Contact: Brenda Resch, College of Arts & Letters, (517) 353-4725, resch@msu.edu; or Kristan Tetens, University Relations, (517) 355-5633, tetenskr@msu.edu
2/10/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. � The College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University will host its annual Alumni Leaders Program on Feb. 12 and 13. The program brings distinguished graduates of the college back to campus for two days of conversation with faculty, staff and students.
This year�s program features novelist R. D. Zimmerman (Russian, �76) and musician Tage Larsen (Applied Music, �92).
Zimmerman, who writes under the pen name Robert Alexander, is most recently the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller "The Kitchen Boy," a historical novel about the last days of Czar Nicholas II of Russia. For nearly 30 years, he has been traveling to Russia, where he attended Leningrad State University and worked for the U.S. government. Since 1990, he has been a partner in a St. Petersburg company that operates a warehouse and customs clearance center, a dental clinic, and Barabu, a chain of espresso-wine bars with locations at The Hermitage and the Fortress of Peter and Paul. Born and raised in Chicago, Zimmerman now lives in Minneapolis.
Larsen, a trumpeter, is the first African American instrumentalist appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He began playing trumpet in fourth grade, inspired by records his father played. He decided to pursue his undergraduate studies at MSU after meeting Leon Gregorian, MSU professor and director of orchestras, at a music camp in Maine. At MSU, he played in the Symphony Band, the Symphony Orchestra, and various jazz ensembles, winning the Sudler Award form the College of Arts & Letters in his senior year. After graduating, he continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and toured the country with the Dallas Brass for nearly a year. Larsen is one of 10 siblings, six of them adopted, including his younger sister Siri, who starred on MSU�s gymnastics team. Larsen is a native of Cambridge, Mass.
Zimmerman and Larsen will visit courses and talk with students about careers in the arts and humanities. Larsen will also present a recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the Music Building Auditorium and a free master class open to the public at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in Hart Recital Hall, also located in the Music Building.
[NOTE TO MEDIA: To arrange interviews with Zimmerman and/or Larsen, contact Kristan Tetens, University Relations, at (517) 355-5633 or tetenskr@msu.edu