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| 11.20.11
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"Israel in Egypt" performed by the George Washington University Singers
The GW University Singers, accompanied by an orchestra, will perform select movements from "Israel in Egypt," a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. [ Read more] |
| 11.13.11
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The George Washington University Orchestra presents "New Frontiers"
The GW Orchestra will perform works exploring change, creation, and exploration of new horizons including Hohavness’s "And God Created Great Whales" and Dvorak's Symphony No. 5 ("New World"). [ Read more] |
| 11.9.11
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French Colors: Music performed by the George Washington University Chamber Choir
The GW Chamber Choir performs an all French program, featuring a performance of Gabriel Fauré's "Requiem," Debussy's "Trois Chansons" as well as works by Saint Saens and Ravel. [ Read more] |
| 10.18.11
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Yeskel Memorial Concert: Ieva Jokubaviciute on the Piano
Pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute performs in the first concert in the Yeskel Memorial Concert series, an annual series of concerts featuring visiting artists of national and international stature. [ Read more] |
| 10.16.11
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The George Washington Bands present "TIMELINE"
Featuring Malinee Peris in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," the concert will include works by Bilik, Saucedo, Orff, and more. [ Read more] |
| 9.21.11
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Peter Fraize Faculty Recital, "Fraize Book"
The George Washington University's Department of Music presents faculty member and acclaimed saxophonist Peter Fraize, who is the composer of more than 100 works for jazz ensembles of various styles and instrumentations. [ Read more] |
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Benno P. Fritz
Director of Bands
bpfritz@gwu.edu
ext. 44401
Phillips Hall B-139
Bachelor of Music Education, 1985, Michigan State University;
Diploma of Fine Arts (Conducting and Symphonic Wind Literature), 1992, University of Calgary (Berta, Canada);
Master of Arts (Conducting), 1992, Ph.D. in Education, 1999, The George Mason University
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Professor Benno P. Fritz joined the faculty of The George Washington University in 1989. As Associate Professor in Music and Director of Bands, Dr. Fritz's duties include conducting the University Symphonic Band, University Wind Ensemble, and directing GW's award winning Colonial Brass. Additionally, he coordinates all ceremonial music for The George Washington University, as well as teaching class conducting and coaching various chamber groups. Dr. Fritz's academic experience includes teaching in the public schools of Michigan, California and Virginia. As a performer, Prof. Fritz has worked as Trombonist/Assistant Director with the Disneyland All-American College Band. He performed for the 1984 Olympic Games and at the Grand Opening of Disney's Epcot Center. Professor Fritz performs regularly on tenor and bass trombone with various chamber groups, including the Potomac Brass Ensemble and the Academic Brass Quintet. Dr. Fritz's professional activities as a teacher, performer, composer, conductor, adjudicator, and clinician have taken him through all 50 states and eight foreign countries. His recent composition, Vienna 1861 was premiered by the Vienna Community Band in the summer of 2010. Dr. Fritz is the state chair for the National Band Association. His other professional affiliations have included membership in the College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference, the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association, the World Association of Symphonic Bands, the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Directors Association, and the Conductors' Guild.
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Gisele Becker
Director of Choral Activities
gbecker@gwu.edu
ext. 46247
Phillips Hall B-145
Bachelor of Music, 1981, The Catholic University of America
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Gisele Becker is music director of the Cantate Chamber Singers, with whom she has conducted works ranging from the Monteverdi Vespers to new and commissioned music. She has served as music director or chorus master at Arlington Presbyterian Church, the Washington Bach Consort, Cathedral Choral Society, and Oratorio Society of Washington (currently the Washington Chorus). Prof. Becker has prepared choruses for Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Robert Shaw, and Nicholas McGeegan, among others; produced CDs for local music organizations; taught conducting at Catholic University; and sung as a member of the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble. She also conducts the GW chamber choir and women's chorus.
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Peter Fraize
Director of Jazz Studies
pfraize@gwu.edu
ext. 49046
Phillips Hall B-131
Artist's Diploma in Jazz Performance, 1989, Royal Conservatory of The Netherlands
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Professor Peter Fraize joined the GW Jazz Faculty in 1994, and currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies. Prof. Fraize attended the New England Conservatory of Music from 1983 to 1985, and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 1985 to 1989 where he recieved his degree in Jazz Performance. Since his return to Washington, DC in 1989, Prof. Fraize has established himself as a bandleader with his jazz/rock band Stickman, the Peter Fraize Quintet and Trio, and his recent Hammond organ-driven project. He is also a long time member of the Greg Hatza Organization and the Larry Brown Quintet. Over the course of his career Prof. Fraize has been featured as a leader and sideman in festivals and clubs in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Peru. He has released several CDs on his own label, Union Records. His latest, Organic Matter, won the Washington Area Music Association award ("Wammie") for Best Jazz Recording 2010.
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Nancia D'Alimonte
Director of University Orchestra
dnancia@gwu.edu
ext. 46247
Phillips Hall B-145
DMA in Orchestral Conducting, 2002, Eastman School of Music
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Nancia D'Alimonte is music director of the National Institutes of Health Philharmonia, which has been awarded five grants for performances under her leadership from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland. She is also an education programs consultant for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Philharmonic. Prof. D'Alimonte has guest conducted the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova (sponsored in part by the US Embassy), the Bacau Philharmonic in Romania, Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra (NY), Macon Symphony Orchestra (GA) and Brighton Symphony Orchestra (NY). Most recently, she conducted with Barry Hemphill at the Kennedy Center Messiah sing-along concert.
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Douglas Boyce
Composition and Theory
dboyce@gwu.edu
ext. 46338
Phillips Hall B-144A
Bachelor of Arts (Physics and Music), 1992, Williams College;
Master of Music, 1996, University of Oregon;
Ph.D., 2000, University of Pennsylvania
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As Assistant Professor of Music, Prof. Boyce teaches theory, musicianship, and composition courses and also oversees all aspects of instructional technology in the Department of Music. A founding member of counter)induction, composer Douglas Boyce writes chamber music that bridges the medieval and the modern, the visceral and the cerebral. Praising his Quintet "l'homme armé", Allan Kozinn in The New York Times, wrote "he couches [the medieval melody] in such thoroughly modern scoring that the ear is lured to other things, including the juxtaposition of eerie string writing with playful material for the clarinet and piano, or the lively interplay among all five instruments." Mr. Boyce was born in New York City in 1970. After performing with various punk rock bands in the greater New York metropolitan area, he attended Williams College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics and Music, with honors, in 1992. He holds an MM from the University of Oregon, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where, in 1999, he was awarded the Weiss Prize in Composition for Trois Complaintes. He has attended the Master-Class in Composition at the Aspen Festival, the Czech-American Summer Music Institute in Prague, and the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium. During the summers of 2000 and 2002, he was a resident fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He has studied with George Crumb, James Primosch, Kathryn Alexander, Robert Kyr, Judith Weir, Ladislav Kubik and Robert Suderburg. His works have been performed in Philadelphia, New York, Aspen, Frankfurt and Prague. His music for The Muslin Plays, a film and performance project developed with JMandle Performance was featured at the 1996 SOHO Arts Festival. In 1999, he and his works were featured on WXPN Philadelphia's Dystopia, a new music radio journal. His work Palimpsest: A Composition of Maps, commissioned by Concert Artists' Guild for violinist Asmira Woodward-Page, was recently premiered at Carnegie Hall's Well Hall in New York.
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Roy J. Guenther
Composition and Theory
roymusic@gwu.edu
ext. 41053
Phillips Hall 212
Bachelor of Music Education, 1966, Bachelor of Music Theory, 1968, University of Kansas;
Master of Arts, 1974, Ph.D. (Musicology), 1979, The Catholic University of America
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Roy Guenther has taught in the Department of Music since 1974. Department Chair for 22 years, he is now executive associate dean of GW's largest academic unit, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Prof. Guenther's specialty is Russian music and music theory. His translation of Alexandra Orlova's Musorgsky's Days and Works: A Biography in Documents was published by UMI Research Press. Other contributions include articles on Musorgsky and the opera Khovanshchina for the International Dictionary of Opera as well as articles and reviews in a variety of scholarly journals. Prof. Guenther served as a concert reviewer for the Washington Post from 1982–1992. Formerly a trombonist with the United States Marine Band, he has performed as a soloist and with chamber ensembles and orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Filene Center Orchestra, Washington Ballet Orchestra, and the Bolshoi Opera.
As principal trombonist of the American Camerata for New Music, Prof. Guenther was soloist for the world premiere recording of John Stephens' Creations for trombone and string quartet. He and his wife, organist Eileen Morris Guenther, have presented numerous recitals of music for organ and trombone in the United States, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Brazil. Prof. Guenther is himself also an organist and pianist and has served Resurrection Lutheran Church in Arlington, Virginia as its Organist/Choirmaster since 1969.
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Eugene Montague
Theory
eugene_m@gwu.edu
ext. 48563
Phillips Hall B-140
Bachelor of Arts (Mod.) in History and Philosophy, 1987, Trinity College Dublin;
Bachelor of Arts (Mod.) in Music, 1992, Trinity College Dublin;
Master of Music (Theory), 1995, University of Massachusetts Amherst;
Ph.D., 2001, University of Pennsylvania
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Eugene Montague joined the department in 2009, having previously taught at the University of Central Florida. Professor Montague’s research focuses on the ways in which music interacts with movement, including music and dance, theories of performance, and links between musical experience and human consciousness. He has worked with a wide range of repertoire, from 17th-century French dance music to the sounds of the post-war avant-garde. Current projects include an exploration of the roles of embodiment in piano performance, an experimental investigation into human preferences in moving to music, and an appraisal of musical meaning in 1970s punk rock. Professor Montague has presented conference papers on music and movement, on semiotics, and on music and consciousness, including national meetings of the American Musicological Society, the Society for Music Theory, and the College Music Society. He has published essays on logic in Iannis Xenakis’ compositions, on the appropriation of garage rock by the Clash, and on the metaphor of a compass in Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VIII for Solo Violin. A chapter on the disciplinary connections between the study of consciousness and the study of music is forthcoming in the collection Music and Consciousness, to be published by Oxford in 2010. Professor Montague was born and grew up in Ireland, living in both Cork and Dublin. He played the piano from an early age and studied piano with Anthony Glavin at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, earning advanced diplomas in both performance and teaching.
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Kip Lornell
Ethnomusicology
klornell@gwu.edu
ext. 46249
Phillips Hall B-142
Bachelor of Science in Cultural Sciences, 1975, State University of New York Empire State College;
Master of Arts in Folklore, 1976, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology (Regional American Music), 1983, University of Memphis
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Professor Lornell teaches courses in American music and ethnomusicology and serves on the GW Africana Studies program committee. His research in American vernacular music has resulted in the publication of one hundred twenty articles and record notes, twenty-eight record projects, several documentary films, and twelve books--most recently From Hip Hop to Jubilee: Readings in African American Music (Prentice Hall, 2010). This research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropology, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
From 1988–90 Prof. Lornell was a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, working with Anthony Seeger at Smithsonian/Folkways recordings. He was recognized among the "Outstanding Young Alumni" in 1989 by the University of Memphis. Other awards include the 1993 ASCAP-Deems Taylor award for The Life and Legend of Leadbelly (co-authored with Charles Wolfe), a 1997 Grammy for co-authoring the program notes for the Anthology of American Folk Music (Smithsonian/Folkways). He has taught at the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary, and in 1995-96 he was a visiting professor at the Johns Hopkins University (Peabody Conservatory).
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Karen Ahlquist
Musicology
ahlquist@gwu.edu
ext. 46270
Phillips Hall B-137
Bachelor of Arts, 1970, Mount Holyoke College;
Master of Music, 1974, The Juilliard School;
Master of Arts, 1983, University of Connecticut;
Ph.D., 1991, The University of Michigan
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Karen Ahlquist began her musical career as a conductor. A winner of Juilliard's Frank Damrosch Memorial Award, she conducted university, school, community, and professional ensembles and taught graduate-level conducting. In 1992, her Ph.D. dissertation won the Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award from the University of Michigan.
Prof. Ahlquist has taught music history, literature, and ethnomusicology at The George Washington University since 1992 and chaired the department from 2006 to 2010. She has given papers internationally on music in nineteenth-century European and American culture. Her first book, Democracy at the Opera: Music, Theater, and Culture in New York City, 1815-1860 (1997) was prepared for publication under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and was published by the University of Illinois Press. It was named a Choice outstanding academic book for 1998. Her second book, Chorus and Community (2006) is an edited collection of essays of choruses and their music, also published by Illinois.
Prof. Ahlquist was a founding editor of Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture, has been a member of the American Musicological Society Council, and has published in the Journal of American History, the Journal of the American Musicological Society, and the Journal of Musicological Research, among other publications. Her recent research is centered on music and German immigration in the US, the growth of American professional orchestras, and musicians' education.
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Catherine Pickar
cpickar@gwu.edu
Bachelor of Music, 1974, University of Kentucky School of Music;
Master of Music, 1980, The George Washington University
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Professor Catherine Pickar was Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at GW from 1983 to 2001, where she currently serves in an adjunct position. In addition to her choral work, she taught classes in music theory, music appreciation, and feminist studies and was musical director of joint productions with the Department of Theatre & Dance. She was a recipient of a GW Junior Scholar Incentive Grant for which she composed a suite of choral works for SATB and children's choir that have been performed by ensembles at the National Cathedral and the University of Kentucky, among others. In 1984 she received the George Washington Award for her outstanding contributions to the University. Prof. Pickar studied conducting with Sara Holroyd, Robert Shaw, Joseph Flummerfelt, Margaret Hillis, and George Steiner, assisted in preparation of a score and chorus for Robert Shaw, and was assistant to the director of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. Prof. Pickar was founding editor of Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture, which is currently published by University of Nebraska Press. With alumni collaboration, she established the Harmon Choral Associates, an 800-member alumni organization to support choral activities at GW.
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Laura Youens
Musicology
lyouens@gwu.edu
ext. 49044
Phillips Hall B-136
Bachelor of Music, 1969, Southwestern University;
Master of Music, 1973, Ph.D., 1978, Indiana University
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Dr. Youens joined the Department of Music faculty in 1989, and is Professor Music. Her editions of music from Leipzig, Universitütsbibliothek, MSS Thomaskirche 49/50 were published by A-R Editions in their series Recent Researches in Music of the Renaissance and in Hans Schneider's Verlag's Münchener Editionen zur Musikgeschichte. She was music editor for Garland Publishing, Inc.'s Tudor England: An Encyclopedia, for which she wrote more than 20 entries. Her articles have been published in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Israel, the United States, and Switzerland. Since 1988, Prof. Youens has been editor of the French chansons of the Renaissance composer Thomas Crecquillon, with seven volumes published by the American Institute of Musicology (AIM) in its series Corpus mensurabilis musicae. This series was completed in 2010, and Dr. Youens is currently working on the music of Jean Courtois for AIM. Other research interests include Victorian dance music, Renaissance settings of Latin classical poetry, Franz Liszt, and the music of Ezra Pound.
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Herman Burney
Bass
hburney@gwu.edu
Phillips Hall B-119
Bachelor of Science, 1985, St. Augustine's College;
Master of Science, 1987, North Carolina A&T State University
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Professor Burney's playing career has taken him to festivals, concerts, clubs, and media appearances throughout the Americas, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, and Japan, with colleagues such as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Charlie Byrd, Bill Charlap, Natalie Cole, and Branford Marsalis, among many others. He has taught at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and performed with the Atlanta, Wilmington, Raleigh, and North Carolina symphony orchestras. He teaches acoustic and electronic bass in jazz styles and serves as the department photographer.
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Jeffrey Koczela
Bass
jkoczela@gwu.edu
Phillips Hall B-119
Bachelor of Music, 1981, The Catholic University of America;
Master of Arts, 1991, University of Maryland
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Jeffrey Koczela has served as principal bassist with the Washington Bach Consort, Richmond Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Washington Chamber Orchestra, and National Chamber Orchestra. He performs with the Kennedy Center Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera, Post-Classical Ensemble, and Washington Concert Opera. He has also played with the National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore Opera, the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, Brandywine Baroque, New York Trinity Chamber Players, Chesapeake Symphony Orchestra, Vivaldi Project, the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra and Smithsonian Chamber Players. Prof. Koczela has toured extensively with jazz and pop groups and has performed in Broadway musicals at the Kennedy Center, National Theater, Warner Theater, Arena Stage, and Baltimore's Lyric and Mechanic Theaters. He has taught double bass at Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, D.C. Youth Orchestra Program, Levine School of Music, and Masterworks Festival. He currently teaches at Howard University and the National Philharmonic Summer Institute for Strings.
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Eric Dircksen
Bassoon
dircksen@gwu.edu
ext. 41318
Phillips Hall B-135
Bachelor of Science in Music, 1984, Indiana University;
Master of Music, 1989, Southern Methodist University
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Eric Dircksen studied saxophone and bassoon at Indiana University in Bloomington and at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He played utility bassoon and saxophone with the Jerusalem Symphony. He has participated in summer festivals in Aspen, Los Angeles, Dallas, Idaho, Spoleto, Jerusalem, and Graz. In the Washington area he enjoys an active freelance career playing principal bassoon with Washington Concert Opera, Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Amadeus Orchestra, and Washington Ballet, and extra bassoon/contrabassoon with Washington Opera, Alexandria Symphony and Baltimore Opera among others. He played with the National Gallery Chamber Players at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and in Kolobrzeg, Poland. He is a member of Eastwind Consort, a woodwind chamber group that plays throughout the MidAtlantic region.
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Lori Barnet
Cello
lbarnet@gwu.edu
ext. 49032
Phillips Hall B-110
Bachelor of Arts, 1973, Bennington College
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Lori Barnet studied cello with Robert Newkirk, George Finkel and Barbara Stein Mallow and chamber music with Josef Gingold, Arthur Balsam, Jacob Glick and Joseph Fuchs. Most recently, she has worked with Phoebe Carrai on baroque cello performance. Prof. Barnet has served as cellist with the Richmond Symphony, principal cellist with Penn Contemporary Players, Augusta Symphony (GA), Alexandria Symphony, and Washington Chamber Symphony. She was guest principal of the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and cellist for the Contemporary Music Forum for 20 years, where she also served as consultant to many composers. Current positions include principal of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra 2001 (Philadelphia), Wolf Trap Opera Orchestra, continuo cellist on period instrument for the Washington Bach Consort, as well as frequent and diverse appearances as a chamber musician. She has appeared as soloist with the Augusta, Alexandria, and McLean Symphonies, Orchestra 2001, National Philharmonic, Washington Chamber Symphony, and American and Catholic University ensembles. Lori Barnet has toured in Russia, England, Italy and Denmark and has recorded on CRI and Orion records. She currently serves as the coordinator of the department's string programs and also frequently appears on faculty and departmental concerts.
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Lora Ferguson
Clarinet
loraferg@gwu.edu
ext. 49040
Phillips Hall B-146
Bachelor of Music, 1963, Oberlin College Conservatory;
Master of Music, 1974, The Catholic University of America
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Lora Ferguson is assistant principal clarinet with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, a position she has held since 1980. She is clarinetist with the Capitol Woodwind Quintet and appears often in concert with many of the chamber music groups in the Washington area. She enjoys teaching and is a faculty member at the Levine School of Music and George Mason University.
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David Jones
Clarinet
dwjones@gwu.edu
ext. 49036
Phillips Hall B-110
Bachelor of Music, 1988, Northwestern University
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Professor Jones has taught at GW since 1998. He is principal clarinet of the Kennedy Center Orchestra and has performed extensively with the National Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Baltimore Symphony. He has also worked with Tony Bennett, Jose Carreras, Rosemary Clooney, Placido Domingo, Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, Manhattan Transfer, Jesse Norman, Luciano Pavarotti, David Sanborn, Rod Stewart, and the Temptations. Prof. Jones has toured with shows such as Annie, Cabaret, A Chorus Line, The King and I, Showboat, West Side Story and The Wizard of Oz. He can be heard on numerous radio and television commercials. At Northwestern University he studied with Robert Marcellus, former principal clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Clark Brody, former principal clarinet of the Chicago Symphony. His GW performances include the premiere of Prof. Douglas Boyce's Concerto Grosso for solo clarinet, cello, and harpsichord with the University Orchestra.
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Steven Campbell Hilmy
Electronic and Computer Music
schilmy@gwu.edu
ext. 49037
Phillips Hall B-111
Bachelor of Arts, 1984, The George Washington University;
Master of Music (Composition), 1991, The Peabody Conservatory of Music of The John Hopkins University
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Steven Campbell Hilmy was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and, from the age of 7, raised in a British boarding school where he learned that cold showers, morning runs, and periodic beatings with a stick on the butt were character building, and that one must wear a tie and have very short hair if one was to go anywhere in this life. Prof. Hilmy has been on the faculty of The George Washington University Music Department since 1992 where he is the Director of the Electronic and Computer Music Studio. He has won awards from such
organizations as the Southeastern Composers League, ASCAP, BMI, the Peabody Conservatory, and The Virginia Center for Creative Arts, including first prize in the Philip Slates Memorial Composition
Contest for "Icarus Falling" (piano and electronics, 1989); the Gustav Klemm Prize for Composition at the Peabody Conservatory in 1991; and 2nd place prize in the Prix d'ete II composition
competition at the Peabody Conservatory for "Us" (tenor saxophone and electronics, 1999). Much of Steve's recent works have been cross-medium collaborations for dance, video, and live electronics. Performances of his compositions have prompted audience members to yell "wow" and "awesome" and "what was that all about?" One Washington Post review included the word "Delightful." A more recent review used the word "inscrutable." Steve, however, prefers the word "tubular" as in "Whoa, Steve, dude, that was tubular, man. Play it again but loud this time, OK bro?"
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Stephani Stang
Flute
sstang@gwu.edu
ext. 41318
Phillips Hall B-135
Bachelor of Music, 1975, The Catholic University of America;
Master of Music, 1977, New England Conservatory of Music
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Stephani Stang is assistant principal flutist of the Kennedy Center Orchestra. She joined the GWU faculty in 1997, having previously taught at Catholic and Howard Universities. Prof. Stang has served as principal flutist with the Filene Center Orchestra, National Theatre Orchestra, National Gallery of Art Orchestra and Chamber Players, Concert Artists of Baltimore, National Chamber Orchestra, and Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician she has appeared in concerts at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theatre, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, World Bank, German Embassy, Library of Congress, and Strathmore Performing Arts Center. She has been a guest artist with the National Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestras of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera. In a "rock and roll vein," she toured with Emerson/Lake/Palmer on their historic North American Tour. A proud second-generation member of the American Federation of Musicians, she is also a member of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians.
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Scott Fearing
French Horn
sfearing@gwu.edu
ext. 49032
Phillips Hall B-147
Bachelor of Music, 1979, Master of Music, 1982, North Texas State University
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Scott Fearing studied with Clyde Miller at the University of North Texas and Dallas Symphony Orchestra principal hornists James London and Gregory Hustis. His college orchestra conductor, Anshel Brusilow, was also influential in his training. Prof. Fearing joined the National Symphony Orchestra in 1982 after a year with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, where he was co-principal horn. He has performed with many of the musical organizations in the Washington area, including the Washington Bach Consort, National Gallery Orchestra, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, and Wolf Trap Opera Orchestra, as well as with the Chamber Soloists of Washington on a recording of Handel's Water Music. He plays with the Gabriel's Brass Quintet of the Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship, a group that seeks to present the Christian message in its performances to audiences in the Washington area. Prof. Fearing and his violinist wife, Leslie, have four children. A career .600 hitter and slick-fielding third baseman in softball, and a goalie and midfielder in soccer, Prof. Fearing balances these activities with astronomy and photography, sometimes combining the two: he photographed Comet Halley and has published photographs of a solar eclipse.
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Berta Rojas
Classical Guitar
brojas@gwu.edu
Phillips Hall B-132
Bachelor of Music, 1966, Escuela Universitaria de Musica, Uruguay;
Master of Music, 1998, Peabody Conservatory
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Recognized for her musicality and flawless technique, Berta Rojas ranks among the top classical guitarists of the day. Praised by the Washington Post as "guitarist extraordinaire" and by the UK's Classical Guitar Magazine as an "Ambassador of the Classical Guitar," she moves easily between classical and other musical styles. She gives frequent tours in the Americas, Europe and Asia, has appeared at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center in New York. Prof. Rojas sold out performances at the Kennedy Center, the South Bank Centre in London, and the National Concert Hall in Dublin as a soloist with the RTE Irish Radio and Television Orchestra. She also opened the Summit of the First Ladies of the Americas in Paraguay.
Highlights of Prof. Rojas' 2010 agenda include a recital at the Guitar Foundation of America Convention, a tour in Japan, a guest artist invitation from the West Dean Festival in England, and solo performances with the Belgium Philharmonic Orchestra. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has named her a Fellow of the Americas, and her native Paraguay has named her its Ambassador of Tourism.
Prof. Rojas is committed to furthering the growth of classical guitar in the Americas, most especially the development of young performers. She created the first online classical guitar competition, "Barrios WorldWideWeb Competition" and is Artistic Director of the Ibero-American Guitar Festival held in Washington DC, featuring top musicians in concerts and master classes. She directs Washington's John and Susy Beatty Competition for young guitarists and teaches at the Washington Conservatory of Music in addition to GW.
http://www.bertarojas.com/
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John Albertson
Jazz and Classical Guitar
jalbe@gwu.edu
ext. 49045
Phillips Hall B-127
Bachelor of Music, 1981, The Catholic University of America
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Professor John Albertson has taught classical guitar and jazz performance techniques at The George Washington University since 1981. He is director of the GW Jazz Combo, a student group that performs the music from Dizzy Gillespie through Wes Montgomery. He is a member of the Faculty Jazz Sextet, which gives a weekly concert and jazz workshop: the department's well-known Friday jazz jam. He is also the department's area coordinator for guitar. Prof. Albertson studied at the Juilliard School in New York from 1973-1975. At Catholic University, he pursued a double major in composition and classical guitar performance on a scholarship from the Presser Foundation. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, Corcoran Gallery, and the Smithsonian Institution, has given concerts for radio and television, and is an active studio guitarist. He can also be heard regularly with his trio at area jazz clubs.
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Barbara Seidman
Harp
bseidman@gwu.edu
ext. 49032
Phillips Hall B-147
Bachelor of Music, 1969, The Cleveland Institute of Music;
Master of Music, 1970, Northwestern University
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Barbara Seidman's past performance positions include the Calgary (Canada) Philharmonic Orchestra, the North Carolina Artist-In-Residence Program, and the orchestra of the National Ballet of Washington. She currently performs with operas, ballets, musicals, local and visiting orchestras, and chamber music programs. She has performed for many years in the orchestra of the National Theatre, the American Camerata for New Music and in the Concerts in Schools Program under the auspices of The Friday Morning Music Club and the Washington Performing Arts Society. Prof. Seidman has performed with the Kennedy Center Orchestra and the Baltimore and National Symphony Orchestras. She has recorded for radio and television and is on the faculties of Howard University and the Levine School of Music.
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Joseph Gascho
Harpsichord
jgascho@gwu.edu
ext. 41318
Phillips Hall B-135
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Joseph Gascho began studying harpsichord with Webb Wiggins at the Peabody Conservatory in 2000. Two years later, he won first prize in the 5th Irving and Mae Jurow International Harpsichord Competition and a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council for solo performance. His other teachers include Arthur Haas and Lisa Crawford. Prof. Gascho performs frequently as a soloist, chamber musician, and continuo player, including recent collaborations with Opera Lafayette, Washington Bach Consort, and Orchestra of the 17th Century, and at the Smithsonian, Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival and Capitol Hill Chamber Music Festival. He also made an American premiere recording of a newly discovered aria by J.S. Bach for National Public Radio with soprano Ah Hong. In 2004, Prof. Gascho performed in a production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Festival International d'Art Lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence, France, and directed a concurrent chamber music program there. He recently conducted Vivaldi's Eurilla e Alcindo at the University of Maryland and Handel's Tamerlano with Opera Vivente. Prof. Gascho coaches chamber music and coordinates accompanying at the Amherst Early Music Festival. He has performed at that festival, as well as at Oberlin's Baroque Performance Institute and the International Baroque Institute. In addition to teaching harpsichord at GW, he coaches chamber performances and advises students on performance styles. He was the harpsichord soloist for the premiere of Prof. Douglas Boyce's Concerto Grosso with the GW University Orchestra.
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Carole Libelo
Oboe
cmlibelo@gwu.edu
ext. 49047
Phillips Hall B-141
Bachelor of Science in Music Education, 1978, West Virginia University;
Master of Music in Performance, 1980, New England Conservatory
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Carole Libelo is assistant principal oboe and solo English horn of the John F. Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. As a member of this orchestra, she performs for the Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center Productions, international ballet companies, Kennedy Center Honors, Millennium Stage concerts, and national tours of musical productions. Prof. Libelo is a regular guest artist with the National Symphony Orchestra, performing for the orchestra's subscription series, as well as for the summer concerts at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and at Washington's Carter Barron Amphitheater. Prof. Libelo has been a guest artist with the symphony orchestras of Richmond, Portland (Maine), and Baltimore. Local ensembles with which she performs include the Post-Classical Ensemble and the Wolf Trap Foundation Orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist with the National Gallery of Art Orchestra and the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, and was a founding member of the National Gallery of Art Chamber Players. Prof. Libelo has taught at GW since 2004 and is a member of the faculty of the Washington Conservatory of Music in Bethesda, Maryland. At New England Conservatory she studied with Alfred Genovese.
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Joe Connell
Percussion
jcrockett@gwu.edu
ext. 49034
Phillips Hall B-155
Bachelor of Music, 1984, George Mason University
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Professor Connell joined the faculty in 1987 as a percussion and drum-set instructor. He is the principal percussionist with the Arlington Symphony and co-principal with the Fairfax Symphony and performs with such ensembles as the National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center Orchestra, National Gallery Orchestra, and Washington Concert Opera. Prof. Connell plays on recordings with the National Symphony (1997 Grammy-winning recording of John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1) and the Fairfax Symphony. In addition to his symphonic work, Prof. Connell has toured the United States and Europe with rhythm and blues and rock bands, recording in New York, Nashville, Los Angeles, and Paris. He has produced a compact disc of gypsy songs featuring the singer Arnella. He also has drum transcriptions published in Modern Drummer magazine.
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Alejandro Lucini
Percussion
alucini@gwu.edu
ext. 49036
Phillips Hall B-160
Bachelor of Music Education, 1997, Howard University
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A native of Rio de Janeiro, Alejandro Lucini co-directs the GW Latin Band, Los Gringos, plays with the Faculty Jazz Sextet, and teaches Latin percussion.
He studied at the Excola de Musica de Brasilia with percussionist Ney Rosauro, the Pro-Arte School of Music, the University of Rio de Janeiro, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Rio de Janeiro Youth Orchestra and the Brasilia Symphony Orchestra. Having become well known for his skills in Brazilian percussion, he performed with celebrated musicians and in 1990 visited Berlin with the Brazilian group No em Pingo de Agua. That same year he moved to the United States, having published the book Brazilian Rhythms for Percussion and Drums. Since then Prof. Lucini has performed with numerous musicians, including the Canadian Brass and many Washington-area celebrities. He has received awards from the International Association of Jazz Education, has been nominated multiple times for Washington Area Music Awards recognition, and in 2002 was named best Latino instrumentalist by WAMA. His Brazilian jazz group, Origem, has performed the World Bank and the Library of Congress, among other venues. Prof. Lucini received a grant form the DC Commission for the Arts in 1994 to promote its recordings, which included his own compositions and arrangements.
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Francis Conlon
Piano
fconlon@gwu.edu
ext. 49040
Phillips Hall B-146
Bachelor of Music, 1967, Master of Music, 1969, The Catholic University of America
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Francis Conlon has appeared at most of the colleges and concert halls in the greater Washington area and in cities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, India and Japan. He has played in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, in Boston at the Gardner Museum, in Philadelphia at the Robin Hood Dell, and in Washington at the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, National Gallery, Phillips Collection, Corcoran Gallery, Pan American Union, and Dumbarton Oaks. He has played concertos with the Washington Chamber Orchestra, Montreal Chamber Orchestra, Washington Sinfonia, Washington Pro Musica, Alexandria Symphony, Georgetown Symphony, Amadeus Orchestra, and the GW Orchestra. Prof. Conlon has won the National Society of Arts and Letters competition and the Jordan Awards Contest in Washington and the Brewster-Allison Competition in Austin, Texas. He has served as official accompanist for the National Symphony Young Soloist Competition, National Opera Institute Auditions, and National Federation of Music Clubs Contest. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Prof. Conlon accompanies students in departmental recitals and serves as music director for the Department's opera productions. He teaches at the Levine School of Music and is director of music at the Church of the Annunciation and at the Temple Rodef Shalom. Prof. Conlon has taught at The Catholic University School of Music and the Ellington School for the Arts, and he has served as artist-in-residence for the DC Public School System.
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Barbro Dahlman
Piano
bro@gwu.edu
Phillips Hall B-132
Bachelor of Music, 1967, Royal Academy of Music (Stockholm, Sweden);
Artist's Diploma, 1971, Edsberg College of the Swedish Radio
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A faculty member since 1987, Barbro Dahlman has performed throughout the US and Europe. She has soloed with the Danish Radio Orchestra, Norrkoeping Symphony (Sweden), Washington Sinfonia, and Swedish Radio Orchestra. Her Washington venues include the Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art, and the Corcoran Gallery. She also performed and spoke on a Washington Fox television story on the Music Department. Prof. Dahlman has presented recitals and workshops at universities including Northwestern, California at Santa Barbara, New York University, and McGill. She has received grants from the Swedish Government and has recorded for the Belgian and Scandinavian broadcasting corporations. Her recordings are found on Opus One, Orion, BIS, Phono Suecia, Spectrum, and CRI, and she has performed live on WBAI and WQXR radio in New York City. She is also a frequent adjudicator for competitions in the Washington area, among the National Symphony Competition. Prof. Dahlman's repertoire encompasses both traditional and contemporary music. She believes that contemporary music gives an outlet to abstract thoughts and emotions not found in traditional music and that playing new music has added a new dimension to her approach to traditional styles. Composers who have created works for her include Ulf Grahn, Miklos Maros, Jeffrey Mumford, and John Watts. Her New York City venues include the Composer's Forum, the Kitchen, and the New School for Social Research.
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Tzvetan Konstantinov
Piano
izgrev@gwu.edu
ext. 43991
Phillips Hall B-128
Master of Music, 1974, State Academy of Music "Pancho Vladigerov", Sofia, Bulgaria;
Post-Graduate Studies, 1977, State Academy of Music "Pancho Vladigerov", Sofia, Bulgaria;
Post-Graduate Studies, 1979, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, Austria.
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A pupil of Velichka Savova, Professor Tzvetan Konstantinov studied with Rudolf Kehrer, Bella Davidovich, Grant Johannesen, Tatiana Nikolaeva and Eugene Malinin among others. After winning the two most important competitions in Bulgaria, Prof. Konstantinov toured his native country extensively. Having performed the complete Bach's Well Tempered Clavier from memory, Prof. Konstantinov has also performed in solo and chamber music concerts (with Gewandhaus Quartet) and with orchestras in concert halls of Austria (the Musikverein), Bulgaria (the Grand Hall Bulgaria), Germany, Italy, the Netherlands (de Doelen Hall), the Philippines and the United States (including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Strathmore Hall). During his last several years in Bulgaria he was also a Professor of Music at State Academy of Music in Sofia. Prof. Konstantinov has appeared frequently on radio and television. He has been featured on WGMS' "Spotlight", WETA's "Capital Concerts" and VOA. The Bulgarian National Television broadcasted repeatedly an exclusive documentary on the artist, while one of the largest Bulgarian daily newspaper "Democracy" published an exclusive interview. Prof. Konstantinov is listed in the American Keyboard Artists, Who's Who in America and in the Who's Who in the World. He has served as a board member of the Metropolitan Chorus, Washington, D.C. and has served also as juror during the Festivals of Music and the First and Second Washington International Piano Amateur Competitions.
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Jessica Krash
Piano
jkrash@gwu.edu
Academic Building 214 (Mt. Vernon Campus)
Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy and Psychology of Music), 1982, Harvard-Radcliffe;
Master of Music (Piano), 1984, Juilliard School of Music;
Doctor of Musical Arts (Composition), 1995, University of Maryland at College Park
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Described by the Washington Post as "tantalizing... engaging, with a touch of the provocative," Jessica Krash's musical compositions have been presented in traditional and experimental settings, including performances in New York City, Boston, Washington, DC, Baltimore, among other cities. The Strathmore Music Center and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts have presented full concerts of her work. Her CD for solo piano was cited by the Washington Post as one of the most interesting recordings of the year.
As a pianist, Prof. Krash has performed in America and Europe, including concerts at the Old Opera House in Frankfurt, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Kennedy Center, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the National Gallery in Washington, DC. She has given chamber music concerts with many string players including Kolja Blacher (former concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic) and Igor Gavrysh (faculty of the Moscow Conservatory). Prof. Krash has given series of lectures on music at the Library of Congress, the National Institutes of Health, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. At GW, she has developed new courses on "dangerous music," contemporary music, and 19th century chamber music.
Prof. Krash has received commissions and grants from numerous groups and has directed several organizations, including the Washington chapter of the American Composers Forum, Chamber Music Weekend at the Levine School of Music, and a twenty-year monthly chamber music workshop for amateur musicians. She studied at MIT with Jeanne Bamberger, doing research in the philosophical and cognitive issues underlying musical understanding.
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Malinee Peris
Piano
mperis@gwu.edu
ext. 49035
Phillips Hall B-141
Licentiate Trinity College of Music, London (L.T.C.L.);
Fellow Trinity College of Music, London (F.T.C.L.);
Licentiate Royal Schools of Music, London (L.R.S.M.);
Licentiate Royal Academy of Music, London (L.R.A.M);
Associate Royal College of Music, London (A.R.C.M.)
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Malinee Peris has been on the GW faculty since 1970. She is Coordinator for Keyboard Studies, teaches piano and coaches chamber ensembles. She began her formal musical training in her native Sri Lanka where she gave her first solo public recital at the age of 12. An Associated Board Scholar at the Royal College of Music London, she studied with Lance Dossor (piano), Isolde Menges (violin), Ivor James (chamber ensemble), and Herbert Howells (composition). She has had classes with Henryk Sztompka in Poland, and in the U.S. with Leon Fleisher, Earl Wilde, and Ilona Kabos. Hungarian-born virtuoso Louis Kentner was her teacher and mentor for over 20 years. In addition to many awards including the Hopkinson Silver Medal at the Royal College of Music, Professor Peris was a prizewinner at the Warsaw International Chopin Competition.
During her extensive career she has given recitals worldwide in major venues that included London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Mexico City, Montreal, Cologne, Singapore; cities in China and India; played in many European Music Festivals as well as the Prague Spring Festival. She has performed with orchestras throughout Europe, Israel, Australia and the United States including performances at New York's Lincoln Center and in Washington DC.
Professor Peris was featured as soloist at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York at a concert to mark the 22nd anniversary of Human Rights Day. She has given a series of lectures for Independent TV in Britain titled "Music as an International Language," performed frequently for the BBC and for Belgian Radio Three.
She holds the title of "Kala Keerthi," Sri Lanka's highest honor for the Arts and a lifetime achievement award from the Sri Lanka Foundation of America.
Professor Peris's recent recordings include Ravel and Debussy (2002), From Portugal to Brazil (2003), From Spain to Mexico (2005), and A Child's Garland of Music (2007). Her most recent recording in aid of Breast Cancer, My Journey From Darkness to Light with Chopin has been released in October 2010 by Amico Artists and Campaign Digital Inc. Professor Peris has been a reviewer for the Washington Post and is currently on the board of Dumbarton Concerts in Washington DC and its outreach program Inner City-Inner Child.
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James Levy
Jazz Piano
jimlevy@gwu.edu
ext. 46246
Phillips Hall B-108
Bachelor of Music (Theory and Composition), 1983, The George Washington University (Phi Beta Kappa);
Master of Music in Music Theory, 1993, University of Maryland
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Professor James Levy teaches piano, jazz improvisation, and musicianship and is the pianist in the G.W.U. Faculty Jazz Quintet. The group hosts Jazz Jam sessions every Friday at noon when classes are in session. Prof. Levy started the Jam sessions in the mid-1980s and over the years the guests have included such Jazz luminaries as Tito Puente, Monty Alexander, Andrew White, John Hendricks and the Dave Liebman Quartet. He also directs King James and the Serfs of Swing (aka the GWU Jazz Band), a 12-piece band that plays jazz of the 1930s, with an emphasis on Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The Serfs have performed at many area events and played a concert in the Duke Ellington Park on Duke's 111th birthday. For the past twenty years, Prof. Levy's performing activities have included performances in virtually all the area jazz clubs. As the organist/choir director at Rockville United Church, he has led the choir in performances of his own compositions at The National Cathedral. He has composed music for theater and television and his title music for "To The Moon and Beyond" was heard on most of the nation's PBS affiliates. His rock opera "When ET Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," received its third performance in the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival. He also teaches part-time in the District of Columbia Public School system.
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Eileen Morris Guenther
Pipe Organ
eguenther@wesleyseminary.edu
Bachelor of Arts (English), 1970, Bachelor of Music (Organ Performance), 1970, University of Kansas;
Master of Arts (Musicology), 1973, Doctor of Musical Arts (Organ), 1973, The Catholic University of America
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Eileen Guenther is a national and international organ recitalist who has performed in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. She is featured in recordings with Etherea Records, the U.S. Air Force Orchestra, Vista Records, and Foundry Records. For many years, she hosted an award-winning radio program, The Royal Instrument, on Washington's WGMS. She has served as dean of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the American Guild of Organists and in 2008 was elected president of the national organization. Prof. Guenther is associate professor of church music at Wesley Theological Seminary. At Wesley, she teaches music and worship courses, conducts the Chapel Choir, directs Oxnam Chapel and the summer school program, and leads workshops nationally for musical and denominational organizations. Prof. Guenther has served as visiting lecturer at Africa University in Zimbabwe. In 2007, she was part of the global praise team that taught music and worship in Uganda for representatives from the East Africa Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 2007, Prof. Guenther concluded a distinguished career at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington. She was minister of music and liturgy for more than 30 years and designed the church's Casavant organ. Under her leadership, the Foundry Choir appeared at United Methodist General Conference and the Baltimore/Washington conference on many occasions. With repertoire ranging from Bach to Beveridge, these singers presented an annual Concert for Life, raising more than $600,000 for organizations that serve those living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa and in the Washington area.
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David Sciannella
Trombone
dscian@gwu.edu
ext. 49036
Phillips Hall B-110
Bachelor of Music, 1981, The Catholic University of America;
Master of Music, 1982, Eastman School of Music
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David Sciannella, a Maryland native, has studied with John Marcellus, James Kraft and Milt Stevens. He currently performs with the Annapolis Symphony, Lancaster Synphony, Wolf Trap Orchestra, National Gallery Orchestra, and National Philharmonic Orchestra. He also performs in shows at the National Theater, Fords Theater, Lyric Theater, and Arena Stage. Prof Sciannella can be heard as trombonist and euphonium soloist on the five recordings of the Washington Symphonic Brass. In addition to performing and teaching, he owns and operates a brass repair shop.
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Robert Birch
Trumpet
rmbirch@gwu.edu
ext. 49032
Phillips Hall B-147
Bachelor of Music (cum laude), 1976, The University of New Hampshire;
Master of Music, 1978, The Ohio State University;
Doctor of Musical Arts, 1991, The Catholic University of America
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Robert Birch has been teaching at GWU since 1990 and currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Trumpet, Woodwind and Brass Area Coordinator, and the Associate Director of Bands. He was Principal Trumpet and Soloist of the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, DC from 1979-1996. He currently is second trumpet in the National Philharmonic Orchestra and co-principal trumpet in the Chesapeake Orchestra. He has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Wolftrap Opera, Washton National Opera, Post-Classical Ensemble, Contemporary Music Forum, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Washington Bach Consort, Brass Band of Battle Creek, Keith Bryon’s New Sousa Band and numerous other ensembles. He has accompanied such varied artists as Van Cliburn, Fredrica Von Stade, Terrance Blanchard, James Taylor, Bernadette Peters and John Pizzarelli. He is an active studio musician and has recorded movie and television scores for the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, the History Channel, National Geographic, Fox TV, and ABC Sports. His teachers include Armando Ghitalla, Adel Sanchez, Steven Hendricksen, Richard Burkart and James West.
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Thaddeus Wilson
Jazz Trumpet
thadjazz@gwu.edu
ext. 49036
Phillips Hall B-160
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A graduate of Jersey City State College, he performs regularly in the Washington area and on tour, and has offered workshops and clinics internationally. He played recently at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage with his trio, in the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival "New Orleans on the Potomac;" and on tour in the musical Ella, in which he portrayed Louis Armstrong. He performs regularly and has recorded with the Thad Wilson Jazz Orchestra.
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Gilbert Caridad Corella
Tuba
gcorella@gwu.edu
ext. 49040
Phillips Hall B-146
Bachelor of Music, 1989, The Catholic University of America;
Master of Music (Performance and Conducting), 1997, George Mason University
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Gilbert Corella has performed as a soloist and clinician at colleges and universities throughout the United States. As a tubist assigned to the Ceremonial Brass of the United State Air Force Band, he has participated in a broad spectrum of ceremonies ranging from State arrivals at the White House to full honors funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. He has performed at United States Army Band Tuba/Euphonium conferences since 1996 and at the international Tuba/Euphonium Conference in Saskatchewan, Canada. He is the director of the USAF Chamber Players Series and leader of the United States Air Force Tuba/Euphonium Quartet. Prof. Corella is widely recognized as a jazz tubist, having played with nearly every Dixieland jazz band in the Washington-Baltimore area. His CD with tenor banjoist Stephen DiBonaventura, Unnatural Ax--The Bear, is an eclectic mix of classical, Dixieland and jazz. He has also appeared as a soloist at the Fretted Instrument Guild of America and Mid-America Banjo Enthusiasts international conventions. Prof. Corella is tuba and euphonium professor at Catholic University and music director of the Loudoun Symphonic Winds in Virginia and the Friendly Hall Chamber Orchestra in Maryland.
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Uri Wassertzug
Viola
uriw@gwu.edu
ext. 49047
Phillips Hall B-138
Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance, 1984, University of Maryland in College Park;
Master of Music in Chamber Music, 1989, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
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A member of the Kennedy Center Orchestra, Uri Wassertzug has performed with the Sacramento and San Francisco Symphonies, in extensive free-lance work in California and the Washington area, and in many chamber music groups. He is a former faculty member at California State University, Sacramento. Uri Wassertzug has appeared widely as a member of chamber music groups and as a guest artist, including performances in New Zealand and Alaska. He was a founding member of the Sun Quartet, which serves on the faculty of California State University, Sacramento He appears on CDs with both the Sun Quartet and the Empyrean Ensemble, a new-music group. He has also worked with youth orchestra violin and viola sections in Washington DC and in California.
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Elizabeth Field
Violin
wsq@gwu.edu
ext. 49040
Phillips Hall B-110
Bachelor of Music, 1979, Boston University;
Master of Music Arts, 1992, Doctor of Musical Arts, 1998, Cornell University
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Elizabeth Field enjoys an active career as a chamber musician and soloist on period and modern instruments. She has served as concertmaster for The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Bach Festival Orchestra, and as guest concertmaster of the Washington Bach Consort, National Philharmonic, Opera Lafayette, and Choral Arts Society. Ms Field founded the period instrument group, the Vivaldi Project, in 2007 and directs the Modern Early Music Institute (historical performance practice for modern players). She also plays with numerous chamber groups, including Hesperus, Harmonious Blacksmith, and the 4 Nations Ensemble, as well as with her mixed modern and period instrument chamber group, Arcovoce. A former member of Brandywine Baroque, Ms Field was also a founding member of the Van Swieten Quartet. As a Baroque violinist, she has recorded for the Hungaroton, Naxos, and the Dorian labels. Ms. Field is currently working on a collaborative DVD with fortepianist Malcolm Bilson, exploring the historical performance practice of 18th-century violin and piano repertoire. As a modern violinist, she performs frequently with the Washington National Opera and, along with her husband, Uri Wassertzug, is a member of the Novella Chamber Players. Ms. Field studied modern training violin performance with Oscar Shumsky and Joseph Silverstein. From 1982-1991, she performed and recorded for Deutsche Grammophon with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and also performed with leading New York ensembles such as the St. Luke's Ensemble, Brooklyn Philharmonic and New York City Opera.
http://thevivaldiproject.org
http://elizabethfield.com/
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Mary Findley
Violin
mfindley@gwu.edu
ext. 49032
Phillips Hall B-110
Bachelor of Music (Violin), 1965, Master of Music, 1966, Doctor of Musical Arts, 1974, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
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Professor Findley, Coordinator of Strings, has been on the faculty of The George Washington University since 1981, teaching violin, viola, and chamber music. She appears frequently in recital and chamber music concerts in venues such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Phillips Collection, National Gallery of Art and various embassies in Washington DC, and Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Recital Hall in New York. She has appeared as soloist with many orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Schippers. Prof. Findley has made tours of the United States and has performed in festivals, concerts and radio broadcasts in Germany, Holland, Finland and Sweden. She has recorded works by Meyer Kupferman and Elie Siegmeister on the Soundspells and CRI labels.
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Eddie Drennen
Jazz Performance Techniques, Violin
edrennen@gwu.edu
ext. 49033
Phillips Hall B-134
Bachelor of Music, 1963, Howard University
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Born in Newark, Eddie Drennen began his study of the violin at the age of 10. He is known for his work as a featured soloist with Orquesta Novel, the Bo Diddley Blues Band, and his composition "Let's Do the Latin Hustle." He has performed in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, North America, South America, and has recorded with artists including Lou Perez, Johnny Pacheco, Jose Fajardo, Ike and Tina Turner, "Perico" Ortiz, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, La Lupe, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, La India, and Hector Lavoe. He has composed, arranged and produced disco hits sampled by artists such as Biz Markie, Jamiroquai, Shaggy, Grandmaster Flash, and the Avalanches. He composed the music for Torn from the Headlines, a 1997 Helen Hayes award winning play, and for a scene for the Clint Eastwood movie In the Line of Fire. Prof. Drennen is presently a member of the Umoja String Quartet and teaches at the Levine School of Music and the Duke Ellington School for the Arts.
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Robert Baker
Voice
rbaker@gwu.edu
ext. 49043
Phillips Hall B-143
Bachelor of Music Education, 1979, Lebanon Valley College (Pennsylvania);
Master of Music, 1987, Manhattan School of Music;
Doctor of Musical Arts, 1990, The Catholic University of America
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A central figure in the Washington-area classical music scene, Robert Baker has been the feature of more than 300 performances of 43 productions with the Washington National Opera. He has also sung ten roles with the Washington Concert Opera. Recent career highlights include the role of Ishmael in the world premiere of Peter Westergaard's Moby Dick at Princeton University (recorded for Albany Records), and his Metropolitan Opera debut in Prokfiev's War and Peace, which he also recorded during The Spoleto Festival's production, released on the Chandos label.
He appears frequently with the National Symphony Orchestra. Prof. Baker was soloist on the Grammy Award-Winning recording Of Rage and Rembrance by John Corigliano (BMI: 1996) and recently sang Triquet in the NSO's presentation of Eugene Onegin. Recently, Prof. Baker appeared in Peter Grimes and Turandot with the Washington National Opera, Carmina Burana with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Handel's Messiah with the Apollo Chorus in Chicago. He is a frequent performer of new music, has premiered over 15 major works in his career and is a frequent collaborator with DC composer Douglas Boyce. Prof. Baker is proud to have sung with all the major choral organizations in Washington, DC, starting with the Paul Hill Chorale in 1979, and continuing with Norman Scribner, Reilly Lewis, Robert Shafer, Donald McCullough, Gisele Becker, Tom Beveridge and Julian Wachner.
He returned to The Washington National Opera in roles in both Aridne auf Naxos and Le Nozze di Figaro. The Director of Performance Studies at The George Washington University, Prof. Baker and his wife live in Washington, DC with their daughter, Madeline, a member of the Children's Chorus of Washington.
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Rebecca Ocampo
Voice
rgocampo@gwu.edu
ext. 49033
Phillips Hall B-134
Bachelor of Arts, 1984, Masters of Music, 1997, Doctoral of Musical Arts, 2000, University of Maryland
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Soprano Rebecca Ocampo has performed with the Washington National Opera, Baltimore Opera, Skylight Opera Theater, Florentine Opera Company, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Brevard Music Center, and Maryland Opera Studio. Her roles include the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), Mary Warren (The Crucible), Ilia (Idomeneo), Elle (La Voix Humaine), Gilda (Rigoletto), Susannah (Le Nozze Di Figaro), and Tuptim (The King and I). She sang the title role in GW composer Douglas Boyce's opera The Girl who Waters the Basil at the DC Fringe Festival. Prof. Ocampo was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Finalist in 1993. She presented her doctoral dissertation, "Jean Cocteau: The Composer's Muse," at the National Association of Teachers of Singing convention in Philadelphia.
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Amy Reiff
Voice
areiff@gwu.edu
ext. 41228
Phillips Hall B-133
Bachelor of Music Education, 1980, Master of Music (Vocal Performance), 1983, Kent State University
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Mezzo-soprano Amy Reiff's repertoire of more than 30 dramatic roles includes Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Nicklausse in the Tales of Hoffmann, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, the title role in Carmen, and Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti. As a member of Ohio Light Opera, she appeared in major roles in operettas by Sullivan, Offenbach, and Strauss. In addition to singing with area opera companies, she has sung roles with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Carolina, Lyric Opera of Dallas, Baton Rouge Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera North, and Intermountain Opera. As an oratorio and concert soloist, Prof. Reiff has sung with the Arlington Symphony, Canton, Ohio Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, Annapolis Chorale, Akron Symphony Chorus, Capitol Hill Choral Society, and the GW University Orchestra. She was alto soloist for the American premiere of Simon Jeffes' Still Life at the Penguin Cafe by the Royal Ballet at the Kennedy Center. She gave a series of lecture-recitals on contemporary American art song at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She is currently alto soloist at Church of the Annunciation in Washington and sings regularly in vocal ensemble recitals throughout the area. Prof. Reiff joined the faculty in 1997. She has taught at Kent State University, Montana State University, and Louisiana State University.
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Millicent Scarlett
Voice
millies@gwu.edu
ext. 40310
Phillips Hall B-129
Bachelor of Music (Vocal Performance), 1993, Brandon University;
Master of Music (Opera), 1997, University of Maryland
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Described as a "juicy tone" by the Baltimore Sun, soprano Millicent Scarlett, who hails from Winnipeg Manitoba Canada, continues to display her artistic and musical artistry on the recital, orchestral and operatic stage. Since winning the Luciano Pavarotti competition and being a national semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, Prof. Scarlett has gone on to have a successful career. Most recently she sang for Hillary Clinton at the George C. Marshall Foundation's Award dinner. She also sang the National Anthem and GW Alma Mater at the 2010 GWU Commencement on the National Mall where First Lady Michelle Obama was the keynote speaker. Her operatic engagements have included the role of Inez in Strathmore Music Center's World Premiere of "Free to Sing: The First Black Opera Company" where The Washington Times, called her "superb", and the Washington Post called her "the standout in the cast".
She recently sang in another World Premiere of "Ozone" with Bowen McCauley Dance at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre. Millicent has performed with Opera Lafayette in "The Genesis of Don Giovanni," where she played the role of Donna Anna. She has also worked with The In-Series and the Washington Ballet in a production of "Moon/Dance."
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Muriel Von Villas
Voice
murielvv@gwu.edu
Bachelor of Music (Voice and Opera), 1977, Boston Conservatory of Music;
Graduate Studies (Opera Production), 1978, New England Conservatory
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Muriel Von Villas has taught in the GW Department of Music since 1986. From 1994 to 2005, she was the artistic and stage director of Opera International, for which she directed productions at GW Lisner Auditorium including Dialogues of the Carmelites, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Le nozze di Figaro and Tosca. In addition to many productions for GW, Ms Von Villas has directed more than 200 opera productions internationally for Sri Lanka Opera, George Mason University, Minnesota Opera Institute, Little Orchestra Society of Lincoln Center, Boheme Opera, Gold Coast Opera, Natchez Opera, Seagle Colony, Taiwan Conservatory, and Berkshire Opera. She was also resident stage director and drama vocal coach with Domingo/Cafritz Young Artists Program and stage director with Martina Arroyo’s program Prelude to Performance. Upcoming engagements include directing La Traviata at Strathmore Hall in the summer of 2010.
Ms. Von Villas studied opera production and stage directing with Wesley Balk, John Moriarty and Boris Goldovsky. A voice student of Todd Duncan, she was assistant to John Moriarty in the Opera Department at Boston Conservatory and taught voice at Georgetown University from 2000 to 2004. She currently teaches voice and coaches opera and vocal repertoire at her studio in Falls Church, Virginia.
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Steve Wellman
Voice
wellman@gwu.edu
ext. 49033
Phillips Hall B-134
Bachelor of Music, 1974, North Carolina School of the Arts
Master of Divinity, 2011, Regent University
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For more than two decades, Prof. Wellman was a member of the United States Navy Band Sea Chanters, both as a vocalist and as a conductor. He has performed in numerous operas and musicals, including Carmen, Gianni Schicci, La Boheme, Carousel, and The Marriage of Figaro, and with the National Lyric Opera Company, Civic Opera, Alexandria Symphony, Prince William Symphony, Georgetown Symphony and Winston-Salem Opera Company. He joined the Music Department in 1980.
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Alison Crockett
Jazz Voice
avcland@gwu.edu
ext. 46246
Phillips Hall B-108
Bachelor of Music, 1993, Temple University
Master of Music, 1996, Manhattan School of Music
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The appointment of Alison Crockett gives the department a jazz vocalist for the first time since 2005. Prof. Crockett's varied career includes full-length recordings, numerous singles, and professional appearances throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. She has taught and directed choruses in New York City schools and worked in administration at the Harlem School of the Arts and Temple University. She holds a bachelor's degree from Temple, where she is still on the faculty, teaching private voice and directing a jazz ensemble, and a master's from Manhattan School of Music.
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