June 2022

Dear Friends,

This end of the academic year Friends of Music Newsletter is a celebratory one, and we have much to celebrate. First of all, we had the opportunity to hear a lot of first-class live music presented by our faculty and students. Although there were new protocols and blips (wearing of masks for much of the year and a campus shutdown in January) it felt as if we were starting to get back to some semblance of normality although it is clear this pandemic is not over. Even though some of us were not yet comfortable in attending the live concerts, many performances were livestreamed with enhanced equipment.  This allowed those who could not attend the performances because of distance and other limitations to hear some of the excellent music at Emory, as well as preserved the recordings for later viewing.

We also had much to celebrate at our Annual Meeting on June 5, described in detail below. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to substantially increase the funding to music faculty and students for next year, which will be greatly appreciated. We also celebrated the annual awards to a music senior and junior for excellence in music and heard two other music students demonstrate the outstanding quality of Emory music students.

The bios of those four students are presented below, and they are certainly worth reading, as they demonstrate the amazing backgrounds of so many of our music students. You will note that all four students are double majors, and that is typical of Emory music students. I consider that a tremendous strength of Emory—it has both an outstanding music program and also an overall outstanding liberal arts environment. The presence of so many double majors in music is not due just to the Music Department, but to all other Emory College departments who support students with double majors. I have been a faculty member in Biology since 1984 and have never heard any of my colleagues complain about any of their students having a major in music or spending too much time on music. Indeed, there has been lots of support for such students. It is unquestionably a lot of work to major in music and a science, but I have found that such students tend to be both hard working and organized. Emory has certainly had music majors continue on after graduation to be successful in various fields of music; however many have chosen other vocations with music continuing to be an important part of their lives.

With best wishes for a good summer and looking forward to seeing many of you this fall,

Gray

Our Annual Meeting was a celebratory affair.  We had several celebrations at our meeting.  The first was from our Treasurer and the support we were able to give to music faculty and students for next year.

Treasurer's Report and Grant Support for Next Year

Our Treasurer, Michael Bernardino, reported that we had received substantial donations since our last Board Meeting on April 5. Our practice in awarding grants is to have in our account sufficient funds to cover our fixed expenses for the next year in addition to the funds we will be awarding in grants. Our donations in the two months prior to our annual meeting were such that we could increase our grants to $32,650 for next year, an increase of almost $10,000 over what we had initially projected, and an increase of almost $15,000 over what we were able to award last year. This was great news and provided a very celebratory start for our annual meeting.

You can see the lists of grants we awarded by clicking here. The grants fall into several different categories: direct support to students for lessons, course costs, or recital costs; support to students for research expenses; support to faculty for class expenses, generally in bringing in outside artists; and support to faculty for special events. Many thanks to our Grants Committee that received and evaluated the grant requests: Allen Garrison, Chair; Angelika Pohl, Guy Benian, and Stephen Crist.

Awards for Excellence in Music

Each year the Friends of Music give an Award of Excellence to a Senior and to a Junior, upon recommendation of a faculty committee.  We were delighted to make those awards this year and regretted that the awardees were not able to attend.

Excellence in Music Senior Award

Jason Lin

Jason Lin, 21, is a senior at Emory studying chemistry and music. He is from Plano, Texas, and has been playing piano for 15 years. He currently studies under Elena Cholakova, director of piano studies at Emory. Since beginning his piano studies at age six with Melody Ouyang, Lin has gone on to receive top honors at state, regional, and national competitions including the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, the Emory Concerto and Aria Competition, the Georgia Music Teachers Association Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association Competition. Lin debuted with the Plano Symphony Orchestra at age ten and was invited back to perform for 8,000 students as part of its outreach program. At age 14, he performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as a result of winning first prize at the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition.

Outside of music, Lin served as an undergraduate organic chemistry teaching assistant; conducted research at the School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; and volunteered at Re’Generation Movement, a local non-profit organization, as a mentor and lead SAT math tutor as well as at the Winship Cancer Institute. Lin was a member of the Mu Phi Epsilon fraternity as well as the Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies. He was also the recipient of the William B. Dickinson Music and Dr. Kevin C. Limp Memorial Scholarships. In his spare time, Lin likes to travel, cook, learn foreign languages, and explore new cultures.

Excellence in Music Junior Award

Kaito Mimura

Kaito Mimura, a junior at Emory University, is a chemistry and music double major. He began playing the violin at age three when his grandfather gave him his very first violin. Soon after, he began taking violin lessons with his mother. As a New Jersey native, he was surrounded by the diverse music scene in both New York City and Philadelphia, where his major mentors were Richard Rood and J Freivogel. Prior to attending Emory, Mimura held the position of concertmaster for the Youth Chamber Orchestra at Temple University Music Prep’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra under the batons of Luis Biava and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. During his time in the Youth Chamber Orchestra, it was invited to Iceland several times where it performed for the president of Iceland in his residence. In addition to Mimura’s involvement with orchestral ensembles, he also was the first violinist for the Newman String Quartet, a part of the Advanced Study Program at the Settlement Music School. During the summer, he participated in the Castleman Quartet Program, attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and was invited to the Verbier Junior Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, where he played alongside Mischa Maisky, Richard Goode, and James Gaffigan. Mimura continues his musical education at Emory under the tutelage of Jessica Wu who guides him through his musical journey. He served as co-concertmaster of the Emory University Symphony Orchestra in 2021.

Hear Our Award Winners in Concert!

One of the advantages of having many concerts and recitals recorded is that they can be viewed well after the event. Both Jason Lin and Kaito Mimura were Concerto Competition winners and performed in the EUSO concert of March 3 of this year. That concert is still available online and if you haven't yet heard it, or even if you have, it is well worth a listen:

Click here to view the concert.

Click here to view the program booklet for the concert.

Jason Lin's junior piano recital is also still available. Click here to view the recital and click here to see the program booklet.

Live Music from Two Emory Students

Our next celebration at the meeting was getting to hear live music performed by two Emory music students, who study with Artist Affiliates Jim Zellers and Jessica Wu.  It was a real treat to hear them play and they stayed for the reception afterwards so that our members could speak with them.

Emily Cui is a rising senior at Emory University, studying neuroscience and behavioral biology on the pre-med track. At Emory, Emily studies flute with James Zellers. She has been passionate about music her whole life, playing piano since she was six years old and flute since she was nine. Emily was a member of the wind ensemble in the Massachusetts Northeastern Senior District Festival in high school. In addition to music, Emily volunteers at Emory University Hospital and conducts research in the Beck lab, exploring vertical and horizontal bacteria transmission from parent bean beetles to offspring. She is also the Managing Editor: Scientific Division of Grey Matters Emory, a neuroscience journal organization, and Co-Volunteer Chair of the Emory Pre-Medical Association. Emily is a proud Bostonian and is an avid fan of Dunkin' Donuts and the Celtics.

Emily played the Fantasia VII in D Major by Georg Philip Telemann. Before she played, she gave us this information about the piece:

Georg Philipp Telemann was born on March 14^th, 1681 in Magdeburg, Brandenburg, located in Germany. He was a composer of the late Baroque period and wrote both religious and secular pieces, although he is far more known for his church compositions. Telemann’s 12 fantaisies à traversière sans basse, or 12 Fantasias for Solo Flute, were written and published in Hamburg in 1732-1733. The 12 Fantasias were written as part of Telemann’s collection of unaccompanied instrument works that showcased his deep understanding of the particularities of each solo instrument. This collection also includes violin and keyboard fantasias and a viola da gamba sonata. Telemann is known for his beautiful melodies and harmonic boldness, and mastered the principal styles of music from Germany, Italy, and France. In particular, these Fantasias include simultaneous intricate melodic lines that demonstrate idiomatic writing. The 12 Fantasias for Solo Flute collection is arranged and numbered according to the key, starting from A major, with each subsequent Fantasia generally a stepwise up, ending with Fantasia XII in G minor. It is thought that the collection has two parts, and Fantasia VII, a French overture, is the start of the second section.

Violinist Carol Xu is a rising third-year student majoring in Health Economics and Music at Emory University. She began her musical studies at age 5 in Dallas, Texas, and has since traveled all over the country to perform, including Carnegie Hall in New York. Prior to attending Emory University, Carol was a member of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra and is a former recipient of the Young Achiever Scholarship from the Suzuki Association of the Americas as well as the North Texas Suzuki Association Scholarship. At Emory, Carol is in Jessica Shuang Wu’s studio. She currently serves as a violinist in the Emory University Symphony Orchestra under the instruction of Paul Bhasin and has enjoyed playing in a string quartet and piano trio as part of Emory’s chamber program. In addition to performing, Carol also has a passion for teaching. In high school, she began instructing young students in Dallas and now has four years of experience working with violinists ranging from beginners to those studying advanced repertoire. On campus, she is also involved with the EUSO Social Committee, Emory Continuo, and Pi Beta Phi. 

Carol performed Salut d'Amour, by Edward Elgar. She later commented: Thank you again for the amazing opportunities that Emory Friends of Music has provided me throughout the past two years! Before coming to Emory, I would never have imagined that I would continue pursuing my passion, and certainly did not expect to be majoring in violin performance. However, I am now extremely grateful for Emory's music programs, as they have rekindled my love for music. I can't imagine my life any other way.

Reception Following the Annual Meeting

Following the meeting inside, we had a delightful reception outside, prepared by Angelika Pohl and Lilian Bryan. This was a great time for attendees to chat with one another and also with our two performers, Emily Cui and Carol Xu.

Many thanks are due for this meeting. In addition to our performers, and Angelika Pohl and Lilian Bryan for the refreshments, Stephen Crist, Chair of the Music Department was present to greet members and chat with everyone afterwards. Martha Shockey did a lot of work behind the scenes getting the meeting organized, programs made, etc. etc. Also, several Board members sponsored the cost of the reception so that no donor funds were used for it:  Guy Benian, Lynn Bertrand, Gray Crouse, James Overbeck, Hank Siegelson, and Kathy Summers.

A big Thank You to those who have contributed during the 2021-2022 year, and especially to those of you who have even increased your level of support or are new supporters! There is no way to thank you enough. It is absolutely true that your contributions are needed more than ever.

A special thanks to those of you who are sustaining members, either through payroll deduction, or a continuing contribution on your credit card. It is possible to make sustaining contributions on our giving page, but it is not straightforward. (See instructions below.)

The list of members can be seen by clicking here.

Please Note: It is surprisingly difficult to generate a list of members who are current in their giving. We measure our giving year from the start of our annual campaign, which is usually in July of each year. Some members give through payroll deduction or give more than one gift per year (thank you to both!) and we want to make sure we correctly acknowledge the level of giving. We don't have a set format for how names are listed and depend on member's preference. Sometimes we make mistakes. Please let us know if you find any errors in the list of members above. You can just reply to this newsletter and we will be glad to correct any mistakes. The date that the list was updated is given at the bottom. Among other problems, we are finding that it can take several weeks for us to get news of gifts.

You can make a contribution online by clicking here.

Become a Sustaining Member

Sustaining Members, those who make a continuing monthly donation, are very valuable for organizations, and convenient for donors. There are two ways in which one can become a Sustaining Member: through payroll deduction for Emory employees, or via credit card donations for others. If you would like to become a Sustaining Member via our online donation page, you can click here for instructions.

Thank you for considering this option!

Fortunately, many student performances were recorded this year and may still be viewed.  Below are links to view them.

EUSO performances may be viewed by clicking here.  Of particular interest is the March 3, 2022 concert featuring the three concerto winners.  Note that many of these recordings are of the livestreamed broadcast so you may need to jump forward in the video to the start of the performance.

EWE performances may be viewed by clicking here.  Note again that many of these recordings are of the livestreamed broadcast so you may need to jump forward in the video to the start of the performance.

Unfortunately, there is very little online from last year's Concert Choir or University Chorus.  There is a posting of the Choir concert of October 29, 2021 that may be viewed by clicking here.  The program booklet for this concert is the same as for the October EUSO and EWE performances and may be seen by clicking here.

Many student concerts and recitals performed in the Performing Arts Studio may be viewed by clicking here.

Program booklets for both Schwartz and PAS performances above are available at the same site.  Click here to access the program booklets.