Dr. Erin Colwitz
Director of Choral Activities
 Erin
Colwitz received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities in 1998. She later completed the Master of Music
and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern
California in Choral music. Dr. Colwitz studied conducting with William
Dehning, David Wilson, Magen Solomon, and Claire McCoy. At USC, she was
awarded a full teaching assistantship as conductor of the Thornton
Oriana Choir, the University’s only women’s chorus, a post she held from
2003-2006. At USC, she also sang with William Dehning and the
award-winning Thornton Chamber Choir touring France and Belgium in 2003
and East Asia in 2006.
In Minnesota, Dr. Colwitz was a full-time vocal and general music
teacher at Centennial Middle School. There she conducted four choirs,
the school’s honor choir and swing choir, in addition to teaching
classroom music. As a professional singer, Dr. Colwitz was contracted to
sing with the Dale Warland Singers in 1999. As part of this
extraordinary ensemble, she performed with the St. Paul Chamber
Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Robert Shaw,
Edo de Waart, and Hugh Wolff. The DWS were nominated for a Grammy for
their recording of Dominick Argento pieces; Dr. Colwitz’s doctoral
treatise is a critical analysis of Argento’s, A Toccata of Galuppi’s,
a twelve-tone work found on that recording.
While in Los Angeles, Dr. Colwitz was a member of the choral music
faculty at California State University, Fullerton where she conducted
the women’s choir and taught music education courses. She was also the
Director of Music at St. Victor Catholic Church in West Hollywood for
five years where she conducted the church choir and guest orchestra in
weekly services, feast day services, and concerts such as the Duruflé
Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. Dr. Colwitz also sang with John
Alexander and the Pacific Chorale in Santa Ana, Califoria. In August,
2008, Dr. Colwitz will assume duties as the Director of Choral
Activities at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
MP3 Files
USC Recital Choir
Reincarnations — Samuel Barber
Mass for Four Voices — William Byrd
Vier Quartette, Op. 92 — Johannes Brahms
Folk Songs and Spirituals
St. Victor Catholic Church Choir
Requiem, Op. 9 — Maurice Duruflé
CSUF Women's Choir
Missa Brevis in D — Benjamin
Britten
Spirituals
Cantata from Proverbs
— Darius Milhaud
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Dr. Sarkis Baltaian
Artist/Teacher of Piano
 Pianist
Sarkis Baltaian has gained an international reputation as a concert
pianist, chamber musician, recording artist, and pedagogue. Praised by
critics for his “beautiful tone and ability to project even the most
delicate pianissimos” and compared to George Gershwin and Oscar Levant
for his performance of Gershwin’s Concerto in F, Dr. Baltaian made his
Carnegie Hall Debut in 1999 and has performed extensively throughout the
United States, Australia, Germany, Austria, Holland, Czech Republic, and
Bulgaria.
A dedicated teacher, Dr. Baltaian’s students have won
various national and international competitions and continue to
establish themselves as respectable musicians. His commitment to the
education of young musicians comes to fruition in his work as a faculty
member at the Pan Pacific Music Festival in Sydney, Australia, and as a
chamber music coach for the Junior Chamber Music Series in Los Angeles.
He is frequently invited to adjudicate for such organizations as the
California Association of Professional Music Teachers, Music Teachers
Association of California, and Southwestern Youth Music Festival.
Dr. Baltaian attended the University of Southern
California where he received the Bachelor of Music, Masters of Music, and
Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees under the direction of Professor John
Perry. He became the Outstanding Graduate of the Keyboard Department-MM
and recipient of the Pi Kappa Lambda and Outstanding Academic
Achievement Awards-DMA.
Dr. Baltaian currently serves on the Keyboard Faculty at
the California State University, Los Angeles. Prior to joining CSULA,
Dr. Baltaian served as the Teaching Assistant to Professor John Perry at
the University of Southern California from 2002-2006. In August,
2008, Dr. Baltaian will join the music faculty at the University of
Alabama in Huntsville.
MP3 Files
Pictures at an Exhibition — Modest Mussorgsky
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