As the music school prepares to celebrate 50 years, The Catholic University of America Magazine pays tribute to its alumni. They grace Broadway stages, sing for presidents and popes, play the organ at Sunday Mass, and teach the joy of making music to students of all ages. Accomplished musicians, conductors, composers, vocalists, and scholars around the world credit Catholic University for the music they make. Here are four stories from among the thousands who studied at Ward Hall.
By Katie Bahr
During his years as a professional musician, Peter Wilson, M.M. 1995, D.M.A. 2007, has had many opportunities to perform for Washington’s elite. He has played violin at the White House during four presidential administrations. He played at the funerals of Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. And he once performed a violin solo during a Christmas Eve service for President George W. Bush’s family at Camp David.
As a longtime member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, Wilson has performed in some of the most exclusive spaces in Washington, including the Pentagon, the Department of State, and the president’s private quarters in the White House. He has played alongside singers like Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, Trisha Yearwood, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson.
A particularly thrilling moment for Wilson was participating in a 21-piece orchestra backing up Stevie Wonder at a special Library of Congress concert in 2009. At the time, Wonder was premiering a new classical composition, “Sketches of My Life.”
“I’ve been a fan of Stevie Wonder for so long and getting to be in close proximity to him and playing the world premiere of this music was just a holy cow moment,” Wilson said. Wilson noted that during his years of study at Catholic University, he gained innumerable technical and conducting experiences that will aid him for the rest of his life. In 1993 he had the opportunity to travel to Rome with the CUA Symphony Orchestra to play for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Later, while studying for his doctorate, he spent several years as resident conductor of the orchestra, where he learned all about the logistics of managing and conducting.
“That kind of experience is extraordinarily rare for students,” Wilson said. “It was an amazing opportunity for me to be in a performance setting as a conductor.”
Today, in addition to his work in the Marine Band, Wilson is the conductor for the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Philharmonic, both in Virginia. He also performs in a violin and bass duo, Bridging the Gap, and as of this fall, teaches violin at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
This varied and exciting career is one that Wilson says he feels lucky to have. Grateful for his good fortune, he says that some of his favorite performances are those where he
feels like he is giving back. Last year, he volunteered for several months with MusiCorps, an organization that provides music lessons to wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He also plays in the Marine Band’s country group Free Country, which occasionally gives concerts for veterans.
“You see these guys with missing arms and legs in wheelchairs and yet they are thrilled to be there and thrilled to be honored,” Wilson said. “They’re singing along with us and you get wrapped up in it. Yes, it’s a job for us, but to be able to give something back to them, you can’t put a price tag on it.”
A musician never knows when his or her big break might come. For Harolyn Blackwell, B.M. 1977, M.M. 1980, her chance came while she was finishing her master’s. She landed an audition in New York City in front of iconic American composer Leonard Bernstein for the 25th anniversary revival of West Side Story.
Blackwell so impressed Bernstein with her audition that she was personally selected for the role of Francisca and the understudy for Maria. She toured with the show for two and a half years and, as Francisca, sang the haunting classic “Somewhere” from the orchestra pit during the final scene each night.
“I had auditioned for several productions of West Side Story in D.C. and was never selected, but that’s okay,” Blackwell said. “I always believe there’s a bigger plan and in this case, the bigger plan was to do West Side Story on Broadway. Everything just came together at the right moment. Being in West Side Story was a dream that finally came true.”
That successful role laid the groundwork for Blackwell’s career. In the years since, she has made a name for herself as a world renowned opera singer and Broadway star.
After her work in West Side Story, Blackwell continued her vocal studies as an apprentice with the Chicago Lyric Opera Young Artists Program. In 1983, she was selected as a finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, one of the highest recognitions a young vocalist can achieve.
Since then, Blackwell has performed around the world with many internationally respected opera companies and festivals, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, the Seattle Opera, the Opéra de Nice, De Nederlandse Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company. She has appeared in several pro-ductions at the Metropolitan Opera and starred in the Broadway revival of Candide in 1997.
Looking back on her career, Blackwell sees how her experiences at CUA paved the way for her professional achievements. While studying in the music school, Blackwell performed in many productions, including The Golden Apple, Wonderful Town, and L’Elisir d’Amore. She also sang in the Cardinalaires, a University show choir organized to perform at events around the city. She remembers many professors who inspired her, including Linda Mabbs, Elaine Walter, and Cyrilla Barr. Blackwell also worked closely with the Department of Drama, and professor Toby Barbara Orenstein.
“The professors I had at Catholic University were excellent professors and the school gave me the opportunity to perform,” Blackwell said. “There were several alumni singers performing at the Metropolitan Opera and bringing more recognition to the School of Music.
Although they were several years ahead of me, their successes demonstrated to me that I could strive to become a professional singer with hard work and dedication to my craft.” When she reflects on her years on stage, Blackwell says there are many performances she remembers with pride, including her first night in West Side Story on Broadway and singing her first role at the Metropolitan Opera as Pousette in Manon. She sang for Pope John Paul II twice — during World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 and for his 80th birthday at the Vatican — and she performed during a powerful concert following Sept. 11, 2001, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
“What I really enjoy is singing and communicating to my audience the beauty of great music whether it is opera, art songs, oratorio, musical theatre, or the American songbook,” she said. “If I can touch someone’s life and make their day better, that’s what makes performing so worthwhile and rewarding.”
Only days into his freshman year at The Catholic University of America, Haig Mardirosian, B.M. 1969, M.F.A. 1970, D.M.A. 1972, learned there was an organist needed at the adjoining National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The son of an accomplished musician, Mardirosian had grown up in a musical home playing piano and studying the organ, so he quickly jumped at the opportunity.
“I started as a freshman playing on the new organ (which had just been installed in 1965) on a weekly basis,” Mardirosian said. “There I was, at 18 years old, playing one of the largest, most important instruments in the country — an experience I wouldn’t have found anywhere else.”
That first job soon led to another job as the assistant organist at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, where Mardirosian began working while still an undergrad. As he continued his education at CUA, he began accepting more gigs and soon developed a network of musical connections within the Washington region.
After he earned his doctorate, Mardirosian was playing in a church when a singer in his choir asked if he would be interested in teaching a course in conducting at American University. Mardirosian took the job and, two years later, applied for and was offered a full-time position as assistant professor. What started as one class turned into a 33-year career at American University, during which time he kept moving up in the administrative ranks. Eventually he became dean of academic affairs and senior vice provost.
In addition to this work at American University, Mardirosian began writing music reviews in the 1970s. He wrote for the Baltimore News-American, Forecast, The American Organist, The Diapason, the Journal of American Organ Building, and Fanfare, and had his own opinion column in The American Organist.
Five years ago, Mardirosian accepted a position as professor and dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Tampa, in part because he wanted to be closer to his musical roots. Though his work has taken him far into the world of academic administration, Mardirosian still thinks of himself as a “purebred musician” first and foremost. He practices for hours daily and has more than 20 commercially available recordings to his credit. This year he conducted a program of Mozart concertos with the Florida Orchestra and played a number of other concerts, including one at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh in October. Next June, he will play at the Annual Convention of the Association of Anglican Musicians.
After playing in recitals and festivals and making recordings and broadcasts around the world, Mardirosian said some of his favorite moments have been the small performances — the time he played midnight Mass at a small parish in the inner city of D.C., for example, or the years when he played at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington and his audiences included homeless people looking for shelter.
“For some people, that unintentional little moment of music might be one of the best moments of their day,” he said. “Many times I’ve heard back from people years later that some trivial moment or performance of mine was somehow transformational or important to them. That makes all the hours of practice worth it.”
Looking back on his years in D.C., Mardirosian said he enjoyed watching the city’s arts scene grow and develop. One of the leaders, he believes, was Catholic University. “I witnessed in that time the remarkable period of growth for the artistic life of D.C. and the role of CUA at the forefront of that was incredible,” he said. “Having been there for that period of time and witnessing it, I realize what a great thing it was for the city and how lucky I was to have been a part of that.”
After six years of studying music at The Catholic University of America, Jessie Huang, D.M.A. 2012, found herself teaching piano in a most unusual locale — a prestigious international school in the Himalayan mountains of Uttarakhand, India, an area known for its cold weather, high altitude, and amazing views.
“Every day when I opened the door of my home, I could see the clouds in front of me,” Huang said. “I felt like I was teaching piano in a cloud.”
Spurred on by a passion for piano and a sense of adventure, Huang got a job working at the Woodstock School, a boarding school with students and faculty from around the world. For two years, she taught individual and group piano classes for grades three through 12 and organized the music for school productions. Huang, who is originally from Taiwan, said she enjoyed immersing herself in the Indian culture, but also liked working with faculty and students from all over the world.
“Can you imagine a school in India, but it’s an international community?” she said. “It was really amazing. Ninety percent of the faculty were from Western countries and I was the only teacher from Taiwan.” After two years of living and working in India, Huang was ready for her next challenge.
Since June, she has worked as a piano teacher at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) in Kabul. In her new post, she teaches piano, chamber music coaching, and ear training.
Life in Afghanistan is not easy. Because of security concerns, Huang is not allowed to travel independently. Sometimes she has trouble communicating because of the language barrier. Still, Huang said she enjoys working at a school that offers free education for those who need it. At ANIM, education is open to boys and girls who pass an audition, including some students from orphanages. While the school emphasizes music, the curriculum prepares students to pursue careers in many fields around the world.
“The students in Afghanistan are very motivated because they know they are lucky,” Huang said. “They know they are blessed to learn music so they don’t take it for granted. They always ask for extra lessons.
“To be able to teach piano in this school makes me think that, ‘Wow, this is a meaningful job,’” Huang said. “I might not be the most famous pianist, but I know I’m doing something to help people, to help the community through music, and to help show love and courage to the students, and that is really powerful.”
Though Huang doesn’t know how long she will stay in Afghanistan, she said she hopes to continue teaching piano her whole life. She was inspired to do so by her professors at CUA, including Marilyn Neeley, who passed away in 2007.
“She was my first piano teacher at Catholic University,” Huang said. “She already had cancer and she was very sick, but every day she insisted on coming to school and sitting in front of the desk to teach me. Her love and her contribution to music education really inspired me.”
Other influential professors for Huang include Ralitza Patcheva, who “became a mentor and a friend,” and Ivo Kaltchev, the head of the Piano Division who is “always accessible to students looking for help.” “I really appreciate the faculty at CUA who are not just my teachers, but also my friends and family,” Huang said. “Their love and their approach to teaching help students to become better people, even after they graduate.”
1965: The School of Music is established, out of the preexisting Department of Music. John Paul is the first dean.
For the past 50 years, the School of Music at The Catholic University of America has been “the preeminent center for music studies, performances, and research for Catholic universities in the United States,” says the school’s dean, Grayson Wagstaff.
With its strong Catholic emphasis, the school has trained generations of musicians for the Church, Catholic school educators, and countless performers, artists, and scholars who have achieved great success in the secular world. As the school kicks off its yearlong anniversary celebration, Wagstaff hopes alumni, current students, their families, and Catholics from across the United States will come together to celebrate the school’s legacy and accomplishments.
“Our alumni are all over the world and we have such phenomenal alumni who represent the quality of the University,” Wagstaff says. “They are special whether they are performing at the Metropolitan Opera or volunteering at their local parishes because both of these represent how powerful a force music can be in people’s lives.”
Over the course of the next year, the school will mark its anniversary with special concerts and events, highlighted by a return to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with a full program by the CUA Symphony Orchestra and Choruses on Sunday, April 12, at 8 p.m. The jubilee year will begin with a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra in Catholic University’s newly refurbished Hartke Theatre on Jan. 12, as part of the NSO “In Your Neighborhood” series in Brookland.
In the future, Wagstaff says he would like to see the music school continue its role as a center of musical excellence within the Catholic Church, educating students from across the United States and the world, while growing as a resource for local schools and parishes in the greater Washington, D.C., area. In addition to its Catholic focus, the school has long emphasized Latin American music through its Latin American Music Center for Graduate Studies, which promotes and celebrates Ibero-American music. In order to continue providing the best education for CUA students, Wagstaff says the school will need to invest in improved facilities and scholarships, musical instruments, and technologies to educate students for a changing world.
“The 2015 celebration is just a stop on the way to the 100th anniversary and a reminder that the music school will continue to be a central part of the University, helping to promote Catholic University in the United States and internationally for years to come,” he says.
For a complete list of the music school’s anniversary events, including locations, dates, and ticket information, visit music.cua.edu