Visiting Alumni Artists 2010-11

September 2010

Randall Hawes (AS 73) and Kathryn Goodson (UW 90) performed together in a Recital and conducted master classes for Interlochen Arts Academy students on September 23, 2010.

Randall Hawes (AS 73) has been bass trombonist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) since 1985 and as lecturer of trombone began his relationship with the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music in 2003.  He has been a clinician, taught master classes and performed as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. Mr. Hawes received a bachelor of music education from Central Michigan University, where he studied with William Rivard. From 1980 to 1982 he was a member of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, American Wind Symphony, and the New York Harlem Opera Ensemble. In 1985, following two years on the road with the Woody Herman Orchestra, Mr. Hawes was awarded a fellowship to the Tanglewood Institute for the summer, after which he won the DSO position. In addition to the DSO, he has performed with orchestras including the Pittsburgh, Boston, and Chicago Symphonies, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra. He was a member of the first World Orchestra for Peace (WOP) in 1995, when Sir Georg Solti invited him to Geneva, Switzerland to help celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. His association with WOP continues with Solti’s successor, Valery Gergiev, and has included multiple international tours and recordings. Mr. Hawes performs chamber music frequently with the DSO octet, CutTime Players, Chicago's Music of the Baroque, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and concerts with musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  He can be heard on recordings with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin and Neeme Järvi, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Sir Georg Solti and with the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. Mr. Hawes has given world premiers of several newly commissioned works, including Rivard's Quadrivalence. Randall Hawes’ first duo recording, Melodrama, is of Russian music. He collaborated on that CD, on Barn Burner and on a second upcoming CD release of American music with pianist Kathryn Goodson.

Kathryn Goodson (UW 90) is an international performer, teacher and coach, and has appeared in recital throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan with leading wind instrumental and vocal artists. At the University of Michigan School of Music in Ann Arbor since 2005 she has served as collaborative pianist-coach; in 2008 her position expanded to include musical direction for Robert Swedberg's opera studio. Recordings of Ms. Goodson's work include Barn Burner and Melodrama (Albany) with Randall Hawes, Voices of the Holocaust (Block M-University of Michigan) with Caroline Helton, In Transit (Innova) with saxophonist Timothy McAllister, as well as international radio and television broadcasts. At schools such as Stanford University, the Conservatoire de Genève and the Musashino Music School in Tokyo, Ms. Goodson has taught classes in solo and collaborative repertoire, returning often to the Karlsruhe Music School in Germany to teach American Art Song. Educational outreach also involves concerto soloist appearances for Detroit Symphony Orchestra youth concerts, and, since 2005, musical coordination of a children's series for the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. As artistic director Ms. Goodson has served in Stuttgart for the Internationale-Hugo-Wolf-Akademie, in Ann Arbor for two Charles Ives festivals with the Phoenix Ensemble and currently for Concerts4aCause of Northside Community Church. Ms. Goodson received a doctorate and master of collaborative piano with Martin Katz at the University of Michigan, studying also with Eckart Sellheim. As a Fulbright Scholar to Germany 1992-94, she received the Konzertexam in Art Song with highest honors with Hartmut Höll at the Karlsruhe Music School. Her bachelor of music in piano performance was earned with Robert Shannon at Oberlin Conservatory.

October 2010

Jaamil Kosoko gave a poetry, performance art and dance presentation at the Hildegard Lewis Dance Building on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts. Interlochen Arts Academy on October 2, 2010 during Fall Reunion 2010. In attendance were Interlochen Arts Academy Dance and Creative Writing majors, alumni and special guests.

Founded in 2006 by Jaamil Kosoko (IAA 99-01, IAC St 02, 04), The KOSOKO PERFORMANCE GROUP is an interdisciplinary ensemble of performers: dancers, musicians, writers, actors, and visual design artists.  Our artistic mission is to move visual performance further through innovative and culturally diverse live production, curation, literary publication, youth and community outreach, and education.  We aim to challenge, educate, and nurture our audiences through an on-going dialogue that consistently explores new, creative approaches and processes of creating community through artistic collaboration, peer mentoring, cutting edge programming, and audience diversification.

Eric Stephenson (IAC 93-94, 96) presented a masterclass in Corson Auditorium and later with Peter Seymour and Greg Patillo of Project Trio in the Dendrinos Chapel on October 21, 2010. Click VIDEO to see the Project Trio masterclass and interviews on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts.

November 2010

Leonard Schranze (IAA Fac 85-86, IAC Fac 05-10) held a masterclass for Interlochen Arts Academy students in the Fine Arts Building on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts on November 4, 2010.

Norman Fischer (IAC 60-61, 63-65, AS 62, IAA 65-67) and wife Jeanne Kierman as The Fischer Dou performed in the Chapel in November 5, 2010. Norman conducted a master classes for Interlochen Arts Academy students on Novmeber 7, 2010 in the Fine Arts Building.

Jerrold Pope (IAC 68-69, IAA 69-71) held a master class for Interlochen Arts Academy students on Thursday, November 11th in the Dendrinos Chapel on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Katherine (Cunningham-Eves) Coiro (IAC 92-93, IAA 93-96), Nick Westrate (IAC 00, IAA 00-02), Kersti Bryan (IAC 00, IAA 01-02) and Rhys Coiro (Kat Coiro's husband) held a master class for Interlochen Arts Academy students on Friday November 12th in the Harvey Theatre large movement room on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Mr. Lenny Schranze (IAA Fac 85-86, IAC Fac 05-10), a native of Philadelphia, graduated from the Eastman School of Music and the New England Conservatory. His major teachers include Heidi Castleman, Heiichiro Ohyama, Dorothy Delay, Max Aronoff, and Evelyn Jacobs. A founding member of the Ceruti String Quartet, he is currently associate professor of viola at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of music at theUniversity of Memphis. He spends his summers at theInterlochen Center for the Arts, where he is the director of the strings program. He is a former faculty member atFurman University, The South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts, and the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina, where he won an award from Chamber MusicAmerica for "excellence in chamber music instruction." A past president of the Tennessee Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, he received a three year grant from the National String Project consortium. As a chamber musician, he has performed in concert halls around the country, including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and has performed internationally in Switzerland,South Korea, and Brazil. His solo recordings include the works for viola and piano by Robert Schumann and the sonatas of Johannes Brahms. Reviews describe Mr. Schranze's viola playing as "passionate and beautifully resonant." He lives in Memphis with his wife, violist Jane Schranze and their four children.

Norman Fischer (IAC
60-61, 63-65, AS 62, IAA 65-67) first graced the international concert stage as cellist with the Concord String Quartet, a group that won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, an Emmy and several Grammy nominations, and recorded over 40 works on RCA Red Seal, Vox, Nonesuch, Turnabout and CRI. The New York Times recently said, "During its 16 years, the supervirtuosic Concord String Quartet championed contemporary work while staying rooted in the Western tradition." Mr. Fischer has performed in 49 of the 50 United States and on five continents. In addition to performing the major concerti, he has premiered and recorded many new scores for cello and orchestra including two recorded with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony by Augusta Read Thomas and Ross Lee Finney. Recitals of unaccompanied cello works have received rave reviews such as "Inspiring" (New York Times) for his New York debut recital of the complete Bach suites in one evening and "Coruscating" (Boston Globe) for his performance of Osvaldo Golijov's Omaramor at the opening of the 1998 Tanglewood festival. During the 1994 Broadway season, Mr. Fischer's recording of William Bolcom's score was used for the premiere of Arthur Miller's Broken Glass. His chamber music expertise has led to guest appearances with the American, Audubon, Blair, Cavani, Chester, Chiara, Ciompi, Cleveland, Ensō, Emerson, Jasper, Juilliard, Mendelssohn and Schoenberg string quartets, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music International, Context, and Houston's Da Camera Society. Mr. Fischer joins pianist Jeanne Kierman and violinist Andrew Jennings as the Concord Trio, a group that has been performing together for over 30 years. Mr. Fischer also joins Ms. Kierman and violinist Curtis Macomber as co-artistic directors of the
autumn chamber music festival Vermont Musica Viva headquartered in Norwich, Vermont. A devoted teacher and mentor to young players, Mr. Fischer has been on the faculty of Dartmouth College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and is currently Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Violoncello and coordinator of chamber music at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Since 1985, he has taught at the Tanglewood Music Center (summer home of the Boston Symphony), in Lenox, Massachusetts where he holds the Charles E Culpepper Foundation Master Teacher chair and is also coordinator of chamber music.

Dr. Jerrold Pope (IAC 68-69, IAA 69-71) is Chair of the Voice Department; Associate Professor of Music at Boston University. He gained critical acclaim appearing as an ECCO Artist with the Cincinnati Opera Company. His credits have gone on to include Théatre du Châtelet in Paris; Glyndebourne and Buxton Opera; London Proms; Schleswig-Holstein Musikfest and Tanglewood Music Festivals; Netherlands Opera Forum in Amsterdam; and OperKiel in Germany, as well as performances with the companies of Pittsburgh, Boston, Orlando, Grand Rapids, Hawaii, and Anchorage. He has appeared in concert at the Théatre de la Ville in Paris, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Brooklyn Academy of Music with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and New York’s Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony. Additionally, he has performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony, and the Pittsburgh, Charleston, St. Louis, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. He has recorded for the Col Legno label. Dr. Pope previously served on the voice faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, and the faculty of the Florida State University’s College of Music, where he received a 2004 Developing Scholar Award, which led to the publication of selected Lieder of Robert Fuchs. He is currently co-director of the Barga Opera Festival in Barga, Italy.

March 2011

Chehalis Hegner (IAC 76-77, IAA 77-79) conducted a masterclass with the Interlochen Arts Academy photograpy students on March 4, 2011. Her photos along with works by Arthur Ganson are featured in the Interlochen Center for the Arts in the Herbert H. and Barbara C. Center for Visual Arts gallery. Click hear to view the gallery via the online webcam. http://www.interlochen.org/visual-arts-gallery-webcam

Matthew Lyon (AS 97, IAA 98-99) performed a short recital with Byron Hanson in the Dendrinos Chapel on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts in March 2011. Matthew held a masterclass with the low brass students.

Chehalis Hegner (IAC 76-77, IAA 77-79) received her B.A. at Berklee College of Music and her MFA in Visual Arts at the Art Institute of Boston in June 2005. In 2006 she completed the Boston Lawyers for the Arts seven-month program on Professional Development for Artists. Ms. Hegner held an Artist in Residence post at Plymouth State University from 2000-2001, and then accepted a position as photography instructor within their art department.  Currently she is in the creative stages of collaboratively teaching a new workshop with Jonathan Singer Unifying the Creative and the Technical, and is an adjunct photography teacher within the art department at Umass, Lowell.

Matthew Lyon (AS 97, IAA 98-99) Born in northern Michigan, Matthew attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and received his B.M. from the University of Michigan. He recently accepted a two year position as principal tubist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Currently, Matthew studies with Gene Pokorney and Floyd Cooley at Depaul University, where he is pursuing his M.M. Prior to his move to Chicago, Matthew held positions with a variety of regional orchestras including: the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Canton, the Adrian Symphony, and the Warren Symphony Orchestra. He regularly substitutes with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has also played extra with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. As a chamber musician he has performed with the Detroit Symphony Brass Quintet, is a member of the Great Lakes Brass Quintet, and performs regularly with Today's Brass Quintet, the Motor City Brass Quintet and the Chicago Brass Ensemble.

April 2011

Gohar Vardanyan (IAA 01-04) performed a recital in the Dendrinos Chapel on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts in April 2011. Gohar held a masterclass with the guitar students.

Gohar Vardanyan (IAA 01-04) is native of Armenia, Gohar began studying guitar at the age of five with her father, once famous guitarist Vardan Vardanyan. She gave her first performance and appeared on Armenian National Television at the age of eight. Two years later she was the 1st prize winner in the Armenian national music contest "Amadeus" for young musicians. As a result she was accepted into a group of talented young musicians, called "New Names." Ms. Vardanyan has participated in various benefit and private concerts in Armenia and performed as a guest in many musical schools of the Republic. At thirteen years old she came to New York City to study with Antigoni Goni at the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. In 2001, Ms. Vardanyan studied with John Wunsch at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She graduated with High Honors in 2004. Two years later, Ms. Vardanyan was invited back by the Academy as an alumni artist in their annual Guitar Festival and Workshop.
She has received numerous awards in academic and musical fields. Among these is the Young Artist's Certificate, one of the highest awards offered to graduating seniors by the Academy, and the Harold Randolph Prize in performance from the Peabody Conservatory. She has attended many master classes with internationally-known guitarists such as Nicolas Goluses, William Kanengiser, Raphaella Smits, Julian Gray, Sharon Isbin, Steven Robinson, Jason Vieaux, David Russell and Manuel Barrueco. She has performed on National Public Radio From the Top, as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and on Peabody'sThursday Noon series. Ms. Vardanyan holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she studied with Manuel Barrueco. She is also a recent alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Currently, Ms. Vardanyan is pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Sharon Isbin.