Carmean Music Series

Carmean Music Series 2022–23

Welcome to the inaugural season of the Carmean Music Series at Lebanon Valley College!

It is my honor and privilege to serve as the new Carmean Endowed Chair of Music, a position established with a generous gift from Dr. D. Clark Carmean, the former Dean of Admission and Professor of Music, and his wife Edna in 1997. In recent years, the gift has allowed us to invite artists of international renown, such as Eric Whitacre and the King’s Singer to perform at Lebanon Valley College.

In order to continue Dr. and Mrs. Carmean’s legacy, passing on their love and passion for music and music education, the Music Department is excited to present the Carmean Music Series. It is a program that will continue to enrich the musical experience of the students and its surrounding community through performances and masterclasses by world-class artists and pedagogues during the academic year.

For our inaugural 2022-23 season, we have the pleasure to present flautist David DeGiacobbe, conductor Maestro Lawrence Golan, tenor Dr. Oliver Lo, pianist Dr. Tanya Gabrielian, and organist Alan Morrison. The classes and the performances are to be open to both the LVC community and the public (except if restricted by the College for safety reasons).

We are looking forward to seeing you at these events!

Eric Fung, D.M.A.
Carmean Endowed Chair of Music

David Digiacobbe

David DiGiacobbe

Flute Masterclass | Sept. 17 | 1–3 p.m. | Lutz Hall

David DiGiacobbe has received critical acclaim for his solo, orchestral, and chamber music performances, in addition to his numerous appearances as a flute clinician and masterclass teacher. Since 2000, Mr. DiGiacobbe has performed as the Principal Flutist of the Harrisburg and Lancaster Symphony Orchestras. He often performs as guest principal flutist for the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. He has performed with the Virginia Symphony, Philly Pops, Opera Philadelphia, and with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Music Center.

Lio Kuok Wai

Lio Kuok-Wai

Piano Recital | Oct. 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Lutz Hall

A graduate of Curtis Institute of Music, pianist Lio Kuok-Wai was a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant administered by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the Career Advancement Award given by Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia. Praised by the Vancouver Sun as a “musician’s musician” and for his “sensitive playing” by the New York Times, the Macau-born pianist is active as a soloist and chamber musician worldwide.

Lawrence Golan

Lawrence Golan

Conducting Masterclass | Oct. 21 | 3–4:30 p.m. | TBD

Vibrant, inspired performances, imaginative programming, and evocative command of different styles and composers are the hallmarks of American conductor Lawrence Golan. Newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor of Germany’s Bayerische Philharmonie in April 2021, Golan’s Music Directorship with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra in Washington state has been renewed for seven more years (through the 2028-29 season) and with Pennsylvania’s York Symphony Orchestra for five more years (through the 2024-25 season). A dynamic, charismatic communicator, he also continues as Music Director of Colorado’s Denver Philharmonic, and of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at the University of Denver.

Oliver Lo

Oliver Lo

Vocal Recital | Nov. 20 | 3:30 p.m. | Lutz Hall

Oliver Lo has sung a diverse concert repertoire spanning from the tenor solo in Bach’s cantata “Wir danken dir” and Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus to Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Some of his professional operatic roles include Basilio and Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Jacquino in Fidelio, Roméo in Roméo et Juliet, and Sam in Susannah. Apart from being a college voice professor for over 25 years, Lo also has enjoyed a diverse career as Stage Director for operas and musicals and Music Director/Pit Conductor for musicals.

Tanya Gabrielian

Tanya Gabrielian

Piano Masterclass | Feb. 4 | Time TBD | Lutz Hall
Piano Recital | Feb. 5 | 3:30 p.m. | Lutz Hall

Hailed by the London Times as a “pianist of powerful physical and imaginative muscle”, Tanya Gabrielian has captivated audiences worldwide with her gripping performances. Tanya shot onto the international stage at the age of twenty with back-to-back victories in the Scottish International Piano Competition and Aram Khachaturyan International Piano Competition. Since then, she has performed on four continents in acclaimed venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Edinburgh International Festival, Seoul Arts Center, and the Salle Cortot in Paris, with such orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Alan Morrison

Alan Morrison

Organ Masterclass | March 17 | 4–6 p.m. | Miller Chapel

Alan Morrison is recognized as one of America’s premier concert organists and enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, teacher, recording artist, adjudicator, and chamber musician. His concert performances throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Russia have all been received with enthusiastic praise for his quality programming, colorful use of the organ, and interpretive integrity. A champion of new music, he has premiered important new works by Aldolphus Hailstork, Nico Muhly, William Bolcom, Rachel Laurin, Mary Beth Bennett, Dan Locklair, Daniel Crozier, Emily Maxson Porter, Kyle Smith, Eric Sessler, Tod Machover, and Brent Weaver. His numerous recordings are available on CD and streaming platforms.

Learn More About our Guests

As an orchestral player, David DiGiacobbe has performed with several rock bands, including The Moody Blues, The Who, and has participated in several movie and documentary scoring projects. In 2015 he was the cathedral flute soloist for the Papal visit to Philadelphia.

Mr. DiGiacobbe is a graduate of Temple University. He went on to receive his Artist Diploma in Flute performance from the Conservatory of Music in Lucca, Italy. His principal teacher was the legendary flutist, Julius Baker. As winner of the 1995 International Flute Competition in Riva del Garde, Italy, he has appeared for Italian radio & television, and at several major European music festivals. Since then he has given masterclasses and recitals in the US, Canada, South and Central America, and Europe.

He has appeared as a performer/clinician for the New York Flute Club, NJ Flute Society, Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia, Mid-Atlantic Flute Symposium, and at the NJNEA All-State Music Conference in Trenton, NJ.

In 2004 he performed the South American premiere of the Christopher Rouse Flute Concerto with the Bogota Philharmonic for National Television in Columbia. As a concerto soloist, he has appeared with the Harrisburg Symphony, Lancaster Symphony, and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

David spends his summers in Austria, where he serves as Orchestra Manager and flutist of the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz (Austria). He has held teaching positions at Temple University, The University of Pennsylvania, Widener University, and at the Lynn University Conservatory in Florida. He is currently a Professor of Flute at The College of New Jersey.

He has performed at venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, and Herkulessaal in Munich. He was chosen to step in for the legendary pianist, Radu Lupu, for a recital in Town Hall, New York to critical acclaim.

Kuok-Wai has studied under Gabriel Kwok, Gary Graffman, Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, Boris Berman, Jack Winerock, Stanislav Ioudenitch, and others.  His mentors include Imogen Cooper, Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss.  He was invited by Sir András Schiff to take part in many of his masterclasses in Europe, and by Leon Fleisher to attend his mentorship program at Caramoor in upstate New York.

A frequent participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, Kuok-Wai has performed with musicians such as Peter Wiley, Kim Kashkashian, Pamela Frank, Cho-Liang Lin, Peter Stumpf, Joseph Lin, Christoph Richter, Hsin-Yun Huang, Zoltan Fejevari, Oliver Herbert, Andrei Ionita, Ben Beilman, Danbi Um, the Shanghai Quartet, and others. During an anniversary celebration of Sandor Vegh and the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, Kuok-Wai was chosen to perform in masterclasses and concerts at Wigmore Hall in London, and the Salzburg Festival. He has also performed at a Schubertiade curated by Vancouver Recital Society, alongside pianists Inon Barnatan and Jonathan Biss.

A prize winner of numerous international competitions, Kuok-Wai received a Commendation of Merit given by the Chief Executive of Macau. He was invited to perform with his brother Lio Kuokman, for Hu Jintao, then President of the People’s Republic of China.

Having conducted throughout the United States and in Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, El Salvador, England, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, Maestro Golan continues to develop relationships with orchestras nationally and abroad.

As an award-winning recording artist, Mr. Golan has made several recordings, both as conductor and as a violinist.

A staunch advocate for music education, Lawrence Golan has been Director of Orchestral Studies and head of the graduate conducting program at the University of Denver since 2001. His latest honor is the 2021 Distinguished Scholar Award from the University of Denver.

An accomplished violinist, Golan served as Principal Second violinist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (1989-1990) and then Concertmaster of the Portland Symphony Orchestra for eleven years (1990-2001), before focusing his career on the podium. Golan is also a successful composer/arranger, with works published by Spurwink River Publishing, Mel Bay Publications, and LudwigMasters.

After working briefly as a mechanical engineer, Lo had a change of heart and graduated from The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts with distinction. Subsequently, Oliver received a full scholarship and teaching assistantship from the Eastman School of Music; and earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance (minor in directing). Dr. Lo now serves as the Associate Professor in Voice and Director of Opera & Music Theater at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Tanya’s Southbank debut recital in the Purcell Room in London, presented by the Philharmonia Orchestra, was chosen as “Performance of the Year” by Seen and Heard International. Her last album, Remix: Bach Transcriptions, was selected as Album of the Week by radio stations in Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Tanya has also been featured on the cover of the magazine Clavier.

In addition to the traditional concert stage, Tanya is passionate about inspiring new generations of musicians and music lovers in diverse settings, dedicated to community engagement, education, and activism through art. Projects have included collaborations with the National Alliance on Mental Illness in programs featuring composers with mental illnesses, highlighting the stigma around mental health issues; founding an interactive performance series for patients at the New York State Psychiatric Institute; an installation with the artist Fran Bull for the exhibit In Flanders Fields: A Meditation on War; and a multidisciplinary collaboration combining Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross with final statements from executed death row inmates. Tanya was awarded the Pro Musicis International Award, McGraw-Hill Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach, Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and the S&R Washington Award for her work.

Morrison has been chosen by his peers to perform for five national conventions of the AGO (Atlanta ’92, New York City ’96, Philadelphia ’02, Chicago ’06, and Atlanta 2020 as the Saint Cecilia Recitalist/Artist) as well as numerous regional conventions. He has appeared in concert with groups such as Chanticleer, Empire Brass, and the U.S. Army Chorus as well as with orchestras throughout the United States performing concertos by Jongen, Poulenc, Paulus, Barber, Sessler, Handel, Chilcott, and others. He is a regular performer at Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall where he performs as a soloist, concerto soloist, with choral and brass groups, and with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

At the Curtis Institute of Music, Alan Morrison holds the Haas Charitable Trust Chair in Organ Studies. He serves as College Organist at Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA, and as Organist-in-Residence at Spivey Hall where he holds the McGehee Family Organist Residency.  A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music (BMus in Organ and MMus in Piano Accompanying) and Juilliard School of Music (Professional Studies in Organ), his teachers were Sarah Martin, Cherry Rhodes and John Weaver (organ) and Robert Harvey, Vladimir Sokoloff and Susan Starr (piano).