Faculty

CU Boulder welcomes multidisciplinarian Stratøs to College of Music faculty

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:16:12 +0000

CU Boulder welcomes multidisciplinarian Stratøs to College of Music faculty Mariefaith Lane Thu, 10/30/2025 - 15:16

Adam Goldstein

Aspiring career musicians need to prepare for a constantly shifting scene, one that bears little resemblance to the music industry of even a decade ago. It’s a reality that Stratøs knows well, and one that the incoming assistant teaching professor of composition at the CU Boulder College of Music is eager to impart to his students.

Stratøs is a true multidisciplinarian: A saxophonist, composer, producer, photographer and cinematographer, the Michigan native has earned honors, plaudits and accolades across a spectrum of art forms and disciplines.

From his work as a saxophonist on film scores, to his musical contributions to in-game video soundtracks, to his role as a composer of ambitious works for jazz chamber orchestras, Stratøs has adjusted to a professional musical landscape that demands flexibility, deftness and resourcefulness: Skills that are sure to benefit his students here—and that align with the College of Music’s approach to developing universal musicians who are well-equipped to participate in the 21st century as artists, educators and scholars; as broadly based professionals with flexible career options; and as passionate, compassionate world citizens.

“One of the things that I’m passionate about is giving students the facility to develop their own personal sound with as much information, as much detail as they possibly can,” Stratøs says. “The modern musician is someone who might have a lot of varying interests in fields that may be outside of music. As someone who lives in those spaces a lot, I want to help students bring those influences to bear. I want to help them get an understanding of themselves as musicians.

“That’s something I try to teach—how to be adaptable. You have inspiration from other mediums to draw upon,” he adds.

That lesson is also valuable for students through a creative lens, Stratøs says. Just as the business side of the music industry has fundamentally changed over recent decades, so has the nature of composition. Creative silos have disappeared within a music industry that’s no longer distinct and separate from other creative pursuits. Film melds into music, which blends into social media soundtracks and video game scores. Visual arts flow into the music behind a reel or a TikTok video; a song or a snippet of melody is likely to be inextricably tied to images, film or virtual artwork for a modern consumer. In the age of social media, artificial intelligence and immediate music distribution, the lines that long separated disciplines have collapsed.

“I finished my master’s in 2020, and I was thrust into an ever-changing music industry from the beginning,” Stratøs notes. “I think a lot of people in my specific class, in my generation of artists—we're all faced with a unique task. The music industry doesn’t exist anymore, what are we going to do?”

For Stratøs, the answer came in drawing on a wealth of creative skills and threads, finding inroads among art forms and acclimating to a media landscape in which music rarely stands on its own. As he heads to Boulder to inspire incoming composition students beginning spring 2026, he wants to help them fuse mediums and find musical inspiration in unlikely places.

“When I looked at the job description for this position, it was describing exactly what I do,” he says. “Someone adept in composition and music production—a synthesis, someone who uses both of those disciplines to make their art. For example, if you’re working on photography as well as music, your photography informs your composition.

“That’s something that I hope to bring and work on with the students.”

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Innovation as a collaborative act

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 10:00:41 +0000

Innovation as a collaborative act Mariefaith Lane Thu, 10/30/2025 - 04:00

John Davis

From left to right: On Oct. 1-4, 2025, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Margaret Berg, Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives Kate Cimino, Dean John Davis and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies Matthew Roeder welcomed participants of the National Association of Music Executives at State Universities (NAMESU) Annual Meeting to our campus and the brand new Limelight Boulder.

Greetings “from the road” where I’ve been engaged in two accreditation site reviews for the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)—at institutions in Mississippi and New York—as well as a trio of October conferences: From hosting the National Association of Music Executives at State Universities (NAMESU) Annual Meeting right here on our campus and at the new Limelight hotel to the 61st Annual Conference of the International Council for Arts Deans (ICfAD) in Santa Fe, New Mexico to the College Music Society (CMS) National Conference in Spokane, Washington this week where I’ll be interacting with other deans and senior arts administrators engaged in public service and mentoring. Everywhere I go, I enjoy representing the unique achievements, aspirations and opportunities of our College of Music; along the way, I’ve been struck by the supportive camaraderie and timely shared learnings among my counterparts.

As noted by American theatre and opera director Anne Bogart, “We have been discouraged to think that innovation can be a collaborative act” and yet it’s exactly that—a collaborative act—that’s at the heart of institutions like ours.

It’s a collaborate act to not only innovate our curriculum in accordance with our universal musician approach—most recently including the launch of our songwriting degree emphasis, a new master’s degree in performance and pedagogy and the addition of a strings emphasis within our jazz studies degree programs; but also to sustain a healthy environment in which our students and faculty can advance their artistic integrity and imagination, and push back against ongoing pressures and pervasive feelings of despair—for example, when the Evergreen High School Cougar Pride Marching Band joined our Golden Buffalo Marching Band for a halftime performance on Oct. 11, marking a significant moment of healing for a community still recovering from a school shooting in September; and when our University Choir takes the spotlight at the National Collegiate Choral Organization Biennial Conference at Cal State Fullerton College on Nov. 7, among just 10 choirs selected to perform via a nationwide competitive application process.

These days, we’re constantly buffeted by events. In the 24/7 news cycle, it’s all too easy to catastrophize, to lose proportion. In response, among arts leaders nationally, I’m finding a palpable purpose to meet the moment with intentionality, resulting in more opportunities for energetic engagement based on shared values.

At ICfAD, I participated in several facilitated discussions including Building Coalitions Across Campus, Creating Cultural Buy-In, and Strategies for Leading and Building a Team; as well as a riveting presentation—Common Characteristics of the Most Successful Fundraising Deans by James M. Langley, a prolific author and successful pioneer of fundraising strategies in higher education. The result? My own deepening dedication to the college’s focus areas—offering relevant, adaptable curriculum and student opportunities; enhancing faculty and staff success; and sustaining a community of wellness and resilience—as well as refining, right-sizing or even shifting college priorities to ignite greater immediate impacts as well as future possibilities for our students.

In short, my notes from a month of travel on behalf of our college—where I’m enthusiastic about my second term as dean—reflect that we’re not alone in taking a fresh look at everything we do to ensure student, staff and faculty flourishing within a resilient community, no matter the external pressures on (and often misdirected passions against) universities, generally.

Through radical resourcefulness, and with your programmatic and scholarship support, I’m eager to redirect adversity into advocacy, and conflict into collaborative acts that elevate music making as a basic human right: A right that serves and sustains the human experience, that draws us together when words fail, that offers an inclusive place of refuge and that uplifts expression of the beauty within all of us.

Dean Davis shares reflections “from the road” where he’s been engaged in a trio of October conferences as well as two accreditation site reviews for the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).

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College of Music announces new Applied Jazz Strings course

Mariefaith Lane — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 21:12:09 +0000

College of Music announces new Applied Jazz Strings course Mariefaith Lane Tue, 10/28/2025 - 15:12

Adam Goldstein

The College of Music’s Thompson Jazz Studies Program is excited to announce the addition of Applied Jazz Strings—taught by recent alumna and current Jazz Studies Lecturer Enion Pelta-Tiller—to the college’s following BA, MM and DMA jazz performance degrees: BA with jazz emphasis, MM jazz performance + pedagogy and DMA jazz performance.

Jazz music is about more than trumpets, trombones, saxophones, bass, drums and the like—and no one knows that better than Pelta-Tiller. An accomplished musician, composer and educator, she’s well aware of the rich history and complex contemporary reality of the uniquely American genre. Specifically, the role of stringed instruments in jazz holds a special place in Pelta-Tiller’s heart, and it’s no wonder: She’s a brilliant violinist and the varied history of jazz has long informed her approach to the instrument.

From her roles as a founding member of the critically acclaimed indie-folk group Taarka to directing the College of Music’s Cross-Genre American Roots Strings Ensemble, Pelta-Tiller’s musical resume has incorporated a wide array of cues from the genre, past and present.

“Especially in earlier forms of jazz, there’s a strong tradition of violin players,” Pelta-Tiller explains. “Players like Stuff Smith, Stéphane Grappelli and Eddie South are some of the prominent names from that early era of the music who are really foundational to where strings in jazz comes from, and what people are still doing with string instruments in jazz.

“I mean, even Ornette Coleman played the violin on some recordings,” she adds, referring to the seminal free jazz pioneer of the ’60s and ’70s.

The role of strings in jazz has long been overlooked by historians and even musicians, but Pelta-Tiller will soon bring jazz strings back in the spotlight for College of Music students and performers: With approval by the university’s curriculum committee to launch the Applied Jazz Strings course in fall 2026, violinists, violists and cellists will be offered an in-depth experience into the profound and multifaceted role of strings in the birth, development and current course of jazz.

From exploring the violinists who led early jazz ensembles in the ’20s and ’30s to the bluegrass players and Western Swing pioneers who added new folk-based elements to the genre, the new course will shed fresh light on jazz and its component parts. Specifically, it will illustrate how African American musical traditions, European theory elements and folk strains from across the country fused in a uniquely American art form that’s only continued to evolve and grow.

“String instruments have been a part of jazz since its earliest days,” notes Pelta-Tiller. “But they’ve been sidelined somewhat and it’s very exciting to bring back awareness of that history. I think a lot of students of jazz don’t get to experience or study much of that early history and by bringing back these instruments, there’s more of an opportunity to engage with it.”

Indeed—according to Pelta-Tiller—engagement is key: She aims to ensure that students have plenty of opportunities to perform, even envisioning a full ensemble of string players taking on all the varied roles of a traditional jazz group—from rhythm to melody to percussion.

It’s an ambitious vision that aligns both with Pelta-Tiller’s own musical history and the college’s universal musician approach to achieving its mission. “It’s exciting to revisit all this music that I love through my students’ eyes and finding new ways of engaging with it myself,” she concludes.

Questions? Email thompsonjazzstudies@colorado.edu. For application info, visit colorado.edu/music/admissions.

The CU Boulder College of Music’s Thompson Jazz Studies Program is excited to announce the addition of Applied Jazz Strings—taught by recent alumna and current Jazz Studies Lecturer Enion Pelta-Tiller—to the college’s BA, MM and DMA jazz performance degrees.

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Unique klezmer + Yiddish song residency features diverse guest artists

Mariefaith Lane — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 22:40:17 +0000

Unique klezmer + Yiddish song residency features diverse guest artists Mariefaith Lane Wed, 10/15/2025 - 16:40

College of Music

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell and Dmitri Gaskin. Photo by Stefan Loeber.

On Oct. 24-29, the CU Boulder College of Music will host a unique klezmer and Yiddish song residency featuring singer Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, accordionist and composer Dmitri Gaskin, violinist Zoë Aqua and cellist Raffi Boden—all leading musicians in the international Yiddish music scene.

Organized by Associate Professor of Music Theory Yonatan Malin, the residency will include workshops for the strings, voice and composition areas; guest performances in several classes; a recital featuring Yiddish song, klezmer dances and Central European folk tunes (Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., Grusin Music Hall); a workshop on the use of black music in Jewish spaces (Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., S102, Imig Music Building); and a colloquium on klezmer and Transylvanian folk music pedagogy (Oct. 27, 2:30 p.m., S101, Imig Music Building). The concert, workshop and colloquium are all free and open to the public.

Zoë Aqua

“I’m excited for this residency because it will bring in a remarkable group of young musicians who have followed unique musical and personal paths,” says Malin. “Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell is an operatic bass who combines African American traditions with music of Jewish Eastern Europe in a multi-diasporic sound. Zoë Aqua is a klezmer and classical violinist and educator who spent several years studying folk music pedagogy in Transylvania. And Raffi Boden and Dmitri Gaskin also have followed unique paths—Boden is an Oberlin- and Juilliard-trained cellist who has a dynamic freelance career in New York playing experimental chamber music, jazz and klezmer. Gaskin is an accordionist, composer and arranger specializing in klezmer and Polish and Romanian folk music.

Raffi Boden

“All four are multiskilled, multidisciplinary artists who will serve as models and inspiration for our students.”

Adds Malin, “The residency involves so many departments in the College of Music! Anthony Russell will give a workshop and master class for voice majors, Zoë Aqua will lead a workshop for all the string studios and Dmitri Gaskin will give a guest presentation in Associate Professor of Composition Annika Socolofsky’s orchestration class.”

All four guest artists will also perform and present in Malin’s course, “Music in Jewish Cultures”; and in Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology + International Affairs Ben Teitelbaum’s course, “Introduction to Musical Styles and Ideas.” Additionally, Aqua and Boden will lead a rehearsal for the college’s Cross-Genre American Roots String Ensemble, taught by Jazz Studies Lecturer Enion Pelta-Tiller.

Malin concludes, “This residency has been a remarkable opportunity for campuswide collaboration. These interdisciplinary connections reflect the College of Music’s universal musician approach to achieving our mission, supporting our students to become compassionate and engaged world citizens.”

The klezmer + Yiddish song residency is a campus collaboration among the College of Music, the Program in Jewish Studies, Jews of Color: Histories and Futures, the Center for African and African American Studies, the American Music Research Center, the Religious Studies Department and the History Department. In the College of Music, this residency is supported by the Roser Visiting Artist Endowment.

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New innovative graduate degree bridges music research + performance

Mariefaith Lane — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:41:31 +0000

New innovative graduate degree bridges music research + performance Mariefaith Lane Wed, 10/08/2025 - 05:41

MarieFaith Lane

This fall, the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music launched a graduate program that reimagines the study and practice of historical music. The new master’s degree in historical performance and research blends rigorous academic scholarship with intensive professional-level performance training, offering students a path found at no other institution in North America.

The program is co-directed by Assistant Professor of Harpsichord + Eugene D. Eaton, Jr., Chair in Baroque Music Performance Lillian Gordis (pictured left) and Assistant Professor of Musicology Saraswathi Shukla (right) who developed a curriculum modeled after European conservatories and universities where hybrid programs have existed for decades. Gordis, who completed such a program in Paris, says it was “a really rewarding degree” that empowered her to develop broadly-based skills in writing, archival research and performance-related scholarship. Our new program offers CU Boulder students the opportunity to gain a comparable level of knowledge and skill without traveling abroad: Emphasizing cohesion among university and conservatory coursework, co-taught classes and rigorous skill-building, the program prepares students for scholarly creative works, performance and more.

“Historically, early music has always been a blend of scholarship and performance,” says Shukla. “Over time, those two branches split apart. What we’re doing is bringing them back together in a way that equips students with the full range of skills they need to succeed in diverse disciplines.”

A rigorous curriculum
�鶹��Ժ will take seminars in performance practice, tuning and temperament, basso continuo and archival research. They will also study privately on their instrument, perform in the College of Music’s early music ensemble and complete a master’s thesis. Public performance is a major component of the new master’s degree: �鶹��Ժ must present a recital in both the first and second years.

“This is not a program for the faint of heart,” notes Gordis. “�鶹��Ժ are expected to perform at a high level, write a substantial thesis and master the core skills of historical performance. It’s almost a double workload, but it prepares students for doctoral study, or a professional performing career or other related career.”

Unlike a conventional performance or musicology degree, the program demands equal commitment to both. Gordis and Shukla emphasize that the workload is intentionally rigorous but designed to be complementary: Research courses inform performance and performance deepens research.

Responding to national trends
The College of Music is introducing the degree at a pivotal moment: Across the country, early music programs are shrinking or closing, leaving fewer opportunities for students who wish to pursue specialized training.

“There’s strong demand from students for this kind of program, but fewer places where they can actually get it,” explains Shukla. “Our program fills that gap while also offering something distinctive: The chance to graduate prepared for both research and performance at the highest levels.”

Gordis adds that young musicians increasingly demand flexibility in their training. “Many students don’t want to be forced to choose between performance and scholarship right after completing their undergraduate degrees,” she shares. “Our new master’s degree keeps both doors open and allows them to build the skill set they need in a complex and changing profession.”

Ensuring broadly-based career options
This forward-thinking approach aligns with the College of Music’s mission to prepare students for careers beyond music performance, embracing an interdisciplinary model that encourages holistic student development and discovery. Specifically, the program reflects the college’s innovative universal musician approach to achieving its mission, preparing students for flexible career options.

The program’s inaugural student—Ray Pragman—establishes the beginning of a new academic community and the future of historical performance education, nationally.

A forward-looking mindset
For Gordis, the program is also about cultivating a mindset. “Historical performance is about curiosity,” she says. “It’s about asking questions, experimenting and building community. We want our students to experience the new program as a space where they can pursue their interests rigorously, but also creatively—and come out prepared for whatever direction they choose.”

Shukla also views the program as developing skills that extend beyond music. “We’re offering students the tools to ask the right questions. That kind of open-mindedness and critical thinking are valuable not just in music but in any field.”

A one-of-a-kind opportunity
By combining research and performance into a single degree, the CU Boulder College of Music is positioning itself at the forefront of historical music education in North America. The ability to attract international guest artists, invest in tenure-track faculty and foster interdisciplinary collaboration sets the program apart.

Applications for the master’s in historical performance and research are now open.

This fall, the CU Boulder College of Music launched a new master’s degree in historical performance and research—the first of its kind in North America. Combining rigorous academic training with professional-level performance, the degree prepares students for doctoral study, performance and diverse other music careers.

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“Always a Flutist” celebrates flutes, community and music

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:44:34 +0000

“Always a Flutist” celebrates flutes, community and music Mariefaith Lane Thu, 09/18/2025 - 05:44

Adam Goldstein

Christina Jennings continues to marvel at the deep, existential roots of the flute.

It’s an instrument that has long been part of the human creative process, stretching all the way back to the prehistoric discovery that music can emerge from a simply carved piece of bone or wood. “The flute is humankind’s oldest instrument,” says Jennings, professor of flute at the College of Music. “We’ve been playing flutes for thousands of years.”

Those deep, ancient ties will be on full display on the upcoming “Always a Flutist” Faculty Tuesdays recital, Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. in Grusin Music Hall. The program—titled “Threads of Silver, Ties of Gold”—celebrates the flute through community by showcasing the flute in solo, duo, quartet and a 50-member flute orchestra. In this reunion between Jennings and some 30 flute alumni, selections include Charles Ives’ “Unanswered Question,” Luciano Berio’s arrangement of Beatles songs and music of Helen Fisher, Dianna Link, Lowell Liebermann and others. Performers also include Jenning’s 16 current students and other collaborators—from talented area high school musicians to faculty and staff musicians from across campus.

Jennings kicked off this celebration of flutes, community and music in 2017 when she organized the first three-day iteration of the event that featured world-renowned flutists Sir James and Lady Galway. This year’s two-day gathering reflects the same spirit.

“The festival in 2017 was my way of inviting alumni back, and inviting the Colorado flute community to create a ‘We love the flute’ gathering,” she explains. “It was incredibly successful and seeded the idea for doing something else.

“Since 2017, even more so since the pandemic, what’s become the central core value to who I am as a teacher is the idea of centering community.”

As Jennings celebrates her 20th year on the College of Music faculty, next week’s “Always a Flutist” event also includes non-public opportunities for teachers, former students and current student musicians to reconnect and network; but it’s the culminating Faculty Tuesdays recital that best unites all participants and our flute-loving audience members in a wide-ranging program.

“The program is basically pieces that I love,” says Jennings, adding that the final piece—Egemen Kesikli’s “Breathless”—will “bring everybody up on stage including some of my colleagues that only had a passing interest in flute in seventh or eighth grade. That gets back to the ‘Always a Flutist’ theme.”

The spirit of such a communal celebration is also a fitting tribute to Jennings’ impact on our college over two decades, and a meaningful opportunity for alumni—whose career paths have ranged from law to medicine to professional performance and beyond—to meet again in a shared love of a very old instrument.

“It has absolutely been a dream to be with this community, with these students … and to be in a place where I feel honored as an artist, and teaching a curriculum that honors the universal musician,” Jennings says. “I will always have something to say through the flute.”

On Sept. 23, the “Always a Flutist” Faculty Tuesdays recital celebrates the flute through community by showcasing the instrument in solo, duo, quartet and a 50-member flute orchestra. Performers include flute faculty, alumni and current students—as well as talented area high school musicians, and faculty and staff musicians from across campus!

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Grammy-nominated artist-in-residence Marco Pavé to showcase artistry, wisdom

Mariefaith Lane — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:09:13 +0000

Grammy-nominated artist-in-residence Marco Pavé to showcase artistry, wisdom Mariefaith Lane Tue, 09/16/2025 - 05:09

Kathryn Bistodeau

As artist-in-residence of our American Music Research Center (AMRC) and the CU Boulder Center for African & African American Studies, Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist, dramatist and writer Marco Pavé—stage name for Tauheed Rahim II—will showcase his artistry and wisdom through classes, workshops and a concert, Sept. 22-26.

AMRC Director Michael Uy notes that many College of Music students have been interested in a chance to engage with hip-hop. “When Marco Pavé reached out, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew of his participation as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department,” says Uy. “He also came highly recommended as Georgetown University’s first hip-hop artist-in-residence.”

In preparation for classes that he’s guest teaching, Pavé asked students to listen to his Grammy-nominated work “Requiem for the Enslaved” which blends contemporary classical music with hip-hop. MORE

As artist-in-residence of our American Music Research Center and the Center for African & African American Studies, Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist, dramatist and writer Marco Pavé will showcase his artistry and wisdom through classes, workshops and a concert, Sept. 22-26.

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Trombone studio attends International Trombone Festival

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 12:40:10 +0000

Trombone studio attends International Trombone Festival Mariefaith Lane Thu, 09/11/2025 - 06:40

Kathryn Bistodeau

Following Tanner’s ITF solo recital on July 17, with CU Boulder trombone students (left to right): Luke Meredith, Jackson Franco, Corey Nance, Sam McDiarmid-Sterling, Madison Joy, Sterling Tanner, Alex Weeks, Ben Garcia, Wesley Shores, Mark Bennett, Abby Burford.

This summer, Assistant Professor of Trombone Sterling Tanner led a group of CU Boulder students to participate in the International Trombone Festival (ITF) hosted at Western University in London, Ontario.

The group performed at the festival, opening for Christian Lindberg, and attended numerous lectures, concerts and workshops over four days. While performance opportunities brought them to the festival, Tanner says the networking and bonding with the broader trombone community were additional highlights.

“It's not just about the playing and the level of their performance,” explains Tanner. “It's more about the people part, and the hang.

“Watching the students connect—sharing meals, grabbing coffee, playing duets and exchanging ideas—was inspiring. What’s most special for me is just seeing them flourish as humans in that environment.”

On July 18, the CU Boulder Trombone Octet opened for international trombone soloist Christian Lindberg (left to right): Ben Garcia, Abby Burford, Madison Joy, Corey Nance, Wesley Shores, Sam McDiarmid-Sterling, Mark Bennett, Scott Underwood.

CU Boulder was well represented with Tanner presenting a recital of his new solo album, ”Resonant Renaissance”; graduate student Corey Nance presenting with the ITA Student Council as its vice president; and Mark Bennett competing as one of three finalists in the Larry Wiehe Tenor Trombone Competition.

For Tanner, the experience felt full circle as his undergraduate professor was also present. “The first ITF that I attended was in 2013,” Tanner recalls. “I was lucky enough to be at the institution where it was hosted, Columbus State University. And my teacher, Bradley Palmer, was really a figurehead in the trombone community.”

As College of Music ITF participants readied for the festival, Tanner asked Palmer to conduct a piece on the students’ recital. “It was really special because when the students played the first piece, I’m standing backstage with my former teacher and he’s like, ‘Man, they sound really great. This is what you’ve always dreamed of, and I'm excited that you're getting to experience that now’,” Tanner shares.

He hopes to involve more students in the ITF in the future. For now, he’s excited to be getting back to work with his studio and building on the impact of their ITF experiences. “You never know what they picked up on—maybe it's something that's not even related to playing the trombone, you know? I'm excited to speak with the students as we get started and know like, okay, that really stuck with you? Maybe we should look into seeing how we can incorporate that here.”

Looking back on a fruitful summer, Assistant Professor of Trombone Sterling Tanner led a group of students to participate in the International Trombone Festival in London, Ontario! Learn about their impactful trip and Tanner’s full-circle experience.

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The Cleveland Orchestra residency returns

Mariefaith Lane — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 11:00:13 +0000

The Cleveland Orchestra residency returns Mariefaith Lane Thu, 09/04/2025 - 05:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

From Sept. 10-12, members of The Cleveland Orchestra will resume their biyearly collaboration with the College of Music that began over a decade ago—including a guest recital on Sept. 11, joined by College of Music faculty and students, and offering coachings, rehearsals, panel discussions on auditions and careers in music, and more.

Professor of Clarinet Daniel Silver describes the residency as a unique opportunity for students to observe and learn from professionals in the industry.

“No one gets into The Cleveland Orchestra unless they’re one of the very best,” he says. “People don’t win jobs like that because they’re lucky. So you’re really dealing with an incredibly high level of skill and artistry.

“This is a really wonderful group of people, too—they have a sense of humor. And they love coming to Boulder, meeting students and sharing what they know.”

Participating members of The Cleveland Orchestra will team up with their instrument’s faculty counterpart at the College of Music for studio classes, lessons and coachings. For Silver, a standout event on the schedule is a side-by-side rehearsal with the CU Boulder Symphony Orchestra.

“I think that’s one of the linchpins, because the orchestra is playing big orchestral repertoire—and not only do The Cleveland Orchestra members know these pieces well, but they’ve played them dozens of times in their lives,” he explains. “So they’re full of experience about the pieces, and how to be more artistic, responsive and professional in an orchestra at a high level.”

According to Silver, the impact of the residency on students is tangible: They come away fired up and eager to put their new ideas and advice into practice.

“Somebody who plays in an orchestra at this level all the time will bring insights, wisdom, suggestions, ideas about practice and approaches to the music that are unique—and that would be hard for our students to get anywhere else,” he says.

There’s also a personal connection for Silver, who grew up attending The Cleveland Orchestra concerts. “I used to hear the orchestra every week when I was in middle school and high school,” he reflects. “It took me a few years to realize when I would go other places and come back how fortunate I was. I’m looking forward to rekindling the connections to my hometown.”

Our gratitude to the 16 members of The Cleveland Orchestra who are joining us on campus this year:

Amy Lee, Associate Concertmaster
Stephen Rose, Principal Second Violin
Stanley Konopka, Assistant Principal Viola
Mark Kosower, Principal Cello
Maximilian Dimoff, Principal Bass
Mary Fink, Principal Piccolo | Flute
Frank Rosenwein, Principal Oboe
John Clouser, Principal Bassoon
Amy Zoloto, Bass Clarinet | Clarinet
Michael Sachs, Principal Trumpet | Cornet
Meghan Guegold, French Horn
Shachar Israel, Assistant Principal Trombone
Yasuhito Sugiyama, Principal Tuba
Paul Yancich, Principal Timpanist (retired)
Marc Damoulakis, Principal Percussion
Trina Bourne, Principal Harp

From Sept. 10-12, members of The Cleveland Orchestra will resume a biyearly collaboration with the College of Music that began over a decade ago—including a guest recital on Sept. 11, joined by College of Music faculty and students.

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In memoriam: Professor Emeritus Oswald Lehnert

Mariefaith Lane — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 17:53:44 +0000

In memoriam: Professor Emeritus Oswald Lehnert Mariefaith Lane Wed, 07/16/2025 - 11:53

Our College of Music community is deeply saddened by the recent passing—on June 24, 2025—of Professor Emeritus Oswald (Ozzi) Lehnert.

Virtuoso violinist, conductor and educator, Lehnert served on the CU Boulder College of Music faculty for more than four decades and as music director of the Boulder Philharmonic for nearly 25 years (1972-1996). Lehnert co-founded the renowned Pablo Casals Trio—named with Casals’ blessing—and shared stages across the globe with his pianist wife, College of Music Professor Emerita Doris Pridonoff Lehnert.

A memorial service and celebration of Lehnert’s life will be held at the Glenn Miller Ballroom on July 28, 11 a.m.

Make a memorial gift
In honor of Lehnert’s legacy as a teacher, performer, conductor and advocate for the arts—inspiring generations to come—the Lehnert family has established the Oswald Lehnert Endowed Violin Scholarship Fund.

Our College of Music community is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Professor Emeritus Oswald (Ozzi) Lehnert.

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