All master classes are free and open to the public.
WIND INSTRUMENT MASTER CLASS WITH
HELIAND CONSORT
Thursday, October 16 @ 5 pm
Bone Hall, Biddle Music Building
Heliand Consort (Elisabeth LeBlanc, clarinet; Rachael Elliott, bassoon; and Cynthia Huard, piano) is a dynamic group of virtuoso musicians who perform engaging classical music, from the baroque era through 20th century and contemporary repertoire. Rachael Elliott, who teaches bassoon at Duke, is a founding member of the group. She has performed extensively throughout the US, Europe and Australia with Clogs, Dark in the Song, and the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, as well as Heliand Consort. Her debut solo CD, "Polka the Elk," was released in 2011. Elisabeth LeBlanc earned performance degrees from the Juilliard School and McGill University. Recent solo performances include the world premiere of Don Jamison's "Through the Clouds" for clarinet, bassoon and strings with the Burlington Chamber Orchestra and multiple performances of Mozart's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings with Burlington Ensemble. Cynthia Huard teaches piano and chamber music at Middlebury College. She has appeared as a featured soloist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Aston Magna Early Music Festival, and in recital throughout the US and Europe.
JAZZ PIANO MASTER CLASS WITH ARTURO O’FARRILL
Thursday, October 23 @ 4 pm
Baldwin Auditorium
Pianist/composer Arturo O’Farrill is the founder and Artistic Director of the nonprofit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. In 2002, he created the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) for Jazz at Lincoln Center. His debut album with the Orchestra, "Una Noche Inolvidable," earned a GRAMMY Award nomination in 2006 and the Orchestra’s second album, "Song for Chico," earned a GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2009. In February 2011, Mr. O’Farrill and the ALJO released their third and newest album, "40 Acres and a Burro", which was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. He is the winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award for 2003.
VOICE MASTER CLASS WITH ROBERT WELLS, BARITONE
Tuesday, November 4 @ 5 pm
Nelson Music Room, East Duke Building
Robert Wells is Associate Professor of Voice and Coordinator of Vocal Pedagogy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music, Theatre and Dance. He earned the BM in Voice from the State University of New York College at Fredonia, and holds MM and DMA degrees in Voice from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. A frequent recitalist, Wells has enjoyed an active career in both oratorio and opera in the United States as well as Great Britain and Europe. He has sung leading roles Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, Madama Butterfly, and Albert Herring and has appeared as baritone soloist in numerous oratorio performances, including Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and the St. John Passion of J. S. Bach.
CHAMBER MUSIC MASTER CLASS WITH
HORSZOWSKI TRIO
Friday, November 7 @ 5 pm
Nelson Music Room, East Duke Building
Presented in association with Duke Performances
A vital young New York ensemble, the Horszowski Trio was founded in 2011, whereupon the New Yorker declared it “destined for great things.” Named for legendary teacher Mieczysław Horszowski, under whom pianist Rieko Aizawa studied as the master’s last pupil, the Trio have been praised for their “big, bold, dug-in tone” (Los Angeles Times).
PIANO MASTER CLASS WITH CLARA YANG
Thursday, November 13 @ 5 pm
Nelson Music Room, East Duke Building
Praised by New York Arts for her "effortless and smooth" technique and her "devastatingly limpid and pliable" tone, Clara Yang has performed in notable venues such as Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Remonstrantse Kerk (The Netherlands), the Seymour Centre (Sydney, Australia), the Barclay Theater (Irvine, California), Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater (Rochester, New York), the Sunset Center (Carmel, California), Memorial Hall (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), Meymandi Concert Hall (Raleigh, North Carolina), and Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center. A sought-after teacher, Dr. Yang has frequently given masterclasses in the United States and abroad. She has been Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2011. She received her D.M.A. in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music.
VIOLIN MASTER CLASS WITH GABRIEL RICHARD
Tuesday, November 18 @ 5 pm
Nelson Music Room, East Duke Building
French violinist Gabriel Richard received the 1st prize in violin while a student at the Lyon Conservatoire. His studies there included chamber music and a contemporary music workshop conducted by Gilbert Amy, in which he appeared in the premieres of many works. A former member of the Orchestre de la Garde Republicaine, Gabriel Richard is now a member of the Orchestre de Paris. He also serves as leader of the orchestra of the National Opera of Lyon. He often plays with the Orchestre des Champs Elysées and the Chapelle Royale under Philippe Herreweghe and the Ensemble baroque de Limoges under Christophe Coin. He has recorded CDs devoted to Mozart, Kurt Weill’s violin concerto and Kammerkonzert by Berg.
COMPOSITION MASTER CLASS WITH FRANK TICHELI
Thursday, November 20
Time and Location TBA
Frank Ticheli’s music has been described as being “optimistic and thoughtful” (Los Angeles Times), “lean and muscular” (The New York Times), “brilliantly effective” (Miami Herald) and “powerful, deeply felt crafted with impressive flair and an ear for striking instrumental colors” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). Ticheli joined the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition. From 1991 to 1998, Ticheli was Composer in Residence of the Pacific Symphony.
Ticheli’s orchestral works have received considerable recognition in the U.S. and Europe. Orchestral performances have come from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Dallas Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, the radio orchestras of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Saarbruecken, and Austria, and others. He is the recipient of a 2012 Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, his third award from that prestigious organization.
JAZZ MASTER CLASS WITH TODD BASHORE
Thursday, December 4 @ 4 pm
Bone Hall, Biddle Music Building
Todd Bashore was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He received his bachelor’s degree in music from Duke University where he studied saxophone, composition and arranging with Paul Jeffrey. Upon graduation, Todd moved to New York City to study with jazz legends Jimmy Heath and Roland Hanna at Queens College, where he received his master’s degree in 1996. He has been active in the New York jazz scene ever since, performing and recording with David Berger, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, the Mambo Legends Orchestra, Christian McBride, the New York City Ballet, Chico O’Farrill, Valery Ponomarev, Bobby Sanabria, Bruce Springsteen, Charles Tolliver, Bebo Valdéz, Max Weinberg, and many others.
Department of Music