In This Issue
The Academy of Music Northwest is the Puget Sound's premier pre-college music program. Since 1997, we have dedicated ourselves to preparing area students for admission to the country's top music schools and conservatories.
To learn more about us, please visit our website.
Upcoming Events
Spring Chamber Music Ensemble Concert
May 22, 1:30 pm
St Thomas Episcopal Church
8398 Northeast 12th Street Medina, WA 98039
Summer Workshop Placements/Auditions
May 28, 10 am - 4 pm,
Bellevue Christian Church
10808 SE 28th St.,
Bellevue, WA 98004
Academy Chamber Orchestra
June 4, 7:30 pm
Congregational Church of Mercer Island
4545 Island Crest Way Mercer Island, WA 98040
Soloists:
Hunter Brown, bassoon
Daniel Giacobbe, clarinet
Sammy Lesnick, clarinet
Harrison Linsey, oboe
Jimmy Patterson, horn
Tim Pizzichemi, cello
Marié Rossano, violin
June 8, 7:30 pm
Concert at Emerald Heights
10901 176th Circle NE Redmond, WA 98052
Japan Relief Benefit Concert
June 11th, 7:30 pm
Brechemin Auditorium, U.W. School of Music
Reiko Ito, event organizer
Academy Young Artists
June 12, 7:30 pm
Aljoya, Mercer Island
2430 76th Avenue SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040
June 17th, 1:00 pm
Merrill Gardens at Island House
7810 SE 30th St.
Mercer Island, WA 98040
Summer Workshop
June 20-24, 10 am-4 pm
Bellevue Christian Church
10808 SE 28th St.
Bellevue, WA 98004
Alumni News
Sean Glen '05,
composer and conductor, M.M. student at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in N.Y., studying composition under Dr. Bruce Saylor and choral conducting with Dr. James John. Sean has had three commissions from Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, WA (a setting of psalm 31, a setting of psalm 145, and a recent setting of psalm 51 for the cathedral’s Lenten services) and presently sings under Mr. Bruce Neswick at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC.
Claire Thompson '04, flutist, graduated with distinction in her major last June at University of California Santa Barbara with a degree in Flute Performance last June.
She was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Claire is finishing up her first year of graduate school in musicology with full support and a teaching assistantship at Penn State. She has been awarded a summer residency at the Institute for the Arts and Humanities to research and write her thesis: “The Death of the lieto fine: Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.”
The Gothard Sisters,
Irish violinists, singers, and dancers, all started out with rigorous classical violin training and competetive Irish Dance, leading them to leadership positions in the local Youth Symphonies and bringing them to the Irish Dancing World Championships. They are recording a new album, which will be comprised of original songs and Celtic favorites. Click here to see a clip of their recording process.
Internship
We are seeking part-time interns in the following areas:
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PR/Marketing
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Development
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Website Management
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Database Management
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Grant Writing
Some experiences with non-profit organizations, particularly in the areas of classical music and education is preferred.
Interested candidates can contact us at info@amnw.org
or call 425-778-7711
for an interview.
Volunteer
Opportunities to volunteer at the Academy!
We are looking for people who are music lovers, creative thinkers, and great organizers.
Please contact us if you have any interest in helping us with photography, grant research, database management or organizing special events such as private and public concerts, fundraising events, and benefit concerts.
Support Us
Support Young Artists.
Make A Gift Today.
Thank you!
Stay Connected
AMNW Concerts
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Dear Friend,
Look in the current issue of the Academy News Letter for the names of current AMNW graduating students and the names of the institutions where they will attend this fall. This is indeed an impressive list! All have had multiple acceptances and most have been awarded substantial scholarships. They will enter their studies with a solid grounding in undergraduate music theory, ear training and sight reading skills, composition and conducting, and music history/literature classes. Experiences gained here in frequent Academy performances, master classes and tutorials have prepared them well for intensive college level work. Academy applicants are preferred candidates at prestigious American music schools.
The Academy office receives many messages from AMNW alumni who are working on baccalaureate or graduate degrees throughout the country, expressing thanks for their Academy experience. We are proud of all of them!
This summer we will offer workshops for students aged 6 to 18 during the week of June 20th-24th. There will be a wide variety of introductory to advanced classes and ensembles available for new and returning participants.
In the fall, there will be expanded classes for children ages 4-8, juniors 9-12, and pre-college ages 11-18. We are also adding our new Eastside Large Ensemble - explores & performs music of all periods, from the Baroque style through today's New Music. Performance opportunities will also be expanded through the new monthly Academy Young Artists series and the popular weekly 5:00 pm master classes.
A reminder: our final ensemble concert is on SUNDAY, MAY 22nd, at 1:30 pm, At St. Thomas Church, Medina. I look forward to seeing many of you there.
James Paul
President, Academy Of Music Northwest
Summer Workshop
There is still time to register for the summer workshop!
Deadline: May 30
The Academy Of Music Northwest is offering a one-week intensive Summer Workshop with many classes designed to enhance musical knowledge and performance skills for young musicians of multiple levels, ages 6-18.
The Children's & Junior Sessions (6-10) are for young children who are looking to develop their musicianship and explore their creativity through innovative methods, including Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Improvisation, and learning to sing on pitch with Solfège.
The Pre-College Sessions (11-18) are for intermediate and advanced young musicians in Middle School and High School who are looking to improve performance and audition skills, or create their own music.
Sight-Reading, Audition Preparation, and Orchestral Excerpts are the classes that will help talented young musicians stand out in all audition situations. Improvisation and Composition classes will provide the knowledge and techniques young composers need to have in order to express their musical ideas successfully.
All the classes being offered are listed below. Please visit the Academy Summer Workshop webpage for detailed information.
To Enroll:
Use the Online Registration Form
Sessions:
9 am-12 pm Classes
12 pm-1 pm Lunch
1 pm-4 pm Classes
Workshops:
Children & Junior Sessions (ages 6-10)
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Be a Musical Detective
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Chamber Music Ensemble
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Chorus
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Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Rhythm)
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Explore Music
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Introduction to Keyboard Skills For String Players
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Introduction To Sight Reading Skills
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Performance Protocol: Stage Presence & Practice
Pre-College Workshops (ages 11-18)
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Accompaniment/Collaboration *
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Advanced Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Rhythm)
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Audition Preparation *
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Chamber Music Ensemble *
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Composition: Beginning/Intermediate/Advanced *
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Improvisation
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Introductory Ear Training
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Introductory Theory
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Keyboard Harmony For String Players
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Orchestral Excerpts *
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Performance Protocol
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Sight-Reading Skills For Strings/Winds/Piano
* Placements/Auditions: May 28th at Bellevue Christian Church, required for non-Academy students. You will be contacted when the registration form is received.
Saluting Our Graduates
 Belinda Chen, pianist, a senior at Newport High School in Bellevue, WA. She began playing piano when she was four years old, and has been recognized in many competitions throughout the years, including the Eastside Chapter Music Teachers Scholarship Competition, Northwest Chopin Festival, the Performing Arts Fesitival of the Eastside, and Seattle Young Artists Music Festival. She is also a recipient of the Josephine Byrant Scholarship award and the Mary Lou Barton scholarship award. Belinda currently studies with Victoria Bogdashevskaya and will continue her studies at the Peabody Institute of Music next fall with Alexander Shtarkman.
Daniel Hwang, pianist and composer, began piano lessons with Jenna Weaver at age six, and later studied with Ruth Kotik, Michi North and Ludmilla Feldman, currently studying with Dr. Sasha Starcevich. He has won piano competitions on both coasts including the WSMTA Outstanding Artist, Eastside Scholarship, Chopin Foundation Northwest, and New Jersey MEA competitions. He has performed at the Weill Recital Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, and has been selected multiple times as one of the WSMTA state recitalists. He is a National PTA Reflections winner for his Musical Composition, "TOGETHER WE CAN”. In 2009 he joined the Academy of Music Northwest. In addition to piano, Daniel enjoys singing, music composition, photography, drawing and cycling.
Daniel will be attending Princeton University in the fall.
Sho Kato, flutist, a member of the Academy Chamber Orchestra is currently the principal flutist and piccolo player of the Shorecrest High School and in their Wind Ensemble and the Lead Auto in their Jazz Ensemble. Sho is also the Principal Piccolo player in the Seattle Youth Symphony.
Sho will be attending the University of Washington this coming fall to study flute with Donna Shin.
Harrison Linsey, oboist, a student at the Garfield High School and attends the Seattle Central Community College to finish up Junior and Senior years in one year to graduate early. He aspires to be a principle Oboist in a symphony orchestra.
Harrison will be attending The Juilliard School in the fall to study Oboe Performance with Elaine Douvas.
Ariana Nelson, co-principal cellist of the Academy Chamber Orchestra and the Roosevelt High School Orchestra, is a major lover of chamber music, and has had her own string quartet since the age of 8. She has performed as a soloist with her school orchestras, including Beethoven’s “Triple Concerto” and Tchaikovsky “Rococo Variations.” In June 2011 she will perform the Victor Herbert cello concerto No. 2 with orchestra. Ariana has been a winner of the WMEA Washington State Solo Contest, and has participated in the All-State and All-Northwest orchestras every year as the principal cellist. Last summer she attended the Aspen Music Festival. Her private teacher is Mara Finkelstein. Ariana also plays the piano, and enjoys acting, singing, dancing, and playing basketball. Her ultimate goal is to play in a traveling string quartet and perform around the world. She would also love to get a position in a major symphony orchestra. Ariana will be attending Rice University on a full tuition scholarship to study cello performance at The Shepherd School of Music.
Marié Rossano, violinist, has appeared as guest soloist with over a dozen of the Pacific Northwest’s leading orchestras, including the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Philharmonic, and Northwest Sinfonietta, performing concerti by such composers as Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruch, Korngold, and Shostakovich. Marié was named First Laureate of the 2010 Stradivarius International Violin Competition, and National Winner of the 2008 Music Teachers National Association Junior Strings Competition. Other notable awards include Music of Remembrance’s 2008 David Tonkonogui Memorial Award and the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival’s 2005 Festival Medal. Marié performed on Stradivari and Guarneri violins from the Fulton Collection for KCTS 9 TV’s 2009 Salon Series, and in the 2010 documentary “Violin Masters: Two Gentlemen of Cremona”. In past summers, Marié has performed at the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and the Juilliard School’s Starling-DeLay Violin Symposium. During the summer of 2011, Marié performs at the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and at the Deer Valley Music Festival for her debut with the Utah Symphony. Marié studies with Simon James, Brian Lewis, and piano collaborator Hiro David. Marié has also participated in master classes given by James Ehnes, Leonidas Kavakos, Vadim Repin, Kyoko Takezawa, among others. Marié will be attending the Curtis Institute Of Music this Fall.
Tania Rivers-Moore, pianist, has been described as a “prodigally gifted newcomer… of clearly star potential” by Bernard Jacobson of MusicWeb International. She has studied privately with Dominique Ciot, Michiko Miyamoto and Willard Schultz. Tania has won numerous awards in local and statewide competitions. In 2010, Tania performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with the University of Puget Sound and the Beethoven Choral Fantasy with the Bremerton Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Tania participated in the Academy of Music Northwest's chamber music program and the Seattle Youth Symphony's chamber music scholarship program, performing in honors recitals at Bellevue and Frye Art Museums, and Benaroya Hall's Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. Tania has performed as a keyboardist with the Seattle Youth Symphony, the Marrowstone Summer Festival Orchestra, the Academy of Music Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Bremerton Symphony and the student-coordinated Eastside Project Chamber Orchestra and Choir. In March 2010, Tania organized and led a classical student benefit concert ("Harmonies of Hope") for Friends of the Orphans, a network of orphanages providing active relief after the Haiti earthquake. Tania will be attending Harvard University this Fall.
James Bou, Pablo Melcher-Ordonez, Leif Mitchell, Melodie Nagasawa, and Correntin Pokorny, students of the Academy and Academy Chamber Orchestra will also be graduating this year.
Student News
Hunter Brown, student of Alan Futterman, will be the principal bassoonist of the Bremerton Symphony next season.
Candy Chang, flute, student of Sarah Bassingthwaighte, is the winner of the 2011 Performing Arts Festival of the East Side (PAFE). She also received second place in the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) State Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Gloria Ferry Brennan, violin, student of Simon James, is the winner of the 2011 National Music Teachers National Association’s Junior Strings Competition.
Aaron and Sarah Hall, cello and violin, students of Toby Saks and Ronald Patterson, were featured in the Seattle Chamber Music Society 2011 Emerging Artist Concerts on May 13 at Bellevue Arts Museum.
Cole Holland and Brendan McMullen, composition students of Eric Flesher, had their works premiered by Seattle Symphony musicians on May 10 in the Young Composers Workshop Concert.
Ariel Hsieh, violin and composition, student of Sharon VanValin, placed first in her division, grade 6, in the 2011 Young Composer’s Project sponsored by WSMTA.
Daniel Hwang, piano and composition, student of Dr. Sasha Starcevich, is a National PTA Reflections winner for his Musical Composition, "TOGETHER WE CAN”.
Alexandra Jones, piano, student of Mary Toy, has been accepted into the piano program at Interlochen Arts Camp this summer.
Alistair Jones, piano and composition, student of Kathleen Heiner, has been accepted to participate in the general arts program at Interlochen Arts Camp this summer.
Dorian Latchague, cello, student of Dr. Shiang-Yin Lee, winner of the 'First Place in the Concerto Class S09' award in Performing Arts Festival of the East Side (PAFE).
Sammy Lesnick, clarinet, student of Sean Osborn, took third place in the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) State Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Audrey Li, piano, student of Willard Schultz, was accepted into Adamant Summer School.
Andrew Liu, piano, student of Willard Schultz, was also accepted into Adamant Summer School.
David Mckerran, violin, student of Sanja Futterman, was the first place winner in the Concerto division of the Performing Arts Festival of the East Side (PAFE).
Brendan McMullen, clarinet, student of Mary Kantor will perform the Weber Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra on the Cascade Youth Symphony's Eastern European Tour this summer. On May 22, Brendan will perform at the annual meeting of the Allied Arts Foundation at the Seattle Tennis Club.
Ariana Nelson, cello, student of Mara Finkelstein, was the second place winner in the Washington Music Educators Association State Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Jimmy Patterson, french horn, student of Mark Robbins, was the first place winner in the WMEA Washington Music Educators Association State Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Jimmy Patterson & Ariana Nelson, Academy Chamber Orchestra members and part of Roosevelt High School’s “The Windy Strings”, took second place in the WMEA State Solo and Ensemble Contest's Large String Ensemble division, playing the “Schubert Octet”.
Tim Pizzicheimi, cello, student of Rajan Krishnaswam, was awarded third place in the 2011 WMEA State Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Tania Rivers-Moore, piano, student of Willard Schulz, was featured in the Seattle Chamber Music Society 2011 Emerging Artist Concerts on May 13 at Bellevue Arts Museum. She was also accepted into Adamant Summer School.
David Siebert, piano, student of Judith White, received a Seal of Outstanding Achievement in the senior concerto division at the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival.
Bryan Zhao, piano and composition, student of Willard Schulz, was the first prize winner in the solo and concerto categories in the Performing Arts Festival of Eastside (PAFE). He was also the winner for PTA Reflections for his composition "Together We Can Observe The Fantasy Forest" in Mercer Island school district. He recieved second place with the same composition at the state PTA level.
This summer Bryan will be attending the Summer Piano Academy at Indiana University as the youngest pianist ever accepted in their history.
Faculty News
Academy Assistant Provost and theory faculty Brandan Derfler will be teaching at the Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah as an Assistant Professor of Music this fall.
Composer Eric Flesher's new work "Moot Spots" for two bass clarinets will be premiered in Weimar, Germany on the "Liszt-Avantgarde II" concert on May 25. It will be performed by members of the Ensemble Neue Musik of the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" in Weimar. This is part of the "Liszt-Jahr 2011" series of events that is occurring in Thuringia this year.
Pianist Harumi Flesher performed "Patterns of Plants" by Japanese composer, Mamoru Fujieda with violinist, Tekla Cunningham on a marathon concert in Town Hall on May 1.
Academy faculty members Josiah Boothby, horn; Brad Hawkins, cello; Larissa Brown, violin and Harumi Flesher, piano performed in the Seattle Modern Orchestra Concert on Friday, May 13, 7:30 pm at Meany Hall.
Reiko Ito, co-director, Children's Program, is the organizer of the Japan Relief Benefit Concert on Saturday, June 11th at 7:30 pm, at Brechemin Auditorium, U.W. School of Music. Academy faculty Brianna Atwell, viola, Annie Center, piano, Harumi Flesher, piano, Jason Sah, viola and Pamela Liu, violin will perform in the concert. Freewill donations at the door. All proceeds will go to Japan Relief and Recovery Fund, Peace Winds America.
With Gratitude
Thanks to all of you — our faculty, staff, donors, supporters, parents and our talented students for your hard work, dedication and support!
Your support will make a big difference in these young artists lives!
Donate Here
Final Note — Stay Connected
We are always eager to stay in touch with our friends! Please forward this e-newsletter to any of your colleagues, family and friends and encourage them to subscribe. We look forward to being in touch with more news from the Academy Of Music Northwest.
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