Alumni Notes

In June 2023, Jacob Warren (BM ’17, double bass; MM ’19, chamber music, improvisation) won first prize in the International Society of Bassists (ISB) Convention Soloist Competition. He continues to perform and record with his groups Warren & Flick, Westbound Situation, and Kittel & Co.

Mi-Eun Kim (MM ’14, piano, chamber music; DMA ’21, SM ’22, piano) founded and was the artistic director of the inaugural Yangsan Summer Music Fest, held July and August 2023 in Busan, South Korea. She was joined by SMTD faculty Matthew Bengtson along with several alumni and current students.

William Thain (MM ’23, violin) won the concertmaster position of the Lansing Symphony. He studied with Danielle Belen at U-M and currently holds a teaching position in the U-M pre-college program. Thain received a 2022 Performing Arts EXCELerator Fellowship as a co-founder of Ensemble Urbain, a conductorless ensemble specializing in works by underrepresented composers. (3/2024)

Violinist Yuki Numata Resnick (MM ’06, violin, chamber music) began her career performing and recording around the globe. She co-founded Buffalo String Works in 2014, improving youth access to music education, and she became director of arts and culture at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo in 2023.

Andreas Oeste (MM ’16, oboe, chamber music; DMA ’19, oboe) is the newly appointed chair of the Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Competition for Oboe.
(9/2023)

In fall 2022, Mi-Eun Kim (MM ’14, piano, chamber music; DMA ’21, SM ’22, piano) joined the faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as lecturer, teaching piano in the Emerson/Harris Scholarship program, as well as coaching for the Chamber Music Society and collaborative piano.

Jason Bergman (MM ’08, trumpet, chamber music; DMA ’11, trumpet) was appointed associate professor of music in trumpet at Indiana University in August 2022. He continues to serve as president of the International Trumpet Guild.

David Cook (MM ‘14, clarinet, chamber music) was awarded the Research and Artistic Achievement Award at Millikin University, where he is assistant professor of clarinet and chair of instrumental performance studies. His critically acclaimed book, Clarinet Conditioning: Warm-Ups and Perspectives, was published by Conway Publications in July 2022.