School of Music Feature Days

High School musicians are invited to attend the School of Music’s Feature Days where you can work with our faculty, guest artists, and current students in a series of master classes, recitals, and workshops. Each Feature Day is tailored to a specific instrument and takes place in our state-of-the-art performance venues. Feature days are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

*All dates listed are currently tentative and subject to change.

Bassoon Day

Kim Laskowsky, guest artist

Kim Laskowski joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2003 as associate principal bassoon. Born in Brooklyn, she attended the High School of Music and Art and The Juilliard School where she won the Walter and Elsie Naumburg Award for Orchestral Excellence. She completed a master’s degree at Juilliard while playing in the National Orchestral Association, and has also participated in the Tanglewood and Spoleto festivals. As an active player on the New York musical scene, Ms. Laskowski has appeared with ensembles such as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, and Eos Orchestra. She can be heard on numerous television, radio, and film scores, and holds two platinum records for CDs recorded with the rock group 10,000 Maniacs. Before joining the Philharmonic, Ms. Laskowski played second bassoon in the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Learn more.

Date

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Location

VIRTUAL EVENT

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View the calendar event

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Questions?

Contact Keith Sweger

Cello Day

Avi Friedlander, guest artist

Avi Friedlander is director of the Barston Suzuki Center and on the chamber music faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago. Mr. Friedlander was a former member of The New World Symphony and served as the assistant principal cellist of the Atlanta Opera. He also served as an adjunct professor at Emory University and is the founder and former director of the Suzuki Talent Education Program of Birmingham. Mr. Friedlander has taught at workshops and festivals throughout the country and has performed throughout the United States, Japan, and Italy. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (BM and MM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (professional studies certificate). Learn more.

Tentative Date*

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Location

Sursa Hall and Hahn Hall

Schedule of Events

To be announced

Questions?

Contact Peter Opie

Clarinet Day

Trina Gross and Diana Haskell, guest artists

Cathryn "Trina" Gross is assistant principal clarinet of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Before joining the ISO as interim second clarinet at the beginning of the 2002-03 season, she played acting principal clarinet for one season with the Louisville Orchestra, principal clarinet with the Augusta (GA) Symphony and second clarinet with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra for four seasons. She won second prize in the International Clarinet Association Young Artists Competition in 1990. She earned a B.M. degree from the Eastman School of Music and an M.M. from the Indiana University School of Music. Her major teachers have included Eli Eban, James Campbell, Charles Neidich and Alfred Prinz.

Diana Haskell is currently associate principal clarinet with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. After completing her B.M. degree at The Eastman School of Music and M.M. degree at The Juilliard School, she joined the Savannah Symphony Orchestra as principal clarinet. She also was acting principal clarinet with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, principal clarinet with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and assistant principal and E-flat clarinet in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She joined the SLSO as assistant principal clarinet in 2003, and a year later was appointed associate principal and E-flat clarinet. Haskell is a respected teacher in the tradition of the Daniel Bonade School, through her training at Eastman School of Music with D. Stanley Hasty, as well as with Mitchell Lurie, with whom she studied at Music Academy of the West. In addition, her studies with the great diagnostician Joseph Allard at Juilliard and piano training with Maria Louis-Faini have given her a well-rounded foundation for building her own teaching and coaching expertise.

Date

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Location

VIRTUAL EVENT

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Questions?

Contact Elizabeth Crawford

Flute Day

Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, guest artist

Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson is the principal flutist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as a distinguished international soloist and chamber musician. He was appointed to the post in 2015 by Music Director Riccardo Muti. Prior to joining the CSO, he served as principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from 2008 to 2015. A native of Iceland, Stefán has been praised by The New York Times for his agility and warmth of expression. Mr. Höskuldsson has performed widely throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan under the skilled direction of James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Riccardo Muti. Stefán currently teaches at DePaul University in Chicago and has been a faculty member with the Pacific Music Festival in Japan since 2010. He has given master classes at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal Academy of Music. Learn more.

Date

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Location

VIRTUAL EVENT

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Questions?

Contact Mihoko Watanabe

Oboe Marathon

Sherry Sylar, guest artist

Sherry Sylar is associate principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic and has served as acting principal oboe during the last two years. She has also served as guest principal oboe for other major orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony. Ms. Sylar gives master classes for oboists internationally and was invited to China as a judge for the Beijing National Orchestra’s first-ever auditions. A native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, she earned her bachelor’s degree at Indiana University and her master’s degree from Northwestern University. She formerly taught at the University of Evansville in Indiana and since 2005 has served on the oboe faculty at Mannes College's The New School for Music in New York City. Learn more.

Date

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Location

VIRTUAL EVENT

Learn More

View the calendar event

Questions?

Contact Lisa Kozenko

Trombone Day

James Nova, guest artist

James Nova was appointed second/utility trombone of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) in 2009 after previously serving as the assistant principal/second trombonist of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for eight seasons. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music (BM) with Glenn Dotson and the New England Conservatory (MM) with Norman Bolter. From 2003 to 2007 he enjoyed playing at the Grand Tetons Music Festival, and played and taught at the Brevard Music Center in the summer of 2013. Since 2012, Jim has found a new passion using recording technology to explore multi-track recording, also known as "overdubbing” (or, as he calls it, “Novadubbing”), and has created numerous recordings of challenging new transcriptions and arrangements for trombone choir. Most recently, in December 2017, Jim released a new overdub album for trombone choir, A Fall from Light to Dark. Through the chosen moments of John Williams’ masterful scores, this album musically chronicles the rise and descent of Anakin Skywalker as he transforms into Darth Vader. Truly a one-man show, this album’s transcriptions, playing, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering were all done by Jim Nova himself. Learn more.