Alumni Spotlights

Wren & Shark, the nonprofit record label of Brian Cassidy (B.M., Music Studies, 2002; M.M., Music Education, 2004), released a compilation album on Jan. 20, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Staff Sgt. Zachary Gauvain (B.M., Music Performance, 2009) performed in the 58th U.S. Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017, as part of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Corps Band. 

Pianist Hyeyoung Song (D.M.A, Music, 2006) gave a sold-out concert Dec. 28, 2016, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Presented by Weatherford College, this concert served as a finale to her tour, which included stops in Europe and in her native South Korea. Since 2007, Song has been serving as Artist in Residence at Weatherford College, Texas.

In July and October 2016, Garrett Keast (B.M., Music Studies, 1995) led enthusiastically received performances of Carmen at Opera San Antonio and La Bohème at the Aspen Music Festival. His season continues with performances with the Danish National Opera, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Göttinger Symphony Orchestra, Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Ballet and the debut concerts of the NDR Jugendsinfonieorchester in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. 

Cassie Shankman (B.A., Composition, 2013) will participate in a panel discussion at SXSW 2017 with her colleagues about Austin's Center for Music Therapy’s “Movement Tracks Project.” She’s worked for more than a year as the project’s lead composer.

On his second Fulbright Senior Specialist award in jazz, Hank Hehmsoth (B.M. 1975; M.M., Applied Music/Voice/Piano, 1976) will conduct master classes of contemporary American jazz in performance and theory at the Projazz Professional Institute in Santiago, Chile. He also will perform citywide jazz festival concerts with Chilean musicians. Joining him for a week are Russell Haight (M.M., Music, 2007; D.M.A., Music Education, 2009) and Utah Hamrick (D.M.A., Music, 2006), both colleagues of Hehmsoth at Texas State University. Photo by GR Hook.

Jonathan Kulp (M.M., Theory, 1994; Ph.D., Musicology, 2001) was promoted to full professor in fall 2016 at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he is also director of the School of Music and Performing Arts. Photo by Amy Windsor.

Flutist Joan Schubert (B.M., Applied Music/Performance, 1982) and guitarist Bryon Dahl’s recent album, Our Favorite Things, went live on Pandora Radio in June 2016.

John Steffa (D.M.A., Composition, 1985) will present a recital of new, original, chamber music for the students in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina-Asheville on Sept. 30. A repeat program will be presented that evening for a general audience. The recital precedes a program on Oct. 7, in the Music Room of the Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda, Maryland. 

James Welsch (D.M.A., Orchestral Conducting, 2016) was recently appointed Music Director/General Manager of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras and Assistant Conductor of the El Paso Symphony.