John J. Cali School of Music – Spring 2012

Director’s Corner…

I extend a warm welcome from the John J. Cali School of Music, where innovation and creative thinking, intellectual exchange and hands-on experience inspire our students to become the creative leaders of the 21st century.

Our focus in the Cali School is to prepare students for successful lives with music. The instruction of our world-class faculty, combined with master classes presented by renowned artists such as Leon Bates, Denyce Graves, Erie Mills and Peter Serkin, present our students with unparalleled performance opportunities. New industry connections with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony in C, and Opera New Jersey offer unique learning experiences that are complemented by our focus on arts innovation.  In collaboration with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Professors Lisa DiLorenzo and Marissa Silverman connect our music education students with musicians from the symphony in the docent and teaching artist programs.

Professional performance experiences also abound for Cali School of Music students, including opportunities to present at renowned venues throughout the world. This June, Vocal Accord, led by Dr. Heather Buchanan, travels to Europe on a performance tour that culminates in Montclair’s sister city of Graz, Austria, and this past January, our students, faculty and staff enjoyed the first ever such performance at Carnegie Hall. On March 6, we’re at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Concert Hall.

The great American composer, Leonard Bernstein wrote: “Where words fail, music speaks.”  But our own composer, Dr. Robert Aldridge, has managed to make words and music speak together with great success.  He just received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held February 12 in Los Angeles. Along with librettist, Herschel Garfein, Aldridge was awarded the Grammy for his opera, Elmer Gantry. Additionally, the CD of the opera, “Aldridge: Elmer Gantry,” won the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Classical.

It has been an exciting semester in the John J. Cali School of Music.  I invite you to join us and experience for yourself the creative leaders of the 21st century.

Dr. Robert Cart,
Director

News Highlights…

Robert Aldridge’s Feet Touch Down After Big Grammy Win

Back on campus after collecting a Grammy in Los Angeles on February 12 for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for his opera, Elmer Gantry, Montclair State University Professor of Music Robert Aldridge was greeted by a huge sign in the lobby of the John J. Cali School of Music congratulating him on his “gigantic victory” and cheers from students in his classes.

The Healing Power of Music Therapy

Music therapy has played a remarkable role in the rehabilitation of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who suffered a serious brain injury after being shot in the head in January 2011 while meeting her constituents in Tucson, Arizona, and put a spotlight on this established, yet still developing, profession.

Montclair State University’s Music Therapy program, introduced in 1970, is one of the oldest and foremost training programs in the country, and is the only Music Therapy academic program in New Jersey.

Montclair State “In the News:” Strings Attached

New Jersey Monthly magazine currently features an article about Montclair State University’s acclaimed artists-in-residence, the Shanghai Quartet. When discussing how the Quartet came to the University, President Susan A. Cole says, “They were world-class musicians, but we also thought they would be superb and dedicated teachers, and that has proven to be the case.” 
Read the full article at NJ Monthly.

More People Spotlights . . .

Faculty

Composer ROBERT ALDRIDGE (Professor—Theory/Composition) won the 2012 Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Composition for his opera Elmer Gantry, written with librettist Herschel Garfein. In December, the Montclair State University Chorale and Orchestra conducted by HEATHER BUCHANAN (Associate Professor—Director of Choral Activities) presented the east coast premiere of his oratorio Parables, also written with librettist Herschel Garfein. Dr. Aldridge’s Piano Trio was presented in performance at Leshowitz Recital Hall in September.

Pianist MAGDALENA BACZEWSKA (Adjunct Professor—Piano) performed in Rome, Italy in October 2011 to celebrate the John Paul II Foundation in the Vatican. In January 2012, she released her latest CD, Music for Dreams (Vol. 2).

LISA DeLORENZO (Professor—Music Education) has recently given workshops for the Paramus, Westwood, and Glen Rock school districts. Her topics ranged from beginning an Orff program to critical and creative thinking in the music class. She also presented a session, “Missing Faces,” at the conference for the National Network of Urban Renewal in October, 2011.

KAREN GOODMAN (Professor—Music Therapy) was named to the editorial board of the International Journal of Clinical Medicine. She was named as Affiliate Faculty: Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health (CAECMH), Montclair State University. Presentations include:  1) Goodman, K.D. (2011) Issues in International Education and Training. Address, 13th World Music Therapy Congress, Seoul, Korea; and 2) Goodman, K.D. (2011) Chair, International Symposium on Education and Training: The Experts Speak to New Challenges for the American Music Therapy Association Conference “AMTA in the ATL: Advocacy, Therapy, Leadership,” in Atlanta November 17 – 21, 2011; and 3) Goodman, K.D. & Kaufman, D. L. (2011) Transdisciplinary Use of Poetry and Music Therapies in a Substance Abuse Setting. Address, Expressive Therapies Summit, New York, New York. She held a book signing, AMTA Conference, Goodman, K.D. (2011) Music therapy education and training: From theory to practice. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas. She was an invited contributor to Miller, E. (2011) Bioguided Music Therapy. London, U.K.:JKP. In addition, she was a consultant to the Lakeview School in Edison, New Jersey.

In addition to his work at the Cali School, pianist DMITRI KORNEEV (Collaborative Artist) is working as an accompanist and vocal coach at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J.

V.J. MANZO (Adjunct Professor—Music Technology) published Max/MSP/Jitter for Music. This work provides a user-friendly introduction to a programming language that can be used to write custom software for musical interaction that is useful for teachers of music at any level, from classroom instructors to ensemble directors to private studio instructors.

ANTHONY MAZZOCCHI (Adjunct Professor—Trombone) finished his first year as Executive Director of the Kinhaven Summer Music School. Ninety-five students attended the senior session’s 60th year. In October, the Montclair State trombone studio hosted the 4th Annual Trombone Day with Weston Sprott of the Met Opera Orchestra serving as a clinician and soloist.

LORI McCANN (Assistant Professor—Voice) published an invited article, “What Are They Teaching Them in Choir?” in the September 2011 edition of Classical Singer, the most widely circulated periodical for singers and voice professionals. The article outlined best practice concerning relationships between voice teaching faculty and choral faculty in schools of music and college and university vocal programs The invitation for the article came from an earlier collaborative presentation with colleague HEATHER BUCHANAN at the National Choral Organization National Conference at Yale, in November, 2009

In Fall 2011, THOMAS McCAULEY (Associate Professor—Director of Bands) appeared as guest conductor with the West Point Military Academy Concert Band (October) and guest conductor of the 2011 Alberta Provincial Honor Band in Canada (November). He hosted and taught the 2011 Weekend Wind Conducting Symposium at Montclair State with guest clinician Mallory Thompson, Director of Bands, Northwestern University, in November.

In October, JOSEPH SMITH (Adjunct Professor—Introduction to Music) lectured for the Music Educators Association of New Jersey and the New England Conservatory. In Stuart Isacoff’s new book, The Natural History of the Piano, Smith is described as a “walking encyclopedia of the piano.”

In October, baritone GEORGE SPITZER (Adjunct Professor—Voice for Non-Majors, Voice teacher) performed with Artis Wodehouse in the Church of the Epiphany’s Concert Series in New York, N.Y. The recital was titled “Reframing the American Victorian Era” with selections of works by Edward MacDowell, George Chadwick, and popular songs from the American gilded age.

TANYA WITEK (Adjunct Professor—Flute) performed for several weeks as guest second flute with the New York Philharmonic during the fall of 2011 with conductors including Loren Maazel, Daniel Harding and John Williams. In January, she was featured as a soloist with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra at the Wintergarden in New York City. On January 11, the flute students and faculty from Montclair State including SUSAN PALMA (Adjunct Professor—Flute) and ROBERT CART (Cali School Director, flutist and tenor) presented a concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Students

Cali School voice students win at New Jersey NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Festival 34th Annual Auditions on Saturday, February 18, 2012:

Division 1: Freshman Women – 2nd place – JULIANNE FROEHLICH, student of JEFFREY GALL (Professor—Voice)
Division 3 – Sophomore Women: 2nd place – KAREN LEVANDOSKI, student of PETER GILLIS (Adjunct Professor—Voice)

Division 4 – Sophomore Men: 1st place – JAMES SMITH, student of PETER GILLIS
Division 7 – Senior Women: 2nd place – MIA PAFUMI, student of PETER GILLIS and 3rd place – JESSICA EUCKER, student of JEFFREY GALL
Division 8 – Senior Men: 1st place – THERON CROMER, student of STEPHEN OOSTING (Associate Professor—Voice)

Alumni

In November, CAROLYN DACHINGER (Music Therapy – ’06) presented The Rational-Scientific Mediating Model (R-SMM): A Framework for Scientific Research in Music Therapy with Shannon K. de l’Etoile and Linda Lathroum at the American Music Therapy Association national conference in Atlanta, GA.