Alumni Spotlights

Alvez Barkoskie IV completed his D.M.A. at the University of Oklahoma in fall 2021 with the successful defense of his dissertation "An Analysis of Three Recital Pieces by William Lloyd Weber." In 2023 his choral pieces "Alma Redemptoris Mater" and "Pie Jesu" were published by E.C.S. and Galaxy Publishing respectively. His choral work "Little Lamb," a setting of the popular William Blake text was performed by the Oklahoma City University Chamber singers and later aired on the nationally-syndicated program "With Hearts and Voices," hosted by Peter Dubois. He recently completed his first composition commission "May the Lord Support Us" with text by John Henry Newman for the Chancel Choir of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Justin Patch (Ph.D., Music, 2008) recently published his third book The Art of Populism in US Politics: Pro-Trump DIY Popular Culture (Routledge, 2024), which examines citizen-made art from 2016-2023. Through examinations of different types and styles of pro-Trump art, the book looks to decode the desires, fears, and hopes of ordinary citizens who comprise the MAGA movement. Patch is an assistant professor of music at Vassar College. His research focuses on music in American politics, sound studies and music of the African diaspora.

The three-movement, 23 minute work was commissioned by the First Presbyterian Church Choir of Jackson, MS in honor of Kemp's selection as the new concertmaster of the MSO.

The album releases on March 29.

Silvermintz was previously the MMEA vice-president for band and the president of the St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association. She teaches in the Lindbergh School District in St. Louis County.