In 2008, Paul Laird, Professor and Division Director of Musicology, gave presentations at the Society for American Music meeting in San Antonio in February, the Conference on American Musical Theater at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York in April, and at the Association for Theater in Higher Education meeting in Denver in August. He also presented a paper on the music of Man of La Mancha at a special symposium at the UMKC Conservatory of Music in October. Also in 2008 the following book appeared: William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird, eds. The Cambridge Companion to the Musical. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. In addition to being a co-editor, he was the author of two chapters in the book and co-author of a third chapter.
Music professors James Barnes and Robert Foster both received ASCAP awards this year. ASCAP is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Barnes and Foster both received awards for their published works.
Marcia Crews, BME in music education '62, released an album entitled "Serenade" that includes jazz love songs, ballads and original compositions. Crews, a vocalist and pianist, is a professional musician in Los Angeles.
IN REVIEW
NEW YORK CITY — Dialogues of the Carmelites, Mannes Opera, 5/3/08
Mezzo Joyce Castle's guest appearance as the Old Prioress in Mannes Opera's recent run of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites was something of a double-edged sword: the student performances paled in comparison to her complete audibility, perfect English diction, masterful stagecraft and total immersion in character, yet she provided a prime example for her young colleagues of opera performance at its highest level. The production was dedicated to the memory of another brilliant singing actress, Régine Crespin (who played the New Prioress in the French premiere and the Old Prioress in John Dexter's stunning 1987 Met production). Is it sacrilege to suggest that even the unforgettable Crespin performance dimmed somewhat in the blaze of Castle's death scene?
Best among the Mannes singers at the May 3 performance were Emily Duncan-Brown, who brought a clear mid-sized voice and earnest acting to the deeply troubled Blanche; Maya Lahyani (Mere Marie), whose ample voice came into better focus as the opera progressed, ending in a very affecting third act scene with Blanche; Deanna Breiwick, a chirpy but never saccharine Sister Constance and Young Joo An (Marquis de la Force), who has a good-sized baritone, undermined by committed but unintelligible diction. Character tenor Chee Shen Tan, who played the small role of the First Commissioner, displayed a bright middle voice and enthusiastic performing style that may mark him as the next Anthony Laciura. Only he and Castle had the "cut" to be heard and understood throughout the performance (in the excellent Joseph Machlis translation also employed in the Dexter production). Otherwise, under the baton of Joseph Colaneri, the excellent orchestra often plowed under the softer-grained or blowsier voices. Not unexpectedly for a music school, the choral singing was beautiful.
The opera began with a pre-set of a large stone cross, set at an angle and bathed in a saturated blue wash. As in the Met's production, the huge crucifix became the playing area, with the addition of small set pieces, lighting changes and various effective window projections. Jeff Davis's lighting was both evocative and functional, although several of the singers seem to have missed the class on "how to find your hot spot," leaving them to sing in semi-darkness.
SCOTT BARNES