Herbert Henke '53, Longtime Conservatory Professor, Dies at 84</h1> <article> <h1>Herbert Henke '53, Longtime Conservatory Professor, Dies at 84</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:02:25 +0000</p> <span>Herbert Henke '53, Longtime Conservatory Professor, Dies at 84</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:02:25-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:02">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Herbert Henke devoted 36 years to teaching as a member of the 91ֱ�� Conservatory faculty, but his influence on students and colleagues spanned far beyond his conservatory years. He adored the life of an educator, and he embraced each opportunity he encountered.</p> <p>“I always found great satisfaction in teaching: children or adults, any subject matter,” the professor of eurhythmics told <i>91ֱ�� Alumni Magazine</i> shortly after his retirement in 1998. “I love the variety that teaching offers, the search for new ways of imparting information, and the development of skills.”</p> <p>Henke remained firmly rooted in 91ֱ�� for most of his life, but he traversed the globe frequently to share his gifts. In 1973 he served as music consultant to the National Center for the Arts in El Salvador. Five years later, he worked with the National Youth Symphony Program in Costa Rica. He led the chorale at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia, and he filled in for former students as a teacher at the American School in London, in addition to stints teaching in Sweden, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.</p> <p>"I didn't know I was going to come to 91ֱ�� and see the world," he quipped at the conclusion of his final semester in 1997.</p> <p>In his early years on the 91ֱ�� faculty, Henke taught conducting, keyboard skills, and techniques in secondary music education. With the retirement of 91ֱ�� eurhythmics professor Inda Howland in 1974, Henke began to devote great energy to the century-old Swiss approach to musical training that emphasizes movement. He became an internationally respected teacher of eurhythmics and found his expertise in great demand throughout the world. For nearly two decades before and after his retirement, he taught annual summer classes in eurhythmics at Carnegie Mellon University.</p> <p>“Herb brought a gentle passion for music and music education to his teaching,” says Associate Professor of Music Education Jody Kerchner, whose 91ֱ�� career began as Henke retired. “Herb remained committed to the cause of preparing future music teachers, frequently returning to our conducting and music education classes to share his expertise.”</p> <p>Kerchner and her colleagues honored Henke in 2002 with the conservatory’s first Distinguished Music Education Alumni Award. “We have cherished and will now miss his friendship, collegiality, musical sensitivity, and calm wisdom that were his hallmarks,” she says.</p> <p>Henke grew up in the Cleveland suburb of Parma and earned three degrees from 91ֱ�� Conservatory—bachelor’s degrees in music and music education, and a master’s in music education—followed by a PhD at the University of Southern California. Initially a teacher in the Cleveland public schools, he accepted his first faculty position at the University of Maryland, where he taught for four years before returning to 91ֱ�� to teach in 1962.</p> <p>An accomplished singer who was active in the local community, Henke served multiple stints as music director of First Church and performed for years as a bass soloist in 91ֱ�� and Cleveland. His well-rounded musicianship made him all the more beloved among those who knew and learned from him.</p> <p>“Herb was a wise and generous presence among the faculty and a legendary teacher to countless students,” says former colleague Steven Plank, 91ֱ��’s Andrew B. Meldrum Professor of Musicology. “His teaching, be it of music education or eurhythmics, was inspired by a deep love of music-making and, I suspect, an instinctive understanding of the ways in which music touches our humanity.</p> <p>“In this way, he touched us all, and he will be remembered with great fondness and admiration.”</p> <p>Henke died August 16. He is survived by his wife, Sabra Lee Chambers ’53, whom he met at 91ֱ�� and married the year they graduated; their daughter, Lia Lowrie; and six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Kevin Henke ’77, and daughter, Jeanine Neumann.</p> <p>A celebration of Henke’s life will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 12, at First Church in 91ֱ��.</p> <p>In lieu of flowers, Henke’s family welcomes donations to the Herbert Henke Merit Scholarship in Music Education, which supports students who show great promise in the field of music education. Learn more at www.oberlin.edu/giving/donate or call 800-693-3167.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2015-08-22T12:00:00Z">Sat, 08/22/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2412">Obituaries</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2974">Conservatory Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=28876">Music Theory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/music-theory" hreflang="und">Music Theory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Chamber Music Festival Returns to 91ֱ�� in January</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:03:18 +0000</p> <span>Chamber Music Festival Returns to 91ֱ�� in January</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:03:18-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:03">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:03</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ten free concerts and an extensive and accomplished roster of musicians are slated for the second-annual chamber music festival at 91ֱ�� Conservatory. All events of the <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/search/events?search=winter+term+chamber+music+festival">2015 Chamber Music Intensive & Festival for String, Wind, and Piano</a> are open to the public.</p> <p>Festival co-chairs George Sakakeeny (bassoon), Peter Takács (piano), and Michael Strauss (viola) have invited colleagues from across the country and around the world to take part in performances as well as lectures and teaching duties. </p> <p>“We're incredibly excited to bring this diverse and stimulating roster of guest artists to 91ֱ�� to work with our students and perform with our faculty," says Associate Professor Strauss. "These celebrated musicians are coming from within our alumni ranks and from acclaimed ensembles in our neighborhood and around the world.</p> <p>"The 10 programs show a fantastic range of sound and texture created by these small ensembles. And the variety is wonderful for introducing chamber music to new audiences, as well as appealing to those who already love it.”</p> <p>The 91ֱ�� Trio—violinist David Bowlin, cellist Amir Eldan, and pianist Haewon Song— anchor the festival as resident ensemble and are featured artists for the Finale program on Saturday, January 24.</p> <p>Six student ensembles, varying from duos to quartets and including pianists, wind, and string players, will work daily in rehearsal and in coachings with faculty and guest artist mentors, and will take part in a lecture and workshop series as well as public master classes. They are also slated for two performances near the end of the month.</p> <p>The complete <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/search/events?search=winter+term+chamber+music+festival">festival schedule</a>, including lectures and public master classes, can be found in 91ֱ��’s online event calendar. The concert schedule follows:</p> <p><b>TUESDAY, JANUARY 6: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/guest_recital_the_wasmuth_string_quartet?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=91ֱ��+College#.VJQoy0ByB">Wasmuth Quartet</a>—Indiana University’s award-winning graduate string quartet in residence with 91ֱ�� alumna Abigail Rojansky ’11—has programmed quartet works by Haydn, Webern, and Ligeti.</p> <p><b>WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7: 8 p.m., Clonick Hall</b> <br> <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/guest_recital_chartreuse?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=91ֱ��+College#.VJQo40ByB">Chartreuse +</a>, a new-music trio of 91ֱ�� alums in collaboration with current 91ֱ�� students, will kick off a two-week tour with this concert in 91ֱ��. </p> <p><b>FRIDAY, JANUARY 9: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> A diverse and decorated roster of <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/faculty_chamber_music_concert_1742?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=91ֱ��+College#.VJRP40ByB">faculty and guests</a> will perform Bach’s Trio Sonata BWV 525, Mozart’s G Minor Piano Quartet, and Dvořák’s A Major Piano Quintet Op. 81. Austin Hartman (member of the Naumberg Award-winning Biava Quartet) and Adriana Contino (former principal cellist of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) are featured guests.</p> <p><b>SATURDAY, JANUARY 10: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> The 91ֱ��-founded <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/guest_recital_prima_trio?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=91ֱ��+College#.VJQpJ0ByB">Prima Trio</a> return with music by Schumann, Milhaud, Piazzolla, and Khachaturian. Trio member Boris Allakhverdyan will be taking a brief break from his duties as principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera to join his long-time colleagues—violinist and violist Gulia Gurevich and pianist Anastasia Dedik. </p> <p><b>WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> 91ֱ�� <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/faculty_recital_chamber_music_intensive_festival_for_string_wind_and_piano#.VJQpT0ByB">faculty and members of the Cleveland Orchestra</a> join together for a colorful concert focused on woodwind chamber music by Beethoven, Mozart, Francaix, and Philip Maneval. Cleveland Orchestra members include oboist Frank Rosenwein, violinist Stephen Rose, English horn player Robert Walters, and cellist Charles Bernard.</p> <p><b>FRIDAY, JANUARY 16: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> 91ֱ�� <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/faculty_chamber_music_concert_9285#.VJQpa0ByB">faculty and guests</a>—violinists Michelle Abraham and William Harvey, and Cavani Quartet cellist Merry Peckham—present works by Villa Lobos, Ginastera, and Dvořák.</p> <p><b>TUESDAY, JANUARY 20: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> Three <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/student_chamber_music_concert_6006#.VJQpl0ByB">student ensembles</a> will perform works by composers including Beethoven, Schumann, Reinecke, and Destenay.</p> <p><b>WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> Highly-regarded Russian pianist <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/guest_and_faculty_recital_misha_namirovsky_piano_michael_strauss_viola_and_amir_eldan_cello#.VJJp22TF9e4">Misha Namirovsky and faculty members</a> Michael Strauss (viola) and Amir Eldan (cello) will perform works by Schubert and Shostakovich. </p> <p><b>THURSDAY, JANUARY 22: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall</b> <br> Three <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/student_chamber_music_concert_part_ii#.VJQp80ByB">student ensembles</a> will perform works by composers including Beethoven, Schumann, Reinecke, and Destenay.</p> <p><b>SATURDAY, JANUARY 24: 8 p.m., Warner Hall</b> <br> <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/faculty_recital_the_oberlin_trio#.VJQqG0ByB">Finale featuring the 91ֱ�� Trio and faculty</a> includes Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 1, No. 1, Ravel’s <i>La valse</i> for two pianos, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet, Op. 44. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2015-01-13T12:00:00Z">Tue, 01/13/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2390">Events</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2366">Guest Artists & Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=29541">Piano</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Trio features conservatory faculty Amir Eldan (cello), Haewon Song (piano), and David Bowlin (violin).</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Stephen Clapp '61, Longtime Violin Professor, Dies at 74.</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:10 +0000</p> <span>Stephen Clapp '61, Longtime Violin Professor, Dies at 74.</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:10-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Stephen Clapp ’61, a violin professor at 91ֱ�� from 1978 through 1994, an acting dean of the conservatory in 1985, and a founding member of the 91ֱ�� Trio, passed away on January 26 at age 74.</p> <p>As a student at 91ֱ��, Clapp honed his skill under violin professor Ander Toth. Two decades later, while developing a large studio of undergraduate violinists, he joined forces with Toth’s son, cellist Ander Toth Jr., to form the 91ֱ�� Trio. Together with Professor of Piano Joseph Schwartz, they performed across America for more than a decade. In addition, Clapp arranged several international performances for the trio, including two visits to Armenia.</p> <p>“Steve was a great colleague,” says Schwartz, now retired in Florida. “He was a very fine violinist, but he was also a really great guy. He was always cheerful, and he kept our spirits up. We traveled around the country together, and it was always a pleasure to be with him.”</p> <p>In addition to his position at 91ֱ��, Clapp served on the violin faculty at the Juilliard School from 1987 to 2007 and was Juilliard’s dean from 1994 to 2007. Before joining the 91ֱ�� faculty, he taught at the University of Texas at Austin and Peabody College in Nashville.</p> <p>An exemplary performer in chamber music and as a soloist, Clapp was a member of the Beaux Arts String Quartet, with which he won the first Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award. He was also an experienced concertmaster, leading the Aspen Festival Chamber Symphony and the Nashville and Austin symphonies. He shared the stage with such luminaries as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Jacqueline DuPré.</p> <p>“Steve set exceptional standards for himself and encouraged his students to do the same,” says Marilyn McDonald, a professor of violin at 91ֱ�� who began her career at the college the same year Clapp arrived. She remembers her former colleague as a gentle and thoughtful man with a subtle and perfectly timed sense of humor.</p> <p>Clapp was presented an honorary doctorate from 91ֱ�� College in 2011. The 91ֱ�� Trio he co-founded still exists today, featuring 91ֱ�� faculty Amir Eldan (cello), Haewon Song (piano), and David Bowlin (violin).</p> <p>Clapp resided with his wife Linda in Greenwich, Conn. He is survived by his wife and three children.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2014-01-31T12:00:00Z">Fri, 01/31/2014 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Conservatory Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/strings" hreflang="und">Strings</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� College Archives</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>In Memoriam: Ed Miller, Emeritus Professor of Composition</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:25 +0000</p> <span>In Memoriam: Ed Miller, Emeritus Professor of Composition</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:25-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Throughout his 27 years at 91ֱ��, Professor of Composition Edward J. Miller found inspiration in the work of his students and fellow faculty members.</p> <p>Miller, likewise, was an inspiration to countless others: His compositions have been performed by numerous major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra, and he earned widespread acclaim for his work.</p> <p>Miller, who retired in 1998, died on August 31 after an extended illness.</p> <p>“The thing that impressed me most about Ed was his ability to teach a wide variety of courses,” says Professor Warren Darcy, a longtime colleague of Miller’s at 91ֱ��. “Music Theory, Aural Skills, Composition—he taught it all, and he did it all very well.</p> <p>“In addition, he was a first-rate composer, and he wrote some of the most beautiful music that ever flowed from the pen of a late-20th-century composer.”</p> <p>As a younger man, Miller was fortunate to study with some of the best. Born in Miami, he began playing music at age 10, and by 16 was performing in a professional jazz band. He earned a bachelor of music from the University of Miami, then won a Koussevitzky Prize, which afforded him the opportunity to study with Mexican composer Carlos Chavez at Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. Miller had been recommended for the prize by Aaron Copland, who called Miller one of the “young talents whose music commands attention.”</p> <p>Miller later earned a master’s degree in composition from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, where he taught for 12 years before joining the faculty of 91ֱ��. Over the course of his career, Miller won two Ohio Arts Council Awards, a composition award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Cleveland Arts Prize, among other honors.</p> <p>Miller’s compositions—he wrote roughly 70 of them in all—were performed by a number of fellow 91ֱ�� faculty members, including Peter Takács, Gregory Fulkerson, Daune Mahy, and Marlene and Michael Rosen. Though his works tended toward the upbeat, Miller was most proud of <em>The Seven Last Days</em>, an apocalyptic piece he wrote for chorus, orchestra, film, and tape.</p> <p>“Ed had a fantastic attentiveness to the general flow of music,” says Professor of Violin Gregory Fulkerson, for whom Miller wrote a piece called <em>Beyond the Wheel</em> in the mid-1980s. Fulkerson played it in Cleveland and New York, where a <em>New York Times</em> critic praised it for its “shimmering otherworldly texture.”</p> <p>Seven years after his retirement, Miller relocated to New Mexico with his wife, Judi Miller, a former 91ֱ�� professor of psychology.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2013-09-05T12:00:00Z">Thu, 09/05/2013 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2412">Obituaries</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>