Denyce Graves Bids Adieu to Performing | | |
Faculty artist Denyce Graves takes the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York for the final time January 24, capping a celebrated 45-year performance career as she moves into her next chapter as an educator, advocate, and mentor here at Peabody and through the work of her Denyce Graves Foundation. The Washington, D.C., native is one of the definitive mezzo-sopranos of her era, and her final turn as Maria in the Met’s current production of Porgy and Bess brings her career full circle. Her first professional contract was for Porgy and Bess at Tulsa Opera, Graves notes in a recent New York Times editorial, and the opera is personally meaningful to her: “Generations of African American artists, including Leontyne Price, Simon Estes, Grace Bumbry, Todd Duncan and so many others, have sung it. We all stand on their shoulders as they fought for dignity and respect in the industry.”
Among the many accolades she has earned, in March Graves will be inducted into Opera America’s Opera Hall of Fame, and honored with the Artist for Action Award at the United Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual Think Pink Gala.
Congratulations and thank you, Ms. Graves, for sharing your voice and art with us, and for the distinguished example you continue to set going forward.
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I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year as we move into the second half of the 2025-26 academic year. The turn of a new year also reminds us that February auditions for the next academic year are right around the corner. On my week-long visit to China in November, I was yet again reminded of Peabody’s long international reach in attracting outstanding young artists from around the world to come to Baltimore to continue their professional training. Today, Chinese students comprise 23% of our student cohort and represent the largest single international presence on our campus, contributing to a rapidly growing Peabody alumni community in China. As a world-renowned conservatory, we remain fully committed to our international presence in performing arts education. During this most recent visit, Peabody hosted receptions in both Shanghai and Beijing for alumni, families of current Peabody students, and—as we approach the next admissions cycle—prospective students. I was struck by the enthusiasm of our Chinese alumni and look forward to working with that expanding group to deepen their engagement with Peabody as they move through their careers. Of course, it was also wonderful to have an opportunity to visit with our current families, and to reinforce our commitment to providing their students with the highest quality education for which Peabody and Johns Hopkins University are renowned. Finally, we also enjoyed visiting our peer institutions—the Shanghai Conservatory, the Central Conservatory and its Middle School, and the China Conservatory in Beijing. Peabody alumni serve on the faculties of these top institutions, and as a matter of regular course, they graduate students who then continue their studies at Peabody.
We are delighted to be able to welcome students from around the world to Peabody, and in doing so continue to build a truly international community.
| | More news about Peabody alumni, faculty, and students can be found below and online. Please keep sending us your news: career achievements, fellowships awarded, competitions and prizes won, commissions earned, albums released, and whatever else you’re currently pursuing. | | | |
Thursday, January 8, through Sunday, January 18
Violinist and conductor Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra on a European tour performing works by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and faculty artist Kevin Puts, who was commissioned to write Earth for Bell’s ‘Elements’ project. The tour starts in Hamburg before continuing to Hannover, Essen, Luxembourg City, Stuttgart, Erlangen, Vienna, Frankfurt, and Cologne. See the ASMF website for ticket information.
Friday, January 16, 7:00 pm PST
Holly Nelson (DMA ’25, Violin) joins the adventurous, genre-blending Sybarite5 chamber ensemble in kicking off its tour of the Pacific Northwest with this special return performance at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival. Tickets are available online.
Saturday, January 17, 8:00 pm EST
Distinguished Visiting Artist Lupe Fiasco joins the Nu Deco Ensemble, where Jacomo Bairos (GPD ’11, Conducting) is the co-founding artistic director, for Pascal Le Boeuf’s Playground, the finale from Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and the world premiere of the Mac Miller Symphonic Suite, a tribute to the late American rapper. The concert takes place at the Miami Beach Bandshell and tickets are available online.
Sunday, January 18, 5:00 and 7:30 pm EST
Siblings Ephraim Dorsey (BM ’25, Jazz) and current undergraduate Ebban Dorsey, rising young composer/saxophonists in contemporary jazz with a growing list of performance and recording credits, lead their group at Keystone Korner in Baltimore. In person and livestream tickets are available online.
Monday, January 19, 7:00 pm EST
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs a free Symphony in the City concert in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, with Music Director Jonathon Heyward leading a collaboration with the Morgan State University Choir under the direction of Eric Conway (BM ’85, MM ’87, DMA ’95, Piano). The performance takes place at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and free 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.
| | | | Sheila Esquivel (BM ’22, Violin) was named Director of Education, Expanded Education, at the New England Conservatory of Music, where she supports students, faculty, and families across the Preparatory School, Summer, Adult, and Early Childhood programs that make up the NEC’s Expanded Education division. | | | | Faculty artist Colette Krogol and Matt Reeves, co-artistic directors of Orange Grove Dance Company, received the 2025 Pola Nirenska Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance from Washington Performing Arts. In April, the company holds its LIMINAL Dance Film Festival at Dance Place in Washington, D.C. | | | | Trumpeter Jake Landau, a current graduate student, was named to the tenure-track position of Co-Principal Trumpet with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra in Virginia. | | | | Soprano Tina O’Malley (MM ’25, Vocal Studies) is a 2025-26 Handorf Company Artist with Opera Memphis, and stars as Bertha in The Barber of Seville January 23 and 24. She won first place in the artist division of the Camille Coloratura Awards and first place in the 15th Annual Mildred Miller International Voice Competition held by the Pittsburgh Opera Festival. | | | | Soprano and current graduate student Yingying Zong claimed first prize at the 12th Georges Enesco International Singing Competition held in Paris, France, in October. She was awarded €3,000 and performed at the December 7 Gala lyrique à la française with the Colonne Orchestra at La Salle Gaveau in Paris. | | |
The Journey of Strings
Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas (MM ’04, Guitar) traces a musical journey through the history and tradition of string instruments in Latin America in book and album form with La Huella de las Cuerdas (The Journey of Strings). The project brings together 17 acclaimed artists from 10 countries to showcase string instruments native to Latin America such as the Vihuela, Baroque Guitar, Jarana, Quinta Huapanguera, Puerto Rican Cuatro, Bandola, and more. Complete with accompanying website, YouTube playlist, and documentary, the Journey is a robust invitation to discover the gorgeous music and cultures of Latin America.
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“No Brakes”
Dancer and choreographer Mary Ann Chavez was the fall 2026 Artist in Residence with the Peabody BFA Dance program, working and setting choreography with students as well as teaching the Dance for Film class. One result of that class is the arresting “No Brakes” short Chavez directed, shot, choreographed, and edited featuring dance undergraduates Erik Carbajal, MaKenna Charles, Dylan Cox, Parris Hester, Amari James, Ceci Sun, and Victoria Thomas.
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Opera Wars
Librettist, lyricist, and arts researcher Caitlin Vincent (MM ’09, Voice) draws on a decade of opera performance and administrative experience as well as interviews with dozens of opera professionals for Opera Wars (Simon & Schuster), a witty, engrossing exploration of the challenges facing opera today. Wars unflinchingly dives into opera as an industry, gamely and critically examining those familiar creative battles—between art and commerce, donors and administrators, tradition and innovation—from an insider’s perspective.
| | Peabody Parent Talk – Building on the Breakthrough: The Student Journey | | |
Peabody Conservatory parents are invited to join Dean Fred Bronstein and campus leaders for an online Parent Talk offering insight into the Peabody student experience. To accommodate families across time zones, the program will be offered twice:
Session 1: Wednesday, January 21, 8:00–9:00 pm EST
Session 2: Friday, January 23, 12:00–1:00 pm EST
The program features remarks from Advisory Board member and Peabody parent Eugene Choung, perspectives from Dean Bronstein, and a presentation on curricular innovation and career pathways by Zane Forshee, Director of LAUNCHPad, followed by Q&A.
Please register and submit questions by January 20.
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