2010

Year: 2010

Lawrence Receives B+ on College Sustainability Report Card

Lawrence University’s grade for sustainability has improved to a B+, according to the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card, released today (October 22, 2010). GreenReportCard.org provides in-depth sustainability profiles for more than 300 colleges in all 50 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces.  In contrast to an academic focus on sustainability in research and teaching, the Report Card examines colleges and universities, as institutions, through the lens of sustainability. The focus is on policies and practices in nine main categories:

  • Administration
  • Climate Change & Energy
  • Food & Recycling
  • Green Building
  • Student Involvement
  • Transportation
  • Endowment Transparency
  • Investment Priorities
  • Shareholder Engagement

Click here for the details.

Singer Luciana Souza, Trombonist Conrad Herwig Bring Latin Twist to Lawrence University Jazz Celebration Weekend

Expect things to be a little spicier for this year’s Lawrence University Jazz Celebration Weekend. For the first time in the concert’s 30-year history, Jazz Celebration Weekend goes all Latin.

Brazil’s Grammy-winning singer Luciana Souza and her trio open the weekend Friday, Nov. 5. Trombonist Conrad Herwig, who has recorded Latin-styled tributes to Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, takes the stage Saturday, Nov. 6.

Souza will be joined by the Lawrence Hybrid Ensemble, while the Lawrence Jazz Faculty Quartet, Jazz Ensemble and Trombone Ensemble perform with Herwig.

Both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 510 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

“American jazz intersected with rhythms and forms from Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico more than 60 years ago,” said Fred Sturm, director of jazz studies at Lawrence and JCW organizer. “Visionaries like Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Mario Bauza, Chano Pozo and Stan Kenton started fusing the diverse elements and saxophonist Stan Getz scored a global hit in the mid 1960s with his jazzy bossa nova “The Girl from Ipanema.” Jazz musicians today are as beholden to Latin music influences as they are to swing concepts. Souza’s Brazilian heritage and Herwig’s amazing Latin-styled CDs make them the ideal headliners for a Latin-themed jazz festival.”

Raised in a family of bossa nova innovators, Souza has emerged as one of jazz’s leading singers and interpreters, creating music that transcends traditional boundaries. She has performed and recorded with Herbie Hancock — winning a Grammy Award in 2008 for her work on “River – The Joni Letters” — as well as Paul Simon, Bobby McFerrin, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Her discography includes eight releases as a leader and more than 50 recordings as a side singer.

“Luciana is the personification of a musical ‘cross-over’ artist, equally comfortable singing Latin bossa novas, American popular standards, jazz, or classical chamber music,” said Sturm. “She’s a composer, a poet and a teacher who performs music about life and love. Her audiences get that immediately.”

The New York-based, 2005 Grammy Award-winning Herwig has created a highly identifiable niche in contemporary jazz with his series of “Latin Side” CDs honoring Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. His “Latin Side of Wayne Shorter” earned
Herwig a 2008 Grammy nomination and was cited on Downbeat Magazine’s “Best of 2008” list. He is a member of the jazz faculty at Rutgers University and also is a visiting professor of jazz studies at the Juilliard School of Music.

Professor of Music Nick Keelan, who teaches trombone at Lawrence, calls Herwig “a master” of the instrument.

“In his hands, the trombone has no limitations technically or musically. He plays the instrument so effortlessly. I place him in the top five of my favorite trombonists, alive and not, because of his creativity, musicianship, and great technical ability. Conrad’s music communicates with the listener because his pieces are interesting and engaging.”

In addition to the two visiting artist concerts, more than 1,000 university, high school and middle school instrumental and vocal jazz students will participate in daytime performances, educational clinics, and master classes on Saturday. All Saturday performances are free and open to the public.

“Jazz Weekend provides a jump start for school jazz programs across the Midwest,” said Sturm. “There’s no competition, no ratings, no awards. A team of the nation’s finest jazz educators offers joyful, inspired teaching, listening and learning.”

Since the inaugural Jazz Celebration Weekend in 1981, more than 20,000 students have participated in the event, directly impacting the quality of jazz education in Wisconsin and surrounding states.

Lawrence University LU-R1 Undergraduate Research Program Pairs Students with Leading Alumni Scientists

Lawrence University student Bennett Pang never imagined he would be isolating “natural killer” cells from human blood samples as an undergraduate. The biology major from Honolulu, Hawaii contributed to a novel immunology study this summer at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center.

Lawrence junior Grace Rothstein spent her summer at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center exploring ways to modify plant cell walls so they can be used more efficiently for biofuel production. Part of her responsibilities included creating a database for more than 2,000 plants.

Pang and Rothstein were among 11 students who participated in an innovative undergraduate research program launched by Lawrence: LU-R1: Partnership Opportunities for Students.

The program pairs qualified Lawrence students with Lawrence alumni scientists who are directing research laboratories at major universities (R1 institutions) across the country, including the University of New Mexico, Michigan State University, the University of Utah, the University of Pennsylvania and the Mayo Clinic, among others.

LU-R1 takes undergraduate research to the next level, providing significant opportunities typically reserved for graduate students at major universities, clinical research settings and government agencies, while strengthening ties between Lawrence University and its alumni. An ancillary goal of the program is to provide research experiences that can enhance students’ Senior Experience capstone projects.

“The LU-R1 program provides undergraduate students with innovative learning opportunities that are beyond the normal resources of most colleges,” said Lawrence President Jill Beck. “By tapping our alumni as distinguished mentors, we’re enabling our science majors to engage in cutting-edge questions, learn new methodologies and gain vital experience toward their graduate studies and careers.”

Dr. Stuart Winter '83 and Bennett Pang '11

Working under the direction of Dr. Stuart Winter, a 1983 Lawrence graduate and chief of pediatric oncology at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Pang spent 10 weeks in the center’s hematologic malignancies research program. Pang assisted on a potential drug therapy for the treatment of leukemia that uses the body’s own immune system. Seeking alternatives to existing chemotherapy drugs, Winter began work on an “immuno-chemotherapy” model last spring.

“When I first arrived, I knew very little about immunology and leukemia. Now I have experience in both fields,” said Pang, who is considering biomedical research as a career option. “The LU-R1 program was an opportunity to participate in top-level research. I could see myself working in a lab like that some day.”

Winter admitted to some initial doubts, but discovered Pang was up for the challenge and was well-prepared by his Lawrence teachers.

“Bennett did a great job in the lab helping isolate the natural killer cells in the blood,” said Winter. “At the undergraduate level, a lot of learning is done around basic human biology concepts. This research takes those concepts and applies them to human medicine.”

Rothstein, a self-proclaimed science junkie from Whitefish Bay, Wis., says she came away from the experience “with a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who does research. How much work and independent study goes into everything isn’t necessarily something I would have known had I not had an opportunity like this.”

University of Missouri biochemist Scott Peck, a 1988 Lawrence graduate whose research focuses on boosting plant immunity against potential pathogens, sees training young scientists as future colleagues as an important part of his job. He served as a mentor for Lawrence biology major Jeff Nichols.

“This program is incredibly valuable on so many levels,” Peck said. “Lawrence students receive additional laboratory training that reinforces their excellent classroom education and makes them more competitive in the job market or in their applications to professional school while the host universities receive assistance in advancing our research.”

LU-R1’s potential bigger impact, says Peck, is helping the United States improve its position in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.

“While STEM-related jobs continue to increase, the number of U.S. students pursuing careers in these areas continues to decrease. Bright, capable students interested in science often pursue careers as doctors. By exposing students to research and discussing career alternatives, we may open the door for a student to a fulfilling career that otherwise would have gone unconsidered.”

According to a National Science Foundation report, Lawrence University ranked 37th nationally among undergraduate institutions, per capita, in producing the most students who went on to earn Ph.D.s in engineering and the sciences.

At its core, LU-R1 is about energizing undergraduate students about science says Professor of Biology Nicholas Maravalo, the program’s director.

“One of the objectives is to have these students bring these projects back to campus, excite the other students and the faculty, bring the techniques and approaches back to campus and use them as a focus of their own Senior Experience.”

The LU-R1 program is supported by a gift from the estate of Maurine Mueller in memory of her husband, Robert, a 1936 Lawrence graduate, and other alumni donations.

A video of the program in action can be watched below:

Three Lawrence University Musicians Win State Competition

Lawrence University students Alenka Donovan, Kelly Eshbaugh and David Keep earned first-place honors Saturday, Oct. 23 in the 2010 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Wisconsin state competition conducted at Lawrence.

Donovan, a violin performance and history major from Washington, D.C., won the young artists (19-26 years of age) strings division. She is a student of Wen-Lei Gu.

Eshbaugh, a trombone performance and music education major from Greenfield, won the young artists brass division. She studies in the studio of Nick Keelan.

Keep, a piano performance major from Traverse City, Mich., won the young artists piano competition. Keep is the 11th Lawrence piano student in the past 13 years to win the Wisconsin MTNA piano competition. He is a student of Anthony Padilla.

Donovan, Eshbaugh and Keep advance to the MTNA’s five-state East Central Division competition January 7-9 at Ball State University. Winners at the division competition advance to the MTNA’s national competition March 26-30 in Milwaukee.

The Lawrence saxophone quartet — senior David Davis (soprano), Sussex, senior Sumner Truax (alto), Chicago, Ill., sophomore Phillip Dobernig (tenor), Mukwonago and junior Will Obst (baritone), St. Paul, Minn. — was the only entry in the chamber music division and also was selected to represent the state at the division competition. The quartet studies with Steven Jordheim.

Other Lawrence student recognized in the state competition included:
• Junior violinist Gina Bordini, De Pere, alternate in the young artists strings division.

• Freshman Anthony Capparelli, River Falls, alternate in the senior (15-18 years of age) piano Division.

• Junior clarinetist Kinsey Fournier, Conway, Ark., alternate in the young artist woodwinds division.

• Junior James Maverick, Baton Rouge, La., alternate in the young artists piano competition.

• Sophomores Andrew Kim, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Alex Hurlburt, Wausau, honorable mention honors in the young artists piano division.

Musicians selected as alternates will attend the January division competition if the winners are unable to. A total of 23 students from around the state participated in the competition.

Stephen Sondheim Musical “Into the Woods” Comes to Lawrence University’s Stansbury Theatre

Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning musical of what happens after “happily ever after” is explored in four performances of the Lawrence University production of “Into the Woods.”

The musical will be performed Oct. 28-30 at 8 p.m. with an additional 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Oct. 30 in Stansbury Theatre of the Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available through the Lawrence University Box Office, 920-832-6749.

“Into the Woods” blends popular fairy tales such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel with an original story of a baker and his wife, who attempt to reverse a curse that has been placed on them in order to have a child. The musical continues past the typical fairy tale ending to explore ideas of community responsibility and the consequences of one’s actions.

“Sondheim seamlessly weaves spoken words and song in such a way that the audience is carried from one storyline to the next with ease,” said Timothy X. Troy, professor of theatre arts and J. Thomas and Julie Esch Hurvis Professor of Theatre and Drama, who is directing the production. “The final effect is that we witness a large ensemble cast grow from simple storybook characters to people like us, full of contradictions and unable to know what the future holds.”

Troy previously directed a production of “Into the Woods” for Attic Theatre in 1992.

“This has been a wonderful process of rediscovery for me,” said Troy. “I’ve matured and gathered both joyous and challenging experiences like the characters do in the course of the play. My responses to the material have deepened, and my appreciation for Sondheim’s extraordinary skills has equally appreciated since my first encounter with his work.”

Phillip Swan, assistant professor of music, serves as music director for the production, which features a double cast.  Junior Alex Wilson and senior Evan Bravos share the lead role of the baker, while seniors Amanda Ketchpaw and Chelsea Melamed sing the role of the baker’s wife.

The production features guest lighting by Jason Fassl, artistic associate for First Stage Milwaukee and the resident lighting designer for Renaissance Theaterworks, and guest costume design by 2001 Lawrence graduate Emily Rohm-Gilmore.

First performed on Broadway in 1987, “Into the Woods” was nominated for nine Tony Awards and earned Sondheim a Tony for best score. It also earned the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for best musical.

Lawrence University Receives $3.9 Million Gift from Two Former Students

A $3.99 million gift from the charitable trust of two former Lawrence University students who met on campus more than 75 years ago will provide significant investment in campus facilities as well as support for student scholarships and the endowment officials announced today.

One of the largest gifts in Lawrence history, the $3,997,319.72 bequest from the Paul and Katherine Schmidt Trust will be directed toward three main areas: improvements in the campus physical plant, including residence halls; the Paul and Kay Schmidt Endowed Scholarship Fund, which was established in 1989 to support students with interests in economics or business; and Lawrence’s endowment.

“We are deeply grateful to Paul and Kay Schmidt for their loving and generous support of Lawrence University,” said President Jill Beck in announcing the gift.  “They always were faithful donors to the college throughout their lifetimes.  Our alumni as a whole support the college and conservatory in innumerable ways, at different levels of funding but with equal passion for the experiences they had at Lawrence.  We hope the entire community feels affirmed through the recognition and magnanimous support of Paul and Kay Schmidt.”

Both members of Lawrence’s class of 1939, Paul and Kay Schmidt attended the college’s homecoming festivities together in 1935 as a first date.  They eventually married and shared more than 68 years of marriage together.

A native of Park Ridge, Ill., Paul Schmidt participated in an executive program at Harvard University after earning a degree in economics at Lawrence. He spent most of his career with the Harold F. Pitman Company, a printing business, rising to rank of chief executive officer and chairman of the privately-held company based in New Jersey.  He retired in 1982, having helped the company grow into North America’s leading graphic arts supplier. He died in November 2009 at the age of 92.

Kay, a native of Chicago, passed away in February 2009 at the age of 91.

The Schmidts established their charitable trust in 1994 during the five-year, $60 million “Lawrence 150” campaign celebrating the college’s sesquicentennial.

“Just as their initial gift provided momentum for the Lawrence 150 campaign, this latest gift is a great boost to our current More Light campaign,” said Cal Husmann, vice president for alumni, development and communications.  “Deferred gifts like the Schmidts’ are playing an increasingly important role in our campaign and other fund-raising efforts across the country.”

The $150 million “More Light” campaign, publicly launched in October 2008, has raised $137 million to date.  The campaign is expected to conclude in October 2011.

Lawrence University Kaleidoscope Concert: A Musical Cornucopia

From Bizet to Broadway, Lawrence University’s biennial Kaleidoscope concert promises to strike at least one chord with every music lover. Showcasing the musical talents of nearly 350 Lawrence students, the third edition of the concert will be performed Saturday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, 400 W. College Ave., Appleton.

Tickets, at $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $7 for students, are available at both the Lawrence University Box Office, 920-832-6749, and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Box Office, 920-730-3760.

First performed in 2006, the 75-minute, non-stop musical whirlwind will feature a dozen student groups performing from all corners of the theatre, including the side balconies, main floor and upper balcony.

“Kaleidoscope is really the cornucopia of concerts. It is designed to cover a broad spectrum of musical offerings and give the audience a sampling of everything from intimate chamber music and funky jazz to musical theatre and Brazilian percussion,” said Andrew Mast, director of bands at Lawrence and the coordinator of this year’s concert.

“It will be the most ambitious thing Lawrence does musically this year and requires a lot of work on the part of our students to pull it off given in the short time they’ve been back in school,” Mast added. “But it’s a special opportunity to perform in a beautiful hall like the Performing Arts Center. I know everyone is excited about putting on a great show.”

Highlighting the concert’s repertoire will be three works with Lawrence connections, including two compositions that will have their world premiere. The Lawrence Wind Ensemble will debut “Arclight Alley,” written by 2006 Lawrence graduate David Werfelmann, while “Layaanjali,” a composition by Assistant Professor of Music Asha Srinivasan, will have its world premiere performed by the Lawrence Saxophone Ensemble. Director of Jazz Studies Fred Sturm will direct the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble in a performance of his recent composition “Signal Fires.”

The program also includes performances by Lawrence’s new gamelan ensemble, the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, the Lawrence Concert Choir, Cantala women’s choir, the Sambistas percussion ensemble, a string quartet, opera and musical theatre excerpts and a six-hand piano performance.

The concert’s grand finale will feature a performance of the “Jupiter Hymn” from Gustav Holst’s seminal work “The Planets” by the entire Kaleidoscope cast under the baton of Lawrence President Jill Beck.

“The fast-paced nature of the concert, with no breaks between the relatively short, but audience-accessible works along with the constantly changing staging truly makes for a unique concert experience,” said Mast. “We hope the audience enjoys listening to it as much as we enjoy performing it.”

Lawrence University gratefully acknowledges Appleton Group Wealth Management, LLC for its sponsorship of the Kaleidoscope concert and extends its deep appreciation for its generous support of this special community arts showcase.

“NewsHour” Correspondent Discusses “Browning of America” in Lawrence Convocation

Award-winning journalist Ray Suarez discusses the cultural shift that is changing the face of the United States and why that change reflects a positive continuation of a robust immigrant tradition in an address at Lawrence University.

Ray Suarez

Suarez, a senior correspondent for PBS’ “The NewsHour,” presents “The Browning of America,” Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 510 E. College Ave., Appleton. Suarez also will conduct a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events, part of Lawrence’s 2010-11 convocation series, are free and open to the public.

Demographers estimate that by 2042, the United States will be a country with a “minority majority.” Suarez will examine the continuously widening definition of who is a “real American” and the impact of the country’s evolving ethnic make-up on schools, commerce, politics and the workforce.

Since 1999, Suarez has served as a senior correspondent for PBS’ “The NewsHour.” He previously spent seven years as host of National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” program. In addition to his PBS duties, Suarez hosts the monthly foreign affairs radio program “America Abroad” for Public Radio International and the weekly politics program “Destination Casa Blanca” for the Hispanic Information Telecommunications Network, HITN TV.

Suarez is also the author of two books, “The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America,” and 1999’s “The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration.”

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Suarez is a life member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a founding member of the Chicago Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Mielke Family Foundation Honored with First Lawrence University “Collaboration in Action” Award

The Mielke Family Foundation, one of northeast Wisconsin’s most active philanthropic foundations, was recognized Tuesday, Sept. 21 with Lawrence University’s first “Collaboration in Action” award during the college’s second annual Report to the Community. Oscar Boldt, chairman of The Boldt Group, served as emcee of the event, while Dave Vander Zanden, CEO of School Specialty, was the featured speaker at the program, which attracted an audience of nearly 150 community leaders.

The Collaboration in Action award honors an individual or organization, who, in partnership with Lawrence, has provided exemplary service to the Fox Cities community. Richard Calder, president of its board of directors, and Dr. John Mielke, a member of the board, accepted the award on the foundation’s behalf from Lawrence University President Jill Beck.

For nearly 30 years, the generous support of the Mielke Family Foundation has enabled Lawrence to enhance its work on campus and build bridges into the community.

In 1982, the foundation established the Edward F. Mielke Professor of Ethics in Medicine, Science and Society, currently held by Associate Professor of Philosophy Patrick Boleyn-Fitzgerald.

As holder of the professorship, Boleyn-Fitzgerald annually organizes the Edward F. Mielke Lecture Series in Biomedical Ethics that brings speakers to campus for community discussions on topics related to topical ethical issues.

In 1996, the foundation established the Bee Connell Mielke Professor of Education, currently held by Associate Professor of Education Stewart Purkey. It was the education department’s first endowed professorship.

In conjunction with the Bee Connell Mielke professorship, the foundation also established a community outreach program — the Mielke Summer Institute in the Liberal Arts. Directed each summer by Purkey, the program provides approximately 25 educators from Appleton and Shawano a week-long opportunity to examine a specific theme of cultural or social significance from a multidisciplinary perspective at Bjorklunden, Lawrence’s northern campus in Door County.

In discussing Lawrence collaborations in the Fox Valley, Beck highlighted the ArtsBridge program in which eight student-scholars and other Lawrentians worked with 132 area elementary school students to prepare ethnic dances, social studies projects and folk songs for World Arts Day; the Lawrence Scholars Programs, which brings alumni from around the world to campus to share their expertise with students, participate on panels, speak with classes and network with those who might be interested in internships and future career opportunities; and the college’s emerging innovation and entrepreneurship program, including a recent student-driven initiative to open temporary art gallery spaces in empty downtown Appleton storefronts.

“A great college-community relationship, like any successful partnership, is a constant act of collaboration, a commitment to one another’s welfare that is renewed every day,” said Jill Beck. “I am very proud of this partnership and the good work that we have done together.”

Lawrence’s community engagement efforts in the past year included more the 300 student volunteers who participated in the AmeriCorps M3C Fellows program, serving at local schools and nonprofit organizations; the establishment of the Young Band Project, a partnership between the Lawrence Academy of Music and the Appleton Area School district to provide twice- a-week band instruction to fifth-grade students at Lincoln Elementary School; and an outreach program supported by a federal grant to provide training and education to lower suicide risk. More than 120 educators, clinicians and nonprofit staff members from 13 area schools and 24 youth-serving organizations attended a day-long training session at Lawrence in March.

During the 2009-10 academic year, Lawrence faculty and staff members supported more than 150 Fox Cities’ churches, schools and organizations through volunteering and charitable gifts, including serving on boards and committees of nearly 40 local nonprofits.

Rhythm & Brass Opens the 2010-11 Lawrence University Artist Series

Embracing the description “beyond category” — Duke Ellington’s favorite expression of ultimate praise — the six-member ensemble Rhythm & Brass opens the 2010-11 Lawrence University Artist Series Saturday, Sept. 25 with its boundary-busting repertoire with an 8 p.m. performance in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets, at $22-20 for adults, $19-17 for seniors and $15-17 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office in the Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton or by calling 920-832-6749.

Since its founding in 1993, Rhythm & Brass has defied the constraints of time, geography and culture by incorporating influences as divergent as Josquin Des Prez, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, Johann Sebastian Bach and Duke Ellington. Performing on trumpets, horn, piano, trombone, tuba and percussion, Rhythm & Brass blends the commonality of those disparate styles into a single concert experience.

Marty Erickson, who teaches tuba in the Lawrence conservatory, has performed with Rhythm & Brass on occasion. He said the group’s musical flexibility is one of the things that make them special.

“They are all truly world-class musicians in their own right,” said Erickson. “By adding a percussionist to the standard brass quintet instrumentation and occasionally moving their French horn player to piano allows the group to present a huge variety of music in their programs. And they do it all with amazing artistry. Concert-goers can expect to hear a huge variety of styles, everything from classical transcriptions and Beatles arrangements to early jazz funk and more.”

Described by the New York Times as being “startling without striking a note of pretension,” Rhythm & Brass made its Carnegie Hall debut in 1994 with celebrated jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker. It has since appeared at the New York Brass Conference, the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute and Kentucky’s Great American Brass Band Festival. Rhythm & Brass was one of the guest performers in July at the International Trumpet Guild’s annual conference in Sydney, Australia.

In addition to performing together, the sextet’s members —Wiff Rudd and Rex Richardson, trumpet, Charles Villarrubia, tuba, Alex Shuhan, horn and piano, David Gluck, percussion and Thomas Brantley trombone — have all toured nationally with various other groups.

The group’s discography includes “More Money Jungle…Ellington Explorations,” which celebrates American musical icon Duke Ellington, “Time in September,” which includes a commissioned work by two-time Grammy Award-winning composer Maria Schneider and “Christmas Time is Here,” which drew critical acclaim as one of the most creative holiday season recordings.