Clockwise from top left: Sam Deason, Nicholas Fitton, Jessica Rivero Altarriba, and Hayden Denesha

Over the summer Sam Deason (MM ’17, Piano) was named the Executive Director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra in his native Canada, noting “I’m excited to join such a renowned institution I’ve always looked up to, and am thrilled to be able to call Regina home” in the announcement. Deason is among the alumni who have recently joined a long line of Peabody artists well represented as members and administrators of orchestras across North America. Others include flautist, chamber musician, and educator Nicholas Fitton (BM ’15, Flute; MM ’21, Piccolo), who was recently named Assistant Principal Flute and Piccolo player for the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Conductor Hayden Denesha (GPD ’20, Conducting) was named Music Director of the Loudon Symphony Orchestra in Leesburg, Virginia, where he continues to serve as Music Director of the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestras. And current Conducting master’s candidate Jessica Rivero Altarriba was named Assistant Conductor at the Utah Symphony, is a Freeman Conducting Fellow with Chicago Sinfonietta, and is a Taki Alsop Fellowship Award Recipient 2024-26.

As you may know from following this space, the Peabody Conservatory has seen an unprecedented increase in enrollment over the past several years, growing 40% since 2017, a dramatic trajectory following the creation of innovative new academic programs that attract a growing number of students each year and major expansions of our financial aid programs. As you may also be aware, over the last three years we have undertaken a robust process to study how to best meet the needs of our rapidly growing student body and enhance the Peabody campus experience, while at the same time supporting and preserving the vibrant character of our historic Mount Vernon neighborhood.

In this context I was thrilled recently to share the news that Johns Hopkins University has acquired the Waterloo apartment complex directly across the street from the Peabody campus to provide contemporary housing for our growing student body, and in due course allow us to transform our existing dorms into expanded, much needed programmatic and academic space. This exciting acquisition will ensure that students benefit from stable and secure housing and a core residential community of their peers in their first two years on campus, as has been central to the Peabody and JHU student experience. This student housing expansion will not only enhance the student living experience at Peabody, but enable us to better support the diverse needs and talents of our students, as well as the Institute’s continued growth and evolution as a leader in 21st-century performing arts education.

Consolidating the Peabody residential student experience within the Waterloo will have the added benefit to our surrounding community of reducing the number of Peabody students competing with our neighbors for market-rate housing in the area. As we advance this project, we look forward to working with our community partners toward our shared goals of ensuring the Mount Vernon neighborhood remains one of the most historic and vibrant areas in Baltimore.

I look forward to further updates on these exciting changes to the Peabody campus in the coming months.

Sincerely,

Tuesday, October 15, 6:00 pm EDT

Faculty artist Hui-Chuan Chen (MM ’06, DMA ’14, Piano) is such an in-demand and active chamber musician and collaborative pianist that her Beethoven Reimagined program is an infrequent opportunity to see her perform solo. She pairs Ludwig van Beethoven’s grand, demanding Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106, “Hammerklavier” with the world premiere of a companion piece she commissioned by composer-pianist Daniel Pesca. The concert takes place at the at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore and tickets are available online.

Friday, October 18, 6:00 pm EDT

Siblings and jazz undergraduates Ebban and Ephraim Dorsey return to New York for BRIC JazzFest 2024, a three-day festival shining a light on jazz’s hidden gems and rising stars. Ebban (alto saxophone) and Ephraim (tenor and soprano saxophones) appear at the BRIC House in Brooklyn alongside drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, saxophonist Caroline Davis, saxophonist Sarah Hanahan, drummer Makaya McCraven, and drummer Daniel Villareal. Tickets available online.

Wednesday, October 23, 7:00 pm EDT

Cellist Mafalda Santos (BM ’21, MM ’22, Cello) joins the Orchestra for Ukraine, which includes artists from more than a dozen countries, under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach for the Concert for the Children and Youth of Ukraine at Carnegie Hall. Hosted by Liev Schreiber and featuring such guest soloists as violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, soprano Olga Kulchynska, mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo, tenor Matthew Polenzani, and bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi, the one-night-only event benefits humanitarian aid non-profit Direct Relief, which provides medical supplies to relief groups and families in Ukraine. Tickets are available online.

Sunday, October 27, 3:00 pm CEST

DMA conducting student Anthony Blake Clark, the current Jean D. Wilson Chair Chorus Director for the Dallas Symphony and Baltimore Choral Arts Society Music Director, was named one of four guest conductors for At the Opera, a new project from the German nonprofit organization Choral Space. Clark and three other conductors lead roughly 700 singers from 12 popular opera choirs through a program of popular opera pieces at the Berliner Philharmonie and tickets are available online.

Saturday, October 26, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 27, at 2:30 pm MDT

Christopher Theofanidis’ Concerto for Marimba is a meditative work that makes gorgeous use of the marimba’s dramatically dark and resonantly rich timbre. Faculty artist Ji Su Jung (BM ’16, GPD ’17, Percussion), the first solo percussionist to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant, joins the Colorado Springs Philharmonic as soloist on a program that includes Benjamin Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” from Peter Grimes and Ralph Vaughn Williams' serene Symphony No. 5. Performances take place at the Pikes Peaks Center for the Performing Arts, and tickets are available online.

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Peabody Notes highlights select off-campus performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody events page.

Rez Ball (Soundtrack)

Baltimore composer/artist Dan Deacon wrote the soundtrack for Rez Ball, the Netflix sports drama about a basketball season at a Native American reservation. Longtime Deacon collaborator James David Young (DMA ’14, Composition) provided the orchestrations, and Diné composer/musician Michael Begay, a current Composition undergraduate, is the featured solo guitarist. Rez Ball (Soundtrack) is available to stream or purchase online.

Things We Have in Common

Danish trio Efterklang has crafted a dreamy and atmospheric wash of art pop for going on 20 years, frequently inviting guest artists and musicians to collaborate on songs, albums, and tours. The trio’s seventh album, Things We Have in Common (City Slang), explores and celebrates human connections, and features saxophonist Jarret Gilgore (BM ’15, Jazz Saxophone) on the single “Plant,” a comforting hug of a song. The album is available to stream or purchase online.