WMPI presents a Career Day workshop featuring leading artists and administrators in music performance, composition, conducting, and arts administration, with an all-star panel: Jauvon Gilliam, principal timpanist in the National Symphony Orchestra; Risa Kaneko, DCYOP development associate, arts administrator, and pianist; and Maestra Tania León, acclaimed composer, conductor, and educator.
Click here to register in advance on Zoom
Jauvon Gilliam: Hailed as “note perfect” and “Zeus-like” (BBC Radio), Jauvon Gilliam was named principal timpanist of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2009 -- the first African-American principal in the history of the organization.
Gilliam has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras, Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Chineke! Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He is also timpanist of the All-Star Orchestra, a made-for-PBS group of musicians from orchestras across North America. He was also timpanist of the Bear Valley Music Festival for three seasons.
Gilliam is currently Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Maryland. His students hold positions in symphony orchestras, military bands, and at universities around the globe. Gilliam has taught clinics at institutions across North and South America, Europe, and Africa, including the Aspen Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Academy, New World Symphony, and at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. He is co-founder of the annual Washburgh Timpani Seminar, a timpani coach for the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, and on the artist/faculty roster of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival.
A native of Gary, Indiana, Gilliam began his musical career playing piano, winning his first national competition at age 11. He began his studies at Butler University in piano performance, but later changed to full-time percussion study. He graduated with honors with a degree in Arts Administration and then continued his graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Gilliam received an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater in 2014 and was the commencement keynote speaker.
He has been covered by several national and international media outlets, including NPR, PBS, CBC, BBC, NBC, Fox News, Billboard, the New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, and The International Musician.
Gilliam is a strong advocate for diversifying the classical music landscape. He is a founding board member of the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists, and a contributing member to the Black Orchestral Network and the Network for Diversity in Concert Percussion. In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Gilliam co-founded We Over Me Productions, a production company created to use the arts to tell a story that will keep the conversation of systemic racism, social inequities and injustices at the forefront of people’s consciousness in an effort to create lasting change through tangible actions.
Locally, he has aimed to make music and the arts more accessible to underserved communities throughout the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region. In February 2021, he opened The Shed DMV, a 24/7 multi-studio rehearsal facility aimed to provide artists - of all levels and from every walk of life - the space, resources, time, and opportunity to create, collaborate, and grow. The Shed partners with local schools and organizations to serve Prince George’s County youth through pro-bono programs, instrument donations, and clinic/masterclass support. The Shed is the home to Gilliam’s instrument rental company, Capitol Percussion + Backline Rentals.
Gilliam proudly endorses Yamaha musical instruments, Remo drumheads, Sabian cymbals, and has his own signature line of timpani mallets made by Innovative Percussion.
Risa Kaneko: Risa Kaneko (she/her) works as Development Associate at DC Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP), supporting the organization’s fundraising efforts by writing foundation and government grant deliverables and managing instrument donations, among other tasks. Before DCYOP, she coordinated a music program that offers free piano lessons, instrument loans, and a concert series as Community Engagement Intern at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). A former pianist and piano teacher, Risa earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with a cognate in Arts Administration from CCM as well as an MM and BM in piano performance from Indiana University Bloomington. Her doctoral research area includes Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the classical music industry, particularly focusing on Asian and AAPI musicians. Born in Japan, Risa is a 1.5 generation immigrant and was raised in the DC metropolitan area. Outside of work, she enjoys walking in gardens and nature, exercising, keeping up with academic literature, and exploring the area for the next great reading spot.
Tania León (b. Havana, Cuba) is highly regarded as a composer, conductor, educator, and advisor to arts organizations. Her orchestral work Stride, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music. In 2022, she was named a recipient of the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. Most recently, the London Philharmonic Orchestra announced Tania León as its next Composer-in-Residence – a post she will hold for two seasons, beginning in September 2023.
Recent premieres include works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, NDR Symphony Orchestra, Grossman Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Modern Ensemble, Jennifer Koh’s project, Alone Together, and The Curtis Institute. Appearances as guest conductor include Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Gewandhausorchester, Orquesta Sinfónica de Guanajuato, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuba, among others. Upcoming commissions feature works for the League of American Orchestras, and Claire Chase, flute, and The Crossing Choir with text by Rita Dove.
A founding member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, León instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series, co-founded the American Composers Orchestra’s Sonidos de las Américas Festivals, was New Music Advisor to the New York Philharmonic, and is the founder/Artistic Director of Composers Now, a presenting, commissioning and advocacy organization for living composers.
Honors include the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement, inductions into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and fellowship awards from ASCAP Victor Herbert Award and The Koussevitzky Music and Guggenheim Foundations, among others. She also received a proclamation for Composers Now by New York City Mayor, and the MadWoman Festival Award in Music (Spain).
León has received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Colgate University, Oberlin, SUNY Purchase College, and The Curtis Institute of Music, and served as U.S. Artistic Ambassador of American Culture in Madrid, Spain. A CUNY Professor Emerita, she was awarded a 2018 United States Artists Fellowship, Chamber Music America’s 2022 National Service Award, and Harvard University’s 2022 Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award.