FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2021

Westport, NY – Meadowmount School of Music, the preeminent summer training ground for great string players founded by legendary violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian announced the appointment of Janet Sung as Artistic Director effective December 15, 2021.

Violinist Janet Sung enjoys an acclaimed international career and has performed worldwide with orchestras and at distinguished festivals across the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She is currently Head of Strings and Violin Professor at the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago. A prolific chamber musician, she is also Artistic Director and Founder of Chamber Music Chicago.

“Janet is a superb musician, a brilliant teacher, and a dynamic and creative leader with a deep commitment to the development of young artists, and we are absolutely thrilled that she is coming to Meadowmount,” said Meadowmount Board President Earl Carlyss, famed violinist of The Juilliard String Quartet and one-time teaching assistant to Ivan Galamian. “Janet brings her unique vision to lead Meadowmount’s renowned musical program as we continue to be a center of intensive string study and development at the highest level.”

Ms. Sung studied with legendary pedagogues Josef Gingold, Dorothy DeLay, and Masao Kawasaki, with additional studies under Eugene Phillips and the Juilliard Quartet. She graduated from Harvard University with degrees in anthropology and music, as well as The Juilliard School. Her most recent solo recordings, Edge of Youth, released on Sono Luminus, and The deeper the blue…, released on SOMM Recordings (UK) and recorded with the Britten Sinfonia and conductor Jac van Steen, have garnered praise from major publications such as The Strad, Strings Magazine, and BBC Music Magazine, for her “ravishing tone” and “compelling and technically unimpeachable” playing. She plays a c.1600 Maggini violin crafted in Brescia, Italy.

“I am honored to be joining the Meadowmount School of Music as their new Artistic Director. When Ivan Galamian founded Meadowmount, he wanted students to experience total immersion in their studies, which has subsequently influenced some of the greatest musicians performing today. Meadowmount creates a truly transformative experience for musicians, something I witnessed firsthand when I attended for several summers as a young student and met one of my long-time teachers and mentors, Josef Gingold. I’m excited to help guide the evolution of Meadowmount into the future and shape the next generation of talented young artists.”

The Meadowmount School of Music Board launched a national search to fill the newly created leadership role overseeing all artistic activities for the school. Ms. Sung partners with Executive Director Mark Hayman, who joined Meadowmount in June, 2021. Search Committee Chair Hans Jørgen Jensen added “Janet emerged as a stand-out from a pool of enormously talented candidates. Her deep passion for music and teaching, her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and her commitment to young artists combined with her personal experience as a Meadowmount student make her the perfect artist to guide Meadowmount’s musical program.”

Board member Ann Setzer added “Janet will carry on the legacy of Ivan Galamian and the enduring foundation established over the last 78 years, while innovating and enhancing the artistic activities for Meadowmount’s future.”

ABOUT MEADOWMOUNT SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Founded in 1944 by master teacher Ivan Galamian, Meadowmount School of Music offers a 7-week summer program in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York for young violinists, violists and cellists training for professional careers in music. Musicians ages 13 to 30+ from across the globe engage in intensive study and practice to further their musical skills. The stellar array of alumni over the school’s 77-year history includesItzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, Kyung-Wha Chung, Lynn Harrell, Joshua Bell, Jaime Laredo, and Ani and Ida Kavafian. Meadowmount alumni represent the very best of international soloists and chamber musicians, concertmasters and principal players of the world’s leading orchestras, and distinguished artist teachers at the major conservatories.

Meadowmount remains true to Mr.Galamian’s vision of a school with “a special spirit that is conducive to total concentration on excellence in musical performance” and a place to enjoy the camaraderie of other young people from around the world who are serious about their musical development. From the school’s humble beginnings, the campus now encompasses over 52 buildings on 240 acres of fields and forest. With a capacity enrollment of 200, the school is small enough to provide personal attention to each student. A careful balance of intense practice and physical recreation ensures that students remain focused and productive, and the teaching concepts of Mr.Galamian remain intact through his former students now on the faculty. Following the Virtual Summer Session in the summer of 2021 with more than 140 young string players due to the pandemic, Meadowmount looks forward to returning in person in 2022 led by an internationally renowned faculty.

For more information, visit www.meadowmount.com and www.janetsung.com Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco