This year’s alumni celebration weekend will honor the 50th, 40th, and 25th class reunions from Friday, April 26, to Sunday, April 28. In addition to special reunion events, there are several concerts scheduled that weekend, including a Peabody Symphony Orchestra concert featuring Mahler's 5th symphony and the Macht Orchestral Composition Competition winner. A reunion dinner and concert at the Hopkins Club, featuring pieces by three of this year’s JHU Alumni Association award winners — Zach Herchen ( BM ’06, MM ’09, Saxophone; BM ’07, Recording Arts & Sciences), faculty artist Dan Trahey ( BM ’00, Tuba, Music Education), and Vivian Adelberg Rudow ( TC ’57, BM ’60, Piano; MM ’79, Composition) — and a lecture/recital by faculty artist Clinton Adams ( MM ’83, Piano) will take place on Saturday. For more information and to register for Reunion Weekend, visit peabody.jhu.edu/reunion.

From the Dean

February is audition time at Peabody, and it’s always a really exciting week. It’s great to meet prospective students and their families and to see their excitement and – yes – sometimes their trepidation. While it’s too early to report the final results of recruiting the fall 2019 Conservatory class, we can say that our annual audition week in February was a real success. We had more than 1,400 auditions scheduled – about 200 more than last year, with our largest increase in undergraduate applicants. The enrollment committee will be doing its work in the coming weeks, and applicants will be notified by April 1.

When the Peabody Conservatory launched the Breakthrough Curriculum in fall 2017, as the first major conservatory to fully integrate this training into the core professional training experience, we knew that it would require flexibility, constant listening, and refinement, especially critical in forging uncharted territory. We have an obligation to get it right and set a standard. As part of that commitment, now 18 months into implementation (about halfway to the three-year mark required to fully implement all components), we are continually evaluating and learning. We recently held student focus groups representing three areas of the curriculum – Explore, Build, and Implement – to delve more deeply and intensively into what we learn from our regular student evaluations. In addition, we have formed the Breakthrough Curriculum Work Group – comprised of faculty from the Curriculum Committee, administrators, external experts, and student and advisory board representatives – to assess progress to date and ensure we’re getting optimal results. As always, Peabody is committed to providing the best and most comprehensive training for our students in preparation for the breadth of careers they’ll experience in the years to come.

Fred Bronstein, Dean

On Stage/Off Campus

Friday, March 8 at 6:30 pm

Tonight, Adam Rosenblatt ( BM '10, Percussion; A&S BS ’10, Molecular/Cellular Biology), who received a Peabody Dean’s Incentive Grant, will perform Michael Gordon’s percussion sextet Timber at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, where he is an artist-in-residence. Timber, usually played using the best tropical wood available, will be performed from pieces of wood from the abandoned and vacant homes of Baltimore. These homes themselves thus become the main voice, telling the ongoing story of a city that still struggles with equity and stability for all its residents. Rosenblatt will perform with ensembles Beyond This Point and Arx Duo with Garrett Arney ( MM ’12, Percussion).

Friday, March 8 at 7:30 pm; Sunday, March 10 at 3:00 pm

Christine Lyons ( MM ’16, Voice) will portray the title role of the high-priestess of the Druids in Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma at the Winter Opera Saint Louis. Peter Scott Drackley ( ’12, Voice) will also appear as Pollione. 

Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 pm

Preparatory cellist Joseph Mostwin will appear in the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra’s Rising Stars! concert featuring the winners of the statewide Young Artist Competition. He will play Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Sunday, March 10 at 5:15 pm

Peabody master's candidate Jordan Prescott, organ, will present a recital featuring works by Bach, Franck, Johannes Matthias Michel, and Messiaen at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Prescott has been named one of Diapason Magazine’s “20 Under 30,” which recognizes young people who have established themselves at the forefront of the organ, harpsichord, and church music professions.

March 16-24 

The Minnesota Opera will make the world premiere of The Fix, an opera about the Chicago White Sox scandal of 1919, by faculty artist Joel Puckett. The opera, with libretto by Eric Simonson, was commissioned by Minnesota Opera as part of its New Works Initiative. Puckett is the chair of music theory, ear training, and keyboard skills at Peabody. 

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Peabody Events highlights select off-campus or live-streamed performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody Institute Concerts Facebook page. For the complete weekly list of concerts at Peabody, subscribe to Events at Peabody at peabody.jhu.edu/news.   

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