Music Department News and Events

Click Here for the 2009-2010 Department of Music Concert Calendar

Upcoming Music Performances
Click here for detailed information about upcoming musical performances at Otterbein College.

News From the Chair...

2008-2009 was an important year for the Otterbein Department of Music:

• The Department maintained an all-time high enrollment of 200 music and musical theatre majors.

• The Department welcomed two new full-time faculty members: Dr. Jennifer Merkowitz, who heads our newly established theory and composition program; and Dr. Michael Yonchak, Director of Athletic Bands.

• The Concert Choir toured to Chicago in December.

• The Cardinal Marching Band produced a recording after the fall season, and Wind Ensemble recorded a compact disc that will be available soon.

• The Westerville Symphony at Otterbein College had a very successful season, and welcomed its first full-time executive director.

• Dr. Morton Achter, retired Chairperson of the Department, and his spouse, Dr. Barbara Achter, generously donated a new Steinway concert grand piano for Riley Auditorium. A gala dedication concert featuring the piano faculty and Morton Achter was held in September.

• Over 150 alumni choristers returned to campus in October to celebrate the 150th anniversary of choirs at Otterbein.

• Opus One, and various jazz ensembles and soloists selected through audition presented “Music and Romance” at the Wedgewood Country Club in February; a portion of the proceeds from the evening help support a scholarship fund for music students traveling abroad.

• Additional grants were awarded from the Morton J. Achter Music Faculty Professional Fund, established by the friends and family of Dr. Achter upon his retirement in 2000.

• Under the direction of Dr. Jim Bates, the College’s string program continued to grow, with multiple performances by the String Orchestra and various chamber ensembles.

• The Department co-sponsored productions of Smokey Joe’s Cafe and Nine with Otterbein College Theatre.

• Opera Theatre presented Copland’s The Tender Land in winter quarter.

• The Department enjoyed a residency by composer Lowell Liebermann at the end of spring quarter.

• The Department joined forces with the Office of Institutional Advancement and the Friends of Music at Otterbein College in a successful fundraising drive to raise $50,000 for new Marching Band uniforms; we are grateful to all of the individuals and organizations who contributed to the effort, and especially to the Clements Foundation, who matched every donation up to $25,000.

• The Department of Music was proud to sponsor the residencies of two faculty ensembles: QUBE, a string quartet comprised of David Edge and Erin Gilliland, violins, Steven Wedell, viola, and Cora Kuyvenhoven, ‘cello; and the Otterbein Winds, a quintet comprised of Kimberlee Goodman, flute, Melissa Stevens, oboe, Robert Jones, clarinet, Cynthia Cioffari, bassoon, and Kimberly McCann, horn.

And 2009-2010 will hold even more:

• We are welcoming a very gifted class of 55 incoming music majors, and 10 incoming musical theatre majors; Music is the fourth largest incoming major at the college this year.

• Our full- and part-time faculty continues to grow, with many of the finest musicians and pedagogues from central Ohio on the roster.

• A busy concert calendar, with numerous student recitals and other events yet to be scheduled.

• 100 years of Marching Bands at Otterbein will be celebrated on the weekend of October 23: for full details, visit www.otterbein.edu/alumni. The band gathering will coincide with Homecoming and the Inauguration of President Kathy Krendl.

• The Concert Choir will tour to Charleston, South Carolina in December. The current list of tour cities is as follows (for additional details such as performance times and locations, call the Department of Music at 614-823-1508): Sunday, Nov. 29, Louisville KY evening concert; Monday, Nov. 30, Nashville, TN evening concert; Tuesday, Dec. 1, Atlanta GA evening concert; Wednesday, Dec. 2, Bluffton SC evening concert; Thursday, Dec. 3, Charleston SC evening concert; Sunday, Dec. 6, Corryton TN morning concert; Sunday, Dec. 6, Lebanon, OH evening concert; Monday, Dec. 7, Westerville, OH evening concert.

• The Concert Choir has two local church performances scheduled for the year: Sunday, November 8, 4 p.m. at Maynard Avenue United Methodist Church, and Sunday, January 10, 7 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Call Maynard Avenue UMC at 614-263-5145 or Prince of Peace at 614-766-6377 for directions or more information. Finally, Concert Choir will perform at the OMEA Conference in Cincinnati on Thursday, January 28 at 12:15 p.m. We hope to see you there!

• The Wind Ensemble will tour in the state of Ohio.

• The Department of Music will enter an eighth year in its partnership with the Hanby Arts Magnet Elementary School in Westerville, providing many opportunities for joint projects, including a series of evening concerts for elementary students and their families introducing the instrument families and various music genres to the audiences.

Please contact us with information about what you are doing, as the winter and spring issues this year will carry alumni, faculty and student news. We have much to celebrate in the strong heritage of MUSIC AT OTTERBEIN, from the early days of Benjamin Hanby, to musical events occurring as you read this newsletter. Thank you for your support and we hope to hear from you soon, or better yet, to see you in person!

Craig Johnson, Chairperson

Department of Music