A Note from the Chair
“May You Live in Interesting Times” – ancient curse
When I accepted the nomination to be Chair, I had a few concerns. Would I be able to administer the department as capably as Stephanie Caulder has done? Would I be able to provide some measure of the inspirational and artistic leadership of Jack Stamp and Lorraine Wilson? Would I miss teaching music history and honors core, and would I mind having less time for scholarship? All of these concerns, of course, have been left spinning in the wake of the events of the last year: COVID-19 and the university’s sustainability plans.
The summer was filled with uncertainty: would the university bring students back to campus? If they did, how we would keep them safe? What musical activities would we need to modify, and how would those modifications affect our teaching and music making? We anxiously awaited the studies from UC Boulder, Cincinnati, Peabody, and elsewhere, and discussed their implications. In late July, I got the call that the university would be asking everyone but first-years and majors that require face-to-face teaching to stay home and learn online. Surely music requires face-to-face teaching, we thought, although the scope of online music education seems to be ever-expanding. Even with the mandate to bring back all music majors, we had many discussions about how and whether to have ensemble rehearsals, face-to-face lessons, sight-singing class, and marching band. Each of these required some accommodation and some novel solutions: Zoom rooms for voice lessons that were in the same building but not in the same room; breaking ensembles into smaller groups and playing chamber music or creating a jigsaw performance; a holiday video instead of a holiday concert; a marching band performance to a socially-distanced crowd with no football in sight; and many others.
We managed to open in the fall with newly installed air purifiers, blinding UV lights to disinfect the ensemble rooms at 12:30am each night, tape on the floor indicating six-foot spacing, masks of all descriptions, and 45 first-year students experiencing a very different introduction to college life from other years. Not everything has been “as good as before,” but much has worked pretty well, and a few things may even be better. Our main concern as ever is the health and safety of our community of students, staff, and faculty, and flexibility has been the watchword for everyone.
Throughout these challenges we knew that we had one more on the horizon, just as serious and maybe even more disruptive. Like many of its sister institutions in PASSHE, IUP will be reducing its faculty and staff through retrenchment and furloughs. As has been widely reported, the Chancellor has mandated that each of the universities raise their student-to-faculty ratios to where they were in 2010-11, the recent high point for IUP’s enrollment. The preliminary figures were grim, with the College of Fine Arts slated to bear a greater proportion of these reductions than any other college. Fortunately, our alumni and friends stepped up in a major way that even now feels like a small miracle. Letters, emails and calls flowed to the administration, and when the final numbers came out, the impact was much less than we feared. We will still be losing valued colleagues and staff at the end of this year, but we will be able to move forward in a much stronger position than we anticipated. We are profoundly grateful for your support through this difficult year!
As we move through the spring semester, students and faculty have been remarkably resilient. Ensembles are rehearsing and performing, students are practicing, and faculty are reaching out to provide expertise and inspiration to the community. Like everyone, we look forward to a robust return to campus in the fall, provided that the vaccination campaign accomplishes its goals. I hope that all of you have remained safe and healthy this year, and hope to see you on campus someday soon.
Best wishes,
Matt Baumer, Chairperson
Caulder Wins Senate Award
Stephanie Caulder, professor of oboe and chair of the Department of Music from 2014 to 2020, received the 2019–2020 Distinguished Faculty Senate Award for Creative Arts. IUP has presented the Distinguished Faculty Awards since 1969 to honor faculty members who make significant contributions to the university.
Alumnus named Choral Teacher of the Year
Ed Yasick, Jr., a 1991 graduate of IUP, was named 2019 High School Choral Teacher of the Year by the North Carolina Music Educator’s Association High School Choral Section.
Project Trio serves as first Sims Distinguished Artist
The New York-based trio, consisting of flute, cello, and bass, served as the first Edward R. Sims '53 Distinguished Visiting Artist/Scholar for Music. The trio presented master classes and performances over a three-day residency.
Collins Releases Solo Album
Professor of Tuba and Euphonium, Zach Collins, released a solo album, Chronicle, in November 2019. The album features compositions and performances by numerous IUP faculty, alumni, and students.
Santos Wins American Bandmasters Award
Erik Santos (BFA 1989) was named the winner of the 2020 Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Composition Contest in October for his composition, THE SEER for Vocalist and Symphony Band.
Department Notes
Craig Dension, Associate Professor of Music Education, directed the Louisiana All-State Children's Chorus.
Alex Dee, our newly appointed Director of Orchestra Studies, guest conducted the Carthage Philharmonic in Kenosha, WI in November, 2019.
Director of Bands, Tim Paul, and graduate student, Brendan Boyle, hosted "Jammin’ in the Gym," a collaboration between the IUP Pep Band and IUP Athletics to bring select high school musicians to IUP, create a day-long musical event centered around Pep Band, and experience the thrill of the combination of IUP music and basketball.
At least seven IUP Alumni contributed to a Johnstown Symphony Orchestra concert in February 2020, with multiple members of the orchestra, arrangers, and soloisits.
Emeritus Professor, Dr. Gary Bird, returned to campus in February 2020 along with guest trombonist, Rick Gaynor, to help celebrate the music of Gregory Fritze in chamber music and band concerts.
Jason Worzbyt directed the PMEA District 6 Band on February 14, 2020. The event was hosted at Everett HS by Larry Sarvey (BSEd 2008). The IUP faculty brass quintet was featured on the concert, performing John Cheetham’s “Concertino.”
In April, 2020 IUP Chamber Singers participated in an online master class with notable solo and choral artist Luthien Brackett, Mezzo-Soprano, to gain insight to a full-time solo and choral singing career in early music and contemporary music.
The IUP Jazz Ensemble used their time at home during spring 2020 to have Zoom sessions with jazz luminiaries. They were able to hear from Jim Self, Alan Baylock, and Scotty Barnhart.
Matt Baumer published a chapter in The Norton Guide to Teaching Music History (W.W. Norton, 2019), entitled, “Quizmasters, Lecturers, and Facilitators: A Qualitative Study of Methodologies in Music History Survey Courses.”
Student News
IUP student saxophone quartets, Aura Lignum and Breaking Point, performed at the 41st International Navy Band Saxophone Symposium at George Mason University in January 2020. Aura Lignum features Ben Henigin, Lauren Makara, Julia Coler, Ryan Page, and Ken Masaki on piano. Breaking Point includes Ryan Carter, Sarah Buterbaugh, Tyler Kerstetter, and Dalton Condon.
Brendan Boyle, a candidate for the MA in Wind Conducting, was accepted into the University of Cincinnati/College–Conservatory of Music beginning in fall 2020, where he began his pursuit a doctor of musical arts degree with a focus in wind conducting. Brendan was also awarded a graduate assistantship, which includes a full tuition waiver.
Hayden Kramer accepted an assistantship to begin musicology studies at the University of Maryland.
Ken Masaki (President) and Ryan Carter (Region 2 Coordinator) were appointed to the State-Level Executive Board of PCMEA for 2020-2021.
Giving Opportunities
We want to invite you to invest in future IUP musicians. We have over 40 music-specific scholarship funds at IUP for prospective and continuing IUP music students. Your giving is important to ensure that IUP attracts the strongest musicians in our region and supports our current students. Use the button below to take a look at the various funds towards which you can contribute.
Trombone Reunion
The IUP Trombone Studio will hold a virtual reunion on Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 2:30 pm. The link to the meeting will be available as we get closer. We will be celebrating the career of Dr Christian Dickinson and this will be a great opportunity for you to join in. Any questions should be directed to Dennis Cramer iuptrombone@gmail.com.
The Orendorff Music Library during the Pandemic
by Laura Krulikowski and Carl Rahkonen
Since the beginning of fall semester, the Music Library has been open and committed to serving the Music Department and community at large. When you come to the library you will see a new look. Plexiglass barriers have been installed around the service desks and furniture has been spaced to maintain social distance.
Our hours and procedures have changed. We welcome patrons Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. As with all campus facilities, face coverings are required.
To help ensure the safety of our personnel and patrons during the pandemic we have a new student-staffed desk at the entrance to track the number of visitors. To maintain social distancing, we are limited to 29 visitors at any given time. Our computers, study tables, and armchairs are accessible and spaced at 6-foot intervals.
Sanitizing supplies are available for keyboards and mice and custodial staff sanitize the area daily.
Finally, our book and score collections have been roped off, so there is no browsing in the stacks, but all items are available to check out. Patrons are encouraged to search the online catalog and request items at the circulation desk where a student worker will retrieve what you need. IUP plans to continue pandemic measures during the spring semester 2021. If you have any questions or requests for special service, please contact the Music Library staff.
Alumni News
Do you have news to share with the IUP music community? Use the button below to share it with us for a future issue of Notes.
Following her time at IUP, Rena Munro Ott (BA 1947) taught music. She was married, had a son and daughter, and now has six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She directed choirs in a Lutheran church for 25 years, a Methodist church for two years, and sang in a Presbyterian church choir until she reached the age of 94 and retired.
On two trips in 2018, Jim “Cat” Catalano (BSEd 1975) traveled to China to teach percussion at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. He retired from Conn-Selmer/Ludwig-Musser in 2019 after 41 years in the music industry. Currently, he is an adjunct percussion instructor at the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, IN. He is still keeping up an active performance schedule on drums, vibes, and percussion. Enjoying retirement too.
Carolyn (Overdorff) Williams (BSEd 1975) has been teaching music for 30 years and will retire from the Palisades School District this June. She and her husband Steve (IUP 1974) have four children and 11 grandchildren. Carolyn looks forward to spending time with the grandkids and traveling with her husband.
After 34 years in the cello section, Elizabeth Michaliszyw Cramer (BSEd 1976) retired from the Butler County Symphony Orchestra in February 2019. She still teaches piano privately and accompanies church and school choirs in Armstrong County. “I am grateful for my IUP background which made it possible to teach string programs in both Harford and Washington Counties in Maryland as well as to freelance on both piano and cello for the past 44 years!”
Dana King's (BSEd 1978) fifth novel in his Penns River series, Pushing Water, was published in May 2020 by Down and out Books.
Don Green (BSEd 1983) retired in June of 2018 after 20 years as Director of Bands at Yough High School, and 35 years as a proud Music Educator, and a very proud alumn of IUP!
Daniel Toven (BSEd, BFA 1991) recently assumed duties at the US Army Band, “Pershing’s Own” in Washington DC. He will serve as Operations Officer, Associate Bandmaster, and Director of the U.S. Army Chorus.
Beyond teaching a multitude of private students, Rev. Norma Prina Murphy (BSEd 1994) also directed church choirs before attending seminary in 1990. After ordination in 1993 she served 26 years in the Presbyterian Church USA as an Interim Ministry Specialist to 10 congregations from Uniontown, PA to Hammond, NY. She retired at the beginning of 2019 to Mt. Lebanon, Pittsburgh and is near her only child, son Drew, his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Abiageal, plus an abundance of Amy’s extended family. Since retiring, she served a short-term chaplaincy at a senior living facility, and would look forward to more such opportunities. Though always involved in the music ministry of the churches she pastored, her only official use of her music education has been delayed by COVID-19 - teaching a few area high school students private bassoon lessons.
Brian Jump (BA 2001) just accepted a faculty position at Central State University in Ohio. He is the new Assistant Professor of Commercial Music and Technology.
Robert and Jamie (Boerio) Bottger (BSED 2007/2011) welcomed a new son to the family on February 14, 2019.
Nathaniel Lease (BA 2015) recently won principal trombone for the Loudoun Symphony in Ashburn, VA. He teaches at Shepherd University for the Community Music School along with Cumberland Valley School of Music and Major Arcana Music Studios. He recently performed a world premiere at the American Trombone Workshop. March 24, 2020 marked two years of marriage to his wife, Sara.
Shannen Snyder (BSEd 2016) is now in her second year of teaching with Calvert County Public Schools in southern Maryland. She teaches 6-8 grade chorus, music appreciation and directs the spring musical. She recently got engaged and will be married in July 2021.
edited by Zach Collins