The UST Bands have been engaged in a variety of activities over the last several months. The Symphonic Band continues its outreach with local schools, performing in a series of concerts alongside a variety of high school bands, including a number directed by UST alumni, such as Caroline Becker and Jon Dostal. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble continues to perform new works commissioned by UST and written specifically for the group. Recent new works include the Fourth Suite for Band – “Sinú” – by Columbian composer Victoriano Valencia; additionally, Australian composer Ralph Hultgren wrote his fifth commissioned work for us, a three-movement piece titled “Concertino.” The UST Symphonic Wind Ensemble reached out to an Indian composer, Shamir Tandon, to write a new piece, and it was premiered in October with the composer in residence. A new work from internationally acclaimed American composer Dana Wilson will be coming to us in March. His “How Very Close” is a new song cycle for soprano and wind ensemble.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble took to the recording studio again to work on its fifth commercial CD. Both its fourth and fifth CDs will be coming out in Spring 2013 on the innova label and distributed internationally by Naxos. In January 2013, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble completed a five-concert international tour to India, visiting Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Gwailor.

Mark your calendars with our spring semester music events.  Please visit www.stthomas.edu/music/events for additional details and the full events calendar.

Society for the Doctrinal Affectation of Baroque Music
Chris Kachian, guitar; David Jenkins, organ; Michelle Nordtorp-Madson, art historian;
8 p.m. February 16
Chapel of St. Mary

Organ Recital Series, featuring Ahreum Han
3 p.m. March 3
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

UST String Day
A daylong festival for high school students featuring a master class with the Parker Quartet, sectionals with UST string faculty and an evening performance
8 a.m.-8 p.m. March 6
Anderson Student Center

All Hearts Listen Lectures, Part 2
A series of preconcert discussions by the Parker Quartet, 2012-13 Artists-in-Residence
8:15 p.m. March 7
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

UST Band Concert
8 p.m. March 15
O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, St. Catherine University

Organ Recital Series, featuring Michel Bouvard
3 p.m. March 17
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

String Orchestra Concert
8:15 p.m. March 19
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

Organ Plus Concert
3 p.m. April 28
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

Liturgical Choir Concert
3 p.m. April 28
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

Festival Orchestra Honors Concert
A high-caliber evening of music featuring our best students performing in front of a seasoned professional orchestra
8:15 p.m. April 29
Brady Educational Center auditorium

Chamber Winds Concert
A student/faculty chamber music collaboration
8:15 p.m. May 6
Brady Educational Center auditorium

Women's Choir Concert
8:15 p.m. May 7
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

Festival Choir Concert
7 p.m. May 9
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

UST Bands Concert
8 p.m. May 13
O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, St. Catherine University

Instrumental Jazz and Jazz Singers Concert
7:30 p.m. May 14
Brady Educational Center auditorium

Guitar Ensemble Concert
7 p.m. May 15
Brady Educational Center auditorium

String Orchestra Concert
8:15 p.m. May 16
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

All Hearts Listen Lectures, Part 3
A series of preconcert discussions by the Parker Quartet, 2012-13 Artists-in-Residence
8:15 p.m. May 27
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas

GPME Summer Seminar: Exploring Connections Between Neuromusical Research & Music Education
Featuring Dr. Donald Hodges
1 p.m. July 14
James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall, Anderson Student Center

With top 10 hits on the Billboard charts, hundreds of thousands of records sold worldwide and years of experience in the music industry, Steve Cole will be joining the faculty of the Department of Music at the University of St. Thomas to head the Music Business program.

Besides being a distinguished musician, producer and writer, Cole also has a strong business background with a B.A. in economics from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Before joining the faculty of the University of St. Thomas, he held the position of assistant professor of arts, entertainment and media management at Columbia College Chicago, where he was the head of the Music Business program, and chair of the Music Business Division at the McNally Smith College of Music.

Cole has been featured in numerous publications, including Alternative Press, Jazz Times, Radio & Records and Billboard magazine. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he has performed or recorded with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Boz Scaggs, Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber, Jim Peterik, Freddie Cole, Cyrus Chestnut and KMFDM, and has been a featured soloist with the City of Prague Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

“I’m so thrilled to join the Department of Music at The University of St. Thomas. The faculty and leadership of the Music Department are extremely progressive when it comes not only to training students to become great artists but also preparing students for the professional world of music through their commitment to entrepreneurial musicianship and investment in music industry education,” Cole said. “It’s an exciting time in the music industry. Advances in technology and the Internet have created a world of possibility in the music business, and vast opportunities are available to individuals with the knowledge, skills and drive to capitalize on them. This is precisely what the Music Business program at the University of St. Thomas prepares students for.”

Cross-disciplinary and experiential by design, the Music Business program combines courses designed to address the most current developments in the music industry, including modern media economics, booking and touring, social media marketing, copyright and publishing, and promotion and publicity, with courses in management, marketing, finance, accounting and entrepreneurship at the prestigious Opus College of Business. Offering a world-class music and liberal arts core, as well as experiential learning opportunities with record labels, radio stations, recording studios, booking agencies, concert venues and industry publications, the music business program at the University of St. Thomas truly prepares students to thrive as leaders of change in the evolving business of music and entertainment.

An accomplished musician, writer, producer and educator, Cole maintains a rigorous international touring schedule, is a sought after lecturer and clinician, and is a former governor of the Midwest/Chicago chapter of The Recording Academy.

Department chair Dr. Matthew George said, “I am extremely pleased to welcome Steve Cole to our Department of Music. He joins an already distinguished group of faculty and staff and his presence will certainly enhance all that we represent. He is clearly a leader in the field of music business, and as an active professional musician, he brings a distinct level of practical credibility. We're all thrilled to have him aboard, and we look forward to great things to come.”

Greetings all,

I am delighted to welcome you to our latest Department of Music newsletter. I am sure you will read with delight all the positive activities going on within our programs. I continue to be amazed by what out students accomplish, and by the dedication and excellence our faculty and staff constantly display.

This is a great time to introduce you to two of our newest members to the department. First, I would like to welcome Steve Cole as our new faculty member who is leading our Music Business program. In his short time, he has already raised the visibility of this program on and off campus, and our students are surely enjoying the vigor and enthusiasm he brings. I would also like to take this moment to welcome the Parker Quartet, our Artists in Residence. This amazing Grammy Award-winning string quartet has been on campus for a few months now and have already given a series of performances, lectures and workshops for our students and university community. They are a great addition to our already thriving programs and clearly enhance our reputation as a serious place to study music.

In addition to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ever-popular UST Christmas Concert, students and faculty are giving multiple performances throughout the year both on and off campus. As part of the closing celebrations for the university's successful capital campaign, music was a highlight of the gala events. Some of the department’s ensembles, students and faculty represented our programs very well and continue to receive notes of congratulations. Among our concert highlights, Max Weinberg, legendary E Street Band drummer and former “Late Night” band leader, performed with the University of St. Thomas Instrumental Jazz Ensemble.

Speaking of the capital campaign and success, I am thrilled to relay that the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Terry Langan, announced that $10 million has been raised for a new Center for the Performing and Visual Arts. While this amount is just a start to what is needed to build the center, it is a great start nonetheless. There is clearly an arts movement afoot at UST!

Please continue to check in with our website (www.stthomas.edu/music) to keep up with all that is going on in the Department of Music. There is always something exciting taking place!

Best wishes,

 

Dr. Matthew George, Chair
John Ireland Distinguished Professor

*************************
Dr. Matthew J. George
Professor of Music
John Ireland Distinguished Professor
Chair and Director of Bands and Orchestra
University of St. Thomas
Department of Music - BEC 9
2115 Summit Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105 USA
Ph. (651) 962-5854  Fax (651) 962-5876
mjgeorge@stthomas.edu

This fall featured graduate student piano recitals by Raluca Boac, Mellisa Weinert and Phebe Yeo; level-two recitals by Judith Krech, Taylor Bakken, Kelli Hudson and Lisa Hager; and level-one recitals by Nicole Osvold, McKenzie Morgan and Angela Drees. Phebe Yeo performed the Schumann Concerto for the Festival Orchestra Honors Concert.

Theophane Windschitl and Schola Cantorum performed in the first concert of this year’s Organ Recital Series on Dec. 9.

Dr. Matthew McCright gave a guest performance and workshop on the piano in September, and Christopher Norton will present a composer workshop in June.

Faculty member David Jenkins gave an organ performance.

Dr. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada gave workshops and presentations in California, New York, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and Greece. She published articles in the MTNA eJournal, Clavier Companion and The Canadian Music Teacher.

Dr. Suzanne Schons, Cornett-Murtada and Dr. Greg Robinson-Riegler (Psychology) were awarded a Faculty Partnership-in-Learning Grant to study the psychological implications of the testing effect on music students.

Schons presented the session “How Do Students Learn Music? A Look at the Brain and Learning for Piano Teachers,” at three venues: St. Paul Piano Teachers Association in May, Summer Workshops in Piano Pedagogy at the University of St. Thomas (along with co-presenter Amy Irvin, M.D.) in August, and Madison Area Piano Teachers Association in November. Schons also presented the session “An Enjoyable Journey: Preparing for Classical Repertoire” at the UST Summer Workshops in Piano Pedagogy in August.

The Graduate Programs in Music Education hosted the annual Summer Workshops in Piano Pedagogy, featuring nationally known presenters Gail Berenson, Paul Wirth, Jessica Johnson, Wynn-Anne Rossi and Schons.

The mission of Graduate Programs in Music Education is to raise the standard of music teaching in the United States by promoting artistic, intelligent, reflective and inspired music teaching at all levels of music instruction. Our work encourages a continual process of music education reform. We initiate programs that address practitioners' musical, intellectual and professional needs. We value classroom practice, theory and research equally in our quest to improve the quality of music education. The summer of 2012 was no exception!

As always, the Graduate Programs in Music Education at the University of St. Thomas was busy and active throughout the summer of 2012. In addition to our degree-seeking students, we had large numbers of music educators participating in our certificate programs in Orff and Kodaly, taking courses related to their areas of interest and engaging in our Summer Workshops in Piano Pedagogy. It was a rewarding summer for all who participated. Here are some of the highlights:

• Eighteen students completed the Master of Arts in Music Education degree during the spring and summer of 2012. 
• Jennifer Skoglund, Brandy Klingel Gullickson and Matt Oyen presented their research at our annual Research Roundtable.
• Thirteen students completed Orff Level III to earn their certificates in Orff-Schulwerk.
• Seven students completed their work in Kodaly Level III and earned their certificates in Kodaly Methodology.
• Many classes and programs saw record levels of participation, including the African Music Ensemble.
• As always, GPME played host to some of the world’s greatest educators who were able to share their expertise with us in workshops and classes held over our eight-week summer sessions.
• Dr. Frank Abrahams challenged all of us to become better educators during his visit to UST as the Jane Frazee Distinguished Scholar/Artist.
• We even celebrated the Olympics and enjoyed several social events throughout the summer!

We already are gearing up for the summer of 2013 and looking forward to having many of you return to campus to be a part of our programs. You can learn all about our plans and our offerings on the website. We hope you will join this lively community of talented and committed teacher/artists, and become a part of the St. Thomas tradition of excellence and inspiration.

The Music Department is pleased to offer a new minor in music composition. In composition studies, students collaborate with experienced composers in writing and performing their original music. Students are encouraged to develop their own individual artistic style, while studying the techniques of composing and arranging for a variety of electronic and acoustic instruments and voices. UST students write music in a variety of genres that range from orchestral and choral music to rock and music for video. Most importantly, students have ample opportunities to have their music performed by student soloists and ensembles as well as by professional musicians. This year, our student composers will collaborate with members of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet. Among a variety of options, courses include individual composition lessons, songwriting, music theory, orchestration, conducting, pop music fundamentals, as well as performance lessons and ensembles.

The University of St. Thomas presented the 25th annual Christmas concert, "Venite Adoremus: O Come Let Us Adore Him," on Dec. 2. Recorded in the Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium, the performance featured over 300 student performers in eight of the university’s vocal and instrumental ensembles: Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Festival Choir, Liturgical Choir, Women’s Choir, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Brass Choir and Handbell Choir. The CD is available for $15. To reserve your copies, complete an order form and mail with payment.

Kirsten Broberg's piece “Inward” for string quartet, which was a Fromm Music Foundation commission from Harvard University, was premiered by the Kronos Quartet string quartet at the Ensems Festival for contemporary music in Valencia, Spain on May 31. 

Angela Broeker conducted the St. Paul High School Honors Choir at the Ordway on April 24 in conjunction with the 21st Annual Honors Arts Celebration. Participating students came from Central, Como, Highland, Humboldt and Johnson high schools.

Aaron Brown and the UST Schola Cantorum collaborated with local organist Kraig Windschitle to present a concert of Bach organ works based on Gregorian chant.  The Dec. 9 concert was in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Gabriel Kney organ.

Paul Budde served as a clinician for the Middle School Band Festival at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells April 19-20. He also presented a clinic session at the Iowa Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference on Nov. 16.  His clinic session, "Articulating on Articulation: Research-Based Ideas for Teaching Young Wind Musicians," summarized research on the subject of articulation, as well as information derived from the study of phonetics and the impact of native language in an effort to share effective and inclusive ways to teach articulation to young wind musicians.

Vanessa Cornett-Murtada gave a workshop as an invited speaker at an International Wellness Symposium on June 28 in New York City. The three-day seminar on holistic teaching was sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Associations (CFMTA), and featured three presenters offering programs on physical and psychological health for performing musicians. On July 19 she presented a paper, “Mental Wellness for Musicians: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Psychology and Performance Anxiety Management,” at the 2012 World Conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) in Thessaloniki, Greece.  The paper was offered as part of a special interest group, Musician’s Health and Wellbeing, sponsored by the ISME Forum for Instrumental and Vocal Teaching. She presented a two-day workshop on “Performance Psychology and Mental Skills Training” for the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association in Thunder Bay, Canada, Oct. 26-27. On Nov. 16, she presented a paper, “On Common Ground: Uniting the Youth of Israel and Palestine Through Music,” at the national conference of the College Music Society in San Diego. She has two recent publications, a paper, “Nurturing the Whole Musician: Mindfulness, Wellness, and the Mind-Body Connection,” in the September issue of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) eJournal, and an invited article, “Cognitive Restructuring for Performing Musicians,” in the September issue of The Canadian Music Teacher / Le Professeur de Musique Canadien. She has been elected to the new Musician Health in Education task force of the College Music Society.

On July 28 two of our faculty members presented papers at the 30th annual symposium of the Performing Arts Medical Association (PAMA), “Medical Problems of Performing Artists,” in Snowmass, Colo. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada presented “The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Performance Anxiety Management,” and Sarah Schmalenberger presented “Musician Survivors:  Breast Cancer's Effect on Their Livelihood.” An article-length essay of Schmalenberger’s presentation is forthcoming in PAMA's journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists.  They also performed with the new music improvisation ensemble “The Improfs” on Nov. 18 at the Aria building in the Minneapolis Warehouse District.  The five-member ensemble performed as part of the project "Play the Building," an installment created by the avant-garde musical artist David Byrne (www.ariampls.com/playing-the-building/).
 
Matthew George and Bruce Gleason conducted clinics with the Bennett High School band and choir of Martin, S.D., at St. Thomas on May 5.

In June, Matthew George spent a week in Cordoba, Argentina, serving as conductor in residence at the University of Villa Maria.  He led conducting master classes, repertoire seminars and conducted the university wind ensemble in rehearsals and concerts. He returned to the University of Villa Maria during the final week of September to serve as artist in residence. In that capacity, he served as guest conductor of the university wind ensemble and gave master classes in conducting. In July, he completed a guest-conducting residency with the professional orchestra of Ouro Preto, Brazil.  He also served as master conductor for a week of conducting workshops and a final concert as part of the Cultural Festival of Minas Gerais in Ouro Preto.  He also conducted the Ouro Preto Orchestra in an international music festival held in Juiz De Forra, near Rio de Janiero. He conducted a recording project in São Paulo, Brazil, with the professional Brazilian Wind Orchestra. During the first week of October, he was the guest of Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China, giving lectures on music’s place in higher education and standards of international music programs. He served as an adjudicator for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestras Concerto Competition Finals along with current and past members of the Minnesota Orchestra in St. Paul on Oct. 28. He also recently returned from a short trip to Brazil, where he conducted the Brazilian Wind Orchestra as part of the organization’s 20-year anniversary.  A conductor on the ensemble’s latest CD, he also participated in a CD release event.

Bruce Gleason participated in the second biennial Harmoniemusik Academy, St. Moritz, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Aug. 13-18. Comprised of sessions in conducting and music history led by Isabelle Ruf-Weber and Urs Bamert, and headed by Bastiaan Blomhert, the weeklong academy focused on 18th- and 19th-century harmoniemusik repertoire and practice, and concluded in a public concert. Gleason, who received funding from a UST Faculty Development Research Grant toward his continuing band history research, shared the podium with conductors from the United States, Germany and the Netherlands in works by Beethoven, Mozart, Lachner and Gounod. He also addressed a music education doctoral seminar on the topic of online academic journals, and a historical research course at Arizona State University on Oct. 30 using Research and Issues in Music Education and his band history work as templates.

Ora Itkin gave a piano performance along with Rena Kraut, clarinetist for the Schubert Club Courtroom Concert Series, on Oct. 25 in St. Paul. The program included works by Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Schumann, Poulenc and Stravinsky.

David Jenkins attended the biennial national convention of the American Guild of Organists, July 1-6, in Nashville, and is beginning a three-year term on the board of the Twin Cities chapter of the AGO.
On Sept. 16 he performed his annual faculty recital in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, performing the complete Symphony No. 6 by Widor.

Shersten Johnson is contributing a chapter to the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Music and Disability Studies. The newly emerged interdisciplinary field of Disability Studies offers a sociopolitical analysis of disability, focusing on its social construction, and shifting attention from biology (the proper study for science and medicine) to culture (the proper study for humanists). The goal of the Handbook is to produce a comprehensive "state of current research" for the field of Disability Studies and Music. The chapter explores ableist narratives of music analysis through the lens of Braille Music notation, and contributes to the specific field of Music Theory and Analysis by questioning traditional notation-based analyses in an effort to move toward a more “universal design” of music analysis. She also presented a paper, “Refiguring Disfigurement in Petitgirard’s Joseph Merrrick, The Elephant Man,” at the Society for Disability Studies conference in June 2012. The paper, engages the opera’s themes of visual and auditory difference as refigured in the Prague premiere and Minnesota Opera productions, considering how gender, vocal grain, and spectacle, and staging call into question understandings of disfigurement and disability. She alsopresented a paper, “Cruel Rhythms and Musical Blows,” at the International Conference on Music and the Body in Hong Kong in March 2012. This paper audits several operatic moments of physical cruelty to see how music multi-modally represents not only bodily impact itself, but also the emotional impact for victim, punisher, onstage onlookers, and audience. In her capacity as liaison from the Society for Music Theory’s Music and Disability Interest Group to the Networking Committee, Shersten Johnson, is working to improve the accessibility of the Society for Music Theory and Music Theory Online websites. In collaboration with accessibility expert, Phil Kragnes, she developed a list of recommendations to improve the accessibility of the society’s web presence for those with vision-related disabilities. Most of these changes have now been implemented at the SMT website. Dialogues continue with the MTO editorial staff to improve accessibility in the MTO archives as well.
 
UST music major Thomas Glass collaborated with faculty advisor, Shersten Johnson, on a URCS Collaborative Inquiry project, Occupy Mozart: Class Conflict in W.A. Mozart’s Operas.
  
Lydia Miller traveled to Honolulu in May to play violin with the Hawaii Symphony, performing works by Tan Dun, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff and Mussorgsky. In July she was at Indiana University working with legendary violin pedagogue Mimi Zweig and serving as associate concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra alongside several concertmasters, including Jorja Fleezanis, former concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra and currently professor of violin at Indiana; Timothy Lees, concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and Noah Bendix-Balgley, concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Conductors included Matthias Pintscher, Roberto Abbado and Carlos Kalmar. She coached members of the string section of the All-State Orchestra at Concordia College and played at the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd in August. In September Miller and Chris Volpe (trumpet) performed in the Minnesota Opera's production of Nabucco.

Several UST adjunct faculty members taught in the Orff program at Southern Methodist University, June 18-29 – several of whom are UST alumni. Beth Nelson, ’09 M.A., taught all three levels of movement. Jacque Schrader taught Level II ensemble. Michael Chandler, ’09 M.A., taught Level I ensemble. Andrew Ellingsen, ’09 M.A., was a new faculty member this year, teaching one section of Level I movement. Paul Weller, a former UST Orff student, apprenticed in Level I with Paul Cribari, ’04 M.A.

Beth Nelson presented a workshop for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association in Pittsburgh on Oct. 20. UST also had a strong alumni/faculty representation among the presenters at the national conference, including Kris Olson, Meg Tietz, Sharon Mazion, Paul Weller, Jo Ella Hug and Sarah Richardson. Jacque Schrader presented a movement session based on the new Orff Schulwerk Teacher Education Movement Curriculum with Christa Coogan. Beth Nelson, Julie Scott and Paul Cribari presented a daylong Introduction to Orff Schulwerk workshop. Beth Nelson, as a member of the Steering Committee for the Guidelines Revision, presented the new AOSA Teacher Education Curriculum during two sessions at conference.

Douglas C. Orzolek has been granted a “Teacher Enhancement Grant” to examine and develop models for the assessment of critical thinking in music learning. He presented “Building a Support Network” to the music education majors at Minnesota State University – Mankato on Sept. 14 at the invitation of their professor and UST alum, Amy Roisum-Foley. On Sept. 20 he presented “The Roles of Assessment” at a professional development session sponsored by the UST Center of Faculty Development. He published an article, “The Call for Accountability,” in the Journal of Music Teacher Education; in addition, he published “Your Role in Teacher Evaluation” in the journals of 14 state music education associations. The article is a part of his role as national chair of the National Association for Music Education's (NAfME) Society for Music Teacher Education. He has been invited to serve as a reviewer and researcher for NAfME’s development of a new set of national content standards for music education.

The Music Major Convocation on April 10 featured Sarah Schmalenberger performing the (1982) “Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (Homage to Johannes Brahms)” by György Ligeti. Joining her were Tarn Travers, violin, from Luther College and Matthew McCright, piano, from Carleton College. She performed a final recital of the trios for violin, horn, and piano by Gyorgi Ligeti and Johannes Brahms on May 6 at Carleton College.  The trio ensemble of Schmalenberger, Travers and McCright received grants from Luther and Carleton Colleges as a collaborative initiative to perform these works at each of their representative institutions. One of the books ordered for the library, Blackness in Opera, ed. by Naomi André, Karen M. Bryan, and Eric Saylor, University of Illinois Press, 2012, contains a chapter by Sarah Schmalenberger: “Hearing the Other in the Masque of Blackness.” The book received a “recommended” review in Choice (Aug 2012), one of the major selection/reviewing journals for academic libraries. Schmalenberger and co-researcher Jean Giebenhain (UST Psychology) presented their research on the Life and Livelihood Study to the annual meeting of the American Music Therapy Association in St. Charles, Ill., on Oct. 13.  Their 90-minute presentation, “Healing the Musical Self,” explained how their data on musicians injured from breast cancer treatments suggested opportunities for music therapists to serve as allies in healing during and after breast cancer.

Faculty members of the University of St. Thomas Music Department presented an afternoon of Wind Chamber Music on July 22 in Baumgaertner Auditorium in Brady Educational Center. Paul Schulz (clarinet), Peter Douglas (bassoon) and Sarah Schmalenberger (horn) were joined by guest pianist Frances Armstrong in performing works by Franz Berwald and Daniel Baldwin; in addition, Armstrong performed two major works from the solo piano repertoire: Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in c-sharp minor” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Sonata Op. 7 No. 4 in E-flat.”
 
Two faculty members presented workshops and led discussion sessions for the Madison Area Piano Teachers Association on Nov. 2. Suzanne Schons’ topic was "How do students learn music? A look at the brain and learning for piano teachers" and Vanessa Cornett-Murtada presented "Crush the Jitters! Strategies for Performance Anxiety Management."

Cellist Andrey Tchekmazov and pianist Ora Itkin performed a recital of works by Schubert, Brahms, Shostakovich and Piazzolla on May 21 in Baumgaertner Auditorium in Brady Educational Center.

Rachel Wixson, ’11 M.A., has an article in the fall 2012 edition of the Orff Echo: “The Primary Years Programme: An Interdisciplinary Approach For Music Educators.”
 
Larry Zimmerman is in his 16th season as principal trombone of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra and performed with the orchestra on Nov. 17 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The program of Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” was conducted by Music Director Designate, Dirk Meyer. Jennifer Gerth was playing principal clarinet.

The University of St. Thomas choirs participated in many events this fall. The Capital Campaign Closing Celebration included a flash mob and gospel tune performed by our Festival Choir, and the Liturgical Choir sang at the Mass that preceded the event. Other fall events included an October concert with our Chamber Singers, Concert Choir and Festival Choirs our Women's Choir at All Souls’ Day Mass, a pops concert and musical theater concert by members of the Festival Choir, and many special liturgies by the Liturgical Choir; in addition, the Liturgical Choir welcomed Cantus, a professional male vocal ensemble based in the Twin Cities, for a choral workshop in October. All choirs prepared for the 25th annual Christmas concert, “Venite Adoremus,” which included many familiar carols as well as newly composed pieces for the Advent and Christmas season.