Faculty Spotlight Series
Lenuta Ciulei Atanasiu, violin
Artist-in-Residence

Program

Contemporaray Solo Violin
All the pieces encompassed by this performance are a tribute to the world’s musicians struggling with the effects of the pandemic. All composers are living, active musicians.

Denis DiBlasio - “Lullaby” written in Orvieto, Italy, dedicated to young budding musicians in traditional style, exploring a variety of modern colours in all the instrument’s sound range and free time.

Alberto Caprioli - Symphonia I per violin solo, written in Bologna, Italy, enhancing violin sound effects repertoire exploring with microtonal, minimalistic structures and abundant sound effects.

Beatriz Bilbao - Triptico de Luz Fuego Solar - Iluminacion - El Loto De Los Mil Petalos, dedicated to world peace, focusing on the violin’s possibilities to produce “internal warmth,” mirroring the “infinity of the interior spiritual world,” exploring with modern minimalistic, microtonal structures (first and second movements) as well as traditional Indian techniques of tone production (in the last movement).

Mark Volkert - SUITE for Violin Alone, a eulogy to XXth Century great violinists and composers Ysaye, Enescu, Kreisler, Bartok, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky, the Suite presents four contrasting movements ranging in expressivity between imaginative free flowing Recitativo, Alla Marcia predictability, disconsolate Andante Sostenuto, leading to the unconvential moody Presto.

Philip Maneval - Passacaglia Op. 52 for Solo Violin: Inspired by J. S. Bach and first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet Arnold Steinhardt, Passacaglia enchains a succession of alternating moods: the flexible Contemplative, Evenly (in duple meter), Freely, lively (triple meter), Maestoso (duple meter), the rhythmically complex Ethereal and Gently Rocking, the fantastic Lightly, culminating in a majestic chordic Meno mosso, leading to the melancholy disconsolate wavering ending.

Bio

Lenuta Ciulei Atanasiu is an accomplished violin soloist and professor. She has earned First Prize at the Paganini International violin competition (Genova Italy), Abbado International Violin Competition (Milan, Italy), and Tibor Varga International Violin Competition (Sion, Switzerland). She has appeared as violin soloist with major orchestras or in recitals in more than 40 countries and at major festivals including Marlboro, Santander (Spain), George Enesco Festival (Bucharest), and Carmel Bach Festival just to name a few. She has given masterclasses for violin, viola, and chamber music performance at conservatories and universities on five continents and has been a member of the jury for many international competitions including Paganini (Genova), Abbado (Milan), and Anemos International Competition (Rome). For the last 20 years, she has been Artistic Director of the Orvieto Festival of Strings in Italy in addition to a 24-year association with Rowan University.

Faculty Spotlight Series
Brian Betz
Jazz Guitar

Program

Bio

Brian Betz is a guitarist, composer, and educator residing in the Philadelphia metro area and performing through-out the United States with a vast array of musical artists. Betz has six CD releases available on the Dreambox Media label: Up and Running (2001), Without A Doubt (2003), Dichotomy (2005), Muted Bebop (2006), The Denis DiBlasio/Brian Betz Project (2007), The Denis DiBlasio/Brian Betz Project: Flute/Guitar (2010).

Betz holds two degrees from Rowan (BM, MM) and is endorsed by GHS guitar strings. He is a two-time winner of the Betty Carter International Jazz Competition (2004, 2007) and a runner up for the 2006 Henry Mancini Jazz Competition. He currently is on the facutly at Rowan University where he teaches jazz guitar and improvistion. In addition to his collegiate teaching, Betz also teaches for Paulsboro Public Schools. In 2018, he was named one of the five “Top Teachers” of New Jersey by the NJEA and FOX 29.

Betz gives concerts, clinics, and masterclasses throughout the United States. This has included appearances at The Exit O International Jazz Festival, Berks Jazz Festival, Cape May Jazz Festival, Rowan University Jazz Festival, Villanova Jazz Festival, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, and Gettysburg Jazz Festival.

Faculty Spotlight Series
Dawn Hiatt
vocals, piano, guitar
Jeff Hiatt
bass

Program

Little Pieces
Blue
Sinking Stones
Chippewa
Can’t Catch Me Tonight
Bad Chemistry
Superhero
In Search of Lost Time
Crimes We Collectively Own
There’s Still a Place
Magnolia’s Melody
Tick Tock

All songs composed by Dawn Hiatt

Bio

Dawn Hiatt has been featured at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Bluebird Cafe, Bluebird Stage Country Throwdown Tour, Bethlehem MusikFest, Hudson Valley Songfest, Montauk Music Festival, Midpoint, Paper City, Black Potatoe, the Five Spot (Nashville), and the Kimmel Center Summer Solstice. She has opened for Joan Baez, Cory Chisel, Poco, and 10,000 Maniacs. A winner of the Philadelphia Songwriters Project Songwriting Contest in both 2008 and 2009, Dawn has released two full length albums, The Waking Hours and Goodnight Boots, that have received regular airplay locally on WXPN and WSTW. She is co-leader of Midwestern Hymnal and has been a featured session vocalist/musician/arranger on recordings by Chris Kasper, Resistor, The Rick Rappaport Project, Johnny Miles, Minor Arcana, and many more. As an educator, she has spent decades refining her craft as a teacher. She spent seven years as a public secondary education teacher and another seven years as Faculty Manager and Training Director of a music program where she she led teacher trainings in methods incorporating creativity and play in the acquisition of musical skills. Dawn holds an M.M. from Rowan University, with applied studies in Composition, and currently balances performing, writing, and recording with being a classroom and private music instructor.

Jeff Hiatt has more than 20 years of experience as an audio engineer, music producer, instrumentalist, and educator. He is the head engineer and staff producer at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia, where he has worked on hundreds of recording, mixing, and mastering projects with acclaimed musicians, including Emmy and Grammy winners, and he serves as a recording and mix engineer and a co-producer for Center City Jazz Festival, Philadelphia Jazz Project, and Philadelphia Songwriters Project. Jeff works with leading artists in a wide range of contemporary genres including rock, Americana, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, classical, soundtrack, and spoken word. His clients include WXPN, Netflix, Ginger Coyle, Chris Kasper, Laura Shay, Minor Arcana, Ross Bellenoit, Dawn Hiatt, Orchestra 2001, Murmuration, Suzie Brown, The Lowlands, Quarry Street Hymnal, Muscle Tough, Cory Smythe, Albert “Tootie” Heath/Ethan Iverson/Ben Street, Madison Rast, Kwesi K, Vulcans, Lucas Brown, Ry-lan/Brooks, The Sweetback Sisters, Honeywatts, Johnny Miles, Arc Divers, Tom Moon & Ensemble Novo, Mike Marshall, Up The Chain, Ryan Tennis, Alex & Kaleidoscope, East Hundred, Sonja Sophia, Midwestern Hymnal, jawnzap 7, and Cowmuddy. Jeff is the recording studio manager and an adjunct professor in the Music Industry program at Rowan and is a member of the RIAA (Grammy voters), Audio Engineering Society, and International Society of Bassists. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana (now The Jacobs School of Music).

Guest Artist Recital
Luigi Mazzocchi, violin
with
Maria Mazzocchi, viola
Luigi P. Mazzocchi, cello
Andrea Mazzocchi, Venezuelan cuatro

Program

The 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin were published in Hamburg in 1735 and might have been conceived by Georg Philipp Telemann as two groups of six fantasias. He described the collection as “12 fantasias...of which 6 include fugues and 6 are Galaterien,” with “fugues” referring to a more contrapuntal style. These pieces reveal the influence of Italian sonatas and concertos and a mastery of idiomatic writing for the violin. Fantasia No.10 belongs to the group with “fugues” and is in three movements, fast-slow-fast, ending with a short dance movement.

Sonata No. 3 BWV1005 belongs to a set of three sonatas and three partitas for unaccompanied violin that Johann Sebastian Bach completed by 1720. These works are considered as the most significant of their genre and period, establishing the technical capabilities of the violin as a solo instrument, and becoming the model for composers of later generations. All three sonatas have the structure of sonata da chiesa in four movements, slow-fast-slow-fast. The first two movements are a prelude and a fugue, the third one is more lyrical and the last movement a binary suite movement. The last two movements of Sonata No. 3 are Largo and Allegro assai.

Sebastian Lee was a German cellist and pedagogue who found great success in France. He debuted in Paris becoming a soloist at the Paris Opéra and a teacher at the Paris Conservatory for a long time before returning to Germany. He is famous for publishing several methods and etude books for the cello. The last movement of his Duo No. 3 Op. 124 is marked Vivo and belongs to a series of Three Easy Duos for violin and cello.

Austrian-born violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler is one of the most famous composers of violin virtuosos. He first established his compositional fame by writing pieces in the style of famous composers and attributing the pieces to them. Theses pieces had been considered worthy before discovering that Kreisler was their actual composer, therefore his quote “the name changes, the value remains.” His most performed works are both original short pieces and transcriptions for violin and piano, as well as cadenzas for famous violin concerti. His Recitativo and Scherzo Op. 6 is dedicated to Eugène Ysaÿe, one of the most influential violinists of the turn of the 20th century. The piece starts with very serious and declamatory slow music and ends in a very dancing fast tempo.

Stanley Grill’s writing is influenced by his passion for medieval and Reinassance music. Many of his works attempt to translate something about the nature of the physical world or to inspire and promote world peace. Grill’s music has been performed all over the world and recorded by several artists, including Mazzocchi as a member of Camerata Philadelphia. Nocturne No. 3 is part of the set 4 Nocturnes for violin and viola from 2013. It is dedicated to Anette-Barbara Vogel and Daniel Sweaney after Grill heard them at the 41st Congress of the International Viola Society in Poland.

Maurice Wright’s work combines diverse interests – early music, musical acoustics, and ways to harness technology to serve music. His music has been commissioned and performed by many outstanding ensembles. He is the founder and curator of the electroacoustic music and video series CYBERSOUNDS. Wright wrote A Solo Suite in 1987 as a solo viola piece and dedicated it to Barbara Westphal. In 2001, Mazzocchi transcribed the piece and performed it on violin. The piece has five movements with a central movement called Real Time. The two interludes in this program surround that movement; one is marked “cantabile” while the Second Interlude is marked “like a tango.”

In 1987 Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla wrote Six Tango Etudes for solo Flute. Piazzolla, a virtuoso bandoneon player, revolutionized tango by including elements of jazz and contemporary classical composers. He created a new style called “nuevo tango.” His Tango Etudes for flute, an instrument that Piazzolla believed was one the first ones used in tango, are written in a kind of improvisatory style. Tango Etude No. 3 starts and ends with a section marked “Molto marcato ed energico,” with a mid section “Meno mosso e più cantabile.”

Venezuelan composer Antonio Lauro started in music with his father, an immigrant barber from Italy. He later pursued serious music studies choosing the guitar as his main instrument. After listening to a piano recital made of colonial parlor pieces called “valses venezolanos,” Lauro thought that the guitar deserved similar pieces. Therefore he composed a series of Venezuelan waltzes between 1938 and 1940, which included Natalia. His compositions have become standard repertoire for the guitar worldwide and his waltzes, particularly Natalia, have been arranged for many instruments.

Born in Barquisimeto, Lara State, Venezuela, Antonio Carrillo was one of the greatest exponents of his region’s music: “Música Típica Larense.” He played several instruments and conducted ensembles both classical and popular. One day, early before dawn and after he left a party, Carrillo found inspiration and on the street under a starry night he started composing a tune on his mandolin. A priest nearby heard the beautiful music and approached Carrillo to name his piece: “Como llora una estrella” (“as a star cries”). This is one of the most famous waltzes of Lara.

The Sonata for Violin Solo Op. 115 is a three-movement work that Sergei Prokofiev composed in 1947. The Soviet Union’s Committee of Arts and Affairs commissioned the piece as a pedagogical work to be performed by multiple performers in unison. However, the composition works well as a concert solo violin piece. It is composed in Classical style with a first movement in sonata form, a middle movement with a charming short theme with five variations, and a last dance movement with characteristics of a mazurka.

Bio

Luigi Mazzocchi was born in Venezuela where he studied music in the System of Youth Orchestras (“El Sistema”), the “Sojo” Conservatory, and the Latin American Violin Academy with José del Castillo. He was a founder of the Lara State Symphony Orchestra as principal second violin, Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Venezuela, and a first violinist of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, touring Latin America and Europe, and recording a number of CDs on the Dorian Record label. Mazzocchi has performed as soloist with all the leading Venezuelan symphony orchestras and attended international music festivals in the Unites States, Panama, Spain, France, and Australia. He has been a prizewinner in such solo competitions as the 1995 “Del Castillo” Latin American Competition, the 1997 South Orange Symphony Artist Competition, the 1999 FOSJA Solo Competition in Puerto Rico (performing as soloist at the Casals Festival), and the 2000 Temple University Concerto Competition. Since 1996, he has been living in the United States where he has studied violin with Liliana Ciulei and Helen Kwalwasser. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Rowan University and a Master of Music degree from Temple University. Currently, he is the Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, Ocean City POPS, and the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in addition to serving as Associate Concertmaster of the Delaware Symphony. He also is a member of Opera Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Philly Pops, the West Jersey Chamber Orchestra, the Gaudeamus and the Caçhasa Ensembles, and a teaching artist for the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, the Serafin and Dalí String Quartets, the Pagode Project, and Alô Brasil.

Faculty Spotlight Series
Behn Gillece
vibraphone, piano
Tamara deMent
violin

Program

Solo Vibraphone

Piano/Violin Duets with Tamara deMent

Bio

After a decade on the New York jazz scene, Behn Gillece has built a solid reputation as a virtuosic instrumentalist and prolific composer. Following the release of Walk of Fire, his last album, Gillece was named the Downbeat Rising Star for Vibraphone in 2018. His newest installment, Parallel Universe, released on the Posi-Tone label, showcases Gillece’s compositions with a dynamic sextet featuring trumpeter Bruce Harris, tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist David Wong, and drummer Rudy Royston. His earlier releases - Walk of Fire, Dare to Be, and his debut album, Mindset - earned excellent reviews in jazz periodicals such as Downbeat and Jazziz. and all three received extensive radio airplay and rose to the Top 50 on the Jazzweek radio charts.

Gillece began studying classical percussion as a teenager. While a percussion student at Rowan University, he quickly developed a desire to play jazz. In the early years of his career, he performed regularly in his home state of New Jersey and Philadelphia. In 2006 Gillece moved to New York to study at SUNY Purchase. During his development as a jazz composer, Gillece worked closely with saxophonist Ken Fowser in a co-led project. The pair have four acclaimed albums released by Posi-Tone which include 2009’s Full View, 2010’s Little Echo, 2011’s Duotone, and 2013’s Top Shelf. All four have received international acclaim and extensive radio play. Gillece has also been featured as a sideman on more than 30 other recordings. The most recent include albums by the Posi-Tone collective New Faces, Walt Weiskopf, Michael Dease, Melody Gardot, and Ensemble Novo, a Philadelphia-based group dedicated to Brazilian repertoire. Gillece continues to play and compose for new projects based all over the tri-state area. He has performed his music throughout the country at venues like Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Kimmel Center, Smalls Jazz Club, Mezzrow, Jazz Standard, Smoke Jazz Club, Side Door, Fat Cat, Yoshi’s, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, among others. He has also appeared at festivals worldwide, including the North Sea, Montreux, Nice, Molde, Ghent, Montreal, and Toronto festivals.

In addition to his robust performance life, Gillece also has a burgeoning career as a music educator. He is a member of the faculty at Rowan and New Jersey City University. In addition to various workshops he has given at colleges and universities across the world, he has prepared over 700 lessons for online instruction on vibesworkshop.com, which benefits percussion students internationally. In the spring of 2008, Gillece finished his master’s degree at SUNY Purchase. Some of his awards and honors include the aforementioned 2018 Downbeat Rising Star Vibraphonist, the 2009 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency, winning the Generations competition in 2009, and winning the 2008 Jazz Improvisation competition at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. In 2014, Gillece began endorsing Malletech and has been using instruments made by the company ever since. Visit www.behngillecejazz.com for more information on his albums, teaching, and performance schedule.

Tamara deMent is a versatile, sought-after musician noted for her rich tone and lyrical, improvised style on the violin. She has been a featured performer at all of the major jazz venues in Philadelphia, including Chris’s Jazz Cafe, Paris Bistro and Jazz Room, Heritage, and Rittenhouse Library Bar. She runs a regular jazz brunch in Asbury Park at the legendary restaurant, Pascal and Sabine. Her tenure there has spanned more than three years and has led her to work with notable performers and recording artists including Pete McCann, Behn Gillece, Chris Simonini, Tony Miceli, Sonny Troy, and Bill Schilling.

Faculty Spotlight Series
Anthony Di Bartolo
percussion

Program

This program is a fully-improvised exploration of sounds except for Improvisation Etude 3 which has light structure and some pitch content. The vibraphone and marimba are the only pitched instruments in this performance, and I’ll use a variety of non-pitched instruments including bottles, woodblocks, whistles, bells, glasses and more to complete the sound palette. Finally, audio manipulation using effects processing and live looping will aid in the creation of the music during this performance.

Bio

Anthony Di Bartolo is a New Jersey-based percussionist, composer, improviser, and sound artist. He is also a Rowan graduate and a member of the adjunct faculty. Fusing his experiences with contemporary classical, rock, free jazz, and electronic music, he has created a unique musical vocabulary making him an in-demand musician around the world. Anthony experiments with different processing effects on percussion instruments including marimba, snare drum, and drum set as well as unconventional sound sources like sheet metal, wood planks, and ball bearings swirling in a tin can.

This new venture started while creating his social media campaign (#1minuteimprov) that prompts fellow musicians to share clips of themselves performing daily one-minute improvisations. His unique experimental sounds have led to various invitations to perform and teach at universities around the country. He has also released his first book of improvisation etudes in early March 2020.

Anthony has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at venues such as Symphony Space and Lincoln Center, in addition to the Zeltsman International Marimba Festival and Philadelphia Fringe Festival. He has been featured on recordings for the Innova and Mulatta labels, is an ASCAP composer, and endorses Black Swamp Percussion products.

Faculty Spotlight Series

Denis DiBlasio’s Basement Broadcast

baritone saxophone

Program

Bio

Denis DiBlasio is a saxophonist, flautist, educator, composer, arranger, and conductor in addition to serving as Executive Director of the Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz and head of the Jazz and Composition programs at Rowan. After receiving his Masters Degree from the University of Miami, DiBlasio joined the legendary trumpeter Ferguson in his big band, serving as Musical Director for five years. In addition to his role at Rowan, DiBlasio is also an internationally-acclaimed performer, clinician, and educator for the Yamaha Music Corporation of America. In this capacity, he has taught and performed all over tcountry and his “education as entertainment” style has also taken him to Thailand, Italy, Luxemburg, Sweden, Prague, Canada, Mexico, Spain, France, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, and Japan. He is a published author of texts on jazz improvisation and a recording artist with more than 10 CDs to his own name. Various articles, compositions, and arrangements are with publishers Jamey Aebersold, Belwin, Hal Leonard, Kendor, Doug Beach, Roncorp, Vandoren, Kjos, Northeastern Music, Warner Brothers, Flute Talk, Saxophone Journal, and more. DiBlasio’s Youtube channel features various presentations, including Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Education (Jazz Education Resources), and Storytime (Stories from the road and others places).

Faculty Spotlight Series
Dean Schneider
jazz piano

Program

MUSIC FROM THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK
featuring selections by
Jerome Kern
Henry Mancini
Johnny Mandel
Cole Porter
and more

Bio

Dean Schneider is one of the most sought-after pianists, arrangers, and musical directors on the East Coast. His career spans over 40 years of live performance based in the Philadelphia, New York, and Atlantic City regions, as well as touring the United States and international engagements.

Schneider has accompanied distinguished artists including Bernadette Peters, Carol Channing, Lou Rawls, Connie Francis, Michael Crawford, Anthony Newley, Eddie Bruce, Shirley Bassey, Placido Domingo, Buddy Greco, Michael Feinstein, and many others.

Other highlights include performances with The Philly Pops, Minnesota Symphony, Tuscon Symphony, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Palm Beach Pops, and Ocean City Pops, in addition to other
ensembles.

For 26 years, Schneider was accompanist for Tony, Grammy, and Golden Globe Award winner Diahann Carroll in concert halls and showrooms throughout the United States and Canada, as well as serving as her musical director.

He currently is musical director for Sinatra tribute artist Michael Martocci, and recently performed in San Francisco with eclectic vocalist Paula West.

Schneider has served as a clinician and adjudicator at numerous music festivals. He has enjoyed a long-term residency at The Merion Inn in Cape May, NJ as well as performing at events and concerts throughout the world.