Date: March 19, 2006
About: Tom Lymenstull - Class of 1972
Former Quincyan will play recital, teach master class
Source: Quincy Herald-Whig
Author: Kelly Wilson
Link: http://www.whig.com/secure_story/319029730190237.php
Former Quincyan will play recital, teach master class
Sunday, March 19, 2006
By Kelly Wilson
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
When Tom Lymenstull grew up in Quincy, he was immersed in a rich arts culture that inspired him to pursue a career in music.
"I was absolutely blessed to grow up in Quincy," said Lymenstull, a 1972 graduate of Quincy High School who now teaches at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy. "I started (music classes) when I was young and had encouraging teachers and wonderful teachers."
Lymenstull will return to his hometown later this month to present a piano recital and teach a master class for area piano students.
The recital is set for 7 p.m. March 27 at John Wood Community College — in the Mary Ellen Orr Auditorium in the Paul Heath Community Education and Fine Arts Center, 48th and Harrison. The master class will be from 9 a.m. to noon March 25 in the auditorium.
While Lymenstull gets back to Quincy once every year or two, this will be the first time he's performed here since his college days.
"It will be really nice to reconnect with many of my dear friends back in Quincy," he said, adding that he also looks forward to hearing the local students play. "I appreciate the chance to come back and do it."
Lymenstull says he was always interested in "a million things," but he's glad he chose music as his profession.
"There are any number of things I could have done," he said. "Music is the one that has the most internal satisfaction. I love to play, and I also love to teach. I've also been able to get out and travel."
Lymenstull is in his eighth year as an instructor of piano at Interlochen Arts Academy, the nation's first and foremost boarding fine arts school, and part of the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Mich. About 450 of the world's most talented and motivated young artists study music, theater, dance, visual arts, creative writing and motion picture arts in a college-like setting.
"I've had some really wonderful students here," he said.
Lymenstull is a son of Allie J. and Frances Jean Lymenstull of Quincy. He and his wife, Susan Day, are the parents of a daughter, Eva, who is a cellist and a freshman at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
In Quincy, Lymenstull studied piano with Frances Morrison and Leonora Suppan-Gehrich. He also was a cellist in the Quincy High School music program under Wayne Pyle and Don Langellier. He studied cello with Harriet Yount, Alice Mays and Doug Reeves and composition with Thom Ritter George in Quincy.
He has bachelor's and master's degrees and the performer's certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He was awarded the doctor of musical arts from the University of Southern California and studied as a Fulbright Fellow in piano and conducting at the Hochschule fur Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria.
He studied piano with John Perry, Cecile Genhart and Frank Glazer; chamber music with John Celentano, Samuel Sanders and members of the Cleveland Quartet; and conducting and opera with Karl Österreicher, Julius Kalmar, Natalie Limonick and Hans Beer.
Lymenstull also was associate professor at the University of Southern California and a teaching fellow of the USC Center for Excellence in Teaching.
He has presented concerts throughout the U.S. and in Japan, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, and has been featured on National Public Radio. He has been published in professional journals, has taught teacher training workshops for Yamaha Music Education Corporation and has served as presenter and performer at state and national music educators' conventions.
The JWCC Fine Arts Department and the Quincy area chapter of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association are sponsoring the events. The John Wood Community College Foundation and ISMTA are providing financial support.
Contact Staff Writer Kelly Wilson
at kwilson@whig.com or (217) 221-3391
The recital in Quincy will feature three Scarlatti sonatas; Valses Nobles et Sentimentales by Ravel; Funerailles by Liszt; and several pieces by Chopin, including selected Etudes from Op. 25, Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15, No. 1 and the Ballade in G Minor.
Tickets, $5 for students and $10 for adults, may be purchased in advance from Kelly Lewis at JWCC, 641-4971, or from participating area piano teachers. Tickets also will be available at the door.
The cost of the master class is $25 per person. Those interested in enrolling in the master class should contact Mary Ann Middendorf at 222-5016.
