February 2025

The opportunities to hear our students and faculty perform are increasing as the semester progresses. This includes later this week the first of the many student recitals we will be able to hear this semester. For those recitals I have included the bios of the students because I think it is interesting to read about our students and how invested they are in music, even though many do not plan careers in music (and one of the attractions of Emory is that it is possible to be involved with music at the highest level, even while majoring in other disciplines). There will be much excellent music made by these students! There is also the opportunity to hear one of the Artist Affiliates perform, as Luther Enloe plays on February 23.

There are also opportunities to hear three of our large ensembles perform. The first is by the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, consisting of some of the finest high school musicians in the Atlanta area and conducted by Paul Bhasin. This is their 20^th anniversary, and as you can read below, the program will also feature the University Chorus and the Merian Ensemble. The Emory Wind Ensemble is next, followed by the EUSO.  All of the programs look really exciting!

Finally, there is another ECMSA masterclass on March 1, and those masterclasses are a great opportunity to hear some of our best students and see one example of the many educational opportunities they have at Emory.

With best wishes,

Gray Crouse

A note about the event entries below. You can click on most of the headings of the events and be taken directly to the Music Calendar listing for that event for additional details. At the time of publication, the programs for many of these events are not yet available but will typically be added to the Calendar entry close to the performance date. You can also click on most of the names of the groups and performers and will be taken to more information about them. There is not enough room in the newsletter to include their bios, but it is well worth reading about them.

From Joey: My program features a diverse selection of works spanning different styles and periods. The Gregson Trumpet Concerto combines contemporary and traditional elements, while the Mozart operatic duet brings a lyrical and dramatic contrast. The Gershwin ballad introduces jazz influences, and the Böhme Concerto offers a virtuosic and expressive finale.

Joey Chen's Bio

Joey (Yizhou) Chen is a junior at Emory University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Music (Performance). Originally from Beijing, China, Joey began his musical journey at the age of seven, studying under Mr. Xiaoqing He. Currently, he studies classical trumpet with Professor Michael Tiscione and jazz trumpet with Professor Justin Powell at Emory. Joey is an active member of the Emory University Symphony Orchestra and the Emory Jazz Big Band. Beyond campus, he has performed in various church and holiday services, further enriching his musicianship. In addition to his musical pursuits, Joey is deeply passionate about theoretical mathematics, focusing on algebra and topology. He plans to continue his studies in graduate school after graduation. Joey wishes to express his gratitude to the Friends of Music for their financial support toward his recital.

From Sanjay: The program consists of a set of 9 pieces by Franz Liszt, the Années de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse. I will be exploring the visionary and innovative nature of the suite, which explores intriguing themes of nature, philosophy, and human emotion. The program may be seen by clicking here.

Sanjay's Bio

Sanjay Aiyar, 21, is a senior in Emory’s College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a double major in biology and music. He began learning piano at age 5 with Laura Kerr in the Philadelphia suburbs and studied with her throughout high school. At Emory, he first studied with Dr. Erika Tazawa and currently studies under Dr. Elena Cholakova, director of piano studies. In his performing career, Sanjay has performed at the Curtis Institute and in the Philadelphia Music Teachers Association State Festival. At Emory, he received the William B. Dickinson Scholarship and is a nominee for the Louis C. Sudler Prize (results TBD). Franz Liszt is Sanjay’s favorite composer, and he has listened to all one thousand of Liszt’s works along with reading the entire three-volume Alan Walker biographies. Sanjay also enjoys improvising, playing by ear, transcribing music by composers like Fats Waller and Nat ‘King’ Cole, and composing arrangements on different themes and songs. In addition, Sanjay is passionately involved with Emory’s Qawwali and Gamelan ensembles. 

Outside of music, Sanjay enjoys biochemistry and worked in the Benovic Lab at Thomas Jefferson University studying G protein-coupled receptors. After college, Sanjay aspires to pursue an MD-PhD. In his free time, you can find Sanjay on the baseball field or exploring Google Maps. He is the Vice President of the Emory DII Club Baseball team and plays all around the diamond. Sanjay’s passion for geography has him ardently competing in GeoGuessr (online geography game) tournaments, where he even qualified for the 2023 World Cup.

 

Sanjay would like to thank his family for their consistent love and support; professors, teachers, and mentors; as well as his friends and supporters. Sanjay extends the utmost gratitude to his honors committee members, Drs. Elena Cholakova, Laura Emmery, and Roger Deal, for their guidance in his honors thesis.

Classical guitarist Luther Enloe possesses a distinctively resonant sound quality, lyrical phrasing, and technical finesse. John Sutherland, his teacher at the University of Georgia, has said, "His performances are wonderful. His sound is one of the best I have ever heard, and his knowledge and musicianship I pay attention to." The expressive command of his live performances has received acclaim from concert presenters and audience members alike.

An active recitalist, recording artist, and clinician, Dr. Enloe has recorded for Sonic Grapefruit Records and has appeared in the southeastern and northwestern United States. Recent solo recital engagements include performances at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, Fickling Hall, in Macon, Georgia, Ramsey Concert Hall in Athens, Georgia, Frost Chapel in Mount Berry, Georgia, the Susan B. Harris Chapel in Young Harris, Georgia, Hoag Auditorium in Dahlonega, Georgia, Max Noah Recital Hall in Milledgeville, Georgia, John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, the Ursuline Centre in Great Falls, Montana, and the Emerson Center for Arts and Culture in Bozeman, Montana.

He has appeared as a guitar soloist and chamber musician with numerous ensembles, including Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra, the U.S. premiere of Enjott Schneider's oratorio Klange des Lichts in collaboration with the Vega String Quartet and the Glenn Chancel Choir at Emory University; as well as performances with the Montana State University Chorale, the Dekalb Choral Guild, and the Peachtree Symphonic Winds.

In 2011, he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia under the guidance of John Sutherland and David Starkweather. His dissertation, The Technique and Artistry of Melodic Phrasing in the Spanish Classical Guitar Tradition, elucidates four hundred years of melodic aesthetics and techniques found in the writings and music of Spain's most prominent guitar composers.

In addition to serving on the faculty of Georgia State University, Dr. Enloe is the Instructor of Guitar at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, and Artist Affiliate in Guitar at Emory University. More information about Enloe as well as some videos of his playing is available on his website.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary Season, the EYSO comprises the region's finest high school musicians performing major orchestral works. This concert features the Atlanta-based Merian Ensemble as soloists in a world premiere of Elizabeth Younan's latest work, Metamorphosis. The University chorus joins in for Haydn's Te Deum. Also on the program are Copland's Billy the Kid Suite, Shostakovich's Festive Overture, and Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suite No.2.  The program may be seen by clicking here.

From Michael Kobito: This concert will feature a program around the theme of “love.” Featuring music from David Gillingham, Alfred Reed, John Philip Sousa, Percy Grainger, and more, enjoy the Emory Wind Ensemble’s first concert of 2025. We will also be featuring Emory’s very own Bethany Grace Mamola as our soprano soloist on Eric Whitacre’s “Goodnight Moon.”

We’d love to see you there! 

The complete program may be seen by clicking here.

The EUSO program showcases a rich emotional landscape, featuring the dynamic energy of Dimitri Shostakovich's Symphony No.9 and Richard Strauss's monumental post-Romantic Four Last Songs, with Dr. Bethany Mamola, soprano. The EUSO also performs the lively rhythms of José Pablo Moncayo's Huapango. 

Dedicated to finding innovative ways to make the classical music art form relevant and understood by current society, Jessica Tong is a passionate advocate for music education and humanizing the concert experience. She has held residencies with the Perlman Music Program in Florida and the Gorgeous Sounds Program in Oregon, and was a two time recipient of the ProQuartet Odyssee Residency Grant in France. She has also served as a co-artistic director for several chamber music workshops including Chamber Music of the Rockies in Colorado, University of Florida’s ChamberFest, and the Harlaxton Music Festival in England.

EUSO is building a YouTube page with selected videos of some recent performances. You can go to their YouTube page and see everything that is available. There is hope that it will be possible to expand the student video performances available, but it is a large amount of work to make and edit the videos. Thanks to Paul Bhasin for the great videos that are posted!

Although most of the EUSO performances are on YouTube, there are two videos from earlier this year that are on the Schwartz Center Virtual Stage. On January 26 of this year, the Canadian Brass gave a great sold-out concert. For two of their pieces, they invited Emory student musicians to play with them. The video of the Gabrieli Jubilate Deo is on the virtual stage (the program for the concert can be seen by clicking here). On March 7 of this year, EUSO gave a program featuring two works. The Mahler Symphony 1 was the second piece; the video of that wonderful performance is on the EUSO YouTube page. The first piece on the program was the Southeastern premiere of Vital Sines by Viet Cuong, played by EUSO with Eighth Blackbird. The video of that piece is on the Schwartz Virtual Stage and well worth watching. The program for that concert can be seen by clicking here.

A big Thank You to those who have contributed during this year, and especially to those of you who have contributed in the past few months and have even increased your level of support or are new or returning supporters! There is no way to thank you enough. It was the strong level of giving last year that enabled us to substantially increase our grants to music students and faculty for this year.

Much of our support for students and faculty is through grants to provide scholarships for students to help pay for required music fees, to help fund undergraduate research projects, and to provide enhancements for classes. You can see the grants for this year by clicking here.

A special thanks to those of you who are sustaining members, either through payroll deduction, or a continuing contribution on your credit card. On the donations page you can choose to give a one-time gift or a monthly gift. You can click here to donate or visit our FOM page for other ways to give.

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. It has been particularly difficult this year. We used to get a notice every time a donation was made to Friends of Music. Apparently Emory Giving started using a new database last year and we stopped getting those notices. Your contributions are being credited to the correct account--we are just not getting the information we used to get. Please let us know if you are missing from the or your donations have not been properly credited. 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.

This newsletter focuses on Emory music students and faculty. There is clearly much additional music being performed in Atlanta, including many performances at Emory. There is no space in this newsletter to give specific information about those many performances, and most of them are separately well advertised. All music performances on the Emory campus are listed in the Emory Arts Calendar (linked to in the top left of our newsletters). Below is information about the separate music organizations with strong Emory ties.

The Schwartz Center is the hub of music at Emory, with the Performing Arts Studio being a major secondary location for many recitals and concerts. In addition to the Box Office that sells tickets for all ticketed events, the Schwartz Center hosts two major concert series, the Candler Concerts and the Schwartz Artists in Residence.

I assume that all of our readers are familiar with ECMSA, whose Artistic Director is Professor William Ransom. All of their concerts are free, which is certainly remarkable given the extremely high quality of their performances with professional musicians. ECMSA has a variety of music series, most of which are at the Schwartz Center. The full array of their concerts can be seen on the ECMSA website.

Of particular note is the Masterclass Series which is an incredible gift for our students. These masterclasses feature outstanding musicians who will teach Emory students in these classes. Moreover, our members are invited to attend these masterclasses. There are ten masterclasses planned for this year, with an impressive array of artists involved.

The Artistic Director of the Atlanta Master Chorale is Professor of Music Eric Nelson, and the chorale is one of the finest in the country. All of their local performances are in the Schwartz Center, and there is a livestream option for concert tickets, available through the Schwartz Center Box Office. In addition, all purchased tickets include a link to the livestream recording for one week after the concert. I usually view the recording at least once after attending the concert, surely a form of having one's cake and eating it too! For those of you who can't attend their concerts live, viewing the livestream is a great option.

Not only is the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra a great orchestra, but our students benefit greatly from the ASO, as many of the Music Department Artist Affiliates are ASO musicians.

The entire ASO concert series is detailed on the ASO website. There continues to be a lot of excitement about the ASO’s new (as of two years ago) Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann. An indication of her “rock star” status is this from her ASO biography:

Named "Best Conductor of the Year" at the 2024 Oper! Awards, Nathalie Stutzmann has been the Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 2022 and is the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra. She is also the Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Nathalie made big news in the opera pit in 2023 with her debut in Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival. She also made "a splashy debut" and "the coup of the year" (The New York Times) with her unanimously acclaimed double debuts at the Metropolitan Opera.

The ASO responded to the pandemic in a very creative way, beginning a series of "Behind the Curtain" performances featuring musicians playing without an audience. The "Behind the Curtain" series has continued, with a very modest yearly charge, featuring a selection of recorded performances from previous weeks.  Even if you can attend the live ASO performances, viewing the Behind the Curtain programs gives an entirely different perspective than you can get from the audience. Unless you are a player, it is rare to get close enough to a player to see the strings vibrate!