Piano + Keyboard

Fennoyee Thomas named 2025 Distinguished Alumna

Mariefaith Lane — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 18:47:33 +0000

Fennoyee Thomas named 2025 Distinguished Alumna Mariefaith Lane Mon, 04/21/2025 - 12:47

MarieFaith Lane

The ��ƷSM��ӰƬ College of Music is pleased to announce that triple alumna Fennoyee Thomas (BA ’68, MA ’71, DMA ’83) has been named our 2025 Distinguished Alumna, honoring her lifelong contributions to the arts.

“When I graduated from high school, I had no intention of attending ��ƷSM��ӰƬ,” recalls Thomas, reflecting on her journey. “But my piano teacher was insistent—and in the end, it felt like a conspiracy between my parents and him to get me here. Looking back, they were right.”

Thomas—who established a distinguished career as a pianist and educator—spent decades shaping the next generation of musicians. “Teaching was never just a job, it was my calling,” she says. “Seeing students grow, challenge themselves and find their voices as musicians has been one of the greatest joys of my life.”

Beyond teaching, Thomas is a passionate advocate for the arts, having served on numerous local, state and national boards, commissions and committees—including the College of Music Advisory Board and the CU National Alumni Board Association. “Music connects us in ways words cannot,” she observes. “It brings communities together and that’s why I’ve always believed in supporting the arts at every level.”

Looking back on her College of Music experience, Thomas credits her professors with igniting her confidence and shaping her career. “I was very fortunate to have wonderful teachers,” she shares. “My first two years, I studied with [the late] Storm Bull who was not only an excellent teacher, but who also made me feel secure and supported.”

Thomas also speaks fondly of her later studies with the late Paul Parmelee: “He was a fantastic pianist and preparing for our lessons was something I truly looked forward to—we had the most wonderful discussions about music and piano. I admired him and he played a significant role in shaping my career.”

She adds, “My life was practically transformed at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ. I learned to be self-confident and I experienced success in the College of Music that I carried with me throughout my professional career.”

As a student, Thomas was the recipient of the Theodore Pressler Piano Performance Award and represented our College of Music at its NASM Evaluation/Accreditation student concert.

She also cherished the natural beauty of the campus. “Coming from Houston, I was so taken by the mountains—the beauty of the campus. I still think that it’s one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.”

Beyond her personal experiences, Thomas supports the College of Music’s universal musician approach that aims to equip students with a flexible skill set to navigate broadly-based careers. “I think it’s very important and I’m impressed with the curricula, programs and all of the opportunities that students have now to help them become well-rounded artists in today’s society,” she says. “The arts can play such an important role in service to mankind. I applaud the College of Music administration for adapting to students’ needs, providing more options for them to be creative and responsive to today’s world.”

Noting the evolving role of education and advocacy in today’s cultural landscape, Thomas adds: “More people are beginning to appreciate the arts as essential to our humanity and how we relate to each other. From attending concerts and visiting museums to attending lectures, listening to poetry or even joining a book club—all of these experiences shape our perspectives on society.

“It’s encouraging to see so many patrons supporting the arts. Their dedication makes a difference, and it reassures me that the arts will continue to thrive and impact future generations.”

Although retired from her role as professor of music and associate dean at Texas Southern University, Thomas remains active as an arts advocate and mentor to young musicians. She offers this advice to future students: “Follow your passion and pursue what you love with determination. Use the knowledge and positive experiences you’ve gained here to go out into the world, make it a better place and support others—because now, more than ever, we need that.”

Congratulations on your well-earned distinction, Fennoyee Thomas!

The ��ƷSM��ӰƬ College of Music is pleased to announce that triple alumna Fennoyee Thomas has been named our 2025 Distinguished Alumna, honoring her lifelong contributions to the arts. Thomas credits the College of Music with igniting her confidence and shaping her career as she reflects on the mentorship of her former professors, the campus’ natural beauty, and the transformative experiences that inspired her dedication to music and education.

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2025 Concerto Competition winners announced

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

2025 Concerto Competition winners announced Mariefaith Lane Thu, 04/10/2025 - 08:00

MarieFaith Lane

The College of Music’s annual Concerto Competition is always a highly anticipated event that celebrates the extraordinary skills and hard work of our undergraduate and graduate students. On April 6, this year’s final round of the competition culminated in two exceptional students earning first-place honors in their respective categories: Undergraduate violist Finn Cruit (BM ’25) and graduate pianist Ohad Nativ (PhD ’29). As a result of their achievements, they have the opportunity to perform with the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ Symphony Orchestra next season.

Undergraduate competition winner
Senior violist Finn Cruit performed Gyula Dávid’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, accompanied by Associate Teaching Professor Suyeon Kim. Cruit is a student of Associate Professor of Viola Erika Eckert.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to have won this competition,” Cruit says. “I’ve played in the orchestra for many past winners and always looked up to them—they’re all fantastic players. I never saw myself in the same light, so I still can’t believe it. It’s amazing to imagine myself up there, and I can’t wait to play with the orchestra.

“I couldn’t have done this without my wonderful teacher, Erika Eckert. I’ve grown so much musically and personally over these past four years, and that’s largely thanks to her. Also, a huge thank you to Dr. Kim for accompanying me—this wouldn’t have been possible without you, too!”

Graduate competition winner
Pianist Ohad Nativ performed Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in G Major, Op. 55, accompanied by Bobby Pace. Nativ is currently studying with Professor of Piano Andrew Cooperstock.

“I feel very honored to have won the competition and validated in being able to bring attention to repertoire that is less frequently performed,” Nativ says. “I’m extremely grateful to my piano teacher, Professor Andrew Cooperstock, for helping me work through this unusual and difficult piece and allowing me to elevate it to competition standards.

“I’m also grateful to the wider ��ƷSM��ӰƬ College of Music community, faculty, and competition judges and organizers for providing me with this opportunity and the ability to explore and promote my repertorial inclinations further than ever before.”

Big thanks to our faculty adjudicators—Gary Lewis, Matt Dockendorf and Julie Simson—and congratulations to all participating student competitors and collaborative pianists, and to those who advanced to the final round:

Undergraduate competition

Finn Cruit, viola
Corvina Graham, flute (honorable mention)
Laura Lambrech, oboe
Zixi Wang, piano
Sam Webster, euphonium

Graduate competition

Ohad Nativ, piano
Sydney Hoehl, trumpet
Katiann Nelson, mezzo-soprano
Miguel Angel Ortega Bañales, tenor
Leah Pernick, violin
Max Randal, piano
Leilani Spurlock, trumpet
Kisa Uradomo, violin (honorable mention)
Natalie Zeles, flute

To enjoy the winners’ performances in the fall, visit cupresents.org for details.

On April 6, undergraduate violist Finn Cruit and graduate pianist Ohad Nativ were awarded first prizes in the College of Music’s annual Concerto Competition. Congratulations to all participating students and collaborative pianists!

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Celebrate + aspire

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 15:59:06 +0000

Celebrate + aspire Mariefaith Lane Thu, 03/13/2025 - 09:59

John Davis

On March 2, the College of Music’s talented Opera Theater Singers once again delivered outstanding performances at our Eklund Opera Program gala at the Academy University Hill. We were honored to welcome Chancellor Schwartz for the first time at this annual fundraising event that aims to sustain and support the arts in our community. Pictured above (left to right): Andrew Todd, Assistant Dean for Advancement; Justin Schwartz, ��ƷSM��ӰƬ Chancellor; Leigh Holman, Eklund Opera Program Director; Paul + Kristina Eklund, naming donors of the Eklund Opera Program; and John Davis, College of Music Dean.

At the College of Music’s recent Eklund Opera gala, Chancellor Justin Schwartz described the magic of music as a hallmark of human connection; of a civilized society; and as its own kind of renewable energy.

More broadly, in the words of Ukrainian-born writer Joseph Conrad, “All creative art is magic, is evocation of the unseen in forms persuasive, enlightening, familiar and surprising, for the edification of mankind.”

As I reflect on the first months of 2025, I’m struck by the countless ways in which our students, alumni, faculty, staff and supporters embody these values. In these disorienting times, I’m heartened that our mission is more relevant than ever—as is my commitment to continue to celebrate and support our students and colleagues in their transformative work and artistic aspirations.

For example, I encourage you to discover how Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Professor of Music Education Margaret Berg is creating sustainability through music education, ensuring the well-being of individuals and communities. By integrating human and environmental sustainability into music education, the College of Music is preparing students to make an impact on our interconnected society. Related, two graduate students—Nicholas Felder and Ian Gunnarschja—received grants to support innovative projects that promote equity in music and wellness among neurodiverse musicians.

Creative courage and unique expression at our college are further personified by Enion Pelta-Tiller—a master’s candidate in jazz performance and pedagogy—whose ambitious, experimental approach to music brings together a wealth of coexisting influences and helped shape our new cross-genre ensembles and curricula. And, in case you missed it, our Distinguished Professor of Piano David Korevaar recently shared a delayed tribute to Beethoven’s semiquincentennial birthday—a labor of love and creative fortitude in the face of COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing five years ago.

Additionally, more than 100 guest artists, ensembles and lecturers have energized our classrooms and graced our stages so far this academic year—most recently including Kennedy Center honoree and five-time Grammy Award-winner Renée Fleming, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Diné composer, musician and sound installation artist Raven Chacon; as well as visiting scholars in our Musicology + Music Theory Colloquium Series and local luminaries like alumnus Gregory Walker—son of the late Helen Walker-Hill and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker—who presented a master class last week as part of our annual Persevering Legacy events showcasing works by women composers including those from historically marginalized groups. Also inspiring to our community this month was a musicians’ workshop led by Blues icon (and Boulder resident) Otis Taylor, a Colorado Music Hall of Famer.

For all these reasons among many more, I remain steadfast in our resolve to inspire artistry and discovery, together.

With gratitude,

John Davis
Dean, College of Music

"At the College of Music’s recent Eklund Opera gala, Chancellor Justin Schwartz described the magic of music as a hallmark of human connection; of a civilized society; and as its own kind of renewable energy. As I reflect on the first months of 2025, I’m struck by the countless ways in which our students, alumni, faculty, staff and supporters embody these values. In these disorienting times, I’m heartened that our mission is more relevant than ever—as is my commitment to continue to celebrate and support our students and colleagues in their transformative work and artistic aspirations."

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Distinguished professor shares delayed tribute to Beethoven’s semiquincentennial birthday

Mariefaith Lane — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:33:44 +0000

Distinguished professor shares delayed tribute to Beethoven’s semiquincentennial birthday Mariefaith Lane Tue, 03/04/2025 - 11:33

Adam Goldstein

Photo credit: Manfred Fuß

The timing was unfortunate for Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday celebration.

Commemorations of the fêted composer came in 2020 (scholars’ best guess at his birthday is 1770), just as the world was shutting down in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—and opportunities to experience the great artist’s music and legacy in person disappeared.

So David Korevaar, distinguished professor of piano at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ’s College of Music, sought alternative ways to honor Beethoven’s oeuvre in the face of lockdowns and social distancing.

“I found myself, like many of us, at something of a loss—no concerts, no in-person teaching, isolated at home,” Korevaar recalls now. “I had been thinking of filling in the gaps in Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas—there were a few that I had never played—and that inspired me to begin the process of playing through all of them and sharing ‘quick and dirty’ video recordings from home on my YouTube channel.”

Those videos (which are still available on Korevaar’s channel) were only the beginning. Korevaar found himself intrigued by the prospect of recording the complete sonatas properly and—in his role at the College of Music—he realized that he had the resources to realize that vision. With support from the college's C.W. Bixler Family Foundation Faculty Initiatives Fund, Korevaar set about doing justice to Beethoven’s timeless music.

“I talked with Kevin Harbison—the College of Music’s fantastic recording engineer—with Kawai America and with the college’s scheduling guru Brooke Balbuena to set up sessions in our gorgeous new Chamber Hall,” Korevaar says, adding that Kawai came through with a loan to the college of a 9-foot Shigeru Kawai concert grand for a year. “We recorded in a series of sessions that ended in July 2024 with all 32 sonatas completed.”

The next step was finding a way to share roughly 11 hours of music with the world. Enter Prospero Classical, a Swiss orchestral music label that offered Korevaar and his crew a thoroughly modern and multifaceted way to distribute the music. On March 7, the label will release a two-CD physical release of highlights from the sonatas followed by a series of digital-only albums of the sonatas issued chronologically.

“The two CDs will feature three sonatas from Beethoven’s ‘heroic’ period—so called because of the composition of the Eroica Symphony during this time: The Sonata Op. 53 (‘Waldstein’), Sonata Op. 54, Sonata Op. 57 (‘Appassionata’) as well as the ‘Andante favori,’ a movement originally intended to be part of the ‘Waldstein’ sonata,” Korevaar explains. “The second CD has two more sonatas, both of which Beethoven suggested be published as written for the ‘Hammerklavier,’ a German word for piano.”

All of the recorded sonatas (with the exception of Op. 106) are also up on Spotify as EPs; those are accessible here.

This approach offers a perfect way to share Beethoven’s music in the era of streaming and Spotify; it also offers a way to fulfill a musical mission that first came to Korevaar during the pandemic.

“I really wanted and, in a way, needed to do these properly,” he adds. “To record professionally, in a beautiful space, on a beautiful piano, with a first-rate engineer.”

Distinguished Professor of Piano David Korevaar found an alternative to celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday in the face of COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing five years ago.

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2024-25 Ekstrand Graduate Student Competition winners announced

Mariefaith Lane — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 19:00:00 +0000

2024-25 Ekstrand Graduate Student Competition winners announced Mariefaith Lane Wed, 11/20/2024 - 12:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

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We are thrilled to announce the winner of the 2024-25 Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Graduate Student Performance Competition: The Koa String Quartet!

The College of Music’s current graduate string quartet in residence—comprising violinists Kisa Uradomo and Leah Pernick, violist Thomas Chafe and cellist Heewon Lee—studies with the Takács Quartet. On Nov. 19, the Koa Quartet performed selections from works by Joseph Haydn and Kevin Lau, and was awarded $2,000 for their Ekstrand win.

“We are so happy to have started our residency at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ on such a positive note! It was an incredible opportunity to perform onstage alongside so many of our talented peers,” Pernick says. “Thank you so much to the Takács Quartet and string faculty for their mentorship, and to the Ekstrand family for their generous support of students.”

Lee shares, “Our main goal of the performance was to have fun and keep up the good energy. I think us dancing backstage helped with that. But in all seriousness, we’re super thankful for the win!”

Second prize ($1,000) went to saxophonist Joel Ferst, who also won the audience favorite prize ($250). This year’s other Ekstrand finalists ($500 each) include pianist John-Austin King, baritone Andrew Konopak and violinist Laura Pérez Rangel.

This year’s esteemed panel of judges were Jason Bergman—Associate Professor of Trumpet, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; Courtney Hershey Bress—Principal Harpist, Colorado Symphony; Adjunct Professor of Harp, University of Denver Lamont School of Music; and Lecturer of Harp, University of Wyoming; and Cameron Stowe—Chair, Collaborative Piano, New England Conservatory; Director, Collaborative Piano, Aspen Music Festival and School.

The Ekstrand Competition was launched by previous College of Music dean Robert Fink, and later renamed to honor the late Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and psychology professor Bruce Ekstrand. The competition invites top graduate students to compete for cash prizes for professional development. This year’s faculty judges for the  semi-final competition were Renee Gilliland, Jeremy Reger and Branden Steinmetz.

Semi-finalists included:

Voice: Sidney Grimm, soprano; Andrew Konopak, baritone; James Robinson, baritone
Piano: John-Austin King, Luca Pompilio
Strings: Julian Bennett, cello; Koa String Quartet; Laura Pérez Rangel, violin
Woodwinds: Joel Ferst, saxophone; Dylan King, saxophone; Harold Gomez-Montoya, clarinet
Brass + percussion: Mark Bennett, trombone; Sydney Hoehl, trumpet; Connor Johnson, trumpet

Congratulations to the Koa String Quartet and all participants in this year’s competition, as well as their teachers—the Takács Quartet, Andrew Cooperstock, Andrew Garland and Nathan Mertens in the final round. Our special thanks also to collaborative pianists Runze Li, Hsiao-Ling Lin, Matthew Sebald—and all other pianists, mentors and teachers involved in the previous rounds of this competition.

Partially funded by the Ekstrand Competition Endowment Fund, this annual event is the premier performance competition for the College of Music’s most outstanding graduate students.

We are thrilled to announce the winner of the 2024-25 Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Graduate Student Performance Competition: The Koa String Quartet!

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Alumnus spotlight: Cody Goetz

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Alumnus spotlight: Cody Goetz Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/23/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

Photo credit: DB Productions

Cody Goetz (MM ’19, piano performance + pedagogy) was part of the first cohort to graduate from the College of Music with a Graduate Certificate in Arts Administration. In 2022, he became executive director of Mundi Project.

“It's my firm belief that the arts administration program helped prepare me to become a nonprofit executive,” Goetz says.

According to its website, Mundi Project “actively breaks down socioeconomic and generational barriers by providing high quality music experiences for all.” Mundi Project programs place donated pianos with people or organizations that can’t afford them, teach community piano classes, put on workshops and concerts covering various musical cultures and intergenerational learning, and more.

Under Goetz's leadership, Mundi Project is the recipient of a $130,000 grant from ArtsHERE as part of a new pilot program from the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five U.S. regional arts organizations. More than 4,000 organizations applied; only 112 were selected.

“These grants support specific projects that will strengthen the organizations’ capacity to sustain meaningful community engagement and increase arts participation for underserved groups and communities,” shares Goetz.

Specific to Mundi Project, the ArtsHERE award will support two key initiatives: Creating a strategic plan and providing professional development in community music education, trauma-informed practices, accessibility and cultural competency for staff, board, teaching artists and volunteers. “These initiatives will strengthen Mundi Project’s capacity, cultivate an inclusive culture and improve program delivery to better serve diverse communities,” adds Goetz.

“I want to express my gratitude for my educational experience at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and how the power of my experience has led me to have early successes in my arts administration career.”

Congratulations to Goetz and the entire Mundi Project team!

Cody Goetz (MM ’19, piano performance + pedagogy) was part of the first cohort to graduate from the College of Music with a Graduate Certificate in Arts Administration. Today, he’s executive director of Mundi Project.

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Alternative keyboard offers College of Music students greater reach

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Alternative keyboard offers College of Music students greater reach Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

When Abigail Terrill (MM ’24) learned about alternative piano keyboards, it seemed she’d found an obvious solution to a complicated problem. Terrill spent the last year of her master’s experience researching narrower keyboards to accommodate pianists with smaller hands, and how quickly pianists can transition to and from them.

“The length of alternative keyboards is the same as standard keyboards, only the width of each key is very slightly smaller,” Terrill says. The ��ƷSM��ӰƬ College of Music has had such a keyboard on loan from the DS Standard Foundation since April 2023, featuring a six-inch octave instead of the standard six-and-a-half-inch octave.

“The reason I got interested was because I have tendonitis and I noticed a bunch of my female pianist friends were also getting tendonitis. I’ve had friends who have had to quit because they got some kind of severe playing-related injury,” Terrill says.

Alternatively sized keyboards can help pianists avoid injuries sustained from over-reaching and enable individuals with smaller hands to play some repertoire that is physically impossible for them to perform on standard-size pianos.

“Keyboards are made to a standard size and the human hand is not a standard size,” says Jennifer Hayghe, associate professor of piano and chair of the Roser Piano + Keyboard Program at the College of Music. “In my 25 years as a professor, I have seen the number of students with injuries rise exponentially. I spend a lot of my time working with students trying to reduce their stress and tension and work through the injuries they’ve accrued. I do believe that if we had smaller keyboards as a standard thing, that would not be an issue.”

The piece loaned to the College of Music is a piano action—that is, the keyboard and the mechanism that causes hammers to strike the strings when keys are pressed. This action can technically fit onto any piano, though some fittings are more difficult than others. Mark Mikkelson and Phil Taylor, both piano technicians at the College of Music, say they put in 50 to 60 hours of work fitting the alternative keyboard into a Steinway piano.

“The problem in making these keyboards for Steinway instruments is that Steinways are entirely handmade, which means they’re not all exactly the same,” Hayghe explains. “So when alternative keyboards are made as close as possible to a ‘standard’ Steinway size, all these little adjustments are necessary. It took a long time and a lot of adjusting to get that keyboard used to that piano.”

Abigail Terrill (MM ’24) and duo partner James Morris (DMA ’25) rehearse his first piano duo composition that premiered last year. Terrill is playing an alternatively sized keyboard on loan at the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ College of Music.

As part of her master’s thesis, Terrill discovered that attitudes around alternative keyboards are often of disdain. “I was really frustrated when I first started this research because I was telling people how unfair it was to not have smaller keyboards available to students—and the reaction I heard most was people saying ‘you don’t need that, you just need to fix your technique.’ So my response was, if I can show numbers to people who don’t want to bother with having to switch sizes, that may be more convincing.”

Terrill’s thesis project involved 15 pianists playing a musical excerpt on a standard piano, and then on a narrow keyboard. She measured their errors when initially playing on the alternative keyboard and after 10 minutes of practice.

“We found that everyone by the end—transitioning from the standard size to the second try on the narrow keyboard—had fewer errors than on the first try,” Terrill says. “Most of them said ‘I wish I could practice more on it.’”

Since graduating this spring, Terrill has been teaching piano lessons—another instance when narrow keyboards would be helpful. “Most instruments have smaller versions for when you’re learning as a kid, but not the piano,” she notes.

“I really see this as an equality issue. I’m looking for movement from people. I want to push for more research and for people to have conversations about it—I think even arguments will help.”

The College of Music has had an alternatively-sized keyboard on loan since April 2023. Recent graduate Abigail Terrill shares how the narrower keyboard is helpful, why it’s needed and what her thesis research found about the process of transitioning between pianos.

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Fortepiano refurb a labor of love

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Fortepiano refurb a labor of love Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/26/2024 - 00:00

Sabine Kortals Stein

Avlona Yarbrough Taylor, daughters Karen (Patrice Walsh) and Kathryn (Paul Barchilon), as well as Evelyn Taylor—sister of the late Douglas Taylor.

It was a long time coming.

Piano Technician Mark Mikkelsen—who, for more than eight years, has supported the care and maintenance of the College of Music’s fleet of 160 pianos, two harpsichords and an organ—was thrilled when the opportunity arose to rebuild, refurbish and restore one of two fortepianos donated to our college by the late Douglas Taylor and his wife, Avlona, as an in-kind gift in 2019.

The two fortepianos—one is a replica after Conrad Graf 1828 by Robert Smith, ca. 1982; the other is a replica after J. A. Stein by Richard Kingston, ca. 1982—are a tremendous boon for our college. Five years following their donation, the refurbished Smith fortepiano was performed on for the first time on April 8 by Wes Leffingwell, a doctoral student of Professor of Harpsichord Robert Hill.

Since the instrument’s donation, Mikkelsen—whose overall responsibilities include tuning, voicing, regulation, rebuilding and repair—researched the Smith fortepiano and embarked on a years-long restoration project in service to our students and faculty.

“The more I learned about the fortepiano from various sources—its history, how it was made, how it was shipped—the more I understood the instrument which inspired my problem solving,” says Mikkelsen, who was trained in piano technology at the nationally renowned North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Avlona Taylor enjoying Wes Leffingwell’s performance on the refurbished fortepiano up close.

Adds Operations Manager and Head Piano Technician Ted Mulcahey, “When the Smith fortepiano arrived, it was not in playable condition. After about 120 hours of creative work—including inventing or sourcing missing parts, strings, tools and more—Mark turned it into a beautiful working instrument.”

“It was like working on a ship in a bottle,” continues Mikkelsen, who grew up playing piano. “I really enjoyed the historical and problem-solving aspects of this project … and the positive reactions of the Taylor family, Wes and our faculty really made the effort worthwhile.”

Mikkelsen’s connection to the Taylor family extends beyond this project and our College of Music. Over the years, he’s worked on Avlona Taylor’s harpsichord and he’s started tutoring her daughter, Karen, in the art of tuning.

“Mark is very generous with his time and attention,” concludes Mulcahey. “He knew this project meant a great deal to our donors, faculty and students … and he gave it his all. He cares an awful lot.”

Our tremendous gratitude to the Taylor family; to Robert Hill for his guidance throughout this project; and to the College of Music’s entire Operations team—also including Piano Technician Phil Taylor—for their tireless, behind-the-scenes commitment to keeping our college running smoothly.

Photos below: Members of the Taylor family with Leffingwell, Mulcahey, Mikkelsen, Piano Technician Phil Taylor, Professor of Piano Andrew Cooperstock—with whom Leffingwell studied as a master’s student—and friends. A new plaque adorns the newly playable fortepiano, a replica after Conrad Graf 1828 by Robert Smith, ca. 1982: “This fortepiano was generously donated by Douglas and Avlona Taylor.”

Photos: Shih-Han Chiu

It was a long time coming. Piano Technician Mark Mikkelsen—who, for more than eight years, has supported the care and maintenance of the College of Music’s fleet of 160 pianos, two harpsichords and an organ—was thrilled when the opportunity arose to rebuild, refurbish and restore one of two fortepianos donated to our college by the late Douglas Taylor and his wife, Avlona, as an in-kind gift in 2019.

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Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/17/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

At the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM), students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. Most recently, the ECM awarded $5,820 in artist assistance grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects including:

Josie Arnett

Josie Arnett
“I’m really picky about which pieces I release on streaming platforms because I’m 20 and need to be able to write really bad music … and then release the things that I really love,” says Josie Arnett, an undergraduate composition student.

“Last fall, I got the opportunity to write a saxophone quartet piece for a group that travels all over the United States. I was really happy with the piece and really proud of it, so I reached out to a faculty member who set me up with the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ graduate saxophone quartet.”

Sanitas Saxophone Quartet

Working with the Sanitas Saxophone Quartet, College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison and a mixing artist, Arnett recorded the piece for projected release on streaming platforms this summer. The ECM grant helped pay the artists and distribution fee.

Arnett says she learned a lot about how to interact in a professional recording setting and enjoyed collaborating within the College of Music. “It’s been fun to work with people that have a lot of energy, positive attitudes and are just really excited about what they do,” she shares.

Alice Del Simone
At the end of May, DMA student in voice performance and pedagogy Alice Del Simone was part of a workshop presentation at the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia titled “Legato Then and Now, Vibrato Edition: A Close-Up of What Happens Between the Pitches in the Classical Bel Canto Tradition.”

“The workshop offered a toolbox of exercises for how to teach the type of legato singing that was happening at the end of the 1800s, beginning of the 1900s when we started to have recordings available,” Del Simone says.

“It was my very first time presenting at a conference where there are often hurdles for a young academic to get an invitation to present. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to work with a group of people who are more prominent in the community than myself.”

During the symposium, Del Simone stayed at the conference hotel, partially funded by her ECM grant.

Zachary Howarth
Zachary Howarth, a DMA student in jazz studies, will go on the road this summer to record music in studios in Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Howarth also hopes to perform this music live in venues across Colorado and Nevada.

The project will involve a contemporary jazz quartet—trumpet, piano, bass, drums—writing and recording the music. The ECM grant will help the project get off the ground by assisting with studio fees, production costs and travel expenses.

“The opportunity to write, record and play music with such high-level artists is invaluable to my collaborative research in compositional tendencies in contemporary jazz mediums and fully improvised music,” Howarth says.

SeaJun Kwon

SeaJun Kwon
SeaJun Kwon, also a DMA student in jazz studies, likes writing compositions that push the boundaries of jazz music including “Avant Shorts”—10 etudes exploring micro tonalities and rhythmic concepts that aren’t commonly used in jazz compositions.

Kwon plans to compose these etudes and begin recording them over the summer, using a microphone setup funded by an ECM grant.

“I thought I’d write a bunch of super short compositions that focus on different ideas to develop myself and provide my community with these resources,” Kwon says.

By keeping them brief, he hopes to make the compositions more accessible and useful for his community.

“People are really busy, there are so many things that you have to do and also so many distractions,” Kwon says. “I think these short compositions put less pressure on people—they can work on them for 10 minutes and still learn from them.”

Er-Hsuan Li with orchestra

Er-Hsuan Li
Er-Hsuan Li graduated from the College of Music in May with a DMA in piano performance. In April, he held a concert featuring the world premiere of John Clay Allen’s “The Stone Harp” concerto for piano and strings along with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

“It was a very fun event,” Li says. “Even though it was off-campus, it was really CU that made this possible because that’s how we connected.”

Many ��ƷSM��ӰƬ musicians participated including conductor and Associate Director of Orchestras Renee Gilliland, composition alumnus John Clay Allen, Anna Kallinikos—who’s majoring in trumpet performance and minoring in business—and the majority of the 18-member orchestra. The ECM grant assisted Li with compensating the performers and renting the venue.

“I had performed in front of an orchestra only once before when I was a high schooler,” Li recalls. “So it was really special for me that—after 13 years—I got to do this again professionally. And I would like to think that I am a better musician now compared to then!”

Ethan Stahl

Ethan Stahl
When Ethan Stahl discovered Nkeiru Okoye’s music, he knew he’d found something special. “I loved her music so much that I began working on it for one of my degree recitals,” he says. “Eventually, it became evident that I had enough material to create a lecture recital.”

To prepare, Stahl—who’s pursuing a DMA in piano performance—interviewed Okoye about her music. “We talked on the phone for a few hours and in that conversation, she proposed the idea of writing a piece for me to add to one of the sets of piano pieces that I was studying.” The ECM grant helped fund Okoye’s contribution.

Okoye’s music is already part of the American Music Research Center’s Helen Walker-Hill Collection; her upcoming composition will be added to the collection.

“Okoye is extremely novel in the world of piano composition,” Stahl adds. “I’ve never heard piano music that is similar stylistically to hers.”

Natalie Trejo
Artist Diploma student Natalie Trejo competed in the finals for the Austin Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition in April—and the ECM grant helped her get there.

“I submitted the preliminary recordings back in January. From there, they selected three finalists to perform in the live final round in Austin, Texas,” Trejo says. “It went really well. I ended up getting third but I was very happy with how I played and I was not nervous at all.”

Trejo performed Chen Yi’s “Memory” for solo flute and Frank Martin’s “Ballade” for flute and piano.

“I love doing competitions because I get to learn new repertoire, meet new flutists, make connections and get to know the other finalists—it’s very important and humbling, but still encouraging,” Trejo says.

Jonathon Winter
Another spring 2024 graduate, Jonathon Winter—who earned a DMA in violin performance—recorded four pieces to be compiled into an album titled “Origin: Music by Women of the Americas.” The pieces are “ko’u inoa” by Leilehua Lanzilotti, “Scratch the Surface” by Dana Kaufman, “String Poetic” by Jennifer Higdon and “Sueños de Chambi” by Gabriel Lena Frank.

“I picked some fiendishly difficult music to play but it was so worth it,” Winter says. “I learned so much about preparing for recordings and what that actually entails.”

Winter worked with pianist and Postdoctoral Lecturer Barbara Noyes, as well as Kevin Harbison to record all four pieces over the course of seven months. Winter will continue the project over the summer with the goal of finding a label to disseminate the recordings.

Congratulations to all grant recipients and our thanks to this year’s adjudicators: College of Music staff member Kathryn Bistodeau, Music Advisory Board member Laurie Hathorn and University of Denver entrepreneurship faculty member Neil Pollard.

At the ��ƷSM��ӰƬ Entrepreneurship Center for Music, students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. This spring, the ECM awarded $5,820 in grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects.

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Robert Hill’s laboratory for thought

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Robert Hill’s laboratory for thought Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/05/2024 - 00:00

Marc Shulgold

Here’s a contrast to consider: A professor in a modern-day classroom teaching early music on an ancient instrument by employing a university’s newly adopted, forward-looking approach.

For retiring College of Music Professor of Harpsichord Robert Hill—who’s also the Eugene D. Eaton, Jr., Chair in Baroque Music Performance—it all makes perfect sense. “If you think about it,” he says, “the academic community is like a formalized laboratory for thought—which it should be.”

Hill is stepping down this summer after a long career that found him in Europe studying and performing in the ’70s and ’80s with a parade of legendary figures in the early music revival, followed by an academic career at Harvard and Duke universities, and finally joining the College of Music faculty in 2018 after a stint at the Freiburg University of Music in Germany.

His students have learned much more than how to play the harpsichord, he stresses. Speaking excitedly about the College of Music’s universal musician mission, which empowers students to widen their perspectives, Hill refers to musical life in the Baroque Era when versatility and the ability to improvise were requirements for success.

“Developing universal musicians reflects, in part, the process of figuring out how to combine practicing musicianship and theoretical understanding of music,” he explains. “I emphasize that approach for the harpsichord.”

By example, Hill points to the 18th-century practice employing the figured bass, a shorthand sketching-out of notes and chords that would direct a musician to create a spontaneous accompaniment. “Keyboard players of that day would have been very well trained in music theory to be able to fulfill their roles as accompanists,” he reminds us. A crucial lesson for his students who study harmony and counterpoint, requiring repetitive exercises and classroom tests.

Hill admits he was pretty tough on his students, for good reason. “There’s so much pressure to fit in,” he says. “So the way I treat the process is to encourage my students to question what they encounter in their worlds in the hope that that will lead to their own progression and empowerment—and an understanding of what they can do to make the world a better place.”

As Hill looks to retirement, including the continuation of recording all of Bach’s keyboard works—which thus far numbers 10 CDs—he remains hopeful that his students will hear his message, lean into the college’s mission and thrive as multiskilled, multifaceted musicians.

“By advancing a career track where you train yourself—not just as a player, but also as a thinker about music—and combine that with a musicological training up to the point of actually getting a degree, you set yourself up to be attractive as a job candidate in a fairly broad range of situations,” he adds. “Equally important is finding your own voice as an artist. It takes a lot of work—it’s a life process.”

Retiring Professor of Harpsichord Robert Hill reflects on his career, the College of Music’s universal musician mission and the academic community as “a formalized laboratory for thought.”

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