The School of Music is excited to announce Eleni Katz as a bassoon teaching faculty member starting Fall 2025. A graduate of UW–Madison and Yale, and an accomplished bassoonist, Katz has established herself as a prominent soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Her “thoughtful and expressive” (San Diego Union Tribune) approach to music making has led her from performances by the bright blue waters of Bermuda to the lights of Carnegie Hall.

“As a Madison native and a UW–Madison alumna, I could not be more honored and excited to join the Mead Witter School of Music and the Wingra Wind Quintet this fall,” Katz said.

Katz is a winner of the 2022 Concert Artist Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Nu Deco Ensemble, the Jupiter Chamber Players, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Sarasota Orchestra, and as a member with the New World Symphony.

Other recent appearances include La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Series, Lake George Music Festival, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Death of Classical: The Crypt Sessions, and Newport Classical. Her approach to playing the bassoon has been described as “uncannily human” (The Royal Gazette) and she has always believed the bassoon should strive to emulate the organic resonance of the human voice.

“Eleni will bring a wide range of chamber and orchestral playing and we are excited for her to join us,” said Dan Cavanagh, director of the School of Music.

Professor of Bassoon Marc Vallon plans to retire from the School of Music this spring.

Albert Pinsonneault, Associate Director of Choral Studies, and composer Scott Gendel PhD’05 recently embarked on a profound musical journey together. Their collaboration resulted in the album HOPE EATS YOU ALIVE, a poignant and powerful work recorded by the Madison Choral Project, a group Pinsonneault founded in 2013.

In 2018, Pinsonneault approached his friend Gendel with a vision. He wanted a piece that would delve into a contemporary issue in a semi-extended form. What was especially striking to Pinsonneault was not the public discussions around immigration policies, but that some public actors were choosing language that dehumanized the people seeking refuge in the United States.

Gendel proposed using a text from National Public Radio’s StoryCorps, where forensic scientist Dr. Lori Baker recounts her mission to identify the remains of those who died crossing the border and match them with families who are looking for lost relatives. This story offered a counter-narrative to the dehumanizing rhetoric to those who can only describe immigrants as “them.”

“The musical story on HOPE EATS YOU ALIVE is not pro- or anti-immigration, it is not Republican or Democrat in nature,” Pinsonneault said. “It is a simple tableau offering a glimpse into the harrowing journey many are compelled to make. We were also careful not to tell the story of immigrants, which is not ours to share. Rather, we told the story of the forensic scientist Dr. Baker, who was doing something in her power to help.”

In addition to the title, HOPE EATS YOU ALIVE includes four other works by Gendel, each with its own unique message. Some are humorous, some warm, some contemplative, but all share a common theme: “Love is worth hoping for, even if it eats at you, even if it takes you alive. Loving one another is something we must do as often as possible.”

Gendel, who also sings in Madison Choral Project, “really produced an exceptional work for us,” Pinsonneault said. “His musical language is informed by opera, and he understands how to tell a story through pacing, silence, dissonance, and shockingly tender moments. We knew we needed to record this piece, and wanted to celebrate Scott’s other choral music in our first commercially produced album.”

Madison Choral Project is the only fully professional chorus in Wisconsin, specializing in 21st-century music and commissioning new works. Recording an album of Gendel’s music was a natural fit, a fusion of celebrating both new music and the artistry of Wisconsin musicians, Pinsonneault said.

The album was released December 13 by Navona Records, a label known for its high-quality choral music releases.

The School of Music is excited to announce Herb Payung as the next Assistant Director of Bands. He will serve alongside the band faculty to teach and help guide the historic University of Wisconsin Bands program in the School of Music. In addition, he will assist with aspects in both the athletic and concert band programs, and the undergraduate curriculum. Payung replaces Alexander Gonzalez, who has been hired as the Director of Bands at Southern Oregon University.

“As an alumnus of UW–Madison, I am aware not only of the well-established musical tradition of the Mead Witter School of Music, but of the tightly-knit community formed by its faculty and students,” Payung said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to re-enter this flourishing creative space in a new capacity and continue to build relationships through music making.”

Previously, Payung served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Elon University where he was involved with all aspects of the athletic band program and conducted the Concert Band. At the onset of his career, Payung taught instrumental music in eastern Pennsylvania. During his six years in public education, Payung conducted high school concert bands, jazz ensembles, pit orchestras, and marching bands. He taught courses in instrumental music and jazz improvisation. Payung also served as an elementary band director and brass and percussion instructor at the middle school level.

“We are extremely proud and excited to welcome Dr. Payung home to UW–Madison after an extensive national search by the Mead Witter School of Music,” said Corey Pompey, Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands. “Payung is an exceptional artist-teacher and high-caliber individual. Without question, our students will benefit from all that he has to offer.”

Payung holds music degrees from Penn State University (BME, MM Wind Conducting), Boston University (MM Music Education) and UW–Madison (DMA Wind Conducting). His primary conducting teachers include Scott Teeple of UW–Madison and Dennis Glocke of Penn State University.

“We conducted a comprehensive national search to find the individual best suited for our position,” said Scott Teeple, Director of Bands in the School of Music. “Dr. Payung brings a wealth of knowledge about Big Ten band programs. He exercises a deep appreciation for our traditions, while also bringing a forward-thinking philosophy to our students and programs.”

Payung is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Education, the American Federation of Musicians, and Pi Kappa Lambda, Music Honor Society.

Professor Susan C. Cook and Professor Paul Rowe are retiring this spring.

Cook is a professor of musicology, and was formerly the academic associate dean for the Arts and Humanities in the Graduate School and director of the School of Music. She also held the Walt Whitman Chair in American Culture Studies as part of the Fulbright Distinguished Teaching Program in the Netherlands.

Cook’s teaching and research focuses on contemporary and American music of all kinds and demonstrates her abiding interest in feminist methodologies and cultural criticism. The author of Opera for a New Republic, she also co-edited 2 volumes of essays, Cecilia Reclaimed and most recently Bodies of Sound: Studies Across Popular Music and Dance, in collaboration with dance historian Sherril Dodds. As director of the School of Music, Cook played a critical role in the Hamel Music Center building campaign, as well as leading discussions on the department’s strategic vision and mission.

Professor of Voice Paul Rowe has also served on the voice faculties of the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Vanderbilt University, State University of New York at Purchase, Lehigh University and Nazareth College of Rochester, the Berkshire Choral Festival, and the Tennessee State Governor’s School. He was the Artistic Director of the Madison Early Music Festival, an annual festival he helped found in 2000.

Rowe has maintained a wide ranging performing career throughout the United States for the past 20 years. He has performed with many of the leading American musical organizations including the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa at Symphony Hall in Boston and Carnegie Hall in New York, American Ballet Theater at the Metropolitan Opera and Kennedy Center, and Musica Sacra at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall. He has appeared as well with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Alabama and Arkansas symphony orchestras, the Folger Consort, and the Ensemble for Early Music, among many other groups.

Professor Les Thimmig, who taught at UW–Madison for over 50 years, died April 28, 2024.

Leslie L. Thimmig (“Les”) grew up in Joliet, Illinois, where he played his saxophone as a teenager in jazz clubs. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in composition, and was awarded MMA and DMA degrees in composition from Yale University. He taught music theory at Yale before joining the faculty of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, to direct the composition/theory department. In 1971, Thimmig joined the music faculty at UW–Madison to direct the composition program. He later added woodwind performance and jazz studies to his teaching curriculum.

Thimmig was an internationally known soloist and composer. His compositions have been performed in North and South America, Europe, and Africa, and his commissioned work for the Da Capo Chamber Players premiered in Carnegie Hall. His jazz career included performances with the orchestras of Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Oliver Nelson, and Duke Ellington. He recalled fondly his dates in the Catskill Mountains with prominent band leaders of the ’60s, and his work during the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s with leading artists.

Additional performing affiliations included membership in The Thimmig-Johnson Duo (Madison), Present Music (Milwaukee), Adam Unsworth Ensemble (Ann Arbor), New Sousa Band (San Francisco), and Chicago Clarinet Ensemble. He was leader of the Les Thimmig 7, which performed his compositions exclusively.

Thimmig was revered as a devoted teacher and mentor by his students. His positive attitude and skill at enhancing their performance–and his excitement at assisting graduate students preparing for doctoral evaluations–were essential to what he believed was his obligation to the university.

In the jazz field, Thimmig’s role at the university evolved over the years. When he first arrived, he was involved with the UW Jazz Ensemble for a short period of time. Then he helped teach classes for a jazz major that was first developed in 1979, even though the major was short lived. From 1982 to 1988, Thimmig helmed the UW Jazz Ensemble again. While never his sole focus, jazz remained an important part of Thimmig’s career.

Thimmig most recently ran the Jazz Composers Group, one of several jazz ensembles at the School of Music. Sometimes called a “laboratory,” it was a place where jazz students were able to experiment under Thimmig’s tutelage. With a foundation library of Thimmig’s work, the group slowly became centered on student writing each semester.