Welcome to the sixth issue of High Notes: News from CFA School of Music. High Notes is intended as a monthly information column that highlights the high notes achieved by our students. Feel free to pass along any items of interest, especially related to our students and alums, directly to Cami Sylvia.
February 2021
In the corner of my office at 855 Commonwealth Avenue sits a cello that was purchased for me by my first cello teacher, herself a student of Pablo Casals. That was 50 years ago. The Czech-made instrument made its way over during the war in the same period when my father’s family emigrated from Europe. The instrument’s rich, warm tone that was selected for me, and to this day this instrument allows my inner musical voice to continue developing. As any student who has spent time in our hallways and practice rooms over the years knows, these instruments that are made of wood and metal or that exist within our bodies are far from being mere objects. They are beloved, cherished, and are frequently the carriers of memories and traditions.
I’d like to celebrate our instruments and our bodies in a different way in our High Notes. In future editions, we will feature the instruments and voices of our alums in two specific ways. First, please send photographs of alums with their instruments whether new or “old” with captions sharing something interesting about the instrument (don’t forget to note your degree and date of graduation). Second, please feel free to send in a brief reflection on the role your own instrument has played in your life.
Our instruments and our bodies are more than mechanical extensions, are they not? For many of us, they are integral to the process we engage in our artistic development. Let’s celebrate that old clarinet named “Charlie.” Let’s pay homage to that throat that allowed us to sing a high “C” for the first time. Let’s do it together.
You can reach me at barz@bu.edu. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing your pictures and stories in the future.
Calling All CFA School of Music Alums Out There!
We’d like to hear from all alums. What are you up to? New jobs or positions? New creative projects, compositions, performances? Any awards? We want to hear from you. Please communicate directly with Director Gregory Melchor-Barz at barz@bu.edu with your degree and class year please.
New Faculty/Student Publication
Congratulations to Dr. Tawnya Smith and music education DMA student Kaitlyn Leahy (CFA’24) on the publication of their article, “The Self-Directed Learning of Adult Music Students: A Comparison of Teacher Approaches and Student Needs,” in the International Journal of Music Education. Tawnya and Kaitlyn’s empirical research offers important insights for adult music learning. You can access the article here. Note: this is the third article from BU faculty and students published in this top-tier, peer-reviewed research journal within six months—Boston University rocks!
Alum Publication News
Congrats to DMA Alum Erin Zaffini (CFA’16) on the publication of her research article, “Cooperating Music Teachers’ Experiences Mentoring Student Teachers from Multiple Music Teacher Preparation Programs,” hot off the presses in the journal Qualitative Research in Music Education. Click here for access. Dr. Zaffini is currently the Lead Program Supervisor of the Master of Music in Music Education at Longy School of Music and continues to make us proud.
2 DMA Music Education Candidates Present Dissertations
Please join us in congratulating DMA in Music Education student Mark Huggins on the successful presentation of his dissertation, “The Pedagogical Reasoning and Action of Popular Music Theory Professors in Higher Popular Music Education Programs.” Special thanks to Dr. Keith Kelly (supervisor) for his remarkable work with Mark, and to both Dr. Karin Hendricks (2nd reader) and Dr. Gareth Smith (3rd reader) for their inspiring contributions.
We also extend our congratulations to student Ross Williams, who presented his final seminar earlier this month. His study, “Full Participation in Parochial Chorus,” was an exploration of how teachers and administrators interpret the meaning of full participation in terms of musical interaction within the ritual of school Masses and classroom rehearsals, and to examine how they interact with one another to plan and implement a successful experience in which students will continue to return to these rituals. Many thanks to supervisor Dr. Kinh Vu, alongside committee members Dr. Karin Hendricks (2nd reader) and the Rev. Dr. June Boyce-Tillman (3rd reader) for their excellent contributions to Ross’s scholarship!
Boston Musical Intelligencer Article on Harvard Gottschalk Concert
Current doctoral student studying with Prof. Boaz Sharon, Xiaopei Xu (CFA’21) is featured in a recent Boston Music Intelligencer article reviewing a concert of the music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The concert of the 19th Century New Orleans phenomenon was at Harvard last month in an unusual program. You can access the article here.
Thank You for Being our Friend—BU Band Video
Enjoy this short music video that the BU Band made to thank essential & frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19, especially those with BU ties. This video is a gift to those at BU and beyond who have worked tirelessly to keep our community healthy and safe. The video can be found here.
More Updates from the Metropolitan Opera National Council
We are pleased to announce that Caroline Corrales (MM’20, OI’22) won an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council New England Region Auditions. The award comes with $1,000. Ms. Corrales is a student of Prof. Lynn Eustis and Prof. Aaron Sheehan. Congratulations, Caroline.
Good News from the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
We are pleased to report that Aleksandar Reupert (MM’22) received an Honorable Mention in the NATS Boston finals. The Final Round Concert for the Classical Category was Sunday, February 21. A full list of Finalists and Honorable Mentions can be viewed on the local NATS website. Aleks is a student of Prof. Lynn Eustis and Prof. Aaron Sheehan. Congratulations, Aleks.
SoM Success in Local Concerto Competition
Mr. Chengcheng Ma, DMA candidate in Piano Performance from the studio of Prof. Boaz Sharon, won the Community Division of the Brookline Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition playing Mozart Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453. He will be performing with the orchestra at a date yet to be set. Violinist Freya Liu (MM’22) also received an Honorable Mention for her performance of Bartok Violin Concerto No. 2. Ms. Liu studies with Prof. Bayla Keyes. Congratulations!
BU School of Music Sweeps Pappoutsakis Flute Competition
Prof. Linda Toote announces the winners of the Pappoutsakis flute competition held on January 31st and it is still viewable on YouTube. A wonderful flipbook provides details of the competition. All four finalists (yes, ALL FOUR!) are current students at the CFA School of Music at BU, a tremendous honor. First prize winner of $10,000, a Jordan Hall recital, and 8 hours of free recording time at Futura Studios in Roslindale is sophomore Grace Helmke. Second prize of $1,500 and winner of the best performance of the newly published work with an additional $500 prize is DMA student Pauline Jung. Kudos also to finalists Matthew Lee and Barrett Yueh. Congratulations to all for their devotion and hard work in these difficult days. And…congratulations to Prof. Toote for being such a fabulous teacher and mentor to these four young finalists.
SoM Soloists’ Competition Winners Announced
2021 Soloists’ Competition concluded its final round on Wednesday morning with a program of excellent performances. This year’s adjudicators selected three solo winners and one composition. Warmest congratulations to all the participants as well as their teachers. The CFA SoM is fortunate to have such accomplished musicians in its community.
On behalf of the Student Life & Honors Committee, we are pleased to announce the following winners (in alphabetical order):
Milos Bjelica, clarinet – Concerto for clarinet and orchestra in A major, K. 622 (Mozart) (student of Prof. David Martins)
Freya Liu, violin – Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz.112 (Bartók) (student of Prof. Bayla Keyes)
Sarah Rogers, soprano – Sieben Frühe Lieder (Berg) (student of Prof. Penelope Bitzas)
Eunhye Yoon, winner of the 2021 Composition Competition for Performance with Orchestra, for her piece titled Abyss (student of Prof. Joshua Fineberg)
Adjudicators—Bruce Brubaker, Anthony Fogg, and Soovin Kim—as well as the dedicated members of the Student Life & Honors Committee.
Founded in 1872, Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music combines the intimacy and intensity of traditional conservatory-style training with a broad liberal arts education at the undergraduate level and elective coursework at the graduate level. The school offers degrees in performance, conducting, composition and theory, musicology, music education, and historical performance, as well as artist and performance diplomas and a certificate program in its Opera Institute.