Conservatory

Category: Conservatory

Lawrence conservatory faculty featured in Riverview Gardens concert celebrating Latin American music

Lawrence University Conservatory of Music faculty members take their talents into the community Monday, April 11 to highlight several genres of Latin American music.

Riverview Gardens Community Center will host “A Celebration of Hispanic and Latino-American Music” at 7 p.m.  The concert, at 1101 S. Oneida St., Appleton, is free and open to the public.Latino-Anerican-logo_newsblog

The concert, organized by pianist Anthony Padilla, associate professor of music, and saxophonist José Encarnación, assistant professor of music and director of jazz studies, is one of a series of ongoing community programs highlighting 500 years of diversity and achievement by Latino Americans.

Padilla will lead the concert’s first half, which will feature classical pieces by Roberto Sierra, Astor Piazzolla, and Juan Orrego-Salas. He will be joined by Janet Anthony, cello, Wen-Lei Gu, violin and Matthew Michelic, viola.

The second half of the concert program highlights musical several styles, including Brazilian bossa nova, bolero from Mexico, rumba-son from Cuba and Argentine tango. All of the pieces were arranged by Encarnación, who will be joined by percussionist Dane Richeson and bassist Mark Urness.

The community program “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History” was organized through a partnership between Lawrence, the Appleton Public Library, Casa Hispana and the History Museum at the Castle. It is supported by a pair of grants Lawrence received from the American Library Association and the Wisconsin Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence students earn five firsts at state singing competition

Lawrence University students claimed five first-place finishes at the annual Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Nov. 6-7 at UW-Eau Claire.

Alexander Quackenbush, Sun Prairie, and Clover Austin-Mueleck, San Francisco, Calif., won the men’s and women’s first-year division, respectively.

Yonah Barany, Portland, Ore., and Annie Mercado, Des Plaines, Ill., took top honors in the second-year men’s and women’s division, respectively.

Ian Grimshaw, Nellysford, Va., earned first-place honors in the men’s third-year division, while Elisabeth Burmeister, Chicago, Ill., received second-place honors in the third-year women’s division. Burmeister finished second in the second-year women’s division in 2014.

Austin-Mueleck and Grimshaw are students in the voice studio of Ken Bozeman, Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music. Quackenbush and Barany study with Associate Professor Karen Leigh-Post. Mercado is a student of voice teacher John Gates. Burmeister studies in the voice studio of Joanne Bozeman.

Twelve of Lawrence’s 19 entries advanced to the finals in the competition, which drew nearly 400 singers from around the state. First-place finishers receive $150, while second-place finishers received $125.

The NATS competition features 22 separate divisions grouped by gender and level. Depending upon the category, 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.

Alex-Quackenbush_newsblogClover-Austin-Meuleck_newsblogYonah-Barany_newsblogAnn-Mercado_newsblogIan-Grimshaw_newblogPictured (from left): Alex Quackenbush, Clover Austin-Mueleck, Yonah Barany,  Annie Mercado and Ian Grimshaw.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence student pianist, flutist win state music competition

Lawrence University students captured a pair of first-place honors at the recent 2015 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Wisconsin state competition conducted at UW-Eau Claire.

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Sophomore Anthony Cardella

Sophomore Anthony Cardella, Porterfield, and senior Leo Sussman, San Francisco, Calif., won the piano and flute divisions, respectively, in the MTNA’s Young Artist (19-26 years of age) competition. Cardella is 15th Lawrence piano student in the past 16 years to win the Wisconsin MTNA competition.

Cardella and Sussman advance to the MTNA’s five-state East Central Division regional competition, which will be held Jan. 15-16, 2016 at Indiana’s Goshen College. Regional winners will compete in the MTNA national finals April 2 in San Antonio, Texas.

A student in the studio of Associate Professor Michael Mizrahi, Cardella performed “Impromptu Op. 90 No. 4,” by Franz Schubert, “Un Sospiro” from “Three Concert Etudes S. 144 No. 3” by Franz Liszt, “Feux d’artifice” from “Preludes Book 2” by Claude Debussy and “Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 4” by Sergi Rachmaninoff.

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Senior Leo Sussman

Sussman, who studies in the flute studio of Assistant Professor Erin Lesser, performed “Chant de Linos” by Andre Jolivet, a flute concerto by Carl Nielsen, CPE Bach’s “Unaccompanied sonata in A minor” and Philippe Hurel’s “Loops I” for solo flute.

Other Lawrence musicians also were recognized. Senior Anne Daley and freshman Ming Hu were named first alternate in the flute and piano divisions, respectively. Senior Joey Arkfeld, sophomore Xiaoya Gao and sophomore Ethan Valentine were awarded honorable mention recognition in the Young Artist piano division.

The MTNA performance competitions recognize exceptionally talented young artists and their teachers in their pursuit of musical excellence.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Michael Mizrahi and NOW Ensemble release third album, “Dreamfall”

NOW Ensemble, an eclectic chamber ensemble co-founded by Lawrence University Professor of Music and pianist Michael Mizrahi, released its latest album, “Dreamfall,” May 27 on New Amsterdam Records.

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NOW Ensemble features electric guitarist Mark Dancigers, flutist Alexandra Sopp, bassist Logan Coale, clarinetist Sara Budde and pianist Michael Mizrahi.

The ensemble’s third full-length album in the past 10 years, “Dreamfall” explores vibrant new sonic possibilities while featuring several new commissioned works by some of today’s leading young composers, including Andrea Mazzariello, Scott Smallwood and John Supko.

Mizrahi launched NOW Ensemble in 2004 with a vision of creating new chamber music for the 21st century. With its unique instrumentation — flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass and piano — the ensemble provides a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, reflecting the musical influences and diverse backgrounds of its members.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence composer weaves musical mosaic with help from 20 eighth graders

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Asha Srinivasan

A collaborative project between Lawrence University composer Asha Srinivasan, Lawrence graduates Jesse Dochnahl (2006) and Carrie Winkler (1986) and a pair of middle school bands in two different states led to a recent world premiere performance.

The Sheboygan Falls Middle School eighth-grade band, under the direction of Winkler, featured Srinivasan’s “Chroma Mosaic” in its spring band concert earlier this month.

The composition grew out of a first-year project called Mission to Commission. The brainchild of Dochnahl, who directs the eighth-grade band at CS Porter Middle School in Missoula, Mont., Mission to Commission seeks opportunities for year-long creativity, communication and collaboration for two middle school band programs.

Under Dochnahl’s baton, Porter Middle School’s eighth-grade band will perform “Chroma Mosaic” May 26 in its own concert.

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Assistant Professor of Music Asha Srinivasan addresses the audience prior to the world premiere performance by the Sheboygan Falls Middle School band of “Chroma Mosaic.”

Starting in April 2014, Srinivasan began working with Dochnahl on the idea of a joint collaboration. Starting last September, through personal visits to Sheboygan Falls and Skyping with the students in Montana, Srinivasan mentored the young musicians on the art and process of music composition.

Students from both schools composed a series of individual melodies and each school ultimately chose 10, ranging in length from 10 to 20 seconds, to submit to Srinivasan, who then skillfully arranged 14 of them into a single, moving mosaic of music.

“Some of them I used in their entirety and others I just used small snippets,” explained Srinivasan, who returned the finished composition in mid-March to the students to begin practicing. “I adjusted the melodies in terms of tempo, key and instrumentation to create the larger, composite piece.”

The culmination of the collaboration — the premiere performance of the six-minute composition by the Sheboygan Falls eighth-grade band — left Srinivasan feeling overwhelmed.

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Carrie Winkler ’86, director of the Sheboygan Falls Middle School band, congratulates Lawrence composer Asha Srinivasan following the premiere performance of Srinivasan’s “Chroma Mosaic.”

“I told the students afterward that was the best, most meaningful performance I’ve ever experienced. It wasn’t just my music, it was our music. I hope the experience, the impression, the memory stays with them just as it is going to stay with me.

“This was really one of the neatest projects I’ve been involved with,” added Srinivasan. “It’s really hard to compose music for the middle-school band level, so this was a major learning process on my end as well.”

Srinivasan, who joined the Lawrence faculty in 2008, has won two international awards for her competition “Dviraag.” She was the winner of the Ruam Samai Award at the 2011 Thailand International Composition Festival and earned first-place honors in the Flute New Music Consortium’s 2014 international composition competition, which attracted more than 250 entries from composers in more than 20 countries.

“Dviraag” is included on the CD “Millennial Masters Vol. 4” by Ablaze Records and also can be heard on SoundCloud.

The Mission to Commission project was supported by the Kohler Foundation and the Plum Creek Foundation.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Magnificent Music: Lawrence students earn national recognition from DownBeat magazine

What’s better than winning a Student Music Award from DownBeat magazine? How about winning two.

The Lawrence University jazz studies and improvisation department has double reason to celebrate after DownBeat’s announcement of the winners of its 38th annual Student Music Awards.

Lawrence claimed a pair of honorees — an individual and an ensemble — in the magazine’s yearly salute to the best in student music-making. Tim Carrigg was one of two winners in the college undergraduate jazz arrangement category. Tambo Toké, Lawrence’s Afro-Cuban percussion group, was cited for outstanding performance in the college undergraduate Latin Jazz Ensemble category.Tim-Carrigg-with-DB-award

The 2015 SMAs, announced in DownBeat’s June edition, are presented in 13 categories in five separate divisions (junior high, high school, performing high school, undergraduate college and graduate college) are considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education.

Carrigg, a senior from Westport, Mass., was recognized for his six-minute, big band arrangement “Once Upon a Time,” which was inspired by Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.”

“When I started arranging the piece, it turned out much, much different than the original tune, so I just renamed it,” said Carrigg, a music theory/composition major with a jazz emphasis.

The SMA was a well-earned reward for Carrigg, who began working on the piece in the fall of 2013 and once spent 40 consecutive hours hunkered down in his room notating the piece.

“Whenever you’re composing anything, you put in a lot of work, literally hundreds and hundreds of hours and at the end of the day, are you going to create something that is really great? Hopefully,” said Carrigg, whose compositions will be showcased in a jazz recital on May. 31.

He recorded “Once Upon a Time” in the spring of 2014, using a 17-piece band he recruited from members of the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble (LUJE) and Lawrence Jazz Band. Guitarist Sam Genualdi and drummer Dan Reifsteck are featured soloists on the recording.

“Tim incorporates contemporary grooves, fresh harmonic ideas and unique methods of improvisation to create music that is exciting and compelling…He is incredibly talented and still so humble and down to earth.”
— Patty Darling

Carrigg says composition has been a part of his entire musical life, but he says his “serious composing” phase began three years ago when he joined the Lawrence composition studio.

“I’ve written pieces that were more compositionally sound, but this is the first piece I’ve ever written for big band,” said Carrigg, a pianist whose playing career has been sidetracked by a severe case of musician’s dystonia, a neurological movement disorder. “This one has a ton of excitement. It has a lot of adventurous things that I tried.”

Carrigg credited the late Fred Sturm, an award-winning composer and former director of Lawrence’s jazz studies program and Patty Darling, a DownBeat SMA jazz arrangement winner herself as a Lawrence student in 1984, for their mentoring on the project.

“Fred said he wanted me to write a big-band piece, so I started on it and it was really tough, really tough, but he kept pushing me and pushing me,” said Carrigg. “I wanted to make it as best for him as I possibly could. He loved it and even sent me an email saying ‘I’ve been listening to it all day.’ I felt I at least lived up to that goal.”

“Patty was fantastic on it, too,” Carrigg added. “She was extremely helpful with all the deadlines and making sure everything was in place. Through the entire process she was very encouraging.”

As a composer and arranger, Darling says Carrigg possesses “a powerful identity.”

“Tim incorporates contemporary grooves, fresh harmonic ideas and unique methods of improvisation to create music that is exciting and compelling,” said Darling, who co-directs LUJE and the Lawrence Jazz Band. “He also experiments with acoustic and electronic instruments to create new sounds that help create structure and form in his compositions. He is incredibly talented and still so humble and down to earth. Last spring, Fred told me how much he loved working with Tim and what great potential he has. Fred would be so proud right now of Tim’s success and national recognition.”

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Tambo Toké, Lawrence’s 17-member Afro-Cuban percussion ensemble, earned “Outstanding Performance” recognition from DownBeat magazine in its 38th annual Student Music Awards competition.

The SMA for Latin Jazz Ensemble is the second major honor in the past year for Lawrence percussionists. In 2014, the Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble (LUPE), of which Tambo Toké is a subset, won the Percussive Arts Society World Percussion Ensemble Competition and was a featured performer last fall at the PAS International Convention in Indianapolis.

The 17-member Tambo Toké, which includes non-percussion majors, is led by student director Eli Edelman, who submitted a video tape of a 30-minute medley of traditional Afro-Cuban drumming and songs that he arranged for his senior recital in February 2014.

“He’s done a tremendous job of teaching, creating musical arrangements and inspiring his colleagues to embrace this powerful music. The prestigious DownBeat award is well-earned testament to his great work.”
— Dane Richeson on Eli Edelman

“It was obvious to me the performance was strong enough for DownBeat to consider it in their annual national student competition. I know there are very few schools that are performing this style of Cuban music in this country,” said Dane Richeson, professor of music and director of Lawrence’s percussion studio.

Tambo Toké grew out of a presentation jazz studies instructor José Encarnación did three years ago on Afro-Cuban music, specifically Rumba.

“Some students from the percussion department starting getting together on a weekly basis to listen to the music and learn how to play the individual parts for the Rumba instrumentation,” said Encarnacion, a native of Puerto Rico, who turned the presentation into a tutorial. “Some of the students had been working on this music with Dane and Michael Spiro, so they were contributing as well on teaching other members of the class, including myself, on how to play this great music.”

With Edelman leading the ensemble, Richeson decided to incorporate it into his world music curriculum, expanding the repertoire to include other Cuban traditional music such as Arara and Bata.

“The fact that our students are open minded enough to learn, respect and embrace music and life from another culture is what makes Tambo Toké special and worthy of national recognition,” said Encarnación.

Edelman, a senior from Hoboken, N.J., brings the experience of two recent visits to Cuba to his position of director of Tambo Toké. With the support of some Lawrence research grants, including a Melon Senior Experience grant, he was able to spend two months in 2013 immersed in the Afro-Cuban folkloric music scene of Havana and Matanzas.

“Almost every single day I had a two-hour private lesson in the morning with one teacher, a two-hour private lesson in the afternoon with another teacher, and then I’d go find live music performances to watch in the evening,” said Edelman, a double degree candidate with majors in percussion performance and history.

“This music is part of an oral tradition, so everything I learned was taught by ear in the way that master drummers teach their students. In the four years that I’ve been in charge of the ensemble, I’ve drawn heavily upon material I learned from my teachers in Cuba.”

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As its student director, senior Eli Edelman (front row, right), helped Tambo Toké earn a DownBeat award in the Latin jazz ensemble category of the magazine’s 2015 student music awards competition.

Richeson, who has used several sabbaticals to study music traditions in Ghana, Cuba and Brazil, says it is crucial for 21st-century percussion students to have both exposure to, and experience performing, the music traditions rooted in West Africa.

“Eli is a perfect example from several students I’ve had over the years who have fallen in love with one of these African-based music traditions,” said Richeson. “With his command of the Spanish language and his keen musical intuition, Eli learned an impressive amount of repertoire while in Cuba. It became clear that he was ready to take on the role of student directing our Afro-Cuban ensemble. He’s done a tremendous job of teaching, creating musical arrangements and inspiring his colleagues to embrace this powerful music. The prestigious DownBeat award is well-deserved testament to his great work.”

Since DownBeat launched its student music awards competition in 1978, Lawrence students and ensembles have won a total of 26 SMAs, including six in the past five years.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Mozart Music: LU Students get rare opportunity to study composer’s hand-written score

Thanks to the thoughtfulness of a Lawrence University alumnus, music history and music composition students recently had the rare privilege of viewing an autograph leaf — a hand-written page — of a Wolfgang Mozart score.

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A 1773 two-sided autograph leaf from the fourth movement of Mozart’s “Serenata,” K. 185 offered students a rare glimpse into the hallmarks of his writing style.

Over the course of four days, more than 60 students visited the Seeley G. Mudd Library to see the autograph and hear presentations by Assistant Professor Jill Thomas, director of technical services and Associate Professor Antoinette Powell, music librarian.

Loaned to the college by a 2010 Lawrence graduate who wished to remain anonymous, the autograph provided intriguing insights both into the historical context of the piece and Mozart’s composing style.

The single, two-sided autograph leaf is from the fourth movement of Mozart’s “Serenata,” K. 185 and includes the final 10 measures of the Menuetto on one side and the first 16 measures of the Trio on the other. It was written in Austria in 1773, when Mozart was just 17, to mark the college graduation of a family friend.

“With the Mozart autograph we were able to briefly become a contemporary of Mozart,” said Assistant Professor of Music Asha Srinivasan, who took students from her Techniques of the Contemporary Composer class to one of the presentations. “We are all composers, so we put ourselves in that time period and thought about how and where Mozart composed that work. It was enlightening and awe-inspiring.”

According to Powell, at the time the piece was written, “Americans were wearing hats made out of raccoons and dumping tea into Boston Harbor, while in Salzburg, people were wearing elegant clothes and listening to Mozart in a refined setting.”

Comparing the autograph to a published edition, students were able to see that the hallmarks of Mozart’s writing style – working quickly, composing pieces in his head before committing them to paper – were already present, even at such a young age.

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Music librarian Antoinette Powell conducted a series of presentations for students on a hand-written 1773 score by Mozart that was on loan to Lawrence.

“It was so exciting to see Mozart’s original serenade and minuet,” said Annie Mercado, a freshman from Des Plaines, Ill., who participated in a presentation as part of Instructor Ann Boeckman’s music theory class. “It’s not every day that even conservatory students get to be in the presence of musical history that changed the way we look at music today.”

Cosette Bardawil, a freshman from Brookline, Mass., also a member of Boeckman’s class, found the informative background presentation  helped bring the centuries-old autograph to life.

“I especially enjoyed the forensics section about the different types of paper, the way that each paper was made and how that helped to identify the era of Mozart’s compositions,” said Bardawil.

Since students in Lawrence’s composition department are required to write music by hand, Srinivasan said the autograph presented “a wonderful opportunity to trace the practice of composition by seeing a renowned composer’s actual handwriting from that era.

“Seeing the quality and nature of the strokes of musical notation brought to life the human hand and mind behind this work in a way that published printed music simply cannot do,” said Srinivasan. “Many of my students really appreciated seeing the back of the autograph, the more ‘messy’ side that the librarians revealed by taking it out of the original casing. As composers, a lot of our work might be initially messy, too, so that was just very visceral for us all.”

The autograph’s owner first approached Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory of music, about displaying it in the conservatory, but security concerns nixed that idea. As an alternative, it was decided library staff would invite classes at appointed times for presentations in the Mudd’s Milwaukee-Downer Room so students could compare the autograph to a modern published score.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence Jazz Series welcomes pianist, composer Jon Cowherd for April 17 concert

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Jon Cowherd and his band — percussionist Brian Blade, guitarist Steve Cardenas and bassist Tony Scherr — perform in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel Friday, 17.

Pianist, composer, arranger and producer Jon Cowherd and his band The Mercy Project showcase music from his album “Mercy” in a Lawrence University Jazz Series concert Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors and $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Released in 2013, “Mercy” is Cowherd’s first album released under his own name. Completely fan-funded, “Mercy” showcases Cowherd’s distinctive compositional style.

“Jon Cowherd is one of the most expressive and sensible jazz piano artist I have ever heard,” said Jose Encarnacion, instructor of jazz studies at Lawrence. “His beautiful melodies, profound harmonies and lyricism will easily connect you with his musical stories. I love his Mercy Project and am looking forward for his next musical production. This should be a concert that the Lawrence community can’t miss.”

Cowherd is best known for his participation in the Fellowship Band, which he co-founded with celebrated percussionist Brian Blade. The two met as students at Loyola University in New Orleans, where Cowherd studied French horn with jazz great Ellis Marsalis. Since its inception in 1998, the Fellowship Band has toured widely and garnered critical acclaim for its stylistic synergy of jazz, blues, gospel and folk.

A much sought-after collaborator, Cowherd has worked with such notable artists as Cassandra Wilson, Lizz Wright, Kellylee Evans, Roseanne Cash and Iggy Pop, all of whom he cites as influences on “Mercy.”

Joining Cowherd on stage will be Blade, guitarist Steve Cardenas and bassist Tony Scherr.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Pianist Michael Mizrahi Selected for National Arts Award

Lawrence University pianist Michael Mizrahi has been named one of five international recipients of the S&R Foundation’s 2014 Washington Award.

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Assistant Professor of Music Michael Mizrahi was among five national recipients of the Washington Award presented by the S&R Foundation.

Presented annually by the Washington, D.C.-based foundation, the Washington Award recognizes individuals who display outstanding ability and artistic excellence. It supports those who contribute to an international cultural dialogue.

Mizrahi, assistant professor of music at Lawrence, will be formally honored May 30 at the S&R Washington Awards Gala at the Halcyon House in the Georgetown district of the nation’s capital. He will receive a $5,000 cash prize in support of his career.

“We are thrilled that Michael has won the Washington Award,” said Brian Pertl, dean of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music. “Since the award is specifically for talented individuals with high aspirations in the arts, I can’t imagine a better recipient. Michael is always pushing musical boundaries, working closely with composers to create new works, redefining the relationship between audience and performer and bringing live performance to underserved audiences. This award will help him take his musical aspirations to the next level.”

According to Sachiko Kuno, CEO and president of the S&R Foundation, the 2014 Washington Award winners “are dynamic artists who are engaged with their communities and with audiences worldwide.

“We applaud their drive and aspirations and are proud to support them towards the next steps in their creative development,” said Kuno in announcing the award winners.

Mizrahi joined the conservatory of music faculty in 2009. His debut album, “The Bright Motion” on New Amsterdam Records, was included on both Time Out New York’s and Time Out Chicago’s list of best classical albums for 2012. The video of the album’s title track was featured on National Public Radio’s “Deceptive Cadence,” which hailed it as “a meditation on quietude amidst unceasing movement, a thick-walled cell of solitary contentment in the churn of daily life.”

His recording portfolio also includes the world premiere of three works for violin and piano by Aaron Copland.

He is a founding member of both NOW Ensemble, a chamber group devoted to commissioning and performing new music by emerging composers, and the Moët Trio. He also is a member of the New York City-based chamber ensemble Decoda, which creates innovative performances and engaging projects with partners around the world.

Mizrahi is currently co-directing the project “Music for All: Connecting Musicians and Community.” The project is supported by a $16,700 Arts and Culture grant from unrestricted funds within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and is designed to bring classical chamber music to settings where such music is not normally performed.

Joining Mizrahi as 2014 Washington Award winners were:

The S&R Washington Award recipients for 2014 are:

• Nabil Shehata, double bassist and conductor

• Tamás Krizsa, dancer, choreographer

• Erzhan Kulibaev, violinist

• Huanhuan Ma, soprano

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

World Music Series Welcomes Ivory Coast’s Dobet Gnahoré

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Dobet Gnahoré

The multi-talented Dobet Gnahoré brings her charismatic stage presence,  powerful voice and appealing melodies to Stansbury Theatre in the Music-Drama Center Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. for the second concert in Lawrence University’s 2014-15 World Music Series.

Tickets for the performance, at $10 for adults, $5 for seniors/students (free for Lawrence students/faculty/staff) are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

A singer, dancer and percussionist, Gnahoré is widely regarded as one of contemporary African music’s most exciting talents, performing repertoire that ranges from delicate ballads to upbeat African grooves. The daughter of Ivory Coast master percussionist Boni Gnahoré, she is a former member of the Tché Tché dance company.

Gnahoré’s discography includes six albums, with her latest 2014’s “Na Drê,” a disc dedicated to the unity of women and Africa.

She toured widely throughout Europe in 2014 and comes to Appleton following three performances in St. Paul, Minn.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.