PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music will celebrate 100 years of putting students in the nation’s leading orchestras and opera houses, at the Grammys, on Broadway, and as influential faculty members with events throughout the year.
Highlighting the many celebrations are two extraordinary concerts — Saturday, March 31 at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, and Monday, April 2 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The concerts will showcase award-winning School of Music alumni representing six decades and current students. Under the direction of faculty members Ronald Zollman and Robert Page, the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, Repertory Chorus and Concert Choir will perform alongside these guest soloists. Manu Narayan (A'96), screen actor/vocalist, will be master of ceremonies.
Planners say the extraordinary concert events showcase only a few of the illustrious School of Music alumni and students, including Jeffrey Behrens (A'03) and Liam Bonner (A'03) singing the Belcore/Nemorino duet from Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love.” Others slated for the all-star performances include:
Graham Fenton (A’05) singing the hit song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” from the Broadway show “Jersey Boys.” New York Philharmonic’s Howard Wall (A’72), San Antonio Opera’s principal horn Peter Rubins (A’86), CMU faculty member William Caballero (principal horn, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), and Brice Andrus (principal horn, Atlanta Symphony) will perform Schumann’s “Konzertstück for Four Horns.” Chicago Symphony’s principal horn Dale Clevenger (A’62) will conduct. Clevenger received a Carnegie Mellon Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award in 2011.
Highly acclaimed sopranos Lisa Vroman (A’81) and Christiane Noll (A’90) also will be performing in the concerts. Vroman starred in the Broadway production of “The Phantom of the Opera” as Christine Daae — she garnered Theatre Critic’s awards for the role in a record-breaking run in San Francisco, and did a return engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Noll was nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of Mother in the Kennedy Center Revival of “Ragtime.”
School of Music senior Emma Steele (A’12) will perform the first movement of Henryk Wieniaswski’s “Violin Concerto in F sharp Minor.” Steele has participated and won awards in many competitions, most recently in the Sibelius International Violin Competition, in which she was a finalist and received the Young Talent Prize. Steele currently studies with School of Music faculty member Cyrus Forough.
Prior to both concerts, cocktail receptions and dinners will be held, offering attendees the special opportunity to meet the featured performers and reconnect with colleagues, classmates and friends. Ricky Ian Gordon (A'80), distinguished composer of songs, stage musicals and opera ("Grapes of Wrath"), will perform at the dinners along with Broadway actress Diane Sutherland (A'78). For the latest news and information on the Centennial Celebration, Click Here.
About Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music: Founded in 1912, Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music educates outstanding, intellectually gifted musicians through excellence in performance, creativity, scholarship and pedagogy. The School of Music offers undergraduate degrees in instrumental and vocal performance, composition and keyboard performance. Graduate degrees are offered in performance, composition, conducting and music education. The school also offers a variety of highly acclaimed non-degree programs, such as the Performance Residency Program, the Artist Diploma Program, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Piano Pedagogy, Advanced Flute Studies, Orff Schulwerk and Music Education programs. Since its founding, the School of Music has graduated more than 3,200 students, who can be found performing, composing, conducting, teaching and contributing to the music field worldwide. Today, many alumni regularly appear in symphony orchestras, on Broadway, and in opera houses around the world. Additionally, the School of Music presents more than 250 events annually, many of which are free and open to the public.
About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 11,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon's main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California's Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia, Europe, and Mexico.
The university is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled “Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University,” whichaims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.