鈥淭his has been my dream for so many years,鈥� Richter said as she traveled Monday from New York back to Pittsburgh, where she is a second-year resident artist with the Pittsburgh Opera. 鈥淭o say I鈥檓 humbled, honored, and grateful to be here would be an understatement. I had the most exciting week of my life, and singing with that orchestra was nothing short of joyous.鈥�

Richter studied music performance (voice) and performed in the Opera Theatre program at 麻豆影院 before going on to earn her master’s degree from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music.

鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful for my time at 麻豆影院 that didn鈥檛 just teach me how to sing but taught me how to feel and think deeply about the world,鈥� Richter said.听

Beginning in May, Richter will join Lyric Opera of Chicago鈥檚 Ryan Center Ensemble.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more thrilled,鈥� she said.

Richter was named a winner in the Met competition along with tenor Daniel Espinal, soprano Lydia Grindatto, baritone Navasard Hakobyan, and mezzo-soprano Meridian Prall. In addition to a $20,000 cash prize, the win comes with great prestige and opportunities to network.

The competition is operated at the district and region levels across the United States, Canada, and Mexico before finalists are named for the Grand Finals Concert. Richter came through the Great Lakes Region. The competition, now in its 70th year, was formerly known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

While at 麻豆影院, Richter performed in numerous ensembles and operas, including taking on the role of Countess in The Marriage of Figaro during her senior year in 2020. Her performance would helpearn 麻豆影院 a national honor in the 2021 American Prize Awards.

Copeland Woodruff,听director of opera studies and associate professor of music at 麻豆影院, said Richter was a “rock star” in the making during her time in the Conservatory.

“She always brings a curiosity, a humanity, and an infectious, warm spirit into any space she enters,” Woodruff said. “I could not be happier for her, for her successes so far, and the myriad ahead of her. I am lucky to have learned alongside her.” Richter鈥檚 time at the Pittsburgh Opera has included performances as the title character of Iphig茅nie en Tauride and Ginevra in Ariodante. She has sung Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and the Governess in The Turn of the Screw at McGill, covered Mica毛la in Carmen at the Santa Fe Opera, and made her debut with the Seattle Symphony as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah.

Kashou recently had two huge opportunities to showcase his work.

In early March,听the 麻豆影院 Symphonic Band, directed by Matthew Arau 鈥�97, associate professor of music education and associate director of bands, premiered Kashou’s听Let鈥檚 Lift the Bandstand.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 incredibly nervous when I came to the premiere,鈥� Kashou said. 鈥淚 wrote the piece for this ensemble because of my trust in Dr. Arau and the musicians in the ensemble.鈥�

The performance of the piece drew a huge ovation.

A week later, the 麻豆影院 Symphony Orchestra (LSO), led by Mark Dupere,听associate professor of music and director of orchestral studies, performed听Let鈥檚 Lift the Bandstand at its Winter Term concert,听with Kashou joining as听a featured soloist. He earned the LSO honor by winning the Conservatory’s annual concerto competition.

Drawn to the music

Being the fifth generation of professional musicians, Kashou was raised with music all around him. He started with Arabic drumming and piano but found his passion in playing the saxophone. Kashou has found 麻豆影院 to be a spectacular fit for his musical interests.

鈥淲hen you shop around for colleges [as a musician], the professors are practically the only thing that matters,鈥� Kashou said. 鈥淚 came to 麻豆影院 specifically for professors Jos茅 Encarnaci贸n and Steven Jordheim. 鈥� My success is largely due to their guidance.鈥�

Kashou said he was honored to be a featured soloist with LSO and perform a jazz-inspired concerto with the orchestra.

鈥淎 lot of it is really a conversation between the orchestra and the soloist,鈥� Kashou said. 鈥淢y posture during the performance was more aimed at being able to see Professor [Mark] Dupere and the orchestra [as opposed to facing the audience directly] because I wanted to communicate with them and make it more of a collaborative thing. I鈥檝e been working on this piece for a year; It鈥檚 a pretty big payoff to get to share it with so many people and to play it with so many people.鈥�

Let鈥檚 Lift the Bandstand is part of a larger collection from Kashou called Monk鈥檚 25 Tips. Each piece takes its name from a quote from Thelonious Monk, the iconic jazz pianist and composer. These 25 pieces of advice were written down by jazz saxophonist and composer Steve Lacy early in his career as he traveled with Monk鈥檚 band. The 25 tips are things Monk would often say. Kashou is taking these pieces of advice and turning them into music for a variety of ensembles, from solo saxophone to full wind ensembles. He鈥檚 hoping to complete all 25 before he graduates.

Lawrentians can tune in for Kashou鈥檚 senior recital at 5 p.m. May 13 in Memorial Chapel. He will be premiering four new pieces from Monk鈥檚 25 Tips, ranging from solo saxophone to a 15-piece jazz ensemble.

Dammann said although violin and guitar aren鈥檛 uncommon combinations, Bergmark鈥檚 tabla鈥攁 staple of Hindustani classical music鈥攇ives their sound a unique, rhythmic flair alongside their progressive folk and bluegrass influences. It isn鈥檛 easily categorizable, and that鈥檚 part of the fun.

鈥淭he tabla brings in this element where suddenly we don鈥檛 have any canon to fall back on, so we鈥檙e kind of creating our own genre as we go; it really keeps it pretty open to what is possible,鈥� Dammann said.

This doesn鈥檛 mean the three have completely disavowed canon, however. Just as the old artistic adage says, one has to learn the rules before breaking them. Blanck and Dammann credit their years at 麻豆影院 with giving them the needed music skills, connections, and encouragement of musical experimentation.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e been doing is so 麻豆影院-y, which is to say I learned how to do what we鈥檙e doing at school,鈥� Blanck said.

Dammann said she grew up playing classical violin but developed a love for fiddle music that 麻豆影院 allowed her to explore. She created a fiddle club, Fiddlers of 麻豆影院 University (FLU), brought her fiddle to play on geology field trips, and even ran a fiddle-playing workshop at Bj枚rklunden. As a prospective student, she remembers sitting in on a music theory class with Associate Professor of Music Gene Biringer that opened her eyes to new possibilities.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything about music theory, I didn鈥檛 even know what a V chord was, but I was like, 鈥榃ow, this is fascinating,鈥欌�� Dammann said.

While a student, Blanck joined Porky鈥檚 Groove Machine, a funk ensemble formed at 麻豆影院, notable for their uplifting humor, theatrics, and wacky costumes. Blanck remains a member of Porky鈥檚 along with Sprig of That. He said despite the bands鈥� vastly different styles, they have much in common.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e both idiosyncratic and niche in what I think are really fun and exciting ways, and I think both are products of where the seeds were planted, that being 麻豆影院,鈥� Blanck said. 鈥淪o many cool, quirky, different ideas are generated at 麻豆影院, and I think 麻豆影院 students are often so good at finding ways to make them happen.鈥�

Just as 麻豆影院 teaches openness to the world and other perspectives, Sprig of That has always embraced the diverse, beautiful, and unique styles and perspectives the world has to offer. For example, their album of commissions, Eight Threads, featured Dammann singing a song in Turkish called Adalet (Justice). The song was written by Yi臒itcan Eryaman, a Minneapolis doctor and classical guitar enthusiast whose birth city of 陌stanbul and its 脺sk眉dar district inspired his own 鈥淭urkish-Balkan progressive music鈥� band, Uskudar Eclectic.

Exploring the studio space

For their debut album, Sprig of That hired Wes Corbett, a music producer and banjo player who Blanck and Dammann said worked with many of their inspirations, including the Sam Bush Band.

Starting in May 2021, the band and Corbett began sharing demos and other recordings for critiques and advice. In December 2021, the band traveled to the Nashville studio Sound Emporium to record bloom.

Blanck and Dammann saw Corbett 鈥渓ike a teacher, a coach, a therapist, and a manager. He helped us connect to the studio and the engineer, and helped us set a calendar, but all the while being like, 鈥極K, I don鈥檛 buy that C natural, it鈥檚 gotta be a different note.鈥� 鈥� He just ended up being the right person,鈥� Blanck said.

The team also recruited Dave Sinko, an audio engineer with more than 30 years in the business and three Grammy wins.

鈥淲orking with Dave was just a dream come true, too, because he has recorded all of my favorite albums, but is also such a gem of a person; such a sweet, sweet person who made us feel really comfortable, and was funny and great to work with,鈥� Dammann said.

Now that the album is in post-production, Sprig of That hopes to play more shows and festivals.

鈥淥ur plan is to try and play as much as we can, to take the opportunities we can get, to keep making music when we can,鈥� Blanck said.

While most requiems are, as the name suggests, Catholic Mass liturgies for the dead, Brahms鈥� work is a 鈥渂eautifully woven set of scripture passages that comfort the grieving,鈥� Sieck said. 鈥淲hen we selected this work, we understood that the 麻豆影院 community鈥攊ts students, faculty, staff, administration, and community neighbors鈥攈ad lost a lot in the last two years.鈥�

Daniel Boyd, a junior vocal performance student from Houston, Texas, was a first-year student when he gathered for that impromptu performance of Elijah just as campus was shutting down in March 2020. He remembers the emotions of that day鈥攁 video of the performance went viral on social media and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Boyd said he has felt that mix of grief and triumph every time he has stepped on the stage for rehearsals of this year鈥檚 oratorio. He is among the featured soloists.

鈥淔or me, the biggest memory that I have before the pandemic had us all go back home was standing on a riser in the Chapel next to my best friend and just wailing away on Mendelssohn鈥檚 Elijah, which is what we were going to perform as the masterwork my freshman year,鈥� he said.

Knowing what everyone has gone through since that emotional day is going to make the Brahms鈥� Requiem that much sweeter, he said. That it features music designed to bring comfort will add to the emotions of the night.

鈥淭here is just something about having all the choirs and the orchestra band together to perform historic music that just absolutely makes me feel so ecstatic,鈥� Boyd said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 electrifying. What I absolutely love about this Brahms鈥� Requiem is that it is unconventional. It doesn鈥檛 have text from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass but rather from the German Lutheran Bible. To me, it is a requiem that can be used to honor lost lives, help with grief coping, or even something as simple as cheering yourself up on a bad day.鈥�

Sieck calls oratorios and similar large music performances 鈥減owerful and awe-inspiring experiences.鈥澨齌he challenge remains in how to put an oratorio together safely, he said, given the continued prevalence of COVID variants.听They were pulled from the Conservatory calendar in both 2020 and 2021.

鈥淭wo hundred singers and instrumentalists on stage was simply not safe, given the incredibly transmissive nature of COVID-19,鈥� Sieck said of the past two-plus years.听鈥淎nd, even with our exceptionally high vaccination rate on campus, the outbreak this April during our mask-optional phase reminded us that new variants are even more contagious.听So, we have stayed vigilantly masked in choir throughout the year, which makes it a little harder to take deep breaths and to understand singers鈥� diction, but it has been essential to keeping the rehearsal space safe.听Now that our positive test-rate is back below 1%, we feel optimistic that we can provide an extraordinary musical experience while keeping students safe.鈥澨�

During the rehearsal process, students have spent time discussing the emotions and challenges of the pandemic, Sieck said. They鈥檝e met in small groups to talk through grief and hope in the context of this performance.

鈥淲e lost normalcy,鈥� Sieck said.听鈥淲e lost the experiences that go with being in college鈥攍et me say that Zoom is not the same thing as a college classroom. We lost relationships. And, for many people, we lost dear ones.听How do we hold space for this grief and loss?听鈥� It is our hope that our performance gives voice to the grief, and, also, comfort and hope to the community.鈥�

Senior Zo毛 Boston, a biochemistry major from Havertown, Pennsylvania, who has spent much of her time at 麻豆影院 making music in the Conservatory, will serve as concert master.

鈥淚t’s meaningful to me that I am ending my time at 麻豆影院 with another masterwork,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s an honor to play with not only excellent musicians but my closest friends. The Requiem reflects the highs and lows I’ve felt in the past two years.鈥�

The Brahms听Ein deutsches Requiem is set for 8 p.m. June 3 in Memorial Chapel. Admission is free and it is open to the public. Masks are required.

Avery Riel 鈥�23 was set on studying music when they entered college, but after finding 麻豆影院 through the Colleges that Change Lives, they were able to discover a multitude of possibilities beyond just classical performance. They credit the special communities here on campus with making them feel welcome and helping them to discover the musical paths that are possible.

They say, 鈥淢y mentors at 麻豆影院 have broadened my perspective. There are so many ways to connect with people through music, and I want to explore all of them!鈥�

Outside of conservatory studies, Avery enjoys participating in several clubs as co-president of the Band Booking Committee, president of the Deep Listening Club, administrator and researcher at the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, and member of the Dance Collective Ensemble and Greenfire Club. It is the ability to have this level of involvement that Avery says makes them excited to be a part of this campus.

鈥淚t is very easy to feel isolated during college, but when I enter the spaces of my communities, words don鈥檛 feel like enough. I feel so cared for, listened to, and connected.鈥�

Following their time at 麻豆影院, Avery is looking to study music therapy in graduate school.

Albright, a trombone instructor in the Conservatory, joined the faculty in 2016. He directs the Trombone Ensemble, performs with the Faculty Brass Quintet and the Faculty Jazz Ensemble, and coaches chamber music and jazz small group ensembles.

In 2019, he was听, which earned three Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. He was part of recording sessions in Justin Vernon鈥檚 home studio in Eau Claire, with a horn section dubbed the Worm Crew.

Prior to coming to 麻豆影院, Albright worked as a professional musician in New York City while also teaching at Purchase College and in the pre-college division of The Julliard School. A member of the Atlantic Brass Quintet, he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Chamber Brass, the Dafnis Prieto Big Band, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Miguel Zen贸n Identities Jazz Orchestra, the Alan Ferber Big Band, and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. In addition to Bon Iver, he has recorded with Sufjan Stevens and The National.

Albright earned bachelor of music degrees in applied music (trombone) and jazz studies and commercial media from the Eastman School of Music.

Albright鈥檚 message to students coming into his classroom or studio:听鈥淚 am here to help students become better trombonists and musicians.听Ultimately, though, my wish is in some small way to help students become better humans鈥攂etter versions of themselves who begin to see their own potential and inner strength.听The bonds created between studio teacher and student are strong and often last long after graduation.听I cherish those connections.鈥�

Mark Dupere

Dupere, director of orchestral studies,听, among other directorial and teaching work at 麻豆影院. His work with the orchestra听.

He also recently formed the 麻豆影院 Chamber Orchestra, a smaller, predominantly string ensemble, and has conducted numerous student orchestra clinics in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas.

Dupere received his doctor of musical arts in orchestra conducting at Michigan State University in 2016. He joined the 麻豆影院 Conservatory faculty that same year.听

A cellist specializing in Baroque period performance, he received a master鈥檚 degree at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague and was a member of the Anima Eterna Orchestra in Brugge.

Dupere spent many years performing as a professional cellist before pursuing conducting and directing.听As a founding member of the chamber music ensemble Haagsche Hofmuzieck, he performed and gave master classes throughout Europe and the United States. The group made several recordings and was a finalist in the International Telemann Competition in Magdeburg, Germany. He has performed on BBC Radio and Arte TV.听

Dupere鈥檚 message to students coming into the LSO:听鈥淓ven though we have upwards of 80 musicians in the orchestra, ideally, we would all function like a chamber music group, where everyone is integral to the product as a whole. This requires great personal dedication from each person and contributes to a wonderfully collegial atmosphere.鈥�

Constance Kassor

Trained in both classical and modern Tibetan, with reading fluency in Sanskrit, Kassor is a scholar of Buddhist thought and Himalayan religious traditions, with a particular focus on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.

In 2020, she was听, allowing her to spend a year collaborating with a Tibetan monk in the translation of an important 15th-century Tibetan Buddhist text. It鈥檚 a project Kassor and Ven. Dr. Ngawang Jorden, principal of the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu, Nepal, had been working on off and on for six years.

Her forthcoming book,听Accounting for Awakened Awareness: The Madhyamaka Philosophy of Gorampa Sonam Senge, is under contract with Wisdom Publications. In 2020, she wrote and recorded an audiobook for The Great Courses and Audible called听Religious Lessons from Asia to the World.

Kassor joined the 麻豆影院 faculty in 2016. She received her Ph.D. in religious studies, with a specialization in West and South Asian religions, in 2014 from Emory University.

In 2020, she received 麻豆影院鈥檚 Mortar Board Award, presented annually to a faculty member who best advances the spirit of scholarship, recognizes and encourages leadership, and provides service.

Kassor teaches courses in Buddhism and gender, Buddhism in India and Tibet, the theory and practice of yoga, Hinduism, religion in South Asia, and the seminar in Buddhist Philosophy. She also teaches regularly in听First-Year Studies.

Kassor鈥檚 message to students coming into her classroom:听鈥淚鈥檓 here to help. The main reason why we all come together in a classroom is to learn from each other. Learning happens when we have conversations, struggle to understand new ideas, and ask and answer questions. We鈥檙e so fortunate at 麻豆影院 to have small class sizes, and I love that I can really get to know my students here. If you come to my office, I鈥檓 happy to work with you on anything that you鈥檙e struggling with in class, or we can just drink some tea and chat.鈥�

鈥淏eing invited to sing at a regional or national conference is sort of like making it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament or winning a Grammy. It’s that big of a deal.鈥�
– Phillip Swan, director of Cantala

To qualify, choirs need to go through an auditioning process that includes submitting recordings from each of the three previous years. The three-year rule ensures the choir is consistently excellent even as its membership changes from year to year. A panel of judges then makes the selections from submissions that include college, high school, and youth choirs. The competition is robust.

鈥淏eing invited to sing at a regional or national conference is sort of like making it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament or winning a Grammy,鈥� Swan said.听鈥淚t鈥檚 that big of a deal. It鈥檚 highly competitive; they are seeking choirs that will demonstrate the highest standards of excellence in their performance.鈥�

Swan will lead the 37-student Cantala, a women鈥檚 choir, while Stephen Sieck will lead the 28-student Concert Choir. They are co-directors of Choral Studies at 麻豆影院.

鈥淚 look at this concert as an opportunity to share out what makes 麻豆影院 special,鈥� Sieck said.听鈥淲e鈥檙e a small liberal arts college choir of scholars who approach texts with thoughtful discernment; and, we鈥檙e a Conservatory ensemble that performs difficult music with fluency and artistry, highlighting 麻豆影院 students鈥� exceptional vocal technique.鈥�

The regional and national ACDA conferences are interspersed every other year. If you鈥檙e chosen to perform, you must then wait two years before you can apply again. Since 2006, Cantala has been selected to perform at the regional conference four times and the national conference twice. Concert Choir has been chosen for the regional conference three times and the national conference once.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an important and impactful experience for our students,鈥� Swan said. 鈥淚t reinforces the consistent work they are doing in the Conservatory and allows them to share their music-making with a highly discerning audience.鈥� 听

This trip to Chicago also marks the first time the choirs have taken to the road for a performance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be a bevy of health and safety protocols put in place by the conference organizers, including proof of vaccination for all performers and conference attendees.

鈥淥ur performances will be masked,鈥� Swan said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not such a big oddity for us because at 麻豆影院 everything has been masked for the last year. All of our performances have been masked, so we鈥檙e used to it now.鈥�

But just getting to take to the road and perform in person provides a certain sense of normalcy that has the choirs excited, Swan said.

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a genuine enthusiasm about actually connecting with people in person again,鈥� he said.

Keeping the music alive has been a priority in the Conservatory for the two years of the pandemic, Sieck said. This trip is one more step forward.

鈥淲e are excited to be able to take this major stage, and we are deeply grateful for the safety protocols at the Harris Theatre and at 麻豆影院 University for prioritizing public health while allowing music-making to continue,鈥� he said.