The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

JoAnn Kulesza, you have been a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory Opera Department since the Fall of 1990.  You earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Michigan University in Secondary Vocal Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Accompanying and Coaching from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.  Before joining the Peabody music community, you had proven your expertise as coach and accompanist in numerous opera productions in the United States and abroad, as a staff member at the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists in Chicago, as Chorus Master for the Wolf Trap Opera Company, and coach-accompanist at the Hochschule fur Musik "Mozarteum" in Salzburg.

     As Music Director of the Peabody Opera Department, you have been principal coach for productions ranging from Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio to a concert performance of Act III of Wagner's Walkure, from Weill's Threepenny Opera to Zimmermann's Die Weisse Rose, not only coaching but conducting the latter two.  This list of accomplishments is by no means exhaustive or limited to the Peabody Conservatory.  You are widely recognized as a coach-accompanist and have gained a reputation as an opera conductor, as evidenced by your doncuting the world premiere of Clara at the Univeristy of Maryland and productions for the Opera Vivente Company in Baltimore.  In addition to these artistic achievements, you have created Guest Residencies at the Fletcher Opera Institute of the North Carolina School for the Arts, SUNY-Fredonia, Ohio State University, and the Pittsuburgh Opera Center, among others.

     The wealth of your experience and creativity has informed your leadership as Chair of the Faculty Assembly, as Chair of the NASM Self-Report Committee, and as Chair of the Peabody  Committee on Culture, Community and Cooperation.  You have freely given your time and energy as a member of the Change Team and every other committee or council on which you serve at Peabody.

     The wealth of your experience is truly revealed, however, in your teaching, be it in Opera Performance class or on stage.  Quoting some of your own students, they are grateful that you treat them "as a whole", that you take the time - very often your own time - "to talk with them, to listen to them, to get to know them, to turn yourself inside out trying to figure out the best way to help them accomplish MORE in the time you have with them." You teach them not just how to perform, but how to practice and learn in preparation of performing.  When confronted by hard questions and possibly difficult answers, artistic or personal, you don't "soft pedal" your responses, but can be counted upon to give realistic assessments and honest advice.

     To your students, you are not just a provider of information, but a mentor, role model and friend.  They know "that excellence in performance is not just desired, but mandatory."  At the same time they are grateful that you are "organized, efficient, concerned for the well-being of the students, AND a good musician...a rare combination."  You are "not only artistically and musically phenomenal, but also a human being who truly cares for all students in the Opera Department."  While some admire your "infinite patience" and resourcefulness, others believe that you "should be canonized" or at least wonder if "sainthood is an option."

     JoAnn Kulesza, to summarize it in the words of a student, "You rock!"  While we are not ordained to beatify or canonize you, we gladly welcome you to the pantheon of distinguished teachers at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.  In recognition of your many gifts and accomplishments and with our profound gratitute for all that you are and the good that you do, it is our pleasure to present to you The Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association's Excellence In Teaching Award for 2004.