© University of Rochester 1996-2012
1959
Ellen Jespersen Williams has written a book, Let’s Go Around Again (Cattail Press, 2010). Ellen began writing eight years ago, after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The book is a collection of autobiographical essays, poems, and stories.
1969
Vivien Goh sends an update. A cellist in Singapore, she attended the American String Teachers Association conference in March 2009. She writes: “The conference was the venue for a minireunion for alumni from the Class of ’69 from all corners of the U.S. and the world.” Pictured from left to right are cellist Joel Moerschel ’70 of Boston; violinist Joan Regli Paltenstein of Philadelphia; violinist Kathryn Dougherty Hoffer of Anchorage, Alaska; violist Donald McInnes of Los Angeles; Vivien; and cellist Janice Tritschler McDivitt of Tucson, Ariz. Vivien adds that the Singapore chapter of the American Guild of Organists, of which she is a member, invited Douglas Cleveland ’90, who teaches at the University of Washington’s school of music, to perform on the Klais organ at Singapore’s Victoria Concert Hall in September 2009. Vivien also met up with Bill Blossom in Singapore this past year. Bill was there as a member of the New York Philharmonic. She adds that Bill has produced a CD, New Chamber Music With Double Bass (Cicada Chamber Players), and is joined on the recording by the members of the Cicada Chamber Players and pianist Kazuko Mayumi.
1970
Joel Moerschel (see ’69).
1971
Baird Knechtel received a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Viola Society at a ceremony in Montreal in October. Baird founded the society in 1977 and remains its honorary president.
1972
Flutist Fenwick Smith has recorded a CD, Schulhoff / Schoenberg: Chamber Works (Chandos, 2009), with pianist Randall Hodkinson.
1985
Ming-Yi Daniel Xia (DMA) and his wife, Ting-Yi Lin, welcomed their third baby boy, Makaio, in December 2008. He joins his twin brothers McKinley and Denali. . . . Richard Zielinski (MM) is in his first year as director of choral activities at the University of Oklahoma. He has helped establish the Singing Sooners, a new student singing group that performs school spirit songs.
1986
The Merel Quartet, featuring founding member and first violinist Mary Ellen Woodside, toured in Switzerland, England, Poland, and the Czech Republic this summer. Their 2009–10 season began with a performance at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad and will finish with a concert at the Wigmore Hall in London.
1990
Douglas Cleveland (see ’69).
1992
Paul Stuart (MM) writes that two of his operas were performed this past year. In July, the California Opera Association presented a performance of The Sisters of Manzanar at the Fresno Art Museum. In November, opera students at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., performed The Little Thieves of Bethlehem.
1993
Marc Thayer ’95 (MM) writes that he is developing and conducting the string orchestra and string chamber ensembles program at St. Louis University in addition to teaching violin. He also continues his roles as vice president for education and community partnerships at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, artistic producer at the St. Croix Landmarks Society in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a faculty member in Iraq and Lebanon with American Voices, a nonprofit offering performance workshops and concerts around the globe. . . . Marina Lomazov ’00 (DMA) (see ’05).
1995
Peter Fletcher sends an update. Last year he signed with the management company Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists and, after the release of his CD, Music of the Baroque (Tower Hill), spent the fall touring the Midwest. In March, he will perform at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. . . . Marc Thayer (MM) (see ’93).
1996
Benjamin Rankin is working as Europe retail manager for Parfums Christian Dior. . . . David Cutler (MM) has published a book, The Savvy Musician: Building a Career, Earning a Living, and Making a Difference (Helius Press, 2010). He is a professor of composition and musicianship and the coordinator of music entrepreneurship studies at Duquesne University.
2000
Maria Lomazov (DMA) (see ’05).
2005
The pianist couple Joseph Rackers (DMA) and Marina Lomazov ’93, ’00 (DMA) send an update of their activities in 2009. Both joined the roster of Steinway Artists, an elite group of concert pianists chosen based on their international prominence and who perform on Steinway pianos. Joseph made his Chicago solo debut as part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, a series that showcases talented young artists and is broadcast live from the Chicago Cultural Center on Chicago’s 98.7 WFMT classical music radio. In July, Marina released a CD, Piano Music of Rodion Shchedrin (Centaur Records). She was also featured for the second consecutive season at the Keys to the Future Festival, a festival of contemporary solo piano music in New York City. Joseph and Marina are serving on the faculties of the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain, the Southeastern Piano Festival in South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina’s school of music.
2007
Jennifer Panara and Sascha Gerhards ’05 (MA) send a photo from their wedding last September at the Cliffhouse in San Fransisco.
© University of Rochester 1996-2012