The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Handpicked, From China

If you look up the word “multitasking” in the dictionary, there may well be a photo of Sam Matthews (BM ‘02, MM ‘05, cello). Cellist in the Shanghai Oriental Sinfonietta, music director and founder of the Shanghai International Youth Orchestra, music lecturer at the Fudan International School, and instructor of the cello and violin, Matthews is also the purveyor of fine string instruments from China. The path that led him to this varied and vibrant musical life in the Orient is quite an extraordinary one.

Matthews grew up in the small town of Springfield, Missouri, where he inherited a passion for music from his parents, who were both amateur musicians. At the tender age of 4 he picked up his first Suzuki violin; by 15 he had become a talented artist playing in major music festivals. Around that time, he decided to switch from violin to his other love, cello. He excelled, so much so that he astounded his family by leaving high school early to study with Steven Elisha in Topeka, Kansas. It was Elisha who suggested Matthews continue his training at Peabody.

Matthews would go on to earn a BA and an MA in cello performance, studying cello under Mihaly Virizlay and Amit Peled and conducting under Gustav Meier and Harlan Parker. But success didn’t come easily. Early in his freshman year the cellist developed tendonitis, a nerve condition that would plague him from that day forward. It was the counsel and guidance of his mentors at Peabody that helped Matthews to continue, and to study not just cello but also conducting. He was able to return to limited playing, traveling to perform in places such as Singapore.

In 2006, the nerve damage worsened and Matthews feared the worst. Instead of abandoning his dream of playing, he redefined his musical career. Realizing that his ailment would curtail his ability to perform in a symphony, he moved to Shanghai to become the orchestra director for Fudan, a prestigious international school. Soon, Matthews developed a schedule where he could not only teach and lead an orchestra of young musicians, but also hold private studio sessions and continue to play cello. He also launched Instruments From China, a business for which he handpicks and sells fine violins, violas, cellos, and basses to musicians around the globe.

A teacher, a musician, a conductor, a businessman—Matthews wears many hats. And he’s added a new title to his résumé: husband. Matthews recently married his fiancée, Emily, in a ceremony in Xiamen.

—Elizabeth Evitts

Finding Harmony on the Water

Alyson Covino (BM ‘02, MM ‘05, composition) leads dual lives: one on land, and one on water. After discovering a passion for composing music in her freshman year of high school. Covino left her hometown of Boston in 1988 to attend Peabody, where she became a composition major and studied clarinet and harp. It was while she was refining her musical talents that Covino discovered another passion during those undergraduate years: rowing. She joined the Johns Hopkins crew team and excelled at the sport.

After leaving Peabody with a master’s in music composition under her belt, Covino debated her next move. A talented composer with a list of awards and compositions to her name, Covino decided that she wanted to teach. She began working in the Baltimore City school system as a music instructor at a school not far from the Baltimore Rowing Club, where she continued to row competitively. Little did she know, but that decision would ultimately change the lives of many students.

Covino brought not only her passion for music to her students, she also introduced them to rowing, a sport rarely offered in an urban setting. Covino helped launch a pilot scholarship program through the Baltimore Rowing Club that allowed 14- to 18-year-olds from her Cherry Hill school access to the water. Normally a costly extracurricular activity, the program gave students the opportunity to compete.

Starting a competitive rowing team from scratch was a challenging endeavor, Covino says. Many of the kids had never been involved in water activities, she notes, so it was tricky just getting some of them in the water, let alone skilled in the finer points of the sport. Covino showed her students that, like a great orchestra piece, rowing is all about working in harmony. “When you’re in a boat with eight other people, it is the ultimate team sport,” Covino told The Baltimore Sun in an article about her program that appeared in June 2007. “You have to be in sync with each other or your boat is not going to move.”

The program became such a success that local developer Patrick Turner and national manufacturing company Honeywell International announced a $100,000 grant last summer to help keep it running for years to come.

Today, Covino teaches both music and drama at Baltimore’s Digital Harbor High School and she also continues to compose music for both adults and children. After a busy day in the classroom, she meets her students on the water for an afternoon practice. During crew season, Covino spends her weekends traveling with her students to competitions. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

—Elizabeth Evitts