Music Newsletter Winter 2004 - Evansville.edu

742Spring 2010Vol. 10 Issue 2University Choir to Perform at IMEAThe University Choir will perform by invitation at the Indiana Music Educators Association annual state conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Friday, January 22. The concert will be at 4:45 p.m. (EST) at the Indianapolis ConventionCenter’s 500 Ballroom.Robin Church with Nick SeibertJazzAssistantshipAnnouncedJazz Band to Compete at ElmhurstThe University of Evansville Jazz Ensemble I will perform and compete atthe 43rd Annual Elmhurst College Jazz Festival on February 26-28. The festivalwill be held on the campus of Elmhurst College near Chicago and will includejazz bands from both the high school and college ranks. The festival will alsofeature several guest performers, including Gordon Goodwin’s renowned BigPhat Band. Awards will be presented to the outstanding band(s) as well as outstanding soloist(s). The UE Jazz Ensemble I will also perform at schools on theway to and from Chicago. This trip was made financially possible by a generouscontribution from FUEM.Through a generous gift from RobinChurch, the James William Church andGary Gentry Hester Jazz Music Assistantshiphas been established. The initial award waspresented to Nick Seibert at the Jazz Ensembles concert on November 22. Nick plans tocomplete a certificate in jazz studies. We areextremely grateful to Robin Church for thiscontribution to the Friends of UE Musicassistantship endowment.

Dedication of the“Guitar Player”A ceremony and reception todedicate the “Guitar Player” and honorits artist, Steve Neff M ’91, was held inKrannert Gallery on September 23.The sculpture stands outside of Krannert Hall of Fine Arts. Steve has beenemployed with our University physicalplant since 1980.Voice Students Attend NATS CompetitionUE voice students participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singingcompetition and conference on October 16-17 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Studentscompeted in conference auditions and observed a master class with noted opera directorPaula Homer. Participating students were Grant Biggert, Kerri Kappler, and AngelinaMurray and semifinalists Melanie Bacaling, Brittany Brazinski, Alyssa Brooks, KyrstynBurns, Apryl Higgins, Jaclyn Hostettler, Kelci Scott, and Tiffany Winternheimer. Voicefaculty members Jon Truitt and Gregory Rike also attended.Composer Anthony PlogVisits CampusComposer and former professional trumpetplayer Anthony Plog was on campus in September and spoke about his life as a musicianand a composer. He also led a master class forUE brass majors. Plog has an extensive performance résumé, including appearances onnumerous major motion picture soundtracks,such as the original Star Trek, Gremlins, and theRocky series. Additionally, he has performedwith the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, Utah Symphony, Los AngelesChamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and theMalmo Symphony (Sweden). Plog is currentlya professor at the Staatliche Hochschule fürMusik in Freiburg, Germany, and his compositions are performed around the world by topmusicians and musical ensembles. Most recently,he received a commission to write the openingwork for the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra’s75th season.Do You KnowSomeone WhoShould ConsiderUE?As an alumnus, you can help usrecruit quality students to theDepartment of Music. Perhaps youhave a child, grandchild, brother, sister, niece, nephew, neighbor, orfriend who is a senior in high schooland would benefit from the educational opportunities at UE. If so,please take a moment to call.Office of Admission812-488-2468Department of Music812-488-2742We can add these students to ourmailing list and tell them about theexciting opportunities in music at theUniversity of Evansville. As a resultof your recommendation, we willwaive the student’s application fee.You can help your alma mater whilesaving money for your friends andfamily.

MEET OURNEW FACULTY MEMBERSRichard Williams, adjunct instructor ofvoice, is a graduate of Ohio State University. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Arts and is currentlycompleting a Doctor of Musical Arts invoice. Williams has an extensive performance career in both the United States andthroughout Europe, including performances at the Vienna Staats Opera, CarnegieHall, and the Kennedy Center. He hasworked with Leonard Bernstein, Keith Lockart, Eric Kunzel,Robert Shaw, and many other internationally known conductors.He has taught voice at Ohio State University, Muskingum College, and Kenyon College, and he is a member of the NationalAssociation of Teachers of Singing and Phi Mu Alpha.Jonas Thoms is an acting consortium instructor of horn at theUniversity of Evansville and an acting principal horn of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. Thoms earned a Bachelor of Musicin horn performance from the Eastman School of Music and aMaster of Music in horn performance from the University ofCincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM). He currentlyserves as third horn of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra andpreviously served as co-principal horn of the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra in Glens Falls, New York. He has performed as asubstitute or extra player with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Columbus SymphonyOrchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra,Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and the Albany SymphonyOrchestra as well as a number of regional orchestras in Ohio,Indiana, Kentucky, and New York. His teachers include W. PeterKurau, Randy Gardner, Elizabeth Freimuth, and Kristy Morrell.As a teacher, Thoms served as a horn instructor at the Universityof Cincinnati-CCM preparatory department in 2008-09. Whilestudying at CCM, he served as the graduate assistant to the hornstudio of Randy Gardner where his duties included private andclassroom instruction as well conducting horn choir. In addition,he has maintained a private studio of students ranging from elementary to high school.Thoms is a member of the International Horn Society and theAmerican Federation of Musicians. He performs on a customhorn made by horn builder Darin Sorley of Indianapolis.Anne Fiedler (left), Halbig’s former applied piano teacher, andMargaret Halbig.UE Distinguished AlumniLecture SeriesUE alumna Margaret Halbig spoke in Wheeler ConcertHall on October 1 as part of the Department of Music’s Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. Since her graduation in2003, Halbig has studied collaborative piano extensively andperformed in a variety of settings. She is currently finishing adoctoral degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara,and she spoke to music majors about her experiences as a student, performer, and accompanist since graduating from UE.music@evansville.edu

ALUMNIUPDATESShirley Clark ’49 was elected statecommander of the Indiana Navy Mothers’Clubs of America. She was also electedpresident of the Darmstadt-McCuthanvilleKiwanis Club. She is principal cellist ofthe Christian Fellowship Church Symphonic Orchestra.Norman Heim ’51 has had several clarinetbooks published by Mel Bay Publications.He is active as a clarinetist at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg,Maryland. Norman served on the UEmusic faculty from 1953 to 1960.Carol Davis ’52 taught music in publicschools for 24 years. She also taught privatelessons and directed several church choirsand other groups. She is retired but stilldirects a group in the retirement community where she lives.C. Robert Ellis ’60 received the 33rdDegree at the Supreme Council session ofthe Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite ofFreemasonry in Boston, Massachusetts, onAugust 25, 2009. He was accompanied byhis wife, Alice ’61.Ronald Fox ’65 retired in May 2008 fromLuther College in Decorah, Iowa, wherehe taught trumpet for 27 years. He alsodirected the Chancel Ringers HandbellChoir at Decorah Lutheran Church for 26years. He was the principal trumpet in theLaCrosse, Wisconsin, Symphony Orchestra from 1981 to 1996. He was conferredprofessor emeritus status upon retirement,and a trumpet scholarship in his name hasbeen established by his former students.He is married to Carole (Boylls) ’65.Jan Sullivan ’91 has been playing withthe Flute Symphony of Lexington for thepast year. The group is an intergenerationalmusic group of about 30 flutists. Theensemble covers the full flute family including one of the only contrabass flutes in theUnited States. Jan has two published books,Never Alone and Forever Family. Her booksare Christian fiction for teens.Kimberly Peyton ’00 is the director andthe training and music therapy internshipdirector at the Institute for Therapy throughthe Arts (ITA) in Evanston, Illinois. ITA isa creative arts therapy agency that serves avariety of ages and diagnoses.Timothy Weisman ’05 completed a Masterof Music in organ performance at the YaleSchool of Music in 2007 as a student ofMartin Jean. In May 2009, he earned aMaster of Divinity from Yale DivinitySchool, where his academic advisor wasThomas Troeger. While at Yale, Tim wonprizes in organ performance, organaccompanying, and church music, as wellas the 2009 Faculty Prize from the YaleInstitute of Sacred Music. Tim has recentlybegun a one-year internship at St. PaulLutheran Church in Vancouver, Washington, and he plans to spend the followingacademic year in residency at the LutheranSchool of Theology in Chicago, Illinois.Alex Smith ’07 is the band director atMater Dei High School in Evansville,Indiana.Elizabeth Grondin ’09 was chosen to serveas concertmaster for a production of LeRossignol at the University of Minnesotawhere she is pursuing a master’s degree inviolin performance and Suzuki pedagogy. SHARE YOUR NEWSYour UE friends and classmates want to hearabout you! Please take a moment to forward yourpersonal and professional news. We will be sure toshare it with fellow alumni and Friends of UEMusic in the next edition of this newsletter.Send your information to:Department of MusicUniversity of Evansville1800 Lincoln AvenueEvansville, Indiana 47722or e-mail music@evansville.eduName Year of GraduationAddressCity State Zip CodeE-mail MajorTelephone Number ()Your NewsThe King’s Singers toPresent WorkshopIn February, the world-famousKing’s Singers will be performing inHenderson, Kentucky. As part of theirtrip to the Tri-State, they will come tothe University of Evansville campus toprovide a workshop with the University Choir and Kantorei.