Category Archives: woodwinds-alumni

Early Music Ensemble Invited to Nationally Acclaimed Festival

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BGSU Early Music Ensemble[2] (1)

BGSU’s Early Music Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Arne Spohr, has been selected by Early Music America to perform at Early Music America’s Young Performers Festival in Berkeley, CA. This nationally recognized festival will be featuring top university early music ensembles from around the United States, including groups from Indiana University, University of Southern California, Case Western Reserve University, and Brigham Young University Idaho. All performances will take place at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church from June 8th – 10th as part of the Berkeley Music Festival.

Toledo Symphony Orchestra featured in BGSU’s composer reading session

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TSO reading_15

BOWLING GREEN, OH— Orchestral compositions written by Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts students will be read, rehearsed and recorded by Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) musicians on Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 3:30-6 p.m. in BGSU’s Kobacker Hall. Michael Lewanski, a prominent figure on the international contemporary music scene, will lead the orchestra while acclaimed composer, conductor author and educator Samuel Adler will be present to observe the session and give comments in an evening masterclass.

After a review of the submitted scores, the following works were selected for the session:

– Richard Arndorfer       Aurora
– Andrew Binder           Endleofan
– Emily Custer               Seelenruhe
– Matthew Ramage        Mutability
– Jacob Sandridge           I-77

The TSO will be bringing its largest complement of players to BGSU, 72 musicians in all. “Few academic institutions can offer this kind of professional experience, making this a unique opportunity for BGSU students,” said Christopher Dietz, a faculty member in musicology, composition and theory and organizer of the session.

The event is open to students, faculty and staff of the BGSU College of Musical Arts and invited guests. Members of the public who would like to attend should email faculty liaison Christopher Dietz (cjdietz@bgsu.edu) to be included on the guest list.

Erik Rönmark ’01 receives 2015 College Alumni Award

alumni, woodwinds-alumni

erik-ronmarkErik Rönmark came to the United States from his native Sweden in 1996 to continue his musical education. A classical saxophonist by trade, Rönmark is the general manager and artistic administrator of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has extensive performing experience in both chamber music and orchestral settings. He has performed in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on several occasions, as a guest in Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and regularly appears in the contemporary group New Music Detroit, of which he is also co-founder and executive director. Recently, Rönmark was featured with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, culminating a national tour with the Pacifica String Quartet. Rönmark is a first-prize winner of both the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. He is also the recipient of the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s award for establishing valuable relationships between Sweden and America. He has collaborated and assisted artists such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Terry Riley, Matthew Barney, Shara Worden and Branford Marsalis, and has commissioned and premiered more than 30 new works for saxophone. Rönmark has been a part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra administration since 2005. Rönmark holds degrees in fine arts and music performance from Northern State University and Bowling Green State University, as well as a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan.

Higdon ’86 to receive honorary doctorate

alumni, composition, woodwinds-alumni

Higdon-and-Beau

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Two BGSU alumnae who have had influential careers will receive honorary doctorates from the University during fall commencement ceremonies. The board of trustees approved the degrees at the Dec. 5 meeting.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon ’86 is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers. She has become a major figure in contemporary classical music, with commissions in the orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, and wind ensemble genres.

She holds doctoral and master’s degrees in music composition from the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor’s degree in flute performance from BGSU, and an Artist Diploma in music composition from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she now holds the Milton L. Rock Chair in Composition Studies.

Her Percussion Concerto won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in January 2010. Higdon also received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto.

She has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters (two awards), the Koussevitzky Foundation, the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Meet-the-Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, and ASCAP.

Most recently, Higdon has written an opera commissioned by Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and Minnesota Opera, based on the National Book Award winner “Cold Mountain,” by Charles Frazier. It will be premiered in Santa Fe on August 1, 2015.

Higdon and television executive Eileen O’Neill ’90 will give the commencement addresses, Higdon on Dec. 19 and O’Neill on Dec. 20. Both were named among BGSU’s 100 most prominent alumni during the University’s 2010 centennial celebration.

CMA Students Win Prizes at 3rd Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition – Bangkok, Thailand

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Noa Even – 3rd Prize Winner and soloist with orchestra (plus a new saxophone, prize money, and a concert in Shanghai)
(Noa is a second year DMA student at BGSU)

Joel Diegert – 5th Prize Winner and soloist with orchestra
(Joel is just finishing advanced studies in Paris after completing his MM at BGSU in 2008)

Pin-Hua Chen – Semifinalist and the first Taiwanese saxophonist to advance in the history of this competition
(Pin-Hua is a 2nd year MM at BGSU)

Note: Noa and Joel were the only two Americans in the final round of the Londeix Competition. In the semifinal round, Noa and Pin-Hua both performed “Renewing the Myth” by BGSU faculty composer Dr. Marilyn Shrude. Noa is now touring in Thailand where she is presenting recitals. Her Thailand touring program includes “Fantasmi” by Marilyn Shrude.

(Submitted by John Sampen)