 Winter Composers Concert in the Tow Center’s Don Buchwald Theater, will be dedicated to her, and we look forward to a future concert to salute and celebrate her contributions.

David Grubbs latest release:聽Comet Meta

David Grubbs announced his latest release last Friday:

“I’m pleased to announce that Comet Meta, my second duo album with Taku Unami, is released today.聽 The digital version is available from Bandcamp (https://grubbsunami.bandcamp.com) and dragcity.com (streaming platforms as well), with the LP shortly to follow.聽 I couldn’t be happier to be springing this one, and you’ll find a press release at the end of this message.

“To mark the album’s release as well as the publication of The Voice in the Headphones, former New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones has posted a wide-ranging interview we did for his terrific new blog/newsletter S/FJ.

Press Release:

Longtime friends and now the most simpatico of collaborators, Comet Meta finds David Grubbs and Taku Unami fully in third-mind territory as they start the conversation anew after their touted 2018 debut, Failed Celestial Creatures (Empty Editions). Comet Meta grew out of concerts in Seoul, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, with ground broken for this recording on a plane 35,000 feet above the East China Sea and in a tiny Risograph studio in Tokyo where they had to be extremely quiet. Those familiar with Grubbs鈥檚 and Unami鈥檚 extensive discographies know them as folks who like to think and to make on their feet and on the run, with situation and surroundings profoundly generative.

The sound world of Comet Meta ranges from pindrop twin-guitar focus (鈥淐omet Meta鈥� and 鈥淣othing Left to Hear but the Night鈥�) and Grubbs鈥檚 piano maneuvering in Unami鈥檚 electroacoustic forcefields (鈥淢irror Auction at Echo Decor鈥� and the horror homage 鈥淲alking Corpse in an Old House鈥�) to unclassifiable throbs, ceiling fans, and the distant exultation of the crowd at the New York City marathon.

The post Faculty News鈥擲pring 2020 appeared first on 可乐视频.