A NOTE FROM THERESA
Ah! OPERA PREMIERE
MISSING EMAILS - CLASS OF 1998
CLASS NOTES (’88, ’94, ’98, ’00, ’02, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’09)

NOTE FROM THERESA
I hope you are well. It has been such a whirlwind month – the Summer Program had its final performances, the Jazz Festival was the next weekend (several alumni performed), I got married the weekend after that, and registration for the 09-10 Academy year was this past weekend! I know all of you are doing amazing things and it’s so great to be able to see you and the things you’re doing. The other day I was catching up on my Rolling Stone magazines and there was a feature on the band Orpheo McCord ’98 is in and then they were on Letterman! Teissia Treynet ’02 was my wedding coordinator, and people are telling us every day how our alumni are getting the prize spots in the orchestras in college (as sophomores – go Peter Ferretti ’08 & Boyang Yu ’08!) and the lead roles in plays (as freshman – go Chelsea Frank ’09!) Plus there are a ton of alumni on campus teaching, being college counselors, PE teachers, dorm parents, associate deans of admission, and so on.

See you in Idyllwild (hopefully soon)!

Hugs,
Theresa Teel

Ah! OPERA PREMIERE
 Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am very pleased to refer you to a new website that features a program I helped to develop as part of Idyllwild Arts’ role in the Transatlantic Arts Consortium: http://ah-opera.org/. This site is amazingly interactive. You can even participate in our live concerts at REDCAT (Disney Hall LA) using the world-wide-web! I will be attending the performance on September 16.  It also plays live on the 17 and 18th. Please come if you are in the area.

A few years ago, as Headmaster of Idyllwild Arts, I believed that artists were not expressing the values of peace during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. My thought was that music is the international language of peace and the commonality of that idea within the human experience was not adequately  expressed during the post 911 world.  So, we convinced the Transatlantic Arts Consortium to fund a project named A Counterpoint of Tolerance. Headed and beautifully developed by Composer David Rosenboom (Dean of the Alpert School of Music at CalArts) this project brought together 10 young composers from around the world. They met for two intensive weeks at Idyllwild Arts in the summer of 2008. In that workshop, they developed the ideas behind "Ah!" - an opera, non-opera. The grant funds also provided them with sophisticated computer equipment that they took back to their home countries so that they could communicate and compose throughout the year. The young composers, under the guidance of David Rosenoom, have now returned to California to complete their second residency.  This entire process will culminate in three thrilling performances at REDCAT Theatre-Disney Hall in Los Angeles.  

Please attend if possible.  Tickets may be obtained through the REDCAT Box Office. This should not be missed.

Bill Lowman
 


MISSING EMAILS - CLASS OF 1998
If you have an email address for anyone on this list, please pass it on to us! PLEASE Send an email to me at theresat@idyllwildarts.org. Thank you!

Ciela Acosta
Michael Aguirre
Jason Arroyo
Shirley Binder
Adriel Bishop
Katrina Blackstone
Erik Bond
Woongjoon Chang
Emily Christian
Oceana Christopher
Sarah Cromarty
Kimberly Davis
Kate Del Castillo
Jessica Drysdale
Catherine Ellman-Bell
Megan Friddle
Agnes Goldmann
Brooklyn Gross
Kristel Hart
Chloe Hedden
Jeong-Yoon Heo
Rei Hioki
Richard Hughes
Grace Hwang
Clara Karpelov
Amanda Kemp
Kandace Klarer
Frantisek Kosir
Cheng Wen (Winnie) Lai
Chiao-Yu Lu
Kamolrath Maneepairoj
Mark McCall
Kristina Meier
Brian Moreland
Susanne Nagy Caro
Crystal Nezgoda
Tae Hyun (Charles) Noh
Autumn Ogawa
Chan Jae Park
Jae Won Pryor
Se-In Ryu
Sarah Scheidt
Jackie Schmilen
Samantha Selinsky
Justin Sloan
Haruka Takada
Takako Takahasi
Brandon Tesch
Briana Weisman
Nicole West
Aya Yasuda

CLASS NOTES
Class of 1988
Danica Sheridan: “My latest is that I completed my Master's Degree in Library & Information Science (MLIS) at UCLA.  And finally have letters behind my name!  Unbelievably, I managed to do a bit of acting as well and will appear next season on Nip/Tuck (FX).  Currently I am working on a live-action/animated TV spec pilot and hoping to find full-time employment as a librarian within the county/city of LA.  It's anybody's guess WHICH is the bigger pipe dream.”

Class of 1994
Jassen Todorov: “I just got my Commercial Pilot's license. I continue to perform and serve as the Director of the School of Music and Dance at San Francisco State University. Recently I recorded Beethoven's Violin Sonatas Nos. 6 & 10, to be released in September 2009. For more info, please visit: www.jassentodorov.com.”

Class of 1998
Amanda Aday: “I just wrapped a short restoration period parody of "Reservoir Dogs" titled "Restoration Dogs" here's a link to the website: http://www.restorationdogs.com/. I play "Lady Long Tongue" the town gossip and co-narrator of the film. Also, I am in pre-production for a pilot of a travel documentary series I'm producing and directing called "Off on the Road". The premise of the show is to follow around celebrities whose career is spent touring the world while they take a day off from road life. Although the pilot episode we are shooting next week will not air on television (as it will only serve as a pitch tool for networks and production companies) I am very excited to say that Corey Taylor of Slipknot/Stone Sour fame will be our first guest. As we progress with the project I will keep you updated.”

Class of 2000
Darlee Favara: “Hello there!  Here's my update...Continuing to work in Advertising/Marketing and have added Flash Design/Animation to my job.  I continue shooting commissioned portraits and have large pieces hanging on the walls of NYC's elite...was in California last month, traveling to London next month, taking more classes at NYU, and still rockin it in Park Slope, Brooklyn!”

Teissia Treynet recently opened her own event planning business, Firefly Events (www.firefly-events.com)! She would be more than happy to offer a discount to any Idyllwild Alum/Students/Faculty who might be getting married or planning an special event. If you are interested please contact her at ttreynet@firefly-events.com. Also if you know any vendors (i.e. photographers, videographers, caterers, florists etc.) that you recommend or happen to be one yourself please send their contact info her way.

Vania Dobreva: “I hope that you are doing well and are enjoying the summer. I would like to share with you my new website. Please, visit www.vaniadobreva.com. Any feedback will be appreciated.”

Yan Izquierdo: “Well, it's been three years since college graduation, and a little over two years since I moved to New York City, and it truly has been an adventure being here, full of ups and downs (more ups fortunately). I am truly blessed to be able to live in this great city, it is an incredible place for a musician and an artist in general, and the people and opportunities I have been exposed to are priceless. I am sure those of you that have spent some time here will agree with me :-) When I first came here, I was getting ready for my Master's auditions, practicing like crazy, but somehow I became dissatisfied and disillusioned with the path I was taking. In my mind, something didn't feel right, and I lost conviction in what I was pursuing, until I hit a brick wall in my practicing and I couldn't get better, no matter how hard I tried. It was then I decided to take radical action and put my plans for grad school on hold so that I could experience the real music world and find myself not just as a player, but as an artist. I haven't completely ruled out going back to school, but I couldn't be happier with my decision so far since it has enabled me to find myself and be part of projects I never thought I would do.
My bands are my babies, and it makes me really happy to share them with you. The first one is called Shayna Zaid and The Catch. We are an interesting and never-ending mixture of styles, but ultimately we focus on the song itself rather than a particular genre, so you be the judge. We play all over NYC as well as universities throughout the East Coast and the Midwest and we've had shows at major music festivals in the US. We have put out two EP's, and are in the process of recording our first full length record, and we are about to take the next level with a publicity campaign and college radio campaign, so we have exciting things ahead of us. Check out our MySpace at www.myspace.com/shaynazaid and send us a friend request, and also check our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/shaynazaidmusic) and Reverb Nation profile at www.reverbnation.com/shaynazaid and if you'd like to stay informed with what we're doing, join the mailing list right on the main page. My other band, Secret Country (a Country rock band, as the name appropriately suggests), is a fun passion project of mine and longtime friends with great potential. We play all over NYC and New Jersey, have an EP out and are currently finishing recording on our first full length album. Check us out at http://www.myspace.com/secretcountry.  Much love, Yan.”

Class of 2003
Krista Peters: “I have a large lithograph collage at the WilliamShearburn Gallery. Would love it if any of you could make it to see the result of printing some life size lithos. The WilliamShearburn Gallery is in Santa Fe, NM and the show runs through September 23.”

Class of 2005
Trevor Hall is on tour with Michael Franti. Check out his website for tour dates.

Class of 2006
Victor Albaum: “I'm about to begin my senior year of college at Chicago College of Performing Arts @ Roosevelt University and I'm now an Associate Producer of Monday Nights New Voices: Chicago series.  Here is the playbill article promoting the series with our most recent compose, Will Reynolds. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/131981-Amador_Brahms_Kettenring_Kirk_Naylor_and_More_Sing_Reynolds_Tunes_in_Chicago_Aug._17 .”

Class of 2009
David Lukens was one of only 8 incoming music school freshman at University of Miami selected for the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program, a special track for gifted musician/songwriters.