Rice Shepherd School Musicians Selected For 2017 Global Academy Fellowship

Six Rice University students have been selected to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program. The program is part of the New York Philharmonic Global Academy partnership between Rice's Shepherd School of Music and the New York Philharmonic that was launched in fall 2015.

The students selected were from the wind, brass, and percussion studios of the Shepherd School: John Diodati (clarinet), Tamer Edlebi (oboe), Daniel Egan (trumpet), Kayla Faurie (flute), Robert O'Brien (percussion), and Benjamin Roidl-Ward (bassoon).

They will travel to New York in April 2017 to participate in a week of immersive activities in New York as Zarin Mehta Fellows, including training and playing alongside Philharmonic musicians, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic; mock auditions; individual lessons and chamber music sessions coached by Philharmonic musicians; and participation in the Philharmonic's educational programs. The program will culminate in a private chamber music concert featuring the Fellows alongside Philharmonic musicians.

Auditions were held November 28-29 at the Shepherd School by Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill, bassoonist Roger Nye, trumpet player Ethan Bensdorf, and Principal Timpani Markus Rhoten, all of whom also played with and coached a Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra rehearsal.

The Global Academy Fellowship Program is a key component of the New York Philharmonic Global Academy, customized collaborations with partners worldwide that offer intensive training of pre-professional musicians by New York Philharmonic members. The program represents a new approach to preparing the next generation of world-class musicians for successful careers. The Shepherd School is the first U.S. conservatory program to partner with the New York Philharmonic in this innovative initiative.

About the 2017 Zarin Mehta Fellows
Clarinetist John Diodati, 25, was born in Boston and is a second-year master's student of Richie Hawley, a Rice professor of clarinet. Diodati has performed as a guest with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He also holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from New England Conservatory (NEC), where he studied with Thomas Martin. While at NEC, Diodati frequently appeared as a recitalist in Jordan Hall, most notably as a member of the NEC Contemporary Ensemble. Performances with this group involved frequent collaborations with composers such as Gunther Schuller and John Harbison. Diodati was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center for two summers and was the 2013 recipient of the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize. He has also been a fellow at the Music Academy of the West.

Oboist Tamer Edlebi, 28, was raised in Los Angeles and is a third-year master's student of Robert Atherholt, a Rice professor of oboe. He completed a graduate diploma in 2014 at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Frank Rosenwein, principal oboist of The Cleveland Orchestra, and finished his undergraduate studies in 2011 at Chapman University, where he studied with Ariana Ghez, principal oboist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Edlebi has performed as a substitute with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Houston Symphony, and regularly performs throughout Harris County in Texas and in Orange and Los Angeles counties in California as a freelance musician and in community outreach and fundraising events. He has spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Le Domaine Forget Music Academie, and the Hidden Valley Music Seminars.

Trumpet player Daniel Egan, 25, was raised in Verona, New Jersey, and is a third-year master's student of Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer, Rice professors of trumpet. Mr. Egan received his bachelor's degree at Indiana University, where he studied with John Rommel, and he attended The Juilliard School's Pre-College Division, where he studied with Raymond Mase, Kevin Cobb, and Kyle Resnick. He is currently a finalist with the New World Symphony. During the summer of 2013, Egan was selected as a fellow at the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. He has taught at the Luzerne Music Center, where he also played in the faculty brass quintet. He maintains an active studio in Houston.

Flutist Kayla Faurie, 23, was raised in Chicago and is a first-year master's student of Leone Buyse, the Joseph and Ida Kirkland Mullen Professor of Music at Rice. She received her bachelor's degree and performer's certificate from Indiana University, where she studied with Thomas Robertello, and has attended music festivals in Aspen, Colorado; Sarasota, Florida; and Kent, Ohio. She has performed in masterclasses with flutists Bonita Boyd, Jasmine Choi, Mark Sparks, and Carol Wincenc.

Percussionist Robert O'Brien, 26, was raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, and is a first-year master's student of Matthew Strauss, an associate professor of percussion at Rice. O'Brien received his bachelor's degree from Boston University studying with Tim Genis, Sam Solomon, and Richard Flanagan and a master's degree from New England Conservatory studying with Will Hudgins. O'Brien has performed with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been a fellow at the National Repertory Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center. He has premiered new works by Tan Dun, Steven Mackey, Gunther Schuller, and John Williams.

Bassoonist Benjamin Roidl-Ward, 24, was raised in Tacoma, Washington, and is a second-year master's student of Ben Kamins, a Rice professor of bassoon. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where he performed on tour with the Oberlin Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has toured with the string trio Chartreuse and the flute-and-bassoon duo Second Species, both presenting World Premieres of new works featuring bassoon. Roidl-Ward has performed in the Kennedy Center's Conservatory Project Series and as the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings' Young Ensemble-in-Residence with his reed trio, Third Rail. He is a recipient of the Phi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship, a Theodore Presser Undergraduate Scholarship, a Sviatoslov Richter Fund for Music Outreach grant (Rice University), and a Conservatory Grant Supporting Imagination and Excellence (Oberlin Conservatory). Roidl-Ward organizes the Shepherd School's Contemporary Music Ensemble, "Hear and Now," and is a founding member of the Houston-based new music collective Loop38. He teaches in the Young Children's Division of the Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program and maintains a private studio. Roidl-Ward has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony and the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, along with several regional orchestras throughout the U.S. He has spent his summers with the Spoleto Festival USA, the Tanglewood Music Center, and the National Repertory Orchestra. He previously studied with George Sakakeeny and Francine Peterson.

(Photo Credit: Chris Lee)