Faculty

Drama faculty member Christopher Durang will be honored with a star on Playwrights' Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theater in New York City in May.

Shirley Givens, of the Pre-College violin faculty, recently gave a master class at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music in Houston. On her Texas tour, she was joined by her husband, cellist and conductor Harry Wimmer (Diploma '50, cello), for a series of master classes and workshops with the El Paso Youth Orchestra, newly founded by pianist-conductor Benjamin Loeb (DMA '98, accompanying).

Pre-College faculty member Frank Levy ('92, piano) performed an evening of Russian music titled "Passion of Love in Russian Romances" with bass Mikhail Svetlov at the 92nd Street Y in February.

Behzad Ranjbaran's (MM '87, MM '92, composition) Songs of Eternity was performed by Renée Fleming ('86, voice) and the Fort Worth Symphony, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya (MM '93, orchestral conducting), in a gala concert in March. In the same month, his new chamber work Isfahan received its premiere by the Philadelphia Chamber Players. Recently his Seven Passages was performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic (in December) and the Reading Symphony Orchestra (in November); both performances were conducted by Robert Franz.

Dance faculty member JoAnna Mendl Shaw's the Equus Projects, a company of dancers (including Luke Wiley [BFA '05]) that partners dancers with horses, performed in northern California in September, on Long Island in October, and in Los Angeles in January. In March, they taught a clinic for equestrians in Ocala, Fla.

Students

Current Artist Diploma candidate Konstantin Soukhovetski (BM '03, MM '05, piano) performed a recital at Arium in New York in February.

Fourth-year dance student Riley Watts was the recipient of a 2006 Princess Grace Award.