Ithaca College Quarterly
Dana Professor of Music Dana Wilson’s Concerto for Horn and Orchestra was premiered in Ithaca during the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Center for Music. This piece had also been performed by the Syracuse Symphony on March 14 and 15. Wilson’s Dance of the New World, published by Ludwig Music Publishers, can be heard on the following new CDs: University of North Texas (Klavier) and University of Massachusetts (Albany Records). The work has also been featured at festivals in Europe, Asia, and the United States, including a performance by the Marine Band in Washington, D.C. Escape to the Center has been recorded by the Empire Saxophone Quartet (Open Loop) and was newly published by Dorn Publications. Deep Remembering is soon to be released on Summit Recordings by Gail Williams ’73 and professor emerita Mary Ann Covert and will enjoy several performances around the country.
In the past few months many of Wilson’s pieces have been performed, including I Have a Dream at the ACDA convention in San Diego. Time Cries, Hoping Otherwise (alto saxophone concerto) was performed at the North American Saxophone Alliance conference in Kansas, with Professor Steve Mauk as soloist, and at Ithaca College, with assistant dean Jamal Rossi ’80 as soloist with the symphonic band. Wilson’s oboe concerto Calling Ever Calling was performed at the Cincinnati Conservatory, and Shakata: Singing the World into Existence was played at a festival in the Netherlands. Come Sunday Mornin’ was performed frequently in March by the Empire Saxophone Quartet.
It was also performed by the New Visions Saxophone Quartet in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, held in South Bend, Indiana, in May. A student ensemble made up of graduate students Robert Cebriak and Mac Holcomb and juniors Jeffrey Saunders and Stacey Luczynski, the group booked a mini-tour of various colleges and universities in Ohio to prepare for the competition.
In late March the Empire Saxophone Quartet, which includes Mauk and Rossi, spent a week on a concert tour of Texas colleges and universities. The group held master classes and performed at Texas A&M, San Antonio College, Baylor University, Abilene Christian University, and the University of North Texas. A busy week in a big state!
In late February members of the music education faculty made presentations at the Eastern Division Music Educators National Conference in Baltimore. In addition, the Ithaca College Women’s Chorale, conducted by Professor Janet Galván, presented a concert to an enthusiastic crowd of more than a thousand. The group also was slated for a special concert appearance at Carnegie Hall this May. That concert also featured a children’s honor choir, conducted by Jean Ashworth Bartle.
Associate professor of bassoon Lee Goodhew, on sabbatical this spring, performed with the Syracuse Symphony, Binghamton Symphony, and Ithaca Opera. In late June, at the annual conference of the International Double Reed Society in Evanston, Illinois, Goodhew and associate professor of percussion Gordon Stout will perform the world premiere of a piece Stout wrote for bassoon and marimba. Goodhew has also given master classes at Arizona State University, Michigan State University, and the Eastman School of Music.
In March associate professor Mark Fonder presented a multimedia lecture, "Patrick Conway: The Life and Times of an American Bandmaster," for the College Band Directors National Association National Conference in Athens, Georgia.
Assistant professor of piano Diane Birr served as an official accompanist for the Music Teachers National Association’s competitions, held at the national convention in Dallas in April. In June she will be featured as master teacher at the annual Junior and Senior Piano Monster Festival and Teacher Seminar at Plymouth State College in New Hampshire. Later in the summer she will serve on the piano faculty of "International Workshops," a two-week music and art seminar in Stavanger, Norway. Birr’s responsibilities include recital performances with Eduard Melkus and François Rabbath, who are members of the string faculty. She will also coach chamber music.
Professor of double bass Henry Neubert had numerous guest conducting appearances this spring. He led the Pennsylvania District One Orchestra in Mt. Lebanon, February 6-7; the Erie County North Junior High Orchestra in Kenmore, New York, March 7-8; the Monroe County Senior High Orchestra in Rochester, March 14-15; and the Bethlehem Central School All-District String Festival in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, April 2-3.
In addition to performances with the New York Chamber Symphony and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic this spring, assistant professor of oboe Mark Hill played a recital and gave a master class at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. In May he recorded a woodwind octet by Bruce Adolph with the Sylvan Winds for CRI Records. Hill’s former student Sandy Stimson ’93 has been honored with an invitation to return for a second year to the Tanglewood Music Festival.
On March 4 the Ithaca Brass --- faculty members William Bernatis, horn; Frank Campos and D. Kim Dunnick, trumpet; Harold Reynolds, trombone; and David Unland, tuba --- performed a program that included Edward Gregson’s Quintet for Brass and Driving in Manhattan. The latter work, which depicts the bustle and fast pace of the metropolis, is by former School of Music faculty member Paul Goldstaub ’69. The program also included Flurry of Fanfares, a new work by concert pianist Paul Weirich, as well as David Baldwin’s version of a work by Vivaldi that was first arranged by J. S. Bach. The Ithaca Brass has been invited to perform this program at the 1997 Brass Conference in New York City.
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