Peabody Premieres ArtReach
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As you have likely seen and heard, members of the Peabody community and performing artists everywhere are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with creativity and passion, providing moments of inspiration to millions. At the same time, new social and economic constraints are profoundly impacting the lives and livelihoods of artists.
Peabody ArtReach, launched this week, presents a curated collection of resources which both showcase and support the work of Peabody artists during these times. Containing a variety of performances (both archival and “live from the living room”), learning opportunities, wellness coaching, and informational links, Peabody ArtReach aims to offer hope, comfort, and a sense of community wherever they are needed. We invite you to browse through
Peabody ArtReach today, share what holds meaning to you, and come back for more, as we will be posting additional resources to these pages throughout the coming weeks.
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This last month is one that most of us will likely never forget. And it’s a month that seems like a lifetime as COVID-19 has changed the way we work, live, and interact. Here at Peabody, our biggest and most important concern has been and continues to be the safety of our community. Beyond that, we have been exclusively focused on how we can, with as much “normalcy” as possible, continue to deliver to our students an educational experience at a time of unprecedented disruption. This has entailed shifting the paradigm in a matter of days, moving all of our instruction off campus and online, and moving all of our staff and faculty off site and positioned to teach and support the academic mission of Peabody.
I could not be more proud of how our faculty, staff, and students have rallied to make the most of a challenging situation. Faculty have adapted to teaching online almost overnight, and are finding creative ways to ensure students can learn and continue on a path to their degrees uninterrupted. Students are faced with new challenges in how to learn and practice their craft, and are doing so in the context of a disruptive and, let’s face it, scary moment in time. Staff have worked tirelessly to make this as seamless as possible. It is not perfect, and it is not a scenario that anyone would have imagined the second half of the Spring 2020 semester to look like. But here we are, and we are making the best of it.
We at Peabody are also thinking beyond the virtual borders in which we are carrying on our academic and artistic mission, to use this opportunity to bring the remarkable talent of our faculty and students to a wider world through the launch of
Peabody ArtReach. We look forward to being part of keeping others around the world uplifted and we hope, in some way, comforted through inspiring music and dance. Of course, we look forward to a time that we can all be together again, making music and dance on the Peabody campus.
For now, I wish for all of you and your families to stay safe and healthy.
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Community Chorus of Peabody
The Community Chorus of Peabody, directed by Kristen Toedtman (
MM ’98, Voice) organized a
virtual choir of
We Shall Be Known by MaMuse. Toedtman said of the performance, "Last week we Zoomed in for rehearsal to sing this beautiful song by MaMuse. We've learned the beauty of gathering, if even virtually, and the gifts that only being in the same room offer. Nevertheless, with some recording magic, our voices unite again.”
Du Yun
Composition professor Du Yun’s
Sweet Land, a multi-perspectival opera which explores the myths of American identity, was presented by The Industry in the Los Angeles State Historic Park in March. While many of the performances were canceled due to COVID-19, an on-demand
video stream of it is available for a fee. Starting as a procession through the LA State Historic Park,
Sweet Land becomes an opera that erases itself.
Lura Johnson
Faculty artist Lura Johnson has created an
online concert series called “We Shall Overcome.” Every Wednesday evening at 8:00 EST, she performs from her home studio in Baltimore. She hopes to play music that she loves and bring “solace, pleasure, serenity, and inspiration.”
Michael Repper
The New York Youth Symphony Orchestra, directed by conducting doctoral candidate Michael Repper, recently
livestreamed its performance of the second movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 1. The orchestra had to cancel its performance at Carnegie Hall due to COVID-19 but 71 members were able to come together virtually to perform.
Sandbox Percussion
Sandbox Percussion - Victor Caccese (
BM ’11, Percussion), Ian Rosenbaum (
BM ’08, Percussion), Terry Sweeney (
BM ’13, Percussion), and Jonathan Allen - have started a series of
livestreams from their respective homes each Sunday. The latest features a conversation with composition faculty member Chris Cerrone about a new work he is writing for Sandbox.
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Peabody Notes highlights select online performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody Conservatory Facebook
page.
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Master’s candidate Nicholas Bentz (
BM '17, Composition, Violin) was selected as the first prize winner of Tribeca New Music's Young Composer Competition in Division I. His piece
Glimpse for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano will receive its New York City premiere in the fall of 2020 through the Tribeca New Music Festival.
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Preparatory student Miyabi Henriksen received first place at the Friday Morning Music Club High School Competition for Strings, the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Peabody Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, and the Columbia Orchestra Young Artist Competition. In March, she performed the first movement of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 with the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra.
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Amy Beth Kirsten (
DMA ’10, Composition) was selected as one of four composers to receive a $10,000 Arts and Letters Award in Music, which honor outstanding artistic achievement and acknowledge composers who have arrived at their own voice.
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Peyson Moss (
MM ’16, Vocal Accompanying) has joined the music faculty at Brevard College in North Carolina as a vocal departmental pianist and coach and continues to serve as the director of music and organist at the Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian Church.
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Jason Mulligan (
MM ’16, Composition) was one of six to be awarded the 2020 $7,500 Charles Ives Scholarship by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The royalties of Charles Ives’ music enable the Academy to give awards in composition.
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Sandbox Percussion - Victor Caccese (
BM ’11, Percussion), Ian Rosenbaum (
BM ’08, Percussion), Terry Sweeney (
BM ’13, Percussion), and Jonathan Allen – released their debut album featuring compositions by Thomas Kotcheff (
BM ’10, Piano) and Amy Beth Kirsten (
DMA ’10, Composition), with Kirsten performing vocals.
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Multi-instrumentalist Niccolo Seligmann (
BM ’15, Viola da Gamba) released his debut album of solo viola da gamba improvisations,
Kinship. In February, he released the CD at his Strathmore Artist in Residence concert.
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Are you presenting a virtual performance? Are you teaching an online class available to the public? Have you released a new CD? Have you or your student just won a major competition? We know you are doing amazing things in the world, let us help promote your work!
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