Conservatory of Music

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Broadway Superstar, 2012 Tony Award Winner Audra McDonald Added to 2012-13 Lawrence University Artist Series

Fresh off her 2012 Tony Award-winning run of 322 Broadway performances of  “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” soprano Audra McDonald has been added to Lawrence University’s 2012-13 Artist Series.

McDonald performs Sunday, March 10, 2013 as a replacement for previously announced soprano Kelli O’Hara, who had to cancel her March 9 scheduled performance.

Five-time Tony Award Winner Audra McDonald

In June, McDonald was honored with a record-tying fifth Tony Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical” for her portrayal of the beautiful-but-downtrodden Bess in the Gershwin classic. In a review of the production, the New York Times gushed “For devastating theatrical impact, it is hard to imagine any hurricane matching the tempest that is the extraordinary Audra McDonald. She is, in a word, great.”

McDonald previously collected Tony statutes for her performances in “Carousel” (1994), “Master Class” (1996), “Ragtime” (1998) and “A Raisin in the Sun” (2004).

Tickets for McDonald’s concert, at $30 for adults and seniors, and $15 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office in the Music-Drama Center, or by calling 920-832-6749. The box office will be closed for winter break Nov. 21-Jan. 2.

“When I heard Audra McDonald would be joining the Lawrence Artist Series, the first word out of my mouth was ‘Wow!,'”” said Joanne Bozeman, a voice teacher in the Lawrence Conservatory of Music. “I can’t think of anyone from the singing world — and that is a big world — who has performed brilliantly in so many genres: Broadway, musical theater, opera, straight theater, television, cabaret and concert appearances. She has a beautiful, versatile voice and technique. While I’m not sure which styles we will hear in her concert, I do know that it will be phenomenal singing and performing.”

Audra McDonald won the 2012 Tony Award for her portrayal of Bess in “Porgy and Bess.”

The versatile and multi-talented McDonald has dazzled audiences with equal aplomb on Broadway, the world’s great opera stages and in roles on film and television. Beyond her five Tony Awards (she’s been nominated two other times), she also has won two Grammy Awards for best opera recording and best classical album for her work on the Los Angeles Opera production “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.”

Born in Berlin and a graduate of The Julliard School, McDonald holds the distinction of being one of only two Americans in more than 100 years invited to appear as a guest soloist at the Last Night of the Proms, London’s famous international classical musical festival.

Other honors include four Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, an Ovation Award, a Theatre World Award, and the Drama League’s 2000 Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre and 2012 Distinguished Performance Award.

As an actress, McDonald recently ended four seasons as Dr. Naomi Bennett on the ABC television series “Private Practice.”  She portrayed Bessie in the Peabody Award-winning CBS program “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years,” had a recurring role on NBC’s hit series “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and played Jackie Brock on the political drama “Mister Sterling.” In a 2008 made-for-TV adaption of “A Raisin in the Sun,” McDonald reprized her Tony-winning role of Ruth Younger, earning her second of two Emmy Award nominations.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

 

 

Student Flutist Leo Sussman Wins National Competition in San Francisco

Lawrence University’s Leo Sussman earned first-place honors in the recent 2012 San Francisco Flute Festival competition.

A sophomore at Lawrence, Sussman was one of four flutists selected for the finals of the national competition via submitted video audition.

Leo Sussman '15

In a live, 10-minute finals recital conducted June 17 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Sussman performed “Sonata Appassionata” by Sigfrid Karg-Elert and Robert Muczynski’s “Sonata for Flute and Piano, Movement IV: Allegro con Moto.”

For his winning performance, Sussman received a $250 prize and an invitation to perform as a soloist with a flute choir at the 2013 San Francisco Flute Festival next June.

This was the first time Sussman, a San Francisco resident, had entered the competition, which features both an adult (over 18) and youth (under 18) division.

A double degree candidate pursuing majors in flute performance and physics, Sussman is a student in the studio of assistant professor of music Erin Lesser.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Renowned Performers, Rising Stars Featured in 2012-13 Artist and Jazz Series

Three-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara and a dynamic doubleheader weekend of award-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling and the renowned Maria Schneider Orchestra are among the celebrated performers on the 2012-13 Lawrence University Performing Artist and Jazz Series.

Subscriptions for both series are on sale now and subscribers may choose from the Artist, Jazz, or “Favorite 4” concert packages, with discounts available to senior citizens and students. Single-concert tickets go on sale Sept. 17, 2012. Contact the Lawrence University Box Office at 920-832-6749 or visit the Lawrence Performing Arts page for more information.

Kelli O'Hara

After starring runs in the Tony Award-winning revival of “South Pacific,” “The Pajama Game” and “The Light in the Piazza,” O’Hara has established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies.

Hailed as Broadway’s “golden girl” by the New York Times, O’Hara brings her soulful soprano voice to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel March 9, 2013 as part of the four-concert Lawrence Artist Series.

Artist Series Opens Oct. 27

Cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley open the Artist Series Oct. 27 in an eclectic collaboration that crisscrosses classical and pop music genres, showcasing their talents as collaborators and soloists.  Their program will feature works by Bach and Gabrielli, Radiohead and Arcade Fire, Piazzolla and Stravinsky.

A pair of April 2013 concerts rounds out the Artist Series schedule. The Jupiter String Quartet, winners of both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, performs April 12, 2013 while the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, hailed as “arguably the best ensemble of its kind in the world” by the Manchester Evening News, takes the Memorial Chapel stage April 26, 2013.

Formed in 2001, Boston-based Jupiter added winners of the Young Concert Artists International auditions to its resume in 2005. One of America’ most dynamic young string quartets, Jupiter performed the entire cycle of Beethoven string quartets — all 16 — last summer for the Aspen Music Festival.

Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet

The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet — the first permanently established wind quintet in the Berlin Philharmonic’s long history of chamber music — has been dazzling audiences around the world since 1988 with an uncanny ability to unite five disparate sounds into a collective smoothness.

Redefining the sound of the classic wind quintet, the ensemble’s repertoire includes the full spectrum of the wind quintet literature as well as works for enlarged ensemble, among them the sextets of Janácek and Reinicke or the septets of Hindemith and Koechlin.

“The 100-year-old tradition of excellence continues with next year’s exceptional Artist Series line-up,” said Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory of music. “It is amazing to think that we can experience, right in our own Memorial Chapel, the same performers who are playing to sold-out houses in New York, Los Angeles or Berlin just the week before. These are musical opportunities not to be missed.”

Jazz Celebration Weekend Kicks off Jazz Series

The Kurt Elling Quartet and the Maria Schneider Orchestra headline the Lawrence’s 32nd annual Jazz Celebration Weekend Nov. 2-3, respectively.

Kurt Elling

Elling, described as “the standout male vocalist of our time”‘ by the New York Times, performs with the Lawrence Jazz Ensemble. A nine-time Grammy Award nominee and 2009 Grammy winner for “Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane And Hartman,” Elling has won the DownBeat Critics Poll Male Vocalist of the Year Award an astonishing 12 years (2000-2011) in a row. This will be Elling’s second appearance at Jazz Weekend, having previously performed in 2003.

An internationally renowned jazz composer and conductor, Schneider formed her 17-member orchestra in 1993. A weekly performer at Visiones in Greenwich Village early on, the orchestra has since become a staple at concert venues around the world, earning 2005’s “Large Jazz Ensemble of the Year”‘ award from the Jazz Journalists Association. Her orchestra’s albums “Concert in the Garden” and 2007’s “Sky Blue” earned Grammy Awards and were named “Jazz Album of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association and the Downbeat Critics Poll.

Maria Schneider

“I consider Maria Schneider the premier composer of music for the large jazz ensemble in the 21st century, and her Jazz Orchestra is among the finest big bands in the world today,” said Fred Sturm, director of jazz studies and improvisation music at Lawrence. “Her original works contain the most artistic renderings of melody, harmony, orchestration, and structure created by composers in all jazz-related genres over the past decade. Her scores and recordings have dramatically impacted the evolution of the jazz composition art form worldwide.”

The Bad Plus, a jazz trio born in 2000 that includes Wisconsin native Ethan Iverson on piano, brings its eclectic combination of avant-garde jazz with rock and pop influences to the Memorial Chapel Feb. 1, 2013. The band has recorded versions of songs by diverse artists ranging from Nirvana, Blondie and Pink Floyd to Neil Young, David Bowie and Black Sabbath. According to a Rolling Stone review of a Bad Plus performance, the band is “about as badass as highbrow gets.”

Vocalist Gretchen Parlato closes the four-concert Jazz Series May 10, 2013. A Los Angeles native, Parlato won the 2003 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition and two years later released her debut self-titled album to critical acclaim. Following the release of her second CD, 2011’s “The Lost and Found,” Parlato was named No. 1 Rising Star Female Vocalist in DownBeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll.

“Gretchen is one of the most unique, provocative, and hip singers on the scene today,” said Dane Richeson, professor of music in Lawrence’s jazz studies department. “She pulls together great musicians to work with her in her band and I promise hers will be a great concert.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Lawrence Wind Ensemble Selected for 2013 National Band Directors Conference

The Lawrence University Wind Ensemble has been selected to perform at the 2013 National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Lawrence was one of only nine ensembles from around the country — and one of only two liberal arts colleges — chosen for the national convention.

Under the direction of conductor Andrew Mast, the 65-member wind ensemble will perform March 21, 2013.  Mast and the ensemble were previously invited to perform at the College Band Director’s regional conference in Omaha in 2008.

Mast said he was both “excited and humbled” by the selection.

“This is a huge honor for the ensemble, one that reflects the high performance standards of the students and faculty at Lawrence,” said Mast, director of the wind ensemble and symphonic band since 2004. “I was told the pool of ensembles that applied to perform was exceptionally large and robust this year, which makes me all the more proud to be part of such an exceptional group of artist musicians. I’m greatly looking forward to the opportunity to help showcase Lawrence musicians on yet another national stage.”

The selection to the 2013 national convention comes 20 years since the last time the wind ensemble performed at a national conference, 1993 in Columbus, Ohio, under the direction of Bob Levy.

Joining Lawrence as performers in Greensboro will be ensembles from Baylor University, the Cincinnati Conservatory, Louisiana State University, St. Olaf College, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, University of South Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Selections for the 2013 national convention were based on submitted unedited audition tapes of live performances from all ensembles.

The wind ensemble is the third major ensemble in the Lawrence Conservatory of Music chosen for a national conference performance in the past five years, joining Cantala women’s choir (2011) and the Lawrence Concert Choir (2009), both of which were invited to the American Choral Directors’ Association national convention in Chicago and Oklahoma City, respectively.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

 

Chanticleer — “The Orchestra of Voices” — Performs April 13 at Lawrence Memorial Chapel

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Mike Axtell when the 12-member, all-male vocal ensemble Chanticleer takes the Lawrence Memorial Chapel stage Friday, April 13 at 8 p.m. for its 2011-12 Lawrence University Artist Series concert.

Tickets, at $30 for adults and seniors and $15 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office in the Music-Drama Center, 920-832-6749.

Mike Axtell '09

A 2009 Lawrence graduate, Axtell is in his second season with Chanticleer. The ensemble is widely known as “The Orchestra of Voices,” in part for a repertoire that spans 10 centuries, from Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony and Romantic art song to contemporary music, jazz, spirituals and world music.

Now in its 34th season, San Francisco-based Chanticleer has long earned critics’ praises. The New Yorker magazine has hailed the ensemble as “the world’s reigning male chorus.” Winners of four Grammy Awards, including two for their world-premiere recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations and Praises,” Chanticleer was named the “Ensemble of the Year” in 2008 by Musical America and became the first vocal ensemble ever inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame that same year.  

“We’re incredibly excited to have Chanticleer on campus,” said Stephen Sieck, co-director of choral studies at Lawrence. “They combine the tight-knit blend of a four- or five-voice ensemble like the Hilliard Ensemble or The King’s Singers with the vocal prowess and flexibility of a much larger ensemble. Their ability to switch from Renaissance to Broadway and everything in between is exceptional.

“As professional men’s vocal ensembles go, this is like having the Berlin Philharmonic come to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel,” Sieck added.

A bass-baritone, Axtell studied in the voice studio of Associate Professor Karen Leigh-Post while at Lawrence, where he earned a degree in B.M. degree in vocal performance and a B.A. degree in theatre. As a student, he sang in the concert choir and performed in numerous theater productions, including the role of the prince in Lawrence’s production of “Cinderella.”

Axtell is the second Lawrence graduate to perform with Chanticleer, joining former member Gabriel Lewis-O’Connor ’04.

Beyond an exhausting performance schedule, which includes more than 100 performances around the world during the 2011-12 season, Chanticleer is dedicated to music education and outreach. For more than 20 years, the ensemble has offered master classes, lecture recitals and residencies to high school and college students. During their visit to Lawrence, members of the ensemble will hold a master class and work with the concert choir.

Since Chanticleer made its debut in June, 1978, more than 100 men have sung in the ensemble.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Lawrence Launching New Summer Internship Program for Conservatory of Music Students

Providing a musical complement to Lawrence University’s successful LU-R1 student science research initiative, the president’s office, in conjunction with the conservatory of music, is launching a new summer internship program specifically for conservatory students.

Known as “Conservatory² —  Grow Your Music Career Exponentially,” the program will begin this summer with eight internship opportunities designed to encourage student thinking about how a music degree can lead to success in a variety of career fields after graduation.

Brian Pertl

“This groundbreaking program will provide opportunities that will expand our students’ musical lives, and in some cases, open our students’ minds to completely new career pathways in music,” said Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory.

Conservatory² is designed to jump start “life after Lawrence NOW!” by providing a summer experience that both complements and accelerates each student’s education while offering substantial career experience and networking opportunities.

Conservatory students participating in the program will be selected though a competitive application process, placed in prearranged internships and awarded a university grant to assist with their expenses.

Inspired by a $25,000 gift from the Olga Herberg Administrative Trust to support arts programming and guided by student concerns raised last year regarding the college’s new 10-year strategic plan, Lawrence President Jill Beck used the gift to create Conservatory².

President Beck

“Student feedback on the recent Strategic Plan asked that Lawrence expand LU-R1 opportunities into areas beyond the sciences,” said Beck.  “Katelin Richter has worked with me this year as presidential intern to do just that: to take the LU-R1 model and replicate it in the conservatory for the benefit of music majors. In future years, I hope that this expansion will include the social sciences and humanities, if student and faculty demand is there. In the meantime, the summer internship opportunities that Katelin has created will add greatly to students’ experience, learning, and ability to bridge from college to career or graduate school.”

The eight available internship positions for the summer of 2012 include an array of prominent employers and alumni at organizations both in the United States and abroad:

• Saxophonist Javier Arau ’98 of the New York Jazz Academy offers a summer-long internship at New York’s fastest growing music school.  Arau will integrate the student intern directly into his administration and engage them in strategic planning for his expanding organization.  The student will gain exposure to summer jazz workshops and have the possibility of assistant teaching.

• The Deep Listening Institute in Kingston, N.Y., under the supervision of composer Pauline Oliveros and other DLI staff, offers an internship opportunity tailored to the student’s specific interests in deep listening philosophy.  The internship could include: assembling a book of Oliveros’ pieces, archiving recordings, managing the website, doing computer programming, writing grants, assisting with the Adaptive Use Musical Instruments Program for people with disabilities, developing a networking system for DLI-certified instructors, as well as gaining exposure to Oliveros’ summer intensive Deep Listening Workshops. DLI’s office has a performance and recording studio, which could provide a venue for the student’s work.

• Olivera Music Entertainment is a full-service entertainment and talent booking agency that provides professional music entertainment production in the Washington D.C. area. The student will work with co-owner Connie Trok Olivera ’82, who has used her music education degree to produce and perform entertainment for prominent guests, including President Obama. The internship will provide start-to-finish production experience, as well as special projects, such as developing a marketing strategy to target younger demographics and selecting and arranging repertoire per client requests.

• Oberlin Conservatory has partnered with Lawrence to offer internships in two of its summer programs: the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and Oberlin in Italy. The Baroque Institute internship combines experience in festival administration with full participation in the annual festival. Oberlin in Italy offers two exciting performance opportunities for qualified students in two of three areas: vocal performance, stage direction or rehearsal accompanying in the beautiful city of Arezzo, Italy.

• Beth Snodgrass ’93 will oversee the Carnegie Hall Community Programs internship in New York City. The position will provide general assistance and administrative support for the Community Programs team in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the education and community arm of one of the leading music presenters in the world. The intern will work with a dedicated staff to help prepare for the 2012-2013 season which will include more than 100 events across three different programs – the Neighborhood Concert Series, the McGraw-Hill Companies CarnegieKids and Musical Connections. These programs provide free, quality music programming featuring first-class musicians from all over the world. The intern will contribute to a team focused on providing quality community engagement events through exceptional artistic programming, production, artist professional development, strategic marketing and rigorous program assessment.

• Beit Yehuda Guest House Amphitheatre in Israel offers a student internship managing the hotel’s offerings of plays and concerts. Nestled among the foothills of Givat Massuah, the facility is a short drive from Jerusalem’s city center.

“This program is a perfect complement to our course offering in entrepreneurship and our Lawrence Scholars in Arts and Entertainment program, which brings successful alumni back to Lawrence to work with and inspire our students,” said Pertl.  “Now Conservatory² will allow our students to leave campus, and through their hard work, inspire our alumni.  We are starting with eight fantastic internships, and there is a potential to grow the program substantially. I look forward to watching  Conservatory² become a signature program for our conservatory.”

For additional information on eligibility and application requirements, grant allotments and how to apply, visit www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/squared/ or follow Conservatory² on Facebook.  Deadline for applications is February 15, 2012.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries. For more information visit www.lawrence.edu or follow us on Facebook.

Saxophonist Phillip Dobernig ’13 Earns Second Place Honors in Music Competition

Lawrence University junior Phillip Dobernig earned second-place honors Nov. 26 in the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee Collegiate Music Competition, which was conducted at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield.

Saxophonist Phillip Dobernig '13

A saxophone performance and music education major from Mukwonago, Dobernig was one of six musicians selected as finalists for the competition. He received a $1,500 scholarship for his performance, which included the pieces “Brilliance” by Ida Gotkovsky and “Tableaux de Provence” by Paule Maurice.  He is a student of Professor of Music Steven Jordheim.

Dobernig is a member of the Lawrence University saxophone quartet that won the 2011 Neale-Silva Young Artists competition sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio and the 2010 Lawrence Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.

The Civic Music Association of Milwaukee Collegiate Music Competition is open to continuing college students — instrumentalists and vocalists — who either graduated from a Milwaukee area high school or who currently attend a Milwaukee area college.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.

 

Four Students Earn First-Place Honors at State Competition

Lawrence University’s Tory Wood won her second straight state title at the 2011 Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Nov. 4-5 at Viterbo University in La Crosse.

Wood, of Escanaba, Mich., was one of four Lawrence students awarded first-place honors. She won the junior women’s division after winning the sophomore division in 2010.

Also earning first-place awards in their respective divisions were Max Kligman, Mill Valley, Calif.,  freshman men; Ian Koziara, Wheaton, Ill., sophomore men and Katy Harth, Naperville, Ill., upper level music theatre.

Ten of Lawrence’s 54 entries advanced to the competition finals. In addition to the four winners, two Lawrence students earned second-place honors and four were awarded third place. The first-place finishers each received $150 for their winning efforts, while second- and third-place finishers received $125 and $100, respectively.

The 2011 auditions drew nearly 400 singers from around the state who competed in 20 separate divisions by gender and level. Depending upon the category, NATS competitors are required to sing two, three or four classical pieces from different time periods with at least one selection sung in a foreign language.

Lawrence place winners with their category and (voice teacher) include:

First–Place Honors

• Tory Wood, junior women (Joanne Bozeman)

• Ian Koziara, sophomore men (Steven Spears)

• Max Kligman (Ken Bozeman)

• Katy Harth, upper level music theatre women (Karen Leigh-Post)

Second-Place Honors

• Clee McCracken, Elgin, Ill., freshman men (Steven Spears)

• Alex York, Muskego, sophomore men (Steven Spears)

Third-Place Honors

• Kelsey Wang, Alhambra, Calif., freshman women (Teresa Seidl)

• Zoie Reams, Chicago, Ill., sophomore women (John Gates)

• Issa Ransom, Mount Vernon, N.Y., junior men (Steven Spears)

• Michael Pope, Chicago, Ill., senior men (Karen Leigh-Post)

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.

Lawrence University Receives $1.5 Million Gift to Establish Endowed Professorship in Music

A $1.5 million gift from a pair of life-long, music loving Lawrence University graduates will establish an endowed professorship in the college’s conservatory of music university officials announced today.

Cellist Janet Anthony, professor of music, will be the first holder of the new George and Marjorie Olsen Chandler Professorship in Music, effective July 1. Appointments to endowed professorships are made in recognition of academic and artistic distinction through teaching excellence and/or scholarly achievement.

The Chandler Professorship is the fourth endowed professorship established during Lawrence’s six-year, $150 million “More Light” campaign, which concludes in October.

“Professor Anthony has inspired students at Lawrence and around the world with her passion for music,” Lawrence President Jill Beck said in announcing the appointment. “She is a respected teacher, mentor and performer who has dedicated her career to enriching others’ lives with her scholarship and music.

“Janet Anthony is an extraordinary asset to the Lawrence faculty and to the Conservatory of Music and I am proud to be able to recognize her contributions with this professorship,” Beck added.

While George and Marjorie Chandler both attended Lawrence, they did not meet as students, having graduated seven years apart, 1951 and 1944, respectively. They married in 1962 and shared a mutual love of music — George sang in the choir as a student, Marjorie played piano — and an appreciation for their experiences at Lawrence.

George Chandler '51

Originally from Waukegan, Ill., George Chandler earned a degree magna cum laude in classics from Lawrence and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Illinois. He enjoyed a distinguished career as an attorney, planner and manager with the Interstate Commerce Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation.  He retired in 1985 and makes his home today in Durham, N.C.

Marjorie Chandler, an Oshkosh native, graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Minnesota. She was a statistician with Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J., and later in her career worked as a senior official at the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education.  Marjorie died in 2003.

“We were always attracted to classical music,” said George Chandler in explaining the decision to endow a music professorship. “During our 35 years in the Washington D.C., area, it was a rare week when we failed to attend some kind of musical performance at the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral or George Mason University. We selected our retirement home in North Carolina with the rich musical life provided largely by the many nearby colleges and universities in mind.”

He also credited many of his former professors for forging a life-long affection for Lawrence.

“Not only were they all brilliant teachers who knew how to draw the best out of their students, but they were able to make a callow youth brought up on the Chicago Tribune, ‘see the light,’” said Chandler.

The Chandlers met Anthony in the early 1990s when they took a Bjorklunden summer seminar on Mozart she taught. In 2007, the Lawrence Chamber Players, of which Anthony is a member, performed in Durham in George Chandler’s honor.

Professor of Music Janet Anthony

Anthony, an active soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, has taught cello at Lawrence since 1984. She has toured with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Austrian Radio Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna Symphony. She also has performed or taught in Argentina, China, Curacao, Japan, Venezuela and Vietnam and, as a member of the Duo Kléber, she has performed in England, France, Italy and Bosnia Herzegovina.

Since 1996, Anthony has made annual trips to Haiti to conduct, perform and teach at music schools there. She often takes students with her and to date, nearly 50 have accompanied her on her travels to assist at the schools.

After a devastating earthquake hit the country in 2010, Anthony helped organized a benefit concert in Appleton for Haiti and collected needed supplies for the survivors, including gently used instruments. Since the quake, she has performed in four memorial concerts in Haiti, including one this past Jan 12 — the one-year anniversary of the quake — for an audience of those who had lost their homes and who were living in tents on the main square of Jacmel, home of the Dessaix-Baptiste Music School, Haiti’s second largest, which was heavily damaged.

A frequent performer on Wisconsin Public Radio, Anthony earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in music from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She also studied at Vienna’s famed Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst.