Shepherd School of Music - Houston, TX - NEWS AT THE SHEPHERD SCHOOL OF MUSIC

SHEPHERD SCHOOL IN THE NEWS -- 2005

Office of News and Media Relations
Jennifer Evans
Media Relations Specialist
Email: jevans@rice.edu

12-16	Rice Composer Premieres Four Works in January One week, two cities, three concerts, four premieres -- 2006 is shaping up to be a busy year for award-winning composer Pierre Jalbert. In the span of less than a week, the associate professor of composition and theory at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music will have four works premiere at performances in Chicago and New York City, including one at famed Carnegie Hall.
11-16	Shepherd School Graduate Students Win Gold Medals Two graduate students from Rice’s Shepherd School of Music—Clara Shin and Kana Mimaki—are still basking in the sun from their golden moment on an Italian island. Each of the pianists won a gold medal this summer at the Catania International Music Festival in Sicily, where they competed in the Rachmaninoff Concerto Competition.
11-2	Symphony to Celebrate American Music Month The Shepherd School’s symphony orchestra will celebrate national American Music Month with a Nov. 5 concert that will feature works of three American composers. The concert will be the premiere of “Blood Rite,” a musical work by Rice alumnus Randolph Partain.
10-18	Classic for All Ages Set for Fall Opera Two spirited children, a gingerbread house and one evil witch combine to make Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” an opera classic that never fails to enthrall audiences of all ages. The opera that was inspired by the Grimm brothers’ famous fairytale will be the fall production of the Shepherd School Opera, the first to be conducted under the new Director of the Opera Studies Richard Bado
10-13	Shepherd School's Bado Pursues His Lifelong Love for Music Richard Bado worked on his first opera when he was a sophomore in college. It was almost 30 years ago and the production was “Hansel and Gretel.” Today, Bado is back in a university setting — in the newly created position of director of the Opera Studies Program at the Shepherd School of Music — and preparing for the school’s first production this season: “Hansel and Gretel.”
10-10	Listening to What You Hear Listening to What You Hear was the theme of the first JUMP! concert of the Fall 2005 semester. Students from St. Stephen’s Montessori School and seniors from Sheltering Arms and Memorial Hermann at University Place Day Centers heard a variety of instrumentalists show how we can develop our music listening skills by learning how composers use instrumental voices in their compositions.
10-5	Special Internet2 Program from New World Symphony Susan Stauter, nationally recognized arts advocate from San Francisco will be talking about the importance of introducing children to the creative arts. She emphasizes the importance of arts education as a means of helping children develop critical thinking skills, self-esteem and self discipline
10-3	A Concert of Recent Music by Karim Al-Zand This evening of contemporary music features three world premieres and performances by guest artists, distinguished faculty, and students of the Shepherd School of Music. The unique program combines a wide variety of works and ensembles.
9-28	Rice Campus Escapes Rita Unscathed Robert Yekovich, Dean of the Shepherd School of Music and the Elma Schneider Professor of Music, rode out the worst of the storm in Alice Pratt Brown Hall, where he, his wife, two other faculty members and their families successfully watched over more than 100 pianos, an assortment of harps, numerous string instruments and valuable period pieces.
9-16	Bringing Music into Your Child's Life Rachel Buchman will talk about what to do at home with your music loving child, where to go to hear live music, resources for recorded music, movies and songbooks. We will discuss the lesson question when and why as well as developmental and educational issues regarding music and children. And we'll have a little fun with music ourselves!
9-6	Rebecca Clearman M.D. Webcast Postponed Preventing injuries and staying healthy is of primary importance for the performing musician. Rebecca Clearman, M.D. will introduce the field of arts medicine, and show how how she works with musicians to overcome the physical challenges of playing music at a high level.
9-1	Medical Outreach Club Reaches Out to Medical Center The Shepherd School Medical Outreach Club provides an outlet for Shepherd School students to share their talent and music making with those who don't have regular access to it. The Medical Outreach Club believes that music is a healing force, which is why the program focuses musical performances at places in the Texas Medical Center.
8-29	New Designations for Campus Entrances On Wednesday August 10, 2005, as part of the Rice Campus Wayfinding Project, new campus entrance designations will go into effect. On-line campus maps will display the new entrance numbers, and campus perimeter entrance signs will be changed
8-28	Shepherd School Mourns the Loss of Professor Emeritus of Violin Raphael Fliegel Our beloved friend and colleague Raphael Fliegel passed away Monday evening, July 25. Professor Fliegel was one of the founding members of the Shepherd School faculty and led the violin sections of the Houston Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. He touched the lives of countless numbers of our students and served as an inspiration for all of us.
5-11	Shepherd School Students to Perform at Kennedy Center The Rice University Shepherd School of Music will make an encore performance as part of a program that brings the nation’s most promising young conservatory artists to one of the best-known venues in the country. Several students soon will head to Washington to perform in the Terrace Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, marking the second year the Shepherd School has been invited to participate in The Conservatory Project.
5-9	Lavenda's Concerto to Premiere at Symphony Richard Lavenda, Shepherd School professor of composition and theory, knows the value of relationships in life — as well as music. His “Clarinet Concerto,” commissioned last year by the Houston Symphony, will premiere May 14 to 16 in Jones Hall in downtown Houston.
5-9	The Tiger of Chungshan In 2005, the Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Division's Outreach Program brings Chinese fable and contemporary American opera to H.I.S.D.'s Bruce Elementary when members of the Shepherd School of Music present Nicholas Scarim's "The Tiger of Chungshan".
5-5	Novus Offers Fresh Outlook in Debut Recording As most college students take advantage of Spring Break for fun and much needed rest and relaxation, trombonists John Widmer, Mike Clayville, Mike Selover, and Chris Beaudry, together known as Novus, embarked on a venture of a much different nature. Their spring break involved performances at UCLA and Cal State Long Beach preceding three full days of recording for the release of their debut recording of all new pieces for trombone quartet.
4-21	String O' Bits New electronic works will be presented by Jiena Gu and Brian Nelson along with a new video work presented by David Pencil. In addition, 3 groups of students will also present some experiments with sensors and interactive environments as the evening progresses. Event begins at 8:00 p.m. in Hirsch Orchestral Rehearsal Room, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University.
4-21	Spring Chamber Music Festival Shines Spotlight on 20th Century The Shepherd School’s Chamber Music Festival, scheduled for May 4 through 7, brings about mixed emotions – pride of accomplishment for students and faculty, pleasure for the audience and a certain nostalgia for those who soon will be leaving Rice.
4-14	Richard Beene Master Class For several years, Professor Beene has also served on the faculties of the Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival, and The Blanche Bryden Chamber Music Institute. Orchestral appearances include residencies with the New York Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as well as numerous guest performances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
4-7	The Creatures in Room 642 The Creatures in Room 642 by Frank Proto was the featured work for Seeing With Your Ears, the theme of Thursday’s JUMP! Inreach concert. Students from St. Stephens Middle School, Roberts Elementary School, and Sheltering Arms seniors heard a wide variety of musical styles, and learned how musicians create different characters and moods in music.
3-30	Win-win Combination for Students and Opera Lovers A pair of upcoming aria concerts will allow opera students to refine their acting skills while treating the audience to works from operas ranging from the familiar to the lesser known. The concerts, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 in the Wortham Opera Theatre at Alice Pratt Brown Hall, will feature a different program each evening. Selections will include arias from “The Magic Flute,” “Don Giovanni,” “The Italian Girl in Algiers,” “La Boheme,” “Werther,” “Marta,” “Der Freischutz,” “Manon,” “Carmen,” “Eugene Onegin” and “Little Women.”
3-29	Collaborative Concert Serendipity and a little planning are the catalysts that made possible an upcoming world-premiere collaborative concert that brings together student and faculty composers, dancers and musicians. The concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 5 in Stude Concert Hall in Alice Pratt Brown Hall, is the result of an unprecedented partnership among Shepherd School of Music faculty members and students and Rice Dance Theatre. It features the first-ever public performance of six musical compositions with seven specially choreographed dance pieces.
3-17	Shepherd School Students Play Elemental Role in Patience The Rice Light Opera Society will present Gilbert and Sullivan's comic light opera Patience in six performances March 17-19 and 24-26, 2005 on the Rice Univeristy campus at Will Rice College. Rice's population of 4,300 students offers a wide range of campus activities, such as student clubs, intramural sports, volunteering opportunities, and student media. Altogether, Rice students participate in about 200 clubs and organizations. Wherever a common interest exists, as long as a faculty sponsor is available, a club can be formed.
3-11	Shih-Hui Chen Awarded Koussevitzky Commission The Serge Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress and the Koussevitzky Music Foundation Inc. have awarded commissions for new musical works to seven composers, including Shih-Hui Chen. Chen is currently an Assistant Professor of Composition at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University and Composer in Residence at Boston University's Tanglewood Institute (2000, 2001, 2004). The commissions are granted jointly by the foundations and the performing organizations that will present the newly composed works.
3-7	Madeleine Kabat Performs with Cleveland Orchestra Each year, The Cleveland Orchestra performs a special 75-minute concert for Northeast Ohio's high school students. The Cleveland Orchestra's High School Morning Concert Series is designed to feature exceptionally talented young soloists and to present musical selections which show the diversity of the orchestral repertoire. The concerts introduce high school students to the traditional format of orchestral programs. At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, February 18th, 2005, Kabat made her performance debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in an educational inreach concert for hundreds of young people.
3-2	Houston Symphony's Graf to Guest Conduct Hans Graf, music director of the Houston Symphony, will be a guest conductor this month for an all-Mozart program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. The program will feature the Rice Chorale, the Chamber Orchestra and vocal soloists at the Shepherd School.
2-22	Steven Pride Trumpet Master Class Two familiar colleagues who had performed with each other for nearly two decades reunited on February 21st in Stude Concert Hall. Joining Marie Speziale and the Shepherd School of Music trumpet studio for a master class and lecture was Steven Pride, the longstanding second trumpeter of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Both trumpeters performed together in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for eighteen years.
2-17	Shepherd School Presents Spring Opera Series The Shepherd School of Music will kick off its spring opera series Feb. 18-20 when the Leon Wilson Clark Opera Series presents 12 different scenes from 10 different operas.
2-15	Faculty and Staff Service Awards Luncheon Commitment to Rice among its employees was apparent at the annual service awards luncheon held last week, at which 352 employees and retirees were honored for their collective 4,794 years of service.
2-14	Pastragus Head of Jury for Firelands Competition Isadora Pastragus, winner of the 2002 Firelands Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition was the head of the jury this years 2005 competition. The winners chosen in the two days of competition (Sunday, January 16 and Monday, January 17) competing to perform on one of four spots with the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, April 2-3, 2005 in Sandusky, Ohio near Cleveland.
2-11	Storytelling Through Music Storytelling Through Music was the theme of yesterday's JUMP! concert. Students from Isaacs Elementary School and St. Stephen's Montessori School joined seniors from Sheltering Arms Senior Center in attending the first JUMP! concert of 2005.
2-9	Cirque Du Soleil Musicians Visit Shepherd School During the North American touring production of Cirque du Soleil's production of Varekai, ethnic percussionist Rafik Samman and wind instrumentalist Wayne Hankin paid several visits to Richard Brown and the Shepherd School of Music's Percussion Studio for several impromptu master classes and workshop recitals. Varekai is touring in Houston, Texas from January 6 to February 13th at Reliant Park.
1-31	Nuiko Wadden Wins First Prize in Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition The competition's first prize was awarded to Nuiko Wadden, performing in the final round of the 49th annual Minnesota Young Artist Competition on Sunday, January, 16, 2005. The 24-year old harpist earned her Masters of Music in 2004 from Rice University as a student of Paula Page. She received the $3,000 Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Award; the $2,250 WAMSO Achievement Award; a performance with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä; a taped performance on McGraw Hill's Young Artist Showcase, WQXR in New York City, and the Erma Strachauer medal.
1-29	Karl Leister Clarinet Recital and Master Class Since the foundation of the Herbert von Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Leister has been teaching the young generation. Today many of his former students work in important positions of German or international orchestras. Simultaneously Karl Leister is requested at international festivals and master classes. Karl Leister obtained numerous awards and distinctions at national and international music competitions. Beyond that he recorded nearly all competitions of the clarinet literature on the following labels: DGG, EMI, Philips, Teldec/Warner, Orfeo, Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, Nimbus, Sony, Camerata Tokyo
1-22	Commemorative Concert Celebrates Norway's Independence Performances on original instruments: Hardanger fiddle and 1853 Bösendorfer piano. This event is presented in collaboration with the Norwegian Consulate of Houston.
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