Archive: Fall 2012 A Little Lunch Music

This post is to archive the 2012 fall schedule for A Little Lunch Music which I coordinate. Artist bios are below the schedule.

September 6: guitarist Mark Edwards (website)
~Sponsored by Jim & Sue Haygood

September 13: pianist Tzu-yi Chen
~Sponsored by Jim & Sue Haygood

September 20: guitarist Joseph Ikner
~Sponsored by Nick and Carolyn Davis

September 27: pianist Ksenia Kurenysheva, violinist Sylvia Wehrs, the AU Chamber Choir
~Sponsored by Dennis Drake, Virginia and Apostolos Kouidis and other friends

October 4: Auburn Indian Music Ensemble directed by Dr. S. Raj Chaudhury (website)

October 11: Kazanetti String Quartet (website)
~Sponsored by Ursula's Catering, Dr. and Mrs. Taylor Littleton, Phyllis Stanaland, Louise Katainen & Larry Gerber, Conrad & Janice Ross, Peggy Stelpflug, Lorna Wood & Donald Wehrs, Gene & Carol Bramlett
~PRESS: Atlanta-based string ensemble to play Lunch Music (oanow.com)

October 18: Trio Mosaic
~Sponsored by Ursula's Catering and Deborah Weiss
~PRESS: Lunch Music: Columbus State Trio Brings Operatic Ideas (oanow.com)

October 25: baritone Matthew Hoch with pianist Laurelie Gheesling
~Sponsored by Grant Haygood, CPA (Ameriprse Financial, Inc.) 
~PRESS: Lunch Music: Duo's concert pairs with 'Art Interrupted' (oanow.com) 

November 1: cellist Laura Usiskin (website)
~Sponsored by Bill and Josie Walsh
~PRESS: Usiskin to perform Bach suites at museum (oanow.com)

November 8: recorder player Mary Olson with pianist Laurelie Gheesling and flutist Patrick McCurry
~Sponsored by Nick and Carolyn Davis

November 15 - Starts at 11:50 AM: the AU Student Woodwind Quintet, pianist Christian McGee, The Dean's Quintet
~Sponsored by Virginia Transue and Ursula's Catering

November 22: Thanksgiving (no performance)

November 29: flutist Stephanie Erdman with guitarist Jacob Brown
~Sponsored in by Ursula's Catering and anonymous friends
~PRESS: Columbus State flute-guitar duo return to museum series (oanow.com)

December 6: Violinist Lorna Wood with pianist Ksenia Kurenysheva
~Sponsored by Thomas & Lydia Brawner and Larry Gerber & Louise Katainen
~PRESS: Auburn violinist to perform her father’s sonata at museum series (oanow.com)

December 13: Jane Drake Trio (Jane's website)
~Sponsored in part by Bob Ekeland & Mark Thornton, Dennis Drake and Gene & Carol Bramlett

Artist Bios in Alphabetical Order (in progress)

The AUBURN INDIAN MUSIC ENSEMBLE comprises students in a semester long class where they learn fundamentals of Indian classical and semi-classical music. This music is based on the system of ragas (melodies) and talas (rhythms). The vocal performances of the group feature a variety of traditional instruments such as harmonium (organ), tabla (drums) and tanpura (drone).

The AUBURN UNIVERSITY CHAMBER CHOIR was established in fall 2008 as the premiere choral ensemble at Auburn University. Under the direction of William Powell, the group has represented the university at New York's Carnegie Hall, in northern Italy, and as an invited ensemble for the prestigious Alabama Music Educators Conference. The 40-plus-member group consists of students from throughout the university who represent a variety of majors and disciplines. They perform advanced choral literature including Renaissance madrigals, multi-movement masterworks, spirituals, jazz, and works by current composers.

The AUBURN UNIVERSITY WOODWIND QUINTET consists of undergraduate students Rachel Glenn, flute (music education), Blair Reinlie, oboe (music performance), Courtney Wales, clarinet (music education), Wood Keyton, bassoon (music performance), and Adam Eichelkraut, horn (computer science). These students have been performing together as a quintet for two years. They have performed for the National Association of Schools of Music accreditation recital, AU Honor Band recitals, Fine Arts Week, and university awards dinners. In addition, they have performed for such community events as weddings, dinners, receptions, and Auburn Music Club meetings.

Trained in classical and semi-classical traditions of North Indian music, DR. S. RAJ CHAUDHURY has been performing and teaching college students for over 20 years. He has directed Indian music student ensembles at UCLA, Kansas State University, Christopher Newport University and now at Auburn University. A vocalist by training, Dr. Chaudhury plays harmonium, tabla, and tanpura. In 2009, Chaudhury became the Associate Director of Auburn Universtiy's Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and has a background in physics education.

Among pianist TZU-YI CHEN’s many orchestra credits are performing with the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Saint Petersburg Symphony and the Utah Symphony. In June 2012 she performed Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto in Taiwan with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Her awards include first prize at both the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Piano Competition and at the International Piano Competition of Mauro Paolo Monopoli in Italy. She has appeared as a recitalist throughout Taiwan and in broadcasts in Hong Kong and Germany. She earned a master's degree and taught at Karlsruhe Music University in Germany and studied at the National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance. Miss Chen is currently an Artist Diploma student at Columbus State University on full scholarship. She studies with Alexander Kobrin.

Auburn University’s DEAN’S BRASS QUINTET was first formed in the Department of Music in fall 2007. Supported by scholarship funds from the office of Anne-Katrin Gramberg, Dean of Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts, these five brass players are currently instructed by Mark DeGoti, Assistant Professor of Trumpet. They perform a wide variety of pieces and can be seen at departmental, college, and university functions either on stage or playing in the background. Members of the quintet are Michael Covington and Daniel Haddock, trumpet; BJ Neely, horn; Connor Sharpton, trombone; and James Finn, Tuba.

“Drake is an engaging singer with a warm voice and a touch of that quirkiness and fun you find in singers like Blossom Dearie, Dave Frishberg & Bob Dorough."-Greg Hughes, jazz & blues director, KRFP Radio Free Moscow, Moscow, Idaho

The JANE DRAKE TRIO, led by jazz vocalist Jane Drake, is the house band at Eighth and Rail’s Tuesday-night jazz jam in Opelika. The group recently completed nearly three years of weekly appearances at Piccolo, the Auburn University Hotel & Conference Center’s lounge, and will perform for the Columbus Jazz Society in spring 2013. Jane started singing with the Auburn Knights Orchestra while a student at Auburn. For the next 15 years, she sang in venues throughout the southeast, from New Orleans to the Florida and Mississippi beaches. In 2006, she appeared on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s The Jazz Spot in conjunction with the release of her CD, Brand New Woman. Pianist Jonathan Lynn studies building science at Auburn University and developed his jazz voice growing up and performing in the Atlanta area. Bassist Sidney Simmons is from Huntsville and studies wireless software engineering at Auburn. He plays extensively in the East Alabama area including with the Auburn Knights and university groups.

Guitarist MARK EDWARDS has been hailed by the Montgomery Advertiser as a player who “transfers to another zone, effortlessly strumming, plucking and picking a variety of classical masterpieces with clarity.” Recent engagements in past seasons include Trinity Church in New York City, ArtScape in Baltimore, the Toronto Guitar Symposium, The Mississippi Guitar Festival, and the Montgomery Guitar Festival. In 2009, Mark joined the Maryland State Arts Council Touring Artist Roster. From 1998 to present, Mark has earned 32 top prizes in the United States, Canada, and Thailand. These prizes include the 2010 Asia International Guitar Competition, the 2009 Montreal International Guitar Competition, and the 2008 National Guitar Workshop/National D’addario Solo Competition. Mark holds a Master of Music Performance Pedagogy from the Peabody Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Music, Magna cum laude with Honors, from Columbus State University. To learn more about Mark, please visit www.MarkEdwardsguitar.com.

In fall 2010, instructors at Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music paired flutist STEPHANIE ERDMAN with guitarist JACOB BROWN for the school’s annual joint flute-guitar recital. They have been a duo ever since. In 2012, Stephanie performed at the National Flute Association Convention. For the last two years of high school, Stephanie attended the Advanced Academy of Georgia at the University of West Georgia where she was active in its music department. Stephanie now studies with Andrée Martin. Jacob began his serious study of classical guitar at the age of 21. Since 2009, Jacob has competed in Columbus, Georgia’s Guitar Symposium and participated in other guitar festivals such as the Guitar Foundation of America and Appalachian Guitar Festival. He studies with Andrew Zohn.

Before becoming Coordinator of Accompanying at Auburn, LAURELIE GHEESLING served at Louisiana State University’s School of Music. She was the musical director for the LSU Opera Outreach Program and for fifteen years accompanied the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus. Ms. Gheesling performed at the 7th International Alexander Technique Congress in Oxford, England. In 2003 she received the James Ronald Brothers Achievement in Accompanying Award of the Southern Division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She has been involved as a recitalist, leader and collaborator at Loyola and Tulane Universities in New Orleans and with the Louisiana Vocal Arts Chorale. Click here for an extended bio.

DR. MATTHEW HOCH is Assistant Professor of Voice at Auburn University, where he teaches applied voice, diction, and opera workshop. He has performed as a soloist with organizations including the Oregon Bach Festival, the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, the Crossing, the Vox Consort, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Connecticut Choral Artists, Ash Lawn Opera, the Hartford and Nashua symphonies, Trinity Church Boston, in Carnegie Hall, and at many colleges and universities. His book, A Dictionary for the Modern Singer, will be published in 2014 by Scarecrow Press. Dr. Hoch holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, a Master of Music from The Hartt School, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the New England Conservatory. Prior to his position at Auburn, he spent six years at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia, where he taught applied voice, vocal literature, and served as Coordinator of Vocal Studies. Dr. Hoch has been extremely active and holding positions within both the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the New York Singing Teachers’ Association.

In 2012, guitarist JOSEPH IKNER joined the music faculty at Auburn University. His debut recording, Premiere, has been featured on public radio. Joseph has directed guitar studies at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He has served as a pedagogy advisor for the Peabody Institute in Baltimore and is a charter faculty member of the East Carolina University Summer Guitar Workshop. In 2007, Joseph was honored as a Founding Teacher of the National Music Certificate Program for his efforts in establishing a national standard for developing musicians in the United States. Joseph holds his Masters and Bachelors degrees from East Carolina University and is working toward a Doctorate from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia. Joseph is passionate about putting guitar programs in schools and is involved in national efforts to support them.

The KAZANETTI STRING QUARTET has been performing and teaching together since 1996. This award-winning group has performed across the USA and Europe, and distinguishes itself through its commitment to excellence and its diverse programming. Kazanetti is a Chamber Music America Rural Residency grant recipient, and has been selected to perform at the prestigious Debussy Conference in Paris, France, and the Smetana Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. Upon receiving the appointment of Artists-in-Residence at The Plaza Arts Center in Eatonton, GA in 2008, the Quartet created its highly acclaimed children's concert series kazanetti4kids combining music, literature, and the core academic curriculum. Through this and other performance and educational initiatives, Kazanetti continues to fulfill its mission—to serve, to enrich, and to educate.

Moscow-born pianist KSENIA KURENYSHEVA has won awards at competitions such as Vincenzo Scaramuzza International Music Competition (Craton, Italy, 1999), Benditsky Regional Music Competition (Saratov, Russia, 2001), and "Merzlyakovka invites friends" Russian Open Music Competition (Moscow, 2006). She is also a 2001 grant recipient of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Ksenia graduated from Moscow Conservatory College in 2006 and the Russian Gnesins Academy of Music in 2012. She participated in the International Keyboard Institute & Festival in New York from 2009 to 2011. Currently she studies with Professor Alexander Kobrin as an Artist Diploma student at Columbus State University.

The music of saxophonist and flutist PATRICK MCCURRY crosses boundaries between jazz and classical, pop and art, secular and sacred. Born and raised in Alabama and having returned home to Auburn, Patrick blogs in support of good music in and around his community. He performs with a chamber group, The Woodfield Trio, and holds a Masters degree in Chamber Music Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. There, his instructor and mentor was James Houlik, international concert saxophone maestro. He studied jazz improvisation, composition and arranging while earning his undergraduate degree from Loyola University New Orleans.

DR. MARY OLSON is Associate Professor of English at Tuskegee University. She holds a Ph.D. in medieval languages and literature from Purdue University and has published a book, Fair and Varied Forms: Visual Textuality in Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts. She studied recorder with the late George Olson of the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and is a former member of the Oak Park-River Forest Recorder Society there. Dr. Olson sings with the St. Cecelia Schola Cantorum in Auburn. She lives in the country with her husband and two dogs.

TRIO MOSAIC, with members from Russia, Alaska, and Georgia, reflects the diversity of students at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. Pianist Margarita Trubach graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2012 where she performed in Rachmaninoff Hall and other venues throughout Russia. A staff accompanist, Margarita is working towards an artist diploma at the Schwob School where she studies with Alexander Kobrin. Kurt Youngblood, who received the Conoco Phillips first award in the 2009 Alaska All-State Orchestra, is pursuing a bachelor of music degree in cello performance with Wendy Warner. He is a member of the Columbus State University Philharmonic. Lydia Carroll, who earned a bachelor of music degree in flute performance from Bob Jones University, won the woodwinds division of BJU’s Annual Commencement Contest in 2010. She is currently a master’s student and flute studio teaching assistant of Andrée Martin. 

LAURA USISKIN founded the Montgomery Music Project that provides stringed-instrument instruction to elementary schools there. She held the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra's cello fellowship from 2010-2012. She has premiered works and has performed with new music ensembles including Ensemble Pamplemousse and the Bang-On-A-Can All Stars. She has performed early music with the American Baroque Orchestra and Yale's Schola Cantorum among others. Laura has performed in the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Siena’s Palazzo Chigi Saracini, and Boston’s Symphony Hall. Her talents were recognized most notably as sitting principal cellist on Juilliard’s 2006 USA orchestra tour. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University and a Master of Music from Juilliard. She finished her doctoral coursework at Yale in 2009. In 2008 she received Yale’s Aldo Parisot prize given to a gifted cellist showing promise in a solo career. Click here for Laura's website.

At 18, violinist and Auburn native SYLVIA WEHRS is a junior at Columbus State University. There she has been awarded a scholarship to study violin with Distinguished Turner Chair, Sergiu Schwartz. Ms. Wehrs has won the Music Teachers National Association competition in Alabama at the junior and senior levels and placed first with the Alabama Music Teachers Association in both violin and piano. She was a winner in the Auburn Community Orchestra's concerto competition and has played with that group since she was eight. She now performs with the Columbus and LaGrange Symphonies, as well. Growing up in Auburn, Ms. Wehrs studied violin with her mother, Dr. Lorna Wood, and with Patricio Cobos. She also studied piano with Dr. William Summerville, Dr. Wayne Moore, and Dr. Jeremy Samolesky of Auburn University. For the past three summers, she has participated in the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

LORNA WOOD is concertmaster of the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra and the Auburn Community Orchestra and is a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. She teaches violin and viola in Auburn and is an instructor in the Young Artist Program of the Schwob School of Music Preparatory Division at Columbus State University. She holds a B. A. in English and a B. M. in Violin Performance from Oberlin, and a Ph.D. in English from Yale University. Lorna grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, and studied with Dorothy Mauney, Richard Young, and Marilyn MacDonald. Lorna is a published literary scholar, and she homeschools her son, William Wehrs.