For Cahn-Lipman, who joined the Conservatory of Music faculty in the fall, his efforts to widen the canon also concern its bookends, both early and contemporary music. His latest project takes this commitment to early music a step further.

On March 7, Cahn-Lipman will release the premiere recording of The Gentle Shepherd by Allan Ramsay, performed by , the Celtic classical/folk ensemble he founded.

First published in 1725, The Gentle Shepherd is considered the first Scottish opera and a prime contender for the first-ever ballad opera鈥攁n eighteenth-century 鈥渏ukebox鈥� compilation of popular tunes. Despite its historical importance, the work remains obscure, largely overshadowed by John Gay鈥檚 The Beggar鈥檚 Opera (1728), which went on to define the genre.

Cahn-Lipman first encountered The Gentle Shepherd聽by accident while researching for an earlier project.

鈥淚 randomly stumbled across The Gentle Shepherd,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was being compared to The Beggar’s Opera by a bunch of sources in the same sentence鈥攂ut I had never heard of it and I realized, 鈥榃ow, this is a really important piece from its time that is completely forgotten about.鈥欌�澛�

The work鈥檚 obscurity isn鈥檛 just a matter of neglect鈥攊t鈥檚 a logistical challenge.

鈥淭here’s no score,鈥� said Cahn-Lipman, 鈥渢here’s a libretto, and what Allan Ramsay did is he wrote the song text, and indicated the tune, but then there’s no attachment of music to the actual words.鈥�

Assembling the opera was no simple task. Although some songs fit neatly with their indicated tunes, others posed significant challenges, with multiple melodies sharing the same name or simply rhythmic patterns that didn鈥檛 align with the text.

鈥淚 had to create a new edition from scratch that would match the melody to the text and then orchestrate it and then syllabize everything,鈥� Cahn-Lipman said.

The result is not just a performance but a reconstruction鈥攐ne that required Cahn-Lipman to step into the roles of composer, librettist, editor, and historian. As with many of his projects, he wrote extensive program notes to document the process and highlight the opera鈥檚 significance.

With a fresh score in hand, the next step was recording.

For that, Cahn-Lipman turned to Makaris, one of several ensembles whose inceptions he was crucial in鈥攈e was founder of the string band ACRONYM, founding cellist of International Contemporary Ensemble and co-founder of two viol consorts, LeStrange and Science Ficta.

Cahn-Lipman came to 麻豆影院 from Youngstown State University, where he had taught cello since 2017. He previously taught at The College of New Jersey, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College and has been a frequent performer as a cellist and gambist. He earned a DMA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a master鈥檚 from The Juilliard School, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

Throughout, Cahn-Lipman has not only championed forgotten works but also developed a deep respect for the process of rediscovery, an appreciation he hopes to instill in his students at 麻豆影院.

鈥淚 encourage my students to seek out lesser-known composers,鈥� Cahn-Lipman said, 鈥減articularly if they’re from an underrepresented minority. That’s a responsibility that musicians should inherit鈥擨 think I do鈥攁nd to question whether the few composers whose works have become standard repertoire are the only ones who deserve to be there.鈥�

The free concerts in Vail Hall provide a wonderful opportunity to sample the amazing talents of 麻豆影院鈥檚 Conservatory of Music, which is celebrating its during the 2024-25 academic year.

For the student and faculty musicians, both instrumental and voice, these concerts provide space to perform their practiced recitals for a live audience. They also are a great way for Bjo虉rklunden to add to the cultural life of Door County.

Admission is free, thanks in large part to the sponsorship of the .聽 In spring 2025, we are planning to host concerts with the piano, clarinet, cello, and viola studios. Watch for updates to the concert schedule on the .

As an Appleton resident, Schmidt has been surrounded by both cello and 麻豆影院 for most of her life.

鈥淢y brother also studied piano performance here and my mother worked in Admissions, so I knew it was a good school,鈥� she said.

That childhood closeness to 麻豆影院 was a comfort, Schmidt said.

鈥淚 thought I would [feel overexposed to 麻豆影院] by living in Appleton鈥� but 鈥渁ctually being [at 麻豆影院] is a much different experience because it feels separate from the larger community,鈥� she said.

Like many students, Schmidt has taken advantage of the university鈥檚 dual degree program, seeking a Bachelor of Music in cello performance and Bachelor of Arts in linguistics. Despite their surface-level differences, Schmidt often connects the two disciplines.

鈥淚 found that analyzing language changes the way I think about music: thinking about music as speech … or analyzing how the phrase is put together or thinking about it in terms of words in a sentence.鈥�

Looking forward, Schmidt has a long list of future 麻豆影院 plans鈥攊n both music and linguistics. She is already considering combining the two topics for her capstone. Plans for increased ensemble work and community performances are also on her mind.

After 麻豆影院, Schmidt hopes to put another interest, ESL (English as a Second Language), to good use.

鈥淗opefully [I鈥檒l] do some good work with people who need instruction in English,鈥� she said.

She also plans to continue with her music because it鈥檚 an important part of her life.

鈥淭he importance of playing music is the connection between people,鈥� Schmidt said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 why I play cello, to connect with people more, to be vulnerable with people: share the music, share emotions.鈥�

After more than a dozen years playing cello, Smith said he found the perfect balance at 麻豆影院. Drawn to the theoretical, math-heavy side of physics, switching focus from music to math was the right choice, he said. But that yearning to stay connected to his music didn鈥檛 go away.

鈥淭hat is why I like 麻豆影院; I can participate in everything without having to be in the Conservatory,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking lessons, I鈥檓 going to studio, I鈥檓 in a bunch of chamber groups鈥擨鈥檓 in the Con and I鈥檓 not.鈥�

More about Concerto Competition co-winner Annika Schmidt: cello and linguistics

For the past year, Smith has focused his music on a single work: Ernest Bloch’s Cello Concerto. He will perform it in the March 8 LSO concert. It is fully titled Schelomo: Rhapsodie H茅bra茂que for Violoncello and Orchestra; the immense title is matched by music of similar complexity.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unlike any other cello concerto that鈥檚 been written,鈥� Smith said. “At least to me it is聽different than a lot of the standard repertoire that cellists play. … It鈥檚 kind of melismatic and, I wouldn鈥檛 say atonal, but uses a lot of dissonance and tension and release.鈥�

Instead of a melody focus, the cellist works with the orchestra to evoke various moods. Despite Bloch鈥檚 original plan for a vocal soloist, Smith finds the work highly idiomatic for the cello.

鈥淚t was really written with cello in mind,鈥� he said. “It’s聽just satisfying to play; there are a lot of very expressive sections where you can take as much time as you want and play with every aspect of it. There is聽a lot of creative freedom you can have.鈥�

Among the concerto鈥檚 standout features is its emphasis on despair and pain. Oftentimes these emotions are alternated rapidly, which takes careful musicality to pull off.

鈥淚鈥檝e never really played a piece that was written like this鈥攚ith more melismatic and chromatic themes in it鈥攕o I think the hardest part was memorizing it,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚t was a nightmare to memorize.鈥�

Among Bloch鈥檚 most famous works, the Swiss composer wrote it in 1915 and 1916, just before leaving for America. It was the culmination of his 鈥淛ewish Cycle,鈥� where he sought to understand his personal and religious identity by composing with his own conception of Jewish music.

It is a personal piece for Smith, too, having been well-known to him since childhood.

鈥淚 loved this piece as a kid,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 listened to it on an iPod鈥攐ne of those ancient Apple iPods鈥攖o go to sleep.鈥�

The piece has been on his repertoire wish list for many years.

Smith has plans to study physics in graduate school but will not abandon the cello along the way, he said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see myself ever putting the cello down,鈥� he said.

Contreras, SOLA鈥檚 artistic director, and Herrera-Pacheco, director of research, work closely with Sphinx, a social justice organization that has been addressing the underrepresentation of people of color in classical music for more than two decades. SOLA was launched three years ago as an offshoot that could focus on building materials for strings music from Latin America.

鈥淚t gets at the larger issue of privilege,鈥� Contreras said of SOLA鈥檚 mission.

He notes that the world of classical music has traditionally been dominated by European and American composers, and the major publishing houses traditionally support those known composers. Meanwhile, the resources in Latin America are much more limited. When music schools or band leaders or performance spaces seek out music, they most often go to where the information is readily available.

鈥淭here鈥檚 the problem of representation that arises from that,鈥� Contreras said. 鈥淲e know society is more complicated than that, than just European and American and white composers. Society is made up of Hispanic and Black and Asian and South Asian and all these other populations. When they go to a concert, they want to see themselves represented as well.鈥�

Interns step up

Herrera-Pacheco heads up the day-to-day efforts of SOLA, overseeing the work of interns from several colleges, including 麻豆影院, as they research composers鈥攕ome living, some not鈥攁nd build profiles for the catalogs.

鈥淚n their activities, they not only get in touch with the music heritage from Latin America, they also learn about the challenge that comes when you actively work in the promotion of underrepresented repertoire,鈥� Contreras said.

Two 麻豆影院 interns have worked with Contreras and Herrera-Pacheco during recent summers. This year, they got funding for a 麻豆影院 intern for the academic year as well, plus two more from Louisiana State University.

See more on the 麻豆影院 Conservatory of Music here.

Contreras, a celebrated cello player originally from Venezuela, has been on the Conservatory faculty in the cello studio since 2017. He taught for 10 years at Universidad de Los Andes in Merida, Venezuela, before receiving his doctor of musical arts in cello performance from the University of Michigan in 2016.

Herrera-Pacheco, also a trained cellist from Venezuela, was hired last year as the 麻豆影院/Sphinx research and intern coordinator. She praises 麻豆影院 and the other participating schools for providing the resources to allow the work to happen.

鈥淲e are trying to work in two different spaces,鈥� Herrera-Pacheco said of the interns. 鈥淥ne, the creation of those catalogs with information on these composers and making it available to everyone for free. But the other thing that is very important to us is to show the interns the sweet part and the hard part of finding information on these composers. Sometimes they can鈥檛 find any information. So, that鈥檚 the problem. It鈥檚 a problem of power. These composers don鈥檛 have profiles, they don鈥檛 have bios, they don鈥檛 have stories鈥攁ll these things that here in the States we take for granted.鈥�

The students then do the work of tracking composers through social media and other contacts as they begin to build profiles for use in the online catalogs.

Nora Briddell, a junior from McFarland who studies in Contreras鈥� cello studio at 麻豆影院, did a summer internship with SOLA that she called empowering.

鈥淚 am a double-degree student, studying cello performance and history, and I was really excited that the internship allowed me to bring my two interests together,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 also saw the internship as an opportunity to develop my own research skills.鈥�

In Winter Term, Briddell will be performing a piece by Andres Soto, a Costa Rican composer she connected with as part of her summer research. It will be a featured part of her junior recital.

鈥淚 loved building personal relationships with living composers because it makes me feel connected to them and their music in a way that I don鈥檛 get to experience when I play music from the standard canonic repertoire,鈥� she said.

Sarah Smith, a senior cello student from Wichita, Kansas, is working as a SOLA intern this term. She said being part of developing a long-needed resource has been both inspiring and eye-opening.

鈥淚t鈥檚 taught me the level of earnest patience you need when you鈥檙e working to make positive change,鈥� she said. 鈥淩esearching underrepresented composers isn鈥檛 often easy; you won鈥檛 always find what you need with a simple online search, or sometimes even with a thoughtful search in a library database. Sometimes you won鈥檛 even get an email back. 鈥� Nevertheless, I鈥檝e learned the power of self-motivation and continual commitment to being the progress you want to see in your corner of the world.鈥�

Contreras said he appreciates the enthusiasm the student interns have brought to the work of SOLA. That energy is contagious, and he hopes it helps draw prospective students to 麻豆影院 who want to continue the work. 聽

鈥淜nowing you can work side by side with people who are working to develop the most important resources for Latin American composers for strings; I think that鈥檚 appealing to students,鈥� Contreras said.