In 2019 pianist and DMA candidate Lior Willinger (BM ’14, MM ’16, Piano) asked Peabody’s Arthur Friedheim Library Director Kathleen DeLaurenti how to go about recording music by underrepresented composers, ultimately as an effort to expand the repertoire of music performed and programmed at large. That conversation evolved into Peabody Premieres, the AFL's recently launched record label profiled in the fall issue of Peabody magazine. Last year Scott Metcalfe, Chair of Music Engineering and Technology, and students in the Recording Arts and Sciences program recorded the first round of projects on campus, and the label has started digitally releasing those mastered recordings. The first volumes—Willinger performing Three Miniatures for Solo Piano by composer Elijah Daniel Smith (MM ’20, Composition) and accompanying mezzo-soprano Taylor Boykins (MM ’14 , Vocal Studies) on the art songs of B.E. Boyking and Kathryn Bostic, as well mezzo-soprano Laura Carskadden (MM ’22, Vocal Studies) and Xuesong Alan Lin (GPD ’19, Piano) performing three works by Rospehanye Powell—are available for purchase and streaming on Bandcamp. And the label is currently seeking recording project applications through April 30; check eligibility requirements and find out how to apply online.

Peabody has worked hard in recent years to ensure its long-term financial sustainability and health by reducing and eliminating structural deficits while significantly growing and enhancing our scholarship resources to mitigate the rising costs of higher education and create access, and to compete effectively for the most talented students. As we wrap up the third quarter of the current fiscal and academic year and begin the final stretch toward the June 30 close of Fiscal Year 23, our attentions turn to ensuring we can conclude our fiscal year with a strong finish. Of course, we always want to be sure that every investment we make in programs and people benefits the long-term mission and values I wrote about last month.

As you might imagine, fundraising is very important to Peabody’s success and our ability to meet our mission. And we have made significant progress in recent years. For the years 2018 through 2020, donations averaged $5.9 million per year. For FY21-FY22, funds raised averaged $10.3 million per year with the help of some special one-time gifts. FY23 fundraising to date is $5.93 million, 76 percent toward the goal of $7.78 million. While we’re not there yet, we hope to reach and even exceed our goal this year. Since I know many friends and alumni of Peabody read these monthly Peabody Notes, I thank you if you are already a supporter. If you’ve not had a chance to make a donation I hope you’ll consider a gift to support our faculty and students. You can easily do this by going to peabody.jhu.edu/giving. And as always, I am grateful for your interest in Peabody.

Sincerely,

Fred Bronstein, Dean

April for Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush (MM ’19, Conducting) is bookended by a pair of BSO events, but in the middle of the month he travels to New Orleans for a world premiere event with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Big Freedia—the Queen of Bounce, New Orleans’ regional flavor of hip-hop music—is the program’s special guest, and Rush leads the LPO through arrangements of her indelible songs, from “Not Today” and “Gin in My System” to “Y’all Get Back Now” and “Life Lessons.” The concert takes place at the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans and tickets are available online.

Celebrated baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, featuring Assistant Artistic Director and Concertmaster Alan Choo (MM ’14, Violin, Early Music; GPD ’16, Violin) and Brian Kay (BM ’13, MM ’15, Lute), embarks on its sixth international tour this month. It makes its debut at the Heidelberg International Spring Festival April 13 before heading to the UK for a seaside concert in Aldeburgh on April 16 and three concerts at St. Martin in the Fields in London, including an April 17 program featuring music of the Jewish and African diasporas.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Gemma New (MM ’11, Conducting) returns to lead the DSO through the world premiere of Katherine Balch’s Cello Concerto with soloist Zlatomir Fung, along with Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Three performances take place at the Meyerson Symphony Center and tickets are available online.

Influenced by the Persian music, art, and poetry he’s studied, composer Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (MM ’17, Composition), currently a Cornell University doctoral candidate, curated this program featuring works by Iranian composers of various backgrounds and aesthetic ideas. Titled “Generations (نسل‌ها): Exploring the Iranian Diaspora,” the program is performed by the fearlessly adventurous 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)—April 23 at Cornell's Barnes Hall, and the free concert is open to the public.

UNESCO declared April 30 International Jazz Day in 2011, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, celebrates with a concert featuring Peabody faculty artist Warren Wolf. For the Sunday afternoon matinee concert in the NPG's West Garden Court, Wolf is joined by pianist/composer Donal Fox, and the duo plays Fox originals and signature arrangements reframing the jazz, Latin, and classical repertoire. The concert is free and registration is required.

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