John Ericson, assistant professor of horn, has had his busiest semester of lecture-recitals ever. In the spring of 2006, he presented on topics including hornist Franz Strauss, descant and triple horns, and Baroque horn literature at horn workshops in Arizona, California, Wisconsin, Kansas and Louisiana. He also saw an article on triple horns published in The Horn Call, the journal of the International Horn Society. In March, he presented lecture recitals and sessions at the University of Iowa and at the University of Northern Iowa, sessions postponed from the fall due to a death in the family. This summer Ericson will perform as principal horn for his seventh season with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in North Carolina.

In 1631, following an outbreak of the plague, the famous Italian organist Girolamo Frescobaldi came to Pistoia (30 km northwest of Florence), where he played the organ in the cathedral and received many gifts. Fortunately there was no plague while Kimberly Marshall, Goldman Professor of Organ, spent her semester on sabbatical in Pistoia, but she, too, played the Cathedral organ (unfortunately not the same as Frescobaldi, which was destroyed after WWII) and received many gifts, mainly the opportunity to play, on a daily basis, the four historic organs in the city center, including the famous 1664 Hermans organ that was responsible for bringing Flemish influence into Tuscany in the 17th century. She went to Pistoia to do an intensive study of the Italian organ for inclusion in a large Encyclopedia of the Organ that she is preparing for Yale University Press. While in Pistoia, she hosted many people eager to study its famous organs, including two of her ASU students, colleagues from the U.S., a group of Japanese organ students, and two Austrian organ builders, one of whom was preparing to restore the Italian baroque, which she has acquired on loan for ASU next year.

The 2005-2006 organ recital series was a tremendous success. Marshall collaborated with associate director of music at St. Philip's, Tucson, Jeffrey Campbell, in seven concerts that included Bach's complete free works for organ. The series was presented on the Holtkamp organ at St. Philip-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson and on the Fritts organ in the ASU Organ Hall. Approximately 2,000 tickets were sold for the combined series and audiences were very enthusiastic about the opportunity to hear these masterpieces for the organ.

In February, associate professor of music history, Kay Norton, presented her poster entitled "How Negative Emotion Expressed in Music Can Heal" at the 2nd Annual ASU/Mayo Research Collaboration Meeting at The Biodesign Institute Building B. Norton also presented her lecture entitled "Mozart in America" as part of the School of Music's celebration entitled Mozart 250 @ ASU in the School of Music's Recital Hall. Also in the field of medical humanities, Norton presented her illustrated lecture entitled "Writing Lyrics as Therapy: The Blues Is the Truth" for the University of Arizona College of Medicine's "Best Practices for Medical Educators" at their Phoenix campus on January 19.

Associate professor of music history, Kay Norton, coordinated and rehearsed an ad hoc "Anti-Slavery Ensemble" of singers in February, which was videotaped on March 1 in Katzin Concert Hall. The group, who performed historic anti-slavery music from Jairus Lincoln's 1843 abolitionist song book will be featured in video format on the Antislavery Literature Project, http://antislavery.eserver.org/. The site is a project of ASU English professor Joe Lockard, assisted by Kristen LaRue, a graduate student in music history and outreach program coordinator in the English department. Joining Norton and LaRue in the ensemble were School of Music professors Robin Rio, associate professor of music therapy, and Sandra Stauffer, Evelyn Smith Professor or music education.  Other singers included: ASU nursing faculty member David Hrabe, ASU English faculty Maureen Daly Goggin and Dawn Bates, ASU English student and popular Phoenix jazz vocalist Kriste Peoples, and music majors Daveda Karanas, Sean Clark, Brian McQueen, Will Earl Spanheimer and Christy Strohl.

Senior lecturer Mike Shellans recently released two CDs of original music, Living in Absentia (2004) and Creatures of Habit (2005). These CDs are available at CDbaby.com. Shellans' second text book, Comparing The Beatles and Elvis Presley, was slated for late May 2006 publication.

For his Spring 2006 sabbatical leave, J. B. Smith, professor of percussion, performed solo recitals and gave clinics throughout the southern and eastern United States.  All in all, he visited 33 colleges and universities including Florida State University, Temple University, New York University, Eastman School of Music, Berklee College of Music, the Peabody Institute at John Hopkins and the University of Texas. His recital program consisted of works for solo percussion and computer including the first performances of his composition Coping Strategy II.  For the clinics, he demonstrated custom software designed to improve student percussionists' sight-reading and rhythm skills.

J.B. Smith with percussion students at Florida State University.

Ted Solis, professor of ethnomusicology and director of "Marimba Madreas de Comitan" and Javanese gamelan, read two papers recently. The first titled "The Year of Living Musically: Musical Textuality in Peter Weir's Filmic Indonesia," was delivered at Far West Popular Culture/Far West American Culture Associations Meeting in Las Vegas in January. The second titled "Javanese and Balinese Gamelans: Relative Popularity and Mutual Perceptions," was delivered at Southwest/Rocky Mountain American Musicological Society/Society for Ethnomusicology meeting in Denver, Colo. in April.

Nathan Williams (left) and Robert Spring (right) performing at the Jerusalem Music Centre. Williams is the clarinet teacher at the Interlochen Arts Academy.

Robert Spring, professor of music performance, was artist in residence at Mesa State College, Grand Junction, Colo., in December 2005. The residency included a recital with ASU alum, Adam Ballif, D.M.A. and M.M., as well as a performance of Scott McAllister's "Black Dog for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble" recently recorded by Spring and Gary Hill, director of bands, and the ASU Wind Symphony. In January, Spring performed with the Promusic Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio, performed in Katzin Concert Hall with Walter Cosand, professor of performance, and Nancy Buck, associate professor of strings, and performed with the faculty ensemble of the Mozart Gran Partita in Katzin Concert Hall. In February, he was the artist in residence at Emporia State University Clarinet Day. He also performed with J.B. Smith, professor of percussion, the Desert's Edge Duo, Missouri State University, University of Missouri - Columbia, Arkansas Tech University, University of Missouri, Kansas City. He also performed in Ostend Belgium with Claribel Clarinet Choir. In March he taught and performed for the Belgian winter clarinet workshop in Ostend, Belgium, performed the Peter Schickele Clarinet Concerto with the Jackson, Michigan Symphony Orchestra, did a recital for the Community Concert Series in Jackson and taught and performed for The Jerusalem Clarinet in Summit, Jerusalem, Israel. In April he performed and did recitals through the Promusic Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio. In May he did concerts and recordings in Ghent, Belgium, performed with the Promusica Chamber Orchestra and did a solo with Arizona Winds Symphonic band in Glendale, Ariz. In June he will be attending the Iron County Band Camp in Crystal Falls, Mich. during July, will be a clinician for the American Band College and Belgian Clarinet Academy. In August he will be a recitalist for the International Clarinet Association Conference in Atlanta, Ga.

Jan Thompson, professor of music, presented three performances with Transcontinental Duo partner Elaine Greenfield of Burlington, Va. in April. Their program of four-hands and duo piano selections was well-received by audiences at the Crane School of Music (SUNY-Potsdam), the Cathedral Arts Series in Burlington and live state-wide on Vermont Public Radio. The Transcontinental Duo is planning several tours for 2006-2007, taking them to Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Texas and New York. Thompson also performed with her five-member professional vocal/instrumental ensemble, The Kent Camerata, in Ohio during March.