Alumni Spotlights

Dr. Kate Stubbs (D.M.A. Collaborative Piano, 2015) has just been appointed to a faculty position as Instructor and Collaborative Pianist at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma.

Dr. Michael Bunchman (D.M.A. Collaborative Piano, 2015) has been appointed to a faculty position as Staff Pianist and Collaborative Coordinator at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Martin McCain recently won a Global Music Awards Gold Medal for the Best Instrumentalist category and a Bronze Medal for his second solo CD Shades

Hak Min Kim (D.M.A., 2000) has been named director of the Korean National Opera in Seoul, Korea. This position is one of the most important arts positions in the country and comes at a time when opera is gaining a strong audience in Korea. Kim had established himself as the premiere opera director in Korea prior to being named to the National Opera and is also an associate professor of theater and film at Kyung Hee University.

Adrian Hernandez (B.M. Composition, 2004) was recently selected for promotion to the rank of Master Sergeant and will be assuming the role of Chief Arranger of The U.S. Army Field Band.

Dr. Shane Anderson (D.M.A. Applied Music/Performance, 1999) has been appointed Chair of the Department of Music at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Kirstin Garrison (B.M. Music Education, 2009) was recently selected as the newest member of the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio (YOSA) Board of Directors.

Cmdr. Jason Pittman, B.M. 1998 and a Distinguished Graduate of UT NROTC, took command of the fast attack submarine, USS HELENA (SSN 725), this month at a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. He is the first Music major to be accepted to the Navy's nuclear propulsion program and the first to take command of a nuclear powered ship.

Christina Wright-Ivanova (D.M.A. 2012) has been appointed assistant professor of music/vocal coach and collaborative artist at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She begins her faculty residency in fall 2015. There were 90 applicants for the position, and Wright-Ivanova says her success is due in no small part to the Butler School of Music faculty and students with whom she worked in her three-year residency.

Hai Zheng, concert cellist (BM 1988, MM 1990) and Dr. Kiyoshi Tamagawa (DMA 1988) recently made their third Asia concert tour together. They first gave master classes and recitals at Bangkok and Hua Hin in Thailand, then went on to the Yong Siew Toh-Asia's International Conservatory in Singapore and finished their tour at China Conservatory in Beijing. Hai Zheng is Assistant Professor and Artist in Residence at Southwestern University. Dr/ Kiyoshi Tamagawa is Professor of Music and Associate Dean for the Sarofim School of Fine Arts at Southwestern University.