The Conductor – a documentary with a “winning frankness” and centered around Peabody Director of Graduate Conducting Marin Alsop’s life and career – will be premiered as a Viewpoint film at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival in mid-June, with both in-person and streaming screenings available. Written and directed by Krieger School Professor of Media Studies Bernadette Wegenstein, the film was shot in part on Peabody's campus and at Peabody's 2018 performance of Leonard Bernstein's MASS. Alsop and Wegenstein join producer Annette Porter and Peabody Dean Fred Bronstein for a panel and private screening of the film presented by Hopkins at Home on July 5.

At our recent Peabody Conservatory graduation, our 139th – virtual again this year – I was inspired by how much our students, with the support of our faculty and staff, had accomplished over the last 18 months despite many challenges, and in the same moment, struck by how much we had all missed out on. That dichotomy probably speaks to a lot of what people are feeling and expressing today – a sense of exhaustion and also renewed hope. All this intersects with another recent milestone, the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, and all that event set in motion, including our own response which I shared with the Peabody community in my Dean’s Letter now just over one year ago. It seems that these things are all converging at a time when we are working to bring our community back together for the fall semester, dealing with concerns around what that means, and trying to understand how our lives will be different going forward.

For all these reasons, this seems to be an important moment to take a collective breath, recharge, regroup, and rededicate ourselves to our mission at Peabody that is to train the next generation of performing artists at the highest level, and with the abundant array of skills they will need to prosper as artists today, and ensure that we are building a diverse and equitable future for the arts. We can lead here, and indeed, the performing arts have always been on the cutting edge of exploration and hope. This rededication may be in fact the best way to heal and move forward with the kind of intentionality and commitment that every artist understands in the work they do every day. Nothing is ever that simple, but in this moment, it may be just that simple.

Fred Bronstein, Dean

Opera Memphis will present Scalia/Ginsburg, a comic opera by professional studies faculty member Derrick Wang, in an outdoor, in-person performance at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. Preshow talk begins at 6:15 pm. Tickets are available online. Scalia/Ginsburg will also be performed five times on the mainstage during the Chautauqua Opera Company's summer season from July 9 to August 6.

Duo Sila – featuring Amanda Dame (MM ’19, Flute), flute, and Christina Manceor (MM ’17, Percussion), percussion – presents a virtual event that encourages interaction and self-expression through movement, visuals, emotion, and reflection. This Concert for Every Body is free and suitable for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Distinguished Faculty Artist in Piano Richard Goode performs a sold-out recital including works by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Debussy as part of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts summer season. The recital takes place in Caramoor’s fully covered, outdoor Venetian Theater in Katonah, New York.

Indianapolis Early Music Festival Artistic Director and Peabody Historical Performance Professor Mark Cudek (MM ’82, Lute), Ronn McFarlane (’79, Guitar), Liv Castor (BM ’19, Harp), and current students Teresa Deskur and Sarah Shodja, recorders, will perform in “Marginalia: Music by Women, Jews, and Other Marginalized Composers" as part of the 2021 Festival. Both performances are live and in-person; the 4:30 performance will also be streamed online. Other Peabody affiliates appearing at the festival include Red Dot Baroque, founded by Alan Choo (MM ’14, Violin, Early Music; GPD ’16, Violin) on June 25, and S'amusant – featuring Wade Davis (MM ’11, GPD ’13, Baroque Violoncello) and DMA candidate Patrick Merrill (BM ’13, Piano; MM ’15, Early Music Harpsichord) – on July 11.

Andrea González Caballero (GPD ’20, Guitar) performs a concert as part of the first International Guitar Festival of the Ribeira Sacra in Monforte de Lemos, Spain. 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 Conservatory Facebook page.

Register now for new online courses from Peabody Pro – professional development for performing artists, arts educators, and arts administrators. Summer offerings include:

Most courses start in mid-June. Learn more and register for Peabody Pro online.