Alumni Spotlights

This fall, conductor Garrett Keast opened the season with the Berlin Academy of American Music, while upcoming engagements include appearances with the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and the Orchestra Filarmonica Pugliese in Italy, and a tour with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.

Alexander previously served as Executive Director of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association.
 

Brandon's new album is Songs of Sea and Stone.

Sencalar's appointment will be with the Thompson Jazz Studies Program at CU Boulder.

McCain's appointment is in the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis.
 

Schnitzer was named music director of the Gateway Chamber Orchestra for its 2025-2026 Season. In this role, Schnitzer will shape the GCO’s artistic vision, leading programming, performances and community initiatives.The GCO is composed of leading symphony players, recording musicians and college faculty from throughout Nashville and Clarksville, Tennessee, where Jacob is director of orchestral activities at Austin Peay State University. He also will continue working in Austin, Texas, for his ninth season as artistic director of Density512, Austin's leading chamber orchestra and new music collective.
 

Based in Washington, DC., Corry composes and arranges music for nationally significant events, from White House State Dinners and presidential inaugurations to diplomatic ceremonies and the televised National Christmas Tree Lighting. She also arranges national anthems for visiting dignitaries from every country with diplomatic ties to the U.S.
  
Her original composition for the Army’s float in the 2025 Rose Parade reached more than 75 million viewers. At the 75th NATO Summit, her music opened and closed the ceremonies at the request of the president, who called for an encore performance on the White House lawn — despite the rain.
  
Her most recent composition, Answering the Call, will be performed at the upcoming Congressional Medal of Honor ceremony honoring the “Hello Girls” for their service during World War I. Her piece Journey Home, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the burial of the Unknown Soldier, is currently under consideration as the official national song for Memorial Day.
  
Corry was recently nominated for a regional New York Emmy and composed over 65 works for the Army in the past year alone — including a new official march for the Army’s Financial Management Command.

Sencalar's new album Unleashed! earned a four-star review in the June edition of Downbeat magazine.

Hicks will step into the new role for the Shreveport Opera's 2025–26 season