November 2, 2008: Russell will be married in St. Paul, MN, to Tara Francke!
Spring 2008: The Spring 2008 issue of the New York Concert Review, Inc. magazine features a review of the Lester/Roldán Duo concert given in New York on December 6th. The review, written by Rorianne Schrade, features the following lines: "Helping introduce a younger generation of composers, they then gave the New York première of 'Fantasy [sic] and Fugue on a Gregorian Theme' (2003) by Russell Nadel (b. 1983) a prizewinning Peabody graduate. Combining plainchant and jazz, the work is full of melodic outpourings (tonal) and shows the composer to have much promise; it was perhaps most successful in the fugal writing, where the compositional discipline required brought particular focus to the work. The duo performed it with persuasive commitment." The review also featured a photograph of the Duo.
November 2007 to the present: Russell is working on a new composition for trumpet and organ, requested by wonderful trumpeter and good friend Brent Flinchbaugh, a current Master's student at Esther Boyer School of Music at Temple University in Philadelphia.
September 5, 2006, to the present: Russell is the General Music Specialist at Mount Vernon Woods Elementary School, just south of Alexandria, VA. He is teaching K-6 general music, 5th and 6th grade chorus, and the extracurricular Recorder Masters and Percussion Ensemble performing groups. The most recent concert of these performing groups, on June 12, 2008, was a great success.
Happy News as of 1/20/08! Russell is delighted to announce his engagement to Tara Francke! You can see pictures from the evening's events here: The Proposal!
March 13, 2008, 7:00 p.m.: The Youth Choruses of the Fairfax Choral Society of Fairfax, VA, under the direction of Caroline Desmond, presented the world premiere of a newly-commissioned work by Russell Nadel as a part of their 4th Annual Poetry of Music Fine Arts Project. The concept of the Poetry of Music Project/Concert is one that creates a shared fine arts effort between the Fairfax Choral Society, and a specially selected Fairfax County public school, which this year was Daniels Run Elementary School. Mr. Nadel set to music a poem by Daniels Run Elementary School student Hithem Shaw, entitled "Flood," which Mr. Nadel selected as the most outstanding original poem collected from the talented Daniels Run students. The Fairfax Choral Society commissioned this original work. The concert was held at Annandale United Methodist Church, 6935 Columbia Pike, in Annandale, VA.
December 6, 2008, 7:30 p.m., and December 4, 2008, at 8 p.m.: Russell is delighted to announce that the illustrious Lester/Roldán Duo will be performing his Fantasia and Fugue on a Gregorian Theme for two pianos as a part of their 30th Anniversary Tour. This piece was written for and dedicated to these fine performers. Their first performance will take place in Rosenstock Auditorium, Hood College, Frederick, MD, on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. as the 2007 Homer Carhart Guest Pianists. They will be playing on two Mason and Hamlin 9'4" concert grands, and admission is free. Drs. Roldá and Lester will also be playing in New York City on December 6, in the YASI Piano Salon at Yamaha Artist Services, Inc., 689 5th Avenue, 3rd floor (between 5th and Madison Avenues), New York, NY 10022. Tickets are $25 general admission and $15 for students and seniors. Our program includes works by Bach, Dello Joio, St. Saens, Russell Nadel (NY premiere of a piece written for us), Guastavino, and Liszt (Don Juan fantasy). This will be Mr. Nadel's first New York City public concert. Click here to see the official Yamaha poster, and read on for more information about the Lester/Roldán Duo.
The two-piano team of Noel Lester and Nancy Roldán was formed in 1977, when the pianists were graduate students at The Peabody Conservatory of Music. They performed their very first concert in Brodbeck Music Hall at Hood College in October of that year. Inspired by their rapport and sympathetic partnerships, they have performed steadily since that time, and highlights of their collaboration include participation in the opening-week festivities at Friedberg Hall at The Peabody Conservatory of Music, a Kennedy Center debut, a recital as convention artists for The Maryland State Music Teachers Association, several CD recordings, and recitals at such locations as Bucknell University, The College of Wooster, George Washington University, Hood College, Montgomery College, Messiah College, Maryland Hall in Annapolis, and many other colleges and universities. They have presented the world or American premieres of two-piano and piano duet music by Carlos Guastavino, Russell Nadel, Tom Benjamin, and Brian Dykstra. In May of 2007, they kicked off their 30th-anniversary celebration as soloists with Concert Artists of Baltimore in a performance of St. Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals”; their performance received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd and Tim Smith, writing in the Baltimore Sun, called it a “bright reading” and a “polished performance.” In 2007-2008, they will perform anniversary concerts at Hood College, at Yamaha Hall in New York, and at Buckingham’s Choice. Their program will include works by Bach, Dello Joio, St. Saëns, Russell Nadel, Guastavino, and Liszt. They have released a CD in conjunction with this milestone event: The Lester Roldan Duo: A 30-Year Celebration. In addition to their duo, both Noel Lester and Nancy Roldán have maintained busy solo and teaching careers.
November 9, 2007: Russell has just updated his website, with more recent news and the recent Woodbridge Flute Choir recording of the world premiere of Euphony!
October 21, 2007: The Woodbridge Flute Choir of Woodbridge, VA, under the direction of Debbie Gilbert, presented the world premiere Euphony. The Woodbridge Flute Choir commissioned this original work. The concert, held at Bull Run Regional Library in Manassas, VA, also featured performances by other local Washington, DC area composers.
June 14, 2007: The Mount Vernon Woods Choir, Band, and Orchestra performed their Year-End Concert in the Mount Vernon Woods gymnasium. The concert also featured special performances by the Recorder Masters and an all-new Percussion Ensemble.
May 4, 2007: Russell's piece Four Haiku, a cappella choral settings of four haiku by Japanese haiku masters Basho, Buson and Issa, received its world premiere by the Vancouver Chamber Choir of British Columbia, Canada, at their "Youth & Music" 2007 Young Composers Concert at Ryerson United Church in Vancouver. NOW ONLINE: For audio samples from the performance, navigate to my Choral Works page.
April 11, 2007, 7:30pm: Russell's piece Lyric Variations for wind ensemble received its world premiere by the Peabody Wind Ensemble of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Baltimore, MD, under the direction of Dr. Harlan Parker. NOW ONLINE: For audio samples from the performance, navigate to my Large Ensemble Works page.
November 2006: Russell Nadel's piece Dodici was performed by members of the Bakersfield Symphony (CA) on their New Directions Concert.
Summer 2006: Russell moved from Maryland to Virginia; canoed and hiked along the C&O Canal for a week as an Assistant Scoutmaster for BSA Troop 185 based in Elkins Park, PA; attended the Walden School Teacher Training Institute for Level II coursework; and prepared for teaching elementary general music.
Late April 2006: Russell accepted an early hiring opportunity extended to him by Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. He will begin teaching in Fairfax County for the 2006-2007 school year.
May 25, 2006: Russell Nadel graduated from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University at 7:30 in the evening, walking in Friedberg Hall at Peabody. He received his Master of Music degree in Music Composition and his Bachelor of Music Education degree in Music Education. He also processed in the morning at Johns Hopkins's Homewood commencement ceremony.
May 24, 2006: The Story of Hollywood, an original opera co-written by Russell Nadel and a group of third- and fourth-graders at Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School (PS 122) in Baltimore City, was premiered by the student composers at the school. This opera is the product of the pilot run of the Baltimore Opera Company's "Create and Produce" education/outreach project, funded for the first time this year. Over the course of eight weeks, meeting for just over two hours per week, Mr. Nadel and this group of almost 20 students worked together to collaboratively create an original opera libretto and 20-25 minutes of original music, have rehearsed the full opera extensively in preparation for its premiere. The performances took place at Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School, in Baltimore City, at 10:00am and 6:00pm, and were very well received by students, family and friends alike. NOW ONLINE: Click here to listen to the whole opera!
April 17, 2006: Virtuoso pianist Michael Sheppard gave the world premiere of Mr. Nadel's solo piano work Crossings at a Composition Department recital in Griswold Hall at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Mr. Sheppard has received critical acclaim for both his interpretations of classic and contemporary pieces and for his original compositions. In a collaboration with the Cultural Programs Division of the U.S. Department of State, he toured the Middle East and Asia as one of two 2003 Classical Fellows of the American Pianists Association. NOW ONLINE: Please navigate to my Solo Works page for sound clips of this performance.
April 2006: Mr. Nadel was awarded the 2006 Madge Cathcart Gerke Award for Music Education from the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation.
April 2006: Mr. Nadel's solo piano work Crossings was awarded Second Prize in the 2006 Virginia Carty DeLillo Composition Competition.
March 17, 2006: Prof. Tom Colohan and the Santa Clara University Chamber Singers performed Mr. Nadel's choral work Psalm 23 during their concert entitled "The Romantics and Americana." The concert will be held at the Mission Church on Santa Clara's campus in beautiful Santa Clara, CA at 8:00pm. Mr. Nadel's work was featured alongside a diverse program of Bruckner motets, Romantic Russian church music, love songs, folk songs, and a recent work by SCU faculty member Pamela Layman Quist. Click here for the official SCU event description page.
February 3, 2006: Mr. Nadel's orchestral work Compression Waves was read and recorded by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Ana Brajovic, in the Peabody Conservatory of Music's Friedberg Concert Hall.
February 1, 2006: Mr. Nadel gave a Conducting Recital featuring his own Five Scenes for Ten Players for woodwind and brass quintets and Igor Stravinsky's Octet for winds, in The Peabody Conservatory of Music's East Hall at 7:00pm. The performance was a great success, thanks to the tremendous talent and dedication of the twelve wonderful performers involved. Watch Mr. Nadel's Streaming Audio page for clips from the recital, hopefully available by the end of February 2006.
Winter Break 2005: Mr. Nadel spent a couple of weeks making the parts for his February orchestral reading (see above). He then traveled to Israel from January 9-22 with IsraelExperts as a selected participant for the Taglit-Birthright Israel program. View his photos from the trip here!
December 23, 2005: Mr. Nadel completes his semester of full-time student teaching. From August through October he interned for master teacher Diane Hendry, NCLB, at Hampton and Pot Spring Elementary Schools, both in Baltimore County. He continued through November and December at Parkville High School in Baltimore County under master teacher Mary Lynn Freyer. While at Hampton and Pot Spring, Mr. Nadel helped in the recruitment process for instrumental music and taught sections of fifth-grade band and orchestra, and fourth-grade Exploratory Music; while at Parkville he taught or assisted with the Marching Band, Pep Band, Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Orchestra, and multiple sections of Guitar I. This completes his Bachelor's degree in Music Education with a concentration in Music Composition, as well as the requirements for a K-12 teaching certification in music.
December 20, 2005: Mr. Nadel's orchesta work Compression Waves is selected for reading by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra - see above.
December 19, 2005: Mr. Nadel completes a new work, entitled Crossings, for solo piano. This is his first solo piano work in over five years. Stay tuned to this page for details regarding its upcoming premiere performance(s).
October 1, 2005: Mr. Nadel's work Compression Waves for orchestra is finalized in rough draft form and named.
September 14, 2005: Official launch of russellnadel.com!
Early September 2005: Mr. Nadel is awarded both the Outstanding Senior Acheivement Award for Mu Phi Epsilon's Atlantic District for 2005 and the 2005 Sterling Achievement Award, given to the most outstanding senior in the entire Fraternity.
Late August 2005: Mr. Nadel's large chamber work Five Scenes for Ten Players is announced to be the winner in the Mu Phi Epsilon Original Composition Contest for 2005 (Division I, Class A).
Summer 2005: Russell attended a variety of workshops and teacher training institutes located in Ohio, Vermont, Connecticut and Maryland. The workshops attended include Music05, a nine-day music festival held at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) from June 11 through June 19, which featured a performance of Mr. Nadel's Serenata a due for flute and guitar; the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education) Teacher Training Institute at Otterbein College in Columbus, OH from June 23-25; the Walden School Teacher Training Institute ("Developing Creative Expression") at Keene State College in Keene, NH from July 10-16; the Kodály Certification Program, Level I, at the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford, CT, from July 18-29, studying under master educator John Feierabend; the Orff Certification Program, Level I, held for the first time ever at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, MD, from August 1-12, studying under master teachers Matt McCoy and Anne Puckett.
June 3, 2005: Russell Nadel's chamber piece Dodici has been selected as the winning piece in the 2005 Bakersfield Symphony New Directions Call for Scores, sponsored by the Bakersfield Symphony of Bakersfield, CA. Dodici will be performed by Symphony members at their annual New Directions concert next year, to be held on February 26, 2006.
May 26, 2005: Russell graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, MD, with a Bachelor's of Music degree in Music Composition. Mr. Nadel was also the recipient of the 2005 Peabody Alumni Award for the graduating senior with the highest cumulative GPA.
May 2005: Mr. Nadel is awarded the Frank D. Willis Memorial Prize for excellence in composition by the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
April 20, 2005: Mr. Nadel's saxophone quartet, Wail, was performed by the Threshold Saxophone Quartet (talented Peabody performers Tommy Jones, Maureen Walsh, Brian Bubnash, and Zachary Herchen, who commissioned its composition in December 2004), at the year's next-to-last Composition Departmental Recital.
Late April, 2005: Russell Nadel awarded Second Prize in the Prix d'Été X (2005), for his chamber winds work Five Scenes for Ten Players, commissioned and premiered by Dr. Harlan Parker and the Peabody Chamber Winds on March 2, 2005. The prizewinning works were performed at 12:00 noon on Thursday, April 28, 2005, in Friedberg Concert Hall at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
April 1, 2005: The Peabody Jazz Orchestra, in which Mr. Nadel plays piano, performed their last concert of the year in East Hall at the Peabody Conservatory. The concert, featuring special guest Sam Rivers and the other two members of his Trio, was a smashing success - the PJO played to a standing-room-only house!
March 5, 2005, Griswold Hall, The Peabody Conservatory: Russell presented his Senior Composition Recital, featuring a variety of the works he composed throughout his undergraduate tenure at Peabody, including:
- Nigunim v'T'filot (Tunes and Prayers) (2004) - Jesse Irons and Sonya Chung, violins
- From Depths of Grass (2004) - Andrea Wiltzius, soprano, Dimitri Dover, piano
- Serenata a due (2003) - Jessica Finch, flute, Ben Biers, guitar
- Trio (2002) - Dan Gianola-Norris, trumpet, Jonathan Francis, horn, Gregory Campbell, trombone
- Two movements from Dodici (2002):
- II. Reflection - TBA, flute, Kristin Chadderton, piano, Joanna Dabrowska, percussion
- III. Variations - Melany Felsen, clarinet, Jesse Irons, violin, Megan Koch, cello
The recital was a great success - many thanks to all those who helped it come to life!
March 2, 2005, Griswold Hall, The Peabody Conservatory: The Peabody Chamber Wind Ensemble (a division of the Peabody Wind Ensemble), under the direction of Dr. Harlan Parker, gave the World Premiere performance of Russell's commissioned work Five Scenes for Ten Players for combined brass and wind quintets. A full house heard a fine performance - again, many thanks are due to Dr. Parker and the talented musicians who realized the difficult piece.
January 2005: Russell named a Runner-Up (Emerging Composer) in the 2005 New York Art Ensemble Young Composer's Competition.
January 26, 2005: Russell's song cycle "From Depths of Grass" received its premiere at a Peabody Composition Department Recital, in a marvelous performance by Andrea Wiltzius, soprano, and Dimitri Dover, piano.
January 2005: Nigunim v'T'filot (Tunes and Prayers), nine duets for two violins based on traditional Jewish prayer and devotional melodies, to be premiered at Russell's Senior Recital on March 5.
December 2004 - January 2005: Reorchestration of Five Scenes for Ten Players, to be premiered by the Peabody Chamber Winds on March 2 (see above).
October 16, 2004: Peabody Conservatory's Phi Gamma Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon hosted the first Atlantic District Conference of Mu Phi Epsilon in several years. Phi Gamma was joined by members of Collegiate Chapter Phi Psi (University of Mary Washington), members of the Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter, and International 1st Vice President Dale Griffa.
October 2004: Russell has finally completed the JavaScript-free version of this entire website, now all fully compliant with XHTML 1.0 Strict standards. A long-time goal has been achieved!
October 2004: Russell's composition Serenata a due for flute and guitar has won Second Prize in the Eighteenth Annual Austin Peay State University Young Composers Competition for 2004.
September 2004: Russell has completed Five Scenes for Ten Players, a 27-minute work for chamber wind ensemble. (See above.)
Thursday, May 13, 2004: Russell was admitted to Peabody's new 5-year BM/MM program, which will result in his earning a Bachelor's degree in Music Composition in May 2005, a Bachelor's degree in Music Education with a concentration in composition in May 2006, and a Master's degree in Music Composition in May 2006 as well.
Sunday, May 2, 2004: Russell elected President of the Phi Gamma chapter of the professional music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon.
April 1-3, 2004: Russell attended the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI), 6th Annual National Student Conference held at the University of Iowa in beautiful Iowa City, IA.
Thursday, March 11, 2004: World premiere of Russell's work Fantasia on a Gregorian Theme for two pianos, performed by dedicatees The Lester/Roldán Duo (comprised of Dr. Nancy Roldán and Dr. Noel Lester), during the Thursday Noon public recital held in the Peabody Conservatory's Friedberg Concert Hall.
Friday, March 5, 2004: World premiere of Russell's work Serenata a due for flute and guitar, performed by dedicatee Tara Francke (flute) and Yuri Liberzon (guitar), at Tara's Senior Recital held in the Peabody Conservatory's Goodwin Hall.
Saturday, February 28, 2004: Russell awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2005 Renée B. Fisher Composer Awards (Elementary/Middle School Division) for his solo piano work Rejoicings (2000). This competition emphasizes the creation and performance of new music for piano.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004: Russell awarded a Peabody Development Grant to attend SCI's 6th Annual National Student Conference (see above).