The School of Music is excited to welcome new instructional colleagues to our community this fall: Deirdre Brenner (Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano), Gabriel Wade (Teaching Faculty, Jazz Trumpet), Layan Atieh (Teaching Faculty, Horn), Walt Puyear (Teaching Faculty, Saxophone), and Kathryn Schulmeister (Teaching Faculty, Double Bass).
“These talented artists and educators will continue to move our programs forward and expand opportunities for our students,” said Dan Cavanagh, director of the School of Music.
Deirdre Brenner believes in the power of storytelling through concert curation. Over the past two decades she has grown a multifaceted career which combines performance, teaching and artistic leadership. Brenner has performed chamber music and art song recitals throughout the USA, Europe and Asia in venues including the Wiener Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Wiener Volksoper (Vienna), The Kennedy Center (Washington, DC), Teatro Real (Madrid), Philharmonie Essen, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Stadthalle Bayreuth, the National Concert Hall (Dublin), and the Hollywell Music Room (Oxford).
She has appeared at festivals including the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music, Oxford Lieder Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Schubertíada Vilabertran, Gustav Mahler Festival Steinbach, Rhodes Chamber Music Festival and Portogruaro International Music Festival.
Gabriel Wade is a versatile trumpeter, pianist, and educator with a rich performance history. He’s shared the stage with iconic ensembles and artists such as the Count Basie Orchestra and Bobby Watson, and Chicago staples like the Clif Wallace Big Band, Tom Garling Jazz Orchestra, Marlene Rosenberg Quartet, and the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective.
“I am incredibly honored to join the jazz faculty at the Mead Witter School of Music,” Wade said. “My greatest passions as an educator are facilitating growth and bridging the gap between the bandstand and the classroom,” Wade said. “I am excited to bring that energy to the UW Jazz Orchestra, the improvisation courses, and the expanding jazz trumpet studio, and I look forward to collaborating with this exceptional faculty to empower the next generation of musicians to find their unique creative voices.”
Layan Atieh is a Palestinian/Jordanian/American horn player, and is the Core Horn of Seraph Brass, the world renowned all-women brass quintet. As an active freelancer, Atieh has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic, and as a concerto soloist with the Dallas Winds, the University of Texas-Austin Wind Ensemble, the Yale Concert Band, and the Cusco Symphony Orchestra in Peru.
“I’m looking forward to joining the esteemed faculty at UW–Madison, and the Wisconsin Brass Quintet,” Atieh said. “It’s a privilege and honor to step into the studio that Dan Grabois has built, and I’m excited to join a wonderful community of artists in Madison.”
Walt Puyear enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral performer, and educator. As a soloist, Puyear has earned many accolades, including a prize at the inaugural 2022 Walter Naumburg International Saxophone Competition and First Prize in Vandoren’s 2021 Emerging Artist Competition.
He has recently appeared as a soloist with the Ann Arbor Civic Band and the Carole Mawby Chorale. Past concerto appearances include performances with the UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony and the University of Michigan Chamber Winds. Recent orchestral engagements include performances with the Ann Arbor Symphony and New World Symphony.
Kathryn Schulmeister is an internationally active soloist and ensemble musician whose creative practice encompasses contemporary, classical, and experimental music. She is a member of ELISION Ensemble and Fonema Consort and has appeared as a guest artist with Ensemble MusikFabrik, Klangforum Wien, Wild Up!, Ensemble Vertixe Sonora, SWR Experimentalstudio Freiburg, Delirium Musicum, and Ensemble Dal Niente. Recent engagements include performances at the Ojai Music Festival, Lucerne Festival Forward, TIME:SPANS Festival, Zipper Hall, and Melbourne Recital Centre.
“I’m honored to join the faculty at the Mead Witter School of Music this fall,” Schulmeister said. “The school’s commitment to excellence and innovation in music is deeply inspiring. Throughout my career, I’ve known several alumni of the program and have long admired their musicianship and thoughtful engagement with the art form. I look forward to working with the outstanding students, faculty, and staff at UW–Madison.”
