Critics and Writers
David Arcus
David Arcus joined CVNC in 2001, writing articles and reviews with a focus on organ music. He is the Duke University Chapel Organist and accompanist for the Duke Chapel Choir. He is also Organist of Duke Divinity School, where he has taught courses in church music and hymnody. He appears annually on the Duke Chapel Organ Recital Series. A native of Kingston, NY, he earned the B. Mus. degree from Oberlin Conservatory and the M. Mus. and D.M.A. degrees from the Yale University School of Music. His compact disc, Organs of Duke Chapel, is available on Gothic Records. David is married to the Rev. Robin J. Townsley Arcus, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. They reside in Durham, North Carolina, and enjoy hiking with their dog, River.
Kate Dobbs Ariail
Kate Dobbs Ariail has written extensively about the arts since 1988 for many publications, with her specialties being dance, theater and the visual arts, particularly fine crafts. A long-time resident of downtown Durham, she is a seasoned observer of the Triangle's arts development and covers dance and theater throughout the area, as well as making occasional forays elsewhere in the state.
Kate was a 2009 NEA Fellow in Dance Criticism at the American Dance Festival. She holds an MFA degree from Syracuse University in studio art and a BFA in design from UNC-Greensboro. Her "way in" to the performing arts is intensely visual, and her writing is often marked by its descriptive qualities. She has loved ballet and dance since age five and discovered the power of theater at fifteen. She sees as many performances as she can, both imported and local.
Currently, Kate divides her time between Durham and Washington, DC, which allows her the opportunity to put the Triangle’s artistic offerings in a larger context.
Jayanthi Balachandran
Judith N. Barber
Judith N. Barber has written for Classical Voice of North Carolina since 2008, focusing primarily on the review of instrumental performances in eastern North Carolina, joining that with her other activity of serving as program note editor and writer for East Carolina University’s Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival. Her first degree, from Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was outside the realm of music. But she later returned to the classroom to earn degrees in theory and composition at East Carolina University. Her master’s thesis, “The Symphonic Scherzos of Robert Schumann: Maintaining Mastery of a Sublime Form,” deals with the substance and reception history of those works.
While working in the music library at East Carolina University Mrs. Barber frequently teaches in the Department of Theory, Composition, and Musicology and at the local music academy, and maintains an active performing schedule as a free-lance horn player. Her role as pianist for the weekly chapel services at Greenville’s Vidant Medical Center inspired her to establish the monthly concert series “Good Music Good Medicine,” in which ECU School of Music students and faculty perform at the hospital as a community service.
Judy and her husband Chuck live in Greenville, North Carolina, where all four sons have come and gone and none but Jake the dog remains. There’s a garden with limitless possibilities and stacks of good books to be read, but for now, there’s a concert tonight that just shouldn’t be missed.
James Bash
Elizabeth Lynne Bjork
Craig Brinker
Stuart Burnham
W. Gerald Cochran
Dr. W. Gerald Cochran, a plastic surgeon practicing in Salisbury, Statesville, and Lexington, is an amateur musician (piano) who sings in the the Concert Choir of Salisbury. He has served on the boards of the Salisbury Symphony and the Concert Choir. His reviews have appeared in the Salisbury Post and in Outlook, published by Observer News Enterprise (Newton, NC).
Julie-Kate Cooper
Julie-Kate Cooper has been writing as an intern for CVNC since the fall of 2010. She will be graduating as an Honors student from Meredith College in May of 2012 with a BA in Theatre and a K-12 teaching license. She is considering moving to Chicago to pursue a career in theatre after graduation. At Meredith, Julie-Kate is President of the student organization, Extra Theatre Company, and is a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the National Honorary Theatre Society. She has worked on productions with local companies and youth theatre companies. Her performances at Meredith include: The Art of Self Defense, Playhouse Creatures, How I Learned to Drive, and Top Girls. Julie-Kate has technical experience as the stage manager for Spelling Bee and assistant scenic designer for Ruthless! The Musical. She is a Goodman Fellow through Leadership Triangle College Edition 2010 and is an advocate for education and the arts.
Roger A. Cope
Roger. Cope joined the CVNC cadre of writers in 2003 producing over 70 articles before becoming Editor in September of 2006. Prior to CVNC he had written articles for the original Florida Flambeau (now the FSView), was staff writer and regular columnist for Vintage Motorsport Magazine, and composed reviews, features and technical pieces for Guitar Review, Guitar Foundation of America's Soundboard Magazine, and GuitART International. He is also in demand for liner notes of commercial guitar recordings. He is author of The Bachelor Guitarist, guide for undergraduate study, and Guitar: How to Audition. He attended the 2005 National Arts Journalism Institute at Columbia University, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Cope was musical as a child and performed on a variety of instruments until finally settling into what has become a life-long career as a classical guitarist. He has served as orchestral soloist, concert performer, recitalist, lecturer, recording artist, and, since 1978 a college-level educator. For nine years he was a member of the Affiliate Artist Faculty at Brevard College (NC), serving as Director of Guitar Studies and Director of the Guitar Ensemble. He is currently a Lecturer and member of the Music Studio Teaching Faculty at California State University at Bakersfield where he also directs the Guitar Ensemble, and serves as coach for chamber music groups.
Cope has premiered new music for guitar by Karen Thomas, David Leonard, Paul Elwood, and Bertil Van Boer. In North Carolina he has performed at Thomas Wolf Auditorium, the Diana Wortham Theatre, and Biltmore Estate in Asheville and at the Porter Center for Performing Arts in Brevard, the Henderson County Library in Hendersonville, the Muses Gallery in Flat Rock, the School of Music of Appalachian State University, and High Hampton Inn at Cashiers. He has also performed at the Dock Street Theater in Charleston, SC, and as soloist with the Charlotte Repertory Orchestra, the Hendersonville Symphony, and the Asheville Symphony.
Owen Cordle
Grace Cote
Jason DeCristofaro
Jason DeCristofaro is a multifaceted and active educator, performer, and composer based in Asheville, NC. In addition to teaching a myriad of topics as adjunct faculty at Brevard College (including aural skills, world music, jazz history, and music theory), Jason also teaches percussion and directs the percussion ensemble at Brevard High School. The winner and recipient of the 2011 Yamaha/PAS Terry Gibbs Scholarship, an international scholarship competition for jazz vibraphonists, Jason has been invited to perform at numerous jazz festivals and conferences throughout the Southeast, including the Eastern Trombone Conference (Washington, D.C.), White Squirrel Festival (Brevard, NC), Jazz on the Square (Spartanburg, SC), Jazz on Main (Greenville, SC), and LEAF (Black Mountain, NC). He is also an accomplished classical vibraphonist/percussionist, having presented lecture recitals on John Cage's "Third Construction" at Black Mountain College Museum (Asheville, NC) and the translation of the Bach violin Sonatas to vibraphone at St. Matthias (Asheville, NC). Additionally, he performs with the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Philharmonic, Carolina Concert Choir, and Asheville Chamber Players. As a composer, Jason has published several concert works with C. Alan Publications and has been invited to perform his original jazz music at the Asheville Original Music Series and Diana Wortham Theater in Asheville, NC.
Stan H. Dick
Roy C. Dicks
Roy C. Dicks reviewed theater and classical music for Raleigh's Spectator Magazine from 1978-1986. Since 1997, he has done the same for the Raleigh News and Observer. He is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America. His musical background includes singing in and directing opera, authoring two commissioned opera librettos, and singing in university and community choruses. He has a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Drama from East Carolina University and a Masters of Library Science from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Jessie Dresser
Jessie Dresser is a Junior at Meredith College studying violin performance. In high school, she participated in the Tulsa Youth Symphony and was a three-year all-state musician. She also participated in several summer programs including the Eastern Music Festival, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, and Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. As a member of Meredith's study abroad program, she performed with a quintet during the summer of 2011 in Sansepolcro, Italy. After finishing her undergraduate degree she plans to continue academic work at the graduate level.
Sarah N. Eichvalds
Martha A. Fawbush
Elmer Gibson
Elmer Gibson began his studies of piano with Irwin Gelber and trumpet with Sigmund Herring of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Settlement School of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since the mid '60s, Gibson has been writing, arranging, and performing music around the world with some of jazz's finest musicians. When not playing with his own group, he's been performing and recording with many local and nationally known jazz artists. Gibson has toured the U.S. performing at the Newport Jazz Festival, the Berkeley Jazz Festival, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston SC, the San Jose Music Festival, the Pleasure Island Jazz, Blues and Seafood Festival in NC, Bel Cher Festival in Asheville NC, and The New Bern Jazz and Blues Festival in New Bern, NC.
Matthew Hager
Alan R. Hall
Alan R. Hall is a Chapel Hill, NC, freelance writer, reviewer, novelist, and poet. He has written theater reviews for the Georgia State University System and the online writers' network "Themestream." For 11 years, he wrote reviews of theater, music, dance, and film for The Chapel Hill News. For more of his candid critiques on Triangle theater, see Front Row Center: http://hometown.aol.com/theonlyarhall/reviews.html.
Max Halperen
Carl J. Halperin
Joseph Hartman
Kirby Hawkins
Kirby Hawkins is an English major at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a passionate classical music listener and performer. He currently plays principal bass clarinet in the UNCG University Band. Originally from Ocean Isle Beach, NC, he is currently a senior and wants to go into music publishing.
Timothy W. Holley
Ken Hoover
Ken Hoover was born in Chicago, reared in Portsmouth, VA, and earned his BA in English with a minor in sociology at Richmond College, University of Richmond. He went on to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest and from there to serve churches in Virginia. Beginning in 1970, he was involved in Clinical Pastoral Education, which brought him to Duke University Medical Center in Durham in 1971. Apart from a three-year stay in Sanford from 1972-75, he has lived in Durham since then. He is currently retired after thirty years as a substance abuse counselor.
The landmark event of his life was a 1950 trip with other members of his high school band to Richmond to hear Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra on their last nation-wide tour. The Maestro and the sounds he brought forth from the instruments on stage captivated him, and he has been an avid classical music buff ever since.
In college, he sang in Men's Glee Club and Chorus and played trombone in the school band and in a jazz ensemble. He sang for two years in Carl Fehr's "The Common Glory" choir in Williamsburg and in the Chorus of Alumni and Friends of the University of Richmond (CAFUR) with the Richmond Symphony under James Erb. Locally, he sang with the Choral Society of Durham under Larry Cook and Rodney Wynkoop.
Hoover studied music sporadically at University of Richmond and at UNC-Chapel Hill. He studied composition privately with Peter Klausmeyer. He has composed ten choral anthems and a number of service pieces, some performed widely. He is especially interested in choral music and opera and finds passion in all music. He says his favorite piece of music is the one he is listening to right now.
Joshua Hutchins
Joshua Hutchins is an aspiring musicologist from Nebo, North Carolina. He currently serves as the Principal Saxophonist of Brevard College's Wind Ensemble and will graduate in May 2013 with a degree in music. He hopes to pursue a graduate degree in musicology. At Brevard College, Mr. Hutchins has served as a Resident Advisor, Community Director, and as the Social Code Review Board Chairman for the Division of Campus Life. Off campus, he has worked for several summers in Brevard Music Center’s Student Services Office.
Lynn Jessup
Lynn Jessup is a UNC-G graduate who attended journalism school at UNC-CH until she landed a job at the late, great Raleigh Times. She went on to work for the N.C. Zoo and the News & Record in Greensboro. She teaches writing at Guilford Technical Community College.
Alexandra Jones
Brandon C. Jones
Brandon C. Jones was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, and has appeared as a performer in a number of theatrical productions, independent films, and musical concerts. He was awarded 1st place in the North Carolina Artistry Competition for vocal performance, and 2nd place for dramatic performance. He has been privileged to perform for historic venues such as Carnegie Hall, The White House, and the National Cathedral. As a poet, he has performed abroad at the Metro 54 festival in Amsterdam, NL. Brandon attended the North Carolina School of the Arts majoring in Drama, and later obtained his B.A. in Theater Performance with a minor in Musical Theater, from Marymount Manhattan College.
Elizabeth Kahn
Daughter of a New York music critic, Elizabeth Kahn led a charmed life growing up with any and all concerts free for the asking. She majored in voice and piano at Brandeis University and continued at Brandeis as a graduate student in musicology. She received her PhD from Harvard in Comparative Literature, creating a special niche in the relationship between music and poetry. Her dissertation on the legends of Orpheus in the Middle Ages and Renaissance was published in 1987. She is also an amateur oboist.
Elizabeth sees the critic's role as largely educational rather than judgmental. She believes that by explaining something about a program, both its content and performance, she can help readers sharpen their appreciation of music their own critical faculties. As in other areas, Elizabeth is a true musical liberal, believing that there is no such thing as a definitive performance. But that doesn't mean that performers can get away with just anything.
Joseph Kahn
Joe Kahn escaped from Nazi Germany at age six and grew up on a chicken farm in what is now Israel. His life, nevertheless, has been steeped in classical music and listening to good music became an indispensable part of his life from childhood. With a good ear, avid interest and innumerable concerts, he acquired an eclectic musical knowledge – all of it self-taught.
Joe is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry from NCSU years. For ten years he hosted the classical music request program, first on WKNC and then on WCPE. He was classical music critic with his wife Elizabeth at the Independent Weekly for ten years. He and Elizabeth now write program notes for musical organizations around the country.
He believes that musical criticism should be geared to the interested lay person and aim to be both informative and accessible. Criticism should not only evaluate, but also explain and educate.
Caitlin Kennedy
Dorothy Kitchen
John W. Lambert
Since 1977, CDR John W. Lambert, USN, Ret., has written over 3,750 reviews and articles published, variously, by The News and Observer, Leader, Spectator, Fanfare, Fi, Independent, and CVNC. His studies included violin, piano, voice and music history, A sketch of his thesis, on the North Carolina Symphony's first 50 years, was published by Greenwood Press, in Symphony Orchestras of the United States: Selected Profiles (ed. Robert R. Craven); and his liner notes for several Toscanini Lps were published by Music and Arts Programs of America, Inc. A recipient of the Raleigh Medal of Arts, the Durham Symphony's "Share the Music" Award, and a 2005 Triangle Arts Award, Lambert is an avid collector of recordings, concentrating primarily on great artists of the past. Current projects encompass recordings by conductors Cantelli, Mitropoulos, Reiner, Stokowski, and Toscanini; pianists Hofmann, Kapell, Kilenyi, and Zitterbart; and vocalists De Lucia, Podles, and Supervia. Lambert is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America and the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. His "day jobs" were largely in military shipping and private-sector and government purchasing. He retired as a business officer with NC's Department of Health and Human Services in September 2010 and as CVNC's Executive Editor in June 2012. (Revised 7/2012.)
Timothy H. Lindeman
Timothy Lindeman is Professor and Chair of the Music Department at Guilford College. He teaches music theory, piano, music history, and world music. He received the Ph.D. in music theory with minors in piano and art history from Indiana University. He is well known as a writer, a scholar, a performer, and a lecturer.
Dr. Lindeman's most recent writing was an invited review of Kenneth Hamilton's book After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance, which was published in Symposium of the College Music Society. He has presented papers at several national music conventions. For more than two decades he has written about the Triad music scene in both Triad Style and the News and Record, and most recently, for the on-line journal, CVNC.
In 2007 he was one of 23 critics from across the country to be accepted in the National Endowment for the Arts sponsored "Reviewing Classical Music and Opera," a 10-day seminar at Columbia University in New York City.
His primary research interest is Beethoven. He was one of twelve scholars to participate in an NEH seminar on Beethoven at Harvard University under the tutelage of Lewis Lockwood. He currently teaches an interdisciplinary senior seminar, "Beethoven: The Age of Revolution."
Tim is also an active pianist, giving both solo and collaborative recitals, usually with his soprano wife, Nancy Walker. They have performed throughout the US and in Europe.
Joel Mauger
Laura McDowell
Laura McDowell is Professor of Music at Brevard College in Brevard, NC. She teaches music history and literature, interdisciplinary courses involving music, and piano. She has performed on harpsichord and recorder for the Colonial Williamsburg Restoration and with the Cullowhee Consort, an early music ensemble in western North Carolina. As writer she was a contributor to Carl Maria Von Weber: A Guide to Research (Garland Publishing, 1990) and editor of Nicolas Payen: Motets and Chansons (A-R Editions, 2006). Her article “The Musical Language of Death and Resurrection: Three Motets by Nicolas Payen” has been published in “Hands-On Musicology: Essays in Honor of Jeffery Kite-Powell (Steglein Press, 2012). She has been an active music critic with CVNC since 2007. She earned a B.M. in Music History from Converse College, the M.A. in Historical Musicology from Columbia University, and the Ph.D. in Historical Musicology from Florida State University. In addition, she holds the Zertifikat Deutsch als Fremdsprache from the Goethe Institute, Salzburg, Austria, a Certificate in Early Music from Florida State University, and is a fellow of the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera.
Robert W. McDowell
Robert W. McDowell is a Raleigh, NC, freelance writer, editor, and theater critic who served as CVNC's theatre editor from September 2002 to May 2010.
Since 1973, the Columbia, SC, native and 1970 graduate of East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, has written theater, book, and music previews and reviews for the Raleigh News & Observer, The Raleigh Times, North Carolina Magazine of Raleigh, and Spectator Magazine of Raleigh. In April 2001, Robert McDowell established Robert's Reviews, an e-mail theatrical newsletter, to help fill a growing void in Triangle theater coverage. Triangle Theater Review is an expanded version of the original newsletter, circulated by e-mail.
He also co-edited and supervised the production of Jim Valvano's Guide to Great Eating (JTV Enterprises, 1984), a 224-page celebrity cookbook; and he served as a fact checker for Valvano: They Gave Me a Lifetime Contract, and Then They Declared Me Dead (Pocket Books, 1991).
Ted McIrvine
Ted McIrvine used his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Cornell University during a career that included research management, academic administration and consulting. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society, and has served on the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics.
McIrvine has published for general audiences in Scientific American and Physics Today, and on the impact of technological change on society in the 1967 book Dialogue on Technology edited by Robert Theobald. While living in Rochester, NY, McIrvine was President of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he hired David Zinman as music director, negotiated the first-ever multi-year labor contract with the musicians, and stabilized the finances.
After studying piano and clarinet in his home town of Winnipeg, McIrvine decided at age 14 not to become a professional musician. At age 15, he decided not to become a journalist. However, he has rekindled those interests in retirement. He resumed piano study with Joseph Werner in Rochester and Content Sablinsky in Charlottesville, and now plays chamber music privately. From 2001 to 2008, he wrote Arts Spectrum, a weekly Sunday column on the arts in Hendersonville's Times-News. Since 2007, he has taught musical courses at the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement and studied creative writing in the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNC-Asheville. He is delighted to be reviewing events for CVNC.
Andrea McKerlie
Andrea McKerlie has published two novels and is currently working on a third. She was her high school's drum major for three consecutive years and is currently studying at Meredith College. She intends to earn her Bachelor's of Music in Music Performance, with a concentration in flute, along with a minor in Professional Writing and Presentation Media. She currently plays in Meredith's Sinfonietta and Flute Ensemble, has marched in the North Carolina State University, and is a member of the Raleigh Area Flute Association. For more information, see www.tinyurl.com/andreawriter.
Tom Moore
Tom Moore holds degrees in music from Harvard and Stanford and studied traverso with Sandra Miller. From 2004 to 2007, he was visiting professor of music at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UniRio), where he co-directed the early music ensemble, Camerata Quantz. From April of 2007 until 2010 he served as music librarian at Duke University; he has directed the Duke Collegium Musicum and the Triangle Jewish Chorale.
He has recorded with Kim Reighley and Mélomanie for Lyrichord (USA) and with Le Triomphe de l'Amour for Lyrichord and A Casa Discos (Brazil). He participated as flutist and interviewer for the CD released in Oct. 2006 marking ten years of music for flute by Sergio Roberto de Oliveira. Mr. Moore writes about music for BrazilMax.com, Musicabrasileira.org, 21st Century Music, Opera Today, Flute Talk, Flutist Quarterly, and other journals. He has also sung professionally with the Symphonic Chorus of Rio de Janeiro and Concert Royal and Pomerium Musices of New York.
Karen E. Moorman
Karen E. Moorman earned a BA in music from UNC-CH and a MA in Liberal Studies from NCSU and has served as a lecturer in the Arts Studies Program at NCSU. Her academic treatises include: The Recitatives of the Late Beethoven String Quartets; Amy Beach: An American Composer; and Chaos Theory and Experimental Music: The Intersection of Two Avante-Gardes. With an interest toward educating young listeners, Moorman planned, coached students, and hosted Arts Now for Kids as part of the 2004 Arts Now Series directed by Dr. Rodney Waschka II at NC State University. She is a NEA Fellow (2008) of the Columbia University Arts Journalism Institute for Music and Opera.
A self-proclaimed late-bloomer Karen began her musical life as a singer, piano hack, and self-taught folk musician, and then later became a more dedicated student of the violin. As violinist and teacher she maintains a coaching studio in Durham. Along the way, thanks to word processing, the art of writing became a compelling interest. She regards the concert review as an educational tool; a means of communicating and inviting the public to become an integral part of the artistic community while too providing another frame of reference for artists and presenters.
(Revised 8/12)
Todd Morman
Mary Elizabeth Nordstrom
Richard Parsons
Richard Parsons was born and reared in Raleigh. He attended Ravenscroft School, Broughton High School, and UNC-CH. He studied piano with Valerie Baumgarten and was a private organ student of Margaret S. Mueller and Catherine Ritchie Miller. Beginning in 1972, he established the Sunbury Press and published eight scholarly titles on organ and harpsichord building. These include Charles Ferguson's translation of the monumental The Organ-Builder, originally by Dom François Bédos de Celles, and Owen Jorgensen's Equal-Beating Temperaments. For over ten years, beginning in 1983, he reviewed mostly Baroque keyboard and chamber music for Raleigh's Spectator Magazine. He is also an experienced church bell change ringer; he is a member of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths, an English elective society of ringers. He plays the harpsichord privately for his own amusement. He is a free-lance graphic designer in New Bern.
Peter Perret
Born in Minnesota to a family of artists and scientists, Peter Perret was the Music Director of the Winston-Salem Symphony from 1978 to 2004. Previously Perret had served the Buffalo Philharmonic as Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductor for three years, and before that he was Principal Conductor of the Capetown Symphony (South Africa). Perret frequently lectures and leads workshops on the relationship of music to learning. Perret has co-authored a book (with Janet Fox), A Well-Tempered Mind; Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn, aimed at parents and teachers, released by the Dana Press in October 2004.
Frank D. Pittman
Spencer Powell
Spencer Powell has been writing for CVNC since December 2010. She is a 2011 cum laude graduate of Meredith College. Holding a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Theatre, Spencer now works as an instructor at the Mariposa School for Children with Autism. In the future, Spencer aspires to apply her passion for music and theatre to a career in art therapy for persons with special needs.
Doris B. Powers
Erica Rogers
Scott Ross
Scott Ross is a local playwright who won the 1995 Thompson Theatre Playwright Award (professional category) for The Dogs of Foo, which was produced by University Theatre at N.C. State. He received a 2000 United Arts grant for the production of his drama A Liberal Education, which debuted in Thompson Studio Theatre, and his one-act play Unreliable Witness was produced at REP in 1991, where it was directed by CVNC music critic Roy C. Dicks. He has written theater criticism for Spectator Magazine (1981-86), movie and book reviews for Raleigh's News & Observer (1986-91), and served as Dance, Comedy and Theater editor for Triangle.citysearch.com (1998-2000). He was the primary CD reviewer for the quarterly Sondheim Review from 1994-2004. He also penned two original musical revues — I Love A Piano: The Music of Irving Berlin and Serenading The Moon: The Songs of Johnny Mercer — for University Theatre's annual TheatreFest series. His most recent play is a dramatic adaptation of Booth Tarkington's novel The Magnificent Ambersons, and his book on the films of Billy Wilder will be published by McFarland. He was awarded a B.A. in Playwriting from Hampshire College in 1990.
Jeffrey Rossman
After nearly a lifetime of studying and playing the classical guitar but suffering from orchestra envy, Jeffrey Rossman turned his musical energies to learning the cello. He studied that wonderful instrument with Fred Raimi, cellist with the Ciompi Quartet. He is a member of the UNC and Duke Symphony Orchestras and the Chapel Hill Philharmonia. Mr. Rossman has also played with the Carolina Ballet Orchestra, the Orchestra Pro Cantores, and, after a rigorous audition, the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria. Being a member of ensembles and experiencing first-hand the complexity and effort involved in playing great works of music has given him, he feels, greater sensitivity to the critic's role and responsibility.
Rossman attended the 2005 National Arts Journalism Institute at Columbia University, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Rossman grew up in Brooklyn, New York; he says, "As anyone from there will tell you, no matter how long you've been gone, you are always 'from Brooklyn.'" After the obligatory family pilgrimage from New York to Miami, he attended Florida State University. A teaching assistantship at Ohio State University led to the one bright spot of that tenure – he met his wife, Monica. In 1982, she was offered the position of Assistant Organist at Duke Chapel, so the Rossmans loaded up their truck and moved to Durham. They have two daughters: Jessica, a nursing student at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Natalie, a junior at UNC-Greensboro.
Mr. Rossman earned a Juris Doctorate degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in July, 1990. Rossman's "real" job is Information Technology Senior Analyst with Duke University Health System.
Steve Row
Steve Row worked 24 years as a reporter and editor at The Richmond (Va.) News Leader (1968-92) and then 11 years in journalism education outreach on behalf of Richmond Newspapers, Inc., in scholastic journalism classes in approximately 20 Richmond area high schools (1992-2003). During his time in the newsroom, he was the main substitute classical music reviewer for the paper and reviewed Richmond Symphony, Richmond Sinfonia, touring orchestra, and other musical group performances, as well as wrote occasional music-related feature stories. After taking early retirement in 2003, he relocated to Knoxville, Tenn., where he edited the local city magazine for more than a year and did freelance writing. He sang in the Maryville Community Chorus for 2004, 2005, and 2006 spring programs. He relocated to Greenville, N.C., in June 2006 and does freelance writing and editing for local and regional magazines. He has written features for the quarterly East magazine at East Carolina University and contributes fine and performing arts previews to the magazine. Row sings in the St. Paul's Episcopal Church choir in Greenville and the Greenville Choral Society, and he is a member of the board of directors of the choral society.
Barry Salwen
Barry Salwen has given recitals and master classes in the U.S., Central America, Europe, Israel, and Asia. He holds a doctorate in piano from Juilliard and the Diploma with Highest Honors from the music academy in Vienna. He is associate professor of music at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he has also served as coordinator of keyboard studies and director of the annual summer piano workshop.
Barry Salwen has recorded nine CDs, some in the U.S. and some in Europe. He was the first artist to record the complete solo piano works of the American master Roger Sessions and remains the only pianist to have done this. In 2005, the CD was re-released on Albany Records.
In earlier times, he served for four years as music reviewer for the Star News newspaper in Wilmington, and now is most pleased to be back writing about concerts.
Geoffrey Simon
Geoffrey Simon is Co-Director of Music/Organist at Raleigh Moravian Church. A Fellow of the College of Church Musicians at the National Cathedral, where he studied with Paul Callaway and Leo Sowerby, he holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. He was Director of University Choirs at The American University in Washington, DC, before becoming Professor of Church Music at Wesley Seminary.
He has played, sung, and/or conducted in 20 states and in European capitals including Berlin, Copenhagen, and Warsaw. He is one of few Americans to play a recital at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where Bach served as Cantor. His North Carolina connections began at Duke University, where his musical activities included singing in three choral organizations, playing violin in the Duke Orchestra, accompanying, playing the carillon for two years, and being the first student to share a recital with a faculty member, playing the three Bach Gamba Sonatas with ‘cellist William Klenz.
George M. Stephens
Carter Stevens
Carter Stevens is a student at Brevard College working towards his BA in music. Currently he studies organ with Kyle Ritter and jazz improvisation with Steve Wilson. He has an active performance schedule outside of the college, serving as organist of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Tryon, NC, and playing jazz gigs throughout the Asheville area.
Chelsea Stith
Chelsea Stith starting writing as CVNC's first student intern in the summer of 2009. She is a senior at Meredith College and is looking forward to graduating in May of 2011 with a BM in Piano Performance and a BA in Composition. Chelsea, a student of Dr. Kent Lyman, keeps busy playing with Meredith's piano ensemble, Octavia, practicing her conducting skills, and preparing for her graduation recital. She is thrilled to live in an area with such wonderful artistic offerings and is an enthusiastic fan of many local ensembles. Chelsea is fascinated by musical and literary connections; she recently completed her honors thesis on the influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann on the piano music of Robert Schumann. She is deeply interested in research and hopes to pursue a Masters in Music Therapy next fall. Chelsea believes that arts criticism should be interesting, informative, and challenging, and she strives to make her reviews a reflection of and response to the actual experience of attending a performance.
Patrick Taggart
Perry Tannenbaum
Perry Tannenbaum has been covering the performing arts scene in Charlotte, NC, for Creative Loafing since its inaugural issue in 1987. He also contributes regularly to American Record Guide, Dance International, JazzTimes, and TheaterMania. Beyond Charlotte, he also regularly reviews Spoleto Festival USA and the New York City scene – Broadway, off-Broadway, the Met, classical concert venues, and jazz clubs. A devout believer in the busman's holiday, Tannenbaum has also published review roundups from the Aspen Music Festival, Santa Fe Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Spoleto Italy, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Proms, Stratford Festival of Canada, Shaw Festival, and most recently, the 9th Annual Jazz Cruise. He is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America.
Born in New York, where he completed his undergraduate work at Queens College of CUNY, Perry holds an MA in English from Western Washington University. He has been a Southerner since 1972 when he came to teach at the University of South Carolina and study writing under the guidance of poet James Dickey. He traces his love of music to his parents, who met at the Met in the early 40s and are proudly loyal – and opinionated – subscribers to this day. His love of music has withstood successive frustrating attempts to master piano, clarinet, and guitar.
William Thomas Walker
Bluegrass on the radio and shape note singing in local churches constituted high art in Wilkes County, where William Thomas Walker grew up, but TV brought Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. He left the hills for the Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) and attended his first concert in 1969. Working 31+ years as Stacks Supervisor in Wilson Library and later in Davis Library has enabled him to fund his addiction to classical music by collecting recordings and attending 80+ concerts annually. This led to writing for Spectator Magazine and then helping launch CVNC with an "Overview of the 25th Anniversary of the Spoleto Festival USA."
Note: Walker's pre-CVNC guest restaurant reviews are compiled in Kent's Carolina Barbecue Book from what was the #1 ranked by Google website from 1998 until its retirement in 2008 with an average of over 10,000+ unique visitors per month.
Marvin J. Ward
Marvin J. Ward has been writing for CVNC for nearly a decade.
Educational/professional background: Ph.D. French/English Medieval Studies, bilingual, former French teacher HS & college levels, free-lance translator and interpreter, former editor of professional newsletters, contributor to professional journals, and former officer in various professional and cultural organizations.
Classical Music experience: singer in choruses, concert-goer, recorded music listener/collector for over 50 years, former announcer for classical radio station, board member of presenter organizations, classical CD salesperson.
Particular musical interests: vocal (art song), piano, organ recitals, chamber, choral, harp, French repertoire, music new to his ears.
Other interests: art/art history (former volunteer docent @ NCMA), architecture, cinema (esp. foreign), theatre, history, travel, museums, historical sites, nature, reading.
Dr. Ward relocated from Raleigh to Western Massachusetts in 2003 but continues to contribute to CVNC. He was a founder of Classical Voice of New England.
Since April 2011, he is a Five Colleges Associate with Five Colleges, Inc., based at Smith College in Northampton, MA. His research and writing focus on music, currently French and performances on historic pianos at the Frederick Collection in Ashburnham, MA.
(Revised 11/11.)
Meg Freeman Whalen
A freelance writer in Charlotte, North Carolina, Meg Freeman Whalen has written more than 220 articles for Charlotte magazine, The Charlotte Observer, and Charlotte Arts Magazine, including features, personality profiles, critical reviews, and previews. She served as contributing arts editor for Charlotte magazine from 2003 to 2007. Her short book, The Sound of Charlotte: The First 75 Years of the Charlotte Symphony, was published in January 2007. The first chapter of that book, "An Orchestra is Born," was reprinted in the anthology, Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas, published by Novello Press in 2008.
Scholarly articles include "From Salonière to Social Activist: Muriel Draper and the Popular Front," in the Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians, Vol. 6-7, Fall 1998-Fall 1999; "A Little Republic Filled with Grace: The Nineteenth-Century Music Salon," in Women of Note Quarterly Vol. 3, No.4, November 1995; and "Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's Sunday Musicales," in Women of Note Quarterly Vol. 2, No. 1, February 1994, reprinted in the Journal of the Conductors' Guild Vol. 14, no. 1, Winter/Spring 1993.
Since 1994, Whalen has taught music history and music appreciation courses at Queens University of Charlotte. She is currently the Director of Communications and External Relations for the College of Arts + Architecture at UNC Charlotte.
Paul D. Williams
Paul Williams, a native of North Carolina, has written for Classical Voice of North Carolina since early in 2007. For several years he was a reviewer for the News & Observer in Raleigh. He believes that the reviewer should seek out the positive aspects of a performance, particularly when the performers are amateurs. Except for the most egregious cases then, more oblique references may be made to areas in need of improvement.
He is a graduate of Furman and Auburn universities. He retired from the electronic computing industry, and later from a secondary career teaching mathematics and computer courses at Shaw University. He has also taught in adjunct status at Auburn University, Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
His interest in music springs from early studies in high school and college, but still more so from a lifetime of listening and appreciating. That time spread has included multiple years as a choral performer. In fact, vocal music tends to move him like no other form. (To fill out his all-time favorite vocal spectrum, he would choose soprano Zinka Milanov, contralto Christa Ludwig, and tenor Richard Crooks. Innate modesty forbids that he identify his favorite baritone.)
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