Posted on June 17, 2002 at 10:05 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL – Three renowned musicians have been named to the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Music.
Jeff Reynolds, D.M.A., chairman of the UAB Department of Music, announced today that Russian pianist and Van Cliburn medalist Yakov Kasman, D.M.A., world-renowned trumpeter and former Regents Professor Leonard Candelaria, D.M.A., and clarinetist Denise Schmidt, D.M.A., will join the music faculty at UAB this fall.
“I am thrilled to announce the addition of three new members to our already world-renowned roster of music faculty at UAB,” Reynolds said. “The addition of these three faculty members will have a tremendous impact on our department in the recruiting and training of some of the finest student musicians from our state and, indeed, our nation. Having heard of their move to UAB, students from all over the world are now contacting the department seeking information on auditions and admission. We are very happy as we look to this next chapter in our growth.”
Yakov Kasman, D.M.A., the 1997 silver medal winner at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, is joining UAB as assistant professor of piano and Artist-in-Residence. Kasman has performed concerts in the United States, Asia and Russia and with the Pacific, Syracuse, Memphis, Miami, Alabama and Ft. Worth symphonies, the Athens State Orchestra, the Orchestre de Lille in France, the Singapore Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan and the Moscow Philharmonic. Kasman has 11 studio recordings; his recordings of the complete sonatas of Profokiev was awarded the “Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Academie du Disque” in France in 1996. His recording of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” is recommended by International Piano Quarterly as one of 14 equally ranked best in a survey of recordings from the past 75 years.
Kasman earned his graduate and postgraduate degrees at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory and also was professor of piano there. Kasman, well known to Alabama audiences, is scheduled to perform this season as part of the Gloria Narramore Moody Rising Star Series at the Alys Stephens Center and will be a guest artist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, playing Scriabin’s “Piano Concerto Op. 20.” Kasman is currently in Prague, collaborating on his latest recording of chamber music.
Trumpeter Leonard Candelaria, D.M.A., joins the faculty as a visiting professor of trumpet and Artist-in-Residence at UAB. Candelaria comes to UAB from the University of North Texas (UNT), the largest music school in the nation, where he was a Regents Professor of Trumpet. Candelaria has earned international recognition as one of the United States’ most distinguished artists and teachers and as a virtuoso performer on both modern and historical instruments. He has presented concerts and master classes at universities across the United States and in France, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Taiwan. Candelaria holds a doctorate of music from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in musical education from UNT. In 1990 Candelaria was the recipient of the Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award by the Faculty Senate of UNT. From 1993 to 1995, Candelaria was president of the International Trumpet Guild, a global association of trumpeters whose 7,100 members represent more than 60 countries, and he continues as a member of the ITG board of directors.
Clarinetist Denise Schmidt, D.M.A., joins the UAB faculty as assistant professor of clarinet and instrumental music education specialist. Schmidt comes to UAB from Mars Hill College in North Carolina, where she was an assistant professor of clarinet and music education coordinator. Schmidt is a member of the Kingsport, Hendersonville and Asheville symphonies and a former member of the Missouri Chamber Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Arlington Opera Orchestra and McCracken Woodwind Quintet. She earned her doctorate of musical arts from the University of Kentucky, her master’s of music in clarinet performance from UNT and an undergraduate degree in music education from Florida State University.