Monday, December 19, 2011

UW-Madison Music Alumni: keep in touch with class notes & WAA


The College of Letters & Science has launched a new website. Some great features for alumni include:

CLASS NOTES
Send in news about your career

EASY UPDATE
Let us know how to reach you & keep your contact information up to date

SOMAA
All music majors and degree recipients are automatically enrolled as SOMAA members, with the first year of dues waived. Visit uwsomaa.org to learn more or contact the Board to get involved!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Weather Duo update the chamber ensemble (Isthmus)



The Weather Duo update the chamber ensemble
Alt-classical


The Weather Duo are actually a trio, and they take an experimental approach to chamber music. The group's live performances feature sonic and visual elements, and they blend improvisation with contemporary classical music. The 10 compositions on their forthcoming album range in length from less than two minutes to more than 11.

All three members are 23. Double bass player Ben Willis and cellist Pat Reinholz are roommates who spent four years studying together at the UW-Madison School of Music. "We both kind of geek out over string music," says Reinholz. "We actually have conversations about things like subharmonizing." The group's sound brings together influences of jazz, classical, electronic and folk music.

Musical improvisation isn't the only thing that's spontaneous about their performances. The video components added by Anna Weisling are also improvised, based on the way the music sounds as it unfolds. "I've got a bank of hundreds of videos that I can pull from," says Weisling. "I'll have to be ready to go someplace I've never heard them go before, so I use a program called MAX/MSP/Jitter that allows me to combine any kind of footage that I have with live footage of them."

Continued on The Daily Page >>

Monday, May 9, 2011

SOM Alumnae Lai and Dunn-Adams Appointed Assistant Professors

Lai

Two UW-Madison School of Music alumnae, Ching-Chun Lai (DMA '10), director of instrumental ensembles at Mount Holyoke College, and Kimberly Dunn-Adams (DMA '11), director of choral ensembles at Mount Holyoke College, will be starting new tenure-track positions this fall. Lai has been appointed assistant professor of music at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where she will conduct the Crane Symphony Orchestra and teach conducting. Dunn-Adams has been appointed director of choral activities and assistant professor of music at Western Michigan University, where she will conduct several choirs and direct a graduate program.

Dunn-Adams

Friday, April 29, 2011

Interview: Maureen O'Brien Baker '03

Angela Krainz, UW Class of ’05, is Associate Director of Patron Engagement for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.  She recently interviewed Maureen O’Brien Baker, UW Class of ’03 who is Manager for Individual Giving at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), Phoenix, AZ.  



What year did you graduate and with what degree?
I graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in Music performance (flute) and French and a certificate in Western European studies.

What has been your field of study since graduating? 
During college and since graduating, I have worked in arts management, particularly in fundraising/development. During college, I had part time jobs at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the Madison Repertory Theater, National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music.  After graduating, I moved to New York City where I worked at the Orchestra of St. Luke's, first as the assistant to the Executive Director and development department, then Manager of Development and Special Events, and finally Assistant Director of Development.  Next, I took a newly created position as Director of Development for Midori & Friends, a music education organization founded by renowned violinist Midori.  In 2009, I relocated to Phoenix, Arizona where I now work as the Manager for Individual Giving at the new Musical Instrument Museum (MIM).  MIM is a phenomenal, world-class museum that houses a collection of over 10,000 instruments representing every country and territory in the world, and also features an intimate 299-seat music theater that showcases artists from around the globe in a wide array of musical genres.  It is a privilege and a fantastic learning opportunity to work at a brand new institution of this size and scope.  I encourage everyone to visit if/when you are in Phoenix!  You can learn more at www.theMIM.org

What made you decide to go into this particular field?
My first job in arts administration was somewhat of a fluke, as I was placed at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center by a local temp agency.  I had always been involved in the arts as a performer but the job at JMKAC gave me my first taste of the behind-the-scenes world of arts management and I was hooked.  I first started working in development at Orchestra of St. Luke's and found that it really suited me.  I love coming to work each day and being engaged in a cause about which I am deeply passionate and sharing that passion with people who want to invest in the arts.  For a musician, having a steady paycheck can be hard to come by, so for me this career provides the perfect balance.  I am building a solid career that is still rooted in the arts and affords me the ability to continue to pursue performing on the side.  To me, nothing could be better than being surrounded by wonderfully creative people, advocating for the arts, helping to make the arts more accessible, and helping to ensure that we are developing the next generation of artists and audience members.

What is your favorite memory from UW School of Music? 
I have many fond memories of the school of music but my fondest are of my weekly private lessons with flute professor Stephanie Jutt. Having regular one-on-one time with a professor is something to which students in most other degree programs don't have access.  I learned a great deal about the flute, about performing, and about life from Stephanie and am pleased to still keep in close touch with her. In fact, she performed at my wedding last year in Madison!

What is the most valuable thing you learned from the School of Music?
The most valuable thing I learned from the SOM were performance skills.  During my studies, I was able to perform in a wide variety of band, symphonic, choral, and chamber music settings.  Through these experiences, I learned to be comfortable making music in many configurations, venues, genres, and styles. Continuing to perform as a flutist and singer has remained very important to me and since graduating, I have been pleased to perform as the principal flutist with the Astoria Symphony in New York and in various chamber ensembles.  In Phoenix, I now perform as the flutist with a new woodwind quintet, Sirocco Winds, and with various local orchestras, and recently joined the soprano section of the Scottsdale Choral Artists.  

Any advice for current music students interested in your field? 
I can't emphasize enough the importance of networking and the value of informational interviews.  Don't be afraid to ask someone in the field to spend 20 or 30 minutes over coffee talking with you about their work - most people are more than happy to share about their experiences and will often pass along the name of a colleague or friend whom you can also contact. I also encourage you to consider joining the board of a performing arts organization.  Job experience is fantastic, but serving as a board member brings you a different perspective and set of responsibilities that can really enhance your understanding of how nonprofits function.  I am happy to speak to any SOM students who are interested in going into the arts management or fundraising fields - feel free to send me an email at maureenuw@gmail.com.

2010 Scholarship Drive – A Success!


Due to the high volume of donations  that the UW Foundation receives in December, the books for 2010 will not close until sometime in January 2011. However, preliminary indications are that the 2010 SOMAA scholarship drive will surpass last  year and could approach our best year of 2007. Thank you to all who contributed again this year and to the first time contributors to the scholarship fund. A final report of contributions will be made in the next edition of Modulations.



SOMAA is now assisting eight students in the School of Music: seniors, Shohreh Davoodi, oboe and Daniel Kim, viola; juniors, David Olson, voice and Judith Stephen, French horn; Sophomores, Liza Garza, percussion and Mark Hatfield, trumpet; freshmen, Alice Bartsch, violin and Eric Ellis, clarinet. Each of the students has received a four year $8,000.00 scholarship.

When SOMAA established the scholarship program for incoming freshmen in 2002, the board hoped to be able to provide $5,000.00 a year to the SOM for a scholarship, which would be matched by the UW Foundation. We also hoped to have $50,000.00 in our UW Foundation account by 2010 towards a future endowment fund. The generosity of our alumni has enabled SOMAA to far surpass those initial goals. In eight short years the SOMAA scholarship fund has provided $104,000.00 for the SOM.

The scholarship program was started during my time as the first president of SOMAA and I have been working with it ever since then. It is time to hand the leadership over to a new person on the board. It has been an exciting and rewarding nine years. I have relived many memories and friendships as I addressed letters to classmates and colleagues. Those of you who I have never met have become “friends” as I feel that I have come to know you, recognizing your names and addresses. My personal thank you  for your support of the SOMAA scholarship fund. I hope you will all continue your support so that SOMAA can assist future young musicians attending our beloved School of Music.

Tom Buchhauser, chair
SOMAA Scholarship Committee