Faculty, Students and Alumni

Faculty News

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, NJ.

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 University 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, Joseph 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, NY. 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, Tanya 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 & tenor) presented a concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Student News

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 & 3rd place – Jessica Eucker, student of Jeffrey Gall
Division 8 – Senior Men: 1st place – Theron Cromer, student of Stephen Oosting (Associate Professor—Voice)

Alumni News

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.