CCM highlights alumni guest artists who will return to campus for the Sesquicentennial Alumni Showcase in a series of alumni spotlight stories.
Nearly a dozen CCM alumni return to the college on April 21 to perform with current students in a special concert, including four horn soloists who enjoy successful careers as orchestra musicians and as players in U.S. Military bands. Allene Hackleman (BM, 2002), Julie Beckel Yager (att. 2004), Nathaniel Willson (MM, 2005) and Jennifer Paul (MM, 2003) reunite to play Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück for Four Horns, Op. 86, in CCM’s Sesquicentennial Alumni Showcase.
Learn more about these four CCM alums in their bios below:
Allene Hackleman has been principal horn of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since 2004. A native of Vancouver, Hackleman began studying the horn under the tutelage of her father, Martin Hackleman. She later attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, from which she graduated with honors. Hackleman earned her bachelor of music degree summa cum laude from CCM, as a student of Randy Gardner. Hackleman has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), the Montréal Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Evansville Philharmonic. She has also performed concerti with the Edmonton Symphony and the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, as well as the Red Deer Symphony and the Victoria Symphony.
In 2004, she completed a long-term career development residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Since 2007, Hackleman has been a member of the prestigious Summit Brass ensemble, and as such has recorded, taught and performed as a faculty member at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute in Denver. She has performed at the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario and at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. She was also a featured guest artist at the International Women’s Brass Conference in Toronto in 2010. Hackleman is privileged to be a member of the Canadian National Brass Project, a large brass ensemble made up of some of the finest brass players from across Canada. She pursues an avid interest in chamber music and has performed for the Edmonton Recital Society and the University of Alberta’s Music at Convocation Hall series, as well as in British Columbia for the Pender Harbour Music Festival. Hackleman is instructor of horn at the University of Alberta
Julie Beckel Yager, horn player with the Indianapolis Symphony, is a native of Indianapolis and the daughter of Indianapolis Symphony principal trombone James Beckel. Before attending CCM under the instruction of Randy Gardner, Beckel Yager studied with ISO members Jerry Montgomery and Richard Graef.
She was a member of the Honolulu Symphony prior to returning to Indianapolis in 2006. She also performed for three summers with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, touring throughout Europe, Asia and South America. At the festival, Beckel Yager performed in a piano quintet with conductor and pianist James Levine. Her horn was made locally by Darin Sorley.
Musician 1st Class Nathaniel Willson joined the Navy Band as a French hornist in 2014, after serving more than four years with the U.S. Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland. Willson was born in Bowling Green, Ohio, but was raised overseas in Japan and India, graduating high school in 1998 from the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India. He holds a bachelor of music from the Juilliard School and a master of music from CCM. His primary teachers include Randy Gardner, Duane Dugger, Jerome Ashby, Julie Landsman and Bryan Kennedy.
Prior to joining the Navy, Willson was a member of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Sarasota Orchestra. He has also performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Opera and the Washington National Opera. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, studying history and spending time
with his family.
French horn player Gunnery Sergeant Jennifer Paul joined “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band in August 2004. She was appointed assistant section leader in January 2016. Paul began her musical training at age 10. Upon graduating in 1996 from Jacobs High School in Algonquin, Illinois, she attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where in 2000 she earned a bachelor’s degree in music education. In 2003, she earned a master’s degree in music from CCM. Paul also received a professional study certificate in 2004 from Temple University in Philadelphia. Her notable horn instructors include Kazimierz Machala of the University of Illinois, Randy Gardner of CCM and Adam Unsworth of Temple University.
Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Paul was the CCM graduate teaching assistant for the horn studio from 2001-03 and a freelance musician in Philadelphia.
Learn more about the Sesquicentennial Alumni Showcase concert and view a complete list of guest artists at ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/save-the-date/sesquicentennial-alumni-showcase.
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SESQUICENTENNIAL ALUMNI SHOWCASE CONCERT
REPERTOIRE
STRAUSS: Overture to Die Fledermaus (1874); featuring the CCM Philharmonia led by Christopher Allen
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82 “Emperor” (1811); featuring Anton Nel, piano
WALLER: Ain’t Misbehavin’; featuring Janelle Reichman, saxophone
WARREN: There Will Never Be Another You; featuring Janelle Reichman, saxophone
WAGNER: “Mild und leise,” from Tristan und Isolde (1859); featuring Tamara Wilson, soprano
-Intermission-
ROSSINI: “Cruda sorte,” from L’Italiana in Algeri (1813); featuring Helene Schneiderman, mezzo-soprano
SCHUMANN: Konzertstück for Four Horns, Op. 86 (1849); featuring Allene Hackleman, Julie Beckel Yager, Nathaniel Willson, Jennifer Paul, soloists
BROWN: “A Summer in Ohio,” from The Last Five Years; featuring Betsy Wolfe, vocalist, with Roger Grodsky, conductor
BAREILLES: “She Used to Be Mine,” from Waitress; featuring Betsy Wolfe, vocalist, with Roger Grodsky, conductor
SCHWARTZ: “Meadowlark,” from The Baker’s Wife; featuring Betsy Wolfe, vocalist, with Roger Grodsky, conductor
SAINT-SAENS: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61; featuring Yang Liu, violin
STRAUSS: Champagne Song from Die Fledermaus; featuring Tamara Wilson, soprano, and Helene Schneiderman, mezzo-soprano
PERFORMANCE TIME
8 p.m. Saturday, April 21
Please note: UC’s Nippert Stadium will also host an FC Cincinnati game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2018. The full FC Cincinnati Soccer game schedule can be found at www.fccincinnati.com/2018-schedule.
LOCATION
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati
PURCHASING TICKETS
Tickets for CCM’s Sesquicentennial Alumni Showcase Concert are $20 general, $15 non-UC students, and FREE for UC students with a valid ID.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through our e-Box Office! Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.
PARKING AND DIRECTIONS
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for information on parking rates.
For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.
For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Christopher Allen (MM Orchestral Conducting, 2011), recipient of last year’s $30,000 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award — the largest grant awarded to young American conductors in the United States. He has been featured in Opera News magazine as “one of the fastest rising podium stars in North America.”
Anton Nel (MM Piano, 1984), first prize winner in the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall. The classical pianist is an acclaimed Beethoven interpreter and has enjoyed a multifaceted career that has taken him to North and South America, Europe, Asia and South Africa.
Yang Liu (AD Violin, 2014), former prize winner of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and first prize winner of China’s National Violin Competition. He has appeared internationally at major festivals and venues such as the Kennedy Center, Oficina Music Festival in Brazil, Algarve Music Festival in Portugal and throughout China.
Tamara Wilson (BM Voice, 2004), acclaimed soprano who has received multiple honors, including the 2016 Richard Tucker Award. Wilson was a finalist in the 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and she made her much-anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut in December 2014 in the title role of Aida; the New York Times praised the “laserlike authority of her high notes.”
Janelle Reichman (BM Jazz Saxophone, 2005), a clarinetist and saxophonist whose rich tone and creative melodies landed her a spot in the International Association for Jazz Education Sisters-in-Jazz Quintet. She has performed with musical greats such as Doc Severinsen, Les Paul, Ann Hampton Callaway, Sherrie Maricle and DIVA, Dave Liebman, Donny McCaslin and many others.
Helene Schneiderman (MM Voice, 1979; AD Opera, 1981), an award-winning mezzo-soprano who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2017 as Annina in Der Rosenkavalier. She has been a company member in Germany’s Stuttgart State Theatre since 1984 and made her Royal Opera House debut in 1995 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. In 2018, she will play the role of Madame Larina in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Eugene Onegin.
Allene Hackleman (BM Horn Performance, 2002), principal horn of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Hackleman is a member of the Canadian National Brass Project, a large ensemble made up of some of the finest brass players in the country.
Julie Beckel Yager (Horn Performance, att. 2004), horn player with the Indianapolis Symphony and Ronen Chamber Ensemble. She was previously a member of the Honolulu Symphony and has also performed for three summers with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, touring throughout Europe, Asia and South America.
Nathaniel Willson (MM Horn Performance, 2005), joined the U.S. Navy Band as a French Hornist in 2014, after serving more than four years with the U.S. Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland. Prior to joining the Navy, he was a member of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Sarasota Orchestra.
Jennifer Paul (MM Horn Performance, 2003), a member of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band since 2004 and assistant section leader since 2016. Prior to joining the U.S. Marine Band, she served as a teaching assistant for CCM’s horn studio from 2001-03 and was a freelance musician in Philadelphia.
Betsy Wolfe (BFA Musical Theatre, 2004), a Broadway star who has appeared in Waitress, 110 in the Shade, Everyday Rapture, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Bullets Over Broadway and Falsettos. She has also soloed with the Cincinnati Pops, New York Pops, New York City Ballet and more. Wolfe was the recipient of CCM’s Musical Theatre Young Alumni Award in 2017.
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