Discussion Panel

Known for his distinctive style and thoughtful musicianship, timpanist/percussionist Craig McNutt has become a vital performer in the realm of percussion performance. His performance have taken him to several of the world’s great concert halls, including Boston’s Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall, and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and the Oper Frankfurt. In advancing the visibility of classical music, he has also performed at several non-traditional venues such as France’s Eiffel Tower, the twenty five hundred year old Delphi Theater in Greece, New York’s World Financial Center, and Boston’s Fenway Park.

Praised by critics for his “colorful percussion sounds” (Boston Globe) and “crisp mallet work” (Providence Journal), Craig McNutt has been featured as a soloist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic (Russell Peck’s Harmonic Rhythm) and Collage New Music (Steven Mackey’s Micro-Concerto). He has collaborated with some of the most celebrated composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Elliott Carter, Lukas Foss, John Cage, Bernard Rands, Gunther Schuller, George Rochberg, Charles Fussell, John Harbison, Michael Gandolfi, and Lee Hyla, and performed under the direction of many noted conductors, including James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle, Roger Norrington, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Robert Spano, Oliver Knussen, Reinbert de Leeuw, and John Williams.

As a performer, Mr. McNutt has worked with virtually all of Boston’s major musical groups, including the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops, Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Cantata Singers, A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. He is Principal Timpanist of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and performs regularly as Principal Timpanist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Emmanuel Music, and Opera Boston. In the contemporary music genre, Craig is a featured percussionist for Collage New Music and ALEA III, and has performed with Boston Musica Viva and Dinosaur Annex. Equally at home in the field of historical performance, he regularly performs on baroque timpani with the period instrument groups Boston Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society, and Boston Cecilia.

Mr. McNutt can be heard on over forty commercially released recordings, many of them on the ground-breaking and critically acclaimed BMOP/sound label. Two of these recordings – Charles Fussell’s Wilde and Derek Bermel’s Voices – were nominated for a Grammy award by the Recording Industry Association of America. His discography features many other celebrated record labels, including Telarc, Bridge, ECM New Series, Koch Classics, Chandos, Albany, and Naxos.

Mr. McNutt has participated in several important performances at music festivals dedicated to the advancement of modern music, such as the Ditson Festival of Contemporary Music, the MATA Festival, the Composer Portraits Series at Miller Theatre, Pittsburgh’s New Music on the Edge, and California State University’s Festival of New American Music. In 2000, Mr. McNutt was invited to return to the Festival of Contemporary Music at the Tanglewood Music Center for a performance of Pierre Boulez’s Sur Incises, a performance hailed by The Boston Globe as “simply beyond praise.”

A Massachusetts native, Mr. McNutt holds degrees from the Hartt School of Music and Yale University, and has completed additional studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. He is a two time alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, and has also spent summers studying at the Aspen Music Festival, and as a fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. Currently Mr. McNutt teaches at The New England Conservatory Preparatory School , The Music School of The Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Wellesley College. He has also served on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music and the University of Rhode Island.

A strong advocate for his instrument, Mr. McNutt has immersed himself in many other aspects of percussion, including stick wrapping, timpani maintenance, and tucking calf skin drumheads, and has mentored many on these subjects . Having sewn his own timpani mallets for over 15 years, Mr. McNutt has in turn presented master classes on timpani mallet wrapping at The Boston Conservatory and at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School.

For more information and upcoming events, please visit www.craigmcnutt.com

Don Ehrlich received his training in the east. His Bachelor’s degree was from the Oberlin Conservatory, his Master’s degree was from the Manhattan School of Music, and his doctorate, a DMA, was from the University of Michigan. e came to the Bay Area in 1972 after winning an audition in the San Francisco Symphony. His tenure there, including a quarter century as Assistant Principal, was 35 years, until his recent retirement.

William Buchman joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1992, after two seasons with the Dallas Symphony. In 1996, he was appointed to the position of assistant principal bassoon. He served as acting principal between November 1996 and August 1997 and for the CSO's 2003-04 season, as well as on the recently-ended CSO tour of Europe.

Bill has performed and toured with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Pro Musica and the Chicago Symphony Winds, has played chamber music with pianists Daniel Barenboim and Christoph Eschenbach, and appears regularly with Music of the Baroque. He made his debut as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony in February 2002, and was a soloist at the 1998 Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Bill has appeared at the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival in Maryland, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming and the St. Bart’s Music Festival in the Caribbean. He was awarded first prize in the 1990 Gillet Competition of the International Double Reed Society, and has performed at several IDRS conferences since then.

Bill is from Canton, Ohio, and earned a bachelor of science degree in physics magna cum laude with Honors from Brown University in 1987. With the support of a DAAD Fellowship, he continued his physics studies the following year at the Universität Fridericiana Karlsruhe in Germany. Upon returning to the United States, Bill studied bassoon performance at the Yale University School of Music with Arthur Weisberg and at the University of Southern California School of Music with Norman Herzberg, before winning a position in Dallas, where he was also on the faculty of the Meadows School at Southern Methodist University.

A member of the DePaul University School of Music faculty, Bill also coaches the bassoon section of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has presented master classes in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Indiana, Brazil and China. He lives with his partner Lee Lichamer in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood, and is an avid bridge player and bread baker.

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

Gaylon Patterson joined the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in 1985, where he is is currently acting principal second violin. He is very active in strategic planning and in developing community engagement initiatives with the MSO, and served as negotiation chair for the most recent contract renewal.

He spent seven years as ROPA delegate for the MSO and two years on ROPA’s executive board, and was the local host for ROPA’s 2003 conference in Memphis. He is still ROPA’s trustee for the AFM Strike Fund. Gaylon enjoys playing chamber music, and is regularly featured at Memphis Chamber Music Society concerts. He has taught violin and chamber music at the University of Memphis and the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts.

Gaylon’s day jobs before becoming a full-time musician ranged from retail sales through cotton marketing to ag-chem research, in keeping with his perplexing educational background. He studied electrical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and transited through the architecture and fine arts departments at the University of Arkansas before finally completing a B.A. in Music Performance. He also holds an M.M. in performance from the University of Memphis.

Don Ehrlich received his training in the east. His Bachelor’s degree was from the Oberlin Conservatory, his Master’s degree was from the Manhattan School of Music, and his doctorate, a DMA, was from the University of Michigan. e came to the Bay Area in 1972 after winning an audition in the San Francisco Symphony. His tenure there, including a quarter century as Assistant Principal, was 35 years, until his recent retirement.

William Buchman joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1992, after two seasons with the Dallas Symphony. In 1996, he was appointed to the position of assistant principal bassoon. He served as acting principal between November 1996 and August 1997 and for the CSO's 2003-04 season, as well as on the recently-ended CSO tour of Europe.

Bill has performed and toured with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Pro Musica and the Chicago Symphony Winds, has played chamber music with pianists Daniel Barenboim and Christoph Eschenbach, and appears regularly with Music of the Baroque. He made his debut as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony in February 2002, and was a soloist at the 1998 Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Bill has appeared at the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival in Maryland, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming and the St. Bart’s Music Festival in the Caribbean. He was awarded first prize in the 1990 Gillet Competition of the International Double Reed Society, and has performed at several IDRS conferences since then.

Bill is from Canton, Ohio, and earned a bachelor of science degree in physics magna cum laude with Honors from Brown University in 1987. With the support of a DAAD Fellowship, he continued his physics studies the following year at the Universität Fridericiana Karlsruhe in Germany. Upon returning to the United States, Bill studied bassoon performance at the Yale University School of Music with Arthur Weisberg and at the University of Southern California School of Music with Norman Herzberg, before winning a position in Dallas, where he was also on the faculty of the Meadows School at Southern Methodist University.

A member of the DePaul University School of Music faculty, Bill also coaches the bassoon section of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has presented master classes in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Indiana, Brazil and China. He lives with his partner Lee Lichamer in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood, and is an avid bridge player and bread baker.

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

Francine Schutzman, a native of Sea Cliff, New York, has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1974, playing second oboe and English horn. She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she received her BM degree under the tutelage of DeVere Moore, Paul Kramer and Wayne Rapier; and of the Manhattan School of Music (MM degree), where she studied with Robert Bloom and Alfred Genovese. Prior to moving to Canada, she played in the Savannah and Oklahoma City Symphonies, and she taught oboe, piano, music theory and music appreciation at Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Francine has been involved with the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) since 1981, first as a delegate from her orchestra and later as a board member, holding various positions. She became President of the group in August, 2003. She served as a member of the NACO orchestra committee for approximately ten years, and she has been a board member of the Musicians’ Association of Ottawa-Gatineau (Local 180, AFM) since 1994. She has been the Local President since January, 2004. In connection with her OCSM position, she serves as an ex-officio board member of Orchestras Canada. She is a proud dual citizen of the US and Canada, but her energies have been devoted mainly to the betterment of the status of musicians in Canada.

Gaylon Patterson joined the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in 1985, where he is is currently acting principal second violin. He is very active in strategic planning and in developing community engagement initiatives with the MSO, and served as negotiation chair for the most recent contract renewal.

He spent seven years as ROPA delegate for the MSO and two years on ROPA’s executive board, and was the local host for ROPA’s 2003 conference in Memphis. He is still ROPA’s trustee for the AFM Strike Fund. Gaylon enjoys playing chamber music, and is regularly featured at Memphis Chamber Music Society concerts. He has taught violin and chamber music at the University of Memphis and the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts.

Gaylon’s day jobs before becoming a full-time musician ranged from retail sales through cotton marketing to ag-chem research, in keeping with his perplexing educational background. He studied electrical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and transited through the architecture and fine arts departments at the University of Arkansas before finally completing a B.A. in Music Performance. He also holds an M.M. in performance from the University of Memphis.