In a position paper recently presented to the National Organization for Arts in Health, Peabody Associate Dean Sarah Hoover notes that as the arts are increasingly integrated into health and wellbeing, the growing demand for qualified artists has created both opportunities and challenges. Learn more about the roles of artists in healing at the December 3 virtual panel Music, Healing, and the Creative Path: Alumni Perspectives on Arts in Health, where you’ll hear from Peabody alumni who have forged unique career paths at the evolving intersection of music and health. Hoover moderates a panel discussion featuring Jennifer Davison (BM ’95, Voice), Conducting DMA candidate Jotaro Nakano, Lauren Latessa (BM ’10, Cello), and faculty artist Sean Brennan (BM ’14, GPD ’19, Guitar; MM ’17, Guitar/Pedagogy). The panel takes place over Zoom; register for free.

Alumni Awards Nominations Due by December 15

The Johns Hopkins Alumni Association is currently seeking nominations for its 2026 awards. Know an alumnus/a whose accomplishments deserve wider recognition? Honor their impact and nominate a Peabody alum before the December 15 deadline. Awards categories include Community Champion, Global Achievement, Outstanding Recent Graduate, Heritage Award, Distinguished Alumnus/a, and Public Service. Learn more at alumni.jhu.edu.

Peabody is blessed with an extraordinary faculty, and they are the reason that outstanding students entrust their futures to this institution. And so, when we lose faculty, it cuts hard. In just the last few weeks, Peabody has lost two profoundly impactful faculty members.

Elam Ray Sprenkle passed away November 11 at the age of 77. Ray was a prolific composer, active church musician, and regular Baltimore community presence on the radio. But Ray’s most important legacy must be in the generations of Peabody and Homewood students that he taught from 1973 until 2014. At the time I arrived at Peabody, Ray had just retired, and not a day went by that I didn’t hear something good about Ray. I regret that our time did not overlap as I would have liked to have known and worked with him.

It is for that reason I feel fortunate to have had the chance to know Clinton Adams, professor of Music Theory and renowned teacher of ear-training since 1983, until his passing just last week. Clinton was a remarkable and untiring presence teaching five days a week, resulting in countless classes over the decades. Clinton was a famously demanding instructor who was unfailing in his commitment to improving every student’s musical and analytical skills. His commitment was honored in 2018 when he received the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Clinton possessed a wry and sharp wit that I got to know as we rode up in the elevator together on many mornings. Clinton was also an active pianist and performer whose projects included mastery and memory of both books of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier—no small feat for any pianist.

Both of these men remind us of why we are here, and stand as great examples of legacies left, and what it means to serve our students. We will miss them. 

Sincerely,

Fred Bronstein, Dean

Thursday, December 4, through Sunday, December 7

The New York City Ballet has performed its co-founding choreographer George Balanchine’s version of The Nutcracker since the 1950s, becoming a beloved New York holiday staple in the process. This grand version of the ballet requires 90 dancers, 62 musicians, 40 stagehands and more than 125 children bringing to life E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale set to the alluring music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Carolyn Kuan (GPD ’04, Conducting) leads three performances; tickets are available online.

Saturday, December 6, through Sunday, December 21

When Mississippi native Robert Johnson died at 27 in 1938, he left behind recordings of 29 songs foundational to rock and roll—and one of the most enduring myths in American popular music. Composer Damien Geter and librettist Jarrod Lee turn that legend into The Delta King’s Blues, the first full opera commissioned by the IN Series company led by artistic director Tim Nelson (BM ’04, Composition). With a cast that includes Melissa Wimbish (GPD ’11, Voice; GPD ’14, Chamber Music), The Delta King’s Blues receives its world premiere this month at the Pop-Up Theatre in Washington, D.C. and 2640 Space in Baltimore. Tickets are available online.

Tuesday, December 9, 6:00 pm EST

Longtime Early Music educators and champions Mark Cudek (MM ’82, Lute), Ronn McFarlane (’79, Guitar), and Mindy Rosenfeld (BM ’80, Flute) excel at organizing programs that time travel through the music of 16th- and 17th-century Europe. With their Gut, Wind, and Wire trio’s A Renaissance Christmas program, Cudek, McFarlane, and Rosenfeld play the sounds that would’ve been heard in England, Ireland, and Germany around this time of year centuries ago. A complimentary pre-concert reception begins at 5:30 pm prior to the concert at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore, and tickets are available online.

Friday, December 12, 6:30 pm EST

Since its 2024 debut, New York-based dance artists and producers Taylor Schmuelgen and Kayla White’s That Show has established itself a bellwether showcase for early-career performance and movement artists. Choreographer/dancer Sophia Perone (BFA ’24, Dance) is one of seven dance artists and companies performing at the upcoming That Show taking place at Judson Memorial Church in lower Manhattan, and tickets are available online.

Tuesday, December 9, through Sunday, December 14

Bassist Christian McBride and his hard swinging Inside Straight quintet—drummer Carl Allen, pianist Peter Martin, saxophonist Steve Wilson, and vibraphonist and faculty artist Warren Wolf—have become a fan favorite for their annual run of shows at the Village Vanguard in New York. The group plays two shows a night for six nights, 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.

Brace

Composer Ian Power’s recent album Brace includes his “Brace Each Other Dive” string quartet, performed by the Bergamot Quartet—Ledah Finck (BM ’16, MM ’18, Violin); Sarah Thomas (BM ’17, MM ’19 Violin); Amy Huimei Tan (GPD ’20, Viola); and Irène Han (MM ’18, Cello)—which premiered the piece in New York City in 2020. Brace can be streamed or purchased online.