The string department offers a program of study focusing on solo, chamber, and orchestral literature. The department endeavors to develop exceptional individual musicianship through intensive private study and frequent contact with the faculty.
Students perform in chamber ensembles, weekly studio classes, master classes, departmental recitals, studio recitals, and the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra. The orchestral program offers an impressive array of literature ranging from the symphonies of Mozart to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Intense performance study is a central component of the Conservatory curriculum for all students.
Conservatory students and graduates have won numerous awards, including the Grace Vamos Competition and the Neale Silva Competition. Graduates are admitted into the most competitive graduate programs in the country with scholarships or assistantships.
Visiting Artists
There are frequent opportunities for interaction with guest artists. Recent guests include: Pinchas Zuckerman, the Colorado Quartet, the Borodin Quartet, and Janos Starker. Students also study off campus with faculty at summer music festivals such as Aspen, Banff, and Tanglewood.
Degree Information
Faculty
- Janet Anthony, cello
George and Marjorie Olsen Chandler Professor of Music
Janet Anthony, an active soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, has performed and taught in the Caribbean, the Far East, Europe, in Latin America, and throughout the United States.
As a student at the famed Vienna Hochschüle für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Ms. Anthony toured with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Austrian Radio Orchestra (ORF, Vienna) and the Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna Symphony. She also recorded with the Vienna Volksopern Orchestra and was solo cellist for the Bach Geminde Orchester.
Since 1996 she has regularly taught, performed and conducted throughout Haiti and has often been featured on national TV and radio broadcasts in that country. Professor Anthony has performed or taught in Argentina, Venezuela and Curacao, in Vietnam, Japan and China and she has presented lecture recitals on music for cello of American composers in France. As a member of the Duo Kléber, Ms. Anthony has performed in England, France, throughout the United States and, most recently, at festivals in Italy and in Bosnia. A former member of the artist faculty for the International School of Musical Arts in Ontario, Canada, she now spends most of her summers teaching, performing and conducting in Haiti.
Ms. Anthony is a frequent performer on Wisconsin Public Radio and has been heard on Arizona Public Radio and National Public Radio as well. The first holder of the George and Marjorie Olsen Chandler Professorship in Music at Lawrence University where she has taught since 1984, Ms. Anthony has served as visiting professor of cello and orchestral studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson and was formerly the principal cellist of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Contact by e-mail: janet.anthony@lawrence.edu
- Samantha George, violin
Associate Professor of Music
Currently Associate Professor of Violin at Lawrence University, Samantha George served as Associate Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1999-2008 and as Acting Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the 2002-2003 season. Her previous posts have included Assistant Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony, Core Concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony, and Guest Concertmaster appointments with the Charleston Symphony and the Oregon Symphony. She has performed at the Grand Teton Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Heidelberg Castle Festival, and the Washington Island Music Festival. Dr. George is also a faculty member at the Green Lake Chamber Music Workshop and Wisconsin Lutheran College. She received a high-school diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Performer’s Certificate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a graduate teaching assistant for Charles Castleman. She also holds a doctorate in violin performance and music theory from the University of Connecticut.
As a soloist, Dr. George has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, Raleigh Symphony, Idaho State Civic Symphony, Hartford Symphony, and the United States Coast Guard Band. Recent appearances include solo performances with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Beloit/Janesville Symphony, and Waukesha Symphony. In 2002, she performed the Bach Concerto for Two Violins with world-famous violinist Hilary Hahn and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Active as an advocate for greater understanding and appreciation of classical music, Dr. George has hosted two weekly radio programs: “MSO BackStagePass” (WFMR 106.9 Milwaukee) and “MSO Weekly Update” (WMSE 91.7 Milwaukee). In addition, she is a host of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s “Classical Connections” series, teaches music appreciation courses at the Washington Island Music Festival and hosts a number of pre-concert and post-concert lectures wherever she performs.
Contact by e-mail: samantha.george@lawrence.edu
- Wen-Lei Gu, violin
Associate Professor of Music
Wen-Lei Gu has performed actively throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. A recipient of numerous awards, she was the first prize winner of the Heida Hermanns International String Competition and China’s Fourth National Violin Competition, the silver medalist in the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition and the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition, and a prize winner in the California International Young Artist Competition. Dr. Gu has performed in such distinguished venues as the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Smetana Hall in Prague, La Sala Verdi in Milan, the Beijing Concert Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Born into a musical family, Dr. Gu started to play the piano and the violin at a young age. She made her international debut at the age of thirteen, performing the Saint–Saëns Violin Concerto in England with Yehudi Menuhin at the baton. Menuhin said of her playing: “sounds like a poem, looks like a painting.” Since coming to America at the same age, Dr. Gu has performed frequently as guest soloist with orchestras and at concert series throughout the world.
In 2000, Dr. Gu performed as soloist with the Bergen Philharmonic in the Opening Concert of the Millennium at the John Harms Center for the Arts in New Jersey. During the same year, she performed at the Bach Festival at Carnegie Hall commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death. In 2003, Dr. Gu performed the Wieniawski Concerto No. 2 with the Houston Symphony to an audience of five thousand; the concert was broadcast live on KUHF 88.7 FM. In 2004, she was the recipient of the prestigious Presser Award from the Theodore Presser Foundation for achievement in music. In 2005, Dr. Gu was the soloist with the China Beijing Philharmonic on its critically acclaimed tour of Europe. Her recent concert engagements have included recital tours in the Far East and Israel, live recital broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Live from the Chazen and Chicago WFMT Radio’s Live from Studio One, concerto appearances with the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony, the Harper Symphony, the Elkhart Symphony, the Fox Valley Symphony, and the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Gu holds the Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School, and the Master of Music from the Mannes College of Music in New York. She received her Doctor of Music in Violin Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she was the concerto competition winner and concertmaster. Her teachers include Yao-Ji Lin, Bin Chao, Dorothy Delay, Sally Thomas, Ida Kavafian, Paul Biss, and Miriam Fried. In addition, she has studied chamber music with Felix Galimir, Menaham Pressler, and Janos Starker. She frequently adjudicates as string judge in regional, state, and national music competitions. Her students have won top prizes in the Neale-Silva Young Artists Competition and the WMTA State Young Artists Competitions. Since 2006, Dr. Gu has teaching at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Contact by e-mail: wen-lei.gu@lawrence.edu
- Matthew Michelic, viola
Associate Professor of Music
Matthew Michelic enjoys a diverse musical career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. Mr. Michelic has been praised in the Denver Post as possesing "an extraordinarily rich viola sound", and the Milwaukee Sentinel viewed his performance of Hindemith's Trauermusik as a "touching, masterful interpretation". He has concertized throughout the United States and internationally as a member of the Kenwood, Da Vinci and Delos Quartets, and he has appeared in concert with such artists as Robert McDonald, Jeffrey Solow, the Amelia Piano Trio and the Fine Arts Quartet. Mr. Michelic has recorded on the Orion and CRI labels, has been a featured recitalist on WFMT radio in Chicago, and appears regularly on live chamber music broadcasts of Wisconsin Public Radio as a recitalist and as a member of the Lawrence Chamber Players. He has appeared as recitalist for meetings of the International Viola Congress, the Chicago Viola Society and the International Double Reed Society.
Mr. Michelic has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and has been principal violist of the Waukesha Symphony and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra. He currently serves as principal violist of the Green Bay Symphony and the Water City Chamber Orchestra. His solo appearances with orchestra include such major works as Harold in Italy, Flos Campi, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante and the Frank Martin Ballade.
Mr. Michelic holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Indiana University. He has studied at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Montreux, Switzerland. His principal teachers include Bernard Zaslav and Mimi Zweig, and he has performed in the master classes of Paul Doktor, Bruno Giuranna and William Primrose. His chamber music coaches include members of the Cleveland, Fine Arts, Guarneri, Juilliard and Vermeer Quartets.
Mr. Michelic has served as an artist-in-residence at the Colorado College, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the University of Delaware. His summer faculty appointments have included the Indiana University String Academy, the International School for Musical Arts in Ontario, the Green Lake Music Festival in Wisconsin and the CREDO Chamber Music Program in Oberlin, Ohio. He has presented master classes at schools of music across the United States and at the national conservatories of China (Beijing) and Vietnam (Hanoi).
Currently Mr. Michelic serves on the faculty of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, where his teaching activities include viola, chamber music coaching, orchestral literature for strings and an upper-level course focused on the history of the string quartet. The former students of Mr. Michelic now teach in public school, community school and university settings and perform in professional chamber and orchestral ensembles in both the United States and Europe.
Contact by e-mail: matthew.c.michelic@lawrence.edu
- Mark Urness, double bass
Associate Professor of Music
Mark Urness is a versatile bassist, composer, and educator. His diverse performance experience encompasses orchestral, chamber, jazz, salsa, and solo playing. He has served as Principal Bassist for the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and for five seasons was Principal Bassist for the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra. From 1999-2001 he freelanced in New York City, where he played with Adam Nussbaum, Lew Soloff, Eric Rasmussen, and Curtis Fowlkes, among others. He was awarded First Prize in the International Society of Bassists Jazz Competition, and performed with Bill Mays and Tim Froncek at the 2001 ISB Convention.
His compositions appear on several recordings, including the Bob Washut Trio's Songbook, Triptych's Play Here, and the University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band I's Northern Exposure. Recent recordings include Mafficked Simulacrum with the University of Iowa's jazz faculty group, oftEnsemble; a new album with the salsa band Orquesta Alto Maiz; and a project with Iowa City's eclectic jazz quartet, OddBar.
Prior to his appointment to the faculty of Lawrence University, Mr. Urness taught at the University of Iowa, Coe College, and the University of Northern Iowa. He received a Master of Music in double bass performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in music from the University of Northern Iowa, and studied music and computer science at the University of Iowa.
Contact by e-mail: mark.urness@lawrence.edu
- Nathan Wysock, classical guitar
Lecturer in Music
Nathan Wysock received the Doctor of Musical Arts (with a major in guitar performance and a minor in early music) and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He earned the Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois State University. Mr. Wysock is an avid performer of both solo and ensemble repertoire and has performed in competitions in the United States and abroad. He has been a featured performer on Wisconsin Public Radio and is a member of Lâensemble Portique, a group dedicated to both early and modern music. He recently premiered wrecked angels by Geoffrey Gordon, a work for flute, cello and guitar. His scholarly work includes lecture recitals on tango composer Astor Piazzolla and 19th century guitarist Victor Magnien. Mr. Wysock is a dedicated teacher who has been on the faculty of several community programs, the secondary guitar program at the Eastman School of Music, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Contact by e-mail: nathan.wysock@lawrence.edu
- Kirk D. Moss, string music education
Associate Professor of Music
Kirk D. Moss is an Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Education Department at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI. He serves as the elected national president of the 10,000-member American String Teachers Association. Dr. Moss has appeared as a guest conductor, clinician, or adjudicator in more than thirty states. In 2008, the University of Florida (Gainesville) School of Music awarded him an Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award. He has received four ASTA National Citation for Leadership & Merit awards. One of his former high schools honors him by annually awarding a college string scholarship in his name. He coauthored Sound Development for Intermediate String Orchestra by Alfred Music Publishing (2012).
Moss has written articles for Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra––Volumes 2 and 3, Journal of String Research, American String Teacher, Music Educators Journal, and The Instrumentalist. He also completed a four-year term on the Music Educators Journal Editorial Committee for MENC.
He has twelve years experience teaching elementary, middle, and high school orchestras. School orchestras under his direction performed for The Midwest Clinic (Chicago), Jubilee 2000 (Italy), earned the Gold Award at The San Francisco International Music Festival, the Grand Champion Award at The Orlando Festival of Music, and played three times for the Georgia MEA Conference (including a performance/clinic by the school’s thirty member viola choir).
Prior to his Lawrence appointment, he led orchestral activities and string education at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Under his baton, the MSU-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra tripled in size, and it performed for the 2009 Minnesota Music Educators Association Conference and 2007 North Dakota MEA Conference. He previously worked as Area Chair in Music Education at Valdosta State University and led the South Georgia String Project. He has conducted on the summer faculties of the Lamar Stringfield Music Camp (NC) and Interlochen Arts Camp (MI).
Moss holds a PhD in Music Education, conducting emphasis, from the University of Florida (Gainesville). He received a Master of Music degree, with a cognate in string pedagogy, from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a graduate teaching assistant for Gerald Doan and a Bachelor of Music degree, with high distinction, from the University of Michigan under the guidance of Robert Culver. Kirk and his wife, Deb, celebrate twenty-five years of marriage. They have three children: Bethany, Luke, and Lydia.
Contact by e-mail: kirk.d.moss@lawrence.edu
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