Pianist Cahill Smith, cellist Theodore Kartal, and violinist Xiaoqing Yu toured throughout China this summer, as well as making stops through France and Korea. Besides performing for a large number of audiences, the trio also taught masterclasses to students along the way. Here are some of the photos that they took!
The Lee Faculty Trio will be performing on campus October 1st at 7:30 in Squires Recital Hall. We can’t wait to see you all there!
Over the next year, Dr. Ron Brendel will be performing several recitals and performances around the south. Be sure to write this in your calendar! The events are listed below.
1) Ron and Chery Brendel
Oct 28
Guest recitalists: Shorter University
2) Ron Brendel, with Catherine Garner
Nov. 14
Catherine Garner is a collaborative pianist from East Carolina Univ.
3 and 4) Ron Brendel with Catherine Garner
April 16 and 17
Recital
The Wilson House, Greenville, NC
5) Ron Brendel, guest recitalist
Date TBA
Valencia Community College, Orlando, FL
School of Music Alums Caroline Ward and Carlos Rising have created an EP with their spouses which released this past August. The EP, self titled “RE.CREATED,” is being used in partnership with a nonprofit called Challenge Ministries Global. We had the chance to talk to Caroline Ward about the announcing of the album.
Q: Well first off, how did this EP and band come together? I know that you and Carlos have previously worked together (particularly in chapel,) but what event or thought passed through the minds of you two that led to this new experience?
Caroline: Joshua and I saw Carlos and Anouk at their wedding in July of 2018 and found ourselves talking about how we were adjusting to post-graduate life in our different cities. At the time, Carlos was working at Mt. Paran North just outside of Atlanta, which was just a few hours away from where we are in Knoxville. We both had just recently gotten married and jumped into full-time vocational ministry and were reminiscing about the various musical opportunities we had during our time at Lee. After graduation, we both found it difficult to find creative outlets, as we no longer were surrounded by a concentrated pool of musicians like we had been at Lee. Half-heartedly, I made a comment—something like “let’s start a band–just to produce some sort of outlet to be creative and write again. We scheduled a weekend about a month later for us four to meet at a cabin in Georgia and try to write, just to test the waters. That weekend is where we dreamed of what we wanted this group to be and wrote our first song, “You Will Sustain.” After that, we really just got together one other weekend, wrote the rest of the songs for the EP, and made a plan to record in the Spring. It was and is important to us to create a space where our spouses—Joshua Ward and Anouk Rising—are included in what we do. And even though neither of them have been involved in created the music itself, they have both been an integral part of who we are what we do as a band.
Q: What are you doing now for work?
Caroline: I am in full-time vocational ministry on the worship staff of Two Rivers Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Carlos recently moved to the Seattle area to take the position of Worship Director at Timberlake Church.
Q: How is the process of recording the CD is going?
Caroline: We recorded the EP in March of 2019 at Next Level Productions in Nashville, Tennessee (the same studio that we recorded the LeeUWorship album at). We spent a weekend cranking out the songs with the help of an amazing team of musicians: Nico Barboza (Electric Guitar/Bass), Aaron Dick (Keys), Michael James (Electric Guitar), Christian Black (Drums) and Kristi Edwards (Violin).
Q: What are the plans after releasing the CD?
Caroline: We released the EP in late August of 2019—it is available on all digital platforms and on our website, recreatedmusic.com. We have embarked on Phase 2–now that we have released our project, we want to establish a relationship with those who listen to our music and to connect them to the organizations that we partner with. This will grow awareness and support to those across the world who need our help the most.
Q: How did Lee help you prepare for this experience?
Caroline: It is difficult to separate my musical knowledge and experience from my time at Lee. We had incredible professors and directors who instilled in us what it means to pursue hard-work and excellence.
Lee University is so proud of you both, and we wish you the best!
Coleman Smart is our student spotlight this month! He is a junior music and worship major from Ashville, North Carolina. In his future, he would love to be a full time ministry major, but would love the opportunity to travel with a singing group as well. As he is in his third year of being in The Voices of Lee, Coleman has learned how important finding a community is, and encourages everyone that finding a family at school is important. When asked about what his favorite memory with Voices was, he replied singing in the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York. Since he has dreamed of even going there, the fact that he was singing there was unbelievable and almost a full circle. Through his time at Lee, he has realized how important it is to apply excellence to learning and to be an excellent student for the Glory of God. His advice to new students is as follows, “Rather than comparing yourself to others, compare yourself to you were yesterday.”
Lee music education students made a big impression on Saturday, as they participated in a workshop hosted by the East Tennessee Orff Association in Clinton, TN. They worked with area music specialists under the leadership of Tiffany English, president of the American Orff Schulwerk Association, to explore methods and repertoire used to engage elementary students in music education. They had a great day of learning, and we are so blessed to have them at our school!
Music Connect 