2018 Summer Stories

Linehan Artist Scholar and Cello Performance major Christian Hartman has been performing as a snare drummer with Baltimore’s Marching Ravens. Some summer performances include a flash mob at the Inner Harbor, as well as a memorable halftime performance at the Pro Football Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. He also marched in the Hall of Fame parade, leading the way for the newly inducted Ray Lewis.
In June, Professor Matt Belzer performed with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in a production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying starring Skylar Astin from Pitch Perfect.  In August, Matt Belzer performed with the Wolf Trap Orchestra in a performance of Disney’s Broadway Hits and he will return to Wolf Trap on September 8 to perform as part of 4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince with music curated by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.  Matt Belzer’s group The Anansi Trio has alsobeen busy making videos over the summer.
Over the summer, Professor Paula Maust performed at the Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Berkeley Early Music Festival, the Amherst Early Music Festival, Artscape, Baroque Bonanza III, and at the American Bach Soloists Academy. She also opened new seasons with both of her ensembles, Burning River Baroque and Musica Spira. With programming that emphasizes social change through music, her concerts highlight the profound relevance of themes found in baroque music in contemporary times. New programs that she premiered over the summer include “Destructive Desires,” inspired by the #MeToo movement, and “The Women Who Took the Stage.”
This Summer, Dr. Lisa Cella performed at the 46th Annual National Flute Association Convention in Orlando, Florida on “Celebrating the Solo Line”, a recital dedicated to recently composed unaccompanied flute literature.  Dr. Cella performed 010 machine states by Christopher Adler, a work she commissioned as a part of her recent CD release. Earlier in the year, she also performed the same work at Baltimore annual Light City festival with special animation and projection.
Music Technology majors Gabby Franks, Sebastian McMillan, and Etai Fuchs played their first show as a newly formed band, Moon By Moon. Their first performance was on August 10th at the Depot in Baltimore. The set consisted mainly of music from the Moon By Moon EP which can be found on Spotify.
Dr. Audrey Andrist spent the summer on faculty at the Brian Lewis Young Artist Program at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, AK, Intermuse Festival at Mt. St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, MD, and Master Players Festival and School at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE where she taught masterclasses and presented faculty concerts alongside pianists from around the country.
Dr. Linda Dusman’s setting of Miss Furr and Miss Skeene was performed in Denver, CO by the Playground Ensemble in June to celebrate the start of Pride Week in Denver. In June, she presented the EnCue app for real-time concert learning at the League of American Orchestras conference in Chicago.  She also spent the Summer revising her piano trio, Dancing Universe, for an Italian premiere by Trio des Alpes in October and she completed a new solo violin piece entitled Dream Prayer Lullaby exploring immigration issues for premiere by Airi Yoshioka this Fall.
Dr. Kesner just completed her tenth summer with the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater Company, where she performed as a member of the orchestra, playing flute and piccolo as well as a number of auxiliary and ethnic flutes.
This summer, trombone performance major Daniel Sperlein attended the Cleveland Trombone Seminar at Cleveland State University, Hosted by Shachar Israel. Shachar is the assistant principal trombonist of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. This program was a 1-week event, which consisted of a large trombone ensemble, along with a few smaller trombone choirs, all directed by professional orchestral trombonists. Daniel was able to attend this program as a result of his acceptance to the Linehan Summer Studies Program, he greatly extends his thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Linehan for assisting his pursuit of artistic excellence.
With the support of the university, Fatma Daglar, affiliate artist in oboe, performed with the Zéphyros Winds in Granada, Spain, where they premiered David Sanford’s new work Tatu and also performed the Six Pieces by Anders Hillborg.