Dear Friends of the Music Performance Program,
Our return to in-person instruction and performances this semester has been a thrill. Looking back at Fall 2021, I am very pleased to report that we have successfully produced close to thirty live student concerts featuring our jazz, world music, and chamber ensembles, at Faculty House, Maison Française, and the Italian Academy. Because the pandemic-related restrictions have limited in-person attendance to Columbia affiliates, we have added live streaming to all our live offerings. The videos, available on MPP’s Facebook page and YouTube channel have allowed friends and families of our students to attend the events remotely, and the viewership is already in the multiples of thousands. I am very grateful to MPP’s dedicated staff for their caring and thoughtful coordination of these events!
This semester, our students have made music with particular enthusiasm and passion, and their Columbia friends have come in unprecedented numbers to support them. We had a full house at each concert, and all events were received with great warmth and fervor. The MPP music associates, who have prepared the ensembles for their performances deserve a special word of gratitude for their passion, dedication, and creativity.
We have continued to host online events featuring guest artists, among them masterclasses with cellist Wendy Sutter and violinist Richard Lin. The Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program, under the new leadership of Ole Mathisen, presented masterclasses with jazz percussionist Clarence Penn and saxophonist Miguel Zenon.
This has also been a semester of new beginnings: we have welcomed new members of the MPP community; Music Associates: Elizabeth Brown (shakuhachi), Yumi Kurosawa (koto), David Krauss (trumpet), Ingrid Laubrock (jazz saxophone), and our new Assistant to Director, Chelsea Wimmer.
We are also staying in touch with MPP alumni and are happy to share their latest news below.
Grateful for your continued interest and support, we wish you a peaceful and restorative Holiday season.
On behalf of all of us in the MPP,
Magdalena Stern-Baczewska
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